宗鏡錄 96
English (machine translation) 96
- Language
- English
96.1
Compiled by Yanshou, Chan Master Zhijue, Abbot of Huiri Yongming Temple.
96.2
The Pusa chutai jing says: 'For example, the springs, reservoirs, and pools, and the swift currents of the five rivers each have their own names, but when they all return to the sea, they no longer have their original names. It is also like Mount Sumeru standing firm and immovable: when birds of various colours come to depend upon the mountain, they all become of the same colour and no longer have their original colours. The bodhisattva-mahāsattvas transforming sentient beings and purifying Buddha lands are also like this. The thoughts in the minds and consciousnesses of sentient beings differ, having various thoughts; [the bodhisattvas] can cause all to reach the gate of liberation, so that conceptualisation is stabilised and consciousness is extinguished, whereupon they no longer have their original thoughts, sharing in the same liberation.'
96.3
The Sūtra on the Ten Wholesome Ways of Action says: 'At that time, the World-Honoured One addressed the dragon king, saying: Because sentient beings' mental conceptions differ, their karmic actions also differ; it is because of this that there is the transmigration through the various destinies. Dragon king, do you see the varieties of forms and types in this assembly and within the great ocean, or not? All of these, without exception, are created by citta. Furthermore, observe these great bodhisattvas: their wondrous forms are adorned and pure, all born of the cultivation and accumulation of wholesome karma and merit. Moreover, the devas, dragons, and the rest of the eight classes of beings, who possess great authority and power, are also born due to wholesome karma and merit. Now, all sentient beings within the great ocean have coarse and base forms, some large and some small; all of these are due to the various thoughts of their own cittas performing unwholesome actions of body, speech, and mind. Therefore, in accordance with their karma, each receives their own retribution.'
96.4
The Jizhao shenbian sanmodi jing says: 'The Buddha told Bhadrapāla: The quietude-illumination supernatural-transformation samādhi refers to the equality-nature wisdom regarding all phenomena, the wisdom wherein all speech does not arise, down to the wisdom of awakening and entering citta, the wisdom capable of following and awakening to the self-nature of citta, and the skilful wisdom regarding inducing, not inducing, and during the process of inducement.'
96.5
The Shizi zhuangyan wang pusa qingwen jing says: 'The Buddha said: This single dharma transforms and appears in accordance with citta, thereby being able to be replete with the six pāramitās. You should expound it extensively to teach and transform sentient beings, producing great benefit, down to the attainment of Buddhahood.'
96.6
The Xianjie dingyi jing says: 'If there is a bodhisattva whose equanimous samādhi is complete in all faculties and accomplished in noble wisdom, this is called the one mind.' It also says: 'When resting in meditative absorption, not clinging to the internal or external, nor to the intermediate: this is called the one mind.'
96.7
The Śāriputradhāraṇīsūtra says: 'Practising solely mindfulness of the Buddha of the one mind, one does not see the Tathāgata through form, nor does one see the Tathāgata through formlessness; not through major marks, not through minor marks; not through morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, or the knowledge and vision of liberation; not through birth, not through family, not through clan, not through retinue; down to not being self-made and not being other-made. If one can be like this, it is called mindfulness of the Buddha.'
96.8
The Shangzhu tianzi suowen jing says: 'The deva prince Shangzhu asked, saying: Mañjuśrī, how does a bodhisattva purify citta? He answered, saying: Deva prince, if one knows that all minds are the one mind, such a bodhisattva is called one who has attained a purified citta.'
96.9
A verse in the Dacheng liuzhuan zhuyou jing says: / 'All phenomena are merely provisional designations, / Established solely upon names. / Apart from the expressing words, / That which is expressed cannot be apprehended.' / Explanation: Hence we know that phenomena exist only nominally, established on account of names. Furthermore, names depend on words, and words depend on vitarka and vicāra. When the mind of vitarka and vicāra does not arise, both subject and object are entirely empty.
96.10
The Hongdao guangxian dingyi jing says: 'The Buddha said: Furthermore, three things are produced by citta: the impermanence of all phenomena is produced from their citta; the suffering of all phenomena is also produced from citta; the non-self of all phenomena is also produced from citta; down to being able to unify one's mind, knowing the minds of sentient beings, and transforming them in accord with their practice: this is the power of citta.'
96.11
A verse in the Āgama says: / 'I am kin unto myself, / Not kin unto another; / A wise person who well tames the self / Then attains rebirth in a good destiny.' / Explanation: Therefore it is said: in the world there is no closer kin than citta; it can be called the true essential for entering the Path, the wondrous gate of practice. If one tames it well, one swiftly ascends to the great fruit. Therefore the Prajñāsūtra says: 'Taming citta is virtuous indeed; taming citta brings about blissful fruits.'
96.12
A verse in the Miscellaneous Piṭaka Sūtra states:
“Citta can guide the world;
Citta can universally gather and receive.
Such a single dharma that is citta,
All follow its functioning with sovereignty.”
96.13
The Sūtra of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva’s Questions on the Dharmakāya says: “For example, it is said that a mani-jewel house has four corners. Viewed from one corner, one completely sees all the corners without any deficiency. Therefore, one sees all original limits.”
