宗鏡錄 8.5.6

8.5.6

Or both illuminate and both are quiescent; refutation and establishment are of one boundary; blocking and illuminating occur simultaneously. As the Commentary on the Zhaolun states: "Now, relying on the treatise, there are altogether four intentions to reveal the principle of perfect roundness: first, refuting the real to reveal the empty; second, refuting the empty to reveal the provisional; third, refuting only-empty and only-provisional to reveal both-empty and both-provisional; fourth, refuting both-empty and both-provisional to reveal neither-empty nor provisional. This then is the middle way, and only then is it termed 'perfect roundness.' Yet all four treatises possess perfect roundness. Now, in discerning them one by one, we will temporarily treat them according to four meanings: first, regarding the object; second, regarding wisdom; third, regarding the fruit; fourth, regarding object, wisdom, and fruit together. / First, regarding the object: the *Buzhenkong lun* states: 'Because it accords with and penetrates things, no thing goes against it.' This refutes the real to reveal the empty, dispelling the attachments of ordinary beings. 'Being immediately false it is immediately real, and therefore its nature never alters.' This refutes the empty to reveal the provisional, dispelling the attachments of the śrāvakas. Because its nature never alters, though non-existent it is existent. Because no thing goes against it, though existent it is non-existent. This then refutes both existence and non-existence, revealing both-empty and both-provisional, discerning the realm of the bodhisattva. Though existent it is non-existent—this is the so-called 'not existent.' Though non-existent it is existent—this is the so-called 'not non-existent.' This refutes both-empty and both-provisional, dispelling the attachments of the bodhisattva, revealing the middle way, the supreme emptiness, the realm of the Buddha. This, then, is the perfect roundness of the object. / Second, regarding wisdom: this is the *Bore lun*. If, through prajñā-wisdom, each is distinct, the realms of emptiness, provisionality, and so forth would then become mental measure; it would only be having wisdom, and one would fail to capture the intention of 'no wisdom.' Now, regarding the knowing of the preceding wisdom: whatever is an object must be perfectly round. The treatise says: 'Speaking of knowing is not making it [ordinary] knowing; it is intended to convey its penetrating mirror.' This refutes the ordinary being's attachment to knowing characteristics, and discerns non-knowing. 'Not knowing is not non-knowing; it is intended to discern its characteristic.' This refutes the śrāvaka's non-knowing, discerning that there is nothing of which it is unaware. Discernment of characteristics does not constitute non-existence; penetrating mirroring does not constitute existence. This refutes both knowing and not knowing, revealing neither knowing nor not knowing. Because it is not existent, knowing is non-knowing. Because it is not non-existent, non-knowing is knowing. This refutes neither knowing nor not knowing, discerning both knowing and non-knowing. Although the preceding four meanings are stated sequentially, they are all in one mind, neither identical nor separate. This may indeed be called the perfect roundness of the Buddha's wisdom. / Third, discerning regarding the fruit: this is the *Niepan lun*, which says: 'Abiding does not constitute existence.' This refutes nirvāṇa with remainder, dispelling the śrāvaka's attachment to permanence. 'Perishing does not constitute non-existence.' This refutes nirvāṇa without remainder, dispelling the śrāvaka's attachment to annihilation. Perishing does not constitute non-existence: though non-existent it is existent. Abiding does not constitute existence: though existent it is non-existent. This doubly refutes existence and non-existence, revealing both-existent and both-non-existent. Though existent it is non-existent—this is the so-called 'not existent.' Though non-existent it is existent—this is the so-called 'not non-existent.' This refutes both-existent and both-non-existent, revealing neither-existent nor non-existent, so as to reveal the middle way, the realm of the Buddha: non-abiding nirvāṇa. The fruit is perfectly round. / Fourth, discerning regarding the combination of object, wisdom, and fruit: this synthesizes the previous treatises. The first two treatises present the characteristicless realm of ultimate truth as true emptiness. The prajñā that can contemplate true wisdom is the root of the myriad practices, constituting wonderful existence. It is as when an object evokes wisdom, and through wisdom the object is revealed; object and wisdom mutually reveal each other, constituting both-empty and both-existent. In the *Niepan lun*, the three virtues are mutually merged, object and wisdom are non-dual, neither severed nor permanent, constituting neither-empty nor existent. This may be termed the ultimate fruit of nirvāṇa. This is the intention of the Tathāgata's entire teaching; because all are perfectly round, it completely exhausts the profound ocean of the Buddha-Dharma." / Therefore, know that true emptiness is difficult to understand; one must subtly grasp its orientation. If one follows the literal texts of emptiness and existence, all fall into wrong views. As a verse in the *Aṅgulimālīyasūtra* says: / "Just like a foolish man / who, seeing hail, conceives a deluded thought, / supposing it to be lapis lazuli beads; / having taken them, he carries them home, / puts them into a jar, / and guards them like true treasure. / Before long, they all melt away, / and with the thought of emptiness he remains silent. / Toward other, real lapis lazuli, / he also forms the thought of emptiness. / Mañjuśrī is also like this: / cultivating extreme emptiness and quiescence, / always engaging in thoughts of emptiness, / he destroys all phenomena. / Liberation is truly not empty, / yet he forms the thought of extreme emptiness, / just like seeing the hail melt / and erroneously destroying other realities. / You now are also like this, / erroneously giving rise to the thought of extreme emptiness: / having seen empty phenomena, / what is not empty you also call empty. / There are distinct phenomena that are empty, / and there are distinct phenomena that are not empty. / All the afflictions / are like that falling hail; / all that is unwholesome is destroyed, / just like the hail melting away. / Like the real lapis lazuli jewel— / this refers to the Tathāgata's permanent abiding. / Like the real lapis lazuli jewel— / this refers to the Buddha's liberation. / The form of space is the Buddha; / non-form is the two vehicles. / The form of liberation is the Buddha; / non-form is the two vehicles. / How can there be a characteristic of extreme emptiness, / and yet it be called true liberation? / Mañjuśrī should carefully contemplate: / do not have non-discriminating thoughts. / Just as an empty village, / a dried-up river, or a jar without water— / it is not that those vessels do not exist, / but being hollow inside, they are called 'empty'— / the Tathāgata's true liberation, / not being empty, is also like this. / Having transcended all faults, / liberation is therefore said to be empty. / The Tathāgata is truly not empty: / freed from all afflictions / and the aggregates of devas and humans, / it is therefore called empty. / Alas, the conduct of gnats and mosquitoes / does not know the meaning of true emptiness! / Non-Buddhists also cultivate emptiness; / the Nirgranthas should remain silent!" / Therefore, non-Buddhists grasp at annihilative emptiness, and the two vehicles realize mere emptiness; neither reaches the principle of true emptiness of the one mind. Therefore the *Wusheng yi* states: "When the sūtra says: 'Maintaining the mind like empty space,' it is not an annihilative emptiness. At that time there is still a wonderful spirit, which is to say there is the deliberation of wonderful consciousness."