爾時，世尊哀愍會中緣覺、聲聞，於菩提心未自在者，及為當來佛滅度後末法眾生發菩提心，開無上乘妙修行路，宣示阿難及諸大眾：「汝等決定發菩提心，於佛如來妙三摩提不生疲惓，應當先明發覺初心二決定義。云何初心二義決定？
At that time, the World-Honored One took pity on all the solitary enlightened (pratyekabuddhas), the voice-hearers (śrāvakas), and those in the assembly who had not yet become sovereign in their generation of bodhicitta, as well as those who would be born after the Buddha’s remainderless nirvāṇa and generate bodhicitta during the time of the Dharma’s ending, he revealed the unsurpassable vehicle’s wondrous path of practice by instructing Ānanda and the others in the assembly as follows: “You have all made a firm resolve and generated bodhicitta, and you have not wearied of your practice of the samādhi of the Buddhas, the Thus-Come Ones. Therefore, you should now understand two definitive meanings concerning the initial generation of bodhicitta. What are these two definitive meanings?”
1. The Five Turbidites
「阿難！第一義者，汝等若欲捐捨聲聞，修菩薩乘入佛知見，應當審觀因地發心與果地覺為同？為異？阿難！若於因地，以生滅心為本修因，而求佛乘不生不滅，無有是處。以是義故，汝當照明諸器世間，可作之法皆從變滅。阿難！汝觀世間，可作之法誰為不壞，然終不聞爛壞虛空。何以故？空非可作，由是始終無壞滅故。則汝身中堅相為地、潤濕為水、煖觸為火、動搖為風，由此四纏分汝湛圓妙覺明心，為視、為聽、為覺、為察，從始入終五疊渾濁。云何為濁？阿難！譬如清水，清潔本然，即彼塵土灰沙之倫，本質留礙，二體法爾性不相循，有世間人取彼土塵投於淨水，土失留礙水亡清潔，容貌汩然明之為濁，汝濁五重亦復如是。
“Ānanda! The first meaning is, all of you who wish to renounce being voice-hearers (śrāvaka) to practice in accord with the Bodhisattva Vehicle so that you can gain the wisdom and vision of the Buddhas must examine the ‘causal-ground’ (因地) of generating bodhicitta and the ‘fruit-ground’ (果地) of awakening. Is this causal-ground identical to the fruit? Is it different? Ānanda! If the mind that arises and ceases is the basis of your practice, then you will not be able to ride the Buddha’s Vehicle to where there is nothing that comes into being or ceases to be. For this reason, you should shine the light of your understanding on the phenomena of the material world. Since all phenomena are subject to change and decay, how could any of them serve as a basis for the practice of Dharma? Ānanda! Contemplate the phenomena of the world. Which one of them does not decay? But you will never hear of space decaying. Why? Space is unconditioned, and so it has never been and can never be subject to dissolution. In your own body, what appears as solid is composed of the great element earth, what is moist contains the great element water, what has warmth belongs to the great element fire, and movement constitutes the great element wind. Because these four great elements are bound together, your pure, perfect, wondrous enlightened mind that understands is divided into the functions of seeing, hearing, sensory awareness, and contemplation. Hence, the five turbidities (kaṣāya) come about as a result. What is turbidity? Ānanda! Let us consider an example. Water in its original state is pure and clear, while soil, ashes, and sand in their original states are solid and opaque. These defining attributes of water and of soil, ashes, and sand are such that they are mutually incompatible. Suppose that someone were to pick up some soil and throw it into clear water. The soil now loses its solidity, and the water loses its purity. Together they appear clouded or, we may say, ‘turbid’. The five layers of turbidity occur in the same way.”
「阿難！汝見虛空遍十方界，空見不分；有空無體、有見無覺，相織妄成，是第一重名為劫濁。汝身現摶四大為體，見聞覺知壅令留礙，水火風土旋令覺知，相織妄成，是第二重名為見濁。又汝心中憶識誦習，性發知見容現六塵，離塵無相離覺無性，相織妄成，是第三重名煩惱濁。又汝朝夕生滅不停，知見每欲留於世間，業運每常遷於國土，相織妄成，是第四重名眾生濁。汝等見聞元無異性，眾塵隔越無狀異生，性中相知、用中相背，同異失準，相織妄成，是第五重名為命濁。
“Ānanda! As you look into the field of empty space throughout all ten directions, no separation can be made between space and seeing. If only space existed, then there would be nothing to be visually aware of it. If only seeing existed, there would not be anything for it to be aware of. Space and seeing are entangled and with this entanglement, based on delusion, the turbidity of time (kalpa) comes into being. This is the first layer of turbidity.
