宗鏡錄 9

English (machine translation) 9

Language: English

9.15 — 7 parts

9.1

Compiled by Yanshou, Chan Master Zhijue, Abbot of Huiri Yongming Monastery.

9.2

Now, as for cultivation and awakening, the dharmas are as numerous as dust and sand. Why establish only the one mind as the source, and call it exceedingly wonderful?

Answer: If one does not comprehend the source of the mind, all becomes delusion and inversion; wherever one turns, obstacles arise, and there is no gate through which to realize entry. Just as in conventional truth there are also secret methods, where without obtaining the essential formula study will achieve nothing, whereas if one finds their gateway, whatever one undertakes will succeed. Now the teachings of the vehicles speak of secret teachings, while the Chan school puts forward a transmission outside scriptures—then along which path would one advance in cultivation, and through which gate would one enter? If one does not obtain the essential formula of mind-only, right faith can in no way be established. Yet as soon as one attains this source, thousands of gates open spontaneously; the Way is revealed immediately without need of seeking, and practice is rounded off naturally without relying on cultivation. It is like the earth encountering sunny spring, when sprouts burst forth in abundance. Thus it is said: 'Without the wisdom of contemplation, undertakings will not succeed.' Furthermore, this mind can accomplish everything and can destroy everything. When it accomplishes, it immediately accomplishes the natural, spontaneous Buddha. Hence Great Master Zhenjue sang: 'Therefore the gate of Chan clarifies the mind / And suddenly enters the power of the gentle forbearance of the unproduced.' Through this single gate of the unproduced, when one is accomplished, all are accomplished, extending even to the three bodies, the four wisdoms, the eight liberations, the six supernormal powers, the undefiled, the unconditioned, and the myriad practices of Samantabhadra—all are simultaneously perfected within the unproduced. Thus it is said: 'On first hearing the gate of the syllable A, one immediately understands all meanings'—namely, that all dharmas are unproduced. But when it destroys, it gradually destroys the gates of conditioned and unconditioned virtues. Hence the song says: 'Depleting Dharma-wealth and destroying merit / All stem from nothing other than mind, intellect, and consciousness.' Therefore know that this mind illuminates all subtleties without exception; whatever dharma exists, it knows. It scrutinizes the hidden and guards against the minute, fathoming the present and penetrating antiquity; hence it is called the 'Numinous Terrace.' Thus Sima Biao says: 'The mind is the terrace of the spirit.' Zhuangzi says: 'The myriad evils must not be admitted into the Numinous Terrace.'

9.4

The Commentary on the Vimalakīrti asks: 'In the profound meaning, contemplation of the mind is frequently elucidated in many places; this was already feared to be impermissible. Now in entering the text it is done again—will this not corrupt and throw into confusion the scriptural teachings?'

