宗鏡錄 79.25

79.25

Answer: The Treatise on Manifesting Consciousness says: "Establishing vijñaptimātra is tentatively dismissing the object while retaining citta. To speak definitively: dismissing the object is for the purpose of emptying citta—this is its genuine intent. Therefore, when both object and consciousness are obliterated, that is the true nature, and the true nature is the amonavijñāna. This is why the Treatise on Consciousness is also called the Treatise on Refuting Form and Citta." The Treatise on Buddha-Nature says: "In the sūtras, the Buddha used the magician as a metaphor. The Buddha addressed Kāśyapa: 'For instance, Kāśyapa, just as a magician conjures various illusory forms, and the illusory tiger that he conjures turns around and devours the magician—in this way, Kāśyapa, a practitioner monk who engages in contemplation, whichever object he contemplates, it manifests as purely empty. Thus it truly has no existence, being empty without reality. How can he attain freedom from these two extremes? By relying on the manovijñāna, he generates vijñaptimātra-wisdom. vijñaptimātra-wisdom is the wisdom that [realizes] dust-objects lack substance. If vijñaptimātra-wisdom is perfected, it can then in turn extinguish its own fundamental manovijñāna. Why is this? Because dust-objects lack substance, the manovijñāna does not arise. Because the manovijñāna does not arise, vijñaptimātra naturally ceases. Therefore, the manovijñāna is like the magician, and vijñaptimātra-wisdom is like the illusory tiger. Because the manovijñāna can generate vijñaptimātra, when the vijñaptimātra contemplation is perfected, it can in turn extinguish the manovijñāna. Why? Because dust-objects and the rest do not exist, the manovijñāna does not arise. This is like the illusory tiger turning around and devouring the magician.' As Master Deva said in a verse: 'The manovijñāna is the root of the three realms of existence; consciousness-objects are its cause. If one sees that dust-objects lack substance, the seeds of existence naturally perish.'" The Ru Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: "Merely not grasping objects is called the extinction of consciousness; it does not actually extinguish consciousness. Why? Because objects are fundamentally empty, transformed out of consciousness; and because consciousness lacks substance, there is no need to extinguish it." Therefore, the conscious mind has no substance; it follows the presence or absence of objects. Seeing emptiness, it produces emptiness; seeing form, it produces form. When phenomena arrive, it arises; when phenomena depart, it returns to nonexistence. As Master Chuanao said: "What is conditioned by deluded thought: when placed in a location where form exists, one does not see emptiness, but only sees form; in a location where form does not exist, one sees that there is emptiness. Conditioning existence or nonexistence is also like this: when conditioning existence, one sees the existent mind arise and sees the nonexistent mind cease; when conditioning nonexistence, one sees the nonexistent mind arise and sees the existent mind cease. These are all objects conditioned by deluded thought. Furthermore, on phenomena there are no phenomena; fundamentally they are entirely citta. When thought arises, dust-objects are born; when thought is quieted, dust-objects cease." As the Awakening of Faith says: "Because all form dharmas are fundamentally citta, there is truly no external form. Yet since there is no external form, there is also no external space. If space is still nonexistent, how could form exist?" The treatise says: "If there were no form, there would be no characteristic of empty space." The commentary explains: "Fundamentally, space depends on form to be space; now since there is only citta and no form, how could there still be space?" Therefore, one knows that the myriad dharmas all exist in mutual dependence. If one enters the mirror of the source, naturally all dharmas transcend dependence and return to the fundamental true mind. Hence the treatise says: "What are called all objects arise deludedly from citta alone. If citta is free from deluded movement, then all objects cease; there is only the one true mind, which pervades everywhere."