Exposition: If one understands the original limit of the one mind, what dharma is not penetrated? Because all dharmas are produced from citta, they all share the same limit. Abiding in this limit, each and every one is perfect and complete. Raising one's eyes, everything is it; what need is there to wait for thinking and reflection? Knowledge cannot know it, and words cannot reach it. Thus it says: “The adamantine jewel-treasury is without any deficiency.”
96.14
A verse in the Hastikakṣya Sūtra states:
“Diverse illusions have no reality,
Yet ordinary beings see differences.
Herein there is no difference;
All share the same single characteristic.”
96.15
The Old Woman Sūtra says: “The eye seeing pleasant forms is precisely the mind; the mind is precisely form. Both of these are empty, without anything produced; their cessation is also like this.”
96.16
The Nirapekṣa Sūtra says: “At that time, Śāriputra, knowing the thoughts in the minds of the assembled multitude, immediately addressed these monks, saying: ‘Venerables, why do you utter these words: “From this day forward, our bodies have no Buddha, the World-Honoured One; we follow non-Buddhist teachers and renounce the world to become śramaṇas”?’
At that time, the monks answered Śāriputra: ‘From this day forward, we respectfully serve the six teachers. That to which all return is simply the single characteristic. Not relying on the six sense entrances, we therefore do not see diverse kinds of teachers, nor do we conceive of renouncing the world to become śramaṇas.’”
Exposition: Relying on the six sense entrances creates difference, falsely distinguishing the heterodox and the orthodox. Returning to the single characteristic as the source, both other and self are extinguished. One who understands like this may be called truly renouncing the world.
96.17
The Sūtra of the Questions of the Devaputra Praśāntaviniścayapratihārya says: “The devaputra Praśāntaviniścayapratihārya said: ‘Mañjuśrī, what kind of suchness is equal to defilement and purity?’
Mañjuśrī said: ‘The suchness of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. Why? Because nirvāṇa is empty. Devaputra, it is like the space inside an earthenware vessel and the space inside a jewel vessel: they are neither two nor different. Just so, devaputra, the emptiness of defilement and the emptiness of purity are both the same single emptiness, neither two nor different.’”
Exposition: Although the vessels are not equal, space originally has no form. Although defilement and purity are distinct, how has their nature ever differed? One who understands like this enters the gate of signlessness, suddenly awakens to true emptiness, and does not fall into [gradual] cultivation and realization.
96.18
A verse in the Candragarbha Sūtra states:
“All dharmas have no duality;
The Guide has abandoned hatred and affection.
The single path is like empty space:
This is the realm of the Buddha.”
Another verse states:
“Not discriminating dharmas,
Not seeing any sentient beings,
All dharmas are only one characteristic:
One comes to see the realm of the Buddha.”
96.19
The Buddhabhāṣita Sūtra says: “The Buddha said: ‘If there are words of a localized place, these are the words of the Māra king, these are words of demonic views; they are not called the Buddha's words. Good sons, if there are words without any localized places, these are called the Buddha's words.’”
Exposition: That which has no words of any localized places is because there is no dharma to be realized, nor is there any wisdom capable of realizing it. Since there is no dharma, how could it be spoken? Simply understand that it is citta-only, and naturally there are no words. Having no words is true speech; therefore it is said: “Having no dharma that can be spoken is called speaking the Dharma.” If one clings to places, or if there is something spoken, all contradicts the fundamental source and fails to see the dharmatā. As it is said: “The retribution and transformation [bodies] are not the true Buddha, nor are they speakers of the Dharma.”
96.20
A verse in the Miscellaneous Piṭaka Sūtra states:
“Just as in the world there is a skilled physician
Who uses wondrous medicines to cure illnesses,
The Buddhas are also like this,
Expounding citta-only for living beings.”
96.21
Verses in the Mahāyāna Nayaprajñāpāramitā Sūtra state:
“All conditioned dharmas
Are like a city of the gandharvas.
Sentient beings grasp them with false minds;
Though they appear, they do not truly exist.
All dharmas are not born from causes,
Nor are they born without causes.
They exist through false discrimination;
Therefore, it is said to be citta-only.
Ignorance, false thoughts, and views
Are the causes of material forms.
The ālayavijñāna is their support;
Accordant with conditions, it manifests diverse images.
Just as an eye afflicted with cataracts
Falsely sees flowers in the sky,
Vāsanās disturb and turbid the mind,
And from this the three realms of existence appear.
The eye-consciousness relies on the ālaya
And can manifest diverse forms,
Just like images in a mirror:
Discrimination is not outside.
What is seen is entirely sovereign,
Neither permanent nor annihilated.
Transformed by the ālayavijñāna,
It can manifest in the world.
The dharmatā is entirely equal,
The support of all dharmas.
The ālayavijñāna is uninterrupted and constant;
Manas conceives it as a self.
Accumulation and arising is called citta;
Deliberating nature is named manas;
The meaning of discerning is vijñāna;
Therefore, it is said to be citta-only.
All sensory realms external to citta
Are false perceptions like wheels of hair or sky-flowers.
What is grasped has no reality at all;
All is transformed by the conscious mind.
Form and the attributes of form
All rely on the ālayavijñāna.
Ordinary fools falsely discriminate,
Saying that they are truly existent.
