釋迦譜 1.99

1.99

Sengyou investigates: The Dharma-body is formless; the host of existences has already ceased, and discursive wisdom does not arise; myriad movements are eternally quieted. Why then does it follow [causes] to appear, entrusting itself to birth, descending its spirit to be transformed in the womb? It is because he rides upon great conditions to respond to the worldly, and relies upon the power of his original vows to extend vast compassion. Therefore, he can wield the expedient means of prajñā and take command of the force of the Śūraṅgama, revolving his spirit in Tuṣita and shining his transformation upon the Chize. The potter's wheel belongs not to me; the beneficial appearance arises from sentient beings. How could words or conceptual thought speak of its ultimate reach? Thus, to gather and guide the multitude of sprouts, he resided as a cakravartin; to crush and subdue the stiff-necked and boastful, his talents exhausted the arts; to sever and uproot the net of attachment, he left the state and entered the mountains; to illuminate the supremacy of the Dharma, he subdued Māra beneath the bodhi tree. All these marvelous traces were none other than to stir the world. The responsive body is perfect and unimpeded, manifesting according to direction; the Dharma-body is serene and deep, never having arisen or ceased. Yet worldly consciousness clings to habitual blockages, taking traces to be the truth; wishing to contemplate the Tathāgata, it strays ever further from the Way. Thus the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'If anyone says that the Bodhisattva was in the palace of King Śuddhodana and, relying upon parents, gave birth to this body, this is spoken by Māra.' This means verifying the traces while being blind to the root. If root and trace are both illuminated, and the expedient and the real are both clarified, then one will unfold the scriptures without hindrance, and the Dharma-body may be seen.