宗鏡錄 95.23

95.23

The Guan fo sanmei hai jing says: 'Furthermore, Ānanda, it is like a person who is poor and devoid of merit, relying on the wealthy and noble to preserve his life. At that time, a prince happened to go out on an excursion, carrying a great precious vase. Inside the precious vase, the king's seal and ribbons were concealed. At that time, the poor man deceitfully drew close, obtained the king's precious vase, held it aloft, and fled. When the prince realised this, he dispatched six great soldiers mounted on six black elephants, holding sharp swords in their hands, swiftly pursuing him. At that time, the vase-bearer fled into deep grass, into an empty wilderness marsh. He saw that the wilderness marsh was full of poisonous snakes, spitting poison on all four sides to ingest the vase-bearer. At that time, the poor man was terrified and panic-stricken; he ran east and west, and the snakes also pursued him, leaving him no place to hide or avoid them. In the empty marsh, he saw a great tree, lush and sprawling, which greatly pleased him. Wearing the precious vase on his head, he climbed up the tree. Once he was up the tree, the six soldiers mounted on elephants dashed as swiftly as the wind and soon arrived. Seeing them, the poor man swallowed the king's precious seal, wore the vase upon his head, and covered his face with his hands, because he harboured craving and stinginess, unable to bear seeing [them take it]. At that time, the six black elephants coiled their trunks around the tree, causing the tree to topple and fall. The poor man crashed to the ground and his body broke apart and scattered. Only the golden seal remained, and the precious vase radiated light. Seeing the light, the snakes fled and scattered in all directions. The Buddha told Ānanda: For one who abides in mindfulness of the Buddha, the seal of citta is indestructible, just as in this case.' Explanation: As for the 'samādhi of meditating on the Buddha', clearly understanding one's own citta is called 'meditating on the Buddha'. Once one recognises citta, one is not disordered by cognitive objects; being clear and constantly concentrated is called 'samādhi'. Regarding 'a person who is poor and devoid of merit': 'a person who is'—'existence' refers to the twenty-five realms of existence, and 'person' refers to all sentient beings. Because they lack the wealth of the Dharma, they are called 'poor'; because they do not awaken to the Buddha of the mind, they are called 'devoid of merit'. 'Relying on the wealthy and noble' refers to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. 'To preserve his life' refers to relying on the gate of the samādhi of meditating on the Buddha to see one's own nature, thereby completing the life of wisdom. As for 'the poor man crashed to the ground': this means that within the ordinary person's body, one thoroughly penetrates the two kinds of emptiness—of person and of phenomena—realises and unites with the one mind, and abides in the stage of tathatā. As for 'his body broke apart and scattered': having penetrated the nature of vijñapti-mātra, the view of self naturally perishes. As for 'only the golden seal remained': this is awakening to the constant abidance of citta. Therefore Master Yibo said: 'When worldly afflictions are extinguished completely, tathatā remains, / A single round, bright, priceless pearl.' As for 'the precious vase radiated light': this is the illumination of prajñā-wisdom. As for 'seeing the light, the snakes fled and scattered in all directions': these are the body-snakes of the four great elements and the kleśas of the three poisons; when understood by wisdom, they are empty, which is called 'fleeing and scattering'. As for 'for one who abides in mindfulness of the Buddha, the seal of citta is indestructible, just as in this case': through wisdom free of thoughts, one sees the true nature of awakening; therefore it is said, 'for one who abides in mindfulness of the Buddha'. All dust-like objects do not stir, and the single substance does not shift; this is called the 'seal of citta'. Constantly abiding in the status of phenomena, being ultimately tranquil and extinguished; this is called 'indestructible'. This is analogous to how 'only the golden seal remained', hence it is said, 'just as in this case'. Therefore the Awakening of Faith says: 'Attaining the sight of the nature of citta is called ultimate awakening.' This is precisely its purport.