Sleeping and stuporous intoxication,
Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down,
Performing actions and human effort—
All arise relying on the ālayavijñāna.
The worlds of sentient beings and the physical vessel
Are not made by Īśvara,
Nor are they created by a puruṣa,
Nor from prakṛti or subtle atoms.
Just as the nature of fire in wood,
Though present, cannot burn,
Yet depending on the fire-drill, fire is then born,
And thereby destroys all darkness,
So rolling on they are mutual causes,
With the ālaya as their support.
The various consciousnesses arise from it,
Able to generate the tainted and the untainted.
Just as the ocean encountering the condition of wind
Raises diverse waves,
And present functions turn
Without any interruption,
The ocean of the ālayavijñāna is also like this:
Stirred by the wind of sensory realms,
It constantly raises the waves of consciousnesses,
Likewise without interruption.
Just as when curds have not been churned,
People do not see their butter,
Yet once effort is applied unceasingly,
Clarified butter can then be obtained,
So the false perfuming of the ālaya
Veils the tathāgatagarbha;
When cultivation reaches maturity,
Right wisdom then becomes clear.
The various consciousnesses turn following conditions,
Failing to see the mind of original enlightenment;
When self-awakening wisdom manifests,
The true nature is ever unmoving.”
96.22
The Ratnamegha Sūtra says: “How does a bodhisattva practice the smṛtyupasthāna of citta? Good sons, a bodhisattva reflects thus: ‘Citta is truly impermanent, yet one clings to it as permanent; it is truly suffering, yet one clings to it as pleasure; originally there is no self, yet one clings to it as a self; originally it is impure, yet one clings to it as pure. This citta is light and restless, never stopping even for a moment. Because it does not stop, it serves as the root for all defilements, destroying good paths, opening the gates to bad destinies, growing the three poisons, and acting as the causal condition for the upakleśas, being their master and guide. Furthermore, it can accumulate pure and impure karma, turning swiftly like a whirled firebrand, also like a galloping horse, burning like fire, surging like water, completely discerning all realms like worldly paintings.’ When a bodhisattva observes citta in this way, he then attains sovereignty. Having attained sovereignty, he is also without hindrance among all dharmas. This is called the bodhisattva’s skillful practice of the smṛtyupasthāna of citta.”
96.23
The Dharaṇīṃdhara Sūtra says: “The Buddha said: ‘Dharaṇīṃdhara, what is meant by a bodhisattva-mahāsattva cultivating citta and contemplating citta? A bodhisattva-mahāsattva contemplates the characteristics of the arising, ceasing, abiding, and changing of citta. When contemplating thus, he reflects: “This citta comes from nowhere and goes nowhere; it is born merely because consciousness conditions characteristics, having no fundamental substance, with no fixed dharma to be attained. This citta has no coming and no going, and no abiding or changing to be attained. This citta is not past, future, or present. Because this citta’s consciousness conditions [objects], it arises from recollection. This citta is not inside, not outside, and not in between the two. This citta has not a single characteristic of arising. This citta is without nature and without fixedness; there is no producer and no instigator of its production. Because it gives rise to diverse karma, it is spoken of as ‘citta’; because consciousness conditions diverse objects, it is spoken of as ‘citta’; because moment to moment it arises and ceases in continuous succession, it is spoken of as ‘citta’.” Merely to cause sentient beings to penetrate the characteristics of citta’s conditions, within citta there is no characteristic of citta. This citta from the origin onward has neither been born nor arisen; its nature is constantly pure. It is defiled by adventitious defilements, and therefore there is discrimination. Citta does not know citta, nor does it see citta. Why? Because this citta is empty, and its nature is empty; its fundamental substance has nothing existent. This citta has no fixed dharma, because a fixed dharma cannot be attained. In this citta there is no dharma that is conjoined or disjoined. This citta’s prior limit cannot be attained, its subsequent limit cannot be attained, and its middle limit cannot be attained. This citta has no form; there is no one who can see it. Citta does not see itself, nor does it know its own nature. It only corresponds to the perversions of ordinary beings, arising due to consciousness conditioning characteristics of false conditions. This citta is empty, without self and without what belongs to self, impermanent, without solidity, and without any characteristic that is unaltering. Contemplating thus, one attains the cultivation of the smṛtyupasthāna of citta.’ At that time, this person does not discriminate whether this citta is citta or non-citta, but only skillfully knows that citta has no characteristic of arising, penetrating this citta’s nature of non-arising. Why? Because citta has no determined nature, nor does it have determined characteristics. The wise penetrate that this citta is without arising and without characteristics. At that time, they contemplate in accordance with reality the characteristics of the accumulation, sinking, and cessation of citta. When contemplating thus, they do not find citta, whether its characteristic of accumulation or its characteristic of sinking and cessation. They no longer discriminate whether citta ceases or does not cease, and are able to attain the true, pure characteristic of citta. With this pure citta, the bodhisattvas cannot be troubled by adventitious defilements. Why? Because the bodhisattvas see and know the pure characteristic of citta, and also know that sentient beings’ citta is pure. They reflect thus: ‘Because citta is defiled, sentient beings are defiled; because citta is pure, sentient beings are pure.’ When reflecting thus, they do not find the characteristic of citta’s defilement, nor do they find the characteristic of citta’s purity; they only know this citta’s constantly pure characteristic. Dharaṇīṃdhara, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s cultivation of citta and contemplation of citta is like this.”
