宗鏡錄 33

English (machine translation) 33

Language: English

33.7 — 4 parts

33.1

Compiled by the abbot of Huiri Yongming Temple, Chan Master Zhijue, Yanshou.

Now, the Way offers nothing to cultivate, and the Dharma offers nothing to question. The moment one awakens to the great purport, the myriad affairs all cease. Thus it is said: “The path of words and speech is severed; the place where the mind functions is extinguished.” Since this is called the Mirror of the Source, why then extensively cite passages on physical precepts, mind, and wisdom? The Lotus Sūtra states that students of the Three Baskets are not even permitted to be approached. Since this contradicts the sūtra teachings of the Great Vehicle, how could it serve as a gate of faith for later students?

33.3

Answer: Those "students of the Three Baskets" rebuked in the sūtra refer to the precepts, concentration, and wisdom of the Lesser Vehicle. Their precepts merely maintain [control of] body and speech, severing the sprouting shoots of the afflictions of the four dwellings. Their concentration leaves the body like dry wood, cutting off the wondrous functioning of outward deportment. Their wisdom merely realizes biased emptiness, losing the consummate principle of the non-empty Middle Way. Therefore they are called "the dharma relished by the impoverished," falling into the inferior vehicle, reprimanded by Vimalakīrti, and constitute the dharma of foolish people. Now, the concentration and wisdom of this consummate school are not even the same as the emptiness of signlessness in the initial teaching of the Great Vehicle, nor the principle of the biased and consummate in the separate teaching of the Great Vehicle—how could they be discussed alongside the ash-extinction concentration and wisdom of the Three Baskets? In this Record of the Mirror of the Source, the precepts, concentration, and wisdom—down to every single event and every single practice—each and every one enters the dharmadhātu and is endowed with boundless virtues. This is the inexhaustible source and purport, the teaching gate of the origination of the nature, unobstructed, consummate, and truly inconceivable. As the Tiantai teaching says: “Just as a mirror has reflections, but shards and gravel do not appear in it, within it all signs are present, yet in being merely empty it is non-existent. The wondrous, pure dharmakāya is endowed with the thirty-two marks.” Preceptor Guanding said: “Ordinary and sage interpenetrate; right within the ordinary mind one sees the Buddha's mind. Principle and phenomena are cultivated together; relying on fundamental wisdom, one seeks the Buddha's wisdom.” Ancient worthies explained this by saying: “Those in the Chan lineage who miss the mark cling to principle and are confused about phenomena, saying: 'The nature is fundamentally complete in itself; why rely on cultivation and seeking? One need only extinguish emotional thoughts, and the true Buddha will appear of Himself.' Those studying texts cling to phenomena and are confused about principle, [asking]: 'Why must one diligently cultivate the teaching of principle?' Bringing them together, both are perfected; separating them, both are harmed. Cultivating both principle and practice manifests consummate wonder. Putting the mind to rest and cutting off thoughts is called the practice of principle. Performing deeds and engaging in the existent is called the practice of phenomena. 'Relying on fundamental wisdom' refers to the wisdom of fundamental awakening. This is causal wisdom; this empty, luminous, and unobscured [awareness] is called wisdom. It completes the aforementioned practice of principle, extinguishing feelings and revealing principle. 'Seeking the Buddha's wisdom' refers to the unhindered wisdom of liberation. This is fruition wisdom; wisdom characterized by consummate clarity and decisive certainty. It completes the aforementioned practice of phenomena, generating practice and achieving fruition. Thus, because the substance and nature are identical, one relies on it; because the characteristics and functions differ, one seeks it. One seeks only the characteristics and functions, not the substance and nature. The former practice of principle that extinguishes feelings is the elimination of the defiled dependent origination to reveal the substance and nature; the active practice of phenomena that performs deeds is the generation of pure dependent origination to accomplish the characteristics and functions.” The Signless School says: “As stated above, characteristics and functions may be so, but if one merely relies on fundamental wisdom, then when feelings are extinguished the characteristics and functions will manifest of themselves. Since they are fundamentally inherent, why must one specially generate the practice of phenomena?” The Consummate School says: “The nature fundamentally possesses them, but when feelings are extinguished, one only eliminates the defiled aspects of characteristics and functions, and the true substance manifests of itself; without the practice of phenomena, there is no cause for those pure aspects of characteristics and functions to be generated. For example, although many vessels exist [potentially] in gold, eliminating the ore can only reveal the gold. If one does not apply work to fashion them, there is no cause for the vessels to be completed. How could it be that, once gold has left the ore, without fashioning or making, it naturally completes the vessels? If extinguishing feelings rendered phenomenal practice unnecessary, then when the Buddha enjoined complete cultivation, would he not have toiled students in