Your body is composed of the four great elements. Your seeing, hearing, sensory awareness, and knowing become strictly defined, while water, fire, wind, and earth participate in bringing about the attributes of the faculties that have awareness. Thus awareness and the great elements become entangled with each other. With this entanglement, based on delusion, the turbidity of views (dṛṣṭi) comes into being. This is the second layer of turbidity.
Further, your mind is habituated to recollecting the past, to being aware of the present, and to anticipating the future. Because of these habits, the six consciousnesses arise and embrace the six kinds of perceived objects. Without these objects, your mind-consciousness has no attributes, and without your perception of them, these objects have no identity. Objects you perceive and your mind-consciousness become entangled with each other. With this entanglement, based on delusion, the mind becomes turbid with afflictions (kleśa). These afflictions are the third layer of turbidity.
Further, by night and by day, beings ceaselessly come into being and perish. They always desire to continue to experience the world indefinitely through their faculties of perception. Their karma leads them to continually move from one land to another. Their thoughts and their karma become entangled with each other, and with this entanglement, based on delusion, there is the fourth layer, the turbidity of individual beings (sattva).
The fundamental natures of your seeing, your hearing, and your other awarenesses do not differ from one another, but the six objects of perception separate them so that your awareness is forced to become differentiated. Although the six sense-consciousnesses share a single fundamental awareness, their functioning has become distinct. The consciousnesses and their objects are no longer in their correct relationship. They become entangled with each other, and with this entanglement, based on delusion, there is the fifth layer, the turbidity of lifespans (jiva).
「阿難！汝今欲令見聞覺知遠契如來常樂我淨，應當先擇死生根本，依不生滅圓湛性成，以湛旋其虛妄滅生，伏還元覺得元明覺，無生滅性為因地心，然後圓成果地修證。如澄濁水貯於淨器，靜深不動，沙土自沈清水現前，名為初伏客塵煩惱；去泥純水，名為永斷根本無明。明相精純，一切變現不為煩惱，皆合涅槃清淨妙德。
“Ānanda! Now you wish to transform your seeing, hearing, sensory awareness, and knowing into the permanence, bliss, true self, and purity of the Thus-Come One. To accomplish this, you must pull out the root of death and rebirth and rely on that pure and perfect nature that neither comes into being nor ceases to be. Use the purity of your true nature to make disappear the distinction between your original state of enlightenment and the illusory state of what comes into being and ceases to be. The original enlightened understanding, which neither comes into being nor ceases to be, must be the basis of your practice. Then you will attain the awakening that will be the result of your practice. The process may be compared to the settling of turbid water. If you keep it undisturbed in a container so that it is completely still and quiet, the sand and silt in it will settle naturally, and the water will become clear. This may be compared to the initial stage of subduing the afflictions that arise from transitory perceptions of objects. When the sand and silt have been removed so that only clear water remains, then fundamental ignorance has been eliminated forever. When the water is quite pure and clear, nothing that may happen will be a cause of affliction. All will be in accord with the pure and wondrous attributes of Nirvāṇa.”
2. Space-Time and the Efficacy of the Senses
「第二義者，汝等必欲發菩提心，於菩薩乘生大勇猛，決定棄捐諸有為相，應當審詳煩惱根本，此無始來發業潤生誰作？誰受？阿難！汝修菩提，若不審觀煩惱根本，則不能知虛妄根塵；何處顛倒處尚不知，云何降伏取如來位？阿難！汝觀世間解結之人，不見所結，云何知解？不聞虛空被汝墮裂。何以故？空無相形，無結解故。則汝現前眼耳鼻舌及與身心，六為賊媒自劫家寶，由此無始眾生世界生纏縛故，於器世間不能超越。
“The second definitive meaning is, if you desire to generate bodhicitta, you must courageously dedicate yourself to practice in accord with the Bodhisattva Vehicle. You must decisively let go of everything that has conditioned characteristics. Carefully examine the source of your afflictions, which since time without beginning have created your karma and nurtured its growth. Who is it that creates this karma? Who is it that undergoes its retribution? Ānanda! If, during your quest for full awakening, you do not examine and contemplate the sources of affliction, you will not be able to understand the illusory and distorted nature of the perceiving faculties and their objects. At what point did you become so inverted? If you do not know that, how can you expect to subdue your afflictions and aspire to becoming a Buddha? Ānanda! Consider some worldly person who wishes to untie a knot. If they cannot see the knot, how will he know how to untie it? You have never heard of space being broken into parts. Why? Space has no shape or form. Therefore, it can neither be divided nor put together again. But now your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind are like conspirators who have introduced thieves into your house to plunder your valuables. In this way, since time without beginning, beings and the world of time (世) and space (界) have been tied to each other because of illusion, and that is why beings cannot transcend this world.”
