宗鏡錄 67.11

67.11

Answer: What is now called selflessness is spoken to destroy the erroneous grasping by ordinary beings and non-Buddhists who, confused about the principle of consciousness-only, falsely grasp that there are actual selves and dharmas outside the mind. As for what non-Buddhists grasp, there are roughly three classes: First, the Sāṃkhyas and others, who grasp that the substance of the self is permanent, pervasive, and equal in measure to space, creating karma and experiencing suffering, pleasure, and so on anywhere. Second, the Nirgranthas, who grasp that although the substance of the self is permanent, its measure is indeterminate, contracting and expanding according to the size of the body. Third, the Vāśīputrīyas [or wanderers], who grasp that the substance of the self is permanent and extremely subtle, like a single subtle atom, covertly moving within the body to perform activities. Because the remaining ninety kinds of imagined selves are not different from these three, all such false graspings are devoid of principle; they merely constitute the perverse thoughts of the five views. How could they be the same as the true self of the four virtues? As the Nirvāṇasūtra says: 'A non-Buddhist said: "As Gautama says that there is no self and nothing belonging to a self, for what reason do you also speak of permanence, bliss, self, and purity?" The Buddha said: "Good man, I do not say that the internal and external six sense bases, the six consciousnesses, and the manas are permanent, blissful, self, and pure. Rather, I proclaim that the cessation of the six consciousnesses produced by the internal and external bases is named permanent. Because it is permanent, it is named self. Because there is a permanent self, it is named bliss. Because it is permanent, self, and blissful, it is named pure." Now, the true self is the meaning of buddha-nature: eternally constant and unchanging, not produced by producing causes, complete and perfectly fulfilled, revealed only by revealing causes. Furthermore, as the sūtra says: 'At that time, the World-Honoured One praised the bhikṣus: "Excellent, excellent! You are well able to cultivate the perception of selflessness." Then the bhikṣus said to the Buddha: "World-Honoured One, we do not only cultivate the perception of selflessness, but we also cultivate other perceptions—namely, the perception of suffering, impermanence, and the perception of selflessness. World-Honoured One, it is like an intoxicated person whose mind is dizzy and confused, seeing mountains, rivers, stone walls, vegetation, palaces, houses, the sun, moon, and stars all spinning around. World-Honoured One, if there is someone who does not cultivate the perception of suffering, impermanence, selflessness, and so on, such a person is not called a noble one; having much heedlessness, they transmigrate in birth and death. World-Honoured One, for this reason, we skillfully cultivate such perceptions." At that time, the Buddha told the bhikṣus: "Listen attentively, listen attentively! The analogy of the intoxicated person you just cited shows you only know the words, but have not grasped the meaning. What is the meaning? Just as that intoxicated person sees the sun and moon above as spinning when in fact they are not spinning, yet produces the perception of spinning, sentient beings are also like this: covered by afflictions and ignorance, they give rise to inverted minds, imagining self to be selfless, permanence to be impermanent, purity to be impure, and bliss to be suffering. Because they are covered by afflictions, although they give rise to these perceptions, they do not grasp their meaning, just as that intoxicated person generates the perception of spinning where there is no spinning. 'Self' is the meaning of the Buddha. 'Permanence' is the meaning of the dharmakāya. 'Bliss' is the meaning of nirvāṇa. 'Purity' is the meaning of the Dharma. You bhikṣus, why do you say that one who has the perception of a self is conceited and arrogant, transmigrating in birth and death? If you say, 'I also cultivate and accumulate perceptions such as impermanence, suffering, and selflessness,' these three kinds of cultivation have no actual meaning. I shall now explain the superior method of the three cultivations: Imagining bliss in suffering, or imagining suffering in bliss, is an inverted dharma. Imagining permanence in the impermanent, or imagining impermanence in the permanent, is an inverted dharma. Imagining self in the selfless, or imagining selflessness in the self, is an inverted dharma. Imagining purity in the impure, or imagining impurity in the pure, is an inverted dharma. When there are such four inverted dharmas, that person does not know the correct cultivation of dharmas. You bhikṣus, generate the perception of bliss within dharmas of suffering; generate the perception of permanence within the