禪宗永嘉集

PREFACE

I have heard that when the gate of wisdom opens wide, the principle transcends every trace of form and appearance; the path of awakening is far-reaching, and once it has been ascended, names and words are buried and all outward representation ceases.

Alas! The Able and Humane One manifested responsive transformation everywhere, opening the wondrous scriptures of the Three Vehicles and penetrating the true teachings among the eight classes of beings. Thus, He revealed the most profound, raised wisdom on high to illuminate the dark paths, and proclaimed the Great Way, riding the waves of Chan over the waves of desire. Therefore, the golden countenance cast forth its radiance, and the jade-white urna gathered all beauty. Yet the one who alone exalted the quintessence of Vulture Peak and uniquely bore the accomplishment of becoming the qilin of the lineage (this praises the Great Master as a most honored figure within the Chan tradition) was none other than the Great Master!

The Great Master’s family name was Dai, and he was a native of Yongjia. In his youth, he devoted himself to the Tripitaka; upon reaching maturity, he became thoroughly versed in the teachings of the Mahayana. Diligent in the three kinds of karma, he particularly propagated Chan contemplation.

Objects and wisdom were both quiescent; samadhi and wisdom interfused. Thus, dust settled along the dark paths, and waves ceased upon the wondrous sea. His mind was pure as jade, and the seed of the Way shone brightly, with the seven purities illuminating one another (the seven purities are: 1) purity of morality; 2) purity of mind; 3) purity of view; 4) purity through overcoming doubt; 5) purity of knowledge and vision concerning what is and is not the path; 6) purity of knowledge and vision concerning the course of practice; 7) purity of nirvana).

His precepts were pure as the moon, while the flower of loving-kindness shone clearly, displaying the three kinds of emptiness (the three kinds of emptiness are the three gates of liberation: emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness). Moreover, his aspiration was pure as a pine touched by frost, and his mind was empty as the moon reflected upon water. Clothed in coarse cloth and sustained by simple food, he forgot himself for the sake of the Way; moved by compassion for all sentient beings, he wished every being to attain peace and happiness.

His contemplative mindfulness continued without interruption. From beginning to end, he preserved his integrity, steadfast as metal and stone. The essentials of mind, whether shallow or profound, were integrated within a single principle, like a garland of flowers, without cause for shame.

His spiritual wisdom penetrated beyond verbal expression, and the wondrous principle accorded with the center of the ring. He humbled himself and exalted others. In harmony with ordinary beings and united with the sages, he maintained the four deportments without entering the samadhi of cessation.

His reputation was eminent in his time, and his transforming guidance spread everywhere. Great scholars throughout the Three Wu regions [the Three Wu are Suzhou (Eastern Wu), Runzhou (Central Wu), and Huzhou (Western Wu)] flocked to study Chan, while eminent persons from beyond the eight directions entered the abode of principle as swiftly as the wind.

I, Wei Jing, attended upon him at his feet. My only regret is that, before I could fully express my devotion, I was suddenly obliged to take leave and return to the imperial capital. Since then, separated by obscure and vast distances, I have grieved without end. The eye of wondrous mystery had scarcely encountered a skilled physician when the golden tablet was suddenly lost; the sea of desire surged with great waves, yet the guiding Master had departed. His writings remain, but his hermitage has fallen silent and desolate.

Alas! The pain pierces my very heart and entrails. A wise and enlightened Master has passed away; upon whom can the seven assemblies now rely? The golden and jeweled words of that greatly virtuous one can no longer be heard, and separation only deepens the desolation and sorrow.

While the Great Master was still in the world, his recorded teachings comprised ten chapters, which have been collected into a single volume. May students grasp the meaning and forget the words, thereby according with his Way.

I have now briefly recorded these few words. If anything herein is mistaken, I ask the wise to correct it. Tang Dynasty, Prefect of Qingzhou

WEI JING

THE YONGJIA COLLECTION OF THE CHAN SCHOOL

This collection is divided into ten chapters:

1- The Forms for Establishing Resolve in Seeking the Way: Whoever wishes to cultivate the Way must first establish resolve and learn the proper forms for attending upon a Master. Therefore, the first chapter discusses the forms for seeking the Way.

2- Admonition Against Arrogance and Extravagance: Although one may initially have established the resolve to cultivate the Way and skillfully understood the proper forms, if the three kinds of karma are arrogant and extravagant, the deluded mind will be agitated; how then could samadhi be attained? Therefore, the second chapter discusses admonition against arrogance and extravagance.

3- Purifying the Cultivation of the Three Kinds of Karma: The preceding chapter briefly stated the essential principles for restraining arrogance and extravagance. This chapter examines them carefully so that faults will not arise. Therefore, the third chapter discusses purifying the cultivation of the three kinds of karma.

4- Verses on Shamatha (Calming): The preceding chapter examined and disciplined body and speech so that coarse transgressions would not arise. Next, one must enter the gate of cultivating the Way. In proper sequence, this does not go beyond samadhi and wisdom, the five kinds of mental arousal, and the sixfold analytical examination. Therefore, the fourth chapter consists of verses on Shamatha.

5- Verses on Vipashyana (Contemplation): Without morality, there is no Chan; without Chan, there is no wisdom. Samadhi has already been cultivated above, and when samadhi is sustained, wisdom shines forth. Therefore, the fifth chapter consists of verses on Vipashyana.

6- Verses on Upeksha (Equanimity): If one cultivates only samadhi, prolonged samadhi leads to sinking; if one studies only wisdom, an excess of wisdom agitates the mind. Therefore, the sixth chapter consists of verses on Upeksha: samadhi and wisdom are balanced so that there is neither sinking nor agitation; with samadhi and wisdom in equilibrium, the two extremes are relinquished (one is neither made inert and sunken by the extreme of Emptiness nor disturbed by the extreme of Existence; neither abiding nor moving, one enters directly into the Middle Way).

7- The Successive Stages of the Three Vehicles: Once samadhi and wisdom are balanced, there is quiescence yet constant illumination. When the three contemplations are present in a single mind, what doubt could remain unremoved, and what illumination of wisdom could fail to be complete? Although one may oneself have attained clear understanding, one feels compassion for those who have not yet awakened; and awakening has shallow and profound degrees. Therefore, the seventh chapter discusses the successive stages of the Three Vehicles.

8- Phenomena and Principle Are Nondual: The Three Vehicles awaken to principle, leaving no principle unpenetrated. Ultimate principle abides within phenomena, and to understand phenomena is itself principle. Therefore, the eighth chapter discusses the nonduality of phenomena and principle, taking phenomena themselves as reality in order to eliminate inverted views and attachments.

9- A Letter Exhorting Friends: Once phenomena and principle have interfused, the inner mind shines of itself. One then feels compassion for later students of the Way who vainly squander every precious moment. Therefore, the ninth chapter is a letter exhorting friends.

10- Text of the Vow: Although exhorting friends arises from compassion for others, it remains mindful of and focused upon particular individuals, and the mind is not yet universal. Therefore, the tenth chapter presents the vow to liberate all beings.

CHAPTER I: THE FORMS FOR ESTABLISHING RESOLVE IN SEEKING THE WAY

First, one must contemplate the three realms and give rise to the mind of disenchantment and renunciation. Next, one should draw near to good spiritual friends and seek the path of liberation. In relation to the Master and elders, visit them morning and evening, always maintaining proper courtesy.

Carefully consider what accords with or opposes their wishes, so as to know how to attend upon and care for them. Ask what should be done, so as to know how to serve them. Gaze upon them without weariness, thereby giving rise to earnestness, reverence, and respect.

Always take the decisive realization of the essentials of mind as the principal practice. Present your understanding so that the erroneous and the correct may be clarified. Examine the strength of your faculties to know whether your practice is mature or immature.

When illness arises and gives rise to doubt, it must be treated with good medicine. Contemplate exhaustively in the quest for truth. Be diligent day and night, fearing that conditions may command and drive you.

Concentrate upon a single practice in order to accomplish the work of the Way. To forget the body for the sake of the Dharma arises from gratitude. If one’s faith remains weak, one’s resolve unfocused, one’s practice coarse, and one’s understanding shallow, one will indulge oneself according to circumstances: on encountering affairs, the mind arises because of those affairs; when conditions are absent, one relies upon that absence to put an end to thought.

Since this is not an impartial contemplation of movement and stillness, one merely follows the gains and losses of existence and nonexistence. Yet the Way itself has no grades; stages arise according to the depth of one’s practice.

CHAPTER II: ADMONITION AGAINST ARROGANCE AND EXTRAVAGANCE

Food and clothing come from planting rice and raising silkworms. Reclaiming land, digging irrigation channels, boiling and cooking silkworm pupae, and preparing food all injure living beings; they must undergo death in order to sustain our bodies. Fearing only hunger and cold, we fail to recognize the suffering of death and bear to kill other creatures to provide for ourselves.

Alas, how painful! The farmer’s labor embodies a vast accumulation of strength and effort. Not only do sentient beings lose their lives, but the offerings of the faithful are also difficult to requite.

Although we have gone forth from the household life, what virtue do we possess? We merely wish to receive the offerings of the faithful to sustain our bodies, yet do not know to examine whether our virtue measures up to their labor. The Vinaya Treatise states: “Those who receive the offerings of the faithful but use them contrary to the Dharma, indulge their minds, and neglect the cultivation of the work of the Way will fall into the three lower realms and undergo severe suffering.”

Those who wish to transcend the three realms yet have not cultivated conduct that rises above the mundane have vainly assumed the body of a man without possessing the resolve of a true man of valor. Yet because they bustle about all day and sink into torpor at night, they fail to cultivate virtue and squander food and clothing. Above, they turn against the Great Way; below, they fail to benefit sentient beings; and between, they betray the four debts of gratitude. This is truly shameful! Therefore, the wise must carefully examine and reflect: it is better to die possessing the Dharma than to live without it. How could they idly remain deluded, valuing the body while slighting the Dharma?

CHAPTER III: PURIFYING THE THREE KARMAS

Greed, anger, and wrong views belong to mental karma. False speech, frivolous speech, divisive speech, and harsh speech belong to verbal karma. Killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct belong to bodily karma.

Those resolved to seek the Great Way must first purify the three karmas. Thereafter, through the four deportments, they gradually enter the Way, until, when the six faculties encounter their objects, they comprehend them in accordance with conditions; both objects and wisdom become quiescent, silently accordant with the wondrous and profound purport.

