佛祖統紀 50

English (machine translation) 50

Language: English

50.1

Composed by Śramaṇa Zhipan of Donghu in Siming, Song dynasty, Xianchun era.

50.2

Treatise on Famous Texts Illuminating the Teachings, the Eighteenth, Part Two

50.3

Preface to the Commentary on the Benevolent King Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra

Between the Chen and Sui dynasties, Tiantai Zhiyi received [the transmission] from afar from Nāgārjuna and established one great teaching. Transmitted nine times, it reached Jingxi. In Jingxi's era, there were students who came from Silla named Farong, Liying, and Chunying. Thus this teaching spread to various countries beyond the seas and flourished together with the Central Plains. During the chaos and decline of the Tang house, classical texts were utterly destroyed; although this teaching was one that could not perish, it was also difficult for it to survive. However, as the bright sun is about to emerge, the morning rosy clouds first rise; when a true person responds to the turning of destiny, cultural brightness naturally appears. At the beginning of our Song dynasty, this teaching again crossed the sea and entered Wu and Yue; that which is transmitted in the present age, such as the Three Great Works, belongs to this category. Yet there were still those that remained behind and did not arrive, and those that arrived but were not authentic. For the Commentary on the Benevolent King Sūtra, two versions arrived first, and everyone denounced them as spurious. Formerly, after the Dharma Master [Fazhi] accepted the hair of a pratyekabuddha sent by Dhyāna Master Makoto of Japan and answered the twenty points he had questioned, he then sought the so-called Commentary on the Benevolent King Sūtra from him. Makoto thereupon handed it over to a sea vessel. Soon after, amid great winds and startling waves on the open sea, the seafarers thought they had nothing with which to appease the intention of the dragon spirits, and hurriedly cast this commentary into the waters to console them. Fazhi then sought two monks with strong memories to go to Makoto so that they could recite the text and return. Soon afterward, the two monks died in Japan. In the early Yuanfeng era, a maritime merchant arrived carrying two scrolls of the present commentary. In Siming, there was the śramaṇa Ruxun who, through appropriate conditions, obtained it (and so forth). Zhiyi's compassionate rain completely realized the Dharma-nature as calm and contemplation (śamatha-vipaśyanā), tracing its source to the Way of Śākyamuni; now it just flourishes in Yue, and on another day it will surely encompass all under heaven. How could this book alone be concealed? In general, that by which our school is forever different from other houses and cannot be spoken of together in the same breath—is it not solely the three thousand [realms]? Is it not solely contemplation's inherent integration?