96.24
A verse in the Ratnajāla Sūtra states:
“Pervading all Buddha-lands,
The realm of the Dharma King,
The Lion of the Śākyas, the Honoured One among humans,
Is illuminated by the light of a single hair.”
Exposition: For instance, immeasurable and boundless Buddha-lands do not go beyond the mind-ground of the tip of a single hair. Because one penetrates this with wisdom, it says: “illuminated by the light.”
96.25
The Daśabhūmika Sūtra says: “Vajragarbha Bodhisattva: if all sentient beings in the trichiliocosm simultaneously pose difficult questions to this bodhisattva with immeasurable and boundless varieties of voices, this bodhisattva, in a single thought-moment, receives all such difficult questions, and with merely a single voice causes all of them to understand.”
Exposition: ‘With merely a single voice causes all of them to understand’: the myriad dharmas proceed from citta, so what doubt is not resolved? As shown according to citta, what dharma is not harmonious? This can be called attaining the essence of the Buddha Dharma and opening the eyes of humans and devas.
96.26
A verse in the *Guangbo yanjing jing* states: / 'The sovereign Guide of the World, / speaks what cannot be spoken: / making a knot in empty space, / he unties it right in space itself.' / Explanation: When citta exists, there is a knot; when citta is empty, there is untying. If there is no citta, there is neither knot nor untying. Thus the *Śūraṅgamasūtra* says: 'The Buddha told Ānanda: "Regarding this jeweled cloth, you know that originally it was only one piece. When I tied it six times, it was called having six knots. Observe carefully: the substance of the cloth is identical, yet due to the knots differences arise. What do you think? When the first knot was tied and formed, it was called the first. In this way, up to the sixth knot being produced, if I now wish to call the sixth knot the first, could that be?" / "No, World-Honoured One. If the six knots remain, that sixth designation can never be the first. Even if throughout my lifetimes I exhausted all my clear eloquence, how could I confuse the names of these six knots?" / The Buddha said: "The six knots are not the same; yet looking back at their source, they were made from a single piece of cloth. One can never confuse them. Your six sense faculties are also like this: within ultimate identity, ultimate differences are born." / The Buddha told Ānanda: "If you dislike these six knots and wish not to have them, desiring only that unity be established, how can that be achieved?" / Ānanda said: "As long as these knots remain, rights and wrongs arise in sharp contention, and therein automatically emerges: 'this knot is not that, that knot is not this.' If the Tathāgata today were to undo them all completely, then if knots are no longer produced, there would be neither 'this' nor 'that'. Even unity could no longer be named; how could six be established?" / The Buddha said: "When the six are undone, the one vanishes; it is also like this. Because your citta-nature has been wildly confused from beginningless time, false views and perceptions have arisen. The arising of falsehood does not cease, and the strain of seeing produces dust. Just as straining the eyes produces wild flowers in the clear and bright expanse, arising chaotically without cause, so all the worlds, the mountains, rivers, and the great earth, saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, are entirely the false, strained, inverted appearances of flowers." / Ānanda said: "This strain is like a knot; how is it to be undone?" / The Tathāgata took the knotted cloth in his hand, pulled it to the left, and asked Ānanda: "Is it undone like this?" / "No, World-Honoured One." / Then he took it and pulled it to the right, and again asked Ānanda: "Is it undone like this?" / "No, World-Honoured One." / The Buddha told Ānanda: "Now I have pulled it left and right with my hands, yet in the end it cannot be undone. If you were to devise an expedient means, how would it be undone?" / Ānanda said to the Buddha: "World-Honoured One, one must untie it at the center of the knot, and then it will come apart." / The Buddha told Ānanda: "So it is, so it is. If you wish to eliminate the knots, you must do so at the center of the knot."' / Explanation: Pulling to the left and right symbolizes the two views of existence and non-existence. Being at the center of the knot directly illuminates the Middle Way. Therefore, savoring the true and empty causes the emotional realm of existence to arise; grasping at faculties and dust causes the meaning of 'one' and 'six' to be born. When one clearly understands one's own citta, both untying and binding vanish. Thus we know that defilement and purity, untying and binding, all derive from one's own citta. Because citta is defiled, one sees defilement; because citta is pure, one sees purity. Because citta is bound, one sees bondage; because citta is untied, one sees release. If there were no citta, what defilement and what purity could there be? As the *Śūraṅgamasamādhisūtra* says: 'At that time in the assembly there was a bodhisattva named Unsoiled Practice in Māra's Realm. He manifested in the palace of Māra and said to the evil Māra: "Have you not heard that the Buddha spoke the Śūraṅgamasamādhi, and immeasurable sentient beings all generated the aspiration for anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, transcended your realm, and will also deliver other people so that they transcend your realm?" / Māra replied: "When I heard the name of the Śūraṅgamasamādhi spoken by the Buddha, I was bound by five bonds and could not go—namely, my two hands, two feet, and neck." / [The bodhisattva] again asked the evil Māra: "Who bound you?" / Māra replied: "Just as I generated the intention to go and disrupt those who listen to and receive the Śūraṅgamasamādhi, I was immediately bound by five bonds. Then I thought: 'The Buddhas and bodhisattvas have great majestic power and are difficult to disrupt. If I go, I might destroy myself. It is better to stay in this palace of mine.' Having thought this, I was immediately liberated from the five bonds." / The bodhisattva replied: "So it is. All ordinary persons recollect, discriminate, and invertedly grasp at characteristics, and therefore they are bound. Stirring thought and indulging in conceptual proliferation, they are therefore bound. Seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing, they are therefore bound. Herein there is actually neither binder nor freed one. Why is this? All phenomena are without bondage, because they are fundamentally liberated. All phenomena are without liberation, because they are fundamentally without bondage. They are eternally of the characteristic of liberation, without any delusion. The Tathāgata expounds the Dharma through this Dharma-gate. If any sentient beings come to know this meaning, seek liberation, and apply themselves with diligent citta and vigor, they will attain liberation from all bonds."'
