Yuibutsu Yobutsu

The buddha-dharma is not something that human beings should know. For this reason, since ancient times, there has been no ordinary person who awakens to the buddha-dharma, and no śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha who exhaustively investigates the buddha-dharma. Because one is awakened by buddha alone, it is said, "Only a buddha together with a buddha can thoroughly investigate its ultimate reality." When one exhaustively investigates and awakens to it, there is no thought that one has been awakened all along. Even if one thinks so, that thought is not the awakening that does not differ from that thought. Nor is the awakening exactly as one remembers it.

Since it is thus, one should not stand firm on what one previously thought. At the time of awakening, one does not know for what reason one has awakened. From this, one should realize that the various thoughts one had before awakening are not the form of awakening. That the previous manifold thoughts were not effective was not because the thoughts were truly bad and lacked power.

The thoughts of the past were, just as they were, the awakening, but at that time, because one tried to turn them upside down, one speaks and thinks of them as lacking power. That one thinks they were not effective—there must certainly be a place where one knows this. It is said, "I feared I might become small." If, using the thoughts before awakening as power, awakening were to emerge, it would be an unreliable awakening. Because one does not rely on the power from before awakening but comes having far transcended it, awakening is assisted solely by the power of awakening. One should know that there is no delusion; one should know that there is no awakening.

When one is a person of anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, this is called buddha. When it is the buddha's anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, this is called anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. At the time of being on this Way, one who does not know its true face would be foolish. This true face is said to be unstained. "Unstained" means that without direction, without grasping or rejecting, one exerts oneself forcefully, and the place that is not a direction is not something one repairs.

There is an unstained state that cannot be directed and cannot be grasped or rejected. For example, when meeting a person, one does not think what the other's face is like; one does not superimpose another hue of light upon the flower or the moon; spring is simply the mind of spring as it is, and autumn too is the beauty or ugliness of autumn as it is. That from which one should not escape—in trying to make it not oneself, even though it is oneself, one should know by thinking. The voice of this spring and autumn—even in trying to make it oneself, even though it is not oneself, one should reflect. It is not that it accumulates in oneself, nor is it in the thoughts one has now. That mind—the present four great elements and five aggregates—each should not be taken as "I" and "I"; one cannot trace to whom it belongs. Since it is thus, one thinks of the hue of the mind evoked by flowers and the moon, which should not be taken as oneself, as oneself.

One thinks what is not oneself is oneself, and be that as it may, when one illuminates that there is no color of a side to turn against, nor a side to turn toward that can be dyed, then naturally, the conduct of being on the Way does not hide—this is the original face. An ancient said, "The whole earth is the dharmakāya of the self, yet one should not be obstructed by the dharmakāya. If one is obstructed by the dharmakāya, one cannot even slightly turn the body. There must be a way to emerge from the body.

What is this way for all people to emerge from the body?" If one does not speak of this way to emerge from the body, even the life of the dharmakāya will instantly cease, and one will sink forever in the sea of suffering. When it is thus, what should one say? One should say, "Do not obstruct the dharmakāya, and do not sink in the sea of suffering." At this time, one should say, "The whole earth is the dharmakāya of the self." If it is according to this principle, when one says "the whole earth is the dharmakāya of the self," it is spoken.

Also, when it is not spoken, one should consider it as "not speaking." Not speaking, not speaking. An ancient buddha said there is a matter: there is living within death, there is dying within life. The dead are always dead; the living are always living. This is not something people forcefully make to be so; it is the dharma being thus. Therefore, when turning the dharma wheel, there is such light, such sound. One should know that in appearing in a body to save beings, it is also thus. This is called the knowledge and view of non-production. "Appearing in a body to save beings" means that saving beings is appearing in a body.

Facing salvation, one does not trace the appearance; seeing the appearance, one should not doubt salvation. In this salvation, one should feel, should attain, should verify that the buddha-dharma is exhaustively investigated. One hears, one attains that in the appearance and in the body, it is as with salvation. This too is how appearing in a body to save beings is made to be.

