宗鏡錄 39

English (machine translation) 39

Language: English

39.1

Compiled by Yanshou, Chan Master Zhijue, Abbot of Huiri Yongming Monastery.

Now, the King of Awakening clearly commanded the ultimate aim of the great teaching: in the Dharma-ending age, bhikṣus must cultivate the path in the four applications of mindfulness. What is its meaning?

39.3

Answer: This comes from the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, as the final instruction handed down. It sums up all prior traces of teaching, which together converge on this point. For the four smṛtyupasthānas are precisely what is clarified in the Mirror of the Source: the body, sensations, citta, and dharmas of all sentient beings. As the sūtra says: “The Buddha addressed Ānanda: ‘As to your question regarding what one should rely upon and dwell in after the Buddha's nirvāṇa: Ānanda, one should rely upon the four smṛtyupasthānas, adorning the citta and dwelling therein. Contemplating the nature and characteristics of the body as identical to empty space is called the smṛtyupasthāna of the body. Contemplating sensations as being neither internal nor external, nor abiding in between, is called the smṛtyupasthāna of sensation. Contemplating the citta as having only a name, while the nature of the name is free [from substantiality], is called the smṛtyupasthāna of the citta. Contemplating dharmas as yielding neither good dharmas nor unwholesome dharmas is called the smṛtyupasthāna of dharmas. Ānanda, all practitioners should dwell relying upon these four smṛtyupasthānas.’ It also says: ‘For example, if a king dwells securely within his own territory, his body and citta are peaceful and happy; if he is in another’s territory, he incurs manifold sufferings. All sentient beings are also just like this: if they can abide within their own sphere, they attain peace and happiness; if they go to another’s sphere, they encounter evil Māra and suffer various afflictions. One’s “own sphere” refers to the four smṛtyupasthānas; “another’s sphere” refers to the five desires.’ The Kuśalamūlasaṃparigrahasūtra says: “The Buddha addressed Bhadrapāla: ‘At that time, all good persons should generate this thought: “We shall ourselves rely on the four smṛtyupasthānas.” As for the four smṛtyupasthānas, within the noble Dharma, all dharmas are called smṛtyupasthāna. Why is this? Because all dharmas eternally abide in their own-nature and cannot be destroyed.’” Since all dharmas are called smṛtyupasthāna, one therefore knows that phenomena are precisely citta, and citta is precisely phenomena; they are all of the same nature. How could they be destroyed? If there were two dharmas, they could destroy each other. A verse in the Mahāratnakūṭasūtra says: “One who attains the unmoving place / constantly abides in no place.” The unmoving place is the sphere of one’s own citta; this sphere is itself without any location. As the Vajrasamādhisūtra says: “The citta is boundless; no location is seen.” The commentary explains: “‘The citta is boundless’ means returning to the source of the one mind. The substance of citta is all-pervading: it pervades the ten directions, hence it is boundless; it encompasses the three times, hence it has no limit. Although it encompasses the three times, it has no distinction between past and present; although it pervades the ten directions, it has no location of ‘here’ or ‘there.’ Therefore it is said that ‘no location is seen.’” The Mahādīpadhāraṇīsūtra says: “Now, as for the smṛtyupasthānas, what is the meaning of ‘mindfulness’? One should know that this mindfulness is without contention, accords with the Dharma, tends toward equanimity, is far removed from wrong mindfulness, and is without shifting or diversity. It is purely the one mind, entering into unmoving samādhi. If one can be like this, it is called the meaning of ‘mindfulness.’” Just as Tiantai Zhizhe broadly expounded the true purport, propagating both the Great and Small [Vehicles] and elucidating both doctrine and contemplation, yet at the very end only composed the essay of the Guanshin lun (Treatise on Contemplating the Mind), his intention was likewise this. It is also like the ancestral master Bodhisattva Aśvaghoṣa, who broadly commented on sūtras and composed treatises, yet at the very end composed only a one-fascicle summary treatise titled Mahāyānaśraddhotpādaśāstra (Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna), which says: “There is a Mahāyāna that can awaken the faculty of faith in the Great Vehicle.” It establishes the two gates of the citta as tathatā and the citta as arising and ceasing, comprehensively discussing the one mind and distinctly opening substance and function. If one understands this overarching purport of the one mind, it is precisely the awakening of the faculty of faith in the Great Vehicle in all sentient beings. If one does not yet believe, even if one undertakes vast cultivation over immeasurable billions of kalpas, so long as one does not enter the correct source of the patriarchs and Buddhas, one is merely a nominal bodhisattva. Through the essential meaning of this single treatise, the extensive texts of the various sections are completely subsumed. Gathering the streams through the source, what would not be exhausted? This is also the overarching intention behind the compositions of all the sages, and the original intent of the Mirror of the Source. It is what all Buddhas know, what all the worthy realize, what all virtues are endowed with, what the ten thousand practices propagate, what the wondrous meanings expound, and what is ultimately tended toward. These four smṛtyupasthānas destroy the eight inversions: first, conceiving the impure to be pure; second, conceiving suffering to be pleasure; third, conceiving the impermanent to be permanent; fourth, conceiving the non-self to be self. These are the four inversions of non-Buddhists and ordinary beings. Furthermore, first, conceiving the pure to be impure; second, conceiving