96.27
The *Baoqie jing* says: 'Mañjuśrī told the Venerable Śāriputra: "Even if the conflagration blazed for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, it would never burn empty space. In the same way, Śāriputra, even if each and every sentient being were to commit heinous offenses and unwholesome karma for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, their citta-nature could never be defiled."'
96.28
A verse in the *Mahāgaganagañjaparipṛcchāsūtra* states: / 'Empty space is free from arising and ceasing; / the dharmadhātu has no coming or going. / All forms appear in empty space; / all phenomena abide dependent on citta. / Empty space has neither form nor non-form; / the citta-nature is also like this. / Empty space is merely a conventional designation; / citta, manas, and consciousness are just the same.'
96.29
A verse in the *Āmrapālīsūtra* states: / 'Though I am within the inner chambers, / the Honoured One appears before my eyes; / you are called an arhat, / yet though you always follow him, you cannot see him.' / Explanation: Thus we know that in thought after thought Śākyamuni appears in the world, and step by step Maitreya descends to be born. Because they are screened by their own karma, [people] do not see him face to face. Even the ten grounds are separated as if by thin silk gauze; how much more so for the two vehicles!
96.30
The *Dhāraṇī of Protecting the Sovereign of the Realm Sūtra* says: 'At that time the World-Honoured One addressed the bodhisattva-mahāsattva Sovereign King of All Dharmas: "This profound samādhi takes the bodhicitta as its cause, takes great loving-kindness and compassion as its root, and cultivates unexcelled bodhi through expedient means as its ultimate fruition. Good son, what herein is called bodhi? Good son, if you wish to know bodhi, you should understand your own citta. If you understand your own citta, you immediately understand bodhi. Why is this? When the real characteristics of citta and bodhi are investigated to the ultimate, neither can be found, being identical to empty space. Therefore, the characteristic of bodhi is the characteristic of empty space. For this reason, bodhi has no characteristic of what is realized, no characteristic of what can realize, and no characteristic of an accord between the two. Why is this? Because bodhi is ultimately devoid of all characteristics. Good son, because all phenomena are the characteristic of empty space, bodhi is ultimately signless." / At that time the bodhisattva Sovereign King of All Dharmas again addressed the Buddha: "World-Honoured One, if this bodhi is identical to empty space, where should the substance of all-knowledge be sought? How is bodhi realized in the present? Where is the knowledge of all forms of knowledge produced?" / The Buddha told the bodhisattva Sovereign King of All Dharmas: "Good son, the substance of all-knowledge should be sought in the citta. The knowledge of all forms of knowledge and bodhi are produced from the citta. Why is this? Because the real nature of citta is fundamentally pure. Good son, the nature of this citta is not inside, not outside, and not in between. Good son, all Tathāgatas declare that the characteristics of this citta are not blue, yellow, red, white, pink, purple, nor golden; neither long nor short; neither round nor square; neither bright nor dark; neither male nor female, nor neither male nor female, nor both male and female. Good son, this citta is not of the nature of the desire realm, not of the nature of the form realm, not of the nature of the formless realm; it is not deva, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, asura, garuḍa, kiṃnara, mahoraga, human, non-human, or any such category. Good son, this citta does not abide in the eyes, nor does it abide in the ears, nose, tongue, body, or manas. Across the three periods of time it also cannot be seen. Why is this? Because this citta is identical to the characteristic of empty space. By this meaning, it is far removed from all coarse and subtle discriminations. Why is this? Because this nature of empty space is the nature of citta. Just as the nature of citta is, so is the nature of bodhi; just as the nature of bodhi is, so is the nature of dhāraṇī. Good son, therefore this citta, empty space, bodhi, and the nature of dhāraṇī are non-dual, without duality of parts, without distinction, and without interruption. All such things take great loving-kindness and compassion as their root and are gathered in by the pāramitā of expedient means. Good son, therefore you should know that I now expound such Dharma amidst this great assembly of bodhisattvas in order to purify the vast and great bodhicitta and to cause everyone to understand their own citta. Therefore, Sovereign King of All Dharmas, if good sons and good daughters wish to know the real nature of bodhi, they should understand their own citta. Just as the nature of citta is, so is the nature of bodhi. How can one understand the nature of citta? It means that with regard to all characteristics—whether shapes or colors, and up to the five skandhas, six sense-entrances, twelve āyatanas, and eighteen dhātus—when one observes and investigates such dharmas, they can ultimately never be found. Good son, if bodhisattvas understand in this way, they will achieve the gate of the supreme, pure light of Dharma. Having abided in this gate, they will spontaneously attain this inconceivable knowledge of all forms of knowledge, the profound samādhi that is the realm of all Buddhas."'
