大乘無生方便門 1.2

1.2

Vimalakīrti said: "Listen, Śāriputra! All Buddhas and bodhisattvas have a liberation named 'inconceivable'." Question: What is "not thinking and not deliberating"? Answer: The mind does not think, and the mouth does not deliberate. The mind not thinking is the mind's tathatā; the mind is freed from bondage, and the mind attains liberation. The mouth not deliberating is form's tathatā; form is freed from bondage, and form attains liberation. Mind and form both being freed from bondage is named the inconceivable liberation. If a bodhisattva abides in this liberation, he puts the high and broad Mount Sumeru into a mustard seed without adding or subtracting anything, and the king of Mount Sumeru remains in its original appearance as before. Question: What is Mount Sumeru being placed into a mustard seed without adding or subtracting? Answer: Mount Sumeru is form, and a mustard seed is also form. The mind not thinking is the mind's tathatā; Mount Sumeru and the mustard seed are both the tathatā of form. They are of the same single characteristic of tathatā, without adding or subtracting; the king of Mount Sumeru remains in its original appearance as before. Only those who should be saved see Mount Sumeru enter into a mustard seed without adding or subtracting, and the king of Mount Sumeru remains in its original appearance as before. How so? Answer: Mount Sumeru does not decrease, and the mustard seed does not expand; in their tathatā there is no adding or subtracting. This is called the king of Mount Sumeru remaining in its original appearance as before. For instance, the four heavenly kings and the Trāyastriṃśa devas are unaware and unknowing of where they have entered, and to these sentient beings there is also no disturbance. Question: Upon what do the four heavenly kings abide? Answer: They abide depending on Mount Sumeru. For what reason are they unaware and unknowing? Answer: Because they have deliberative thinking, they are unaware and unknowing. How can they come to know? When there is no thinking, they come to know. What does it mean that only those who should be saved [see this]? Having passed beyond deliberative thinking by means of the inconceivable. How so? Only then do they see Mount Sumeru enter the mustard seed: when the mind does not think, it does not see the characteristics of large and small in Mount Sumeru and the mustard seed, nor does it see that there is entering, nor does it see that there is no entering. Making such a view is only then called true seeing. When there is no thinking, there are no characteristics; when there are no characteristics, there is neither entering nor not entering. This is done to terrify the śrāvakas and eliminate their mental reckonings. When śrāvakas are not yet awakened, they see the characteristics of large and small in Mount Sumeru and the mustard seed; when śrāvakas have already awakened, they see that Mount Sumeru and the mustard seed are fundamentally empty in nature, so what enters and what does not enter? This is called only then seeing Mount Sumeru enter into a mustard seed; this is named the access to the inconceivable liberation. Question: What is abiding in the access to the inconceivable liberation? Giving rise to the mind and deliberative thinking is bondage, and one does not attain liberation; not giving rise to the mind and deliberative thinking leaves behind bondage, and one immediately attains liberation. The mind not thinking: the mind's tathatā is jñāna. The mouth not deliberating: form's tathatā is prajñā. This is named the access to the liberation of inconceivable wisdom. Furthermore, taking the waters of the four great oceans and putting them into a single pore does not disturb the fish, turtles, sea turtles, water-lizards, or other watery creatures, while that great ocean remains in its original appearance as before. The nāgas, spirits, and asuras are unaware and unknowing of where they have entered, and to these sentient beings there is also no disturbance. How can the waters of the four great oceans enter a single pore without disturbance? Answer: The great ocean is form, and the pore is also form. The mind not thinking is the mind's tathatā; the seawater and the pore are both the tathatā of form. Being of the same single characteristic of tathatā, it does not disturb the fish, turtles, sea turtles, water-lizards, or other watery creatures, while that great ocean remains in its original appearance as before. What is "its original appearance as before"? Answer: The seawater does not decrease, and the pore does not increase; in their tathatā there is no adding or subtracting. This is called "its original appearance as before." How do the nāgas, spirits, and the like abide? Answer: They abide depending on the ocean. For what reason are they unaware and unknowing? Answer: Because they have deliberative thinking, they are unaware and unknowing. How can they come to know? When there is no thinking, they come to know. To these sentient beings there is also no disturbance: being of the same single characteristic of tathatā, sentient beings' tathatā, seawater, and the pore are also spontaneously thus; to these sentient beings there is also no disturbance. Furthermore, Śāriputra, a bodhisattva abiding in the inconceivable liberation cuts off and takes a trichiliocosm—greed is the great chiliocosm, anger is the medium chiliocosm, and delusion is the small chiliocosm; hitherto, because of having deliberative thinking, one has the gathering of greed, anger, and delusion, reincarnating in the six destinies of birth-and-death—and like a potter's wheel placed in the right palm, hurls it past worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. What is the right [palm]? Answer: The right is the function. Using the inconceivable, one cuts off greed, anger, and delusion and transforms them to enter into tathatā, hurling them beyond worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. The sands of the Ganges are afflictions; transcending afflictions is precisely hurling them beyond worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. The sentient beings therein are unaware and unknowing of where they have gone. For what reason are they unaware and unknowing? Because they have deliberative thinking, they are unaware and unknowing. Then they return to their original place. What is the original place? Answer: The inconceivable is the original place. It completely causes people not to have the characteristic of coming and going. What is the characteristic of coming and going? Answer: Giving rise to the mind and deliberative thinking, there is the characteristic of coming and going; not giving rise to the mind and deliberative thinking, there is no characteristic of coming and going. And this world remains in its original appearance as before. What is "its original appearance as before"? Answer: The six faculties are fundamentally thus; this is called "its original appearance as before." Furthermore, Śāriputra, there may be sentient beings who take pleasure in abiding long in the world and cannot be saved; the bodhisattva then extends seven days to become one kalpa, causing those sentient beings to consider it one kalpa. Or there may be sentient beings who do not take pleasure in abiding long and can be saved; the bodhisattva then reduces one kalpa to become seven days, causing those sentient beings to consider it seven days. Ordinary persons take pleasure in abiding long in the world and desire to attain length, so he extends seven days to become one kalpa. Persons of the two vehicles do not take pleasure in abiding long and desire shortness, so he reduces one kalpa to become seven days. Giving rise to thoughts of the mind, there is extending long or short; not giving rise to the mind, there is no extending long or short. Furthermore, because the two vehicles and ordinary persons have thinking, there is extending long or short; the bodhisattva has no thinking, so there is no extending long or short. [...] the Viśeṣacintibrahmaparipṛcchā Sūtra: Brahmā Bodhisattva asked Wangming, saying: "What is the correct nature of all dharmas?" Wangming said: "[...] the correct nature of dharmas." What is self-nature? The four elements and five aggregates each have their own self-nature. Where does self-nature [...] is the true nature. The mind-principle being calm and pure is the true nature; form conditioning the eye consciousness is [...] Question: What is transcending self-nature? Transcending the realm of desire penetrates to what is to come. Answer: Ear [...] faculties and objects not arising is transcending the realm of desire. Upādhyāya Bodhidharma explained [...] the correct nature of all dharmas: like the great flow of water having exhausted its waves.