pleasure to be suffering; third, conceiving the permanent to be impermanent; fourth, conceiving the self to be non-self. These are the four inversions of the two vehicles. Together they constitute the eight inversions. Therefore, cultivating the contemplation of the four smṛtyupasthānas destroys the eight inversions, and entering parinirvāṇa therein is the original intent behind the appearance of the Buddhas of the ten directions in the world, the ultimate convergence into the secret treasury, and the place of finally casting off body and life. It corresponds precisely to the great purport of the Mirror of the Source: the Dharma gate of the one mind. The Fuxing ji says: “As for the contemplation of the four smṛtyupasthānas, each and every smṛtyupasthāna first clarifies emptiness and conventionality to destroy the inversions, and next, through the Middle Way, brings the secret treasury to completion. Self and other are both fulfilled, and the meaning encompasses both the Great and Small [Vehicles]. The statement that ‘both are destroyed’ means: since the secret treasury is revealed through the Middle Way, all four smṛtyupasthānas destroy the inversions. Why? Because being identical to emptiness, it destroys the inversion of permanence, with its meaning encompassing the Small [Vehicle]. Being identical to conventionality, it destroys the inversion of impermanence, with its meaning encompassing the Great [Vehicle]. With the Middle Way as the correct, it is therefore said that ‘its meaning encompasses both Great and Small.’ Because it is identical to the Middle, it simultaneously illuminates both Great and Small, and simultaneously negates both Great and Small. That is, it simultaneously illuminates and destroys the eight inversions. The three truths are mutually identical, with neither before nor after; the destruction has no sequential order—immediate destruction is immediate establishment, immediate illumination is immediate concealment. As for the four flourishing and four withering, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: ‘The eastern pair illustrates permanence and impermanence; the southern pair illustrates pleasure and non-pleasure; the western pair illustrates self and non-self; the northern pair illustrates purity and impurity. There is a pair in each of the four directions, hence they are called the twin trees.’ On each side, one withers and one flourishes. Flourishing illustrates permanence and so forth; withering illustrates impermanence and so forth. The Tathāgata lay down in their midst with his head to the north and entered parinirvāṇa, manifesting neither withering nor flourishing. Flourishing manifests conventionality; withering manifests emptiness. That is, entering the secret treasury precisely between emptiness and conventionality. The Latter Section Sūtra says: ‘The eastern pair was behind the Buddha; the western pair was before the Buddha; the southern pair was at the Buddha’s feet; the northern pair was at the Buddha’s head. After he entered nirvāṇa, the eastern and western pairs joined into a single tree, and the southern and northern pairs also joined into a single tree. Both united pairs bowed down to cover the Tathāgata. The trees grew somber and completely turned white.’ Permanence and impermanence, and so forth, are two yet non-dual; permanence, bliss, self, and purity completely cover the dharmadhātu. Therefore, the two unions bowing down to cover the Tathāgata means that the Tathāgata accords with the secret treasury, and also that the smṛtyupasthānas are none other than quiescence. White is the root of all colors; permanence and so forth are called the root, hence it is said they ‘turned white.’ As for having the head to the north, the Ekottarika Āgama says: ‘It manifests the long abiding of the Buddha's Dharma in the northern heavens.’ The fourth fascicle of the Dīrgha Āgama says: ‘The Buddha addressed Ānanda: “Place my head to the south, facing north, so that the Buddha's Dharma may abide long and not be destroyed.”’ How much more so for the ultimate consummation of nirvāṇa—how could it not manifest the secret treasury? Throughout the teachings of an entire lifetime, of all that was manifested, nothing has texts and meanings more prominent than the twin trees. Because the four smṛtyupasthānas can serve as the initial gateway for the contemplations and practices of both the Great and Small [Vehicles], it was therefore so. The earnest bequest had its intent precisely here. Furthermore, ordinary beings simply consider the body pure, say sensation is pleasure, grasp citta as permanent, and calculate dharmas to be a self. Due to these four inversions, greed, attachment, and avidyā arise, whereupon there are formations up to old age and death. The accumulation of suffering is vast; the fires of eighty-four thousand kleśas burn the house of the five aggregates. Therefore the Lotus Sūtra says: ‘On four sides, fires suddenly burst out at the same time,’ which illustrates the four inversions. If a practitioner of the Hīnayāna contemplates, he contemplates the body as impure, destroying the inversion of purity; contemplates sensations as suffering, destroying the inversion of pleasure; contemplates citta as impermanent, destroying the inversion of permanence; contemplates dharmas as non-self, destroying the inversion of self. Thus, through the prior inverted mind that deludedly considered the body to be permanent, pleasant, self, and pure, greed, attachment, and the various kleśas arose. Now, having contemplated and known that the body is impure, and likewise suffering, impermanent, and non-self, he does not give rise to greed or attachment; avidyā, formations, and consciousness, up to old age and death, cease; the river of saṃsāra is drained dry, and the ocean of nirvāṇa is filled. This is precisely jostling and vying to escape the burning house and arrive at the place of fearlessness. For these reasons, he exhorted those of small practice to rely on the smṛtyupasthānas to cultivate the Way. The Mahāyāna four smṛtyupasthānas mean: contemplating the body of the five aggregates of saṃsāra as neither withering nor flourishing, which is the great quiescent concentration. The Nirvāṇasūtra says: ‘Rūpa is liberation and nirvāṇa… up to consciousness is liberation and nirvāṇa.’ If one cultivates this contemplation of the smṛtyupasthānas, it is precisely contemplating that all sentient beings of the six destinies are themselves the great nirvāṇa of permanence, bliss, self, and purity, fully endowed with the knowledge and vision of a Buddha. Just as Sadāparibhūta accomplished perfect faith, the sūtra says: ‘Giving to the lowest beggar in the city is equal to giving to the Tathāgata Durdharṣa.’ Thus, how could one discriminate between field and non-field, between what can be given to and what cannot be given to? Therefore, the contemplation of the smṛtyupasthānas is the seed of equality. If one does not cultivate it, one sees saṃsāra and nirvāṇa as different, and ordinary and noble as distinct. The noble being a field of reverence, one admires and gives to them; the ordinary being a field of compassion, one disdains them and will not bestow [gifts]. If one enters the Dharma gate of the smṛtyupasthānas of the one mind and the equal dharmadhātu, there is no discrimination. Now, as for the four smṛtyupasthānas: ‘smṛti’ (mindfulness) is the citta of contemplative wisdom; ‘upasthāna’ (base/dwelling) is the object illuminated by wisdom. Capacity and object fuse in unison, being solely the one mind. Now, relying on the Tiantai contemplation of the four smṛtyupasthānas, to briefly clarify the four smṛtyupasthānas according to the four teachings through the fourfold discrimination: If ‘neither suffering nor pleasure’ is concluded as arising-and-ceasing suffering and pleasure, up to ‘neither self nor non-self’ is concluded as non-self, this is the purport of the Tripiṭaka [Teaching]. If ‘neither suffering nor pleasure’ is concluded as the suffering and pleasure that is without suffering and without pleasure, it belongs to the Common Teaching. The Vimalakīrtinirdeśasūtra says: ‘Thoroughly penetrating the five aggregates of appropriation as empty and without arising is the meaning of suffering’—this is concluded as the contemplation of the smṛtyupasthāna of sensation. As in the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, the contemplation of impurity is itself the Mahāyāna because none [of the dharmas] can be apprehended. Contemplating form with this impure citta, one reflects: ‘My own body has not yet escaped this dharma, nor has it avoided birth in the three realms; it must still undergo hundreds of thousands of births and deaths’—hence it says ‘not yet escaped.’ Citing the ‘Extensive Vehicle’ chapter, it completes the contemplation of the smṛtyupasthāna of the body. ‘All dharmas neither arise nor cease’ is the meaning of impermanence; this is concluded as the contemplation of the smṛtyupasthāna of citta. ‘Being non-dual with respect to self and non-self’ is the meaning of non-self; this is concluded as the contemplation of the smṛtyupasthāna of dharmas. This is the purport of the Common Teaching. If taking ‘neither permanent nor impermanent’ to conclude as permanence; ‘neither defiled nor pure’ to conclude as purity; ‘neither suffering nor pleasure’ to conclude as pleasure; and ‘neither self nor non-self’ to conclude as self—this is the Distinct Teaching, where permanence, bliss, self, and purity cut off delusion and are realized through successive stages. If taking ‘neither defiled nor pure’ to simultaneously illuminate defilement and purity; ‘neither suffering nor pleasure’ to simultaneously illuminate suffering and pleasure; ‘neither permanent nor impermanent’ to simultaneously illuminate permanence and impermanence; and ‘neither self nor non-self’ to simultaneously illuminate self and non-self—this is concluded as the Perfect Teaching, cultivating with a perfect citta, entering nirvāṇa without cutting off kleśas. Furthermore, the previous three teachings—Tripiṭaka, Common, and Distinct—are not what is used here, which is why they were only briefly cited. Now I again broadly cite the text on the perfect four smṛtyupasthānas to assist the faith of later generations. The Sinianshu guan (Contemplation of the Four Smṛtyupasthānas) says: ‘Regarding the four smṛtyupasthānas: mindfulness is contemplative wisdom. The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: “Smṛti, saṃjñā, and jñāna are all different names for a single dharma. Initially collecting the citta is called smṛti; next, practicing it is called saṃjñā; finally, bringing it to completion is called jñāna.” Upasthāna (place) is the object. None are separate from sarvajñatā. The wisdom that contemplates illuminates yet is constantly quiescent: this is called mindfulness. The object contemplated is quiescent yet constantly illuminating: this is called place. The object being quiescent, wisdom is also quiescent; wisdom illuminating, the object also illuminates. The one characteristic is characteristicless; characteristiclessness is the one characteristic: this is the true characteristic. The true characteristic is the one true reality; it is also called the empty Buddha-nature, and it is also called mahāparinirvāṇa. Such object and wisdom are neither two nor different. The object of tathatā is precisely the wisdom of tathatā; wisdom is precisely the object. Expounding wisdom and the place of wisdom, both are called prajñā.’ Likewise by analogy it says: ‘Expounding the place and the wisdom of the place, both are called the object-truth. It is a non-object object, yet spoken of as an object; it is a non-wisdom wisdom, yet named wisdom. It is also called the samādhi of the quiescence of citta; it is also called the samādhi of the quiescence of rūpa; it is also the samādhi of illuminating citta; it is also the samādhi of illuminating rūpa.’ The Qing Guanyin jing says: ‘From the body issues great light of wisdom, like the burning of a purple-gold mountain.’ The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: ‘Light is precisely wisdom.’ The Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra says: ‘Inconceivable object of wisdom, inconceivable illumination of wisdom.’ These various sūtras all clarify that mindfulness is simply the place, and the place is simply mindfulness. Rūpa and citta are non-dual; they are two yet non-dual. Merely for the sake of transforming sentient beings are they nominally spoken of as two. This contemplative wisdom simply contemplates a sentient being’s single thought-moment of avidyā citta. This citta is precisely the dharmatā. Being produced by causes and conditions, it is immediately empty, immediately conventional, and immediately the Middle. The one mind is the three minds; the three minds are the one mind. This contemplation is also called sarvākārajñatā. This object is also called the one perfect truth. The one truth is the three truths; the three truths are the one truth. It is for this one great causal condition that the Buddhas appear in the world: desiring to cause sentient beings to open the knowledge and vision of a Buddha, the purpose of the Buddhas’ appearance in the world is fulfilled. The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: ‘The king's highway is level and smooth.’ The Wuliangyi jing says: ‘Traversing the great straight path without obstacles.’ The Lotus Sūtra says: ‘The fully endowed path.’ Although three wisdoms are spoken of, they are in truth the one mind; they are spoken of as three merely to explain them to people and make them easy to understand. Speaking in terms of the pedagogical path: the kleśas to be severed are like overturning the great earth, where rivers and seas are all overturned; like felling a great tree, where roots and branches all collapse. Severing delusion with this wisdom is also just like this: the dust-and-sand [delusions] and avidyā of the Common and Distinct teachings are purified all at once; immeasurable merits and the ten thousand practices and Dharma gates of the pāramitās are fully endowed without decrease; the secret treasury of the Buddha's Dharma completely manifests before one. The Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Sūtra says: ‘Although all dharmas are empty, the one mind is fully endowed with the ten thousand practices.’ The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: ‘The initial aspiration and the ultimate are not two distinct things.’ The Lotus Sūtra says: ‘The beginning and the end are ultimately equal.’ Being equal, it is called the equal path of wondrous enlightenment. One should know that this wisdom is the spiritual source of the citta of the dharmadhātu, the unsurpassed Dharma mother of the Buddhas of the three times. Because the Dharma is eternal, the Buddhas are also eternal; bliss, self, and purity are also just like this. It is also called the jewel place; it is also called the secret treasury: that to which the Buddhas and all beings equally return. The narrow path of the prior Tripiṭaka Teaching does not allow parallel travel; the Common Teaching is received together, practiced together, and entered together, but cannot enter deeply; the Distinct Teaching is roundabout and distant through successive stages, and cannot immediately arrive. Now, these smṛtyupasthānas are vast as empty space, bounding the boundless, like a straight plumb-line entering straight into the western ocean; therefore they are named the four smṛtyupasthānas of the Perfect Teaching. Zhang Heng said: ‘The soaring kun gazes up and cannot reach it, how much less the bluebird and the yellow sparrow!’ One should know that the prior three smṛtyupasthānas cannot attain it; only the perfect smṛtyupasthāna flies aloft and operates alone, soaring into the crimson skies. Unsurpassed, unequaled, equal to the unequaled: vertically having no higher canopy, it is called unsurpassed; horizontally having no peer, it is called equal to the unequaled. Equaling the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times, it is called ‘equal to the unequaled.’ To restate this meaning, one further cites Vasubandhu’s Vijñaptimātratāśāstra: ‘There is solely one consciousness; furthermore there is discriminating consciousness and non-discriminating consciousness. Discriminating consciousness is the consciousness of consciousness; non-discriminating consciousness is the consciousness resembling dust. Everything in the entire dharmadhātu—all vases, robes, carts, conveyances, and so forth—is non-discriminating consciousness.’ Nāgārjuna said: ‘The four smṛtyupasthānas are precisely the Mahāyāna; the Mahāyāna is precisely the four smṛtyupasthānas. All dharmas tend toward the smṛtyupasthāna of the body, which is a single nature. Rūpa can have discriminating rūpa and non-discriminating rūpa. As for discriminating rūpa: as in the statement, “Light is precisely wisdom.” Non-discriminating rūpa is the dharmadhātu: the rūpa formed by the four great elements is entirely non-discriminating and so forth.’ This is the non-duality of rūpa and citta. Since they could establish the names of the two consciousnesses, here we also establish the explanation of the two rūpas. If rūpa and citta are contrasted, apart from rūpa there is no citta, and apart from citta there is no rūpa. If one could not establish this discriminating rūpa and non-discriminating rūpa, how could one establish discriminating consciousness and non-discriminating consciousness? If expounded in the perfect manner, one can also speak of solely rūpa, solely sound, solely fragrance, solely taste, solely touch, or solely consciousness. If discussed synthetically, each and every dharma is fully endowed with the dharmadhātu. Because all dharmas are equal, prajñā is equal; internal illumination already being equal, external transformation is also equal. That is, the four siddhāntas accord with the sentiments of beings in terms of ease and difficulty.”