「阿難！云何名為眾生世界？世為遷流，界為方位。汝今當知東西南北東南西南東北西北上下為界，過去未來現在為世；位方有十，流數有三。一切眾生織妄相成，身中貿遷，世界相涉；而此界性，設雖十方定位可明，世間秖目東西南北，上下無位中無定方，四數必明與世相涉，三四四三宛轉十二，流變三疊一十百千，總括始終六根之中，各各功德有千二百。
“Ānanda! What do I mean by ‘beings and the world of time and space’? ‘Time’ (世) denotes flux and change; ‘space’ (界) denotes location and direction. You already know that the directions are north, south, east, west, northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest, above, and below, while time is divided into past, present, and future. Thus locations are ten-fold and the flow of time is three-fold. All beings become entangled in illusion and imagine a center of the body, and space and time become interconnected. Although the nature of space can be defined as extending in ten directions and can be clearly understood as such, people in general only take account of north, south, east, and west. They do not consider above and below to be specific directions, and they see the four intermediate directions as merely relative to the others, while the four cardinal points are understood to be fixed. Therefore, we can say that space is fourfold and time threefold, and that the three times and four directions multiplied together make a total of twelve. Again, if we multiply these numbers in three stages; first, by each other, to make twelve, next by ten and then again by ten, we reach a total of twelve hundred. Applying this to the six faculties of perception, we may measure the efficacy (’merit’) of each, with a total of twelve hundred signifying the greatest possible efficacy.”
「阿難！汝復於中克定優劣，如眼觀見後暗前明，前方全明後方全暗，左右傍觀三分之二，統論所作功德不全，三分言功一分無德，當知眼唯八百功德；如耳周聽十方無遺，動若邇遙諍無邊際，當知耳根圓滿一千二百功德；如鼻嗅聞通出入息，有出有入而闕中交，驗於鼻根三分闕一，當知鼻唯八百功德；如舌宣揚盡諸世間出世間智，言有方分理無窮盡，當知舌根圓滿一千二百功德；如身覺觸識於違順，合時能覺離中不知，離一合雙，驗於身根三分闕一，當知身唯八百功德；如意默容十方三世一切世間出世間法，惟聖與凡無不苞容盡其涯際，當知意根圓滿一千二百功德。
“Ānanda! You can now determine the degree of efficacy of each of the faculties of perception. Consider the efficacy of the eye-faculty. You can see in front of you but not behind you. In front of you there is light, but behind you there is darkness. Adding in your partial vision at your left and right, your capacity to see is effective by only two thirds. The overall efficacy of the eye-faculty, then, is incomplete, in that it functions in three directions but not in the fourth. Know then that the efficacy of the eye-faculty may be expressed as eight hundred.
Consider the ability of the ear-faculty to hear in all ten directions without exception. The sounds we hear may be distant or nearby. When there is silence, our hearing is unbounded. Know then that the efficacy of the ear-faculty may be expressed as twelve hundred.
Consider the ability of the nose-faculty to smell. The breath moves through the nose in and out. But in the space between inhaling and exhaling, the breath is lacking. Upon examination, we can say that the nose-faculty is lacking one of three aspects. Know then that the efficacy of the nose-faculty may be expressed as eight hundred.
Consider the ability of the tongue-faculty to proclaim wisely both worldly and world-transcending wisdom. Languages differ from place to place, but meanings know no boundary. Know then that the efficacy of the tongue-faculty may be expressed as twelve hundred.
Consider the ability of the body-faculty to be aware of contact. It is conscious of pleasure and discomfort. It has awareness upon contact and lacks awareness once there is separation. Separation is a single quality, while contact is twofold. Upon examination, then, we may say that the body-faculty is lacking in one of three aspects. Know then that the efficacy of the body-faculty may be expressed as eight hundred.
Consider the ability of the cognitive faculty to silently include within its scope all worldly and world-transcending phenomena in all ten directions and all three periods of time. It excludes neither the thoughts of sages nor the distorted thoughts of ordinary beings; it knows no boundary. Know then that the efficacy of the cognitive faculty may be expressed as twelve hundred.”
