 |
|
 |
Song of Enlightenment
TEXT:
CERTAIN ABOUT ONE THING, SUPERIOR PEOPLE UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING,
MIDDLING AND INFERIOR PEOPLE LEARN MUCH, YET DOUBT MUCH.
SIMPLY CAST OFF YOUR OWN CHERISHED DIRTY CLOTHES,
WHO COULD GO OUT AND BOAST ABOUT HIS VIGOR?COMMENTARY:
CERTAIN ABOUT ONE THING, SUPERIOR PEOPLE UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING. People with superior wholesome roots hear one thing and awaken to a thousand things. They thoroughly understand all dharmas and harbor no doubts.
MIDDLING AND INFERIOR PEOPLE LEARN MUCH, YET DOUBT MUCH. Middling and inferior people, having poor roots, may be learned, but they have many doubts and do not grow in faith.
SIMPLY CAST OFF YOUR CHERISHED DIRTY CLOTHES. Cultivators of the way seek only to understand their own basic mind and see their own basic nature. That is like removing filthy clothes from oneself.
WHO COULD GO OUT AND BOAST ABOUT HIS VIGOR? Since cultivation is naturally each individual's own responsibility, why would anyone find it necessary to introduce himself to the world, boast about his vigor, yet not be serious about really practicing himself?
TEXT:
LET OTHERS SLANDER ME; I BEAR THEIR CONDEMNATION.
THOSE WHO TRY TO BURN THE SKY ONLY EXHAUST THEMSELVES.
WHEN I HEAR IT, IT'S JUST LIKE DRINKING SWEET DEW.
THUS SMELTED AND REFINED, SUDDENLY ONE ENTERS THE INCONCEIVABLE. gCOMMENTARY:
LET OTHERS SLANDER ME; I BEAR THEIR CONDEMNATION. The Dharma door of the mind-ground is profoundly subtle and wonderful, and it cannot be understood by common people or those of the Two Vehicles. Thus their baseless slander ends with the hearing of it. Why should anything be said in return?
THOSE WHO TRY TO BURN THE SKY ONLY EXHAUST THEMSESLVES. People who malign others are like people who try to burn the sky with a torch. They tire themselves out with their futile efforts. How could they possibly injure the sky?
WHEN I HEAR IT, IT'S JUST LIKE DRINKING SWEET DEW. When he hears irritable and fault-finding words, a true cultivator should feel thankful. since for him, it is the same as drinking sweet dew, or entering a cool, refreshing pool.
THUS SMELTED AND REFINED, SUDDENLY ONE ENTERS THE INCONCEIVALBE. One who is capable of this kind of contemplation obtains benefit from the Dharma through its opposite. He is confronted with the poisons of greed, hatred, and stupidity, which are powerful as arsenic and stronger than wild beast; but he must undergo this process of refining. Then, invisibly and quite suddenly, he enters an inconceivable, subtle, wonderful state where his contentment is inexhaustible.
TEXT:
CONTEMPLATE VICIOUS WORDS AS MERIT AND VIRTUE,
THEN VICIOUS WORDS BECOME ONE'S WISE AND GOOD ADVISORS.
DO NOT LET ABUSE AND SLANDER AROUSE ENMITY OR LIKING.
HOW ELSE CAN THE POWER OF COMPASSION AND PATIENCE
WITH NON-PRODUCTION BE MANIFEST?COMMENTARY:
CONTEMPLATE VICIOUS WORDS AS MERIT AND VIRTUE. To cultivate the way, one must practice patience. One should see vicious words as the mother of merit and virtue. Not only should one not become angry, but in addition, onoe should be grateful for the merit and virtue of it, as the Patient Immortal was towards the King of Kalinga.
THEN VICIOUS WORDS BECOME ONE'S WISE AND GOOD ADVISORS. The vicious words and behavior become our great and learned counselors.
DO NOT LET ABUSE AND SLANDER AROUSE ENMITY OR LIKING. In response to ridicule or backbiting, don't five rise to enmity or liking, but maintain the great and equal compassion even towards those with whom you have no affinities--the great compassion of identity in substance. Your measure of patience under insult should be as big as the Dharma Realm.
HOW ELSE CAN THE POWER OF COMPASSION AND PATIENCE WITH NON-PRODUCTION BE NMANIFEST? If one cannot face situations of insult and mistreatment, how can patience with the non-production of dharmas, which one has cultivated and certified to, be demonstrated? How can the spirit and unsurpassed samadhi power of patience under insult be manifest? How can samadhi power of great valor, great strength, great kindmess, great vows, and great patience be evidenced?