39.4

The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: "All phenomena are equally empty. Why is there a further need to employ the ten metaphors?"

39.5

[The Śāstra] answers: "There are two kinds of emptiness: first, emptiness that is difficult to understand; second, emptiness that is easy to understand. The ten metaphors are emptiness that is easy to understand. Now, emptiness that is easy to understand is used to illustrate emptiness that is difficult to understand." The purport of consciousness-only is also like this. Relying solely on consciousness-only, it completely possesses all Dharma approaches. Yet sentient beings are of two kinds: first, those who are largely attached to external form; second, those who are seldom attached to internal consciousness. For instance, in the higher realms they are mostly attached to internal consciousness, while in the lower two realms they are mostly attached to external form and seldom attached to internal consciousness. It is like learners who mostly acquire external interpretations. If one proceeds according to the treatises on consciousness-only, they demolish the external and direct toward the internal, causing the contemplation to become clear. The dharmas of the dharmadhātu are all the single consciousness. When consciousness is empty, the ten dharmadhātus are empty; when consciousness is provisional, the ten dharmadhātus are provisional; when consciousness is the middle, the ten dharmadhātus are also the middle. It exclusively employs the internal citta to demolish all dharmas. If one externally contemplates the ten dharmadhātus, one directly sees the internal citta. One should know that whether form or consciousness, all are consciousness-only; whether consciousness or form, all are form-only. Although we now speak of the two names 'form' and 'citta', in truth it is only a single thought of ignorance-[as]-dharmatā. The ten realms are simply the inconceivable one mind, which is endowed with all phenomena produced by causes and conditions. In a single phrase, it is called 'the citta of a single thought of ignorance-[as]-dharmatā'. If explained extensively, four phrases make up a gāthā: namely, the citta produced by causes and conditions is identical to the empty, identical to the provisional, and identical to the middle. Therefore the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says: 'To uphold a single four-line gāthā is equal to the space of the ten directions.' The Lotus Sūtra says: 'If one hears even a single gāthā, one is also given the prediction of bodhi.' A single phrase is also like this; three phrases are likewise. Now, merely contemplating this one mind is inconceivable: the ten realms are constantly present before one, entering the Dharma-gate of the mind-ground. Thus, without rising from the site of serenity, one manifests bodies in the eight assemblies. It is merely a single phrase; within the single phrase there are immeasurable [dharmas], and within the immeasurable there is merely a single phrase. This is precisely because it is inconceivable. As with the citta, so with the buddhas; as with the buddhas, so with sentient beings. Citta, buddhas, and sentient beings—these three are not different. The liberation of all buddhas should be sought within the citta of sentient beings; the citta of sentient beings should also be sought within the liberation of all buddhas. Only then is it the ultimate prajñā, and so on. For those who have not realized it, all dharmas are correct, all dharmas are deviant. When one does not discriminate with the citta, then all dharmas are correct; if one discriminates with the citta, all dharmas are deviant. When the citta gives rise to thoughts, that is ignorance; when there are no thoughts, that is nirvāṇa. This inconceivable is neither blue, yellow, red, nor white, neither square, round, long, nor short; it is without name and without characteristic, ultimately quiescent. It must only be known in the citta; the mouth cannot express it. If there are causes and conditions and skillful means, through employing the four siddhāntas it may also be explained. Because for sentient beings across immeasurable kalpas, their citta of original nature is defiled without being defiled by kleśas, it is difficult to comprehend. Delusion and falsehood are called 'defilement'; defilement then veils the citta, so that one does not see the pure nature. For this reason, remaining long in saṃsāra, they cannot return to the source and revert to the origin. The origin is truly difficult to comprehend; the two vehicles do not even hear its name, much less ordinary beings. Now the Buddha creates for them the cause of habituation, like the jewel sewn [into the garment] at the time of the Buddha Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū, which only bore fruit at the time of Śākyamuni. He causes this seed to gradually accumulate through practice; later, encountering sounds and rays of light, this seed is brought forth, transforming the ordinary into the noble, gradually accumulating merits, fulfilling the mind of great compassion, so that all have already attained the Buddha Way. If this were not so, ignorance would veil the dharmatā, giving rise to the five aggregates of the ten dharmadhātus, piling up delusion upon delusion. If one can transcendently awaken, one gives rise to the five aggregates of the two vehicles, up to the Buddha's aggregates. A verse in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: 'The citta is like a skilled painter, / Producing the various five aggregates; / Within all worlds, / There is nothing that is not produced by the citta.' The various aggregates are produced by the citta alone. Contemplating that the citta of ignorance is ultimately non-existent, yet capable of bringing forth the various aggregates of the ten realms—this is precisely the inconceivable. As the Lotus Sūtra says: 'In a single thought of a dream-citta, practicing the cause and attaining the fruit.' Within a single thought of sleep, the citta of ignorance joins with the dharmadhātu-nature, giving rise to immeasurable kleśas; tracing these kleśas back, one directly attains the dharmatā."

39.6

Question: Both the Separate and the Perfect [Teachings] make this metaphor; how are they different?