Turning the Senses Around
「阿難！汝今欲逆生死欲流，返窮流根至不生滅，當驗此等六受用根，誰合？誰離？誰深？誰淺？誰為圓通？誰不圓滿？若能於此悟圓通根，逆彼無始織妄業流，得循圓通，與不圓根日劫相倍，我今備顯六湛圓明，本所功德數量如是，隨汝詳擇其可入者，吾當發明令汝增進。十方如來於十八界，一一修行皆得圓滿無上菩提，於其中間亦無優劣；但汝下劣未能於中圓自在慧，故我宣揚，令汝但於一門深入，入一無妄，彼六知根一時清淨。」
“Ānanda! You now wish to go upstream against the current of the flow of desire that leads to death and rebirth. You wish to go against the current that flows through the faculties until you reach the source, where there is neither coming into being nor ceasing to be. You should investigate how the six faculties function: which ones function upon contact with their objects and which ones function while apart from their objects; which are the more easily employed in the practice of reversing your attention and which ones are less easily employed; which ones are best suited for breaking through to enlightenment and which ones are not fully efficacious. If you can discern which of your faculties can lead you to break through (圓通) to enlightenment, then you will be able to go upstream against the current that carries the karma in which, due to your delusion, you have been immersed since time without beginning. One day of practice that relies on a fully effective faculty is equivalent to a kalpa of practice that relies on a faculty that is not fully effective. I have already given you a full explanation of the fundamental purity and perfect clarity of the six faculties, and I have now given numerical equivalents for the efficacy of each one. It is up to you to choose carefully which one to concentrate on. I will clarify this to help you move forward vigorously. The Thus-Come Ones in all ten directions chose one of the eighteen constituent elements of perception for their practice that led to their gaining the perfect, supreme, complete awakening. For them, none of the eighteen constituents was superior or inferior. But because you are at a lower level and have not yet fully developed that wisdom which is independent of conditions, I have explained all this to you in detail so that you will be able to choose one faculty as a gateway to deep practice. If you take that path until you have left behind all distortion within that one faculty, then all the other faculties will be purified as well.”
阿難白佛言：「世尊！云何逆流深入一門，能令六根一時清淨？」
“Ānanda addressed the Buddha saying, “World-Honored One! How can I choose one gateway that will allow me to reverse my outflows and purify all six of my faculties of perception at the same time?”
佛告阿難：「汝今已得須陀洹果，已滅三界眾生世間見所斷惑，然猶未知根中積生無始虛習，彼習要因修所斷得，何況此中生住異滅分劑頭數？今汝且觀現前六根，為一？為六？
The Buddha told Ānanda, “You have already attained the fruit of stream entry (śrota-āpanna) and you have abandoned the deluded views held by beings in the three realms of existence. But you still do not understand the illusory habits (vāsanā) which you have accumulated in life after life since time without beginning. You will need to practice even more to get rid of the subtle aspects of your habits as they come into being, abide, decay, and perish. Now you should consider whether the six faculties are one or six.
「阿難！若言一者，耳何不見、目何不聞、頭奚不履、足奚無語？若此六根決定成六，如我今會與汝宣揚微妙法門，汝之六根誰來領受？」
“Ānanda! If they are one, why can’t the ears see, and why can’t the eyes hear? Why can’t the head walk? Why can’t the feet speak? If the six faculties are indeed six, which one of them is now receiving my instruction in this subtle, wondrous gateway to the Dharma as I explain it to this assembly?”
阿難言：「我用耳聞。」
Ānanda replied, “I use the ears to hear.”