vain? Therefore, although at the eighth stage one is already able to be free from thought, the Buddha exhorted [the bodhisattvas] only then to generate phenomenal practice, knowing that through mere freedom from thought they were not yet complete. Thus the sūtra verse says: 'The dharma-nature is truly permanent, free from mind and thought; / the two vehicles can also attain this. / Not by this is one the World-Honored One, / but only by profound, unimpeded wisdom.' These exhortations are all for phenomenal practice. Therefore, know that the fruition Buddha must be complete in both nature and characteristics, and causal practice must cultivate both phenomena and principle. Relying on fundamental wisdom is like obtaining gold; cultivating the practice of principle is like removing the ore; cultivating phenomenal practice is like fashioning the vessel; and seeking the Buddha's wisdom is like completing the vessel.” Furthermore, the Huayan Commentary says: “If one clings to Chan, one relies on the fundamental wisdom-nature—there is neither making nor cultivation, the mirror is inherently bright of itself, neither wiped nor polished. If one clings to the teaching, one must generate phenomenal practice, seeking superior conditions that depend on others to accomplish one's own virtue. Both are one-sided attachments; hence the simultaneous practice of both is clarified. 'Relying on fundamental wisdom' is in terms of principle, because the nature of undefiled wisdom is fundamentally complete. 'Seeking the Buddha's wisdom' is in terms of phenomena: within that where there is nothing to seek, I purposefully seek it. The mind-mirror is fundamentally pure, but long covered by the defilements of toil; the nature-virtues [as many as] the sands of the Ganges are entirely buried beneath dust-and-sand afflictions. Therefore, one must accord with the dharma-nature, free from stinginess and greed, and cultivate the six pāramitās such as dāna, because all Buddhas have already realized it while I have not yet realized it. Furthermore, principle does not obstruct phenomena, so seeking is not impeded; phenomena do not obstruct principle, so seeking is non-seeking. Cultivating in this way, cultivation is non-cultivation, which is true cultivation.” The instruction given above leaves out neither root nor branch; principle is complete and practice is thorough, the cause is consummate and the fruit is fulfilled. One can truly say that the carriage is high and broad, attended and guarded by many servants; only then can one enter this Ekayāna and return to the Mirror of the Source. Once beginners have entered, they must merge secretly with true emptiness. It lies solely in mental practice, not in oral recitation. One must directly exert effort at every step, in accord with every thought, like a thoroughly dead person, forever cutting off all remaining thoughts. If one lacks sincere determination, how could one be called a great hero? Mere empty words will ultimately end in self-deception. As Tiantai Shide's praise says: “The sea water of Dongyang is clear; / the water is clear, and one can see to the bottom. / The numinous source flows with dharma springs; / cutting the water with a knife leaves no trace. / I see stubborn and foolish persons: / using a lamp wick to prop up Sumeru, / using an inch of firewood to boil the great ocean, / rubbing their feet against the stones of the great earth. / Does steaming sand make rice? / Grinding a brick thinking it will become a mirror! / Speaking of food will never satisfy hunger; / one must directly exert effort in practice. / An expansive, great hero, / an imposing six-foot man, / dying in vain to be buried under a grave mound— / what a pity for such a solitary, outstanding soul!” Layman Pang's poem says: “Reading the sūtras, one must understand their meaning; / understanding their meaning is itself cultivation. / If one learns according to the definitive meaning, / one enters the city of nirvāṇa. / If one does not understand their meaning, / seeing much is worse than being blind. / Scanning the text widely to claim much ground, / the ox of the mind is unwilling to plow. / Field after field is covered with weeds; / whence will the rice ever grow?” Therefore, know that it must reside in mental practice and the fulfillment of the power of forbearance. There are two kinds of forbearance: first, the forbearance of sentient beings; second, the forbearance of dharmas. If one rests in the forbearance of dharmas, contemplative practice is easily accomplished, because by realizing that all is mind-only, the internal and external are equal. As the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: “Forbearance of dharmas means not clinging to the six internal sense faculties and not receiving the six external dusts, being able to make no discrimination between these two. Why? The internal characteristics are like the external, and the external characteristics are like the internal, because both characteristics are ungraspable; because they have a single characteristic; because causes and conditions come together; because their reality is empty; because the characteristics of all dharmas are constantly pure.” Why are the characteristics of all dharmas said to be constantly pure? Because they jointly follow the One Way. Therefore the Huayan Commentary says: “'The profound One Way' is also named the One Vehicle. All Buddhas are identical in having one true Way. That which all Buddhas ride upon is the common contemplation of the mind-nature and the simultaneous cultivation of the myriad practices; from beginning to end, there is no other path, and therefore it is called the One Way.”

