宗鏡錄 37.9

37.9

Answer: The six sense objects are the dharmadhātu, and their substance is inherently a sutra; it is not that only when seized by sharp faculties do they become sutras. Why? The Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā says: 'All dharmas converge into form, and this convergence cannot be surpassed.' This form can express all dharmas. For instance, with black ink, a single stroke expresses 'one'; two strokes express 'two'; three strokes express 'three'. A vertical stroke expresses 'king' (王); adding a stroke to the right expresses 'chou' (丑); adding a stroke to the left expresses 'field' (田); extending upward expresses 'you' (由); extending downward expresses 'shen' (申). In this way, with variations and turns, its expressions are inexhaustible. Or a single character expresses immeasurable dharmas; immeasurable characters jointly express a single dharma; immeasurable characters express immeasurable dharmas; a single character expresses a single dharma. With slight variations in black ink, the meanings expressed differ vastly: turning left expresses evil; turning right expresses good; a dot above expresses the undefiled; a dot below expresses the defiled. Killing and reviving, giving and taking, praise and blame, suffering and pleasure—all reside within the ink; there is not a single dharma outside this ink. In brief, black ink expresses immeasurable teachings, immeasurable practices, and immeasurable principles. Black ink is also the root of teaching, the root of practice, and the root of principle. From an initial single dot to immeasurable dots, from dots to characters, from characters to phrases, from phrases to verses, from verses to scrolls, from scrolls to sections—moreover, from a single character or phrase, one first establishes minor practice and later manifests great practice; again, from dots and characters, one first sees shallow principle and later reaches profound principle. This is called the subtle unfolding of the three kinds—teaching, practice, and principle—of the color black. Furthermore, one should know that black characters are the root of all dharmas; blue, yellow, red, and white are also like this. They are neither characters nor non-characters, illuminating both characters and non-characters; they are ineffable, yet not ineffable; invisible, yet not invisible. What is selected? What is not selected? What is gathered? What is not gathered? What is abandoned? What is not abandoned? If right, all are right; if wrong, all are wrong. Being able, through the color black, to penetrate all that is wrong, to penetrate all that is right through all that is wrong, to penetrate all that is neither wrong nor right—all dharmas are perverse, and all dharmas are correct. If one does not understand the color black in this way, one will not understand characters and non-characters, blue, yellow, red, and white, the obstructive and non-obstructive—one will understand none of them. If one penetrates through the color black, one knows that other colors are also like this. This is the meaning of the Lotus Sutra taking form as the sutra. Sound objects are also like this: sometimes a single sound expresses a single dharma. For those whose ear faculty is sharp, they understand that the causes and conditions of loving or seeing sound are identical with emptiness, identical with the provisional, and identical with the middle; they know that lips, tongue, teeth, and palate are all ungraspable. Sound is non-sound; non-sound is also sound; it is neither sound nor non-sound. Sound is the root of teaching, practice, and principle, and its various meanings are all as explained above: this is penetrating the sound sutra. Fragrance, taste, touch, and so forth are also like this. A sutra says: 'All worldly livelihoods and productive enterprises are not contrary to the true mark'—this is the meaning. The external sense media (āyatana) are all sutras, pervading the dharmadhātu; the internal sense media are also like this; the internal-and-external sense media are also like this. A sutra says: 'One does not attain liberation through internal contemplation, nor does one attain liberation apart from internal contemplation,' and so forth. It also says: 'Being able to contemplate the mind-nature is called supreme concentration.' Mind is the substance. 'All who possess mind shall attain samyaksaṃbodhi': mind is the source. 'Bring the mind under control in one place, and nothing cannot be accomplished': mind is the function. 'The three realms have no separate dharma; they are made only by the one mind.' The mind of vitarka and vicāra is the root of speech. Distinguishing the mind through the mind, realizing the mind, is the characteristic of the teaching. Therefore it is said: flowers, fragrance, clouds, and trees are themselves the Dharma doors of the dharmadhātu; lands and sentient beings are originally the true substance of the ten bodies. Thus the Avataṃsakasūtra says: 'Know that all dharmas are the treasury of correct reflection.'