9.5

Answer: Preaching the sūtras is originally meant for entering the Way. If a worthy who embraces the Way practices contemplation at every point, how could there be one who seeks the sacred scriptures of nirvāṇa and yet does not practice contemplation? As long as skillful preaching is appropriate, not only will it do no damage to the text and meaning, but moreover contemplation and wisdom will become distinct and clear. When differentiating the Dharma gates, without contemplation, what could reach them? How could there be the fault of causing confusion and disorder? Whenever something is said, the meaning precedes the words. The original intention of the patriarchs and Buddhas was entirely to illumine the mind and arrive at the Way; using words and meanings as an expedient, they pointed directly to the mind-source. How could one cling to the explanation, lose sight of the intended meaning, turn one's back on the mind, and seek the Way? Therefore, a verse of the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthānasūtra states: 'Gods, nāgas, asuras, / hells, ghosts, and rākṣasas— / the mind is ever their guide and lord, / like a king walking through the three realms. / The mind leads one to go to heaven, / and also to walk among humans; / the mind leads one to the evil realms; / the mind turns the wheel throughout the world.' The Bao yu jing states: 'How does a bodhisattva attain skillfulness in śamatha and vipaśyanā? It is said that when this bodhisattva has attained skillfulness of mind, he observes that all phenomena are like an illusion and like a dream, and contemplates all phenomena: "These are wholesome phenomena, these are unwholesome phenomena; these are phenomena of renunciation, these are phenomena of non-renunciation." This means that bodhisattvas observe that all phenomena rely upon the mind: mind is their self-nature, mind is the foremost. Being able to gather in the mind, skillfully subdue the mind, and skillfully know the mind, they are therefore able to gather in all these phenomena. Having skillfully subdued it and also skillfully known it, by this cause and condition they are able to cultivate the method of śamatha. Tying the mind thus, stilling the mind thus, and settling the mind thus, because they diligently cultivate such śamatha, they are able to settle in the one-pointedness of mind.' The Hongdao guangxian dingyi jing states: 'That root of virtue is to understand and know the root of the mind; through this practice of the mind, loving-kindness reaches sentient beings. Consciousness understands that they are empty, devoid of self and person; that root of virtue of the mind assists and encourages on the Way.' Therefore we know that the mind is the root of virtue; this is the general characteristic. Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings are the three specific characteristics. Mind being the general characteristic means that the defiled and pure of the dharmadhātu, the myriad kinds and myriad phenomena, do not go beyond the one mind. This mind encompasses all mundane and supramundane phenomena; hence it is called the general characteristic. The remaining two conditions of defilement and purity each pertain to two categories. However, speaking of the general characteristic, within the ten dharmadhātus the six destinies are defiled and the four sages are pure; thus within the ten dharmadhātus the two conditions of defilement and purity, the two paths of ordinary beings and sages, both do not go beyond the one mind. Therefore the sūtra says: 'The mind can guide the world'—that is the meaning of sovereignty; 'The mind can universally gather in'—that is the meaning of accompanying action. The dharmas of such a single mind are all sovereign and accompanying action. The Commentary on the Vajrasamādhisūtra states: 'The cause of transcendence is entering the contemplation of true reality; the fruit of transcendence is the single-taste liberation.' Therefore we know that in the beginning one enters the Way through faith in the mind, and in the end one attains the fruit by realizing the mind; from beginning to end, it does not depart from the mirror of the source. Furthermore, a verse of the Laṅkāvatārasūtra states: 'Mind-only has no existence; / all conditioned actions as well as the Buddha-stage, / the past, future, and present Buddhas— / thus say those of the three periods of time.' The Xianjie dingyi jing states: 'Viewing all phenomena equally, / their roots and sources are all like this: / fundamentally true reality has no existence; / this is called the one mind.' The 'Chapter of Verses of Praise in the Yama Deva Palace' in the Avataṃsakasūtra states: 'Just as a master painter / distributes the various colors, / falsely grasping distinct colors, / while the great elements have no difference; / in the great elements there is no color, / and in color there are no great elements; / nor is color to be found / apart from the great elements. / In the mind there are no colorful pictures, / and in the colorful pictures there is no mind, / yet not apart from the mind / can colorful pictures be found. / That mind never abides, / immeasurable and hard to fathom, / manifesting all colors, / yet each does not know the other. / Just as a master painter / cannot know his own mind, / yet paints on account of the mind— / the nature of all phenomena is like this. / The mind is like a master painter, / able to paint all the worlds; / the five aggregates all arise from it, / there is no phenomenon it does not create. / As is the mind, so also is the Buddha; / as is the Buddha, so are sentient beings. / One should know that Buddha and mind / are both inexhaustible in essential nature. / If one knows the activities of the mind / that universally create all the worlds, / this person will see the Buddha / and understand the Buddha's true nature. / The mind does not abide in the body, / nor does the body abide in the mind, / yet it can perform Buddha-work, / sovereign as never before. / If one wishes to understand / all the Buddhas of the three periods of time, / one should contemplate the nature of the dharmadhātu: / everything is created by mind alone.' The commentary explains: 'This verse reveals comprehensive consciousness-only. This meaning of "not knowing each other" signifies that not only do the painted phenomena themselves not know each other—which illustrates that the transformed cognitive realm has no essential nature—but the mind that can paint, arising and ceasing from moment to moment, also does not know itself, and therefore also cannot know what is painted. It doubly illustrates that mind and realm are both without self-nature, each not knowing the other. Therefore it says, "cannot know his own mind, yet paints on account of the mind." Moreover, although it does not know the painting mind, yet on account of the mind it can paint; this illustrates that although sentient beings are deluded about the mind's direct perception, the mind nevertheless transforms into the cognitive realm. Furthermore, because it cannot know what is painted, but only paints upon its own mind, it can therefore bring about what is painted; this illustrates that only because sentient beings are deluded about the realm being mind-only can they manifest false realms. It also illustrates that precisely because there is no intrinsic nature, the myriad realms are brought about. Therefore it says, "the nature of all phenomena is like this." "One should contemplate the nature of the dharmadhātu" is the contemplation of principle as tathatā. "Everything is created by mind alone" is the contemplation of phenomena as consciousness-only. With the contemplation of principle regarding the nature of consciousness-only, the Buddhas realize this as the substance of becoming a Buddha; with the contemplation of phenomena regarding the characteristics of consciousness-only, sentient beings comprehend this as the gate of renunciation.' As the Huayan yanyi states: 'Truly, because the marvel of a single text gathers in the meanings without remainder, the efficacy of a single verse can shatter the hells. Thus Bodhisattva Samantabhadra told Sudhana: "In this ocean of my Dharma, there is not a single text or a single sentence that was not sought and attained by renouncing the position of a wheel-turning king, that was not sought and attained by renouncing all that one possessed."' The explanation says: 'Because the one is the one of the all, it accords with the one of the nature.' The Zuanling ji states: 'There was a man of the capital whose surname was Wang, but his personal name has been lost. He originally had no moral discipline and never cultivated goodness. Because of illness, he died and was led to hell by two men. In front of the hell gates, he saw a monk who said he was Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, who then taught him to recite the verse: "If one wishes to understand / all the Buddhas of the three periods of time, / one should contemplate the nature of the dharmadhātu: / everything is created by mind alone." After transmitting the sūtra to him, the Bodhisattva said to him: "If you can recite this verse, it can shatter the suffering of hell." Having recited it, the man went in to see the king [of hell]. The king asked: "What merit does this man have?" The reply was: "He only upheld a single four-line verse, fully as spoken above." The king