TEXT:
THE SCHOOL PENETRATED AND THE WORDS PENETRATED,
CONCENTRATION AND WISDOM ARE COMPLETELY CLEAR; I DO NOT STAGNATE IN EMPTINESS.
BUT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS GOT THROUGH TO COMPREHENSION.
ALL THE BUDDHAS, MYRIAD AS GANGES' SANDS, ARE OF THE
VERY SAME SUBSTANCE.COMMENTARY:
THE SCHOOL PENETRATED AND THE WORDS PENETRATED. The "school" is the Ch'an School, and the "words" are the principles of its teachings. The two must be understood together; then one can be called a craftsman of the School--a Dharma Master.
CONCENTRATION AND WISDOM ARE COMPLETELY CLEAR; I DO NOT STAGNATE IN EMPTINESS. Since the master craftsman has penetrated both the School and its explanations, it is certain that his samadhi power has become perfectly fused and the foundation of his wisdom is bright and penetrating. He never falls into the stagnant sickness of vacant stillness.
BUT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS GOT THROUGH TO COMPREHENSION. I certainly haven't acted special or shown off as unique and different, claiming that I alone have penetrated this Dharma door and understood this wonderful principle.
ALL THE BUDDHAS, MYRIAD AS GANGES' SANDS, ARE OF THE VERY SAME SUBSTANCE. The Buddha of the ten diredtions and the three periods of time, their numbers as measureless and boundless as the grains of sand in the Ganges River, are all identically replete with the capabilities of nature of this substance and principle. They are one with and not different from the living beings that are myriad as Ganes' sands, Thus it is said,
Every single living being has the Buddha-nature.
All can become Buddhas.TEXT:
ROAR OF THE LION IS FEARLESS PROCLAMATION,
WHEN THE HUNDRED WILD BEASTS HEAR IT, THEIR BRAINS SPLIT, AND THE MUSK-ELEPHANT FLEES IN CONFUSION, LOSING HIS AWESOMENESS.
THE GODS AND DRAGONS LISTEN IN STILLNESS AND IN GREAT JOY.COMMENTARY:
THE ROAR OF THE LION IS FEARLESS PROCLAMATION. My speaking of this Dharma is like a great lion's roar; it is not in the least bit fearful.
WHEN THE HUNDRED WILD BEASTS HEAR IT, THEIR BRAINS SPLIT. When the Dharma King speaks the Dharma, it is like the roar of the lion, and when the wild animals hear it, they all tremble in submission. Their very brains split open, and there is fear in their hearts.
AND THE MUSK-ELEPHANT FLEES IN CONFUSION, LOSING HIS AWESOMENESS. The musk-elephant is a mighty wild beast, but it becomes disoriented when it hears this sound. It flees, losing its usual virile, awesome, powerful, and ruthless disposition.
THE GODS AND DRAGONS LISTEN IN STILLNESS AND IN GREAT JOY. The gods, people, dragons, and spirits listen in still silence to this Dharma, and they praise it joyfully, bowing in worship and reverently making offerings. They give rise to great joy. The Buddha's speaking Dharma is like the lion's roar, and the hundred wild beasts are like the warped teachers of deviant doors to aberrant paths, who mislead people. When they hear this proper Dharma, they are frightened and lose control of themselves.
TEXT:
ROAMING THE RIVERS AND OCEANS, CROSSING MOUNTAINS
AND STREAMS; SEARCHING FOR A MASTER TO ASK ABOUT THE WAY OF INVESTIGATING DHYANA,
SINCE I CAME TO KNOW THE TS'AO CREEK ROAD,
I UNDERSTAND BIRTH AND DEATH AND HAVE NO CONNECTION
WITH THEM.COMMENTARY:
ROAMING THE RIVERS AND OCEANS, CROSSING MOUNTAINS AND STREAMS. The Ancient Worthies traveled everywhere on foot along the great rivers of both south and north, crossing oceans and visiting famous mountains and large streams. In navigating oceans and scaling mountains, they tasted to the full the suffering involved in travel by land and sea.
SEARCHING FOR A MASTER TO ASK ABOUT THE WAY OF INVESTIGATING DHYANA. Although they suffered greatly, they were determined in their aim to find a clear-headed teacher who understood: someone who had arrived there, whom they could ask about the essentials of the way--how to end birth and death, how to investigate Dhyana, and the miraculous merging with non-production.