50.6

Stele Inscription and Treatise for Dharma Master Mingzhi

50.7

By Chao Shuozhi

50.8

The Bhagavat in the Crane Grove entrusted the Dharma to Mahākāśyapa. Through twenty-four transmissions it reached Āryasiṃha. Or it is said: through twenty-eight transmissions it reached Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma first arrived in this Eastern Land during the Liang dynasty. Among the six perfections, he took Chan as his special designation. Although it is said to show [the truth] suddenly, how could it be without expedient means? Although it is said not to establish words or letters, in its initial transmission there was the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, and after five or six generations it esteemed prajñā. Does examining the teaching to illuminate the mind not lie precisely here? Thirteen transmissions from Mahākāśyapa was Nāgārjuna, who composed the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa. When it was translated and transmitted to Cīnasthāna, there was Chan Master Wen of the Northern Qi. In a single glance at this text, he instantly awakened to the purport of the Madhyamaka contemplation, transmitting it to Nanyue. Nanyue transmitted it to Tiantai. Tiantai awakened to the Lotus Samādhi and for the first time opened up the gate of doctrinal principles: for samādhi, the threefold cessation; for wisdom, the threefold contemplation; termed inherent, termed identical, termed the three thousand [realms] in a single thought-moment. That which he took as the primary source was the Lotus Sūtra. Thus the Avataṃsaka, Āgamas, Vaipulya, and Prajñā, subsuming the six perfections and fusing the ten thousand practices, when unfolded and revealed, are all none other than the path of the Lotus and the Buddha-wisdom. When transmitted to Zhāng'ān, Jinyun, Dongyang, and Zuoxi, down to Jīngxī, the teachings of Master Zhiyi were fully recorded in writings and uniformly brought back to orthodoxy. Jīngxī transmitted it to Man; Man transmitted it to Xiu (it should say: Jīngxī transmitted it to Sui, Sui transmitted it to Xiu); Xiu transmitted it to Wai; Wai transmitted it to Xiu; Xiu transmitted it to Song; Song transmitted it to Ji; Ji transmitted it to Tong; Tong transmitted it to Li: this was Siming. At that time this teaching flourished exceptionally, yet differences and commonalities were also manifold. The great dragons and elephants of towering renown were not easily subdued; a debate over a single word took ten laborious exchanges. Such as not contemplating the true mind but contemplating only skandhas and delusion—even today this is praised as correct. Why should later generations wish to alter his explanations? Reverently reflecting upon Zhiyi's wisdom—how immense it was! The purport of the threefold contemplation, singular and compound, is truly set forth in the Perfect Enlightenment Sūtra. The discourse on the mutual arising of the ten spheres only appears in the Śūraṅgama-sūtra. Zhiyi first spoke of them under the Sui dynasty; these scriptures were translated later under the Tang. Though one might wish not to believe it, how could that be possible? (The Pure Conversations of Venerable Ying: The Śūraṅgama was originally in the Western Regions. Zhiyi heard of it and clung to life waiting for it. When the time of his parinirvāṇa drew near, he left behind a record saying: 'When this scripture enters China, I will not be able to see it. There will be a bodhisattva in the body of an official who will translate the Buddha's words into eloquent literature. After several hundred more years, there will be a bhikṣu in the flesh who, using my teaching, will judge this scripture and return it to the Middle Way.') What is called 'personally hearing it at Vulture Peak'—are these not also its traces? Therefore, his teachings spread east to Japan and returned west to Tianzhu; nothing could rival them. Some say there is a 'special transmission outside the teachings,' not knowing that the teachings are unequalled—what 'outside' could there be? The transmission is perfectly accomplished—what 'special' could there be? Some say 'do not establish words and letters,' not knowing that words and letters are neither real nor illusory—then what do they take to be words and letters? I have once inquired into those figures. Those who guided this teaching before Zhiyi were Mahāsattva Fu of the Liang and Chan Master Chou of the Northern Qi. Those who subsequently revered and praised it were Vinaya Master Nanshan, and the various masters Shao and Shou (National Preceptor Shao and Chan Master Shou). The one who secretly propagated it and attained realization was Zhenjue of Yongjia. The one who, although taking a different path, did not dare not to praise it, was Master Zang of Xianshou. The one who rebelled against it yet plundered its doctrines was Master Guan of Qingliang. The one who publicly debated similarities and differences while independently establishing his own views was Master Ji of Cien. Only Zongmi of Guifeng secretly used his words while exclusively practicing the gradual study of the four dhyānas and eight samāpattis—how is that different from child's play insulting the venerable and virtuous? Excellent were the words of Liang Jingzhi: 'The Buddha Dharma takes Tiantai as its compass.' Liu Zihou said: 'As the Buddha's path receded further into the distance, heterodox factions arose in rivalry; only Tiantai obtained its true transmission.' He also said: 'As the transmission of the Way grew fainter, speaking of Chan became the greatest affliction. Today's empty, foolish men who indulge their arrogance all falsely defame Chan to throw its teachings into disarray, rushing into clamorous blindness and indulging in dissolute abandon. I shall unite with the path of Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna.' It is only Mingzhi who, having been born late when heterodoxies ran even more rampant, accumulated virtue in his person and refrained from arguing with them. When one is about to humble oneself, my words will illuminate him. But considering who I am, how dare I casually take part in this matter? In my youth, I stealthily heard the Great Way from Chan Master Yuanzhao, who said: 'In future days, exert yourself in studying the scriptures and teachings.' Thirty years later, I indeed met Mingzhi and was fortunate enough to hear the single school's doctrine of inherent nature. Seeing those blindly enlightened Chan masters and letter-bound Dharma masters riding in broken donkey-carts, utterly lacking the strength to correct them, I dared not fail to exert myself.

50.9

Eulogy for the Portrait of Great Master Fazhi of Nanhu

50.10

By Layman Zhenyin, Shi Hao

50.11

The single assembly on Vulture Peak was solemnly present on Tiantai; / After thirteen generations, an extraordinary talent was born once more. / Proclaiming the Way in Siming, the lecture halls were opened wide; / His fame spread across the vast seas, resounding like clouds and thunder. / Emperor Zhangsheng was on the throne when imperial emissaries arrived in succession; / Attaining the great purport of the Dharma, magnificent and vast. / Bestowed the title Fazhi, the imperial writing shone brilliantly; / Down to the present, later students all look up to his towering height. / Fragrant orchids and sweet chrysanthemums spring from the same root; / Ah, he was the pillar and foundation of the Dharma palace, the salt and plum of the cauldron of the teachings. / Fittingly, this phantom likeness / Has endured a thousand ages without a speck of dust.

50.12

Inscription for Faming Monastery at West Lake in Yongjia

50.13

By Master Shuixin, Ye Shi

50.14

This monastery is where Dharma Master Zhong formerly resided. The master's practice was supreme, the power of his vows strong and resolute, and he swore an oath to attain the Way. Therefore, although it was burned and overgrown with wild grass, for a hundred years carriages and robes constantly thronged the entire commandery. When Master Zizhen built the two corridors and Master Chang constructed the halls, the courtyards were at last completed. Master Chang was especially rigorous and austere: his robes and sandals were worn and torn, and his food did not exceed a single measure. Disciples gathered like clouds, and his responses welled forth like a spring. The flourishing of Dongye and Tianzhu was truly equal to this. Initially, Tiantai established the two meanings of cessation and contemplation; those who received and explained them became ever more numerous and rambling, and Masters Zhong and Chang were particularly prolific in treatises. Now their disciples Miaozhen and Puji wish to compile the studies of various masters into a doctrinal canon, and within the monastery they lead monastics and laypeople in practicing the buddha-remembrance samādhi, in order to commemorate Chang's achievements and inherit Zhong's enterprise without end. Their aspirations are very far-reaching. Yet the Buddhists regard the body as a temporary lodging, while incessantly adorning their mansions; they consider words to be superfluous warts, while transmitting ever more in written letters. This is truly something I do not understand. I once asked Master Chang about it, and Chang also did not know why it was so.