then released him. When this verse was recited, wherever the sound reached, the suffering beings all attained liberation. Three days later, he revived; retaining this verse in memory, he related it to monks and laity. Examining and verifying the text of the verse, they only then knew it was spoken in the Avataṃsakasūtra in the Yama Deva Palace, where immeasurable bodhisattvas had gathered like clouds; it was precisely the verse of Bodhisattva Guṇavana. The meaning clarifies that hell is created by the mind; understanding that the mind creates Buddhas, hell naturally becomes empty.' Therefore we know that if one contemplates this mind, one leaves suffering behind at the words. Not only is the realm of hell shattered, but even the ten dharmadhātus are shattered all at once, because one enters the dharma of the single limit of true emptiness; then the equal, true dharmadhātu has neither Buddhas nor sentient beings. This is not some wondrous art or supernormal power, nor does it borrow from external power; it is because the Dharma is naturally so. One can verify one's own mind's inconceivable, divine, and marvelous power: high without a superior, abyss-like yet not deep, prolonged yet not long, brief yet not short, vast without characteristics, manifest without traces, existent yet not permanent, non-existent yet not annihilated. Its illuminated substance stands independently; according with the nature, it pervades everywhere. Wondrously inspiring the myriad things, it is therefore called divine; conceiving everything, it is therefore named the mother. Ruling and encompassing, its transformations are inexhaustible. Following its illumination, it forgets weariness, like a bright mirror reflecting images; responding to conditions without intentional action, like an empty valley transmitting sound. Abiding in the square, the square characteristics are clear; situated in the round, the round pattern is manifest. In awakening, awakening forms all Buddhas; falling into delusion, delusion makes sentient beings. Traces follow a thousand paths, yet the fundamental ground is unmoving. The Tiantai teaching says: 'The mind is like an illusion or transformation; it has only a name, named "mind." Just as one says it exists, one sees no physical form; just as one says it does not exist, thoughts and reflections arise again. Because it cannot be deliberated in terms of existence or non-existence, the mind is called subtle and marvelous. It is not that it is called subtle in contrast to the coarse; it is marvelous because it is beyond comparison.' Therefore Mahāsattva Fu called it the marvelous spirit, and also called it the marvelous consciousness. The marvelous spirit is precisely the dharmakāya Buddha; if there were no marvelous spirit, who would experience the joy of quietude and cessation? The Baozang lun states: 'Its action is form; its quietude is obscurity. Fundamentally pure, not polished; naturally so, completed by heaven. Its light surpasses the sun and moon; its virtue exceeds the Great Purity. The myriad things have no intentional action; all are nameless. It transforms heaven and earth; sovereign, unhindered. Its functions are like the sands of the Ganges; it is formed from primordial chaos. Who, hearing of it, would not rejoice? Who, hearing of it, would not be alarmed? How can an invaluable jewel be hidden in the pit of the aggregates and sense-fields?' Thus, realizing its substance, it is immediately subtle and divine, revealing the invaluable jewel; being deluded about it, it becomes coarse and dark, falling into the pit of the aggregates and sense-fields. Looking through the complete teachings, explanations cannot exhaust it; reverently looking up to all the sages, their praises are boundless. It can truly be called the mysterious gateway for entering the Way, the marvelous secret for becoming a Buddha; up to the causes and fruits of ordinary beings and sages, and the advancement in practice and stages, none can be accomplished apart from this mind. Agreeing with the nature of the mind, what virtue is not gathered in? Because all phenomena, according to what they rely on and abide in, are all completely perfected all at once in the one mind. How could such a matter not be the marvel beyond comparison? As the Fahua xuanyi says: 'Explaining the marvelous as beyond comparison has four aspects: First, arising from the three-tiered dharmas following feelings: if one enters the true truth, the paired contrast is terminated; thus Śāriputra said: "I have heard that in liberation there are no words." This is the meaning of being beyond comparison in the Tripiṭaka sūtras. Second, following the principle of the three kinds of provisionality: all mundane things are like illusions and transformations; phenomena are precisely the true, and there is not a single phenomenon that is not true; what else could one contrast with it as untrue? Looking back to that Tripiṭaka, what was terminated is not terminated; phenomena being precisely true is itself beyond comparison. This is beyond comparison in the Shared Teaching. Third, if the Distinct Teaching arises: looking at the termination in phenomena being precisely true, it is still the mundane truth. Why? Because it is not great nirvāṇa, it is still the mundane truth of birth and death; what terminated still has comparison. If one enters the Middle Way of the Distinct Teaching, comparison is terminated. Fourth, if the Perfect Teaching arises: it explains the non-differentiating Dharma; the extremes are precisely the Middle; there is nothing that is not the Buddha Dharma. Vanished and pure, how could the Buddha Dharma further contrast with the Buddha Dharma? It is the tathāgata-dharmadhātu; therefore, outside the dharmadhātu there are no further dharmas that can be compared with it. In contrast to what could it be coarse? In comparison to what could it attain subtlety? There is nothing that can be compared, nor is there anything to be terminated. Not knowing what to call it, one is forced to say it is beyond comparison. The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra states: "'Great' means immeasurable and inconceivable, therefore it is great. Just as empty space is not called great on account of small space, nirvāṇa is also like this: it is not called great nirvāṇa on account of small characteristics. Marvelous is also like this: 'marvelous' means inconceivable; it is not called marvelous on account of the coarse." If one asserts that there definitely is a dharmadhātu that is vast and uniquely absolute, this would be having a great existent; how could it be called terminated? Now the dharmadhātu is pure, not seen, heard, sensed, or known, and cannot be explained or shown. The sūtra says: "Stop, stop! There is no need to speak; my Dharma is marvelous and hard to conceive." "Stop, stop! There is no need to speak" means terminating words; "my Dharma is marvelous and hard to conceive" means terminating thought. It also says: "This Dharma cannot be shown; the characteristics of words are quiescent and ceased." This is also a text of terminating praise. It cannot be shown through comparison, nor can it be shown through termination; extinguishing comparison and extinguishing termination, therefore it is called quiescent and ceased. It also says: "All phenomena are ever of quiescent and ceased characteristics, ultimately returning to emptiness." This emptiness is also empty, so there is no longer comparison or termination. The Mūlamadhyamakakārikā states: "If a phenomenon is established through comparison, this phenomenon in turn becomes dependent." Now there is no cause of comparison, nor is there anything established. The opening sūtra of the Lotus [Sūtra] states: "Having attained the forbearance of non-arising, this non-arising is without arising; arising is itself non-arising: this is named beyond comparison." Outside of this, if one further acts, what thing is terminated? What principle is revealed? Wandering boundlessly, one then falls into frivolous discourse. This is the discrimination of deluded feelings: terminating comparison without terminating, neither terminating nor comparing, comparing to both comparing and terminating; words chasing each other will never terminate. Why? Words arise from vitarka and vicāra; if mental reflections do not cease, how could words terminate? Like a foolish dog chasing a clod of dirt, vainly exhausting itself, the clod never terminates. If one can marvelously awaken within the realm, stilling the wind of vitarka and vicāra, the mind-water becomes clear and calm, and words and thoughts are both terminated. Like a clever lion ignoring the clod to chase the person: once the root of the clod is removed, the clod is terminated. At the time of marvelous awakening, clearly knowing that outside the dharmadhātu there are no phenomena, discussing termination explains termination in terms of the gate of existence. This termination is also terminated: this explains termination in terms of the gate of emptiness. Like a swift horse seeing the shadow of the whip, there is none that does not gain entry; this is named the marvelous beyond comparison. Using these two marvels to render marvelous the above three dharmas: the dharmas of sentient beings also possess the two marvels and are called marvelous; the Buddha dharmas and mind dharmas also possess the two marvels and are called marvelous.'