A. What is the purification of bodily karma?

Deeply examine oneself throughout the four deportments of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, restraining the three transgressions so that no fault is committed through negligence. With compassion, nurture living beings and do not harm their lives. Cherish and protect all sentient creatures in the air and water, regardless of whether they are large or small, and do no harm even to crawling, flying, or wriggling creatures.

Upon encountering those in peril or distress, earnestly rescue and assist them, employing skillful means to lead them to liberation. Do not take the money or possessions of others unless they have been given, even things governed by ghosts or spirits; do not knowingly violate this precept over so much as a needle or blade of grass. When encountering poor beggars, respectfully give according to your means so that they may find security, without seeking gratitude in return.

Reflect thus: Throughout immeasurable kalpas, the Buddhas of the past practiced generosity, giving elephants, horses, the seven treasures, their heads, eyes, brains, and marrow, even relinquishing their own lives without the slightest regret. I shall now do likewise, giving according to my ability, joyfully making offerings without stinginess or regret. Let the mind remain unattached to female beauty.

Deluded ordinary beings are intoxicated by desire and indulge in dissipation, unaware of the faults of lust, like one who grasps a flowering branch without knowing that a venomous snake lies hidden within it. The wise regard desire as the mouth of a venomous snake, the claws of bears and tigers; not even blazing fire or red-hot iron could entice them. Bronze pillars and iron beds scorch the back and cook the entrails; blood and flesh become a mangled mass, and pain penetrates the heart and marrow.

Contemplated in this way, there is only suffering and no pleasure. A skin bag holds excrement and contains blood and pus. Outwardly, it is deceptively adorned with powder and perfume; inwardly, it is uniformly foul, discharging filth and serving as a dwelling place for maggots and flies.

Its stench is such that even a latrine cannot compare. Examining it, the wise see only hair, body hair, nails, teeth, outer skin, inner skin, blood, flesh, sweat, tears, drool, saliva, pus, fat, sinews, vessels, brain tissue, yellow phlegm, white phlegm, liver, gallbladder, bones, marrow, lungs, kidneys, spleen, stomach, heart, liquid fat, bladder, large intestine, small intestine, undigested and digested contents, and the various urinary passages.

None of these things possesses a self; they arise falsely through the agitation of wind and consciousness. Through deceitful words, one claims to be an intimate companion, but in truth resentment, anger, hatred, and jealousy ruin virtue and obstruct the Way. This is the gravest transgression and must be kept at a distance as one avoids a hostile bandit.

Therefore, the wise regard it as a venomous snake: they would rather approach a venomous snake than female beauty. Why? A venomous snake can harm a person only by causing death in a single lifetime, whereas female beauty binds one for hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of kalpas, subjecting one to all manner of poisons and boundless suffering.

One must carefully reflect upon this and not draw near.

Therefore, the wise must examine the three faults, abandon wrongdoing, turn away from evil, and follow goodness: neither killing nor stealing, releasing living beings and practicing generosity, refraining from filthy sexual conduct, and constantly cultivating pure conduct. Day and night, diligently practice the Way and make prostrations, take refuge in the Three Jewels, and resolve to seek liberation. Regarding body, life, and possessions, cultivate the three enduring dharmas.

Know that the body is illusory and lacks self-nature; form itself is emptiness—what therein could be a self? All dharmas possess only provisional names and have no fixed reality. In this body of mine, each of the four great elements and five skandhas is not the self; nor is their combination a self.

Yet, failing to understand because of ignorance, one mistakenly clings to them as a self. Killing, stealing, engaging in sexual misconduct, and indulging in dissipation, one creates karma without cease throughout day and night. Although no substantial reality exists, the retributions of good and evil still follow as a shadow follows the body.

When contemplating in this way, do not seek improper means to sustain the body and life. Contemplate the body as though it were a venomous snake, and accept the four requisites only to treat its ailments. (The four requisites are clothing, lodging, food, and medicine.) Wearing clothing upon the body is like covering sores. Eating fine food is like taking medicine for an illness.

Be frugal in body and speech, and do not give rise to excessive luxury. On hearing the teaching of few desires, delight greatly in practicing it. Therefore, the Sutra says: “An ascetic practitioner who has few desires and skillfully knows moderation and contentment can enter the Way of the sages and noble ones.” Why is this?

Throughout immeasurable kalpas in the evil realms (the evil realms are hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals), sentient beings lack food and clothing, crying out piteously as they suffer from hunger and cold, their skin clinging to their bones. My present, temporary lack of some small thing is not truly suffering. Therefore, the wise value the Dharma and make light of the body, diligently seeking the Dharma of the ultimate Way without concern even for their own lives.

This is called the purification of bodily karma.

B. What is the purification of verbal karma?

Deeply examine the four faults of the mouth, which are the root of birth and death, increase evil, obscure the myriad practices, and provoke disputes over right and wrong. Therefore, the wise who wish to uproot birth and death and eliminate falsity must cultivate the four kinds of truthful speech: upright, gentle, harmonious, and reality-accordant speech. These four forms of truthful speech are the practice of the wise. Why? Upright speech can eliminate frivolous speech; gentle speech can eliminate harsh speech; harmonious speech can eliminate divisive speech; and reality-accordant speech can eliminate false speech.

Upright speech is of two kinds: First, speaking in accordance with the Dharma, enabling listeners to believe and understand clearly. Second, speaking in accordance with principle, enabling listeners to eliminate all doubts and delusions.

Gentle speech is also of two kinds: First, consoling words that cause listeners to become joyful and draw near. Second, refined and harmonious tones that inspire listeners to delight in cultivation.

Harmonious speech is also of two kinds: First, harmony in matters, meaning that when seeing people engaged in conflict, one remonstrates with them and urges them to let it go; one does not praise oneself but instead remains humble and respects others. Second, harmony in principle, meaning that when seeing someone retreat from the bodhicitta, one earnestly encourages that person and skillfully distinguishes bodhi and afflictions as equal in the single characteristic. If a practitioner’s resolve declines, comfort that person with virtuous conduct, diligently approach them, and skillfully explain delusion and awakening.

Reality-accordant speech is also of two kinds: First, factual truth, meaning that when something exists, one says it exists; when it does not exist, one says it does not exist; when something is right, one says it is right; and when it is wrong, one says it is wrong. Second, truth in principle, meaning that all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature, and that the Tathagata’s nirvana abides eternally and never changes.

Therefore, the wise person practices these four truthful modes of speech, observing that for many kalpas beings have been made deluded and inverted by these four faults, drifting and sinking in birth and death, unable easily to gain release. Now, wishing to uproot them, one examines the karma of speech: through the lips and teeth, the resonance of the throat and navel, and the stirring of the wind of consciousness, speech is produced.

With the mind as condition, two distinct kinds arise: the false and the true. The true brings benefit, while the false causes loss. Truth gives rise to roots of goodness; falsehood engenders roots of evil.

The roots of good and evil proceed from words uttered through the mouth: wholesome speech consists of the four right modes; unwholesome speech consists of the four wrong modes. The wrong brings suffering; the right brings happiness. Good is a supporting condition for the Path; evil is the root that destroys the Path.

Therefore, an upright person must resolve to uphold what is right, establish oneself through truthful speech, recite sutras, be mindful of the Buddha, and contemplate the true nature of speech as originally nonexistent, with speaking and silence equal. This is called the pure cultivation of the karma of speech.

C.—What is the pure cultivation of the karma of mind?

Wrong thoughts, serving as causes and conditions, can engender myriad evils. Right contemplation, serving as cause and condition, can give rise to myriad virtues. Therefore, the sutra says: “The three realms have no separate dharmas; they are created by the one mind alone.” Thus one should know that mind is the basis of all dharmas.

What are wrong thoughts? Through ignorance and lack of understanding, one mistakenly clings to a self. The view of self becomes firmly established, and greed, anger, and wrong views arbitrarily grasp external objects, engendering every kind of attachment and defilement.

Thus the sutra says: “Because there is a self, there comes to be what belongs to the self. Because of what belongs to the self arise the sixty-two views of annihilationism and eternalism (The sixty-two views of annihilationism and eternalism: holding that the self is form, that the self is other than form, that the self is within form, or that form is within the self; and likewise through consciousness. Five skandhas × 4 = 20; 20 × the three times = 60; 60 + annihilationism and eternalism = 62.), and the ninety-eight afflictive tendencies of views and thought (The ninety-eight afflictive tendencies of views and thought: the eighty-eight delusions of view together with the ten delusions of thought make ninety-eight.);

continuing without cease, these cause the cycle of birth and death throughout the three realms.” One should know that wrong thoughts are the root of all evil.

Therefore, the wise must restrain them and not follow them.

What is right contemplation? Self and others are not different; form and mind are not two. Bodhi and afflictions do not differ in their fundamental nature; birth and death and nirvana are equally illumined by a single radiance.

Therefore, the sutra says: “Apart from self and what belongs to self, contemplate all dharmas as equal; both self and nirvana are empty.” One should know that all dharmas have only names. Therefore, the sutra says: “Even nirvana is only a name.” It also says: “The nature of written words is free from them; even names are empty.” Why is this? Dharmas do not possess names in themselves; names are provisionally established to designate dharmas.

Since a dharma is not truly a dharma, neither is a name truly a name. A name does not correspond to the dharma, nor does the dharma correspond to the name. Since name and dharma do not correspond, all is empty and quiescent.

Therefore, the sutra says: “Dharmas have no names, for the path of language is cut off.” Thus the wondrous characteristic is beyond names, and the true name is not a written word. Why? The unconditioned, quiescent cessation is supremely subtle, beyond characteristics and apart from names; the paths of mind and speech are cut off.

One should know that this is the essential point of returning to the source through right contemplation. Therefore, through right contemplation as cause and condition, the wise eliminate all delusions (Delusions: this refers to the afflictions), forget both objects and wisdom, and purify the source of mind. This is called the pure cultivation of the karma of mind.

In all the matters described above, throughout the four deportments, whenever the six faculties encounter sense objects, one must understand them in accordance with conditions and thereby enter the Path step by step.

CHAPTER IV: VERSES ON ŚAMATHA (Calming)

Skillfully, skillfully, when applying the mind;

Skillfully, skillfully, apply no mind.

With no mind, skillfully, skillfully apply;

Constantly applying, skillfully, skillfully be empty.

In general, if thoughts are not forgotten, sense objects do not cease; if sense objects do not cease, thoughts are not forgotten. Sense objects are forgotten by ceasing thoughts, and thoughts cease by forgetting sense objects. Because sense objects are forgotten through cessation, there is cessation without anything that effects cessation (the ceasing subject).