50.15

Preface to the Recarved Condensed Cessation and Contemplation

50.16

By Wu Keji of Kai'an

50.17

How extraordinary! A book that saves the world and clarifies the Way—I did not expect it to circulate again today. If princes and dukes knew of this book, they certainly would not believe slander and abolish or destroy it. If officials and literati knew of this book, they certainly would not formulate arguments to attack and reject it. If those who open the barrier of Chan were able to read this book, would they be willing to deceive themselves with a 'special transmission outside the teachings'? If those who search scriptures and treatises were able to read this book, would they be willing to entrap themselves in distinguishing names and marks? How much more so if households throughout the realm kept this book, progressively instructing others to understand this meaning—who then would be greedy for coarse, defiled five desires rather than seeking early liberation? These are the general outlines by which disciples of the inner teaching protect and maintain the Dharma. Zigong was fond of debate, and the Way of Confucius was thereby clarified; Mencius was lofty and dignified, his merit worthy of continuing Yu's work. Summed up in these words, who would say it is not to be believed?

50.18

Letter to Tribute Scholar Yu

50.19

By Wu Keji of Kai'an

50.20

The Buddha's Way has come to the Eastern Splendour for nearly two thousand years. Among our Confucians who have vigorously repelled and rejected it, none were like Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu. Yet neither of them investigated its words and its Way; they only knew to hold rigidly to the teachings established by the Duke of Zhou and Confucius to revile it. Therefore, though they attacked it, it grew ever firmer, and in the end they had no means to broadly convince the minds of all under heaven. Only the worthy scholars of Guan and Luo, together with Master Hu and his son, somewhat engaged with Buddhism without believing in it. Yet when examining what they debated and clarified, calling it biased, licentious, perverse, and evasive, they were merely pointing to the singular transmission of the Chan school. The presence of the Chan school in Buddhism is like the presence of Laozi and Zhuangzi in our Confucianism. If, because of extravagant talk about picking up mallets and raising whisks, one doubts the orthodox teachings of the Buddha's entire lifetime, that would be like doubting the way of cultivating the person, regulating the family, ordering the state, and bringing peace to all under heaven in the Six Classics, the Analects, and the Mencius on account of the frivolous vacuity of Wang Bi and He Yan's studies. How could that be acceptable? As the Buddha receded further into the distance, heterodoxies arose together; only the Great Master of Tiantai obtained its orthodox transmission. This is what gentlemen such as Liang Jingzhi and Liu Zihou of the Tang, and Chao Yidao and Chen Yingzhong of our dynasty, took to heart and attained deeply. Although I am not clever, I have truly researched it for years. Observing how it explicates the single nature and encompasses the Dharma realm, enabling the six ordinary and four noble realms to each cultivate their virtues and all reach the ultimate, it is truly not easy to explain this to you hastily. Only when you examine its books and verify its Way in the future will you realize that what my humble poem yesterday called 'the Great Way cannot be kept private' and 'Confucius and Śākya both rescue the world' were truly not self-deceptions, nor deceptions practiced on the world. But then, are the ways of Confucius and Śākya truly identical, or are they truly different? If they are different, they cannot be made one; if they are identical, their applications should not differ. It is said: there are worldly dharmas and world-transcending dharmas. To doubt world-transcending dharmas by means of worldly dharmas is certainly unacceptable; to exclude worldly dharmas by means of world-transcending dharmas is also unacceptable. Therefore, in what Tiantai transmitted, there is also the truth of the mutual identity of the ultimate and conventional truths. Its discernment that the ways move in parallel without conflicting is indeed thorough. In this world, there are those whose footsteps have never reached the foot of Mount Tai, yet they glibly talk of its breadth and height; to wish to deceive those who have not seen Mount Tai is already impossible, how much more so those who have seen it! Now, you have not read the Buddha's books yet hastily discuss the Buddha's Way; why wonder that while you speak so earnestly, I remain aloof and do not listen?

50.21

Essential Purport of the Beginning and the End

50.22

By Great Master Jīngxī, Zhanran

50.23

Essential Purport of the Beginning and the End (Commentary by the Śramaṇa Congyi of Yongjia).

50.24

(At the cause it is called the beginning; reaching the fruit it is the end. Although cause and fruit differ, the virtues of the truth are without distinction. The purport of the perfect and sudden supreme vehicle returns to this; this is why Jīngxī established the Essential Purport).