9.6

Question: For what reason is "incomparable" used to explain "wondrous"?

9.7

Answer: It is simply that the wondrous is called incomparable; incomparable is an alternative name for wondrous, just as worldly people speak of someone as being "incomparably capable." Furthermore, the wondrous is that which can cut off [the coarse], and the coarse is that which is cut off; because this wondrous [state] has the efficacy of cutting off the coarse, "incomparable" is cited to name the wondrous. This "incomparable" does not mean extinction; it takes inexhaustibility as incomparable. As the Huanyuan guan states: "A single particle of dust produces inexhaustibility ubiquitously." Within a single particle of dust, there is both principle and phenomena, both person and dharma, both dependent and primary [reward], both defiled and pure, both cause and effect, both identity and difference, both that and this, both one and many, both broad and narrow, both sentient and non-sentient, both the three bodies and the ten bodies. Why is this? Because principle and phenomena are unimpeded, and dharmas are naturally so; because the ten bodies function reciprocally with sovereign application, this is exclusively the realm of Universal Eye. Among the phenomena mentioned above, each mutually accommodates and absorbs the other, each possessing a multiply inexhaustible realm. A sūtra verse says: / "The inexhaustible ocean of all dharma-gates / Together assemble within the bodhimaṇḍa of a single dharma. / In this way, they are successively and reciprocally established; / Only the person without impediment can awaken to this."

9.8

Question: According to what you have said, upon a single particle of dust, there is no principle that is not revealed, no phenomenon that is not harmonized, no text that is not interpreted, and no meaning that is not penetrated. How are students of practice in the present day to understand and awaken, reaching [the realization] that right upon a particle of dust all doubts are suddenly resolved? Moreover, upon a single particle of dust, what is defilement, and what is called purity? What is called the real, and what is termed the conventional? What is called saṃsāra, and what is nirvāṇa? What are called kleśas, and what is bodhi? What is called the Hīnayāna Dharma, and what is called the Mahāyāna Dharma? We request that you graciously resolve this for us, so that we may hear what we have never heard before.