96.31
The *Mañjuśrīprajñāsūtra* says: 'The Buddha asked Mañjuśrī: "To how many Buddhas have you already made offerings?" / Mañjuśrī said: "I and all Buddhas are like illusory transformations; I see neither the offering nor the receiver." / The Buddha told Mañjuśrī: "Can it be that you now do not abide in the Buddha vehicle?" / Mañjuśrī said: "As I reflect upon it, I do not see a single dharma; how could I come to abide in the Buddha vehicle?" / The Buddha said: "Mañjuśrī, have you not attained the Buddha vehicle?" / Mañjuśrī said: "The Buddha vehicle exists in name only; it cannot be attained, nor can it be seen. How could I attain it?" / The Buddha said: "Mañjuśrī, have you attained unimpeded knowledge?" / Mañjuśrī said: "I myself am unimpeded; how could unimpededness attain unimpededness?" / The Buddha said: "Do you sit in the place of awakening?" / Mañjuśrī said: "All Tathāgatas do not sit in the place of awakening; how could I alone sit in the place of awakening? Why is this? Because all phenomena are presently seen to abide in the reality-limit." / Explanation: If one understands the reality-limit of the one mind, then nothing whatsoever can be attained. Within having nothing to attain, one is therefore able to accomplish boundless Buddha-works, because within each and every affair nothing departs from the reality-limit. If one understands in this way, it is not necessarily not sitting in the place of awakening—it is sitting in the place of awakening. At the very moment of sitting in the place of awakening, it is not sitting in the place of awakening. Why is this? Because the place of awakening and so forth do not transcend the reality-limit.
96.32
The *Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra* says: 'If one abides in all phenomena, one does not abide in the prajñāpāramitā. Only by not abiding in all phenomena does one abide in the prajñāpāramitā.' / Explanation: If one abides in phenomena, one does not see prajñā; if one abides in prajñā, one does not see phenomena. Because phenomena have characteristics and prajñā is signless, existence and non-existence are opposites, and therefore it is so. Furthermore, signless prajñā is not established separately apart from phenomena with characteristics, because characteristics are themselves signlessness and entirely prajñā. The sūtra says: 'Because form is boundless, prajñā is boundless.' It also says: 'If one studies prajñā, one should study all phenomena.' Why is this? Prajñā means non-abiding. Generating a thought is itself abiding and attachment; if one does not abide in all phenomena, that is prajñā. Therefore it says, 'If one studies prajñā, one should study all phenomena.' If one were to abide in prajñā, that would also become foolish darkness. As long as one does not abide anywhere, then there is nothing that is not prajñā.
96.33
The Vajramaṇḍaladhāraṇīsūtra says: 'Mañjuśrī addressed the Buddha, saying: "Is there perhaps a single dharma which, when practiced by a bodhisattva, enables them to enter all dhāraṇī-dharma gates?" / The Buddha said: "There is a one-syllable dharma gate which, once obtained by a bodhisattva, enables them to expound tens of millions of syllable dharma gates, and this one-syllable dharma gate can never be exhausted. Having expounded all dharmas, they are gathered back into the one-syllable dharma gate."
96.34
The Sūtra on Transforming the Female Body says: 'If one sees no distinctions among dharmas, then one will certainly be able to bring sentient beings to maturity.' / It also says: 'If one knows that all dharmas bear the characteristic of liberation, this is called ultimate liberation.' / Explanation: Clinging to citta as the objective realm, whatever meets the eye is defiling toil. Knowing that the objective realm is citta, there is nothing that is not liberation. Therefore, the two vehicles only realize the emptiness of persons; merely transcending the delusion of a personal self is called liberation, but they have not yet attained the universal liberation of the emptiness of dharmas, because they do not recognize citta. As a verse in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: 'Dharmas have no entity of dharma, / yet it is said that they are mind-only. / Failing to see one's own citta, / discrimination is produced.'
96.35
The Udānavarga says: 'One whose body is clad in the armor of precepts, yet whose mind lacks the sword of wisdom, cannot destroy the chief of the defilements.' Hence we know that if one does not contemplate citta so that wondrous wisdom is accomplished, one cannot sever the root of avidyā. Therefore, the Śūraṅgamasūtra says: 'Observance and transgression merely bind the body; / what is not the body has nothing to bind. / Since it is originally not pervasive of all, / how could one attain complete penetration?'
