法苑珠林 20.69

20.69

第七實相平等禮者。大意同前。猶存有禮有觀自他兩異。今此一禮。無自無他。凡聖一如。體同用融。如如平等。古今無別。若見佛可尊可敬。即見凡可卑可慢。若起此心還成僻執。故般若經云。是法平等無有高下。是名阿耨菩提。以實相離念。不可以心取。不可以相求。不可以禮敬。不可以慢情。去高下離尊卑。靜亂一原恭怠齊固。安心此意。是名平等禮也。故文殊禮文云。不生不滅故敬禮無所觀。此之一禮凡夫淺識。恐聞反謗。上智之人內行平等外順修敬。內外合宜。是名平等禮也。

The seventh is called 'prostration of the equality of the true mark'. Its general import is the same as the preceding, yet [in the former] there still remained the distinctions of prostration and contemplation, self and other. Now in this single prostration, there is neither self nor other; ordinary and sage are one suchness. Their substance is identical, their function interpenetrating; they are equal in tathatā, without distinction between past and present. If one sees the Buddha as venerable and worthy of respect, one will see ordinary beings as lowly and worthy of contempt. If one gives rise to this mind, it turns into a biased attachment. Therefore, the Prajñā-sūtras say: 'This dharma is equal, with neither high nor low; this is called anuttarasaṃbodhi.' Because the true mark is free from conceptual thought, it cannot be grasped with the mind, cannot be sought through marks, cannot be honoured with reverent prostrations, and cannot be treated with haughty contempt. Eliminating high and low, leaving behind the venerable and the lowly, stillness and disturbance have a single source, and reverence and negligence are equally settled. Calming the mind in this intention is called the 'prostration of equality'. Therefore, Mañjuśrī's liturgy of prostration says: 'Because there is neither arising nor ceasing, reverent prostration has nothing to contemplate.' Regarding this single prostration, it is feared that ordinary people of shallow understanding will, upon hearing it, slander it in turn. Persons of supreme wisdom inwardly practice equality and outwardly conform to the cultivation of reverence; inner and outer are mutually appropriate. This is called the 'prostration of equality'.