SINCE I CAME TO KNOW THE TS'AO CREEK ROAD. At first, the Great Master had practiced according to the teachings of the T'ien T'ai School, and, although he had become Enlightened in certain respects, he had yet to become one with his original face. Later, he visited Nan Hua Monastery at Ts'ao Creek, where the Great Master Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch, explained and transmitted the principle of the Ch'an School which had come from the West. He became Enlighteded to the wonderful principle of non-production. He understood the mind, and he saw the nature. Since he had been given the Patriarch's Seal of Certification, the said, "I came to know the Ts'ao Creek road."
I UNDERSTAND BIRTH AND DEATH AND HAVE NO CONNECTION WITH THEM. He had become Enlightened to the path of non-production and non-extinction, so he said, "I completely understand birth and death and basically have no connection with them."
TEXT:
WALKING IS DHYANA; SITTING IS ALSO DHYANA,
IN SPEECH OR SILENCE, IN MOVEMENT OR STILLNESS, MY
SUBSTANCE IS AT PEACE.
EVEN IF I MEET WITH A KNIFE'S POINT, I AM ALWAYS COMPLETELY TRANQUIL.
IF I AM GIVEN A POISONOUS DRUG, I AM STILL TOTALLY AT EASE.
OUR MASTER MET BURNING-LAMP BUDDHA AFTER MANY AEONS AS A PATIENT IMMORTAL.COMMENTARY:
WALKING IS DHYANA; SITTING IS ALSO DHYANA. The daily functions of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down all take place within Dhyana Samadhi.
IN SPEECH OR SILENCE, IN MOVEMENT OR STILLNESS, MY SUBSTANCE IS AT PEACE. Whether speaking or silent, moving or still, my basic substance is peaceful and at ease.
EVEN IF I MEET WITH A KNIFE'S POINT, I AM ALWAYS COMPLETELY TRANQUIL. Even if I encounter some unexpected contrary event, I remain tranquil, without the least bit of fear, just as the Sixth Patriarch did while he was waiting for his avenger. He knew he was coming and waited for him without fear.
IF I AM GIVEN A POISONOUS DRUG, I AM STILL TOTALLY AT EASE. If a cultivator should meet with a secret attempt to harm him--should he be offered food or drink that is poisoned--he is just the way he always is, and he is unharmed by the poison. Such was the case with the First Patriarch, Bodhidharma, who was poisoned by people of an outside way, but did not die.
OUR MASTER MET BURNING-LAMP BUDDHA AFTER MANY AEONS AS A PATIENT IMMORTAL. He passed through boundless vast ages specializing in cultivating the practice of patience under insult.
TEXT:
HOW MANY BIRTHS? HOW MANY DEATHS? BIRTHS AND DEATHS
STRETCH FAR INTO THE DISTANCE, WITH NO FIXED END.
SINCE I SUDDENLY AWAKENED AND UNDERSTOOD NON- PRODUCTION, HOW CAN I BE GRIEVED BY INSULT, OR PLEASED BY GLORY?COMMENTARY:
HOW MANY BIRTHS? HOW MANY DEATHS? Since time without beginning, we have left mountains of bones behind us as we have revolved through the six paths. No one knows the number of times we have met birth and met death, first rising, then falling.
BIRTHS AND DEATHS STRETCH FAR INTO THE DISTANCE, WITH NO FIXED END. Thus we are born and then die again, and again, reaching far across kalpas as many as there are motes of dust, far through the months and years. There is no time when it stops. Thus the line says, "with no fix end."
SINCE I SUDDENLY AWAKENED AND UNDERSTOOD NON-PRODUCTION. When I encountered the principles explained by the Six Patriarch of Ts'ao Creek and the supreme Dharma-door of the mind-seal, I was guided to sudden awakening, and I understood the principle of non-production and non-extinction.
HOW CAN I BE GRIEVED BY INSULT, OR PLEASED BY GLORY? Since I awakened to the principle of non-production and non-extinction, I am not alarmed. If they are foisted upon me without reason, I am not enraged. Although I may be praised and glorified, I don't become happy. If there is insult and ridicule, I am not grieved about it.
TEXT:
DEEP IN THE MOUNTAINS DWELLING IN AN ARANYA,
SECLUDED FAR ON A LONELY PEAK BENEATH THE TALL PINES.