96.36
The Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra says: 'In the foremost Great Way, / there are no two truths.' / Explanation: The resolve should return to the one source of the ten thousand dharmas, just as a state has no two kings and a household has no two masters. If, apart from this, there is something else sought, then it becomes two paths. As the Bodhisattvacaryopāyasūtra says: 'One who seeks the Dharma is called one who seeks nothing among all dharmas.' It also says: 'If there is something sought, one cannot roar the lion's roar; if there is nothing sought, one can roar the lion's roar.' Explanation:
96.37
The Nirvāṇasūtra says: 'To roar the lion's roar is decisively to proclaim that all sentient beings have the Buddha-nature.' If one knows that one's own citta is fully endowed with the Buddha-nature, then how could there be any dharma outside the nature that could be sought?
96.38
The Milindapañhasūtra says: 'The king asked Nāgasena: "What is it to unify one's citta?" Nāgasena said: "Among all goods, the one mind alone is foremost. When one unifies their citta, all goods follow along with it." Nāgasena said: "It is like a multi-storied pavilion, which must lean on something; all good paths rely on the one mind."'
96.39
The Samyuktapiṭakasūtra says: 'King Ajātaśatru offered a precious robe to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Suddenly, Mañjuśrī hid his body upon his seat and was not seen. Thus, in turn, he offered it to all the bodhisattvas and śrāvakas, and it was also like this, until the king put it on himself, and his own body was also not seen. Because of this, he awakened to the Way.' / Explanation: The reason why patriarchs and buddhas set forth the teachings is none other than to shatter the two clingings to body and mind. Therefore, the Vajracchedikāsūtra says: 'What the Buddha calls not-a-body is named the great body.'
96.40
The Baocang lun says: 'In the principle of pure emptiness, there is ultimately no body; citta is also like this. If one can directly awaken to the fact that the body and mind of both oneself and others are unobtainable, that there are no dharmas outside citta, and that the ten thousand realms are all empty, then one is identical with what King Ajātaśatru awakened to.'
96.41
The Anantanirdeśasūtra says: 'The Buddha told the Bodhisattva Mahāvyūha: "There is a dharma gate that enables bodhisattvas to attain bodhi quickly." / "World-Honoured One, what is the title of this dharma gate, and what is its meaning?" / "Good son, this single dharma gate is called Infinite Meanings. A bodhisattva wishing to cultivate and study Infinite Meanings should observe that all dharmas, from the beginning until now, are in nature and characteristic empty and tranquil, neither large nor small, neither arising nor ceasing, neither abiding nor moving, neither advancing nor retreating, just like empty space, without dual dharmas. Yet sentient beings falsely and arbitrarily calculate: 'This is this, this is that; this is gain, this is loss.'"' / Explanation: That this one dharma gate is named Infinite Meanings means that it is precisely the one mind gate, which can generate infinite meanings. Because it does not preserve its own nature, it accords with conditions to form all dharmas; at the very time it accords with conditions, it also does not lose its own nature. Because sentient beings do not understand, they merely follow the conditions of arising movement and fail to see the nature of tranquil cessation; thus, with respect to all dharmas, they arbitrarily calculate existence and non-existence, self and other, gain and loss.
96.42
The Sūtra of the Tathāgata's Instruction to King Prasenajit says: 'Great King, you should know: it is like a man or woman who, in a dream, sees with a dreaming citta lovely gardens, lovely valleys, lovely kingdoms, and various kinds of beings. When that dream is awakened from, all that was seen is non-existent. Just so, Great King, the state's fortune, body, and life are false and impermanent; all are like what is seen in a dream.' Hence we know that the realm within a dream and the realm when awake are seen solely by citta, without any difference. Worldly people merely believe that dream realms are unreal, while universally clinging to daytime realms as real. Therefore, the Great Awakened One, extending compassion, spoke analogies for them to know by comparison, using the unreal that they believe to shatter the real that they believe, causing the real that they believe to become identical with the unreal that they believe, so that they suddenly awaken to the emptiness of dharmas and all enter the mirror of the source.
96.43
The Dharmadhātusvabhāvāvatārasūtra says: 'At that time, the Elder Śāriputra left his dwelling place and went to the dwelling of the youth Mañjuśrī. Having arrived, he did not see Mañjuśrī. He then went to where the Buddha was. Having arrived, he stayed outside by a separate gate of the Buddha. At that time, the World-Honoured One said to the youth Mañjuśrī: "Mañjuśrī, this monk Śāriputra is now outside the gate, wishing to hear the Dharma. You should have him enter." / Mañjuśrī said: "World-Honoured One, whether it is the limit of that Śāriputra or the limit of the dharmadhātu, World-Honoured One, how could these two limits have an inside, an outside, or an in-between?" / The Buddha said: "No." / Mañjuśrī said: "World-Honoured One, that which is called the actual limit is also not an actual limit. Such a limit and non-limit have neither inside nor outside, neither coming nor going. World-Honoured One, the limit of the Elder Śāriputra is itself the actual limit; the realm of Śāriputra is itself the dharmadhātu. World-Honoured One, yet this dharmadhātu has neither exiting nor entering, neither coming nor going. From where did this Elder Śāriputra come, and into where should he enter?" / The Buddha said: "Mañjuśrī, if I were inside conversing with the śrāvakas, and you were outside and not allowed to enter, would your mind not produce the thought of distress?" / Mañjuśrī said: "No, World-Honoured One. Why is that? World-Honoured One, whatever Dharma is spoken is not separate from the dharmadhātu. The Tathāgata's expounding of Dharma is itself the dharmadhātu; the dharmadhātu is itself the Tathāgata realm. The realm of expounding Dharma and the dharmadhātu, as well as the realm of verbal expression, are non-dual and without distinction. All names and speakers are not separate from the dharmadhātu. World-Honoured One, by this meaning, I have no distress. World-Honoured One, even if for kalpas as many as the sands of the Ganges I did not come to the place where the World-Honoured One expounds the Dharma, at that time I would not produce attachment or pleasure, nor would I have sorrow or distress. Why is that? If there were duality, sorrow and distress would arise; because the dharmadhātu is non-dual, how could there be distress?"' / Explanation: Thus, inside and outside are limitless, and the real and conventional share a single origin. Entering into the mirror of the source, joy and sorrow do not fill the breast; abiding in the non-dual place, aversion and love do not hang upon the field of emotion. Hence we know that without going or coming, seeing the Buddha does not depart from the present thought; neither near nor far, hearing the Dharma, how could it surpass the tip of a fine hair? Only upon attaining Mañjuśrī's mind does one know the nature of things as they are; giving rise to the view of sentient beings, one spontaneously separates oneself through emotional defilements.
