宗鏡錄 45.26

45.26

Answer: There are two kinds of faith. First, if right faith is firm and solid, clearly understood without doubt, rational contemplation distinct and clear, and both the vehicle and the precepts pursued with equal urgency, then in this single lifetime it can be accomplished; who would speak of regression? Second, if it is faith reliant on generic comprehension, where the power of contemplation is coarse and unstable, habit-energy heavy, and external objects dominant, then upon encountering conditions one will indeed regress. As the Huayan Lun says: According to the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, merely hearing the two words "eternally abiding" prevents falling into the hells for seven lifetimes; as the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says, even if one hears the Tathāgata's name and the Dharma he expounds without generating faith and understanding, it still forms a seed and one will inevitably attain liberation and buddhahood. Why then do sūtras say that at the stage of the sixth dwelling citta, and in the faith stages from the ordinary person onward, there is still said to be regression? How can this intention be reconciled? The explanation states: within the ten faiths, superior understanding is not yet completed; not having attained, one claims to have attained, thereby generating arrogance, not associating with virtuous friends, and not respecting the wise and virtuous. Because of arrogance and laxity, dwelling long among humans and devas, evil karma arises, which can accomplish karma for the great hells. If in one faith one is not arrogant and constantly seeks superior friends, there will be no such fault. If it is the sixth dwelling citta of the provisional teachings, there can be a stage of regression; in the real teaching, for those who are stalled and lagging, it reproaches them to urge them to advance in practice. Just as Śāriputra manifested as a śrāvaka and was not a real śrāvaka, the expedients he practiced were all to deliver sentient beings and cause them to advance and exert themselves. As in the provisional teachings, the sixth dwelling citta can be said to be real regression. Why? Because the three groups of sages prior to the bhūmis have not seen the Path at all; the activities they cultivate are all conditioned, and whatever avidyā they have is merely suppressed. If their power is not strong, they regress. If their suppression is forceful, they also do not regress and lose [attainment]. Just as a snake possesses venom, but through the power of a mantra the venom cannot arise. One need only plant the seed of faith in the Buddha-dharma, be humble and without arrogance, and respect and defer to the wise and virtuous; toward all evil people, the mind should always be compassionate and forbearing; from all who surpass oneself, inquire and receive what has not yet been heard; practice without falsehood the superior Dharma heard; eradicate all falsity according to the teachings; and constantly exert oneself without resting in the path of sambodhi. As the way for a human life, it naturally should be so. So long as one lives without increasing evil, why should one worry about regression? The Huayan Shu states: For those whose profound mind, faith, and understanding are constantly pure, believing that kleśas are themselves bodhi is what constitutes constant purity. Because one generates the bodhicitta in accord with one's fundamental nature, one is originally a Buddha, with nowhere further to advance. As if in empty space, where could one regress to?