50.25

Now, the three truths are natural virtues of the nature. (The upper clause marks and indicates them; the lower clause gives rise to exclamation. "Natural" means so of its own accord as nature, also called spontaneous. Question: How does this differ from what non-Buddhists maintain? Answer: What non-Buddhists grasp has already been refuted by the Tripiṭaka; how could one say it is identical to the truth-principle of the round and sudden? Furthermore, one should know that if one follows the refutation of attachment, one must sweep away spontaneity; yet though the refutation of attachment is like this, principle is necessarily spontaneous. Thus in one's own practice, it eliminates grasping and laxity, while according with conditions without hindrance to make such a statement. As for the text below, that sentient beings inherently possess the secret store which is not manifest because it is obscured by the three delusions, this should also be distinguished and manifested following the present model; one instance illustrates the rest, so there is no need for detailed narration.) The middle truth unifies all dharmas; the paramārtha-satya eliminates all dharmas; the saṃvṛti-satya establishes all dharmas. (This distinguishes and explains the characteristics of the three truths. "Middle" means not deviating toward the two extremes. "Truth" means examined and without falsehood. "Unifies" means encompasses in general. "All dharmas" means the dharmas of the two extremes. "Real" means without fabrication or delusion. "Eliminates" means vanishes and perishes. "All dharmas" means the dharmas of the three thousand. "Conventional" means worldly. "Establishes" means sets up. "All dharmas" means the dharmas of the hundred realms. One should know that this is explained distinctly according to the three truths. If one follows the pervasive explanation, one should say: When one is middle, all are middle; there is no paramārtha and no saṃvṛti that is not middle; then the three truths all unify principle and transcend relativity. When one is real, all are real; there is no middle and no saṃvṛti that is not real; then the three truths all perish and lack marks. When one is conventional, all are conventional; there is no middle and no paramārtha that is not conventional; then the three truths are established together and clearly apparent.) Bringing forth one is immediately the three; they are not prior and posterior. Sentient beings inherently possess them; they are not something obtained through contrivance. (The upper two clauses show the integration and identity of the three truths, revealing that they are not differentiated longitudinally or horizontally. The lower two clauses clarify that the three truths are inherently possessed, manifesting the wondrous Dharma of non-contrivance. "Bringing forth one is immediately the three" means that bringing forth the middle truth, which is neither real nor conventional, its very substance perishes dharmas and is again named the paramārtha-satya; it constantly establishes on its own, and is again the saṃvṛti-satya. Since the one of the middle truth being immediately the three is thus, the two of real and conventional being immediately the three are also like this. In accordance with the instructions of the patriarchs, one should further say: being immediately three yet one, could they be separated from each other? Being immediately one yet three, they cannot be mixed together. Neither three nor one, three and one are clearly apparent. Gather them, and they are ever more distinct; disperse them, and they are constantly united. Horizontally they are also lofty; vertically they are also broad. Analogies such as the bright mirror are truly worth careful investigation. Do not, upon seeing the mutual identity of the three and one, therefore disallow the worldly dharmas of the saṃvṛti-satya, the vanishing of the paramārtha-satya, and the middle truth unifying and transcending conventional words so abundantly; how could one deceive oneself?) How sorrowful! The secret store is not manifest, covered indeed by the three delusions. (The three truths are subtle and wonderful, and sentient beings do not understand them; they are called "secret." The Dharma-realm encompasses functions that cannot be exhausted; it is termed "store." Although the nature is subtle and wonderful, defilement has become inherent; it is compared to the sky in a mirror, and analogized to dust and clouds. Here it is explained in general; the subsequent text will do so distinctly.) Therefore avidya obscures the Dharma-nature; dust-and-sand impedes transformative guidance; views and thoughts obstruct empty quiescence. (Avidya means failing to understand the Dharma-realm, having nothing illuminated. Dust-and-sand is an analogy for the great number of types of unknowing. Views and thoughts are named based on understanding and so forth. One should know that the three delusions are all inherently possessed by the nature; having the same substance, they become hindrances, difficult to comprehend. The text says "obscures, impedes, obstructs" merely to vary the phrasing.) Yet these three delusions are merely empty falsities upon the substance. (Concluding by pointing out that the hindrances of delusion are not real at all; does not the analogy of flowers in the sky reside in this?) Thereupon the Greatly Awakened Merciful Honoured One sighed and lamented: (The Greatly Awakened is Wondrous Awakening. Sighing is the sound of lamentation.) "Within the realm of true suchness, conventional names of sentient beings and Buddhas are eliminated; in impartial wisdom, visible forms of self and other do not exist. (Generally referring to the three truths as true suchness and impartial wisdom; eliminating names and departing from marks.) It is only because of the delusions and false thoughts of sentient beings that they do not realize it themselves and are unable to return." For this reason he established the three contemplations to shatter the three delusions, realize the three wisdoms, and accomplish the three virtues. (Because sentient beings are in confusion and unable to restore their nature, one must explain delusions, contemplations, and so forth. Fully developing cultivation from the nature, the nature does not shift; cultivation residing entirely in the nature, cultivation is ever clearly apparent. The three truths established by our tradition appear in the two sūtras of the Yingluo and Renwang. The text on the three contemplations comes from the lower scroll of the Yingluo jing. The three delusions are established in accordance with the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā and the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa. The three wisdoms are fully set forth in the "Chapter on the Three Wisdoms" of the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā. The three virtues are complete in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra.) The contemplation of emptiness shatters the delusion of views and thoughts, realizes the wisdom of all modes, and accomplishes the virtue of prajñā. The contemplation of the provisional shatters the delusion of dust-and-sand, realizes the wisdom of the paths, and accomplishes the virtue of liberation. The contemplation of the middle shatters the delusion of avidyā, realizes sarvākārajñatā, and accomplishes the virtue of the Dharmakāya. (One thought without marks is called emptiness. No dharma not being complete is called the provisional. Neither one nor different is called the middle. Knowing all dharmas to be empty, quiescent, and of a single mark is called the wisdom of all modes. Knowing the various differences of the ten Dharma-realms is called the wisdom of the paths. Knowing that the two extremes are nothing other than the middle way is called sarvākārajñatā. Illumination is prajñā. Untying bonds is called liberation. Purity is called the Dharmakāya. All possess permanence, bliss, self, and purity; they are called virtues.) Yet these three delusions, three contemplations, three wisdoms, and three virtues are not separate, nor at different times, because the natural principle possesses all dharmas. (The text above distinguished them; fearing that they might be thought longitudinal or horizontal, this here integrates them to reveal they are not distinct. Therefore one should know: the three delusions are shattered in a single thought; the three contemplations are cultivated in a single mind; the three wisdoms are realized in a single thought; the three virtues are accomplished in a single mind. Delusion and contemplation are identical; wisdom and virtue are without distinction. If they were not inherently possessed by the nature, how could they avoid being distinct? The doctrine and contemplation of our mountain tradition are forever different from the various schools, and their surpassing all theories truly lies in this.) Indeed, these three truths are so of their own nature. (Again praising the three truths as not being accomplished through contrivance.) Confused about these three truths, one turns and forms the three delusions. The shattering of delusions depends on the three contemplations. When contemplations are completed, one realizes the three wisdoms. When wisdom is completed, one accomplishes the three virtues. (From confusion to awakening, they successively depend on each other. The five sets of three in the text are merely one set of three; without prior or posterior, cause and effect share the same principle.) From cause to effect, it is not a gradual cultivation. (The practice of the virtues of the nature differs from sequential stages.) The order of explaining them is not an order in principle. (Because speech cannot reveal them suddenly, there are prior and posterior; but if one discusses their principle, it is truly within a single moment. What is that principle? The three thousand and the three truths.) The general outline is like this; the details can be pursued. (The virtue of the truths is broad and profound, hence called the "general outline." The various dharmas are manifold, termed the "details." The Avataṃsaka names it the Dharma-realm; the Vaipulya calls it the true mark; the Prajñā calls it the mother of Buddhas; the Lotus calls it the jewel in the topknot; the Nirvāṇa names it the teacher of Buddhas. The three truths are a single dharma; the Buddha spoke various names for it. Nāgārjuna awakened to it and composed treatises; Zhiyi attained it and expanded it; Jīngxī transmitted it as the essential core of the mind. Thus, what the great awakened ones of the ten directions and the various patriarchs transmitted all归 to the secret store of the virtue of the truths. In the semblance and final eras, people are indolent and unstable, their faith sparse and shallow; unable to venerate this Dharma gate, they instead seek other methods of the essential core of the mind, truly because those who practice the Great Vehicle in recent times are mixed and disorderly.)