96.44
The Sandhinirmocanasūtra says: 'The buddhas, the tathāgatas, skillfully awaken to what is to be awakened to; free from dual practice, they arrive at the markless place; practicing the practices of buddhas, they attain all equanimity of the tathāgatas; they reach the destination of non-obstruction; they can reach the entirely irreversible wheel of Dharma; they can reach the unconquerable realm and the inconceivable substance; they can reach all equanimity across the three times; their bodies ubiquitously reach all world realms; they arrive at the place of no doubt regarding all dharmas; they can reach all ultimate wisdom practices; they can all arrive at the realm of no doubt in Dharma-wisdom; they attain all non-discriminative bodies; they can answer all the questions of bodhisattvas with wisdom; they can arrive at the other shore of non-dual practice; they can reach the place of liberation-wisdom free from distinction among all buddhas; they can reach the samādhi realm that is without boundaries and without center, vast as the dharmadhātu, ultimate as empty space, exhausting the bounds of the future.' / Explanation: Directly arriving at the place of no doubt regarding all dharmas can only be known upon awakening to citta; suddenly illuminating the markless gate of the ten thousand realms can only be understood upon seeing the nature. This is the realm of practice of the tathāgatas, that which is known by the Great Awakened One. Therefore it is said: 'Vast as the dharmadhātu, ultimate as empty space, without beginning and without end, exhausting the bounds of the future.'
96.45
The Ritual Manual for the Secret Recitation of the Bodhisattva Vajrarāja says: 'Sit upright with a straight body and reflect thus: all dharmas arise from one's own citta; from the beginning onward, none of them exist.'
96.46
A verse in the Maitreyavyākaraṇasūtra says: 'For long I contemplated the suffering of sentient beings, / wishing to pull them out, yet there was no way to free them. / Today, realizing bodhi, / broadly and open, there is nothing at all.' / Explanation: Thought after thought, the conscious mind攀 climbs conditions and is bound to dust realms, failing to attain ease and freedom; this is the suffering of sentient beings. If one understands that realms are empty and without bondage, inner fetters do not arise; realizing and meeting the one mind, sense faculties and dust are both stilled, and one immediately enters the dharmadhātu of empty nature and realizes markless bodhi. Therefore, the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasamādhisūtra says: 'Without attachment and without reliance, / unburdened, the mind is tranquil and ceased; / the original nature is like empty space: / this is named the Unsurpassed Way.' Furthermore, the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra says: 'All buddhas here attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi; all buddhas here turn the wheel of Dharma; all buddhas here enter parinirvāṇa.' Therefore, the buddhas' attaining the Way through the eight aspects and the bodhisattvas' delivering sentient beings through the four means of embracing—both benefiting oneself and benefiting others—are all accomplished within this emptiness of the original nature.
96.47
The Samyuktapiṭakasūtra says: 'For example, when two pieces of wood rub against each other, fire arises spontaneously and burns that wood in turn; the fire does not come out of the wind, does not come out of the water, does not come out of the earth. The four māras are also like this: they all arise from citta and do not come from the outside. For example, a painter paints an image, large or small according to his hand; although conditions come together—having pigment, board, and brush—if the painter does not paint, the image cannot be formed. The four māras are like this: when citta is already firm, nothing arises.' / Explanation: Thus, when the one mind is unmoving, dharmas do not appear before one, just as when the painter does not paint, there are no images. Therefore, the unmoving one mind has great merit. As the Dharmapadāvadānasūtra says: 'The Buddha said: "Good sons, a spiritual friend has great merit, being able to cause you to establish the Buddha-Dharma amidst greed, anger, ignorance, wrong views, the five hindrances, the five desires, and all the defiling toils. Not giving rise to the one mind has great merit. It is like a person who takes a sturdy ship and crosses the great ocean, arriving at the other shore without moving body or mind."'
96.48
Record of the Mirror of the Source, Fascicle Ninety-Six
96.49
Woodblocks carved by the Directorate of the Canon of the Branch Office in the wushen year.
Linked texts (1)
- 宗鏡錄 — Classical Chinese