CAREFREE, I SIT IN MEDIATION, A RUSTIC MONK AT HOME.
IN QUIETUDE I LIVE AT EASE IN TRUE LIGHTEARTEDNESSCOMMENTARY:
DEEP IN THE MOUNTAINS DWELLING IN AN ARANYA. I live as a recluse, secluded deep in the mountains at the far end of a valley, in an aranya (that is, a still and quiet place), where I work hard at cultivation of the Way and return to my original face.
SECLUDED FAR ON A LONELY PEAK BENEATH THE TALL PINES. The lonely peaks are steep and high, their seclusion far and deep. There are caves in the high mountains, beneath the tall pines and blue cedars, and I sit under the luxuriant trees all day long. I wash myself clean in a pure spring, pluck fruit to eat, and scoop up handfuls of water to drink. In these simple and rustic pleasures, my joy is inexhaustible.
CAREFREE, I SIT IN MEDITATION, A RUSTIC MONK AT HOME. With no restraints, no ties, no hindrances, no obstructions, I roam at ease; practicing concentration and investigating Dhyana, I sit in tranquility. In this primitive life is this rustic monk at home.
IN QUIETUDE I LIVE AT EASE IN TRUE LIGHT-HEARTEDNESS. Dwelling in this pure place filled with stillness, free of clamor, I am genuinely lighthearted.
TEXT:
ENLIGHTENMENT IS COMPLETION, THERE IS NO FURTHER EFFORT,
IT IS NOT THE SAME AS ANY CONDITIONED DHARMAS.
TO DWELL IN CHARACTERISTICS WHILE GIVING IS TO CREATE THE BLESSINGS OF THE HEAVENS;
IT IS LIKE LOOKING UP AND LOOSING AN ARROW INTO THE SKY.COMMENTARY:
ENLIGHTENMENT IS COMPLETION. THERE IS NO FURTHER EFFORT. By this Dharma door of the mind-ground, one opens Enlightenment suddenly, rather than passing through asamkhyeyas of kalpas, or for a hundred kalpas planting the seeds of one's hall-marks and characteristics. Therefore the text says, "There is no further effort."
IT IS NOT THE SAME AS ANY CONDITIONED DHARMAS. All the ordinary conditioned dharmas, with shape and characteristics, are by no means the same as the unconditioned dharma of the mind-ground.
TO DWELL IN CHARACTERISTICS WHILE GIVING IS TO CREATE THE BLESSINGS OF THE HEAVENS. If an attitude of attachment to goodness has not yet been emptied, one may plant the seeds of success, but will do no more than attain the smaller fruits of the human or heavenly reward of blessings.
IT IS LIKE LOOKING UP AND LOOSING AN ARROW INTO THE SKY. When one exhausts one's heavenly blessings, one falls. That is like looking up into the sky and loosing an arrow: how can it be on target?
The Vajra Sutra says,
Anything with characteristics is empty and false.
If one perceives all characteristics as non-characteristics,
Then one sees the Thus Come One.
Those words are true indeed!TEXT:
WHEN ITS FORCE IS EXHAUSTED, AN ARROW FALLS BACK DOWN;
WHICH IS TO SAY, FUTHER LIVES WILL NOT BE AS ONE WISHES--
UNLIKE THE DOOR TO THE REAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THE UNCONDITIONED:
A SINGLE LEAP'S STRAIGHT ENTRY TO THE GROUND OF THE THUS COME ONES.COMMENTARY:
WHEN ITS FORCE IS EXHAUSTED, AN ARROW FALLS BACK DOWN. The time comes when the smaller result that one has cultivated, the reward of human or heavenly blessings, reaches its end. It is like the arrow which, pointed up, has been loosed into the air--when its force is expended, that arrow will fall back down.
WHICH IS TO SAY, FUTURE LIVES WILL NOT BE AS ONE WISHES. Having fallen then into the turning wheel of the six paths, one receives the retribution over and over; an unending web, forever sinking into the bitteer sea of birth and death, from which it is difficult to escape. Therefore the text says, "Which is to say, future lives will not be as one wishes."
UNLIKE THE DOOR TO THE REAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THE UNCONDITIONED. This is the unconditioned Dharma door of the Treasury of the Proper Dharma Eye, of the wonderful mind of Nirvana, of the characteristic of reality which has no characteristics, of the special transmission outside the teachings. Having awakened to one thing, one awakens to everything; having been certified to one thing, one is certified to everything. This is not like the crooked cultivation according to the Two Vehicles.
