萬善同歸集 2.12

2.12

Answer: "Phenomena, which depend, are accomplished from principle; principle, upon which they depend, manifests in accordance with phenomena. Just as a thousand waves do not obstruct the single wetness, and many vessels do not divide the single gold. Essence and function contain each other; unfolding and folding are on the same plane. If speaking from the complete purport, not only are principle and phenomena mutually identical, but principle and principle can also be mutually identical; phenomena and phenomena can also be mutually identical; and principle and phenomena not being identical is also permissible. Hence it is called the unobstructed Dharma gate of freedom according with conditions. Furthermore, among the conversion gates of the Buddhas, the single Dharma of dāna-giving is the first of the ten perfections and the foremost of the myriad practices, the initial cause for entering the path, and the essential guideline for gathering sentient beings. The Great Treatise states: 'Giving is a treasure house that constantly follows a person; giving destroys suffering and can bestow happiness upon people; giving is a good charioteer, revealing the heavenly path; giving is an abode of goodness, gathering all good people; giving is peace and security: when facing the end of life, the mind has no dread; giving is the mark of compassion, able to deliver all; giving gathers joy and can destroy the thief of suffering; giving is a great general, able to subdue the enemy of stinginess; giving is the pure path traversed by worthies and sages; giving is the accumulation of goodness, the gate to blessings and virtues; giving fully obtains the fruits of blessing and joy; giving is the initial condition for nirvāṇa, the essential dharma for entering the assembly of good people, the deep treasury of praise and eulogy, the merit of abiding in assemblies without difficulty, the mansion of a mind without regret, the root of wholesome dharmas and the practice of the path, the grove of various rejoicings, the field of merit for wealth and peace, and the ferry for attaining the path and nirvāṇa.' The Collection of the Six Practices states: 'When an ordinary being gives, if giving rise to arrogance, it becomes a sinful practice; if giving rise to respect, it becomes a meritorious practice. When those of the two vehicles give, they merely contemplate the movement of dusts. When junior bodhisattvas give, they consider that the nature of form is empty. When great bodhisattvas give, they know the mind's false views. When Buddhas give, they are said to realize mind-only, forever pure and free from thought. Thus we know that within the single gate of giving, six practices form distinctions; how could one conflate them and reduce them all at once? There are also internal giving, external giving, giving of principle, and giving of phenomena; essence and function mutually support each other, and root and branch mutually illuminate. If relying solely on principle, one sinks into annihilation; if clinging to phenomena, one falls into eternalism. Only when principle and phenomena harmonize does one transcend both afflictions. Moreover, among the holy purports of the Buddhas that measure giving, the giving of principle is foremost, and internal giving is given special weight.' Thus the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra states: 'The Buddha said: "If there is someone who gives rise to the aspiration to attain anuttarā samyak-saṃbodhi and can burn a finger, or even a toe, as an offering to a Buddha's stūpa, it surpasses offering kingdoms, cities, wives, children, and the mountains, forests, rivers, ponds, and various precious treasures of a three-thousand-great-thousandfold world realm."' The Treatise on the Great Prajñāpāramitā states: 'If a person relinquishes the body, it surpasses all the treasures that fill Jambudvīpa.' From this we know that nimble tongues easily utter light words, but the great treasure of one's whole body is difficult to cast away; the affection for preserving life is deep, and the desire to live is intense. Even reaching the tranquility of the substance of the three wheels is still subsumed under the Shared Teaching; how much less can one attain pure giving when thoughts of taking and rejecting arise? Moreover, the gate of giving in the Complete Teaching universally encompasses the dharmadhātu; what phenomenon is not prepared, and what principle is not perfected? The bodhisattva illuminates principle without rejecting phenomena, and inspects phenomena without abandoning principle; its promotion lies with the person, so why stagnate in dharmas? If there are phenomena apart from principle, phenomena become the folly of determinate nature; if there is principle apart from phenomena, principle becomes the attachment to annihilation. If one clings to phenomena and is confused about principle, the retribution lies in saṃsāra; if one embodies principle and attains phenomena, the fruit becomes ultimate. Thus the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra states: 'Furthermore, I see bodhisattvas joyfully giving away heads, eyes, and bodies, seeking the Buddha's wisdom.' If relinquishing the body were heterodox, how could it accomplish the Buddha's wisdom? Therefore we know that a tiny good leads to an immensely profound fruit; through this gate of perfection, the marked cause is not discarded. Just as when Śākyamuni Buddha relinquished his body and life, each and every time he verified a Dharma gate, either obtaining the forbearance of compliance or entering the forbearance of non-arising phenomena. In general, all that a bodhisattva does understands selflessness and naturelessness; engaging with phenomena, they see principle; encountering realms, they know emptiness. They are not like ordinary beings who create sin and merit without understanding that cause and effect, good and evil, have no intrinsic nature; this is being confused about phenomena and seizing on nature, permanently bound to the three realms of existence."