法苑珠林 20.69

20.69

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'.