50.26

Preface to the Commentary on the Sūtra of Forty-two Chapters

50.27

By Dharma Master Zhiyuan of Gushan

50.28

In ancient times, when the Benevolent Capable One reigned over all under heaven, he gave form to the formless form and spoke the wordless word, in order to restore the nature of all living beings; from this, the Buddhist teaching arose. The loftiness or lowness of the teaching corresponded to the sharpness or dullness of faculties; therefore there was the sudden and there was the gradual, and thereafter they were merged into one, which is called opening and revealing. And as for the teeming masses following his transformation, restoring their nature, stepping into the great square, and resting peacefully in the secret store, can they be fully described? When it came to the Later Han, his way was transmitted eastward; the ruler of the time revered its spirit, and the common people were molded by its instruction, so that it formed a trio alongside the teachings of Zhongni and Boyang. Tracing the instruction of Zhongni, he promoted the way of Tang, Yu, and the Three Kings, honouring benevolence and esteeming righteousness, causing people to return to their kingship and aspire to emperors. Tracing the instruction of Boyang, he promoted the simple and unadorned way of the Three Kings, abandoning sageliness and discarding wisdom, causing people to return to their sovereigns and aspire to the era of knotted cords. Moreover, when these two discuss nature and destiny, have they reached the ultimate of mind-only? When they speak of retribution, have they attained the three periods of time? Yet for governing all under heaven and pacifying the state, one cannot do without them for a single day. How admirable! It is clear that they can teach within the realm. But as for the instruction of the Śākya Honoured One, he pointed out that empty space and worlds are all our own mind; he did not merely speak of the Great Ultimate generating the Two Modes, or the mysterious female being the root of Heaven and Earth. Investigating good and bad retribution, they are all our own karma; he did not merely speak of the Lord on High being inconstant, or Heaven's net being vast. This shows that although Boyang and Zhongni wished to be called broad, great, and fully equipped, when it came to succouring spiritual illumination and examining the ultimate principle, they merely pointed toward its direction; but fully expressing its wonder rests with the instruction of the Śākya Honoured One. It is already clear that it can teach beyond the realm. Within the realm, they are detailed in governing the body while remaining rather brief in governing the mind; therefore they are called the outer teachings. Beyond the realm, it is excellent at governing the body and goes to the ultimate in governing the mind; therefore it is called the inner teaching. Formerly, Ruan Xiaoxu's correcting the names of inner and outer was truly not false. Some people in the world say that the three can be merged into identity, which is almost an error; others say that the three are profoundly different, which is also not quite correct. Why? Restoring the nature has shallowness and depth, and speaking of matters has distance and proximity, so they cannot but be different. As for moving toward goodness and distancing oneself from guilt, or overcoming cruelty and eliminating killing, they cannot but be the same. (This is an abridged text; there is an explanation in the Record of Returning to the Source by Jingjue.)

