法苑珠林 26.28

26.28

At that time, there was a bodhisattva in the assembly named Puguang. He stepped forward and addressed the Buddha, saying: "It is not yet understood whether the dharmas of consciousness in the six superknowledges are one or many. If consciousness is a single dharma, when the Tathāgata's golden body, through the supernatural power of teleportation, roams the Buddha-lands from the bodhimanda, does consciousness bring the body, or does the body bring consciousness? If the body brings consciousness, then there are no six superknowledges. If consciousness brings the body, this is called a single dharma, and there is neither body nor consciousness. I only pray that the World-Honoured One will explain this meaning to me." The Buddha told Bodhisattva Puguang: "Is the meaning you ask about asked from the perspective of ultimate truth, or is it asked from the perspective of conventional truth? If asked from conventional truth, the dharmas of consciousness are multiple and have no fixed characteristics. If asked from ultimate truth, then there is neither body nor consciousness. Why is this? When discerning the dharmas of consciousness, their intrinsic nature is empty and tranquil; there is no coming and no going, nor is there defiling attachment. You ask about the golden body—this is a conditioned dharma, accomplished through the five aggregates; it is not an unconditioned dharma, nor is it the ultimate truth. I will now explain for you the dharmas of consciousness and thought: the bodhisattva's six superknowledges, body, and consciousness occur together; consciousness is not prior to the body, nor is the body prior to consciousness. Why is this? The characteristics of phenomena are spontaneous: consciousness does not separate from the body, and the body does not separate from consciousness. It is like two oxen sharing a single yoke: if the black ox is ahead and the white ox behind, the plowing will not be successful; if the white ox is ahead and the black ox behind, the plowing will also not be successful. When neither the black ox is ahead of the white ox nor the white ox ahead of the black ox, the plowing is successful. The fruit of the path of the supernatural power of teleportation is also like this: body and consciousness occur together, with no before, after, or intermediate state. That the Tathāgata's physical form has a before, after, and intermediate state is a conventional truth, not the ultimate truth. In the empty and tranquil Dharma, there are no multiple [characteristics]."