宗鏡錄 96.30

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."'