出三藏記集 9.8

9.8

Now, the dark ravine uses emptiness and void to act in stillness, and the hundred rivers take it as their origin; the ultimate peak uses marklessness to signify the profound, and the myriad things take it as their ancestor. Therefore, dharmatā abides in tranquil oneness to dwell in the marvelous; it silences chaotic entanglements to operate smoothly. The spiritual root shines with perfect illumination to achieve its capacity; it mounts dynamic activity to unfold its application. Yet capacity essentially relies on an endowment, and application must have a foundation. Because application must have a foundation, when one governs the foundation, comprehension proceeds without fixed boundaries. Because capacity essentially relies on an endowment, when one comprehends emptiness, one achieves its smooth operation. When there is smooth operation, it encloses and reflects the six directions, and being and non-being are both perfectly illuminated. When there is obstruction, application follows external conditions, and responsive action is bound to be partial in thought. When illumination is perfect, spiritual efficacy reaches the ultimate; when thought is partial, ruin and subversion arise. Therefore, when the four great waterways overflow, their vast currents flood the ravines; when heavenly constellations deviate from their paths, the three luminaries dim their light. Deducing from this, we surely know that smooth operation has an ancestor, and the accumulation of transformation has a foundation. Now, as for the ancestor of smooth operation: conditioned arising initiates its convergence, and marklessness fulfills its culmination. As for the foundation of the accumulation of transformation: the ten paths inaugurate its stratagems, and the art of the mind portends its beginning. Therefore, when the art of the mind relies on non-being, spiritual illumination becomes unobstructed and the Mahāyāna expands; when it is attached to being, the spiritual void is obstructed and the nine abodes open. Yet if we examine it to the utmost, it is solely mind and dharmas; if we extend and unfold it, it continually displays itself across the eight bounds. Allow me to explain and designate them: The myriad dharmas are vast and boundless, taking the one marklessness as their ancestor; the spiritual soul encompasses them, unifying the ultimate in perfect illumination. This is merely designating substance and application as the myriad dharmas, calling the emptiness of nature marklessness, naming the fluctuating sovereign as mental consciousness, and calling tranquil governance wise illumination. Therefore, when attachment to being causes thoughts to be obstructed, it is called 'mind' and 'consciousness'; when relying on emptiness causes illumination to be unobstructed, it is called 'wisdom' and 'view'. 'View' is right view, the partial designation of initial understanding. 'Wisdom' is right universal knowledge, the perfect title of the ultimate substance. Right view is the beginning of first entering the path; right universal knowledge marks the end of realizing the ultimate substance. These four are indeed the refined soul encompassing, mirroring like water the myriad dharmas; though their numbers vary according to conditions, the spiritual illumination remains eternally one and unchanging. Now, when substance and application are without fixed boundaries, their application truly diverges from illumination. Therefore, chaotic consciousness becomes defilement, and the mind's desires open view, which is called 'jewel', and broaden wisdom, which is called 'seed'. Because the mind is defiled, the five desires are a chamber of poisoned wine; because view is opened, the Three Jewels are a gate of jade and stone; because consciousness is chaotic, the six dusts are a marketplace of illusions and bewilderment; because wisdom is broadened, the knowledge of all forms is the abyss of the black dragon. These four are truly the vastness of the myriad dharmas sharing the same reality while differing in illumination; though stimulus and response reflect one another, they take the one marklessness as their ancestor. Therefore, consciousness governs the six dusts and thus blinds the nature; the mind rushes toward the five desires and thus darkens thought; view relies on the Four Noble Truths and thus cleanses discernment; wisdom caresses marklessness and thus illuminates unhindered. Thus, although objects belong to principle, because the mind conditions them, the refined soul encompasses them; because it is the substance, there is spiritual illumination. Because it is spiritual illumination, they are collectively termed the 'One Mind'; because of that which is conditioned, they are generally named the 'One Dharma'. As names shift with numbers, they are vast and boundless; when unified through mind and dharmas, the end and the beginning are not two. Therefore, the Daśabhūmika became a sūtra in order to exhaust the profound origins of the art of the mind and fulfill the initial articulation of true awakening. Spiritual efficacy is initiated through the manifestation of transformation; the eighty thousand [teachings] converge in perfect illumination. It causes the spiritual mechanism to have no concealed traces, and the great creation to have no hollow, stolen name. Thereupon, one sloughs off clinging consciousness to reflect inward; one upholds true wisdom to dwell in the ancestor; one opens the ten paths to set its application in motion; one rests in marklessness to extend its smooth operation. Uniting the three meanings to expand capacity, one outwardly reveals the grand appellation called bodhi. 