39.7

Answer: The Separate is graded and separated, whereas the Perfect is complete in a single thought. Just as a mustard seed contains Mount Sumeru, it is therefore called inconceivable. In a single dust mote there is a scroll of scriptures of the great trichiliocosm; a wise person breaks open the dust mote and brings forth the scriptures. This is the single thought of ignorance-citta having defiled dharmas and having wisdom dharmas. The kleśas are evil dust, good dust, and indeterminate dust; breaking them open brings forth the dharmakāya, prajñā, and liberation. The Lotus Sūtra says: 'Such natures and characteristics are equal.' One realm, ten realms, hundreds of thousands of dharmadhātus—all are ultimately equal. Now, contemplate from where this citta of ignorance arises: Does it arise from ignorance? Does it arise from the dharmatā? Does it arise from both combined? Does it arise from their separation? Whether from self or from other, all four are ungraspable; this is called the liberation-gate of emptiness. Merely contemplate whether the nature of the citta is existent or non-existent, whether combined or separate, whether permanent or annihilated: the four inversions cannot be found; this is called the liberation-gate of signlessness. Merely consider whether this nature of the citta is real or conditioned, whether combined or separate: it is not produced by the four alternatives; this is called the liberation-gate of wishlessness. When there is no arising yet arising is spoken of, these are the natures and characteristics of the ten dharmadhātus. The nature of ignorance is precisely the real nature; it is also said that ignorance is precisely illumination, and illumination is also ungraspable. This is entering the Dharma-gate of non-duality. Sentient beings are merely deluded and inverted, failing to see the no-citta of the citta, so that illumination becomes ignorance. Furthermore, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'Not long afterward, the king fell ill again. The physician divined the king's illness and determined that he should drink milk.' The king represents the sentient beings of the eight inversions. His falling ill afterward means that the initial inversions were subdued, but later inversions arose; hence it says 'not long afterward.' That he definitely should drink milk means that the method of the four blooms should be bestowed. This is precisely the purport of the present [four] foundations of mindfulness. Again, it is like a person who smears a drum with poison and beats it amidst a crowd: those near die, while those far away do not die yet. Later, when the poison drum is beaten, both near and far die. The initial smearing was the four witherings, merely withering the portioned [saṃsāra]; hence it is said that they did not die yet. Now the four blooms are smeared, severing the root of ignorance; hence both near and far die. This is also the purport of the present four foundations of mindfulness. Again it says: 'Like a bird leaving its cage, it only just manages to escape the net; now both birds fly together, soaring high and departing far, free to go or stay.' This is precisely the purport of the present four foundations of mindfulness. Again it says: 'Initially withering saṃsāra, it could not illuminate the Buddha Dharma, could not awaken sentient beings, had no efficacy in the Buddha Dharma, and offered no benefit to sentient beings; hence it is called the withering twin trees.' Now, the Buddha Dharma is perfectly revealed, greatly benefiting sentient beings. All who have citta shall become buddhas: eight thousand śrāvakas attained the sight of the Buddha-nature, like an autumn harvest and winter storage bringing forth the great fruit. Hence it is said that the four blooms adorn the twin trees. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says: '[The calf] is not allowed to eat dregs of wine or wheat chaff, does not run together in the same herd with a bull, is not kept on high plains, nor in low wet ground.' 'Low wet ground' refers to the four inversions of ordinary and heterodox views. 'High plains' refers to the four inversions of biased and one-sided views. 'Dregs of wine' is delusion; 'wheat chaff' is anger; 'a bull' is greed. Choosing the central plain, [the mother cow] settles her calf there. The Lotus Sūtra says: 'Honestly setting aside skillful means, / I preach only the unsurpassed Path.' And: 'After a long time, the dharmas of all buddhas / must ultimately expound the real truth.' The 'real truth' is neither saṃsāra nor nirvāṇa, without deviation or bias, without crookedness or inversion. 'O noble person! Showing the jewel formerly tied [in the garment].' 'O come and go! The jewel cache is close at hand.' Therefore, manifesting the traces from the origin, together with the retinue of the dharmakāya, concealing the real and displaying the provisional, hiding the high and setting out the low, they jointly transform sentient beings, demonstrating the correct path, secretly maintaining the inner while externally manifesting, revealing and uncovering so that they may enter the marvelous—this is precisely these four foundations of mindfulness. What is called 'four' is an inconceivable number: one is identical to the immeasurable, and the immeasurable is identical to one. Each and every one is the dharmadhātu, fully endowed with the three truths, encompassing all dharmas; outside the dharmadhātu there are no further dharmas. The dharmadhātu has no dharmadhātu, yet is fully endowed with the dharmadhātu; although there are no dharmas, it is fully endowed with all dharmas. This is an inconceivable number. In the Avataṃsaka it says: 'A single dust mote contains all dust motes and all dharmas; in a single thought it contains all thoughts and all dharmas.' Dust is form, and thought is citta; form and citta are merely different names for the foundations of mindfulness. The Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra says: 'The four foundations of mindfulness are precisely the Mahāyāna; the Mahāyāna is precisely the four foundations of mindfulness.' Within a single foundation of mindfulness, there is no duality and no distinction with the other three foundations of mindfulness. All dharmas converge upon the four foundations of mindfulness; this converging does not surpass them. Since the foundations of mindfulness are themselves ungraspable, how could there be converging or not converging? This also shares the inconceivable purport. The Samantabhadra-dhyāna Sūtra says: 'Contemplating that the citta has no citta, and that dharmas do not abide in dharmas, is called the great repentance.' Contemplating the citta being so, contemplating form is also like this. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'The Buddha-nature is also one, not one, not not-one, and not not-not-one.' 'Also one' means that all sentient beings are of the One Vehicle. 'Not one' means that the three vehicles are taught. 'Not one and not not-one' means that numbers and non-numbers are not determinate. Therefore one should know that with the number four, it cannot be determined; it is precisely the inconceivable four. Furthermore, if one does not practice the Path relying on the four foundations of mindfulness within the mirror of the source, even if one possesses intellectual understanding and engages in cultivation, it will all become heterodox paths. Therefore it is said: 'If one lacks mindfulness and wisdom, all practices are not the Buddha Dharma and one is not a practitioner of the Path.' All have shaved their heads in vain, like herdsmen; they wear dyed robes in vain, like wooden banners. Although they hold the bowl and tin staff, they are like the begging gear of a sick person; although they read and recite the sūtras, they are like a blind person reciting a poem; although they bow and prostrate, they are like a pestle going up and down; although they erect buildings, they are plying a trade and performing hired labor; planting trees and trading goods, they sink into saṃsāra, entangling themselves like silkworms in cocoons, with no time of liberation. Relinquishing their bodies, lives, and wealth, it can only be called 'giving' (dāna), not a pāramitā. Although they maintain the precepts, they do not escape [the rebirth of] dogs and chickens. Although they are vigorous, their vigor lacks grace and beauty. Although they sit in meditation, they are like stump-like logs. Although they have knowledge and understanding, it is frenzied and crazed wisdom; they constantly remain on this shore and never reach the other shore. Not subduing attachment and views, not breaking the grasping of characteristics, they cannot enter the aids to the Path, do not belong to the stages of the worthy and noble, do not accomplish the four withered trees, and it is not a pāramitā. Why is this? Because they lack mindfulness and wisdom. For mindfulness and wisdom can break the deviant and manifest the correct. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'The milk medicine of the old physician was actually poison. It was like an insect eating wood, accidentally forming characters; the insect did not know whether they were characters or not. There was a new physician coming from a distant land who understood the eight methods, namely the four witherings and the four blooms; with the new four witherings he broke the old milk.' The Lotus Sūtra says: 'The great fire arose from four sides'—this is precisely the purport. Hence, with the eight distinct methods he breaks the deluded paths of the eight inversions; through the marvelous gate of the one mind, he enters the sarvākārajñatā of the One Vehicle."

