宗鏡錄 41.27

41.27

Answer: This is the foremost teaching, the peerless exposition. Even if one studies it without attainment, one's merit still surpasses that of humans and devas; even if one hears it without believing, it still plants the seed of bodhi. The golden mouths of the ten directions join in praising it; the Mahāyāna sūtras all record it fully. The Lotus Sūtra says: 'A single thought of rejoicing [with it] receives the prediction of unsurpassed bodhi; receiving and upholding a single verse is entirely equivalent to making offerings to the Tathāgata.' An ancient commentary on the 'Manifestation Chapter' of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra states: 'The purports of the text of this chapter are grand and profound, capable of being sudden and capable of being perfect; they fathom the original source of sentient beings and exhaust the deep ocean of all buddhas. Within the fundamental wheel of Dharma, it further abides at its very heart; born into the lineage of the golden wheel, one is furthermore an heir apparent. It is the wondrous among the wondrous, the mysterious among the mysterious. Yet both reside within the minds of common mortals; with little effort one can swiftly realize it—how could one deceive oneself and not accept it? Now, hearing and understanding it with joy, one especially ought to rejoice in oneself.'

Therefore, know that whoever aspires to this Dharma and gives rise to a mind of faith and joy—at the very instant a thought arises, they have already become a true child of the Tathāgata; at the very moment they begin dedication, they achieve unsurpassed bodhi. Undertaking slight study, they equal superior sages; expending subtle effort, they obtain great fruits. They compress three asaṃkhyeyas into a single thought; they consummate the myriad virtues in a small achievement. It is like an elder obtaining a maṇi jewel: giving it away throughout the future without end. It is like a small state obtaining a wheel-turning king's treasure: utilizing it throughout the dharmadhātu without exhaust. Mañjuśrī and Bhaiṣajyarāja present incense and flowers to attend standing by; Śākyamuni and Prabhūtaratna jointly rejoice and certify. Wherever one arrives, people touch their heads to one's feet as though meeting the Sugata; where a single verse is spoken, a stūpa is raised fit to be a treasure sanctuary. How could its Dharma benefits be exhausted? Its merits are infinite!

The Commentary on the Avataṃsaka states: 'Those who cultivate the power of faith and understanding constantly believe that self and others, commoners and sages, are of one substance, identical in tathatā, without any abode of reliance, without self and without what belongs to self; because mind and objects are equal and without dual characteristics. All commoners and sages are fundamentally only the dharmadhātu, without fabricated nature; abiding in reliance upon truth, they abide in non-abiding. Together with all buddhas and sentient beings, they share the single wisdom of the one mind, abiding in the true dharmadhātu of nature. All conceptual distinctions are the original immovable wisdom of all buddhas. Commoners and sages are one reality, sharing this wisdom together. Completely believing that one's own mind is the Buddha's sarvākārajñatā and all-knowledge, outside the mind there is no separate mind that believes in the Buddha, nor inside one's own mind does one see one's own mind possessing the characteristics of a buddha. Thus, believing in such a Dharma, even if one's own power is not yet complete, through this, this person obtains all superior rewards among humans: clothing and food arrive along with one's thoughts. Moreover, not only is the primary reward fulfilled, but the secondary environment is also fully complete, and even the sentient and insentient all submit and accord. Having attained the root of the dharmadhātu, what phenomenon would not comply?'

As the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: 'Then King Mahāprabhā said: "Good sons, I have purely cultivated the bodhisattva's banner-practice of great compassion; I have fulfilled the bodhisattva's banner-practice of great compassion... Furthermore, good sons, the sentient beings living in this city of Prabhāvatī are all bodhisattvas who have aroused the resolve for the Mahāyāna. According to their minds, what they see is different: some see this city as narrow and small in extent; some see this city as broad and vast in extent; some see earth and sand as its ground; some see myriad jewels adorning it; some see mounds of earth as walls; some see jeweled walls surrounding it all around; some see its ground full of tiles and stones, high and low, uneven; some see immeasurable great maṇi jewels ornately adorning it, flat like the palm of a hand; some see dwellings made of earth and wood; some see palaces, halls, multi-storied pavilions, stairs, balustrades, windows, doors, verandas, and latticework, all of which are nothing but wondrous jewels.

"Good sons, if there are sentient beings whose minds are pure, who have planted roots of goodness in the past, offered to buddhas, aroused the resolve to proceed toward the path of all-knowledge, taking all-knowledge as the ultimate destination, and whom I formerly gathered in while cultivating the bodhisattva practice, then they see this city adorned and purified with myriad jewels; the rest all see it as defiled.

"Good sons, all sentient beings in this land, in the age of the five turbidities, take pleasure in doing evil deeds. With a mind of pity and compassion, wishing to save and protect them, I enter the portal of the samādhi that accords with the worldly, headed by the bodhisattva's great compassion. When I enter this samādhi, all those sentient beings' fearful minds, harmful minds, hostile minds, and disputatious minds—such minds as these—all naturally dissolve and vanish. Why is that? Because entering the worldly-according samādhi headed by the bodhisattva's great compassion has such a Dharma-nature. Good sons, wait just a moment and you shall see for yourselves."