impermanent; generate the perception of self within the selfless; generate the perception of purity within the impure. The worldly also has permanence, bliss, self, and purity; the supramundane also has permanence, bliss, self, and purity. Worldly dharmas have the words but not the meaning; supramundane dharmas have the words and have the meaning. Why is this? Worldly dharmas have four inversions, and therefore do not know the meaning. Why is this? There is inversion of perception, inversion of mind, and inversion of view. Because of the three inversions, worldly people see suffering in bliss, see impermanence in permanence, see selflessness in self, and see impurity in purity; these are called inversions. Because of inversion, the world knows the words but does not know the meaning. What is the meaning? Selflessness is named birth and death; self is named the Tathāgata. Impermanence is the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas; permanence is the Tathāgata's dharmakāya. Suffering is all non-Buddhists; bliss is nirvāṇa. Impurity is conditioned dharmas; purity is the correct Dharma possessed by all buddhas and bodhisattvas. These are called non-inversions. Because they are non-inverted, one knows the words and knows the meaning. If one wishes to stay far away from the four inversions, one should know such permanence, bliss, self, and purity." The explanation says: Now, being confused about the four realities and giving rise to the eight inversions is nothing other than the views of the two selves of persons and phenomena, which serve as the pivot of birth and death, act as the foundation of afflictions, form the cage of the nine entanglements, and open the karmic path of the ten proclivities. Although those of the two vehicles sever the personal self, they are constantly drifted about washed away by selflessness; non-Buddhists mistakenly recognize the conscious spirit and constantly transmigrate due to the false self. Therefore, the statement above that 'selflessness is named birth and death' is because they are ignorant of the gate of the one true self and lack the power of great mastery. 'Self is named the Tathāgata' because they have realized the wondrous principle of buddha-nature and arrived by following the path of suchness. 'Impermanence is the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas' because they cultivate the false causes of arising and ceasing and realize the lesser fruit of ashes and annihilation. 'Permanence is the Tathāgata's dharmakāya' because it enters the true source of immobility and accords with the wondrous substance of perfect permanence. 'Suffering is all non-Buddhists' because they employ useless austerities and fall into the perverse wheel of arising and ceasing. 'Bliss is nirvāṇa' because it severs the false source of the two kinds of death and enters the secret storehouse of the four virtues. 'Impurity is conditioned dharmas' because it accumulates the defiled dust of sentiment and forms the empty affairs of dreams and illusions. 'Purity is the correct Dharma possessed by all buddhas and bodhisattvas' because it is the ultimate, perfect explanation and treads the supreme path of the unconditioned. Therefore, non-Buddhists grasping the view of an existent self is like steaming sand to make rice, taking the false to be true. The two vehicles realizing the gate of selflessness is like grasping a stone as a pearl, taking permanence to be annihilation. Neither comprehends that within selflessness there is the true self. Furthermore, permanence, bliss, self, and purity are merely a single dharma: because the nature of mind is invariant, it is permanent; being permanent, it is blissful; being blissful, it is self; being self, it is pure. Because of not understanding that the nature of mind is permanently abiding, one falsely acts seeking separately outside the mind; because of acting, there is impermanence; because of impermanence, there is no bliss; because of no bliss, there is no self; because of no self, there is no purity. Why is this? Because with impermanence and flux, one purely experiences suffering—how could there be bliss? Since one does not attain bliss, one is constantly bound together and does not attain mastery—how could this constitute a self? Since one does not see the true self of buddha-nature and perpetually follows defiled conditions, how could one attain purity? The analysis above belongs entirely to a provisional phase of the teaching; one must not rigidly cling to existence or nonexistence here, becoming confused about expedient means. As the Guang baimen lun says: 'In order to halt perverse views that negate nirvāṇa, it is taught that there truly exist permanence, bliss, self, and purity. One should not rigidly grasp these expedient words. Neither grasping existence nor negating nonexistence—this alone is called liberation through correct wisdom.'