宗鏡錄 78.13

78.13

Answer: Inside samādhi and outside samādhi, although stillness and disturbance differ, the rūpa that is seen is in all cases only one's own vijñāna. Because external objects have no substance, they arise from conditions; the nature of arising is fundamentally empty, and no characteristics can be apprehended. The Vijñāna Treatise says: "Like the practitioner's realm of rūpa characteristics seen within samādhi, which is manifested by vijñāna, there is definitely no objective realm. These rūpa characteristics such as blue are objects of samādhi, not the vijñāna of recollection. The vijñāna of recollection is defiled, whereas this rūpa that arises and is seen right before one is clear and pure. Thus the import of vijñaptimātra is even more apparent here. Just as, relying on the surface of a mirror, there is only one's own face and no separate reflection—why? Because the principle of the combination of all phenomena is inconceivable, causing imperceptible phenomena to be seen. The concentrated mind is also like this: the concentrated mind has two divisions, one division resembling vijñāna and one division resembling dust-objects. These two kinds are in reality only vijñāna. If the vijñāna of recollection were past rūpa, then this rūpa within samādhi—if in the five vijñānas of a distracted mind—could be said to arise by cognizing present external dust-objects; if in the distracted manovijñāna, it would arise by cognizing past dust-objects. But if one is in contemplation, it definitely cannot cognize external rūpa as its object. The rūpa is present right before one, yet it does not cognize a past object. One should know that the rūpa cognized by the concentrated mind is just seeing one's own citta, not seeing a separate object." Comparing rūpa inside samādhi with rūpa outside samādhi, one should know that outside there is also no separate object. Thus we know that the one mind is the ten thousand phenomena, and the ten thousand phenomena are the one mind. Why? Because the one mind is unmoving, and its entire substance constitutes the ten thousand phenomena. As the Commentary on the Awakening of Faith says: "'Entire substance' means that tathatā in its entire substance becomes arising and ceasing; arising and ceasing have no nature of their own and are themselves tathatā. There has never been a place where tathatā is not arising and ceasing, nor has there ever been a place where arising and ceasing is not tathatā." It also says: "Not being the same as emptiness means numinous awareness. Awareness means spiritual comprehension. That which cannot be measured by yin and yang is called spiritual; comprehension is jñāna; jñāna is knowing; knowing is the one mind. Therefore, knowing is the substance of citta. Thus the ancestral master said: 'Upon the empty and quiescent substance, there is naturally fundamental jñāna capable of knowing.' The general meaning is: within all defiled and pure phenomena, there is a true substance, clearly perceiving and aware, which is designated as citta."