宗鏡錄 33.9

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.'