9.9

Answer: When great wisdom is completely illumined, one gazes upon a minute tip of hair and contemplates the ocean of the nature; when the true source is brightly manifested, from the locus of a single particle of dust one looks upon the entire body. When the ten thousand dharmas manifest, it is necessarily simultaneous; in the one limit of principle, there is neither before nor after. Why is this? Because this illusory characteristic of a single particle of dust can obscure the real, it is defilement. Because the characteristic of dust is empty and without anything existing, it is purity. Because the original substance of the nature of dust is identical to tathatā, it is the real. Because this characteristic of dust is dependently originated and illusory existence, it is the conventional. Because the characteristic of dust changes from moment to moment, it is saṃsāra. Because through contemplation the characteristics of arising and ceasing of dust are exhausted and are empty without reality, it is nirvāṇa. Because the large and small characteristics of dust are all discriminations of the deluded mind, they are kleśas. Because the substance of dust is originally empty and cognitive deliberation naturally ends, it is bodhi. Because the substance of the characteristic of dust is devoid of the imagined [nature], it is the Hīnayāna Dharma. Because the nature of dust is unarisen and unceasing, and exists resembling [reality] through other-dependence, it is the Mahāyāna Dharma. This is an abridged explanation. If spoken of fully, even if all sentient beings harbored disparate doubts and simultaneously questioned the Tathāgata, the Tathāgata would explain them all using only the single word "dust." One should ponder this deeply. A sūtra verse says: / "The inexhaustible ocean of all dharma-gates / Is expounded in a single word without remainder." / In accordance with this principle, it is called "a single particle of dust produces inexhaustibility ubiquitously." What is called "identity" means equality in the present moment. Therefore, this one-mind dharma-gate, like a mirror, manifests suddenly without waiting for stages; like a seal, it is formed suddenly, with no before and after. In one seeing, all is seen; in one hearing, all is heard, without awaiting analytical search. If one must wait for complete understanding to achieve it, all of that belongs to provisional and gradual [teachings]. If one can contemplate the oneness of the nature of the citta, it is the one path that is extremely profound, namely the one of the correct path, the one that is unique and sole—the one path that the thousand Buddhas have shared, unchanging throughout past and present. It is also called the one path of the gate to nirvāṇa; it is also called the one path that transcends saṃsāra. It is further named the great-Buddha-uṣṇīṣa King Śūraṅgama replete with the ten thousand practices, the single gate through which the tathāgatas of the ten directions transcend, the wondrously adorned path, just as a hundred flowers together produce a single honey. Thus we know that the ten thousand dharmas converge in this source. If one clearly understands it, everything rests with oneself: ascending, sinking, departing, or remaining, one acts at will according to conditions. Manifesting as a sage or appearing as an ordinary person, exiting birth and entering death, one's transformations are difficult to fathom. Operating unconditioned spiritual powers, concealing and revealing occur simultaneously; expounding the illusion-like samādhi, right and wrong darkly merge. Adversity and favor return to the same [source]; speech, silence, unfolding, and gathering always accord with the path of the One Reality. Managing livelihoods and productive enterprises does not violate the gate of the real mark. Operations and actions, moment to moment, never depart from the dharmadhātu; walking, standing, sitting, and reclining, step by step, one is always within it. If someone does not believe, though face-to-face, they are a thousand miles apart. As the poem by Master Hanshan says: / "Precious is the natural thing, / Alone and without companion. / Contract it, and it is in a square inch; / Extend it, and it is in all places. / If you do not believe and accept it, / Though you meet face-to-face, you will not encounter it." / For one of clear understanding, whatever meets the eye concerns the citta, and they can perceive everything in advance. For those who have not yet encountered it, it may be known through events: their movements and actions have never been interrupted. For example, Cai Shun, whose courtesy name was Junzhong, was renowned for filial piety. Shun was orphaned young and supported his mother, often going out to gather firewood. A guest arrived abruptly; when the mother looked for Shun and he had not returned, she bit her finger. Shun's citta was immediately moved; he dropped the firewood and rushed back, kneeling to ask the reason. The mother said, "An urgent guest arrived, and I bit my finger simply to make you realize it." Again, in the Tang dynasty, Pei Jingyi's father was killed by King of Chen's administrator. Jingyi was in the city at the time, when he suddenly felt it himself; shedding tears, he could not eat, and said to people, "Whenever my father suffered pain anywhere, I felt uneasy. Today my chest aches and my hands and feet are both incapacitated; an unforeseen event must have occurred." He then returned home to pay his respects, and his father was indeed already dead. Again, in the Tang dynasty, Zhang Zhi'an was praised for filial piety in his village and was assigned as a village head. While in the county seat, he suddenly claimed that his mother was critically ill. The county magistrate asked him, and Zhi'an said, "When my mother is ill, Zhi'an is also sick. Zhi'an just suffered heart pain, and therefore knows his mother is ill." The magistrate detained him and sent someone to verify it, and it was indeed as he had said. Soon he memorialized the throne, which raised high markers at his gate and appointed him as Sanqi Changshi.

9.10

Question: Does the awakening of this source still have a teacher or not?

9.11

Answer: This is the realm realized by the holy wisdom of self-awakening, unteachable wisdom, and innate wisdom; it is not awakened through another. At the moment of personal realization, the Dharma manifests from the citta and does not come from outside; therefore, there is no teacher. By tallying with it, one can spontaneously attain anuttarā bodhi. The Laṅkāvatārasūtra states: "Mahāmati addressed the Buddha, saying: 'World-Honoured One, if one is skilled in the characteristics of the holy wisdom of self-awakening and the Ekayāna, I and the other bodhisattvas, being skilled in the characteristics of the holy wisdom of self-awakening and the Ekayāna, will penetrate the Buddhadharma without depending on another.'" Another sūtra states: "Śāriputra further asked: 'For what reason do the worthy ones make this statement: "From this day forward, we do not take the Buddha as our holy teacher"?' The bhikṣus replied: 'From this day forward, we are sovereign on our own ground, not in another country; we take refuge in ourselves, not taking refuge in another person to be our teacher and master, nor employing another teacher. For this reason, we previously said we do not take the Buddha as our holy teacher.' And so forth, down to: 'Thereupon the World-Honoured One praised the bhikṣus: "Excellent, excellent! Those who have nothing to attain regarding all dharmas have truly attained."'" This can only be known by oneself; only then does one see the real. Therefore, the thousand sages clasp their hands, and calculations cannot succeed. As a sūtra verse says: / "Words expound all dharmas, / But cannot reveal the real. / Only in equality can it be seen; / As with the Dharma, the Buddha is also thus." / Therefore, the Song of Yongjia says: / "Not departing from the immediate place, it is ever tranquil; / If you seek it, know that it cannot be seen." / Moreover, an ancient worthy's gāthā says: / "No need to trouble yourself asking a master; / The citta-king should know for itself." / This is the true illumination that has no illumination, the true knowledge that has no knowledge. Why is this? If there is illumination, there is an objective counterpart; hence it is said, "Following illumination, one loses the source." If there is knowledge, it is obstructed by knowledge; hence it is said, "The Dharma is free from seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing." As the Xin xin ming says: / "Vertical and horizontal without illumination, / It is most wondrous. / Knowing dharmas is without knowledge; / Having no knowledge, one knows the essential." / For one who penetrates this essential, there is not a single dharma that can be identical, not a single dharma that can be different, not a single dharma that can be right, and not a single dharma that can be wrong; so what need is there to seek understanding externally? An ancient worthy's song says: / "The ancients valued righteousness, not gold; / The melody was high, few joined in, and there was no connoisseur. / Scholars today are still like this: / In speech, silence, movement, and application, their traces are hard to find. / What is lamentable are those in worldly divergent paths, / Straining their minds in vain all day on rugged terrain. / Unwilling to take the flat sandalwood path, / They insist on climbing up to seek the chūn tree forest. / The poor son abandons his father and flees far away, / Yet cuts off discerning ears in his original home. / The poor woman has a priceless jewel within her house, / Yet uses small scales to buy another's gold." / Therefore the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra states: "It is like a flat, level road on which all sentient beings walk without obstruction. Along the road there is a tree whose shade is cool and refreshing; travelers pause beneath it to rest their carriages. Yet the tree's shade is permanent and unchanging, neither dissipating nor destroyed, and with no one who can take it away." The road is an analogy for the holy path; the shade is an analogy for the Buddha-nature. Therefore, if one penetrates this source and returns to one's own ground, could the treasury of jewels within the chamber come from outside? The bright pearl inside the garment is not obtained from another. If one can disclose the secret treasury, one attains the glory of immediate enjoyment; trading the miraculous pearl, one brings an end to the suffering of poverty accumulated over eons. Without counting another's jewels, how could one pursue their quest? Then the treasury of wisdom that enriches oneself is inexhaustible, and the Dharma-wealth that benefits others is boundless.