A SINGLE LEAP'S STRAIGHT ENTRY TO THE GROUND OF THE THUS COME ONE. Through this Dharma door, one suddenly awakens to what is fundamental and leaps straight to the ground of the Buddhas, reaching the treasure trove. One does not stagnate in the Transformation City. In fruition, one is certified to non-production and in position, one tallies with Wonderful Enlightenment. One carries on the Triple Jewel, teaching and transforming. The adornments of a Buddha become one's own adornments.
TEXT:
ONLY GET THE ROOT; HAVE NO CONCERN FOR THE BRANCH-TIPS,
LIKE A PURE CRYSTAL CONTAINING A JEWELED MOON,
WHEN THIS WISH-GRANTING PEARL CAN BE UNDERSTOOD,
SELF-BENEFIT AND THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS ARE FOREVER UNENDING.COMMENTARY:
ONLY GET THE ROOT; HAVE NO CONCERN FOR THE BRANCH-TIPS. It must be on the mind-ground that the cultivator of the Way applies his spiritual skill. When he reaches the root, he will understand his own fundamental mind and see his inherent, basic nature. It is said that upon attaining the One, the myriad matters are resolved. So what is the use of bothering with the branch-tips?
LIKE A PURE CRYSTAL CONTAINING A JEWELED MOON. The example is of a jeweled moon contained in a clear, pure crystal. How could the root be foresaken to pursue the ramifications?
WHEN THIS WISH-GRANTING PEARL CAN BE UNDERSTOOD. When you can tell the fundamental derivative--when you recognize your inherent nature, which is the wish-fulfilling pearl--its miraculous uses will be inexhaustible.
SELF-BENEFIT AND THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS ARE FOREVER UNENDING. Then this precious wish-fulfilling pearl can be of benefit to oneself, by one's Enlightenment to the fundamental substance. It can also benefit others, by its Enlightenment of other people. The benefits are ever-flowing, without end.
TEXT:
IN THE RIVER THE MOON SHINES; IN THE PINES THE WIND SIGHS.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE CLEAR, LONG NIGHT?
THE BUDDHA-NATURE'S PRECEPT-PEARL IS THE MIND-GROUND
SEAL.
FOG AND DEW, CLOUDS AND MISTS ARE THE BODY'S CLOTHING.COMMENTARY:
IN THE RIVER THE MOON SHINES; IN THE PINES THE WIND SIGHS. When the moon appears in the water of the clear mind, and in the sky of concentrated thought there are no clouds, then there is a state of great naturalness. Nothing further is done in this natural and rustic existence. One's happiness is inexhaustible and transcendental.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE CLEAR, LONG NIGHT? Nothing is done, and yet nothing is left undone. There are great creations and great transformations, great penetration, and Great Enlightenment. Beginning and end are connected, and the myriad existing things are contained.
THE BUDDHA-NATURE'S PRECEPT-PEARL IS THE MIND-GROUND SEAL. One's inherent nature is pure, clean undefiled, and its light shines everywhere, neither internal nor external. All flows forth from the Dharma door of the mind-ground; therefore, it is called the "mind-ground seal."
FOG AND DEW, CLOUDS AND MISTS ARE THE BODY'S CLOTHING. Fog and dew are illusory and temporary. Clouds and mists are vacuous and false. They have no inherent substantive nature. Like the clothes on our bodies, they do not last. This is an analogy for the poisons of greed, hatred, stupidity, arrogance, and so forth. Although they can veil our Buddha-nature and cast a shadow over it, they are yet like fog and dew, like clouds and mists. Although they can screen out the clear sky, they are nothing more than temporary phenomena.
TEXT:
THE ALMS-BOWL SUBDUES THE DRAGONS;
THE TIN STAFF VANQUISHES TIGERS,
AND THE GOLDEN RINGS OF ITS TWO PARTS SOUND IN CLEAR SUCCESSION.
IT IS NO SYMBOLIC FORM UNSUPPORTED BY REAL EVENTS;
IT IS THE JEWELED STAFF OF THE THUS COME ONE, WHICH HE HIMSELF PASSED DOWN.COMMENTARY:
THE ALMS-BOWL SUBDUES THE DRAGONS; THE TIN STAFF VANQUISHES TIGERS. When the nature is concentrated, dragons are subdued. When one's way of life is right, tigers are tamed. Once the dragons and tigers of one's nature are conquered, external dragons and tigers, too, are naturally subdued.
