萬善同歸集 3.47

3.47

答：「雖人法本空，彼我虛寂，而眾生迷，如夢所得，都不覺知；菩薩興悲而示真實。《大般若經》云：『佛告善現：「應知有情雖自性空，遠離眾相，而有雜染、清淨可得。」』《起信論》云：『雖念諸法，自性不生；而復即念，因緣和合，善惡之業、苦樂等報，不失不壞。雖念因緣，善惡業報；而亦即念，性不可得。是以觀緣起，而不住涅槃；了性空，而不住生死。』」

He replied: “Although persons and phenomena are fundamentally empty, and self and other are vainly tranquil, sentient beings are deluded: like what is obtained in a dream, they have no awareness at all; thus the bodhisattva arouses compassion and shows the true reality. The Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra says: ‘The Buddha addressed Subhūti: “You should know that although sentient beings are empty of self-nature and far removed from all characteristics, defilement and purification can nevertheless be found.”’ The Awakening of Faith says: ‘Although one contemplates all phenomena as having no self-nature arising, one immediately also contemplates that, through the conjunction of causes and conditions, karmas of good and evil and retributions of suffering and pleasure are neither lost nor destroyed. Although one contemplates causes and conditions and the karmic retributions of good and evil, one immediately also contemplates that nature cannot be apprehended. Therefore, by observing dependent origination one does not abide in nirvāṇa; by comprehending emptiness of nature one does not abide in saṃsāra.’”