景德傳燈錄 30.3

30.3

Contemplating the empty Mind King: profound, wondrous, and difficult to fathom. / Devoid of form and devoid of marks, it possesses great spiritual power. / Capable of extinguishing a thousand calamities and accomplishing myriad virtues, / Though its substance and nature are empty, it can dispense Dharma and rules. / Look at it, it has no form; call to it, it has a voice. / Serving as the great general of the Dharma, the mind-precept transmits the sutras. / Like the flavor of salt in water, or clear glue in color, / It is definitely there, though its form cannot be seen. / The Mind King is also like this: / Residing inside the body, entering and exiting through the facial gates. / Responding to things according to circumstances, sovereign and without hindrance, / All that it undertakes is accomplished. / Comprehending the original, know the mind; knowing the mind, see the Buddha. / This mind is the Buddha; the Buddha is this mind. / Thought after thought is the Buddha-mind; the Buddha-mind is mindful of the Buddha. / If you wish to achieve it quickly, discipline your mind with precepts and self-restraint. / Pure precepts are the pure mind; the mind itself is the Buddha. / Aside from this Mind King, there is no other Buddha. / If you seek to become a Buddha, do not be tainted by a single thing. / Though the mind-nature is empty, greed and anger are real in substance. / Entering this dharma-gate, sit upright and become a Buddha; / Having reached the other shore, one attains pāramitā. / True practitioners who aspire to the Way, observe your own minds: / Know that the Buddha is within, and do not seek outside. / Mind itself is Buddha; Buddha itself is mind. / When the mind is bright, it recognizes the Buddha; when one is fully awakened, one knows the mind. / Apart from mind, there is no Buddha; apart from Buddha, there is no mind. / If not for the Buddha, it cannot be fathomed; there is nothing it cannot bear. / Grasping emptiness and clinging to stillness, one drifts and sinks here. / The Buddhas and bodhisattvas do not settle their minds in this. / Great beings of illuminated mind awaken to this profound sound. / The nature of body and mind is wondrous, its functioning without alteration. / Therefore the wise give free rein to the mind in sovereignty. / Do not say the Mind King is empty and devoid of substantial nature; / It can cause the physical body to act evilly or act uprightly. / Neither existent nor non-existent, its hiddenness and manifestation are not fixed. / The mind-nature is free from emptiness; it can be common and it can be holy. / Therefore I urge you: take good care to be cautious and guard yourself, / For creating [karma] in kṣetras will cause you to drift and sink again. / The pure wisdom of mind is like worldly gold; / The treasury of prajñā-dharma is all within body and mind. / The unconditioned Dharma-jewel is neither shallow nor deep. / The Buddhas and bodhisattvas comprehended this original mind; / Those with conditions who encounter it belong not to past, present, or future.