In verifying this meaning, from the morning of attaining the Way to the evening of nirvāṇa, even if one does not decorate with a single word, the freedom of words that are attained is such. An ancient buddha said, "The whole earth is the true human body. The whole earth is the gate of liberation. The whole earth is the single eye of Vairocana. The whole earth is the dharmakāya of the self." The meaning is: "true" means becoming the true body. One should know that the whole earth is the true body that is not something we borrow.

If someone asks, "Why did I not know this ordinarily?" one should say, "Return to me the words 'The whole earth is the true human body.'" Also, one should say that knowing "the whole earth is the true human body" is thus. Also, "the whole earth is the gate of liberation" means being named thus because there is absolutely no entanglement or distortion. The words "whole earth" are intimate with time and year, with mind and words, without gap, intimately close. What is limitless, without shore, should be called the whole earth. Seeking to enter this gate of liberation, or seeking to emerge from it, is also not fitting. Why is it thus?

One should reflect on the question raised. Even if one thinks to search for a place that is not, it is something that cannot be fulfilled. Also, "the whole earth is the single eye of Vairocana"—the buddha said it is a single eye; one should not think it necessarily resembles a human eye. Even in humans, while there are two eyes, when speaking of "eye," it is only said as "human eye," and neither two nor three are spoken. Those who study the teachings speak of buddha-eye, dharma-eye, divine eye, etc., but they are not trained that these are eyes. To know them as resembling eyes is said to be trivial. Now, one should simply hear that with the buddha's single eye, the whole earth exists.

Even if there are a thousand eyes, even if there are ten thousand eyes, first, for a while, the whole earth is one among them. Among this great many, there is no basis for saying "only one." Also, to know that the buddha has only a single eye is not mistaken. Eyes should indeed be various. There are those with three, there are those with a thousand eyes, there is said to be eighty-four thousand, so hearing that eyes are thus, one should not be startled in the ear.

Also, one should hear that the whole earth is one's own dharmakāya. Seeking to know oneself is the determined mind of living beings. However, those who see the true self are rare; only the buddha knows this. Other outsiders, etc., only think that what is not vain is the self. The self spoken by the buddha is precisely the whole earth. Therefore, whether knowing oneself or not knowing, there is no whole earth apart from oneself that is not oneself. The words of this time should be entrusted to the person of that time.

Once a monk asked an ancient worthy, "When a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand objects come all at once, what should one do?" The ancient worthy said, "Do not attend to them." The meaning of these words is: however things may come, in any case, one must not stir. This is swift dharma; it is not about the objects. These words should not be taken as a stern warning; one should understand them as the plain truth.

If one asks, "How does one attend to them?"—it is that they are not to be attended to.

An ancient buddha says, "Mountains, rivers, and the great earth are born together with all people; the buddhas of the three times practice together with all people." Therefore, when one person is born and sees the mountains, rivers, and great earth, it does not appear that this one person is now born anew, piled upon the mountains, rivers, and great earth that existed before this one person was born. Even so, the ancient words should not be considered empty. How should one understand this? One should not set it aside saying it is not understood; one must understand it, one must inquire. Since these are words that have already been resolved, one should listen.

Having listened, one should again understand. The way to understand this is: when this one person who is born seeks out this life from his own side, who is the person who, regarding this thing called "life," clearly discerned from the beginning how it exists and what its end is? Though one does not know the end or the beginning, one is born and comes. Though one does not know the limits of the mountains, rivers, and great earth, one sees this place, one treads this ground as if walking.

Do not harbor resentful thoughts, thinking, "Mountains, rivers, and great earth are not like life!" One should clearly realize that it has been said, "Mountains, rivers, and great earth are equally my life." Furthermore, the buddhas of the three times have already practiced and accomplished the Way, and have completed enlightenment. How should one understand that this buddha and I are the same? First, for a while, one should understand the buddha's practice. The buddha's practice is practiced identically with the whole earth, and practiced together with all beings. If it is not identical with all things, it is not yet the buddha's practice.