Because thoughts cease through forgetting, there is forgetting without anything that is forgotten (the forgotten object). When there is forgetting without anything forgotten, the sense objects that are cast away are not objects of cognition. When there is cessation without anything that effects cessation, the extinguished thoughts are not a knowing subject.

When the knower has vanished and the object has also been cast away, there is utter quiescence. The wondrous nature, naturally so, is serene and depends upon nothing, like a fire burning in empty space that extinguishes itself. Empty space symbolizes the wondrous nature, which has no characteristics; the extinguishing of the fire symbolizes the non-arising of deluded thoughts.

It is said:

When conditions are forgotten, all is serene and still;

The nature of spiritual knowing appears distinctly clear.

Benighted indeterminacy is lucidly revealed;

Accord with the truth is originally not bare clarity.

Alert and serene is right;

Indeterminate and serene is wrong.

Serene and alert is right;

Alert amid confused thinking is wrong.

If one uses knowing to know serenity, this is not knowing without an object, just as a hand holding a wish-fulfilling scepter is not a hand without a wish-fulfilling scepter. If one uses self-knowing to know, this too is not knowing without an object, just as a clenched hand is not without a fist. Neither knowing the knowing of serenity nor self-consciously knowing the knowing can be called not knowing; the intrinsic nature is manifest of itself, and therefore it is said not to be the same as wood and stone. It is like a hand that neither holds a wish-fulfilling scepter nor closes into a fist, yet cannot be said to be nonexistent. Since the hand is manifestly present, it is not like the horns of a rabbit.

Furthermore, the sequence for cultivating the mind is as follows: whenever knowing is used to know an object, both the object and knowing remain. If knowing is used to know knowing, then by knowing the knowing one becomes free from the object. Although the object has been left behind, knowing still remains.

When knowing is aroused to know knowing, as the subsequent knowing arises, the preceding knowing has already ceased. The two instances of knowing do not occur simultaneously. When the preceding knowing ceases, the place of its cessation becomes an object of knowing; thus both subject and object are not true.

The preceding knowing ceases, and that cessation brings forth the subsequent knowing; the subsequent knowing then continues to cease. This succession of arising and cessation is itself the path of samsara.

The knowing spoken of here does not require one to know the knowing; one need only know, simply to know. Then the preceding knowing does not continue to cease, and the subsequent knowing is not brought forth. Before and after are cut off, and the interval between them stands isolated of itself. In its immediate essence, there is no recollection; at that very moment it vanishes. Once the substance of knowing has vanished, there is open spaciousness, as though grasping empty space. In an instant there is quiescence, with only an awakening in which nothing is attained—that is, awakening without awakening, and yet awakening; awakening, and yet without awakening—utterly different from wood and stone.

At this initial point of applying the mind, conceptual thought must be entirely cut off, and one suddenly becomes as though dead. Subject and object are immediately forgotten, and every last trace is cleansed away. In quiescence, there seems to be no knowing, yet there is knowing; the nature of this not-knowing differs from wood and stone. This is difficult for beginners to comprehend.

Those who have newly aroused the aspiration should not entertain three kinds of states:

1) Evil: thinking of such causes and conditions as the five worldly desires, and so forth.

2) Good: thinking of miscellaneous worldly good deeds, and so forth.

3) Indeterminate: thinking of neither good nor evil, yet falling into torpor.

Within the Precepts, three kinds must be fully present:

1) The precepts of restraining conduct: putting an end to all evil.

2) The precepts of embracing wholesome dharmas: cultivating all good.

3) The precepts of benefiting sentient beings: vowing to liberate all beings.

Within Samadhi, three kinds must be distinguished:

1) Abiding samadhi: the wondrous nature, naturally so, is originally unmoving.

2) Evocative samadhi: when the mind settles and delusion ceases, wisdom shines forth.

3) Accomplishing-activities samadhi: when the water of samadhi becomes settled and clear, it illuminates the myriad phenomena.

Within Wisdom, three kinds must likewise be distinguished:

1) The wisdom of the emptiness of persons means clearly understanding that the five skandhas are not the self; that is, within each skandha there is no self, just as a turtle has no hair and a rabbit has no horns. (The hair of a turtle and the horns of a rabbit signify things that are entirely nonexistent.)

2) The wisdom of the emptiness of dharmas means clearly understanding that dharmas such as the skandhas and so forth are provisionally established through conditions and are not real, like an image in a mirror or the moon reflected in water.

3) The wisdom of the emptiness of emptiness means clearly understanding that both the object and wisdom are empty, and that this emptiness itself is also empty.

Within View, three kinds must be understood:

1) The view of emptiness means seeing emptiness, while the seeing itself is not empty.

2) The view of non-emptiness means seeing non-emptiness, while the seeing itself is not non-empty.

3) The view of the emptiness of intrinsic nature means seeing intrinsic nature, while the seeing itself is not that nature.

Within the Partial, three kinds must be distinguished:

1) There is the Dharma-body, but no prajna or liberation.

2) There is prajna, but no liberation or Dharma-body.

3) There is liberation, but no Dharma-body or prajna.

Having one while lacking two is not perfect; because it is not perfect, it is not the nature.

Furthermore, within the Partial, three kinds must be distinguished:

1) There are the Dharma-body and prajna, but no liberation.

2) There are prajna and liberation, but no Dharma-body.

3) There are liberation and the Dharma-body, but no prajna.

Having two while lacking one is not perfect; because it is not perfect, it is not the nature.

Within the Perfect, all three must be fully present:

1) The Dharma-body is free from delusion and is therefore prajna. Prajna is free from attachment and is therefore liberation. Liberation is quiescent extinction and is therefore the Dharma-body.

2) Prajna is free from attachment and is therefore liberation. Liberation is quiescent extinction and is therefore the Dharma-body. The Dharma-body is free from delusion and is therefore prajna.

3) Liberation is quiescent extinction and is therefore the Dharma-body. The Dharma-body is free from delusion and is therefore prajna. Prajna is free from attachment and is therefore liberation.

To raise one is immediately to include all three; though three essences are spoken of, they are one. These are the three virtues at the causal stage, not the three virtues at the resultant stage. If one wishes to understand the three virtues at the resultant stage: the Dharma-body possesses the virtue of severance, because delusions are severed in order to reveal this virtue; thus it is called the virtue of severance.

The body of self-enjoyment possesses the virtue of wisdom, because it fully embodies the true merits of the four wisdoms. (The four wisdoms are: the Wisdom of Accomplishing Activities, the Wisdom of Wondrous Observation, the Wisdom of Equality, and the Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom.) The body of enjoyment for others and the transformation body possess the virtue of great beneficence, because the body of enjoyment for others bestows beneficence upon bodhisattvas of the Ten Grounds, while the three kinds of transformation body confer beneficence upon bodhisattvas, followers of the Two Vehicles, and ordinary beings.

Of the three truths (The three truths are: the ultimate truth, the conventional truth, and the truth of the supreme meaning.), among the four wisdoms, only the Wisdom of Accomplishing Activities takes the conventional truth as its object. Yet dharmas themselves have neither shallowness nor depth, though illumination may be bright or dim; the mind itself is neither defiled nor pure, though understanding may involve delusion or awakening…

How could the delusion of a beginner not be called shallow? Only upon finally realizing the perfect principle does one understand what is called profound. In delusion, one loses the principle and becomes mistaken of oneself; in awakening, all error ends and one is identical with the principle.

Delusion and awakening share that same principle; therefore, the term “gradual stages” is established.

Furthermore, after entering the gate, a beginning practitioner of mind must understand five kinds of thought:

1 – Deliberately aroused thought.

2 – Habitually observed thought.

3 – Continued thought.

4 – Separately arisen thought.

5 – Quiescent and pure thought.

Deliberately aroused thought means intentionally giving rise to thoughts of the five worldly desires and various miscellaneous wholesome deeds.

Habitually observed thought means that, without intentionally recollecting anything, a thought suddenly arises concerning wholesome or unwholesome matters and so forth.

Continued thought means that a habit suddenly arises; although one knows that the mind is racing and distracted, one does not restrain it and bring it to rest, but instead continues thinking in accordance with the preceding thought.

Separately arisen thought means that, knowing the preceding thought to have been distracted, one immediately gives rise to shame, remorse, and repentance.

Quiescent and pure thought means that, upon first sitting down, one does not think of worldly matters that are wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate. Applying effort precisely here is therefore called quiescence and purity.

Beginners most often have the one habitually observed thought. Indolent people have the two kinds of continued and deliberately aroused thought. Those capable of shame most often have the one separately arisen thought. Diligent people constantly have the one quiescent and pure thought. The four thoughts—habitually observed, continued, deliberately aroused, and separately arisen—are illnesses. The one quiescent and pure thought is medicine. Although medicine and illness differ, all are collectively called thoughts. When these five kinds of thought cease, this is called correspondence with the one thought. The one thought is the intrinsically numinous knowing. Yet those five thoughts are branches of the one thought, while the one thought is the root of those five thoughts.

Furthermore, when there is correspondence with the one thought, one must understand six categories of analytical discernment:

1 – Knowing the illness

2 – Knowing the medicine

3 – Knowing the counteraction

4 – Knowing the errors that arise

5 – Knowing right and wrong

6 – Knowing the principal and the auxiliary

1 - There are two kinds of illness: the first is cognitive engagement, and the second is indeterminacy. Cognitive engagement consists of the two kinds of thought, wholesome and unwholesome. Although they differ, neither is liberation; therefore, both are collectively called cognitive engagement. Indeterminacy means that although one does not engage with wholesome or unwholesome matters and so forth, this is still not the true mind, but merely torpor. Both of these are illnesses.

2 - There are also two medicines: the first is stillness, and the second is wakefulness. Stillness means not thinking of wholesome or unwholesome matters and so forth belonging to external objects. Wakefulness means not giving rise to the characteristics of torpor and indeterminacy. These two are called medicines.

3 - Counteraction means using stillness to cure cognitive engagement and using wakefulness to eliminate torpor. Because these two medicines are used to cure those two illnesses, this is called counteraction.

4 - Errors that arise means that prolonged stillness produces torpor, while prolonged wakefulness produces cognitive engagement. Because illness arises from the medicine, these are called errors that arise.

5 - Knowing right and wrong means that stillness without wakefulness leads to torpor, while wakefulness without stillness leads to cognitive engagement. Neither wakeful nor still, one experiences not only cognitive engagement but also torpor. Both still and wakeful, one is not only lucid but also tranquil; this is the return to the source, the wondrous nature. Of these four statements, the first three are wrong and the last is right; therefore, this is called knowing right and wrong.

