宗鏡錄 55.15

55.15

Answer: A verse in the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi says: 'Relying upon the fundamental consciousness, / The five consciousnesses manifest according to conditions, / Either together or not together, / Just as billows rely upon water. / The mental consciousness constantly manifests and arises, / Except when born in the realm without thought, / And in the two thoughtless absorptions, / Sleep, and stupor.' / The 'fundamental consciousness' is the ādānavijñāna, because it is the root from which all defiled and pure consciousnesses arise. / 'Relying upon' means that the preceding six evolving consciousnesses take the fundamental consciousness as their common support. / The 'five consciousnesses' refer to the first five evolving consciousnesses, which are spoken of collectively because their types are similar. / The phrase 'manifest according to conditions' shows that they do not arise constantly. 'Conditions' refers to conditions such as attention, the faculties, and sense objects. This means that the collection of five consciousnesses internally relies on the fundamental consciousness, and externally relies on the assembly of various conditions such as attention, the five faculties, and sense objects before they can manifest. / Consequently, they arise 'either together or not together,' because the combination of external conditions may occur suddenly or gradually, just as the billows of water vary in quantity according to conditions. / The active aspects of the five evolving consciousnesses are coarse and fluctuating, and the various conditions they rely upon are mostly not complete at a given time; therefore, the times they arise are few, and the times they do not arise are many. / Although the sixth mental consciousness is also coarse and fluctuating, the conditions it relies upon are never absent, and it only fails to arise at certain times due to obstructing conditions. / The active aspects of the seventh and eighth consciousnesses are subtle, and the various conditions they rely upon are present at all times; hence there are no obstructing conditions that make them cease functioning entirely. / Furthermore, the collection of five consciousnesses is incapable of reflection and functions only at the outer gates; since their arising relies on many conditions, their interruptions are frequent and their actual manifestations are few. / The sixth mental consciousness is itself capable of reflection and functions at both inner and outer gates; it does not rely on many conditions, and except for five states, it is constantly able to manifest and arise. Therefore, its interruptions are few and its actual manifestations are frequent. For this reason, it is not said to 'manifest according to conditions.' / The commentary states: Regarding 'relying upon' meaning that the preceding six evolving consciousnesses take the fundamental consciousness as their common support, these preceding six consciousnesses take the fundamental consciousness as their common support, which is the manifesting fundamental consciousness, because all consciousnesses share it in common. The direct support is the seed consciousness, because their seeds are distinct. / 'The first five evolving consciousnesses are similar in type' has five aspects: first, they all rely upon material faculties; second, they all take material objects as objective support; third, they all cognize only the present; fourth, they are all obtained through direct perception; fifth, they all have interruptions. Since their types are similar, they are spoken of collectively. / Regarding 'just as the billows of water vary according to conditions,' the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra states: 'Just as in a great torrent of water, if the condition for the arising of a single wave manifests, only a single wave turns; up to if the conditions for the arising of many waves manifest, many waves turn. The various consciousnesses are also like this: like a torrent of water, relying on the ādāna, up to the various consciousnesses being able to turn,' and so forth. / This uses billows as a metaphor for the five consciousnesses, and the torrent of water as a metaphor for the fundamental consciousness. / The collection of five consciousnesses cannot reflect because it lacks vitarka and vicāra; it cannot arise on its own because it relies on being induced by others. / The sixth mental consciousness is itself capable of reflection and functions at both inner and outer gates; except for the five states—the realm without thought, the absorption without thought, the absorption of cessation, sleep, and stupor—it is constantly able to manifest and arise. / Furthermore, an ancient commentary states: 'First, it is like many waves: relying on one great ocean, many waves arise. Second, it is like reflections in a mirror: relying on one great mirror, many reflections arise. The ocean and the mirror serve as metaphors for the fundamental mental consciousness, while the waves and reflections serve as metaphors for the evolving consciousnesses. Within a single thought-moment, there are four activities: first, the activity of cognizing the receptacle world; second, the activity of cognizing the support; third, the activity of cognizing the self; fourth, the activity of cognizing objects. All these cognitions can be found to turn together moment by moment. Therefore, a single consciousness has such distinct functional activities in a single moment.' / As a verse in the Ghanavyūhasūtra says: / 'Like rushing lightning and floating clouds, / They are all deceptive and unreal; / Like a craftsman making vases and the like, / They are formed through conceptual discrimination. / O virtuous sovereign, you should listen attentively: / The sentient beings of the world / Have their minds constantly covered by latent predispositions, / Giving rise to various types of conceptual proliferation. / Manas and the mental consciousness, / Along with the continuity of all the consciousnesses, / The five dharmas, the three natures, / And the two kinds of selflessness / Are constantly associated together. / Just as the wind strikes a torrent of water, / Causing the waves of the various consciousnesses to arise, / And the waves arise with the current never halting, / The ālaya is also like this. / The beginningless latent predispositions / Are just like that torrent of water: / Moved by the wind of objects, / They give rise to the waves of the various consciousnesses / With never a moment of cessation. / The eight flowing minds, / Though without multiple substances, / Either arise suddenly according to conditions, / Or at times are generated gradually. / Grasping objects is also like this, / Differentiated as gradual or sudden. / The mind turns toward houses, / Sun, moon, and stars, / Branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits of trees, / Mountains, forests, and hosts of armies. / Toward such places, / It can be generated both gradually and suddenly, / Mostly manifesting suddenly, / Or arising gradually with distinctions. / If at times in a dream / One sees objects previously experienced, / And when conceiving of initial birth / Up to old age and death, / Numbers and various things, / Contemplating phrases and meanings, / Viewing distinct patterns and colors, / Or partaking of fine foods and drinks, / Toward such objects / It can cognize them successively, / Or at times arise suddenly / And be able to apprehend them. / The nature of the mind is fundamentally pure / And cannot be conceived; / It is the wonderful matrix of the Tathāgata, / Like gold residing within ore. / The manas is generated from the storehouse consciousness, / And the remaining six are also like this. / The consciousnesses are of six kinds or more, / Differentiated throughout the three realms. / The ālaya, that which perfumes, / And the remaining mental dharmas and such, / All defiled and pure seeds, / Though dwelling together, are without defilement. / The Buddha lineage is also like this: / Definite or indefinite, it is constantly pure. / Just as seawater constantly abides / While billows move and change, / The ālaya is also like this. / Corresponding to the distinctions of the various bhūmis, / Cultivation has lower, middle, and higher grades; / Abandoning defilement, it becomes clearly evident.' / The above extensively clarifies that the mental faculty, in cognizing objects and discriminating them, is the most powerful among the consciousnesses. / Therefore, in all good and evil, the mind is the forerunner; the mind arises with swiftness; the mind precedes speech. When the mind is good, phenomena are correct; when the mind is evil, the objective sphere is aberrant. / It is like a single breath: inhale it and it is warm, blow it out and it is cold. It is like a single body of water: chill it and it congeals, warm it and it melts. How much more so the one mind: indulge it and it is ordinary, broaden it and it is sagely! Although its transformations differ, its true nature is never diminished. / As the Aṅgulimālīyasūtra says: 'Mind is the forerunner of dharmas; mind is supreme, mind-produced. With purified faith in the mental dharma, whether speaking or acting, happiness naturally follows oneself, like a shadow following the form. I spoke this verse for the Śrāvakayāna. / "Mind" means the sense of the tathāgatagarbha. If self-nature is pure, mind is the tathāgatagarbha, supreme over all dharmas; all dharmas are produced by the tathāgatagarbha. And through purified faith in the mental dharma, all kleśas are severed, because the self-realm is seen. If one has purified faith in oneself having the tathāgatagarbha, then when speaking or acting, at the time of attaining Buddhahood, whether speaking or acting, one delivers all the world. Just as a person sees their shadow, seeing the tathāgatagarbha is also like this. Therefore, it is said to follow along like a shadow. / "Mind is the forerunner of dharmas; mind is supreme, mind-produced. With evil in the mental dharma, whether speaking or acting, manifold sufferings naturally follow oneself, like a wheel following the tracks." This verse speaks of the meaning of kleśa. Evil in the mental dharma means being covered by immeasurable kleśas and committing various evils; hence it is called evil. When the naturally pure mind, the tathāgatagarbha, enters into the sense of immeasurable kleśas, it is agitated and turbid without rest; therefore, whether speaking or acting, all manifold sufferings constantly follow without interruption. / "Like a wheel following the tracks" means that all evils accumulate, turning the cycle of saṃsāra, so that all sentient beings are in the three evil destinies like a wheel following the tracks. Therefore it is said: for those who are sluggish in merit, the mind takes delight in evil dharmas.' / The explanation says: If in a single thought the mind is pure, seeing the nature of the tathāgatagarbha, one can deliver oneself and deliver others, experiencing the bliss of quietude and cessation, like a shadow following the body. If in a single thought the mind is evil, entering the net of defilement and falling into the various destinies, one undergoes the suffering of saṃsāra, like a wheel following the tracks. / The metaphor of the shadow following represents never being separated; the metaphor of the wheel's tracks represents revolving with great speed. / Therefore, good and evil follow the mind without ever being interrupted. If one sees correctly, there is liberation right where one is. / For this reason, the Mahāyāna Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitāsūtra says: 'Therefore, the bodhisattva observes the five hindrances: from what cause do they arise, and how are they cast far away? The bodhisattva should first contemplate that sensual desire is like the moon in water: when the water moves, the moon moves; when the mind arises, dharmas arise. The mind of greedy desire is also like this, never abiding from thought to thought, swiftly arising and swiftly ceasing.' / The Mahāyāna Mūlajātahṛdayabhūmidhyānasūtra says: 'With a pure mind as the root of good karma, and with an unwholesome mind as the root of evil karma: because the mind is pure, the world is pure; because the mind is impure, the world is impure. In my Buddhadharma, the mind is taken as the master; among all dharmas, there is none that does not come from the mind.' / For instance, when Jyotika was born in the midst of fierce fire, the fire could not harm him; the Buddha said: 'This is the child's karmic retribution, not my doing.' Thus we know that it is created by one's own mind, and cannot be altered by another's power. Then the path of rising and falling is not far off; the retributions of black and white are present right here. Although the karmic retributions of good and evil are different, they all manifest from the mirror of the mind of conceptual discrimination. / As a verse in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: / 'Just as an image in a mirror, / Though seen, does not exist, / So does the mind-mirror of habituation see; / Ordinary people say there are two. / Not knowing it is only mind that is seen, / They therefore discriminate two; / If one knows only mind as it truly is, / Discrimination does not arise.' / Thus we know that if one truly recognizes the mind, just like seeing the reflection of one's own face in a mirror, one will ultimately never falsely give rise to grasping toward external dust. Once the bond of characteristics is untied, the ocean of karma is completely dried up. / As the Bhadrakalpikasūtra says: 'Extinguishing all existing karmas / And beholding the source of all sentient beings: / This is called wisdom.'