9.12

Question: If one says there is realization by oneself without a teacher, one falls into the view of spontaneous origination; if one clings to understanding from another, one still enters the gate of causes and conditions. Furthermore, the nature of the Great Path is neither spontaneous origination nor causes and conditions. How can one explain it without conflicting with the substance of the Path?

9.13

Answer: To refute seeking from another, it is said that one must realize it oneself; for those who cling to self-understanding, verification is obtained from another. When one directly awakens for oneself, both delusion and awakening are completely empty, and both self and other are cut off; it is not reached by limits and measurements, so how could verbal formulations define it? Therefore, the First Patriarch of Niutou said: "As for the Path, if one person attains it, the Path would not be all-pervasive; if many people attain it, the Path would have an end. If each individually possesses it, the Path would be countable; if all collectively possess it, skillful means would be empty. If it is attained through cultivation, contrived action is not real; if it is originally possessed naturally, the ten thousand practices are set up in vain. Why is this? Because it is free from all limits, measurements, and discriminations." Clearly know that speaking of self and speaking of other, or speaking of gain and speaking of loss, if viewed according to the holy teachings, are conventional words adapted to the world, skillful means for breaking attachments. If based on mental understanding, all are limited discriminations that do not escape the dust of feelings. Only by not clinging to teachings so as to indulge feelings will one see the nature and penetrate the Path.

9.14

Question: When initial practitioners awaken and enter into this source, having complete and unobstructed faith and understanding, what superior power do they possess?