6 - The principal and the auxiliary means taking wakefulness as the principal and stillness as the auxiliary. In essence, these two are inseparable, like a sick person who can walk by relying on a staff: walking is the principal, while the staff is the auxiliary. Whenever a sick person wishes to walk, he must first take hold of the staff and can then proceed.

One who cultivates the mind is likewise. First, one must put an end to cognitive engagement so that the mind becomes still. Next, one must remain wakeful, not allowing torpor to arise, so that the mind becomes lucid.

Lucid yet tranquil, the two names simultaneously refer to one essence. It is like a sick person who wishes to walk: without a staff he cannot walk, and while walking he relies upon the staff in order to proceed. One who applies effort in cultivation is likewise: lucidity and tranquility must not occur at different times.

Although they have two names, their essence does not differ. It is also said: distracted thinking is an illness, and indeterminacy is also an illness. Stillness is medicine, and wakefulness is also medicine.

Stillness breaks through distracted thinking; wakefulness cures indeterminacy. Stillness gives rise to indeterminacy; wakefulness gives rise to distracted thinking. Although stillness can cure distracted thinking, it again produces indeterminacy.

Although wakefulness can eliminate indeterminacy, it again arouses distracted thinking. Therefore, it is said:

Wakeful and still is right;

Indeterminate and still is wrong;

Still and wakeful is right;

Distracted thinking and wakefulness is wrong.

Stillness is the auxiliary; wakefulness is the principal. Reflect upon this carefully!

Furthermore, after applying these discriminative analyses, one must clearly discern the five skandhas within a single thought. Clear discrimination through the corresponding consciousness is called the consciousness skandha; reception within the mind is the feeling skandha; the mind’s taking this principle as its object is the perception skandha; the functioning and application of this principle is the formations skandha; and the defilement of the true nature is the form skandha.

When discussed in terms of their essence, these five skandhas are a single thought; when this single thought is discussed in terms of its essence, it is wholly the five skandhas. Clearly seeing that within this single thought there is no sovereign self is the wisdom of the emptiness of persons; seeing it as like an illusion or a magical transformation is the wisdom of the emptiness of dharmas. Therefore, one must understand these five skandhas and six discriminative analyses; harbor no doubts about them.

If one wishes to obtain genuine gold, one must clearly recognize bricks, tiles, and counterfeit gold. One need only distinguish and discard them all; even without knowing genuine gold, genuine gold will reveal itself. Why worry that it cannot be obtained?

CHAPTER V: VERSES ON VIPAŚYANĀ (Contemplation)

Without wisdom, an object cannot be known; without an object, wisdom does not arise. Wisdom arises by knowing the object, and the object is known because wisdom arises. Since wisdom arises and knows, one knows that there is nothing known.

Since it arises through knowing the object, its arising has nothing that gives rise to it. When arising has nothing that gives rise to it, although there is wisdom, it is not existent. When knowing has nothing known, although there is an object, it is not nonexistent.

Nonexistence is precisely not nonexistent; existence is precisely not existent. When both existence and nonexistence are equally illumined, wondrous awakening becomes manifest. Just as fire burns more fiercely when it obtains firewood, firewood symbolizes the object that gives rise to wisdom, while fire symbolizes the wondrous wisdom that knows the object.

A verse says:

Realizing the nature of emptiness, one is not bound;

Though following provisional conditions, one does not cling.

The two objects, existence and nonexistence, are equally illumined;

Within the one mind, the Middle Contemplation transcends them.

If wisdom knows the object, this means that wisdom knows the object to be empty, just as when the eye sees an illusory flower to be empty, it is the eye that knows the flower to be empty. If wisdom knows wisdom, this means that wisdom knows wisdom to be empty, just as when the eye sees the eye to be empty, it is the eye that knows the eye to be empty. Although wisdom knows the emptiness of the object and the emptiness of wisdom, this does not mean there is no wisdom that knows the object.

Though the object is empty, wisdom still exists. Because wisdom knows the object to be empty and wisdom itself to be empty, there is no object that wisdom does not know. Likewise, the eye knows the flower to be empty and the eye itself to be empty, but this does not mean it does not know that there is an eye seeing the flower.

Though the flower is empty, the eye still exists. Because the eye knows the flower to be empty and the eye itself to be empty, there is no flower the eye does not know.

Furthermore, all dharmas are provisional and false products of causes and conditions. Because they arise through causes and conditions, they are all devoid of self-nature. Since one dharma is so, the myriad dharmas are likewise.

When object and wisdom follow one another, how could they not be quiescent? Why? Because the empty nature of dharmas arising through causes and conditions is without differentiation.

The cycle of birth and death in the three realms, ascent and descent through the six paths, purity and defilement, suffering and happiness, and the distinctions between ordinary beings and sages—all arise from the three karmas, the four deportments (The four deportments are walking, standing, lying down, and sitting.), and the six faculties encountering their objects. Following their feelings, beings create karma and receive differing results: the virtuous enjoy happiness, while the wicked undergo suffering.

Therefore, the sutra says: “Good and evil are the causes; suffering and happiness are the results.” One should know that dharmas have no fixed characteristics; they are constituted through the convergence of conditions. Conditions do not possess a self, and therefore this is called the emptiness of nature. Because they are empty, they are not different; thus the myriad dharmas are all suchness.

Therefore, the sutra says: “Form is itself emptiness; the other four skandhas are likewise.” Thus, how could it be only ordinary beings who arise through conditions? The holy fruits of the Three Vehicles also exist through conditions. Therefore, the sutra says: “The seed of Buddhahood arises from conditions.” Thus, amid the convergence of myriad circumstances, for one who has realized, there is no place that is not a place of awakening; amid boundless forms and appearances, for one who has awakened, there is nothing that is not prajnaparamita.

Therefore, the sutra says: “Because form is boundless, know that prajnaparamita is also boundless.” Why? Because without wisdom, the object cannot be known, and without the object, wisdom does not arise. When wisdom arises, it arises by knowing the object; when the object is known, it is known through the arising of wisdom.

Since wisdom arises and knows, knowing has nothing known. Since it arises through knowing the object, arising has nothing that gives rise to it. When arising has nothing that gives rise to it, inner wisdom is profoundly quiescent.

When knowing has nothing known, the external object abides in suchness. When suchness and quiescence are undifferentiated, object and wisdom become one; the myriad burdens are exhausted, while the wondrous purport alone remains. Therefore, the sutra says: “Prajnaparamita knows nothing, yet there is nothing it does not know.” Thus, the wondrous purport is not knowing; it is knowing through not knowing.

CHAPTER VI: VERSES ON UPATIKṢA (Meditation)

Concentration and distraction are two paths, yet the source of movement and stillness is not two; ignorance and wisdom follow contrary courses, yet the root of darkness and illumination is not different. Those who are deluded follow darkness and turn away from illumination, abandoning stillness and seeking movement. Those who awaken turn away from movement and follow stillness, abandoning darkness and seeking illumination.

When illumination arises, ignorance is transformed into wisdom; when stillness is established, distraction ceases and becomes concentration. Concentration is established by turning away from movement, and wisdom arises by abandoning darkness. Darkness and movement are joined within the cage of afflictions, while stillness and illumination manifest in relation to phenomena.

That phenomena cannot cause ignorance is due to the power of wisdom; that afflictions cannot cause distraction is due to the power of concentration. Concentration and wisdom further assist clarity and quiescence, while ignorance and distraction bind each other in the realm of darkness and agitation. To be still amid movement is to possess concentration amid distraction; to be luminous amid darkness is to possess wisdom amid ignorance.

Thus, the roots of darkness and movement are not different, and through this, illumination and stillness unite with the Way. The source of ignorance and distraction is not different, and therefore concentration and wisdom belong to the same lineage. Because they share the same lineage, there is unconditional compassion; through concentration and wisdom, one is quiescent yet constantly illuminating.

Being quiescent yet constantly illuminating, both are granted; through unconditional compassion, both are taken away. When both are taken away, there is Upatikṣa (meditation); when both are granted, there are Vipaśyanā (contemplation) and Śamatha (cessation). Śamatha (cessation), though quiescent, constantly illuminates; Vipaśyanā (contemplation), though illuminating, is constantly quiescent; Upatikṣa (meditation) is neither illumination nor quiescence.

Because illumination is constantly quiescent, one speaks of the conventional as itself the ultimate; because quiescence constantly illuminates, one speaks of the ultimate as itself the conventional. Because it is neither quiescence nor illumination, one closes one’s mouth at Vaiśālī (In the Vimalakīrti Sutra, when Vimalakīrti was asked about the Dharma-gate of nonduality, he remained silent.).

Furthermore, there are ten approaches to contemplating the mind:

1 – Explaining the natural principle of dharmas

2 – Presenting the essence of contemplation

3 – Explaining correspondence

4 – Warning against overweening pride

5 – Admonishing against laziness and negligence

6 – Restating the essence of contemplation

7 – Explaining right and wrong

8 – Distinguishing words from their purport

9 – Turning each encountered object into contemplation

10 – Skillfully accord with the mysterious source.

1 – Explaining the natural principle of dharmas: As for the nature of mind, it is empty, open, and penetrating; the source of movement and stillness is not two. True suchness, which is beyond thought, is also not different from thoughts that arise conditionally and cling to objects. Though confused views may arise in profusion, at their utmost they are only the one quiescence.

The numinous source has no form, yet when it illumines, a thousand distinctions appear. Because these thousand distinctions are not the same, the designation “Dharma-eye” is independently established. Because the one quiescence is without difference, the designation “wisdom-eye” remains.

When both principle and measure dissolve, the function of the Buddha-eye is perfectly complete. Thus, because the three truths are one object, the principle of the Dharma-body is eternally pure. Because the three wisdoms are one mind, the radiance of prajna constantly shines.

Because object and wisdom merge in silent accord, liberation responds according to circumstances. Neither vertical nor horizontal, the Way is perfectly complete, like the three strokes of the letter i (...) wondrously meeting one another. Therefore, one should know that the wondrous nature of the three virtues (The three virtues are the Dharma-body, prajna, and liberation.) is lucid and without contradiction.

The one mind is profound, vast, and difficult to fathom; what, then, could fail to be a path of liberation? Thus, the mind itself is the Way; this may be described as following the stream to reach the source.

2 – Presenting the essence of contemplation: One need only know that the one mind is emptiness yet not emptiness, and is not emptiness yet not non-emptiness.