佛言：「汝耳自聞，何關身口？口來問義，身起欽承，是故應知非一終六，非六終一，終不汝根元一元六。阿難！當知是根非一非六，由無始來顛倒淪替，故於圓湛一六義生，汝須陀洹雖得六銷猶未亡一，如太虛空參合群器，由器形異名之異空，除器觀空說空為一，彼太虛空云何為汝成同不同？何況更名是一非一？則汝了知六受用根亦復如是。由明暗等二種相形，於妙圓中粘湛發見，見精映色結色成根，根元目為清淨四大，因名眼體如蒲萄朵，浮根四塵流逸奔色；由動靜等二種相擊，於妙圓中粘湛發聽，聽精映聲卷聲成根，根元目為清淨四大，因名耳體如新卷葉，浮根四塵流逸奔聲；由通塞等二種相發，於妙圓中粘湛發嗅，嗅精映香納香成根，根元目為清淨四大，因名鼻體如雙垂爪，浮根四塵流逸奔香；由恬變等二種相參，於妙圓中粘湛發嘗，嘗精映味絞味成根，根元目為清淨四大，因名舌體如初偃月，浮根四塵流逸奔味；由離合等二種相摩，於妙圓中粘湛發覺，覺精映觸搏觸成根，根元目為清淨四大，因名身體如腰鼓顙，浮根四塵流逸奔觸；由生滅等二種相續，於妙圓中粘湛發知，知精映法覽法成根，根元目為清淨四大，因名意思如幽室見，浮根四塵流逸奔法。
The Buddha replied, “If it is just your ears that hear it, do they then have no connection to your body or your mouth? And yet you ask about the teaching with your mouth, and as you receive it, you show your respect with your body. Therefore — as to the idea that the faculties must be one if they are not six, and that they must be six if they are not one — we cannot say that fundamentally they are both one and six, nor can we say that they are neither one nor six. In your disoriented state, in which you have been sinking and undergoing change since time without beginning, you have conceived the idea that there is ‘one’ and ‘six’ within the fundamental perfect clarity. You have attained the stage of śrota-āpanna (’stream-entry’) and have purified the six, but you have not done away with the one. By analogy, suppose one were to try to fit some space into a variety of containers. Because containers differ in shape, we could say the spaces within them also differ in shape. If you take away the containers and look at the space that was within them, you will say that the space has become one again. But how could space become unified or separated because of what you have done? Indeed, how could the space be said to be either one or not one? You should understand that the same is true of the six faculties of perception.
The essence of seeing is generated out of the wondrous perfection of the pure mind because it adheres to the appearance of the two attributes of light and darkness. That essence of seeing then reveals the essence of visible objects, and the two then become entangled with one another, thus creating the essence of the eye-faculty. The essence of the eye-faculty is composed of the four great elements in their pure state, and that is why it may be called the faculty’s ‘essence.’ The physical eye takes the shape of a grape and is composed of the four great elements in their coarse state. The eye-faculty recklessly races outward in pursuit of visible objects.
The essence of hearing is generated out of the wondrous perfection of the pure mind because it adheres to the two opposing attributes of sound and silence. That essence of hearing then gathers into itself the essence of sound, and the two then become entangled with one another, thus creating the essence of the ear-faculty. The essence of the ear-faculty is composed of the four great elements in their pure state, and that is why it may be called the faculty’s ‘essence.’ The physical ear takes the shape of a curled new leaf and is composed of the four great elements in their coarse state. The ear-faculty recklessly races outward in pursuit of sounds.
The essence of smelling is generated out of the wondrous perfection of the pure mind because it adheres to the two contrasting attributes of openness and blockage. The essence of smelling takes in the essence of odor, and the two then become entangled with one another, thus creating the essence of the nose-faculty. The essence of the nose-faculty is composed of the four great elements in their pure state, and that is why it may be called the faculty’s ‘essence.’ The physical nose takes the shape of a pair of talons and is composed of the four great elements in their coarse state. The nose-faculty recklessly races outward in pursuit of odors.
The essence of tasting is generated out of the wondrous perfection of the pure mind because it adheres to the two interacting attributes of flavor and lack of flavor. The essence of tasting mixes itself with the essence of flavor, thus creating the essence of the tongue-faculty. The essence of the tongue-faculty is composed of the four great elements in their pure state, and that is why it may be called the faculty’s ‘essence.’ The physical tongue takes the shape of a crescent moon and is composed of the four great elements in their coarse state. The tongue-faculty recklessly races outward in pursuit of flavors.
The essence of the sense of touch is generated out of the wondrous perfection of the pure mind because it adheres to the two interacting attributes of contact and separation. The essence of tactile awareness seizes upon the essence of what is touched, thus creating the essence of the body-faculty. The essence of the body-faculty is composed of the four great elements in their pure state, and that is why it may be called the faculty’s ‘essence.’ The physical body, with its torso which takes the shape of a skin-covered drum, is composed of the four great elements in their coarse form. The body-faculty recklessly races outward in pursuit of tangible objects.