33.4

Question: If the true mind is permanent and pervasive throughout all places, then the myriad dharmas are all true. Why, then, is there the production and extinction of the four seasons?

33.5

Answer: Because one realizes that the true mind is motionless, the myriad dharmas do not shift; this is the meaning of permanent abiding. If one sees the myriad dharmas shift and pass away, it is entirely the deluded mind. Because all realms are only the deluded movement of the mind, if the mind does not arise, external objects are fundamentally empty, since they are transformations from consciousness. If separated from the mind-consciousness, not even a single dharma permanently abides—how much less could there be the shifting of the myriad dharmas?

33.6

Question: As we see right now, the forms of things flourish and wither, and the scenes of the seasons alternate and pass away. How can this be analyzed in minute detail so as to clearly see the purport of non-shifting?

33.7.1

Answer: One need only see one's nature, and fox-like doubts will cut off of themselves. I once probed and investigated [this], and came to trust this principle. The *Treatise on Immutability* (*Buqian lun*) says: "Whirlwinds flatten mountains, yet are ever still; rivers race and surge, yet do not flow; shimmering mirages flutter and toss, yet do not move; the sun and moon traverse the sky, yet do not revolve." A commentary says: "The earlier wind is not the later wind; therefore, flattening mountains, it is ever still. The earlier water is not the later water; therefore, racing and surging, it does not flow. The earlier vapor is not the later vapor; therefore, fluttering and tossing, it does not move. The earlier sun is not the later sun; therefore, traversing the sky, it does not revolve." A subcommentary says: "Yet their substances differ from thought-moment to thought-moment. Thus, when the first single thought-moment arises, it is not the time of the second thought-moment; up to when it finally blows against a mountain, that is not the time of its initial arising. Thus, there is no substance of the wind from the preceding thought-moment that definitively comes from there to blow upon that mountain. Furthermore, from the mountain's first moment of shaking until it falls flat upon the ground, that mountain's substance differs from thought-moment to thought-moment. Thus, when it shakes at the first single thought-moment, it is not the time when it shakes at the second thought-moment; up to when it finally hits the ground, that is not the time of its initial shaking. Thus, there is no substance of the mountain from its initial shaking that definitively comes from there to reach the time when it hits the ground. All these mean that the wind does not arrive, and the mountain does not hit the ground. Although the tempest flattens the mountain, it has never moved." These four things are taken by the worldly to change and move. Yet, although mountains fall and the [heavens] traverse the sky, none of them knows or reaches the others. Moment to moment each abides in itself; each does not mutate. Furthermore, among what the world calls great, nothing exceeds the four great elements; and among movement within the four great elements, nothing surpasses the wind-wheel. If investigated through their nature, they are fundamentally and truly motionless. As the *Ocean of Meaning* (*Yihai*) says: "Examining movement and quietude: dust follows the wind; fluttering and soaring is movement, while quiescently not arising is quietude. But now, at the time of quietude, because movement is not annihilated, quietude is entirely accomplished by movement. Now, at the time of movement, because quietude is not annihilated, movement is entirely accomplished by quietude. Because the entire substances mutually accomplish each other, therefore at the very time of movement it is quiet, and at the very time of quietude it is moving. It is also like the wind: fundamentally motionless, yet able to move all things. If there were movement beforehand, it would lose its own substance and could not move further. Now observing this wind, it pervades the dharmadhātu, clear and unmoving, tranquil and formless. Investigating the reason for this movement, it all arises from conditions. For example, in a sealed room, if one says there is wind, why does the wind not move? If one says there is no wind, when it meets conditions it immediately arises. If one waves a fan across the dharmadhātu, it will arise to fill the dharmadhātu. Hence we know that the wind element does not move; movement belongs to conditions. If outside in the open space of the ten directions, even without being waved by a person, it arises on its own, this is also caused by dragons, giant clams, ghosts, and spirits. Because ghosts and spirits belong to yin, winds are more frequent toward evening. Furthermore, the winds of formation and destruction at the beginning and end of a kalpa are all stimulated by the karma of sentient beings. In the world, not a single