3 – On correspondence: When the mind corresponds with emptiness, praise and blame bring neither joy nor sorrow. When the body corresponds with emptiness, being cut by a knife or anointed with fragrance brings neither pain nor pleasure. When one's circumstantial reward corresponds with emptiness, whether it is given away or seized, there is neither gain nor loss.

When the mind corresponds with emptiness yet not emptiness, both craving and views are forgotten, and compassion universally saves all beings. When the body corresponds with emptiness yet not emptiness, inwardly it is like a withered tree, while outwardly it manifests the full dignity of proper conduct. When one's circumstantial reward corresponds with emptiness yet not emptiness, one forever severs craving and seeking, yet uses one's wealth to help others.

When the mind corresponds with emptiness yet not emptiness, and with not emptiness yet not not-emptiness, the true mark is revealed and the Buddha's knowledge and vision are opened. When the body corresponds with emptiness yet not emptiness, and with not emptiness yet not not-emptiness, one mote of dust enters right concentration, and the samadhis of all the other motes of dust arise. When one's circumstantial reward corresponds with emptiness yet not emptiness, and with not emptiness yet not not-emptiness, fragrant terraces, jeweled towers, and adorned pure lands are manifested through transformation.

4 – A warning against overweening pride: If one has not yet attained what was described above, one has not yet attained correspondence.

5 – An admonition against laziness and heedlessness: To cross the sea, one must board a boat; without relying on a boat, how could one cross? To cultivate the mind, one must enter contemplation; without contemplation, by what could one illuminate the mind? If the mind is not yet illuminated, when will correspondence be attained? One should examine this carefully and must not be self-satisfied.

6 – Restating the essence of contemplation: One knows only that a single thought is empty yet not empty, neither existent nor nonexistent, but does not know that this very thought is empty yet not empty, neither non-existent nor non-nonexistent.

7 – On right and wrong: The mind is not existent; the mind is not nonexistent; the mind is not non-existent; the mind is not non-nonexistent. To say that it is existent or nonexistent is to fall into affirmation; to say that it is non-existent or non-nonexistent is to fall into negation. Thus, this is merely the wrong of affirmation and negation, not yet the right of neither affirmation nor negation.

Now, the two negations are used to refute the two affirmations; when affirmation is refuted, negating affirmation still remains negation. Again, the two negations are used to refute the two negations; when negation refutes negation, that is affirmation. Thus, this is merely the affirmation of neither affirmation nor negation, not yet neither negation nor non-negation, neither affirmation nor non-affirmation.

The subtle error concerning affirmation and negation is extremely difficult to perceive. One must keep the spirit lucid and thought serene in order to investigate it thoroughly.

8 – Discerning expression and meaning (Expression is that which expresses; meaning is that which is expressed.): Yet the ultimate principle is wordless; literary language is borrowed to convey the purport of the principle. The purport and essential import are not themselves contemplation; through cultivating contemplation, one realizes the essential import. If the purport has not been clarified, the words are not accurate; if the essential import has not been realized, contemplation is not yet profound. Only when contemplation is profound can the essential import be realized; only when words are accurate can the purport be made clear. Once the purport and essential import have been clearly understood, how could words and contemplation continue to remain?

9 – Turning whatever one encounters into contemplation: Whenever words are restated and the essence of contemplation is set forth again, the purpose is to show that the essential import and purport are not different. Words and contemplation change according to circumstances. When the words change, language and principle do not diverge; when the contemplation changes, contemplation and purport do not differ. The undifferentiated purport is the principle; the principle from which there is no divergence is the essential import. The essential import and purport are one, though bearing two names, while words and contemplation are skillful means of guidance.

10 – Skillfully according with the mysterious source: How could one who has awakened to the mind cling to contemplation and lose sight of the purport? How could one who has penetrated the teaching become mired in words and misconstrue the principle? When the principle is revealed, the path of language is cut off—what words could discuss it? When the purport is realized, the sphere of mental activity ceases—what contemplation could conceive it? Beyond conception by mind and words, this truly deserves to be called “wondrous accord with the center of the circle.”

CHAPTER VII: THE SUCCESSIVE LEVELS OF THE THREE VEHICLES

The wondrous Great Way is subtle and profound; its principle transcends expression through names and characteristics. Ultimate truth is open, empty, quiescent, and still; its measure surpasses all reckoning, yet it can give rise to unconditioned compassion and respond to beings according to their capacities. The purport of nonduality is divided according to their faculties and dispositions.

In according with beings, one forgets oneself; thus one acts without acting, teaches throughout the day as though nothing had been said, and establishes many avenues of teaching without contradicting the one Way. Therefore, the Great Sage, out of compassion, responds to capacities and benefits beings; when gathered into the profound and hidden source, the myriad sutras do not differ. Those of middling and lesser faculties contemplate the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination and thereby make themselves followers of the Lesser Vehicle; those of superior faculties cultivate the six paramitas and thereby enter the Great Vehicle.

Thus, those who are foolish and deluded cannot understand by themselves, but may awaken to understanding upon hearing the teaching, and are therefore called shravakas, “hearers.” Their cultivation fundamentally takes the Four Noble Truths as its basic practice. Contemplating impermanence, they give rise to fear; reflecting upon emptiness and quiescence, they seek peace. They fear transmigration through the six realms and abhor birth and death within the three realms.

Seeing suffering, they constantly harbor a desire to renounce it; eliminating its origin, they continually fear its arising; realizing cessation, they alone accord with the unconditioned; cultivating the path, they consider only their own deliverance. Their minds of great resolve are not yet universal, and they do not practice the path of embracing and transforming beings. The six principles of reverent harmony (The six principles of reverent harmony: 1.

Harmony and reverence through sharing the same precepts 2. Harmony and reverence through sharing the same views 3. Harmony and reverence through sharing the same practice 4.

Harmony and reverence through bodily kindness 5. Harmony and reverence through verbal kindness 6. Harmony and reverence through mental kindness) remain empty, and they do not exercise compassion for the three realms.

Because they turn away from the myriad practices, their fruition lacks perfect permanence; since they have not yet cultivated the six paramitas, what could this be but the Lesser Vehicle? This is the path of the shravakas.

Others, without hearing the teaching from another, awaken by themselves to impermanence. Upon encountering the dissolution of conditions, they realize the true principle and are therefore called pratyekabuddhas, “solitary realizers.” Their cultivation fundamentally takes the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination as its basic practice. They contemplate ignorance as immediately empty and realize that formations are without action.

Since the two causes (The two causes: ignorance and formations) are not karma, how could the five fruits (The five fruits: consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, and feeling.) still be retribution? When craving, clinging, and becoming leave no trace, how could aging and death still bind them? Thus, they can attain liberation alone in that very moment.

Dwelling peacefully in secluded and tranquil places, they contemplate the transformations of the myriad things and awaken to the principle of impermanence; seeing the decline of autumn, they enter the true Way. Their four modes of deportment are dignified and solemn; they gather in their mental activity and find joy in serenity. By nature, they delight in solitude and enjoy resting in secluded forests.

They do not delight in expounding the Dharma, but manifest spiritual powers to transform others. When no Buddha appears in the world, they serve as flames continuing the Buddha's lamp. Their bodies delight only in tranquility, and their minds cherish purity and spacious emptiness.

Dwelling alone upon desolate mountain peaks, they contemplate the dissolution of conditions. They do not benefit all beings universally, and even their own benefit is not yet complete. They are somewhat superior to those of the lower level, yet deficient when compared with those of the higher level.

They belong to neither class, but occupy the position of the Middle Vehicle. This is the path of the Pratyekabuddha.

Those whose faculties are innately luminous and whose merit has accumulated over many lifetimes may not be broadly learned, yet knowledge and understanding arise naturally within them. Their minds do not cling to any object, yet they know how to benefit beings. Their great compassion is not bound by attachment and views; throughout the day they deliver sentient beings, yet perceive no sentient beings who are delivered.

Unity and diversity alike accord with the wondrous purport; understanding and delusion share the same source; both person and dharmas are empty. Therefore, they are called bodhisattvas. Fundamentally, in their cultivation they take the six paramitas as the principal causes.

When practicing generosity, they relinquish body and all possessions. In observing the precepts, they do not violate even a kṣudraka offense (a minor precept). In practicing patience, they thoroughly realize selflessness—what harm could there be even if the body were cut apart?

They patiently endure praise and blame, unmoved by the eight winds. In practicing diligence, they earnestly seek the Dharma of the ultimate Way as though extinguishing a fire upon their heads; not even for a kṣaṇa do they interrupt their own practice or their instruction and transformation of others. In dhyana, body and mind are tranquil and still, and their anapana (Anapana: the practice of counting the breath) is subtle and refined; abiding in serene concentration, they sustain themselves and use the four modes of deportment to benefit beings.

In wisdom, they clearly know that dependent origination is by nature unborn, that the myriad dharmas are all Suchness, and that the source of mind is quiescent. Although they know that afflictions cannot be cast away and bodhi cannot be grasped, they are nevertheless able to refrain from realizing the unconditioned, instead delivering sentient beings over many kalpas, extensively cultivating the myriad practices, and contemplating all kinds of beings with equanimity.

Their contemplation extends downward to the Four Noble Truths and the twelve links of dependent origination and upward to include the exclusive qualities of a Buddha. Their minds of great vows encompass all; the path of the four means of embracing gathers all in. They take the three realms as their home and beings of the four modes of birth as their children.

Employing both compassion and wisdom, and adorned with both merit and wisdom, they transcend the Two Vehicles and dwell uniquely in the supreme rank. This is the path of the Great Vehicle.

Therefore, although the principle of the One Reality is graded differently according to beings’ faculties, and benefits are gained in accordance with their capacities, all Three Vehicles are taught. Yet when the profound and subtle ultimate principle is brought to its wondrous culmination, not even one exists—how much less three? Three that are not three are therefore called three; one that is not one is therefore called one.

It is not that the three become one: since even the three are not three, the one is three; yet how could even the one be one? Since the one is not one, it is naturally not three; since the three are not three, they are naturally not one. When it is not one and even one is negated, the three no longer remain.

When it is not three and even three is negated, the one is not established. The non-establishment of one is originally not three; the disappearance of three is originally without one. One and three are originally nonexistent, and this nonexistence is itself nonexistent.

Since that emptiness of emptiness has no root, it is wondrously transcendent. Thus, how could the one be divided, and how could the three be united? Union and division arise from people; how could the principle differ according to words?

It is like three animals crossing a river. The river is originally one; how could it become a union because of the three animals? Moreover, it is not only that the river is not united because of the animals; the animals are likewise not divided because of the river.