39.8

Question: This marvelous mind of the equal dharmatā and One Vehicle is endowed equally by all sentient beings, śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and all buddhas. Why is it that in the realms of ordinary beings and the like, this single numinous nature thought after thought abides in saṃsāra, whereas in the Śrāvakayāna, sharing in this identical single Dharma, they do not attain this matter?

39.9

Answer: It is like gold in a yellow stone, brought to completion through the conditions of a furnace fire fueled by merit: if a person of great merit [works it], they obtain gold; a person of middling merit obtains silver; a person of inferior merit obtains copper. This is just like that: ordinary persons obtain only kleśa and avidyā; śrāvakas merely realize impermanence, arising, and ceasing; only buddhas and bodhisattvas attain ultimate, permanent bliss, nirvāṇa. As the Mahāsaṃnipātasūtra says: 'It is like a vessel for lighting a lamp: if gold, it gives a yellow light; if copper, it gives a red light. Although their colors differ, the lamp is without distinction. The dharmadhātu is also like this: when buddhas light it, its light of wisdom is boundless; when śrāvakas light it, its light of wisdom is bounded. Yet the nature of the dharmadhātu truly has no distinction.' Furthermore, the single dharma of the mind is subtle and profound; views have shallow and deep, and wisdom is divided into superior and inferior. One must rely on extensive learning to reach the source of phenomena. The Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra says: 'Those who do not practice and study cannot comprehend this.' An external text says: 'If jade is not carved, it does not become a vessel; if a person does not study, they do not know the Way.' One need only firm one's resolve, constantly listen to what has not yet been heard, and through perfuming and cultivation the power of contemplation will grow deeper, while through polishing and tempering the gate of practice will become purer. Constantly give rise to the thought that it is difficult to encounter, and one's practice of the Way will remain ever fresh; long harbor a joyous and fortunate mind, and in the end there will be no falling back. Therefore the Avataṃsakasūtra says: 'Day and night, the bodhisattva wishes only to hear the Dharma, delights in the Dharma, enjoys the Dharma, relies on the Dharma, accords with the Dharma, understands the Dharma, follows the Dharma, arrives at the Dharma, abides in the Dharma, and practices the Dharma. Seeking the Buddha-Dharma with such diligence, the bodhisattva has no begrudging attachment to any precious wealth; they do not see any object as hard to obtain or worth prizing, but only produce the thought that a person who can speak the Buddha-Dharma is difficult to encounter. Therefore, in seeking the Buddha-Dharma, the bodhisattva can relinquish and give away internal and external wealth; there is no reverence they cannot practice, no arrogance they cannot abandon, no service they cannot perform, and no hardship they cannot endure. If they hear a single phrase of the Dharma not heard before, they produce great joy, surpassing the obtaining of the great trichiliocosm filled with treasures. If they hear a single gāthā of the true Dharma not heard before, they produce great joy, surpassing the obtaining of the rank of a wheel-turning king. If they obtain a single gāthā of the Dharma not heard before that can purify the bodhisattva practice, it surpasses obtaining the rank of Śakra or a Brahmā king, abiding for immeasurable hundreds of thousands of kalpas. If someone were to say: "I have a single phrase of Dharma spoken by the Buddha that can purify the bodhisattva practice; if you can now enter a great pit of fire and undergo extreme suffering, I will give it to you," the bodhisattva at that time would think: "Because of a single phrase of Dharma spoken by the Buddha that purifies the bodhisattva practice, even if the great trichiliocosm were filled with a great fire, I would still wish to cast myself down from atop the Brahmā heaven to personally receive it; how much more so an insignificant pit of fire, which I could certainly enter! Indeed, for the sake of seeking the Buddha-Dharma, I should now undergo all the sufferings of the hells, not to mention minor afflictions among humans." Bodhisattvas generate such diligent vigor to seek the Buddha-Dharma, and observe and practice in accordance with what they have heard. Having heard the Dharma, this bodhisattva gathers the mind, abides in peace, and in an open, quiet place reflects: "Only by practicing as taught does one attain the Buddha-Dharma; it cannot be purified merely by the words of the mouth."' Again, a verse in the Chapter on the Practices and Vows of Samantabhadra says: 'The ocean of wisdom is vast and hard to measure; / failing to fathom it, one instead increases slander. / A cow drinks water and it becomes milk; / a snake drinks water and it becomes poison. / The wise study and it becomes bodhi; / the foolish study and it becomes saṃsāra. / Failing to comprehend in this way / comes from the fault of scant learning.' A gāthā in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: 'Some take amṛta / and damage life, dying young; / some take amṛta / and attain longevity. / Some take poison and live; / some, due to conditions, take poison and die. / The amṛta of unimpeded wisdom / is the so-called Mahāyāna scriptures. / Such Mahāyāna scriptures / are also called mixed poison. / Like clarified butter, ghee, and the like, / as well as various rock candies, / if digested when taken, they are medicine; / if not digested, they become poison. / The Vaipulya is also like this: / for the wise it is amṛta; / the foolish do not know the buddha-nature, / and taking it, it turns into poison.' Furthermore, it is like the nature of fire in wood, or the nature of curd in milk: if conditions are not yet complete, its presence is the same as absence. The buddha-nature of sentient beings is also like this: if one does not study and does not know, it is not that one does not become a buddha. As the Vajrasamādhisūtra says: 'Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha said: "Venerable One, knowing existence to be unreal is like the water of a mirage; knowing the real to be not non-existent is like the