Therefore, from arousing the mind to attaining enlightenment, necessarily, enlightenment and practice are identical with the whole earth and with all beings. How could there be doubting thoughts about this? It seems that thoughts of not knowing are mixed in. Wishing to clarify this, such words are heard; one should not doubt that this is the human way.

In the teaching of understanding the mind, one should know that there is a principle by which the buddhas of the three times arouse the mind and practice, which necessarily does not abandon our body and mind. To doubt and think about this is already to slander the buddhas of the three times. Quietly reflecting, it seems there is a principle by which our body and mind truly practice identically with the buddhas of the three times, and a principle by which they aroused the mind. If one reflects on the before and after of this body and mind, the one who should inquire is not me. If it were not a person, on what basis as a place of obstruction would one think oneself separated from the three times? These thoughts, however, are not me. For what reason should one further obstruct the time when the buddhas of the three times, in their original mind, practiced the Way? For a while, one should designate that the Way is not a matter of knowing or not knowing.

An ancient person said, "The falling away is not something other; vertical and horizontal are not arguments." Mountains, rivers, and the great earth are entirely the manifested body of the Dharma King. People today should learn as the people of old have said. Since it is the body of the Dharma King, therefore, there is the Dharma King who realizes that the falling away was not a separate thing. This meaning is like the mountain being on the earth; it is akin to the earth supporting the mountain. In realizing, the arrival of the time of not-yet-realizing does not obstruct the realizing.

Also, the realizing does not destroy the not-yet-realizing, and yet between realizing and not realizing, there is the color of spring and the voice of autumn. That which was not yet realized is a great sound, and that very sound, when sounded, did not enter the ear; the ear was playing within the sound. Realizing must be the time when the sound has already entered the ear and samādhi is manifested. One should not think that this realizing is small and the not realizing is large. Since it is not a matter of personal understanding, one should know that the Dharma King is thus.

Regarding the Dharma King alone, the eye is like the body, and the mind should be identical to seeing. There should be not a hair's breadth of separation between mind and seeing; they should be entirely manifested. Whether in light or in preaching the Dharma, as the scriptures say, one realizes it is with the body of the Dharma King. Since ancient times there is a saying: so-called, if one is not a fish, one does not know the mind of a fish; if one is not a bird, it is difficult to trace the tracks of a bird. Those who truly know this principle are rare. To think only that humans do not know the mind of fish is to know poorly.

The way to know this is that fish and fish surely know each other's minds mutually. There is nothing they do not know in the human way, and even when they think to ascend the Dragon Gate, they know together and make their minds one. The mind that overcomes the nine Zhe is communicated and known. This is what is meant by 'if one is not a fish, one does not know it.' Also, regarding birds flying through the sky, how could other creatures know these tracks, or see these tracks and trace them? They have not even dreamed of it.

Since one does not know it is so, there is no precedent for imagining it. Yet, birds well see, in countless ways, how the small birds passed in flocks of hundreds and thousands, and how the tracks of the large birds flew south and north. It is more evident than the tracks of a cart left on the road or the tracks of a horse seen in the grass. Birds see the tracks of birds. This principle exists also for Buddhas. One can think of the ages through which Buddhas practiced and passed; the small Buddhas, the large Buddhas, know them all, every single one without omission. At a time when one is not a Buddha, it is a thing that cannot be known at all.

There may be people who say, "How can it not be known?" Because one should see those tracks with the Buddha's eye, one who is not a Buddha does not possess the Buddha's eye. They are the number that the Buddha counts. If one does not know, one should trace all the tracks of the Buddha's path. If one sees these tracks with the eye, one should contemplate even the tracks of the feet, wondering if it is a Buddha.

In the place of contemplation, the Buddha's tracks are known, and the length and shortness, the shallowness and depth of the Buddha's tracks are known; the clarification of one's own tracks is gained from measuring the Buddha's tracks. Gaining these tracks is what is called the Buddha-Dharma.