phenomenon does not arise from conditions. When conditions gather, it arises; when conditions disperse, it perishes. If one grasps that things arise naturally of themselves, they should only ever arise continuously; how could they be fluctuating and erratic, with movement and quietude having no constancy? Therefore we know all arise from conditions. Furthermore, investigating the various conditions harmonising to accomplish a thing: individually they do not exist, and in harmony they do not exist either. In condition after condition, none possesses an intrinsic nature; it is merely the mind moving. Turning back to investigate one's own mind, the mind also does not move. Because the mind is formless, the place from which it arises cannot be found. Thus one knows all arise from the true nature, and the true nature does not arise. Only then does one see that the mind-nature pervades the nature of the four great elements; its substance accords with true emptiness, and its nature has neither movement nor quietude. Because movement is manifested through characteristics, and quietude is contrasted with movement: once the characteristic of movement is absent, the defilement of quietude is also extinguished. Therefore the *Śūraṅgamasūtra* says: 'The nature of wind is true emptiness; the nature of emptiness is true wind.' Furthermore, how could the principle of immutability be separate from the realm of shaking and movement? How could the purport of non-arising go beyond the gate of arising and perishing? Therefore the *Vajrasamādhisūtra* says: 'The meaning of what arises from causes and conditions is that this meaning is cessation, not arising. To extinguish all meanings of arising and perishing is that this meaning is arising, not cessation.' For this reason, arising is constantly non-arising, and non-arising is constantly arising. If one penetrates it in this way, one will not fall into annihilationism or eternalism, and one can correctly understand the meaning of the immutability of the one mind. As a former master of virtue said: 'The nature of things has no difference; when awakened to, it is true principle. Truth is immutable, and things are inherently clear and still. Confined by conventional sentiments, people falsely assume movement within the unmoving. The substance of the Way is deep and silent; the path of words is profound and subtle. That which is used daily without being known is that things do not mutate. Phenomena and images can be observed, so they are called "things." The substance of things each abides [in its own state], hence it is named "immutable." Because it is immutable, following the current it is clear and pure; because it is a thing, it mutually relies upon the four characteristics. Hence we know that non-arising does not fail to arise, and formlessness does not fail to take form. That which dwells in nature and characteristics while maintaining oneness is the *Treatise on Immutability*.' Therefore the *Treatise on Immutability* says: 'Therefore the Tathāgata, in accordance with what the masses cling to, adopted regional expressions to resolve their confusion. Resting upon the non-dual true mind, he voiced distinct teachings that were not one. Contradictory yet impossible to differentiate—could that be anything other than the holy words? Therefore, speaking of truth, there is the term "immutability"; guiding the worldly, there is the discourse of "flowing and moving." Although there are a thousand paths and varied chants, their convergence leads to the same destination. But those who cling to the literal text, upon hearing "immutability," assert that things of the past do not reach the present; and those who listen to "flowing and moving" assert that things of the present can reach the past. Since they speak of past and present, why should they wish to mutate them? Therefore, when we speak of "passing away," there is not necessarily a passing away; past and present ever abide because they do not move. When we say "departing," there is not necessarily a departing; we mean it does not go from the present to the past, because it does not come. Because it does not come, it does not gallop between past and present; because it does not move, each nature abides in a single age. That being so, although various texts have distinct phrasing and the hundred schools have divergent accounts, if one grasps their convergence, how could literal words confuse one? Therefore, what people call "abiding," I say has "departed"; what people call "departing," I say "abides." Thus, although departing and abiding differ, their purport is one. Hence the scripture says: "Right words seem contradictory; who will believe them?" There is good reason for these words. Why? People seek the past in the present and claim it does not abide; I seek the present in the past and know it does not depart. If the present reached the past, in the past there should be the present; if the past reached the present, in the present there should be the past. In the present there is no past.'