The essence of cognition is generated out of the wondrous perfection of the pure mind because it adheres to the two mutually perpetuating attributes of coming into being and perishing. The essence of mental awareness grasps the essence of objects of cognition, thus creating the essence of the cognitive faculty. The essence of the cognitive faculty is composed of the four great elements in their pure state, and that is why it may be called the faculty’s ‘essence.’ The cognitive faculty, which is, as it were, seen in a dark room, responds to the four great elements in their coarse form. The mind-faculty recklessly flows outward in pursuit of mental objects (dharmas).
「阿難！如是六根，由彼覺明有明明覺，失彼精了粘妄發光，是以汝今離暗離明無有見體，離動離靜元無聽質，無通無塞嗅性不生，非變非恬嘗無所出，不離不合覺觸本無，無滅無生了知安寄。汝但不循動靜、合離、恬變、通塞、生滅、暗明，如是十二諸有為相，隨拔一根脫粘內伏，伏歸元真發本明耀；耀性發明，諸餘五粘應拔圓脫，不由前塵所起知見，明不循根寄根明發，由是六根互相為用。
“Ānanda! So it is that the six faculties come into being out of the awakened mind when another understanding is added to that awakened mind. As a result, the essential understanding is lost and the faculties adhere to what is distorted, and each one assumes a different function. Therefore, if you were now to be deprived of both light and darkness, would your seeing continue to exist or would it not? If you were deprived of both sound and silence, would your hearing lose its fundamental characteristics or would it not? If you were deprived of both openness and blockage, would your capacity to smell continue to exist or would it not? If you were deprived of both the presence and the absence of flavors, would your capacity to taste continue to exist or would it not? If you were deprived of both contact and separation, would your sense of touch still exist or would it not? If you were deprived of both the coming into being and perishing of the objects of cognition, would your capacity for cognition still exist or would it not? All that you need to do is not allow your attention to be diverted by the twelve conditioned attributes of sound and silence, contact and separation, flavor and the absence of flavor, openness and blockage, coming into being and perishing, and light and darkness. Next, extricate one faculty by detaching it from its objects, and redirect that faculty inward so that it can return to what is original and true. Then it will radiate the light of the original understanding. This brilliant light will shine forth and extricate the other five faculties until they are completely free. If your six faculties are freed from the objects that they perceive so that the light of your understanding is not diverted into one or another of the faculties, then the light of your understanding will manifest through all the faculties so that all six of them will function interchangeably.”
「阿難！汝豈不知，今此會中阿那律陀無目而見；跋難陀龍無耳而聽；殑伽神女非鼻聞香；驕梵鉢提異舌知味；舜若多神無身有觸，如來光中映令暫現，既為風質其體元無；諸滅盡定得寂聲聞，如此會中摩訶迦葉，久滅意根圓明了知不因心念。阿難！今汝諸根若圓拔已內瑩發光，如是浮塵及器世間諸變化相如湯銷氷，應念化成無上知覺。阿難！如彼世人聚見於眼，若令急合，暗相現前，六根黯然頭足相類，彼人以手循體外繞，彼雖不見，頭足一辯知覺是同，緣見因明暗成無見，不明自發則諸暗相永不能昏，根塵既銷，云何覺明不成圓妙。」
“Ānanda! You know, do you not, that here in this assembly there is Aniruddha, who is blind and yet can see; that the nāga Upananda is deaf and yet can hear; that the goddess of the River Ganges has no sense of smell and yet can discern fragrances; that Gavāṃpati’s malformed tongue cannot taste, and yet he is aware of flavors; and that the spirit Śūnyatā is incorporeal but just now has a sense of touch — you can see him here temporarily as he is illumined by the light of the Thus-Come One. By nature, however, he is as bodiless as the wind. And like all who abide in the samādhi of cessation and who have attained the stillness of the śrāvaka, Mahākāśyapa, here in this assembly, long ago caused his cognitive faculty to cease, and yet without relying on the thinking mind (不因心念), his understanding is clear and perfect. Ānanda! Once all your faculties are completely disengaged, a pure brilliance will shine forth from within them. Then all coarse perceived objects — indeed all phenomena subject to change in the material world — will be transformed, just as ice is transformed when it melts in hot water. Then, responding in the time it takes for a single thought to arise, all phenomena will merge into your supreme awareness. Ānanda! Consider a worldly person who, seeing only with the eyes, quickly closes their eyes so that total darkness surrounds them. All six faculties will be enveloped in the darkness such that the eyes will not be able to distinguish the head from the feet on someone else’s body. But the person will be able to tell head from foot if they trace them with their hands. They will be able to identify them as accurately as they would have done by using their eyes. Now, if visual awareness were dependent on the presence of light, they would have no visual awareness when immersed in darkness. But without light, they can still perceive. Total darkness need not prevent someone from being aware of distinctions among objects. In the same way, once your faculties and their objects have melted away, how could your awareness and understanding not become perfect and wondrous?”
