宗鏡錄 94.38

94.38

The Dafangguang shizihou jing says: 'The Buddha told the bodhisattva Vidyunmālā: "Good son, the Dharma is only a single syllable, namely, 'no-syllable'. Originally there are no words or speech; what could be spoken? Good son, you should know that no-speech is true speech." At that time the bodhisattva Śuddhadeha, receiving the Buddha's spiritual power, addressed the Buddha: "World-Honoured One, if having nothing spoken is true speech, then those who are mute and do not speak should all be expounding the Dharma." The Buddha said: "It is so, good son. Just as you say, not only do the mute expound the Dharma, but those who are not mute also all expound the Dharma, yet they do not know the Dharma." "World-Honoured One, how is it that all sentient beings expound the Dharma yet do not know the Dharma?" "Good son, it is like a person blind from birth standing in sunlight without seeing the sun; because someone beside them tells them so, through that other voice they come to know there is a sun. In this way, all phenomena completely enter the dharmadhātu; the dharmadhātu has no syllables and is free from the nature of syllables, and cannot be proclaimed or explained by sentient beings."' / Exegesis: We know with certainty that those who have not attained the source rely on secondary understanding, turn in pursuit of others' words, and falsely make proclamations. Like that blind person who does not see the sunlight and listens to the voice of someone beside him, how could he fathom the substance of the sun? If the eyes open and one sees it for oneself, one knows that originally there are no names, syllables, words, or speech. Hence we know that having words impairs the purport, failing to reach the dharmadhātu. Therefore the sūtra says: 'In this way, all phenomena completely enter the dharmadhātu; the dharmadhātu has no syllables and is free from the nature of syllables.' If one can deeply reach the dharmadhātu of the single syllable of mind-only, naturally the path of speech is cut off, and knowledge, understanding, and sentiment spontaneously perish. How could this mean having no eloquence? Wisdom simply cannot fathom it. As the Zhao lun says: 'Śākyamuni shut himself in his room in Magadha, and Vimalakīrti held his tongue in Vaiśālī; Subhūti proclaimed no-exposition to reveal the path, and Indra and Brahmā ceased listening while raining down flowers.' Thus the principle serves as the spiritual charioteer, and the mouth is silent on account of it. How could one say there is no eloquence? It is that eloquence cannot express it.