Since the river does not become three rivers, how could the river be used to unite the three animals? Since the animals do not become one animal, how could the animals be used to constitute the river? Because the river is not the animals, how could it be three?

Because the animals are not the river, how could they be one? The single river encompasses all three animals, yet the river has never been three; the three animals cross the single river, yet the animals have never been one. The animals are not one, as may be known from the differing lengths of their legs; the river is not three, as may be seen from the fact that its water has no distinct depths or shallows.

The absence of distinct depths and shallows in the water illustrates that the Dharma has no differences; the differing lengths of the animals’ legs illustrate that the wisdom of each level differs in brightness and obscurity. Thus, the Dharma originally has no three, but people themselves fall into three classes.

At the beginning of the Three Vehicles, the Four Noble Truths are presented first. Since the Dharma itself has no differences, how could the Four Noble Truths not also be great? Yet it is said that when sravakas contemplate them, their position remains within the Lesser Vehicle.

From this we know that the Four Noble Truths resemble the river and people resemble the animals. The least capable sravakas are compared to rabbits: although they wade across the river, their feet do not reach the bottom, and therefore they cannot know its ultimate depth. Their position remains at a lower level, but how could everyone who contemplates the Four Noble Truths thereby belong to the Lesser Vehicle?

Those whose wisdom and insight are lofty and luminous, whose capacity is like that of a great elephant, can reach the source and fathom the farthest limits, manifestly attaining the Great Vehicle. Thus it is known that those of inferior wisdom who contemplate them attain the fruit of the sravaka; those of middling wisdom attain the fruit of the pratyekabuddha; and those of superior wisdom attain the fruit of the bodhisattva.

Once the essential principle is clearly understood, how could calculation be admitted?

Therefore, sravakas see suffering and eliminate its origination; pratyekabuddhas awaken to the disintegration of origination and contemplate separation from it; bodhisattvas penetrate the true source and know that origination is fundamentally uncombined. All three contemplate the Four Noble Truths, yet the fruits they realize differ because their contemplation varies in depth; compared with one another, there are clearly higher and lower levels.

Thus, those of the lower vehicle cultivate the lower level and have not cultivated what belongs to the middle and higher levels. Those of the Supreme Vehicle cultivate the higher level while also encompassing the middle and lower levels. Those of the middle level cultivate the middle and lower levels but cannot cultivate the higher level.

Superior, middling, and inferior depend upon the person; it is not the Four Noble Truths that make people followers of the Great or Lesser Vehicle. Yet although the Three Vehicles differ, they share one essential objective: liberation from suffering. Though sravakas belong to the Lesser Vehicle, the delusions of attachment and views have been eliminated; thus they have no further anxiety within the three realms, and their bodies subject to delimited birth and death are extinguished.

The Three Knowledges (The Three Knowledges: knowledge of former lives, knowledge of the divine eye, and knowledge of the exhaustion of the outflows) shine with perfect clarity, so that events throughout eighty thousand kalpas appear before them. The Six Superknowledges (The Six Superknowledges: the divine eye, the divine ear, knowledge of former lives, knowledge of others’ minds, miraculous powers, and knowledge of the exhaustion of the outflows) operate freely and effortlessly, enabling them to pass through cliffs and walls.

At times they walk or stand in midair, or sit and lie there at ease. They travel upon water as lightly as a swan’s feather and step upon the earth as though walking on water. Fully endowed with the powers of the nine concentrations, they can manifest the eighteen transformations at will.

Yet the teachings of the Tripitaka regard the Buddha from the standpoint of the stage at which the six faculties are purified; therefore, there are respects in which the Buddha and the Two Vehicles are equal and respects in which they are unequal. They are equal in that all eliminate the four abodes (The Four Abodes: the abode of all views, the abode of attachment to desire, the abode of attachment to form, and the abode of attachment to existence).

With regard to subduing ignorance, the Buddha of the Tripitaka teachings is inferior; if even that Buddha is deemed inferior, one can readily understand the standing of the Two Vehicles. Viewed from above, elimination and subjugation differ; viewed from below, there is a gulf between awakening and delusion. What fault, then, could there be in the Two Vehicles that would make one unwilling to cultivate them?

The Tathagata, addressing those of great faculties, wished to lead them to the treasure repository and cause them to cultivate omniscience, in perfect accord with the fully formed character yi (...). Thus, at that time there were statements of praise or criticism, elevation or depreciation. Ordinary people do not understand this and fear being reproached, yet how could they know that attachment and views still remain within them and that they are very far removed from the Two Vehicles?

Although they too speak of cultivating the Way, they have not abandoned the afflictive tendencies. Not only are their bodies and speech not upright; their minds are also deceitful and crooked. Views arise from their own thought, so their interpretations contradict the true teaching.

They do not rely upon the sacred teachings and have never studied under an enlightened master. Their faculties and conditions are not merely the result of cultivation in former lives, nor has their understanding entered the ranks of those who know innately. Nevertheless, relying on worldly knowledge and clever eloquence, they discourse throughout the day.

At times they twist words from the sutras to conform to their own understanding, speaking recklessly and falsely to deceive the ignorant and repudiating karmic causality, wrongdoing, and merit. When circumstances accord with their feelings, they delight in them and give rise to attachment; when things oppose their wishes, they become vexed and harbor resentment. The characteristics of the three kinds of feeling remain wholly intact, yet they claim their position is equal to that of bodhisattvas.

So long as the faults set forth in the first chapter have not been eliminated, those faults continue to bind them. Although they have not cultivated the Dharma of the Great Vehicle, they dare to disparage students of the Lesser Vehicle. Their words may gratify them for a moment, but the calamity of slander is unmistakable: revolving through the three painful destinies, they will undergo retribution for many kalpas.

Alas! How truly pitiable! To speak of it only deepens one’s sorrow.

Yet one who has realized the nature, when encountering objects, shines forth with ever greater clarity; one who has forgotten the mind is not even troubled by good, much less allowing the faults and errors of the three kinds of karma to leave a single speck of dust in the mind. Therefore, those who have perceived the profound Way have cleansed the three feelings (The three feelings: painful feeling, pleasant feeling, and neutral feeling.) at the source of mind, while those who purify defilements have swept away the seven branches (The seven branches: three of the body—killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; and four of the mouth—divisive speech, false speech, harsh speech, and embellished speech.) of body and speech.

With regard to insentient things, they do not harm so much as a mote of dust or a single leaf; with regard to sentient beings, they do not trouble even insects or worms. The deepest ravine is not pure enough to compare with them, nor is falling snow clean enough to be likened to such ones. They cherish virtue as a bird spreads its wings, aspiring to soar beyond the moon and stars; they shun evil as a fish fears the hook and dives to the very bottom of rivers and seas.

Even the sun’s wondrous radiance would be abashed by the far-reaching illumination of their wisdom, and the highest realm would be ashamed before them when the conditions of the three realms have vanished. Object and wisdom unite in perfect, all-pervading emptiness; concentration and wisdom are evenly balanced in wondrous equality. Though mulberry fields may change, their minds do not shift; though mountains and seas may move, their resolve does not alter.

Amid clamor and commotion, they can still the spirit and illuminate all things; the source of mind is luminous and pure, and their wisdom and understanding are inexhaustible. They contemplate the Dharma-nature and realize suchness; they examine the Buddha’s words and follow the definitive meaning. Thus, within a single thought, what Dharma gate is not complete?

But if wondrous wisdom has not yet manifested, the mind has no true standard; understanding does not accord with principle, and practice lacks transcendence of the mundane. Such a person goes against the Dharma-nature and follows ordinary sentiments, abandons the perfect teaching and clings to provisional doctrines. Therefore, teachings are established progressively according to capacities and in response to individual faculties.

This chapter discusses only the principal framework; other details are omitted and not yet considered. The approaches of the lineage have both shallow and profound levels. Here, only their essential purport is briefly explained, while the learning of the three vehicles serves to indicate their respective stages.

CHAPTER VIII: PHENOMENA AND PRINCIPLE ARE NONDUAL

When wondrous awakening opens the way, mountains and rivers present no obstruction; when one is deluded by names and entangled in appearances, even a hair becomes a barrier. Yet the fundamental source of the myriad dharmas arises from true appearance, and defilements as numerous as grains of sand, when traced to their source, are the true doctrine. Therefore, the myriad phenomena are boundless, and prajnaparamita has no shore.

Because this Dharma-nature is originally true, complete realization becomes wisdom. It is like a traveler who knows the road and may therefore hope to reach a destination ten thousand miles away. But one who clings to things or clears a channel (Clinging to things is an analogy for being obstructed by existence; clearing a channel is an analogy for being obstructed by nonexistence.) remains confined within limits all day long, because such a person does not know that things possess an invisible boundary, while the channel has an utterly empty extremity.

Therefore, only by studying the Middle Way may one hope to attain true appearance. Those who cling to existence or become obstructed by nonexistence ultimately revert to extreme views, because they do not know that the appearance of existence, though existent, is not truly existent, and that actual nonexistence, though nonexistent, is not sheer nonexistence. Here and now, visible forms bustle in profusion, yet when thoroughly examined, they possess no appearance; sounds roar and resound, yet when closely observed, there is no sound.

In delusion, one says that forms and sounds exist; upon awakening, one knows them to be quiescent. Thus, ultimate truth does not contradict phenomena and principle; the very essence of phenomena and principle is itself true. Wondrous wisdom does not differ from complete knowing; the very nature of complete knowing is itself wisdom.

Yet the wondrous purport transcends words while relying upon language to disclose that purport; the true doctrine has no appearance, yet borrows names and appearances to reveal the doctrine. Just as an elephant is not the Snow Mountain, yet the Snow Mountain is borrowed as an analogy for the elephant (A white elephant is like the Snow Mountain.). This merely takes something comparable as an illustration; how could one therefore say that the Snow Mountain is the elephant?

Now, the Dharma is not permanent, yet it is grasped as existent; therefore, nonexistence is employed to refute permanence. The nature is not annihilated, yet it is grasped as nonexistent; therefore, non-nonexistence is employed to refute annihilation. Likewise, cleanliness is not ash-water, yet ash-water is used to wash something clean.

This takes only its cleansing function; how could ash-water itself be regarded as cleanliness? From this, one knows that the Middle Way inclines to neither side and relies upon the two extremes to distinguish what is correct; because annihilationism and eternalism are both wrong, nonexistence and existence are used to reveal their errors. To speak of either existence or nonexistence is already mistaken; yet how could neither existence nor nonexistence be correct either?

