宗鏡錄 37.23

37.23

Answer: In reality there is no difference. The conceivable is explained as arising from the mind; the inconceivable is explained as being possessed by the one mind. If one can have faith and understanding as above, the merit is immeasurable. The Buddha personally compared it: ten thousand practices can hardly equal it. As the Lotus Sūtra says in verse: / 'If a person seeks the Buddha's wisdom, / and throughout eighty million / nayuta kalpas / practices the five pāramitās; / and in these kalpas / gives alms to make offerings to the Buddhas, / as well as the pratyekabuddha disciples / and the assemblies of bodhisattvas, / with rare and wondrous food and drink, / superior garments and bedding, / erecting monasteries of sandalwood / and adorning them with gardens and groves— / such gifts as these, / all various and exquisite, / throughout all these kalpas, / dedicated to the Buddha path; / if furthermore they uphold the prohibitive precepts, / pure and without flaw, / seeking the unsurpassed path, / praised by all the Buddhas; / if furthermore they practice patience, / abiding in the stage of gentleness, / even if many evils are inflicted upon them, / their mind is not shaken; / when those who possess Dharma / harbor excessive pride / and despise and trouble them, / they can also endure this; / if furthermore they are diligent and vigorous, / their resolve and mindfulness always steadfast, / throughout immeasurable millions of kalpas, / single-mindedly never slackening; / and again throughout countless kalpas, / abiding in quiet, empty places, / whether sitting or walking in meditation, / dispelling sleep and constantly collecting the mind; / by virtue of these causes and conditions, / they are able to give rise to all dhyānas, / and for eighty billion kalpas, / abide peacefully with minds undisturbed; / taking the merit of this single mind, / they vow to seek the unsurpassed path: / "May I attain all-knowledge / and exhaust the limits of all dhyānas"— / this person, through hundreds of thousands / of myriad millions of kalpas, / practices all these merits / as spoken of above; / yet if good men or good women, / hearing me speak of the lifespan, / have even a single thought-moment of faith, / their merit surpasses that.' / The Commentary on the Words and Phrases [of the Lotus Sūtra] explains: 'A single thought-moment of faith and understanding means that wherever one hears, one suddenly opens up to illumination, enters following the words, and has no obstruction. One has faith that all dharmas are the Buddha Dharma, and has faith that the Buddha Dharma is not separated from all dharmas. Without attaining the Buddha Dharma and without attaining all dharmas, one sees all dharmas and also sees the Buddha Dharma. The one is precisely the three, and the three are precisely the one. It is also walking on the non-path and penetrating the Buddha path; walking on the Buddha path and penetrating all paths; without attaining the Buddha path or all paths, yet penetrating the Buddha path and all paths. Non-existent yet existent, existent yet non-existent; neither existent nor non-existent. Like the road before a gate, penetrating all the east, west, south, and north, totally without obstruction. The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and manas—whatever they encounter—are all likewise. Being without doubt is called faith; understanding clearly is called comprehension. This is the mind of a single thought-moment of faith and understanding.' This mind of a single thought-moment of faith and understanding has a mind identical to the Buddha's mind, and faith equal to the Buddha's faith; it enters the nature of real prajñā and reaches the source of ultimate liberation. Therefore, when the merit of cultivating the five pāramitās over immeasurable and countless kalpas is compared to the efficacy of a single thought-moment of faith and understanding in the mirror of the source, it does not equal one ten-thousandth. Thus it is said: 'Not knowing the mysterious purport, calming thought is in vain.' For this reason, one first awakens to the mirror of the source and then cultivates perfectly; only when principle and practice are without discrepancy is it truly fitting.