9.15.1

Answer: If one's correct understanding is complete and clear, and one enters with definitive faith, one has the efficacy of surpassing kalpas and obtains the power of sudden completion. Although dwelling in saṃsāra, one constantly enters nirvāṇa; although ever abiding in worldly defilements, one perpetually resides in a pure land. While presently possessing the physical eye, one opens the radiance of the wisdom eye; without changing the ordinary mind, one immediately shares the knowledge and vision of the Buddha's mind. It is like a crown prince possessing the marks of royal deportment, or the kalaviṅka surpassing the voices of all other birds. When the sinews of a lion are made into strings for a lute, all other sounds are severed; when the Sudarśana medicine is used to treat illness, all afflictions secretly vanish. Like the efficacy of an iron-piercing arrow whose momentum pierces an iron drum, or the power of a vajra mallet that is poised to shatter a mountain of gold, the afflictions and worldly defilements spontaneously perish without waiting to be severed; the wondrous fruit of bodhi is spontaneously perfected without relying on cultivation. Furthermore, it equalizes foe and friend, harmonizes disputes, equates the ordinary and the holy, obliterates self and other, unifies going and coming, seals sameness and difference, blends duration and brevity, and fuses the center and the extremes. Among mundane and supramundane powers that are ineffable, immeasurable, and inexpressible of the inexpressible, none can surpass it. It is also called the power of the Buddha, the power of prajñā, the power of the Great Vehicle, the power of the Dharma, and the power of non-abiding. Therefore, a former worthy explained: 'One who upholds with the power of non-abiding does not depart from a single thought for great kalpas.' It is also said: 'The equality of form is the power of the Buddha.' Since form is equal, the principle of mind-only is established. Thus we know that in the gateway of contemplating citta, no principle surpasses it. It is most supreme and most noble, peerless and incomparable, possessing the efficacy of becoming a buddha in an instant and the power of abruptly severing the wheel of suffering. The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: 'For example, it is like a medicinal tree named the King of Trees. Among all medicines, it is the most extraordinary. It can eliminate all diseases. The tree does not form a thought; whether one takes its branches, leaves, bark, trunk, or the like, although it forms no thought, it can cure all illnesses. Nirvāṇa is also like this.' Therefore, if toward this mirror of the source one has complete faith and complete cultivation, or even just rejoices upon hearing and seeing it, generating the mind [for bodhi] in a single thought, there is none who will not eliminate the diseases of the eighty thousand worldly defilements, the three obstacles, and the two kinds of death. The Large Prajñāpāramitāsūtra says: 'Just like a mani jewel, wherever it abides, all non-humans cannot find any advantage. Wearing the jewel on one's body, one attains light in darkness, coolness when it is hot, and warmth when it is cold. If it is in water, it manifests colors according to the surrounding objects.' This is an analogy for recognizing this wish-fulfilling luminous jewel of one's own citta: with complete and solid faith, at all times and places one is not harmed by non-humans of avidyā and worldly defilements. Then, dwelling in complexity one is not disordered; treading on danger one is ever secure; high yet not imperiled, full yet not overflowing. The Tiantai teachings cite the Fo zang jing, saying: 'To speak with provisional names and characteristics within that which lacks names and characteristics—these are all the inconceivable powers of the Tathāgata. For example, it is like a person chewing Mount Sumeru, flying in empty space, crossing the ocean on a stone raft, carrying the four continents and Mount Sumeru, using a mosquito's leg as a ladder to ascend to the Brahma Palace; or, when a kalpa is ending in fire, extinguishing the kalpa fire with a single spitting of saliva, and establishing a world with a single puff of breath; or suspending Mount Sumeru on a lotus fiber, and catching the rain of the four continents in the hand. That all phenomena spoken of by the Tathāgata are signless and unconditioned, unarisen and unceasing, and causing people to believe and understand them, is extremely difficult to happen, extremely rare. If one attains even a little something [with attachment], disputes with the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and enters heretical paths, one is not permitted to leave the household, receive the precepts, or drink a single cup of water.' One should know that the sūtra clarifies the external function of non-arising in order to reveal that cause and effect in the wondrous principle are unarisen. Thus, if one does not comprehend that the Three Jewels are of one substance and eternally abiding, one is not permitted to leave the household. Saying 'not permitted' means that if one does not understand this, one's precepts are incomplete. If considered in terms of contemplating citta, the arising of a single kṣaṇa is called 'one sentient being'; its arising and immediately ceasing is called 'one lifetime.' In thought after thought, the three poisons constantly arise, which correspond to the three disasters at the end of a kalpa. Among the three poisons, rāga is foremost; among the three disasters, fire is the beginning. Through inconceivable śamatha-vipaśyanā, one contemplates these three poisons: a single thought of rāga has no place of arising, which is precisely extinguishing the kalpa fire with a single spitting of saliva; comprehending thought to become wisdom is precisely establishing a world with a single puff of breath. Up to all inconceivable and rare matters—as long as one penetrates the single-thought mind of avidyā to accomplish the wisdom of all buddhas, there is none that is not thoroughly understood. If one does not understand this, not only is one not permitted to leave the household, but all myriad goods will not be accomplished, because one does not know the root of the Buddhadharma. The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: 'Furthermore, there are people who consider the earth to be solid and citta to have no physical form, all being illusory. For this reason, the Buddha spoke of the power of citta as being great. Because one practices the prajñāpāramitā, one can scatter this great earth into fine dust. Because the earth has visible form, fragrance, flavor, and touch and is heavy, by itself it performs no action. Because water lacks fragrance, its activity surpasses that of earth. Because fire lacks fragrance and flavor, its force surpasses that of water. Because wind lacks visible form, fragrance, and flavor, its activity surpasses that of fire. Because citta lacks these four things, the power of its actions is great. Moreover, because citta is bound by many kleśas and saṃyojanas, its power is made minute. Although a virtuous mind with outflows is without kleśas, because citta grasps the characteristics of phenomena, its power is also small. Although the outflow-free mind of the two vehicles does not grasp characteristics, because their wisdom is limited, and when emerging from the outflow-free path the six sense organs discriminate according to convention and grasp the characteristics of phenomena, they do not exhaust the power of citta. All buddhas and great bodhisattvas have boundless and limitless wisdom, constantly dwell in dhyāna, and make no discrimination regarding the world and nirvāṇa. The real mark of all phenomena is in fact not different; it is only that wisdom has superior and inferior grades. Those who practice the prajñāpāramitā are ultimately pure and without obstruction. In a single thought, they can scatter into fine dust all the great earths and mountains of the trichiliocosm in the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.' Thus we know that the true mind has this great power, yet sentient beings falsely obscure it and are unaware of it. The Commentary on the Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra says: 'Just as the light of the sun can illuminate the world under heaven but cannot illuminate the principle, the brilliance of the wisdom of citta can generate wisdom to illuminate the principle; therefore, citta is light. If citta is foolish and dark, the physical body becomes haggard; if citta has the light of wisdom, the complexion is full and radiant.'