Be assured that one who wondrously penetrates the profound source cannot be fathomed by ordinary sentiments. Why? Delusion does not arise because of ignorance, nor is truth obtained through wisdom.

To penetrate delusion is called truth; to be deluded about truth is called delusion. How could delusion change in accordance with ignorance, or truth return in accordance with wisdom? Truth and delusion do not differ; ignorance and wisdom themselves are distinct.

Whoever wishes to penetrate the profound doctrine must first carefully examine ignorance and wisdom. To examine ignorance and wisdom carefully, one must skillfully understand truth and delusion. To understand truth and delusion, one must further investigate name and essence.

When name and essence are distinguished, truth and delusion naturally become discernible. Once truth and delusion are discerned, ignorance and wisdom become clear. Therefore, the ignorant lack the capacity for complete wisdom, while the wise possess the true capacity to penetrate ignorance.

One should know that without wisdom there is no means of clarifying truth and delusion, and without wisdom, how could name and essence be distinguished? Why? In some cases, there is a name but no essence; in others, a name is established on account of an essence.

Name and essence intermingle, making them truly difficult to investigate exhaustively. Therefore, if the essence were not named, it could not be distinguished; if the name were unrelated to the essence, it could not be established. To speak of essence, one must rely upon a name; to speak of a name, one must depend upon an essence.

Now, when a name is established apart from an essence, there is only a name without an essence; how could there be an essence corresponding to that name? For example, although a rabbit has no horns, the expression “rabbit’s horns” is devised. Here there is a name, but in reality there are no horns; how could there be horns corresponding to the name?

If a name is established without an essence, then the name is not a genuine name. If the name is not a genuine name, then that which is named is nonexistent. Since that which is named is nonexistent, that which names is also nonexistent.

Why? A name is established to designate its essence; if there is no essence, what could correspond to the name? What is called an essence is an essence precisely because it corresponds to a name; if there is no name, what could correspond to the essence?

An essence that corresponds to nothing is not an essence; a name that names nothing is not a name. Thus, it is not only the essence that is originally empty; the name, too, is fundamentally quiescent. Yet when there is no essence corresponding to a name, matters are as described above.

When name and essence correspond, what is it called?

In general, an essence does not name itself; it borrows another name to designate its own essence. A name is not established by itself; it relies upon another essence to establish its own name. If the essence has not yet taken form, how could the name designate it?

If the name has not yet been established, how could the essence be understood? Yet although understanding the essence depends upon a name, the essence does not cease to exist merely because there is no name. The establishment of a name necessarily depends upon an essence; without an essence, that name is fundamentally nonexistent.

Thus, the essence is not born from the name; rather, the name arises from the essence. Here, the essence precedes the name, and the name follows the essence to distinguish it. Thus, a name is established to designate an essence.

Therefore, one knows that the essence is the source of the name, and the cause of the name conditionally arises from the essence. Upon what, then, does the origin of the essence depend?

In general, an entity has no form of its own; it comes into being as an entity through the convergence of conditions. Conditions do not converge by themselves; through their convergence, the entity arises as conditions. If the entity has not yet taken form, where could the conditions converge?

If the conditions have not yet converged, where could the entity take form? The entity takes form because conditions converge to form it, while conditions converge because the entity takes form for them to converge. If the entity takes form through convergence, it is clear that the form has no convergence of its own; since the form has no convergence of its own, convergence is originally not so.

If conditions converge and thereby form the entity, it is known that convergence has no form of its own; since convergence has no form of its own, form is originally not so. Therefore, the myriad dharmas arise from conditions and have no self-nature. Because they have no self-nature, this is called the emptiness of nature.

Since their nature is empty, although conditions converge, they are not existent; since conditions have converged, although their nature is empty, they are not nonexistent. Thus, the existence of converging conditions is existence yet not existence. The emptiness of empty nature is emptiness yet not emptiness.

Why is this so? Convergence itself is empty in nature, and therefore it is said to be not existent; emptiness itself is the convergence of conditions, and therefore it is called not nonexistent. When we now speak of neither existence nor nonexistence, this does not mean that apart from existence there is separately a nonexistence, nor that apart from nonexistence there is separately an existence.

Thus, it is clear that dharmas are neither existent nor nonexistent; hence this is termed neither existence nor nonexistence. Not only are they neither existent nor nonexistent: since they are neither existence nor nonexistence, they are also neither not existent nor not nonexistent. Thus, not only is the path of language cut off, but this is also the place where the activity of mind ceases.

CHAPTER IX: A LETTER OF EXHORTATION TO A FRIEND

A letter from Chan Master Xuanlang of Mount Zuoxi, Puyang County, Wuzhou, inviting the Great Master to return to the mountain.

Since arriving at Lingxi, my mind has been serene and at ease. I often roam with my staff over peaks high and low, sweep clean a stone chamber or mountain cave, and sit peacefully. Gazing out over ten thousand miles, I behold green pines and emerald lakes; the bright moon arises of itself, while the wind plays among white clouds. Forest birds carry beautiful flowers and fragrant grasses in their beaks; from far and near, the cries of gibbons are heard in recurring calls. I use my hoe as a pillow and soft grass as a mat. On the bustling roads of worldly life, people contend over self and others only because they have not yet awakened to the ground of mind.

If you have the time, I hope that we may meet.

The Reply of Great Master Xuanjue

Many long years have passed since we parted. I have constantly cherished you in my heart and longed for you. Suddenly receiving your letter has truly fulfilled my hopes. Yet why did your letter say nothing about the present state of your practice? Still, since the flavor of the Dharma nourishes the spirit, you must surely abide in pure bliss.

I, Xuanjue, have long revered your virtuous renown, which words cannot adequately describe. Guarding your resolve and integrity, you dwell alone in a secluded place where all human traces have vanished, concealing yourself in a mountain cave. Close friends do not come and go; only birds and beasts pass by. Throughout the night, all is unbroken stillness; throughout the day, all is silent. Seeing and hearing have both ceased, and the mind is truly tranquil. Alone upon a mountain peak or beneath a tree, you avoid the crowds and partake of the nourishment of the Way. This truly accords with your disposition.

Nevertheless, the true Way is silent and solitary; though one may cultivate it, it is difficult to realize. Deviant ways are clamorous and bustling; though one does not practice them, it is easy to become familiar with them. Unless one has understanding that accords with the mysterious school and conduct that conforms to the true purport, one should not yet dwell in seclusion, clinging to one's inadequacy for the whole of one's life.

One should inquire widely of those who awakened before, sincerely revere them, join one's palms and kneel before them, compose the mind and maintain a dignified bearing. Day and night, one should forget fatigue; from beginning to end, one should devote oneself wholeheartedly to reverence. Restrain body and speech, completely eliminate indolence and arrogance, pay no heed to the physical form, and concentrate solely upon the utmost Way.

Only then may one be said to clarify the spirit within the square inch. (The “square inch” refers to the mind.) In general, wishing to penetrate the subtle and mysterious principle is no easy matter. Then, making decisive discernments is like walking upon thin ice; one must incline the ear, fix the gaze, and respectfully follow the mysterious purport. Restrain the passions stirred by sensory objects in order to savor what is hidden and profound; forget words and delight in the essential meaning; cleanse away afflictive entanglements in order to partake of the flavor of the wondrous Way.

Be anxious by night and inquire by day, without the slightest deviation. Only after attaining this may one conceal oneself in a mountain cave, quiet the mind and its concerns, and cease associating with others. If one's mind is not yet penetrating and one encounters obstructions in whatever one sees, then although one wishes to avoid clamor and seek tranquility, one will not attain peace throughout one's entire life.

How much more so amid boundless green forests and ranges of overlapping rocky mountains, where beasts roar and birds sing, pines and bamboo grow densely, rocks and streams rise and fall precipitously, gusts of wind shake the trees, vines and creepers coil and cling, clouds and mists mingle, and the myriad things wither or flourish according to the seasons? Morning and evening, one's eyes are dazzled by these things—are these not clamor and bustle?

Therefore, know that as long as delusive views remain entangled, whatever one encounters becomes an obstruction. Thus, one must first understand the Way and only afterward dwell in the mountains. If someone who has not yet understood the Way first dwells in the mountains, he will see only the mountains and will surely forget the Way.

If someone who has not yet dwelt in the mountains has already understood the Way, he will see only the Way and forget the mountains. When the mountains are forgotten, the nature of the Way delights the spirit; when the Way is forgotten, the mountains dazzle the eyes. Thus, one who sees the Way and forgets the mountains remains tranquil even in the human world, while one who sees the mountains and forgets the Way remains noisy even in the mountains.

One must understand that the skandhas are without self. If there is no self, who is dwelling in the human world? If one knows that the skandhas and ayatanas (Skandhas: the five skandhas.

Ayatanas: the twelve ayatanas.) are like empty space, villages and settlements will be deserted and still, no different from mountain caves. If the three poisons have not yet been abandoned, the six sense objects still cause disturbance, and body and mind conflict with one another, what does this have to do with whether the human world or a mountain cave is noisy or tranquil?

Moreover, the nature of the Way pervades and harmonizes everywhere like empty space; the myriad things are originally unbound. When the mind of true compassion is impartial, what form or sound is not the Way? It is only because inverted views give rise to delusion that one falls into cyclic existence.

If one clearly knows that objects are not truly existent, then there is nothing before one’s eyes that is not a place of enlightenment. Clearly knowing that they are originally empty, one therefore illuminates without engaging with conditions. Throughout the perfectly interfused Dharma realm, how could understanding and delusion differ?

Taking sentient beings into account, one discerns compassion; bringing conceptual thought to an end, one makes wisdom clear. When wisdom arises, all dharmas are perfectly illumined; apart from objects, through what could compassion contemplate? When compassion and wisdom accord in principle and embrace all things, if one turns away from sentient beings, whom could one deliver?

Great compassion delivers all sentient beings; illumination penetrates all objects so that wisdom may be perfected. When wisdom is perfected, stillness and clamor are regarded alike; when compassion is vast, enemies and loved ones are both rescued. Thus, why must one dwell long in mountain caves instead of acting in accordance with conditions wherever one may be?

Moreover, dharma after dharma is empty, open, and mutually interfused; mind after mind is quiescent and originally nonexistent. Who can forcibly call this emptiness? What clamor is there that may be called clamor, and what stillness is there that may be called stillness?