50.29

Letter to Censor Luo (named Yan)

50.30

By Dharma Master of Gushan

50.31

The Dharma of the Buddha is not ancient; did it not arrive during the Eastern Han? Its essence is pure, and its function is benevolence and forbearance. Through it arose the seven [schools], six houses, and nineteen lineages. It benefits high and low alike and remedies the failings of Confucius and Laozi; its reach is indeed consummate! Allow me to weigh it and set it forth: When the Qin burned the Six Classics and the Han arose mixing in hegemonic rule, people became frivolous and customs grew corrupt; contention and grasping flared fiercely, while ritual decorum and deference steadily dwindled. Thus the benevolence and righteousness of Zhongni (Confucius) and the Dao and virtue of Boyang (Laozi) were nearly extinguished. Relying on the teachings of our Buddha, deeds were regulated through retribution across the three times, and principle was plumbed by illuminating the emptiness and stillness of the one mind. When the people heard the teaching of retribution, even greedy, cruel, base, and stingy men almost rose to relieve the impoverished and assist those in distress. When the people heard the teaching of emptiness and stillness, even those who boasted of their achievements and flaunted their strength almost came to preserve humility and maintain weakness. If they can broadly relieve [others], the path of universal succor will prevail; if they are good at preservation, the pristine simplicity of manners will return. When universal succor prevails, ritual decorum and deference become prominent; when pristine simplicity returns, punishments can be set aside. (When there is benefit for the people, the paths of Zhongni and Boyang return without straying far. Hence it is said that it benefits high and low alike and remedies the failings of Confucius and Laozi. Yet when contemporary rulers took delight in it they lost its central purport, and when the square-robed [monks] practiced it they transgressed its Way.) Losing its central purport through this, discipline ceased to operate; transgressing its Way, stillness and silence were no longer maintained. They then indulged in extravagance and boasting through ornate, lofty, and magnificent structures, and flaunted their splendor with fine clothing, plump horses, warmth, and repletion. Valuing only numerical abundance, those who ruined its Way were many; regarding the bizarre as beauty, they bewildered the common folk who listened. Transmitting this from one to another, it gradually hardened into a custom, causing the pure, benevolent, and forbearing ethos to be virtually wiped out. Calumnies accusing them of silkworm-like encroaching and vermin-like depredation arose from this. This was solely due to the unwholesomeness of those who delighted in it and practiced it; it was not the fault of the teaching! Yet past rulers and subjects failed to investigate its causes. Seeing the unworthiness of these followers, some shifted their anger onto good people and the holy teaching. They frequently drafted laws to destroy the Buddha['s religion] and executed punishments aimed at suppressing the Śākya clan. How is this different from blaming Yao because of Danzhu, censuring Shun on account of Shangjun, attributing blame to Shennong when one overdoses on medicine, or conversely resenting Suiren when an unchecked fire causes a conflagration?

50.32

Postface to the Nanyue Śamatha-Vipaśyanā

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By Great Master Ciyun, Zunshi

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Calming and contemplation (śamatha-vipaśyanā) are the function. They are rooted in luminosity and stillness. Luminosity and stillness are virtues. They are rooted in the single nature. The substance of the nature is originally awake, which is called luminosity; the substance of awakening is originally still, which is called stillness. The non-duality of luminosity and stillness is called the substance. If the substance had no divisions, where would luminosity and stillness dwell? If the substance lacked nothing, luminosity and stillness are fully present here. In terms of substance, it is not one yet is constantly one; in terms of virtues, it is not two yet is constantly two. It is merely divided yet undivided, merely one yet not one. The substance and virtues undergo no alteration; it is forcibly named the nature of all phenomena. The substance and virtues are without abiding; it is forcibly named the root of all phenomena. What are all phenomena? They are the workings of the full substance of luminosity and stillness. Why is this so? Truly, because the innate luminosity of beginningless original awakening forcibly shines, shining arises and generates self-delusion, which is called obscurity; the beginningless, non-abiding root accords with conditions, and conditioning arises to generate self-turmoil, which is called movement. Once obscurity and movement arise, all phenomena are born. Compressing the eyes to see flowers in the sky—how could they be something else? Therefore it is said: unchanging yet according with conditions is named 'mind'; according with conditions yet unchanging is named 'nature'. The mind is obscurity and movement; the nature is luminosity and stillness. If one knows that beginningless luminosity itself becomes obscurity, one can understand that present movement itself becomes stillness. Thereupon, the sages saw that obscurity and movement can be directly identified with [luminosity and stillness], and that luminosity and stillness can be restored. Hence, relying on stillness, they instructed in calming—calming its movement; relying on luminosity, they taught contemplation—contemplating its obscurity. They caused one to scrutinize a single thought: movement is immediately stillness, and obscurity is immediately luminosity. Once obscurity and movement cease, all phenomena vanish of themselves, and only the substance of luminosity and stillness remains. This is the perfect and sudden; this is non-action; this is the Tathāgata's practice; this is illuminating the nature to accomplish cultivation. When cultivation is accomplished, function is discarded—who speaks of calming and contemplation? When the substance is revealed, the nature is obliterated—there is also neither luminosity nor stillness. In such openness, where could anything lodge? There is nothing to name it. To show beings what to return to, the accomplishment of calming is called liberation; the accomplishment of contemplation is called prajñā; the revelation of the substance is called the dharmakāya. These three are one; this one is three. Like the three dots of the letter [i], like three suns in the sky, they are neither vertical nor horizontal, neither identical nor different. These are called the inconceivable [three] virtues; this is the Great Parinirvāṇa. Alas! From the time this Dharma concealed its light in the Crane Forest, it was transmitted to Mahākāśyapa; Kāśyapa transmitted it to Ānanda, and from Ānanda onward, lamp passed to lamp in succession, reaching the eleventh, Aśvaghoṣa; Aśvaghoṣa transmitted it to Nāgārjuna; Nāgārjuna entrusted this Dharma in words in the Madhyamaka-śāstra. When this treatise crossed to the Eastern Xia, Chan Master Huiwen of the Huai River alone understood it and transmitted it to the Great Master of Nanyue. Following it, Nanyue illuminated his mind, returned to the nature, and attained the purification of the six sense faculties, his stage bordering on sagehood. Here was the verified function of calming and contemplation! Our Great Master lamented that future generations would not hear of it, and out of his great compassionate mind produced these tens of thousands of words, titling it *Mahāyāna Calming and Contemplation*, also named *Single Vehicle*, and also named *Detailed Demonstration of the Mind Essentials*, dividing it into two rolls. The first roll opens understanding of calming and contemplation; the second roll shows the practice of calming and contemplation. Understanding and practice being complete, it is like having both eyes and feet, enabling us to journey smoothly without deflection to the Pool of Coolness. Ah, this text! Over long years, it remained hidden overseas. When the Dao was about to circulate once more, indeed in the third year of Xianping, Master of Complete Penetration Jakuchō of Japan set his staff across Fusang and floated his bowl to the realm of the Xia. Having climbed Mount Mao, he opened his satchel and brought forth the rolls. The Śramaṇa Zunshi of Tianzhu was the first to obtain them. Lord Zhu Dun, Assistant Director of the Bureau of Funds, wrote a preface for it, contributed his official salary to carve printing blocks, and widely disseminated it. How magnificent! This text originally was transmitted from the west, like the rising of the moon; now it returns from the east, like the ascending of the sun. The pristine scenery and round radiance at last circle back to our land. I have accordingly drafted this general outline to record its obscurity and illumination.

