宗鏡錄 91.7

91.7

Answer: The word "equality" is one intention [of the teaching]. Vijñaptimātra even explains that among all sentient beings, some belong to multiple buddhas, and multiple buddhas jointly transform them into one buddha; if they belong to one buddha, the buddha can display multiple bodies. Each and every tathāgata of the ten directions is like this. Here it is precisely that one buddha can become multiple bodies, and it is on this basis that the Original Teacher is praised. As a verse in the "Chapter on the Inconceivable Realm of Liberation" in the Avataṃsakasūtra says: / "Buddha-wisdom penetrates purely and without obstruction, / in a single kṣaṇa completely understanding the phenomena of the three times. / They all manifest from the conditions of mind and consciousness; / arising and ceasing, they are impermanent and without self-nature. / In a single kṣetra he achieves true awakening; / in all places and kṣetras it is likewise so. / All enter into each one, and each is also thus; / according to the minds of sentient beings, he manifests." / The Great Yāna Thousand-Bowl Great Teaching King Sūtra says: "Such skillful means, Dharma, and wisdom for transforming beings of all buddhas, I collect entirely within one mind, because it is identical with the vajra bodhi noble nature samādhi." The Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra says: "Just as the sun and moon have no discrimination, and just as water and a mirror have no discrimination, and the light also has no discrimination, yet when these three harmonize, an image is produced; so too are the dharmatathatā and tathatājñāna without discrimination: due to the sovereignty of vows, when sentient beings have a resonance, they manifest the responsive nirmāṇakāya, just as the reflection of the sun and moon appears through harmonization." A tathāgata has no going and no coming. Therefore it is said: he goes forth to respond to the capacities of beings, yet does not go; he constantly returns to quiescent extinction, yet does not come. Why is this? Because giving rise to function based on substance is called 'going', yet because it is function identical with substance, he does not go. Responding to capacities and appearing before them should be 'coming', yet because the response is not separate from substance, like the moon's reflection, he does not come. Furthermore, going forth to respond fittingly is called 'going', yet since response is without characteristics of response, he does not go; constantly returning to quiescent extinction fittingly is called 'coming', yet since extinction is ungraspable, he does not come. And so on, until all phenomena are without coming and going. As a sūtra verse says: / "All phenomena are without coming; / therefore there is no arising." / Yet within the unarisen Dharma, he manifests the transformation of compassion. Therefore the Mahāpuruṣaśāstra says: "The bodhisattva reflects: 'All sentient beings can perform adorned karma for me; I will not cause a single sentient being to have unadorned thoughts.' The bodhisattva reflects thus: 'Regarding what is called benefiting others, seeking the characteristic of another person is completely ungraspable; they are entirely like oneself.'" It also says: "The bodhisattva reflects: 'May my compassion be like empty space. All mountains, rivers, trees, flying birds, and running beasts abide dependent on space; may all sentient beings at all times enter into my compassion.'" Thus, with great compassion of identical substance, what sentient being would not be delivered? By giving rise to the great wisdom of equality, what path would not be accomplished? As the Huayan lun says: "Regarding the 'Dedication of the Inexhaustible Merit-Treasure', this stage clarifies that dhyāna merges with wisdom, and wisdom joins with compassion. Taking inexhaustible empty space as a single bodhimaṇḍa, and taking the inexhaustible aspects of the activities of avidyā of sentient beings as buddha-work, the body constantly serves inexhaustible buddhas while pervading the dharmadhātu, transforming inexhaustible sentient beings to entirely become buddha-bodies. Outer and inner aspects are forgotten, and beginning and end are completely exhausted. He universally knows all phenomena without destroying non-mind." The "Chapter on the Inexhaustible Merit-Treasure" says: "In a single pore seeing asaṃkhyeya buddhas appear in the world, one attains entry into the inexhaustible treasury of phenomena." This clarifies that the mind-nature is originally nonexistent, and large and small are entirely unconstrained. The body is the reflection of wisdom; lands are also like this. When wisdom is pure, the reflections are bright, and large and small interpenetrate, just like the metaphor of the realm of Indra's net. The sūtra says: "With the power of buddha-wisdom, contemplating all phenomena as entirely entering into one phenomenon." This clarifies that although the myriad objects are many, they all arise from one mind. When mind is forgotten, objects are extinguished; the myriad objects are all empty, like the many reflections in pure water: when the water disappears, the reflections are extinguished. This is explained in terms of breaking through existence to establish nonexistence. Furthermore, because objects arise dependent on wisdom, wisdom is void and objects are illusory; multiple characteristics enter one another, not departing from the single void. The illusory is not different from the void; the void is not different from the illusory. Illusory and void are non-dual; oneness and difference are completely void. This is explained in terms of the gate of unimpeded sovereignty of wisdom, illusion, and void. These are all teachings that use analogies based on phenomena; what is known in accord with reality can only be comprehended in wisdom by those who have eliminated conceptual thought. Only those who comprehend it in wisdom can function while remaining constantly true, without being confused by mind and objects. By the power of great vows, in accord with wisdom, they illusorily produce bodies equal in number to sentient beings, gathering and transforming them as appropriate; therefore it is called the 'Inexhaustible Merit-Treasure'. It also says: "Bodhisattvas of the Cloud of Dharma stage, in accordance with the power of their mind's thoughts, whether vast or subtle, self and other interpenetrate; one and many, large and small, participate in each other. Their spiritual powers, virtues, and functions are sovereign, entirely accomplished according to their own mind's thoughts." Just as the operative realms of all sentient beings are all accomplished by the grasping of karma of their own minds—the karmic fruits and retributions of humans, devas, narakas, animals, hungry ghosts, good and evil, are entirely created dependent on mind—likewise these bodhisattvas of the ten stages, by the power of the great wisdom of the unconditioned dharmakāya, in accordance with whatever their minds think of, are universally sovereign in the ten directions at once, fully knowing and seeing everything. Taking universal-light wisdom as substance: because the substance of wisdom has no reliance, it accords with nature to universally pervade the dharmadhātu, equal to the measure of empty space, pervading and filling the worlds of the ten directions; with the wisdom of non-nature, its great function accords with thought; with the wisdom of non-forgetfulness, whatever is thought is accomplished; with the wisdom endowed with the universal and the particular, the universal and particular, identity and difference, formation and disintegration, are all produced; with the sovereign wisdom of vast and narrow, large and small, transformation is penetrating and unimpeded; with the wisdom of identical substance with all sentient beings, it can transform all sentient beings' realms purely into pure land kṣetras; with the wisdom of non-duality of self and other, one body becomes multiple bodies, and multiple bodies become one body; with the wisdom of the dharmakāya being free of large and small and beyond measure, it can widely accommodate buddha-kṣetras in a single pore; with the wisdom equal to empty space without boundary or direction, in a single thought it manifests birth, filling the ten directions without coming or going; with echo-like wisdom, it can respond like an echo, manifesting directly, with responsive forms equal to sentient beings; with this wisdom endowed with complete merit, it constantly abides in wondrous kṣetras, always dwelling together with all sentient beings; if not for the empowering power of the noble ones, sentient beings would not see it.