If one knows that things and self are one, then neither here nor there is anything other than a place of enlightenment. Why then conform to the clamor of the human world or seek leisure in mountain caves? Therefore, abandoning activity to seek tranquility is to shackle oneself with hatred and fetter oneself with love; leaving enemies to seek loved ones is to confine oneself in a cage of aversion and preference.

If one can remain still amid clamor, then nowhere in the marketplace is not a peaceful seat. Seeking out one’s faults and accepting admonition—even adversities come from spiritual friends. Thus, when have plunder and humiliation ever not been our original teacher?

Amid shouting and clamor, there is nothing that is not quiescent extinction.

Therefore, know that the wondrous Way has no form, yet none of the myriad appearances opposes it; true suchness is quiescent extinction, and all echoes are no different from the sound itself. In delusion, inverted views and confusion arise; in awakening, there is neither opposition nor accord. Quiescence does not truly exist, yet arises when conditions converge.

Mount Nga Nghi (Mount Cửu Nghi) is not nonexistent, yet can perish when conditions disperse. Since extinction is not truly extinction, by what could extinction be extinguished? Since arising is not truly arising, by what could arising be brought forth?

When arising and extinction are both absent, the true mark abides forever. Thus, in the boundless waters of samadhi, what dust of thought is not washed clean? Before the radiant lamp of wisdom, what delusion is not dispelled?

Turn away from this and one revolves through the six realms; accord with it and one escapes the three evil paths. Why, then, would one not board the vessel of wisdom and roam the ocean of Dharma, but instead wish to ride a cart with a broken axle into a mountain cave?

Therefore, know that although beings and things are multitudinous and restless, their nature is itself one. The numinous source is utterly still; without illuminating, it knows. The true mark is naturally genuine, and numinous wisdom is not fabricated.

For the deluded it is called lost; for the awakened it is called attained. Attainment and loss depend upon the person—what relation have they to activity or stillness? It is like someone who does not know how to sail wishing to resent the winding current!

If one can skillfully comprehend the profound teaching, with an open mind silently accord with it, then activity and stillness, speech and silence, are always in conformity with the rule. In serenity there is a place of return; in tranquility there is no separation. Only then can one wander freely in mountain caves, move unrestrained through villages, bear oneself at ease, and keep the inner chamber of the mind still—serene within and profound without.

Though the body may appear constrained, the mind remains free and untroubled; one manifests bodily form throughout the universe while concealing the subtle spirit within the Dharma realm. Thus, one responds to beings according to their capacities and adapts appropriately, without any fixed standard.

This letter has been written only in brief; how could the rest be fully expressed? Were you not a companion of like resolve, how would I dare presume to address you so? When you have leisure to sit quietly, please reflect on it for a while. If what I have said is false or mistaken, then after reading it, simply burn it.

Your fellow practitioner, HUYỀN GIÁC, respectfully bows

CHAPTER X: TEXT OF THE VOW

I bow before the Perfect and All-Pervading Enlightened Knower,
The quiescent, impartial, original true source,
Whose excellent marks are majestic, beyond existence and nonexistence,
Whose radiant wisdom universally illumines lands as numerous as motes of dust.
I bow before the tranquil, true, wondrous awakening,
And the twelve divisions of the exceedingly profound teaching,
Beyond hearing, writing, words, and exposition;
With a single voice, beings of every kind understand according to their nature.
I bow before all the pure sages and saints,
The true Sangha, harmoniously united throughout the ten directions,
Who uphold the precepts without transgression,
Bearing the staff and carrying the alms bowl for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born;
Those with form, without form, with perception, and without perception;
Those with neither perception nor non-perception, and beings of every other kind—
They revolve through the six realms without a moment’s rest.
I now bow my head and take refuge in the Three Jewels,
And for the sake of all beings bring forth the mind of the Way.
Multitudes of beings sink and drift in the ocean of suffering;
May they rely upon the compassionate power of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
Through compassionate skillful means, may all suffering be removed;
Never abandoning the vast vow to rescue every sentient being,
May the sovereign power of transformation deliver them without end,
And may sentient beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges attain Perfect Enlightenment.

Having spoken this verse, I again bow in homage and take refuge before all the Buddhas, Dharma, and Sangha of the ten directions and the three times. May I rely upon the power of the Three Jewels and, with utmost sincerity, vow to cultivate unsurpassed bodhi. From this day until I attain perfect enlightenment, throughout the intervening time I shall resolutely seek it without ever retreating.

Before attaining the Way, may my body be free from illness and my life not be cut short. When the time of death arrives, may I see no evil signs, have no fear, give rise to no deluded inversion, experience no bodily pain, and suffer no mental distraction; may right wisdom be perfectly clear. May I not pass through the intermediate state, nor enter the hells, the realms of animals or hungry ghosts, nor be born among beings that travel through water or upon land, heavenly demons, adherents of heterodox paths, spirits of darkness, ghosts, deities, or beings of any assorted form.

May I always obtain a human body, intelligent, upright, and honorable. May I not be born in an evil country, encounter a cruel ruler, be born in a borderland, suffer poverty, become a male or female servant, be born in a female body, be a eunuch or possess both sexual organs, have yellow hair and black teeth, be foolish and benighted, ugly or disabled, blind, mute, or deaf. May I never be born in any state worthy of aversion.

May I be born in a central land, into a family of right faith, and always obtain a male body with the six faculties complete, comely and fragrant, without any impurity. May my disposition be gentle and harmonious, my body at ease and my mind pure. May I be without greed, anger, or delusion, and may the three poisons be utterly extinguished.

May I commit no evil and always contemplate what is wholesome. May I neither become a king’s minister nor serve as an envoy. May I not aspire to wealth or high rank, but live contentedly in poverty, with few desires and knowing contentment, never greedily hoarding possessions.

May food and clothing suffice to sustain my body. May I not steal another’s property, kill living beings, or eat meat or fish. May I love and respect all sentient beings as no different from myself.

May my nature and conduct be gentle. May I neither expose the faults of others nor praise myself, nor contend with anyone. May I regard enemies and loved ones equally, without giving rise to discrimination, affection, or aversion.

May I not covet the possessions of others, nor begrudge my own. May I take no pleasure in violating others. May my heart always be upright, my mind free from violence, and may I always delight in humility.

May my mouth speak no evil and my mind harbor no flattery or deceit. May the three karmic activities be pure, and may I dwell in peace, free from every hindrance and adversity. May I never undergo any calamity whatsoever: theft or robbery, punishment by royal law, imprisonment, stocks, fetters, chains, swords, spears, arrows, weapons, savage beasts, venomous creatures, falling from mountains or into rivers, fire, violent winds, terrifying thunderbolts, falling trees, collapsing mountains, rotten rafters and ruined houses, fearsome warfare, being approached and surrounded, arrested and bound, falsely accused or slandered, or unlawfully detained.

May evil ghosts and sudden calamities, pestilential diseases sent by heaven, deviant demons and wangliang spirits dwelling in seas and rivers, on lofty peaks and great mountains, and all spirits inhabiting trees—whatever spiritual powers they possess—upon hearing my name or seeing my form, arouse the mind of bodhi, protect one another, and never cause one another affliction. May I remain secure by day and night, without fear.

May the four great elements be healthy and the six faculties pure. May I not be defiled by the six sense objects. May my mind be free from distracted thoughts and torpor.

May I not give rise to annihilationist views or cling to existence or nonexistence. May I remain far removed from all characteristics and reverently serve the Buddha. May I not follow attachment to views, but awaken with lucid understanding.

Life after life, may I cultivate firm right wisdom and never be taken under the power of Mara. When my life ends, may I be peaceful and joyful. In relinquishing one body and receiving another, may I have no adversaries, and may all sentient beings alike become good companions.

Wherever I am born, may I encounter a Buddha and hear the Dharma. May I leave home in my youth, join a harmonious Sangha, always wear the kasaya robe, and always eat food contained in the alms bowl. May my resolve for the Way remain steadfast, without giving rise to arrogance.

May I venerate the Three Jewels, constantly cultivate the pure conduct, draw near to enlightened teachers, follow good spiritual friends, deeply believe in the true Dharma, diligently practice the six perfections, read and recite the Mahayana scriptures, practice the Way, and make prostrations. Fragrant flowers, sweet fruits, sounds of praise and recitation, lamps and sanctuaries, mountains, seas, springs, and forests—everything in this world, above in the sky and below upon the earth, down to the smallest mote of dust—may I offer it all, gather every merit, and dedicate it to bodhi.

May I contemplate the definitive meaning and delight only in seclusion and purity, remaining pure, tranquil, and still. May I not delight in noise or crowded places, but always live alone, seeking nothing whatsoever. May I single-mindedly cultivate samadhi and wisdom, perfect the six superknowledges, and liberate sentient beings, acting according to my aspiration with sovereign freedom and without obstruction.

May the myriad practices be accomplished, wondrous and boundless; may I be upright, perfectly luminous, and ultimately realize the Buddha Way.

May the roots of goodness from this be spread throughout the ten directions, upward to the Peak of Existence and downward to the wind wheel. Whatever merit I possess, may I bestow it upon all sentient beings—gods and humans and all beings embodied within the six paths. Throughout kalpas as numerous as motes of dust, may I never abandon a single sentient being.

Whatever roots of goodness I possess, may they all permeate and nurture everyone. For those suffering torment in the hells: Namo Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. By invoking the names of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, may they all attain liberation.

For those suffering torment among the hungry ghosts: Namo Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. By invoking the names of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, may they all attain liberation. For those suffering torment among animals: Namo Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.

By invoking the names of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, may they all attain liberation. Gods, humans, asuras, and sentient beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are constantly consumed by the eight sufferings. Namo Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.

Through my roots of goodness, may they all be freed from bondage.

Namo to the Buddhas of the three times,

Namo to the Sutras,

To the bodhisattvas and the shravaka Sangha,

To the noble assembly, numerous as motes of dust.

Never abandoning their compassionate hearts,

They gather in and accept the multitude of beings.

May sentient beings throughout empty space

Take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Freed from suffering and delivered from the three evil paths,

May they swiftly transcend the three realms.

May all arouse the mind of bodhi

And practice prajna by day and night.

Life after life, may they diligently exert themselves,

As though extinguishing a fire upon their heads.

When I attain the Way of bodhi,

I vow to liberate them all.

I practice the Way and make prostrations,

I recite sutras and recollect the Buddha,

I cultivate morality, samadhi, and wisdom.

Namo Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.

May all sentient beings everywhere

Together accomplish the Buddha Way.

Together with all sentient beings,

May I steadfastly seek bodhi.

I bow in homage to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha;

May I soon attain perfect enlightenment.