33.7.2

[we] know that there is no coming; [the present] is in antiquity and does not [reach] the present, by which [we] know that there is no going. If antiquity does not reach the present, and the present also does not reach antiquity, each phenomenon abides in its own nature—what entity could possibly come or go? Thus, even though the four forms gallop like the wind and the revolving mechanism rolls like lightning, if one grasps the minute reality [of this], then despite such swiftness nothing moves. For this reason, the Tathāgata's meritorious deeds flow down through ten thousand generations yet perpetually remain, and his Way penetrates hundreds of kalpas yet becomes ever firmer. That the completion of a mountain relies upon the first basketful of earth, and that the long journey depends on taking the initial step, is truly because meritorious karma cannot decay. Because meritorious karma cannot decay, even though it lies in the past it does not transform; because it does not transform, it does not pass away; because it does not pass away, it remains pristine and serene. Thus the sūtra states: 'Though the three disasters inundate [the world], karmic actions remain pristine.' We truly believe these words. Why so? An effect is not simultaneous with its cause; rather, it is because of the cause that there is an effect. Because of the cause there is an effect, so the cause does not perish in the past. An effect is not simultaneous with its cause, so the cause does not come into the present. Neither perishing nor coming, the principle of non-passing-away is thereby made evident. What doubt remains regarding going and staying, and why hesitate between motion and rest? Therefore, though heaven and earth were to turn upside down, do not say that there is no tranquility; though a great flood should rise to the sky, do not say that it moves. If one can unite one's spirit with the phenomena themselves, this can be understood without looking far. An ancient commentary states: 'The preceding statement that antiquity and the present each abide in their own nature within a single period and do not interact between each other would imply that youth and old age do not share the same physical form. If one is fixed as an infant, there would be no crawling stage, and going all the way to old age there would be no continuity, thus losing the Dharma of kinship: there would be neither father nor son. Only the infant would have a father, while crawling and old age would have no share in it. Then the former meritorious deeds would be lost, incurring the fault of annihilationism. From this it is made clear that the flow of meritorious deed relies upon the first basketful of earth, the first step, and the continuity of cause and effect without loss: neither annihilated nor eternal, neither identical nor different, neither coming nor going. Hence the principle of non-passing-away is perfectly correct.' To ride upon the non-dual true mind and utter distinct teachings that are not identical means that the holy sages, relying on the correct source of the one mind, accommodate dispositions and expound diverse traces of teaching. Although the nine schools and eight teachings differ, non-passing-away is not deficient in a single thought-moment. Thus it is said that although a thousand paths sing differing songs, they converge into the same import. Yet those who follow the words and lose sight of the purport merely cling to the provisional door's statements of arising and ceasing, falsely seeing phenomena of the world as coming and going. Due to this, they assume there is flux, and samsara follows the conditions. They completely fail to know that birth, death, coming, and going are ultimately devoid of intrinsic nature. Therefore, the Madhyamakaśāstra refutes the three times as having no going: first, there is no going in what has already gone, because the act of going has already passed away; second, there is no going in what has not yet gone, because the act of going has not yet arisen; third, there is no going in the time of going, because in the midst of going there is no abiding. Furthermore, the goer and the act of going—both things are non-existent. If there is no goer, then there is no act of going, nor is there a spatial location. The goer is the person; since the dharma is brought about by the person, apart from the person there is no dharma, and apart from the dharma there is no person. Thus the commentary says: 'By observing the direction, one knows of his going, but the goer does not arrive at the direction.' This clarifies that within the three times there is neither going nor coming, so as to expound non-passing-away. For instance, when a person first stands upright in the east without moving, he is said to have 'not yet gone.' Because he has not yet gone, 'not yet gone' cannot be called 'going.' If he takes one step and leaves the place where he originally stood, looking back at the original place is called 'having already gone.' Because he has already gone, 'having already gone' cannot be called 'going.' A confused person then shifts his view and asserts: 'Where there is movement, there is going; in this there is the time of going, which is neither already gone nor not yet gone. Therefore, in the time of going one goes.' Nāgārjuna then refutes this through mutual dependence, stating: 'If there were already gone and not yet gone, then there would be a time of going; if there were no already gone and not yet gone, there would be no time of going.' Hence the verse says: 'Apart from already gone and not yet gone, / There is also no going at the time of going.' Just as because of two short ends there is an intermediate long one, if there are not two short ends, then there is no intermediate long one. Piṅgala then refutes this through contradiction, saying: 'Why so? The time of going refers to half-gone and half-not-yet-gone, which is called the time of going; then within a single dharma there would be two contradictory extremes, and the meaning of going would not be established. Therefore, there is also no going at the time of going.' Hence the verse says: 'What has already gone has no going, / What has not yet gone also has no going; / Apart from already gone and not yet gone, / There is also no going at the time of going.' For example, when a person walks from the east to the west, observing his path from east to west appears as though there were going; thus it is said 'one knows of his going.' However, in step after step, within the three times there is no going, and so there is no act of going. Since there is no act of going, there is no going person who goes from here to there. Thus it is said: 'The goer does not arrive at the direction.' 'The goer' refers to the person. The one sūtra and one treatise cited above both clarify that within the three times there is no going, thereby indicating the source and expounding non-passing-away. This non-passing-away of coming, going, cause, and effect accords with the intention of the Eightfold Negation of the Middle Way. As the treatise verse says: 'Neither arising nor ceasing, / Neither eternal nor annihilated, / Neither identical nor different, / Neither coming nor going; / Being able to expound these causes and conditions, / He skillfully extinguishes all conceptual proliferation; / I bow my head and pay homage to the Buddha, / Supreme among all teachers.' Now, through cause and effect, we correlate and interpret the meaning of the Eightfold Negation. As for 'neither arising': taking the age of twenty as the cause and the age of thirty as the effect, if the present thirty could exist apart from twenty, one might say there is arising; but if one is apart from twenty, thirty cannot be obtained—therefore, there is no arising. Thus the Madhyamakaśāstra states: 'Apart from the grain at the beginning of the kalpa, present-day grain cannot be obtained; therefore, there is no arising.' As for 'not ceasing': the time of twenty is not non-existent [in its result], hence it does not cease. If the time of twenty ceased, the present time of thirty should not exist. The Madhyamakaśāstra states: 'If it ceased, there should now be no grain; yet grain truly exists; therefore, it does not cease.' As for 'not eternal': at the time of thirty there is no time of twenty; therefore, it is not eternal. The Madhyamakaśāstra states: 'Just as when grain sprouts the seed decays, therefore it is not eternal.' As for 'not annihilated': due to twenty, thirty exists in continuous succession; therefore, it is not annihilated. The Madhyamakaśāstra states: 'Just as from grain there is a sprout, therefore it is not annihilated; if it were annihilated, there should be no succession.' As for 'not identical': twenty and thirty do not share the same substance, but abide in their respective natures; therefore, they are not identical. The Madhyamakaśāstra states:

33.7.3

Just as grain does not make the sprout, and the sprout does not make the grain, therefore they are not one. As for their not being different: [a person aged] thirty is not separate from [that person aged] twenty; if at twenty their surname was Zhang, at thirty it is not different. The Madhyamakaśāstra says: "If they were different, why distinguish grain sprout, grain stalk, and grain leaf? Therefore they are not different." As for not coming: the age of twenty does not arrive at the time of thirty; therefore it does not come. As for not going out: at the time of twenty, it is naturally tranquil in its own place and does not arise again; therefore it does not go out. One who penetrates this principle is free from all conceptual proliferation and accords with the Middle Way; this is the ultimate truth. Thus we know that within the ultimate truth, not a single phenomenon can be apprehended; how could there be going and coming? As the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: "At that time the World-Honoured One asked that bodhisattva: 'Good son, did you come by arriving, or did you come by not arriving?' Bodhisattva Vaiḍūryaprabha said: 'World-Honoured One, I did not come by arriving, nor did I come by not arriving. As I observe this meaning, there is no coming at all. World-Honoured One, if conditioned formations were permanent, there would also be no coming; if they were impermanent, there would also be no coming. If someone sees the existence of a sentient being's nature, for them there is coming and not coming. I now do not see any fixed nature of sentient beings; how could I say there is coming and not coming? Those with pride see going and coming; those without pride have no going and coming. Those who grasp at practices see going and coming; those who do not grasp at practices have no going and coming. If one sees the Tathāgata as entering ultimate nirvāṇa, then there is going and coming; if one does not see the Tathāgata as entering ultimate nirvāṇa, then there is no going and coming. If one does not hear of the Buddha-nature, then there is going and coming; for one who hears of the Buddha-nature, there is no going and coming.'" The Prajñāpradīpaśāstra asks: "Do you call the initial departure that of one who has already gone, of one who has not yet gone, or of one who is presently going? All three are incorrect. As the verse says: / 'There is no departure in what has already gone, / Nor is there departure in what has not yet gone; / There is no departure in what is presently going; / Where could there be departure?' / The commentary says: 'There is no departure in what has already gone' means that the function of going has already ceased therein. 'Nor is there departure in what has not yet gone' means that in the absence of moving there is no going; going is not so. 'There is no departure in what is presently going' means that in both what has already gone and what has not yet gone, the meaning of going is absent; how could it be said that there is going in what is presently going? Thus in all three cases, there is no initial departure. Therefore the verse says: 'Where could there be departure?' / Furthermore, a verse says: / 'There is no "already gone" or "not yet gone", / Nor is there that "presently going"; / Within phenomena devoid of going, / Why falsely discriminate?' / The commentary says: 'Falsely discriminate' is like a person with cataracts seeing hairs, flies, and the like in empty space; all lack substance. / Furthermore, a verse says: / 'Therefore going lacks inherent nature; / The goer is also likewise; / What is presently going and all phenomena / Are entirely non-existent.' / Furthermore, a verse says: / 'An unextinguished phenomenon does not cease; / An already extinguished phenomenon does not cease; / What is presently ceasing also does not cease; / Being unproduced, what could cease?' / The commentary says: As for the first line, it is because cessation is empty, like remaining. As for the second line, it is like a person who has already died not dying again. As for the third line, apart from those phenomena already extinguished and not yet extinguished, there is no other time of ceasing, because both errors would apply. Therefore it is definitely known that what is presently ceasing does not cease. As for the fourth line, what does it mean? Because all phenomena are unproduced. Saying 'unproduced' means that the characteristic of production is non-existent. For the unproduced to have cessation is untenable, like the son of a barren woman. / And furthermore, as to your claim of cessation: does an existent entity cease, or does a non-existent entity cease? Both are incorrect. As the verse says: / 'If a phenomenon has an existent entity, / Being existent, it has no characteristic of cessation.' / The commentary says: Because they are contradictory, like water and fire. Because of this, the verse says: / 'For one phenomenon to have both existence and non-existence / Is not logically admissible.' / Furthermore, the verse says: / 'If a phenomenon lacks an existent entity, / For cessation to exist is also untenable; / Just as with the absence of a second head, / One cannot speak of its being cut off.' / Therefore, since phenomena of coming and going do not exist, a time of staying and abiding also does not exist. Because time is elucidated dependent on phenomena, and phenomena are also distinguished dependent on time; since phenomena do not exist, how could time be established? As the Madhyamakaśāstra verse says: / 'Time abiding cannot be apprehended; / Time passing can also not be apprehended; / If time cannot be apprehended, / How can the characteristics of time be spoken of? / Dependent on things, therefore time exists; / Apart from things, how could time exist? / Things themselves are already non-existent; / How much more so could time exist?' / The commentary says: The citations and proofs above point directly to the mundane world; all distinguish the real directly within the phenomenal, and see the Way from the ordinary. Direct evidence right before our eyes can put an end to doubts. The phenomenon of going being like this, even the transmigration through the six destinies and the succession of the four seasons are all the Way of the unmoving, ever-abiding one mind. This being so, though diverse texts have varied phrasing and the hundred schools have divergent doctrines, if one grasps their congruence, how could words and phrases mislead? If one penetrates that the ten thousand phenomena are only our one mind, and observes that the nature of this mind has never yet been produced, how could one speak of cessation? When even stillness cannot be apprehended, how could one speak of movement? Just as at the Śūraṅgama assembly, the Tathāgata thereupon bent the fingers of his five-wheeled hand in the midst of the great assembly; having bent them, he opened them again, and having opened them, he bent them again. He said to Ānanda: 'What do you see now?' Ānanda said: 'I see the Tathāgata's palm with a hundred jewel wheels opening and closing in the midst of the assembly.' The Buddha said to Ānanda: 'When you see my hand opening and closing in the midst of the assembly, is it my hand that has opening and closing, or is it your seeing that has opening and closing?' Ānanda said: 'World-Honoured One, the precious hand opens and closes in the assembly; I see the Tathāgata's hand opening and closing of itself, not that the nature of my seeing of itself opens and closes.' The Buddha said: 'Which is moving and which is still?' Ānanda said: 'The Buddha's hand does not abide, whereas the nature of my seeing does not even have stillness; what could be non-abiding?' The Buddha said: 'So it is.' [...] 'How is it that you now take movement to be your body and movement to be your environment, from beginning to end producing and ceasing in thought after thought, abandoning your true nature and conducting affairs in an inverted manner? When the nature of your mind loses truth, you mistake things for yourself, transmigrating therein and bringing about samsaric wandering upon yourself.' Therefore we know that the seeing nature does not move, its principle pervading the dharmadhātu; it is merely that by mistaking things for oneself, one turns one's back on enlightenment and conforms to dust. If one takes movement to be the body

