真心直說 1.17

1.17

Someone asked: "Everyone possesses the essence and function of the true mind. Why, then, are sage and ordinary person not the same?"
It was answered: "The true mind is originally the same in sage and ordinary person. Ordinary people, with deluded minds, identify with objects and lose their own pure nature, being obstructed by this; hence the true mind cannot appear manifest. It is merely like shadows of trees in the dark or underground springs: existing, yet not recognized. Therefore a sūtra says: 'Good sons, it is like a pure maṇi jewel reflecting five colors, appearing variously according to direction. Fools see that maṇi as truly possessing the five colors. Good sons, the pure nature of perfect awakening appears in body and mind, responding respectively according to kind; those fools say that pure perfect awakening truly has such body and mind. The self-nature is also like this.' The Zhaolun says: 'Within heaven and earth, between the cosmic realms, in the midst there is a treasure, hidden within the mountain of form.' This is the true mind within entanglements. Furthermore, Ci'en said: 'The dharmakāya is originally possessed and shared by all buddhas. Ordinary people, because deluded concealment exists, are unawakened; wrapped in afflictions, it obtains the name tathāgatagarbha.' Lord Pei said: 'One who all day long is perfectly awakened yet has never been awakened is an ordinary person.' Therefore, one knows that although the true mind is within defilements, it is not defiled by defilements, just as white jade cast into mud does not change its color."