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Inscribed upon the Sash (The Analects: 'Zizhang wrote it upon his sash')

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By Dharma Master Ciyun

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"Zhibai, you know— (The master's courtesy name was Zhibai) / What is done each day: / Methods that harm the good are especially to be avoided; (Do no evil) / Ways that diminish evil should be increasingly employed. (Practice all good) / Let not the mouth boast of oneself; / Let not the mind deceive oneself. / Do not harbor inward rot; (Harboring unwholesomeness is like wood having rot) / Do not flaunt outward demeanor. (Feigning majestic demeanor merely increases pride) / Coveting the praise of others while harboring selfish desires / Is the beginning of slaying righteousness and the foundation of courting calamity. (Seeking empty praise extinguishes righteousness; hiding selfish desires leads into disaster) / Self-satisfaction in one's own virtue will surely invite surplus ridicule; / Self-absorption in one's attainments will surely bring surplus criticism. (Self-satisfaction before virtuous cultivation is complete invites ridicule; striving for attainments before reaching realization brings criticism) / Where kin gather like trees, you should depart; / The hair-rope of material gain you should fear. (Closeness to kin brings much distress; one should use a skillful method to keep one's person whole and distant from harm. Greed for offerings binds like a hair-rope, sinking one faster into the water) / In the midst of personal practice, discern and reflect: / After checking evil, what is appropriate? (Wishing to pursue personal practice requires discerning reflection, lest one fall into the Two Vehicles. Having checked evil, by what method does one aspire to the Mahāyāna? Raising this inquiry is explained below) / A stick of pure incense, several stems of red lotus; / Let not the mouth cease chanting, nor the mind contemplate anything else. (Constantly read Pure Land sutras and focus solely on the Pure Land realm) / Peaceful meditation and bowing before the images—let the rules not lapse; (Focus exclusively on cultivating the Buddha-contemplation samādhi, and bow solely to Amitābha Buddha) / Moderate your clothing and food; do not waver in your resolve. / In composing worldly literature, proceed as if restrained by the Buddha's precepts; / In speaking of others' merits and faults, be cautious according to the Dharma. / When facing guests and companions, let not the mouth utter many words. / Frequently be alarmed by the passing of time; do not sit wasting the hours. (Strive for every inch of time) / The plantain's hollow form is not your lasting home; (The body is truly fragile and perishable) / The lotus Pure Land is your true destination! (Through the prior merit of meditation, chanting, and bowing, one attains rebirth in the Land of Peace and Bliss) / Turn night into day, and diligently practice it!" (Thought after thought without interruption, mindfulness after mindfulness aspiring for rebirth; do not let a lifetime pass in vain in sleep)

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Chart of the Ten Dharma Realms for Contemplating the Mind

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The ways of cultivating contemplation are: proceeding from practice, attaching to the Dharma, and relying on phenomena—only these three. This present Chart for Contemplating the Mind is the proper course of proceeding from practice. As standard calming and contemplation establishes the twenty-five methods as expedients and the ten vehicles and ten objects as the actual cultivation, these cannot, of course, be fully provided here. Yet in daily life, using the virtues and faults, the ascent and descent of the ten realms to mirror the inner recesses of one's mind, not even a single hair can escape. Is this not the essence of turning toward good and correcting faults? Dharma Master Ciyun showed me this Chart for Contemplating the Mind. Savoring the joy of the Dharma, my heart cannot forget it. Placing it at the corner of my seat is sufficient to warn myself; but seeing that it had not yet benefited others broadly, I further instructed artisans to carve it onto printing blocks to disseminate it widely, hoping thereby to honor and carry out the Master's intention.

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Preface by Wang Qinruo of Taiyuan, on the day after the full moon of the ninth month in the first year of the Tiansheng reign of the Great Song (1023 CE).