阿難白佛言：「世尊！如佛說言，因地覺心欲求常住，要與果位名目相應。世尊！如果位中，菩提、涅槃、真如、佛性、菴摩羅識、空如來藏、大圓鏡智，是七種名稱謂雖別，清淨圓滿體性堅凝，如金剛王常住不壞；若此見聽離於暗明、動靜、通塞，畢竟無體，猶如念心離於前塵本無所有，云何將此畢竟斷滅以為修因，欲獲如來七常住果？世尊！若離明暗見畢竟空，如無前塵念自性滅，進退循環微細推求，本無我心及我心所，將誰立因求無上覺？如來先說湛精圓常，違越誠言終成戲論。云何如來真實語者？惟垂大慈開我蒙悋。」
Ānanda addressed the Buddha saying, “World-Honored One! As the Buddha has said, the causal ground used as the point of departure in quest of the eternally abiding should be compatible with the fruit-ground. World-Honored One! Realization of the fruit-ground is called by seven different names: Bodhi, Nirvāṇa, Suchness (bhūtatathhatā), Buddha Nature (buddhatā), Amalavijñāna (’Stainless Knowledge’), Empty Treasury of Thus Come Ones (tathāgatagarbha), and the Great Perfect Mirror of Wisdom (Mahā-adarśana-jñāna). It is pure, clean and perfect, and its substance does not change, like the Vajra King which is permanent and indestructible. Now the faculties of seeing and hearing have no independent nature in the absence of brightness and darkness, stillness and motion, and clearance and obstruction, and are like the thinking mind which ceases to exist in the absence of sense data. How can they be used as the point of departure in the search for the Thus Come One’s seven permanent fruits? World-Honored One! Seeing ceases to exist in the absence of light and darkness, like the thinking mind which comes to an end when there are no external phenomena. As I look into all this, I search in vain for my mind and its objects: what then should I set up as the cause in my quest of unsurpassable awakening? Does the Thus Come One’s previous teaching on (the nature of) seeing which is profound, pure, perfect and permanent, contradict your ‘true words’ and become sophistry (as well)? Will you please be compassionate enough to clear away my delusion and perplexity?”
True Hearing
佛告阿難：「汝學多聞未盡諸漏，心中徒知顛倒所因，真倒現前實未能識，恐汝誠心猶未信伏，吾今試將塵俗諸事當除汝疑。」
The Buddha told Ānanda, “You have great knowledge by hearing but you have yet to extinguish all outflows. Though you know the cause of your upset, yet when you find yourself in the presence of that cause, you fail to recognize it. Lest your trustfulness remain incomplete, I will now do something to clear away your doubt and suspicion.”
即時，如來勅羅睺羅擊鍾一聲，問阿難言：「汝今聞不？」
Thereupon, the Thus Come One ordered Rāhula to ring the bell and asked Ānanda, “Do you hear it?”
阿難大眾俱言：「我聞。」
Ānanda and the great assembly all replied, “I hear.”
鍾歇無聲，佛又問言：「汝今聞不？」
When the bell was no more heard, the Buddha asked again, “Do you still hear, or not”
阿難大眾俱言：「不聞。」
Ānanda and the great assembly all replied, “[We] do not hear.”
時，羅睺羅又擊一聲，佛又問言：「汝今聞不？」
Then, Rāhula again rang the bell and the Buddha asked, “Now do you hear it, or not?”
阿難大眾又言：「俱聞。」
Ānanda and the great assembly all replied, “We all hear.”
佛問阿難：「汝云何聞？云何不聞？」
The Buddha asked Ānanda, “What do you mean by hearing and not hearing?”
阿難大眾俱白佛言：「鍾聲若擊則我得聞，擊久聲銷音響雙絕，則名無聞。」
Ānanda and the Great Assembly all addressed the Buddha saying, “If the bell is rung, we call it hearing and when the sound and its echo stop, we call it not hearing.”
如來又勅羅睺擊鍾，問阿難言：「爾今聲不？」
The Thus Come One again ordered Rāhula to ring the bell and asked Ānanda, “And now is there sound, or not?”
阿難言：「聲。」
Ānanda replied, “There is sound.”
少選聲銷，佛又問言：「爾今聲不？」
A little later when it could no longer be heard, the Buddha asked again, “And now is there sound, or not?”
