法苑珠林 8.7

8.7

We have heard that the nine regions are differentiated, and the four modes of birth have diverse customs. The waves of delusion are easily defiled, while the karma of wisdom is difficult to establish. Long sunk in the river of craving, one drifts endlessly in the ocean of suffering; the tree of intention does not sprout, and the lamp of the mind has not been ignited. Therefore, the Great Sages of the three knowledges and the Perfected Persons of the eight liberations comprehend the entire dharmadhātu to constitute their wisdom, and span the entirety of empty space to form their body. Their form is nowhere absent, its measure far beyond all compass and square; their wisdom acts in all things, its function transcending the realm of thought. They cannot be fathomed by human affairs; how could they be restricted to location? If one wishes to open the hearing and seeing of the foolish, one must display the traces and shadows of the True Persons. It is like the valley wind answering the roar of the tiger, or the auspicious clouds following the soaring dragon; sympathetic resonance summoning each other is indeed a constant principle. Since the light was displayed at the deer tree and the radiance concealed at the Golden River, the beings of the Semblance Dharma have had a verification for their refuge. Although the thousand Buddhas have different traces, they share the single wisdom in the same path: their great compassion is impartial, benefiting living beings according to their natures and desires; their vast vows are magnificent, piloting the boat of compassion to rescue the drowning. When sentient beings have resonance, capacity and condition meet and unite.