9.15.2

Therefore, it is said: “Because prajñā is great, form is great; because prajñā is pure, form is pure.” That is precisely luminosity. Among the ten thousand things under heaven, only humanity is noble; a seven-foot bodily frame is not as noble as spiritual wisdom. Thus, examining it, citta is noble, and citta is gold itself. Furthermore, knowing the dependent and knowing the primary is called “light”; knowing that all dharmas are devoid of all dharmas is called “luminosity.” Therefore, if one only has faith and entry into the mirror of the source, complete understanding immediately arises, and one is able to bring forth the true and authentic bodhicitta, than which none is higher, the peerless mind, the most supreme mind, the truest mind. The *Zhiguan* says: “One who brings forth this mind can overturn each and every gate of afflictive toil, which are then the eighty-four thousand gates of samādhi. When avidyā is transformed, it immediately changes into luminosity, like ice melting into water. It is not at all a distant thing, nor does it come from somewhere else; in merely a single thought-moment of citta, all is ubiquitously complete. It is like the wish-fulfilling jewel: it does not possess gems, nor is it devoid of gems. If one says it lacks them, that is false speech; if one says it possesses them, that is wrong view. It cannot be known through citta, nor can it be debated with words. Sentient beings, in this inconceivable and unbonded dharma, produce bondage through conceptual thought, and in that which is devoid of liberation, they seek liberation. Therefore, one gives rise to great compassion, raises the four universal vows, uproots both sufferings, and bestows both joys; hence it is called neither bonded nor liberated, the true and authentic bodhicitta.” When this single bodhicitta is generated, it is all bodhicittas. It is like a good physician having one secret prescription that gathers together all prescriptions; like agada medicine, its efficacy embraces all medicines; like eating milk-porridge, there is no further need for anything else; everything is complete, like a wish-fulfilling jewel. And so this one mind is the greatest of the great, the highest of the high, the roundest of the round, the fullest of the full, the truest of the true, the realest of the real, the definitive meaning within definitive meanings, the mystery within mysteries, the marvel within marvels, the inconceivable within the inconceivable. If one is able to generate the mind in this way, discarding the false and revealing the true, realizing the provisional and recognizing the ultimate, then one is the seed of all buddhas. Just as a diamond is produced from the nature of gold, the bodhicitta of the buddhas arises from great compassion. It is foremost among all practices: just as in taking asara medicine, one first uses clear water, so it is the supreme among all practices; just as among all sense faculties, the life faculty is supreme, so within the right Dharma and right practice of the buddhas, this mind is supreme. Like a prince born with the marks of royal deportment, whom the ministers revere and who possesses great renown; like the cry of a kalaviṅka bird while still within the shell, which already surpasses all other birds—this bodhicitta has great power and influence: like strings of lion-sinew, like lion's milk, like a vajra mallet, like a Nārāyaṇa arrow. Endowed with all treasures, it can eliminate poverty and suffering, like a wish-fulfilling jewel. Even if one is slightly lax or slightly violates deportment, one still surpasses the merits of the two vehicles. In brief, this mind is endowed with all the virtues of a bodhisattva and can accomplish the unexcelled right awakening of the three periods of time. If one understands this mind, one naturally arrives at śamatha and vipaśyanā: having no rising and no obstruction is vipaśyanā; its nature being calm and extinguished is śamatha. Śamatha and vipaśyanā are bodhi; bodhi is śamatha and vipaśyanā. As praised extensively above, a person who brings forth such complete faith and bodhicitta is truly rare to find. Ordinary beings and non-Buddhists are deluded about this citta and undergo fragmented birth and death. The two vehicles of the Piṭaka and Shared Teachings turn their backs on this citta and produce nirvāṇa with remainder. Furthermore, bodhisattvas of the Shared Teaching, who are beginners in the Mahāyāna, realize this citta merely as emptiness of self-nature. Bodhisattvas of the Distinct Teaching, reaching the culmination of the Mahāyāna, awaken to this citta; though they see the non-empty as that upon which the ten dharmadhātus rely, it is not yet complete in the present moment, still relying on distinct cultivation to arise sequentially. None of them can recognize and know that their own citta, in a single thought-moment, is the頓-complete, equal, and right nature, shared by ordinary beings and sages alike, of a single limit and without distinction. Because they do not recognize it, none of them can generate this unexcelled, peerless, most supreme, vast, and inconceivable bodhicitta. All of their compassionate vows, wisdom, and practices are incomplete. If one generates this mind even once, its merit is boundless, fulfilling the ten pāramitās in thought-moment after thought-moment. Therefore, the *Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa* says: “Vimalakīrti said, ‘However, if you all simply generate the mind of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, that is precisely leaving home; that is precisely completeness.’” Now this mirror of the source is precisely meant to reveal this citta, searching it out exhaustively one by one and citing proofs layer upon layer, universally for all sentient beings in the dharmadhātu who possess a mind, wishing that all may faithfully accept it. The moment one attains faith and enters, one naturally and spontaneously generates this unexcelled bodhicitta, immediately sits in the bodhimanda, practices great compassion of identical substance, and gives rise to transformation through unconditioned kindness. Therefore, the buddhas of the ten directions praise the inexhaustible merit of one who understands this citta and can generate bodhi. As the *Avataṃsakasūtra* says: “Bodhicitta is like a seed, because it can produce all buddha-dharmas. Bodhicitta is like a fertile field, because it can grow the pure, white dharmas of sentient beings. Bodhicitta is like the great earth, because it can sustain all worlds. Bodhicitta is like pure water, because it can wash away all stains of kleśa. Bodhicitta is like a great wind, because it is unobstructed throughout the worlds. Bodhicitta is like a blazing fire, because it can burn the firewood of all views. Bodhicitta is like a pure sun, because it universally illuminates all worlds. Bodhicitta is like a full moon, because all pure, white dharmas are perfected by it. Bodhicitta is like a bright lamp, because it can emit the light of various dharmas. Bodhicitta is like pure eyes, because it universally sees all places of safety and danger. Bodhicitta is like a great highway, because it universally enables entry into the city of great wisdom. Bodhicitta is like a right ford, because it enables departure from all wrong dharmas. Bodhicitta is like a great cart, because it can universally transport all bodhisattvas. Bodhicitta is like a doorway, because it opens and displays all bodhisattva practices. Bodhicitta…”

First 16 of 26 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

宗鏡錄 — Classical Chinese