宗鏡錄 60.37

60.37

Answer: If there were no three natures, the ordinary and noble could not be established, the great causal conditions would be lost, and the faults of annihilation and permanence would occur. The Mahāyānasaṃgraha says: 'In the world, apart from the two dharmas of discrimination and dependency, there are no other dharmas. The ālayavijñāna is the dependent nature; all other dharmas are the discriminative nature. These two dharmas subsume all dharmas completely, because the three realms are only consciousness.' The Abhidharmasūtra states: 'The dharma of the three natures has a defiled portion and a pure portion. Those two portions are spoken of in relation to the dependent nature: the discriminative nature is the defiled portion, and the real nature is the pure portion. For example, in an ore of gold and earth, three things can be seen: first, the earth element; second, earth; third, gold. Within the earth element, earth is non-existent yet can be seen, while gold is truly existent yet cannot be seen. If burned with fire, the earth does not appear and the gold is revealed. Furthermore, within the earth element, when the characteristic of earth appears, it is the appearance of a false substance; when the substance of gold appears, it is the appearance of a pure substance. Therefore, the earth element has two portions. Just so, when this nature of consciousness has not been burned by the fire of non-conceptual wisdom, within the nature of consciousness the false discriminative nature appears, and the pure nature does not appear. If this nature of consciousness is burned by the fire of non-conceptual wisdom, within the nature of consciousness the truly existent pure nature appears, and the false discriminative nature does not appear.' Therefore, know that the false arises depending on the true, yet can conceal the true; the true is revealed by means of the false, yet can strip away the false. The true and the false have no [separate] substance; both rely on the nature of consciousness, just as earth and gold both rely on the earth element.