阿難大眾答言：「無聲。」
Ānanda and the great assembly replied, “There is no sound.”
有頃，羅睺更來撞鍾，佛又問言：「爾今聲不？」
Thereto, Rāhula came and rang the bell and the Buddha asked again, “And now is there sound, or not?”
阿難大眾俱言：「有聲。」
Ānanda and the great assembly together replied, “There is sound.”
佛問阿難：「汝云何聲？云何無聲？」
The Buddha asked Ānanda, “What do you mean by sound? What is no sound?”
阿難大眾俱白佛言：「鍾聲若擊，則名有聲，擊久聲銷音響雙絕，則名無聲。」
Ānanda and the great assembly addressed the Buddha saying, “If the bell was rung, there was sound and when both the sound and its echo stopped, this was called no sound.”
佛語阿難及諸大眾：「汝今云何自語矯亂。」
The Buddha said to Ānanda and everyone in the great assembly, “Why did you talk so wildly just now?
大眾阿難俱時問佛：「我今云何名為矯亂？」
The great assembly and Ānanda then asked the Buddha, “How did we speak so wildly just now?”
佛言：「我問汝聞，汝則言聞；又問汝聲，汝則言聲。惟聞與聲報答無定，如是云何不名矯亂？阿難！聲銷無響，汝說無聞，若實無聞，聞性已滅同于枯木，鍾聲更擊汝云何知？知有知無，自是聲塵或無或有，豈彼聞性為汝有無？聞實云無，誰知無者？是故，阿難！聲於聞中自有生滅，非為汝聞聲生聲滅，令汝聞性為有為無。汝尚顛倒惑聲為聞，何怪昏迷以常為斷。終不應言，離諸動靜、閉塞、開通說聞無性。如重睡人眠熟床枕，其家有人於彼睡時擣練舂米，其人夢中聞舂擣聲，別作他物，或為擊鼓、或復撞鍾，即於夢時自怪其鍾為木石響，於時忽寤遄知杵音，自告家人：『我正夢時，惑此舂音將為鼓響。』阿難！是人夢中豈憶靜搖、開閉、通塞，其形雖寐聞性不昏，縱汝形銷命光遷謝，此性云何為汝銷滅？以諸眾生從無始來，循諸色聲逐念流轉，曾不開悟性淨妙常，不循所常逐諸生滅，由是生生雜染流轉；若棄生滅守於真常，常光現前，塵根識心應時銷落，想相為塵、識情為垢二俱遠離，則汝法眼應時清明，云何不成無上知覺？」
When I asked you about hearing, you spoke of hearing and when I asked you about the sound, you spoke of it. So merely about hearing and sound, your answers were ambiguous; how could they not be called wild? Ānanda! When both the sound and its echo ceased, you said there was no hearing: if there really was no hearing, its nature would have died and would be like a withered log, but when the bell was rung again, how did you hear it? Existence and non-existence concern only the sound which may be present or not, but how can the nature of your hearing follow your discrimination to exist or not? If it really ceased, who then knew there was no sound? Therefore, Ānanda! In your hearing, the sound may exist or not, but this does not mean that the sound, whether heard or not, (can) cause your hearing to exist or not. In your delusion you mistake the sound for your hearing and so regard the permanent as transient. You should not say that hearing has no nature when it exists apart from (the conditions of) disturbance, stillness, obstruction and clearance. For instance, when a man sleeps soundly, if people pound rice, he may hear the beating of a drum or the ringing of a bell. So when asleep he may find it strange that the bell is like the beating of a (piece of) wood or stone, but if he suddenly wakes up and hears the pestle, he will tell his family about his mistake when asleep. Ānanda! Does that man remember in his sleep (the conditions of) stillness, disturbance, clearance and obstruction? Although his body rests, the nature of his hearing is present. Even when your body perishes and your life comes to an end, how can this nature vanish? For since the time without beginning all living beings have followed forms and sounds and pursued the flow of their thoughts without awakening to their pure, profound and permanent nature. By straying from the permanent and by following birth and death, they have been contaminated with defilements in successive lives. If you (only) keep away from saṃsāra and dwell in real permanence, your eternal Light will appear thereby causing your organs, sense data, consciousness and (mad) mind to vanish simultaneously. The objects of your thinking process are (polluting) dust and the feelings that arise from your consciousness are impurities; if both are kept away, your Dharma Eye will appear pure and bright instantly. Why then cannot you realize Supreme Bodhi?