AND THE GOLDEN RINGS OF ITS TWO PARTS SOUND IN CLEAR SUCCESSION. The staff which vanquishes tigers has two sections, which represent the two kinds of truth: the genuine and the common. Suspended from each section are three golden rings, which represent the Six Paramitas.
IT IS NO SYMBOLIC FORM UNSUPPORTED BY REAL EVENTS. This staff is not just a symbol, an empty show with no real basis.
IT IS THE JEWELED STAFF OF THE THUS COME ONE, WHICH HE HIMSELF PASSED DOWN. The Thus Come One, Shakyamuni Buddha, transmitted in person to his assembly of desciples the methods of practicing, cultivating and maintaining the Way, and bequeathed to them the Dharma-jewel of his tin staff.
TEXT:
DO NOT SEEK THE TRUE, DO NOT CUT OFF THE FALSE,
COMPREHEND THAT BOTH DHARMAS ARE EMPTY; THEY HAVE NO CHARACTERISTICS.
WITHOUT CHARACTERISTICS, THERE IS NO EMPTINESS AND NO NON-EMPTINESS.
JUST THAT IS THE TRUE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE THUS COME ONE.COMMENTARY:
DO NOT SEEK THE TRUE, DO NOT CUT OFF THE FALSE. The man of the Way without a mind has already awakened to non-production, and so he undergoes no further existences. Therefore, there is no truth that can be sought, and there is no falseness that can be cut off.
COMPREHEND THAT BOTH DHARMAS ARE EMPTY; THEY HAVE NO CHARACTERISTICS. One should completely understand that the two dharmas of truth and falsity, the two dharmas of form and mind, the two dharmas of existence and non-existence, and so forth, are all totally empty and without characteristics. How could one pursue such illusory dust? It would just be a waste of time.
WITHOUT NO NON-EMPTINESS. Since there are no identifiable characteristics, then even less is there any emptiness to speak of. It is said,
The mouth wants to speak, but words are lost.
The mind wants to reason, but concepts have gone.
Therefore, the text says, "and no non-emptiness."JUST THAT IS THE TRUE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE THUS COME ONE.
This is the state in which,
The path of speech is cut off;
The place of the mind's workings is destroyed.It is inconceivable, the transcendence of both the relative and the absolute. It is the Dharma-body of all Buddhas, and the place of study of all Bodhisattvas. This is what the characteristic of true actuality of the Thus Come One is like.
TEXT:
THE MIND-MIRROR IS BRIGHT; ITS REFLECTIONS ARE UNHINDERED.
VAST, LUSTROUS, AND SHINING, IT PERVADES WORLDS LIKE SAND- GRAINS.
IN IT APPEAR THE IMAGES OF THE MYRIAD PHENOMENA;
A PEARL OF PERFECT LIGHT, NEITHER WITHIN NOR WITHOUTCOMMENTARY:
THE MIND-MIRROR IS BRIGHT; ITS REFLECTIONS ARE UNHINDERED. One's own mind is like a great, bright mirror, which reflects all the ten thousand things without any one of them hindering any other. Each thing retains its basic characteristics and is not confused in the substance of the mirror.
VAST, LUSTROUS, AND SHINING, IT PERVADES WORLDS LIKE SAND-GRAINS. This mind-mirror is far-reaching, great, bright, and still, permeating the "Great-thousnad" universes, numerous as grains of sand. Nowhere does its light fail to circulate; nowhere does its brightness fail to shine. It is so great that there is nothing outside of it, and so small that there is nothing within it.
IN IT APPEAR THE IMAGES OF THE MYRIAD PHENOMENA. Not a single one of the myriad forms in the universe fails to appear in its light. Yet the light is not apart from the images, and the images are not apart from the light. The rays of light each shine upon another, and all the images are in perfect fusion. Therefore, all the images appear within it.
A PEARL OF PERFECT LIGHT, NEITHER WITHIN NOR WITHOUT. This perfection of radiance, this brilliance of light is the fundamental substance of our mind's light. It is neither long nor short, neither black nor white, neither square nor round, neither within nor without. The foolish people of the world do not understand this principle, and they run outside to look for it. They are said by the Thus Come One to be pitiful.
Copyright © Buddhist Text Translation Society
Proper Use, Terms, & Conditions