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Its vastness cannot be bounded; its height cannot be covered; its length cannot be measured. About to be full, it is empty; about to be obscure, it is luminous; though at the extreme, it is in the middle. Subtle, deep, and extraordinary, beyond anything that can be conceived—this is mind alone. The master of Tiantai heard this at Vulture Peak and verified it in samādhi. Knowing that its quiescence is not something to be sought through numbers, he nonetheless forced numbers upon that which is beyond number, relying on the Lotus [Sūtra] to formulate the provisional and the real of the ten realms, the hundred realms, and the three thousand [realms], so as to illuminate all natures. They are neither united nor dispersed; being so of themselves, they are called the true mark of all phenomena, making them easy for people to comprehend. Thereafter, he revealed: when a single thought-moment is empty, the three thousand are all empty; when a single thought-moment is provisional, the three thousand are all provisional; when a single thought-moment is middle, the three thousand are all middle. Completing the perfect threefold contemplation contemplates the perfect threefold truth to illuminate all practices. This is great wisdom and great practice; swift without exertion, it is called the great cart drawn by a white ox, causing people to enter suddenly. Therefore, from cause to effect, without shifting a single thought-moment, one sits at the bodhimaṇḍa, attains sambodhi, subdues Māra, preaches the Dharma, delivers sentient beings, and enters nirvāṇa, and one's deeds are fully accomplished. Employing Nāgārjuna's verse, 'conditioned arising is empty, is provisional, and is middle,' he integrated and unified them. What are the ten Dharma realms? The ten encompass all phenomena, and the three truths constitute the realms. How so? The Buddhas take the middle as their Dharma realm; bodhisattvas take the provisional as their Dharma realm; pratyekabuddhas and śrāvakas together take emptiness as their Dharma realm; [beings in] hell, ghosts, beasts, asuras, humans, and gods together take phenomena born of cause and condition as their Dharma realm. Although the empty, provisional, and middle are three, they are one; the ten realms are also ten while being one. Therefore, they mutually contain one another, each one again possessing the nine, like the jewels of Indra inter-reflecting to form one hundred Dharma realms. One condition is all conditions; one emptiness is all emptiness; one provisionality is all provisionality; one middle is all middle—this truly derives from this. What is meant by the three thousand? They are the phenomena that constitute the realms. There are ten of them, called: such an appearance, such a nature, such a substance, such a power, such an activity, such a cause, such a condition, such a result, such a retribution, and such an ultimate equality from beginning to end. These are the general categories. These ten phenomena, in the Buddha, are the middle, the real, the permanent, the three wisdoms, the five eyes, the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses, and the unshared dharmas. In a bodhisattva, they are the provisional, the expedient, the flourishing, the permanent, the ten thousand practices, and the four means of embrace. In the two vehicles, they are emptiness, the provisional, the three liberations, the four witherings, the undefiled, and nirvāṇa. In ordinary mortals, they are inversions, afflictions, baseness, hindrances, entanglements, accumulated torments, and saṃsāra—these are the distinctions. Encompassing those hundred realms, they thus form one thousand phenomena; further dispersing them through the hundred realms as the three worlds, they form three thousand phenomena. The hundred realms and three thousand are one; they are neither before nor after a single thought-moment, nor are they a combination. Encompassing them, there is a fundamental tenet; harmonizing them, there is an origin: they must ultimately return to the inconceivable three truths and the limitless threefold secret treasury of the three dharmas and three virtues. Ah! If the mind-dharma of a single thought-moment is like this, by extending and comparing it, those various Buddha-dharmas and those various sentient-being-dharmas are all likewise so. The sūtra says: 'As is the mind, so is the Buddha; as is the Buddha, so are sentient beings. Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without distinction.' Does it not mean this? Having known this, one should contemplate everyday functioning: whenever a single thought-moment arises, it must belong to one realm. Thereupon illuminate this realm as either the nine [realms] or the Buddha. The nine arise biasedly following passions, which is called ignorance; the Buddha accords with principle in perfect contemplation, which is called great wisdom. The thoughts of the nine realms are all wrong; only the mind of the Buddha realm is right. Right and wrong are thus reflected. If wrong, illuminate it to make it right; if right, protect it to make it practice. The sūtra says: 'The liberation of all Buddhas should be sought in the mental conduct of sentient beings; walking the wrong paths, one is able to reach the Buddha Path.' This is what it means. Thus, although the eyes are on the face, one must turn to a mirror to straighten one's appearance; the mind indeed arises from within, but it must rely on conditions to perfume contemplation. The numinous spirit is hidden and secret, so illuminating it may be difficult; conscious thoughts gallop in confusion, so checking them is not easy. Therefore, we now draw the mind outward, illustrating those images of rising and falling, while keeping the purpose within to contemplate the changes of our right and wrong. Thereafter, spurring the mind in inner contemplation, the correct path is thereby clarified. This is entitled 'The Perfect and Sudden Chart of Contemplating the Mind in the Ten Dharma Realms'. From the single word 'Mind', the ten realms branch out; again, lines of ink are drawn in succession, compared to a string of pearls, showing that one Dharma realm turn by turn possesses nine, forming one hundred Dharma realms. Furthermore, the manifestations of practice arising daily are written on the left and right. If the reader wishes to go deep into the nature, please examine the preface in detail; if one wishes to be practiced in contemplation, one should look at the illustrations.

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Linked texts (1)

佛祖統紀 — 志磐, Classical Chinese