'Then King Mahāprabhā immediately entered this samādhi. The inside and outside of the city quaked in six ways. All the jeweled grounds, jeweled walls, jeweled halls, jeweled palaces, towers, multi-storied pavilions, steps, and windows—all such things emitted wondrous sounds and all bowed in reverent salutation toward the king. All the inhabitants residing in the city of Prabhāvatī without exception simultaneously leaped with joy, and all went to the king's presence and threw their entire bodies to the ground. All the multitudes of people from villages, encampments, cities, and towns all came to see the king, rejoicing and paying reverent homage. The birds and beasts dwelling near the king looked upon one another, aroused minds of kindness and compassion, and all came before the king to bow respectfully. All the mountains, plains, grasses, and trees without exception turned and paid homage toward the king. Pools, springs, wells, rivers, and oceans all welled up and flowed before the king.'

The Commentary on the Awakening of Mahāyāna Faith (*Śraddhotpādaśāstra-ṭīkā*) states: 'The merits one creates are dedicated to three places: first, tathatā; second, the Dharma of the one mind; third, original enlightenment and buddha-nature. These are named the three. For what purpose are they dedicated to these three places? In order to make the merits one creates equal, one dedicates them to tathatā. Or, in order to make the merits one creates vast, one dedicates them to the one mind. Or, in order to make the merits one creates clear and distinct, one dedicates them to original enlightenment. One should know thus, one should contemplate thus. What benefit is there in such dedication? It is said to be manifold. What does this mean? It is like taking a single dust mote and placing it within the great earth: the placed dust mote and that great earth are equal and without difference. The Dharma portal of dedication is also like this. Furthermore, it is like taking a single stream of water and placing it into the great ocean: the placed stream of water and that great ocean are equal and without difference. The Dharma portal of dedication is also like this. Furthermore, it is like breaking a small existence, and it instantly becomes equal and without difference from great space. The Dharma portal of dedication is also like this. Having explained the gate of expanding merits to make them vast, next is explained the gate of universal benefit bestowed upon sentient beings. The statement "universally benefiting all realms of sentient beings" is the gate of universal benefit bestowed upon sentient beings, meaning that by holding up broad, great, and perfect merits, one pervasively benefits the realm of sentient beings.'

A verse says:
'The Great Being Pramuditā with devoted mind exhorts:
Amid the ocean-multitude of immeasurable children of the Buddha,
I have already transcended the three angles of a hair's tip,
Surpassed the four roots of the emerging flower;
The first incalculable [eon] is roughly completed,
The second asaṃkhyeya is just beginning to enter the non-existent.
As is fitting, all you children of the Buddha,
With both your left and right hands,
Hold up the bright mirror of the fundamental consciousness,
Facing the countenance of the seven consciousnesses' dispersed thoughts,
See the defilements of the six dust-realms,
And wash away the faults of attachment to dharmas and personal self.
If you, children of the Buddha, act like this,
The three bodies of dharmakāya, saṃbhoga, and nirmāṇa
Will appear before you in perfection, like the unfolded letter *i*;
The four virtues of permanence, bliss, self, and purity
Will all be brought forth, as if entering Lake Anavatapta.
From the Sovereign Abode of the Four Heavenly Kings,
I descended into the palace of the dragons in the great sea;
Peering into the ocean of sūtras as my capacity allowed,
There were a total of one hundred lakṣas in number.
Such true Dharma of all the sūtras,
With their immeasurable and boundless differentiated meanings,
Are all included, established, and fully expounded
Within the doctrine set forth by the Mahāyāna Treatise.
If there is a good man or good woman
Who with their own hands holds this scroll of scripture,
They are called "one who holds the sūtra of a hundred lakṣas";
If with their own mouths they recite this portion of the scripture,
They are called "one who recites the sūtra of a hundred lakṣas".
The merit obtained by this person
Is such that buddhas and assemblies of great bodhisattvas
Numbering as the dust motes of the worlds in the ten directions,
Each putting forth tongues numbering as dust motes,
During as many kalpas as these dust motes,
Ceaselessly praising it, could not exhaust it—
How much less contemplating its principles and meaning,
And reflecting on what is expounded beneath the text!'

Therefore, if someone, in this Mirror of the Source, gives rise to even the slightest thought, has an instantaneous flash of intent, happens to touch it with their hand, or gazes at it briefly with their eyes, these all become causes for entering the Way, completely forming the seed of the One Vehicle. Because it is the correct instructions of the patriarchs and buddhas, the fundamental source of the sūtras and treatises, high in the sky of nirvāṇa, deeply fathoming the ocean of prajñā. Furthermore, herein the text is concise and the meaning rich; the source is abundant and the principle complete. When searching it, every sentence penetrates completely to the root source; when compiling it, each part everywhere contains the essential import. How much more so for those who have faith and understanding, awaken and enter, cultivate with correct mindfulness, transcribe, receive and uphold, explain and disseminate it! Its merits and fruits can be measured only by the buddhas; they are beyond reckoning, and how could praise ever reach them?