'Bodhi' is the exalted title unifying the ultimate of the ten paths, the marvelous designation encompassing and benefiting all beings. It is precisely the Daśabhūmika that initiates the perfect ultimate of spiritual illumination, far-reachingly propagating the extraordinary track of the great unimpeded path. Therefore, 'Daśabhūmika' (Ten Stages) is the designation for the tranquil illumination that stills the mechanism and turns the discernment inward. The reason it crowns the initial proclamation of the great undertaking and unifies the common designations of the ten stages under the outward title of 'Ten Abodes'—surely the meaning lies right here! The meaning lies right here! Thus, the arising of the Daśabhūmika indeed clarifies the resonance of spiritual awakening and polishes the whetstone of true wisdom; it is the Tathāgata's boat and carriage that travel against the stream to exhaust the source; it is the World Hero's heavenly treasury for responding to assemblies and giving birth to transformations. It is indeed the ancestral origin of the myriad sūtras, the deep wellspring of the Dharma treasury, truly the water-mirror discerning the beginning and grasping the end, the sun and moon brightly proclaiming the Buddha's wisdom. Now, an expansive reach cannot be exhausted by words and symbols; a profound Dao cannot be plumbed by names and numbers. Therefore, its text is concise yet its meaning is rich; its words are gentle yet its purport is vast. It portends the hundred practices by opening the rut of the mind; it initiates the eighty thousand [teachings] by raising a single corner. Were it not for one who probes the mysterious and subtle and examines the mechanism, who could raise upright discernment to revere the subtle and elusive, or awaken outstanding comprehension to infer the other three corners? How lamentable is the delusion of adhering to habits! Although people bear in mind what they have formerly heard, they do not study this essential teaching—like carrying the sun and moon on one's back and yet being increasingly blinded, or facing a dark ferry without crossing over. Allow me to summarize and outline it. Now, to raise something high one must reach far; to reach deep one must stir the profound. Therefore, it opens up the six heavens as a marvelous abode, and attracts the Cloud of Dharma as an extraordinary assembly. Truly, without an extraordinary [assembly] there is no way to knock at the profound abode; without a marvelous [place] there is not enough to brighten this Dao. For the Dao to shine, it essentially requires a method; to knock at the profound, one must find the right person. Therefore, situating the marvelous abode in an exceptional realm leaves behind all defilements; opening the profound court to lead the assembly causes outstanding talents to outshine their age. The abode reaches the peak of the six heavens, and its reality reflects the seven treasures; the assembly raises the spiritual nature of the Dharma, and their substance mirrors the nine abodes. It displays the six transformations to unfold the working of destiny, brightly illuminating the grand view that dazzles the world; it taps the three teachings to reveal the depths, harmonizing with the overarching rhythm of the profound middle; it issues five requests to express sincerity, ensuring the mass's devotion becomes ever purer; it passes through twice seven [days] to circulate the stimuli, mutually applying them at the profound tip. It opens the spiritual track at the juncture of the three turnings, and portends spiritual awakening in the abyss of the nine consciousnesses. Comparing other sūtras to this is certainly like comparing things that cannot be mentioned on the same day; unfolding the eighty thousand to distinguish their application—how could one speak of them in the same kalpa? The substance encloses the three meanings, and the Dao unifies the two extremes. Who could possess such grandeur? Who could possess such grandeur? Judging by this, its Dao is deep indeed! Its reach is profound indeed! Even one with the hidden cultivation of the diamond [nature], who unifies spiritual eloquence to dwell in application, still cannot fathom its depths in a single day—how much less can those who have descended from compassion? Yet the Dao does not operate alone; its broadening must depend on man. Therefore, across a thousand years, it has caused the spiritual fluid to have something to lodge in. The foreign Dharma Master Kumārajīva possessed a celestial awakening that was prominent in his age, and his heroic style surpassed the degenerate customs. Riding on his hidden destiny, he traveled alone, relying on the fortune of the Qin to propagate the Dao. He struck the profound tempo in soundless notes, and expressed subtle words beyond the forms. He could dispel the old and introduce the new; in setting his mind upon the three advantages and comprehending the ancestral principle, his entry into the rut was almost more than halfway achieved. Fate fulfilled his vows, and he met with this propitious occasion. With my nature of lead and rubble, I took a place in the market of southern gold. Truly, my understanding lacked the capacity to infer the other three corners, and my thought possessed no plan to investigate the profound. Yet regarding the matters I heard and appreciated, I hoped to have no doubts. Therefore, caressing the sūtra and quieting my thoughts, I deeply reflected upon the past. I was constantly troubled that its text was concise while its reach was grand, its words gentle while its purport was profound, causing the spiritual lamp to be eclipsed by hidden numbers, and the great ancestor to be obscured by narrow text. The spiritual standard came to be constrained by expedient models, and the profound style thenceforth declined from pure to dilute. When I withdrew in leisure and quietly reflected, beating my breast before the gate of the ferry, how could it not have long made me sigh deeply, stirring my feelings as I witnessed the decadent decline? Therefore, I have compiled this record of what I heard above, providing a brief commentary and explanation. How could I say that the deep ravine waits for the morning dew? It is merely to express the intent of utilizing my own heart, in the hope that later wise and enlightened ones may use it to extend and supplement.