arising of the nature of fire. If one contemplates like this, is this person wise?" The treatise commentary explains: 'As the sūtra says: "If one says phenomena exist, this is an error and delusion like the water of a mirage; if one sees phenomena as non-existent, this is an error like a blind person [asserting there is] no sun. Therefore one knows the real is not non-existent." The meaning of "not non-existent" is like the arising of the nature of fire; that is, just as there is the nature of fire in wood, yet if one analyzes and seeks it, one does not find the characteristic of fire, but it is truly not non-existent—the nature of fire in the wood, when drilled and sought, will inevitably manifest—the one mind is also like this: analyzing all characteristics, one does not find the nature of mind, but the mind within all phenomena is truly not non-existent; when one cultivates the Way and seeks it, the one mind becomes manifest.' Therefore, within the realm of sentient beings, from beginningless time, internally they are tethered by the five skandhas, and externally they are shackled by the six sense dusts. At every turn, conditions appear; wherever the eye rests, passions arise. Like a monkey stuck in five places, like a water beetle clinging to every speck of dust. Therefore, their seeing does not transcend the realm of form, and their hearing does not go beyond the sense dust of sound. Like a fish thrown into a net, like a bird kept in a cage, their advance and retreat are both blocked, like a ram butting a fence; terror and fear arrive together, like swallow chicks nesting in a curtain. If one can know that dust is consciousness and realize that things are only mind, one will not be bound by duration or brevity, and how could one be turned by great or small? One will then be able to manifest traces in accord with conditions, responding to resonance and complying with capacities, without moving from the bodhimanda yet dividing one's body throughout the dharmadhātu, constantly here yet ever there, not abiding in a location yet not departing from a location. Entering this gate of the source is vast like this: it gathers the traces of distinctions and penetrates to the source of equality. Like Mount Vajra, pure with golden light; like the lion king, surrounded by lions; like within the Malaya mountains, producing only sandalwood; like in a campaka forest, smelling only fragrance; comparable to the southern face of Sumeru, where no mixed forms appear; like the great river of golden sand, without any more bends; identical to the power of the vajra axe, where whatever it aims at is reduced to emptiness; equal to the sunlight without obscuration, where everything it shines upon is illuminated. It is like the realm manifested within the Jeta Grove in the Chapter on Entering the Dharmadhātu, where a gāthā says: 'You should contemplate this Jeta Grove: / by the Buddha's spiritual power it is boundless, / all adornments are displayed, / filling the dharmadhātu of the ten directions. / All the lands of the ten directions / with great adornments of boundless varieties, / within the realm of its seats and the like, / all appear clearly in form and image.' It is also like within the hall of the Vairocana Treasury of the maiden Samantamukhā: within every wall, every pillar, every mirror, every characteristic, every form, every maṇi jewel, every ornament, every golden bell, every jewel tree, every jewel image, and every jewel necklace, one sees all the tathāgatas of the dharmadhātu, from their first resolve, cultivating bodhisattva practice, fulfilling great vows, completing virtues, attaining equal and right awakening, turning the wondrous wheel of Dharma, up to displaying their entry into nirvāṇa—all such images appear without exception, just as in pure water one universally sees the space of the sky, the sun, moon, stars, constellations, and all images. It is also like within the residence of the elder Ratnacūḍa, who attained the bodhisattva liberation gate of the inexhaustible treasure of merits: his residence was vast and broad, with ten stories and eight gates. After Sudhana entered, he observed them in sequence, seeing on the lowest story the giving of food and drink; on the second story, the giving of precious garments; on the third story, the giving of all precious ornaments; up to seeing on the tenth story all the tathāgatas filling its interior, from their first resolve, cultivating bodhisattva practice, transcending birth and death, fulfilling great vows, and their spiritual powers, purifying buddha-lands, the assemblies of the bodhimaṇḍa, turning the wheel of the true Dharma, and subduing sentient beings—all of this was seen clearly. Explanation: The boundlessness of the Jeta Grove, the manifestation of the Vairocana Treasury, and the vastness of Ratnacūḍa's residence are all the inconceivable mind, harmonizing and encompassing without obstruction. The ten stories are the ten pāramitās; the eight gates are the eight limbs of the noble path; up to displaying buddha-activities within all ornamental implements—all are the Dharma-gate of the one mind. Substance and function are all-pervading; layer upon layer, they reveal the Way; one by one, they bring forward the source. Because those who are deluded do not awaken and are not clear, and because those who cling make them conditions and objects: just as a blind person does not see, yet it is not that the patterns of the five colors do not exist; just as a deaf person does not hear, how could the sounds of the five notes be cut off? It is also like the śrāvakas in the Jeta Grove not knowing, and the hungry ghosts not seeing the water in the Ganges River: these are all obstructed by their own karma, not that the Dharma is hidden. I now urge those who have not yet awakened to enter directly through observing and listening, like hearing an echo in a valley, where in the end there is no different sound; like seeing a form in a mirror, which is no other substance. Clearly verifiable, it cuts off thought on its own; directly verified without doubt, what before and after is there? How could one say the sage is far away? Realizing it, one is immediately spiritual. How could one say the Way is far away? Touching affairs, it is genuine!

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宗鏡錄 — Classical Chinese