33.7.4

and takes movement to be the environment, one conducts affairs in an inverted manner, and the nature of one's mind loses truth. The environment actually does not move; it is only the mind that falsely moves. This may be called 'the clouds rush and the moon appears to travel; the boat moves and the shore appears to shift.' Therefore the treatise says: 'Therefore, to speak of the past does not necessarily mean passing away; past and present ever abide because they do not move. To refer to going does not necessarily mean departing; it means not proceeding from the present to the past, because it does not come. Because it does not come, it does not race between past and present; because it does not move, each nature abides in a single age.' This means that each and every phenomenon abides in its position of tathatā: not a single thing comes or goes, nor has it ever stayed for a single thought-moment; none depend on one another. How is this not non-movement? If one can penetrate thus, one's own eye will be completely clear; how could illusory dust that merely seems to exist or divergent doctrines of a single era mislead me? Furthermore, an ancient commentary says: 'The divergent doctrines of the hundred schools—how could words and phrases mislead?' This clarifies being unconfused regarding the three teachings, each of which establishes its own source. Confucianism has twenty-seven schools; if one accords with the principle of the five constants, one will be unconfused. Huang-Lao has twenty-five schools; if one accords with emptiness and non-being, one will also be unconfused. The Buddha has the twelve divisions of teaching; if one realizes the fundamental mind, one will also be unconfused. However, though the three teachings differ, if subsumed under the dharmadhātu, they have no separate source. As for the two teachings of Confucius and Laozi and the hundred philosophers and nine currents of thought, spoken of generally, they do not depart from the dharmadhātu, just like the hundred rivers returning to the great sea. As for the Buddha's complete school and the wondrous purport of the ekayāna, spoken of specifically, the hundred schools are like firefly light—how could they equal the great illumination?—just as the great sea does not return to the hundred rivers. 'This being so, though the four images race like the wind and the revolving mechanism turns like lightning, if one grasps the meaning of the infinitesimal, though swift, there is no turning.' 'The four images' are the four seasons. 'The revolving mechanism' is the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. Though cold comes and heat goes, the dipper turns and stars shift, lightning flashes and winds gallop, not abiding for a kṣaṇa; if one grasps the meaning and understands the infinitesimal, secret purport of the one mind, one sees the nature and is unmoving. As for 'the fruit does not coexist with the cause; due to the cause, there is the fruit': for example, in making a high mountain, initially overturning one basket of earth serves as the cause, until piling earth completes the mountain. This initial single basket of earth, though it has not yet formed the mountain and the beginning does not arrive at the end, is also not annihilated; and ultimately, because of this single basket of earth, the mountain is completed. Therefore it is said: 'The fruit does not coexist with the cause; due to the cause, there is the fruit. Due to the cause, there is the fruit: the cause is not destroyed in the past. The fruit does not coexist with the cause: the cause does not come into the present. Not destroyed and not coming, the principle of non-movement is thereby clear.' Furthermore, just as a journey of a thousand li begins with the first step, though one does not arrive immediately and the fruit does not coexist with the cause, yet entirely due to the merit of the first step one is able to reach the road of a thousand li; thus, due to the cause, there is the fruit. Therefore it is said: 'Completing a mountain relies on its inception from the initial basket; undertaking a long journey is entrusted to arriving at the first step.' Furthermore, just as the cause of initially giving rise to a single wholesome thought of bodhicitta ultimately accomplishes the fruit of unexcelled wondrous awakening, that initial single thought is not lost; if the initial single thought had already ceased, one would not be able to accomplish the fruit of Buddhahood. Therefore it is said: 'Therefore, the Tathāgata's merit flows down ten thousand generations and ever persists; the Way penetrates a hundred kalpas and becomes all the firmer.' Because it neither ceases nor comes, accomplishments are achieved and karma is completed; causes are not vainly abandoned, and actions are not in vain. Thus we know that the ten thousand phenomena are entirely unmoving. How could one hesitate any further between movement and stillness? If one can clarify the source when contacting circumstances and accord in spirit directly with things, then even if heaven overturns and earth inverts, or the seas boil and mountains collapse, one still does not see the omens of movement and stillness, how much less so for the rest of illusory transformations, shadows, and echoes?

33.8

Question: All ultimate and conventional phenomena have characteristics and functions, causes and conditions. Why do you interpret them exclusively in terms of contemplating the mind?

33.9

Answer: If one does not turn back to contemplate one's own mind, one loses the great purport of the Buddhadharma, exalts the sages from afar without aspiring to cultivate and advance, is submerged in vain, and is entirely cut off from [attaining it] oneself. If one does not emulate contemplating the mind to advance on the Path, it is like holding a rock and sinking into an abyss, or traveling at night having cast aside one's torch; then in the ocean of the Buddha's wisdom, one will undoubtedly perish, and toward the city of nirvāṇa, it will be hard to set foot. Therefore, the reason why the Buddhas of the ten directions establish the teaching is solely to expound the Buddha-nature of all sentient beings, the secret store of the one mind of the Mahāparinirvāṇa. Whether ordinary beings or sages, all enter into it. As the World-Honoured One said: 'This Mahāparinirvāṇa is the place where the Buddhas of the ten directions relinquish their bodies and lives; they settle all their children therein, and all enter into it. I myself also abide within it.' Why? Because awakening to one's own mind-nature is called the Buddha-nature. Because from nature arise undefiled virtues that benefit oneself and transform others, and whose Dharma benefit is inexhaustible, it is called a store. Because it is difficult to believe and difficult to know, it is called secret. Because the Dharma-nature is profound and recondite, it is called nirvāṇa. It can be said to be that from which immeasurable Dharma treasures emerge and are born, like the four great oceans; and that upon which all myriad phenomena depend, like the space of the ten directions. If one does not encounter it, one greatly loses the benefit of the Dharma. If someone hears it even for a moment, their merit is boundless. As praised in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, the Buddha told Bodhisattva Kāśyapa: 'Good son, this subtle and wondrous Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra is indeed the treasure store of all phenomena. Just as the great ocean is a store of manifold treasures, this Nirvāṇasūtra is also like this; it is the secret store of all characters and meanings. Good son, just as Mount Sumeru is the root of manifold medicinal herbs, this sūtra is also like this; it is the root of the bodhisattva precepts. Good son, just as empty space is the dwelling place of all things, this sūtra is also like this; it is the dwelling place of all wholesome phenomena. Good son, just as a fierce wind cannot be bound, so too all bodhisattvas who practice this sūtra are likewise not bound by any kleśas or evil phenomena. Good son, just as a vajra cannot be destroyed, this sūtra is also like this; although there are non-Buddhists and evil, heterodox persons, they cannot destroy it. Good son, just as the sands of the Ganges cannot be counted, the meanings of this sūtra are likewise uncountable. Good son, this scripture serves as a Dharma banner for bodhisattvas, like Indra's banner. Good son, this sūtra is the merchant leader heading for the city of nirvāṇa, like a great guide leading merchants toward the great ocean. Good son, this sūtra can serve as the radiance of the Dharma for bodhisattvas and others, like the sun and moon in the world, capable of destroying all darkness. Good son, this sūtra can serve as great excellent medicine for sentient beings afflicted with illness, like the subtle and wondrous king of medicines in the Snow Mountains, capable of curing all diseases. Good son, this sūtra can serve as a staff for an icchantika, just as a weak person is able to rise by means of it. Furthermore, good son, this sūtra is a sharp vajra axe that can fell the great tree of all kleśas; it is a sharp knife that can sever habit energies; it is a valiant warrior that can crush the demonic foe; it is the fire of wisdom that burns the fuel of kleśas. It is the store of causes and conditions from which pratyekabuddhas emerge; it is the store of hearing that gives birth to śrāvakas; it is the eye of all gods; it is the correct path for all humans; it is the refuge of all animals; it is the place of liberation for hungry ghosts; it is the unsurpassed lord for hells; it is the unsurpassed vessel for all sentient beings of the ten directions; it is the father and mother of all Buddhas of the past, future, and present of the ten directions.' From this we know that when one understands this secret store of nirvāṇa, which is the dhāraṇī of this one mind, then just as praised above, manifold virtues converge upon it. Any effort of a single hair's breadth accords with the inexhaustible principle of tathatā: its power equals the dharmadhātu, its fortune equals empty space, and all can accomplish the unconditioned, wondrous fruit of bodhi. If one has not awakened to this purport, even if one exerts oneself in cultivation, it only amounts to the conditioned; in the end one will never attain the Path. Even if one endures diligent and bitter cultivation across many kalpas, it will only form an inferior path of liberation, and ultimately there will be no matter of superior reward. As the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: For example, Śāriputra's disciple, the bhikṣu Rāvinda, upheld the precepts with vigor, yet he begged for food for six days without obtaining any, until on the seventh day his life was soon to end. A fellow practitioner begged for food and brought it to give to him, but a bird carried it away. Then Śāriputra said to Maudgalyāyana: 'You have great supernormal powers; guard this food and enable him to receive it.' Maudgalyāyana immediately took the food and went to give it to him, but just as it was about to enter his mouth, it turned into mud. Again, Śāriputra begged for food and brought it to give to him, but his mouth closed of itself. Finally the Buddha came, bringing food to give him; through the cause and condition of the Buddha's immeasurable fortune and virtue, he enabled him to receive the food. Having eaten, the bhikṣu gave rise to joy in his mind, with doubled faith and veneration. The Buddha told the bhikṣu: 'Conditioned phenomena are all characteristics of suffering,' and expounded the four noble truths (caturāryasatya) for him; instantly the bhikṣu's outflows were exhausted, his mind was liberated, and he attained the path of an arhat. Therefore we know that the fortune of having faith in the ekayāna equals tathatā, and the merit of upholding four lines equals great awakening. Thus the Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: 'The Buddha told Mahāmati: This is the mind of the primary meaning of the intrinsic nature of the tathāgatas, arhats, fully enlightened ones of the past, future, and present. Through the mind of the primary meaning of intrinsic nature, they accomplish the virtue of the true mind of the supreme worldly and supramundane Dharma of the tathāgata; through the mind of the primary meaning, they ultimately obtain the fortune of the superior fruit of worldly and supramundane bodhi.'

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宗鏡錄 — Classical Chinese