15
Chapter 15
一
One
緣門問曰、云何似見、非正見乎。
Yuanmen asked: What is a false view that only resembles Right View, rather than being true Right View?
入理答曰、汝今所見、無有一法者、如彼外道。雖学隱形、而未能滅影亡跡。
Liruo answered: "The view you hold now — that nothing exists as a real thing — is like that of the heretics. Though they learn to make themselves invisible, they still cannot make their shadow vanish or their footprints disappear."
二
Second.
緣門問曰、云何得形影俱滅也。
A questioner from the School of Conditions asked: How can both the form and its shadow be extinguished together?
入理答曰、本無心境、汝莫起生滅之見。
Ru Li replied, "Fundamentally, there is no mind and no object. Do not give rise to views of arising and ceasing."
三
Three
問曰、凡夫所以問、聖人所以說。
Question: Why do ordinary people ask, and why do sages teach?
答曰、有疑故問、為決疑故說也。
He replied: I ask because I have doubts, and the teaching is given to resolve those doubts.
四
Four
問曰、吾聞聖人無問而自說。何決也。是有法可說耶、為是玄見他疑耶。
Question: I have heard that the sages sometimes teach without being asked. Why is that? Is it because there is a Dharma worth teaching, or because they subtly perceive the doubts of others?
答曰、皆是對病施藥也。如天雷聲動、必有所応。
He replied: They are all medicines prescribed for specific illnesses. Just as when thunder rumbles in the sky, there is surely a response.
五
Five
問曰、大聖如來、既無有心生。緣何現世。
Question: The great Buddha, the Tathagata, has no mind from which to give rise to anything. So why does he appear in this world?
答曰、夫太平之世、瑞草緣生。
They replied: In an age of great peace, auspicious plants grow naturally.
六
Six
問曰、如來既非命盡、云何現滅。
Question: Since the Tathagata did not reach the end of his life, why did he show the Cessation of Suffering?
答曰、飢荒之世、五穀緣滅也。
He replied: In times of famine, the five grains cease to exist due to causes and conditions.
七
Seven
問曰、吾聞聖人哀從定起、悲化群生。無㝵大通、豈同瑞草也。
Question: I have heard that the sage, out of compassion, rises from concentration and compassionately teaches all living beings. With unobstructed great spiritual power, how could they be like auspicious grass?
答曰、定謂法身、報身四大宍身也。分別前境応起謂化身。法無因繫、化無緣留、出沒虚通、故曰無㝵也。
The answer is: Concentration refers to the Dharma-body and the reward-body, along with the four great elements of the physical body. Distinguishing and responding to whatever conditions arise before one is called the transformation-body. The Dharma has no cause that binds it, and transformation has no conditions that hold it back. Appearing and disappearing are empty and unobstructed — this is why it is called non-obstruction.
八
Eight
問曰、云何言悲。
Question: Why is it called compassion?
答曰、但以化身無慮、体合真空、仁物無心、彼強謂之悲。
They answered: simply through the manifestation body, free of worry, its essence united with true Emptiness, benefiting beings without deliberate intent. Others, imposing their own ideas, call this compassion.
九
Chapter 9
問曰、眾生何時修道得似如來。
Question: When will sentient beings practice the Path and become like the Tathagata?
答曰、若不了者、於恒沙劫修道、転転不及。初若了者、眾生当身、即是如來。何論得似不似。
They answered: If you do not understand, then even if you cultivate the Path for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, you will fall further and further behind. But if you understand from the very beginning, then sentient beings, just as they are in this very body, are the Tathagata. What is there to say about whether one resembles it or not?
一〇
Ten
問曰、若如說者、如來即是易得。云何言三大劫修。
Question: If what you say is true, then the Tathagata is easy to attain. Why then do you speak of cultivation over three great kalpas?
答曰、甚難也。
He replied, "It is very difficult."
一一
One by one.
問曰、若不転即身是、云何名難。
Question: If one does not turn away and this very body is it, why is it called difficult?
答曰、起心易、滅心難。是身易、非身難。有作易、無作難。故知玄功難會、妙理難合。不動即真、三聖希及。
The master replied: Stirring the mind is easy; stilling the mind is hard. Grasping the self is easy; letting go of the self is hard. Making effort is easy; effortlessness is hard. So we know that subtle accomplishment is hard to realize, and wondrous truth is hard to attain. In unmoving stillness lies the real, which even the three sages can scarcely reach.
一二
One or two.
於是緣門長歎、聲滿十方。忽然無音、豁然大悟。玄光淨智、返照無疑。始知学道奇難、徒興夢慮。而即高聲歎曰、善哉善哉、如先生無說而說、我実無聞而聞。聞說一合、即寂寞無說。不知先生向來問答、名誰何法。
Then, at the gate of conditions, he let out a long sigh that filled the ten directions. Suddenly, the sound ceased, and he was profoundly awakened. With radiant, pure wisdom, he reflected back without doubt. Only then did he realize how extraordinarily difficult it is to learn the Path, and that he had been indulging in dreamlike worries for nothing. Then he cried out loudly, "Excellent, excellent! Just as the Master speaks without speaking, I truly hear without hearing. Hearing and speaking unite as one, and immediately there is stillness beyond words. I wonder what the Master's earlier questions and answers should be called—what Dharma is this?"
一三
Thirteen
於是入理先生、身安不動。目擊無言、顧視四方。呵呵唧唧而謂緣門曰、夫至理幽微、無有文字。汝向來所問、皆是量起心生。夢謂多端、覚已無物。汝欲流通於世、寄問仮名、請若收蹤。故名絕觀論也。
Then Mr. Enter-the-Principle sat peacefully, body calm and unmoving. Gazing without a word, he looked around in all directions. Chuckling softly, he said to the seeker at the gate:
"The highest truth is deep and subtle, beyond words and letters. Everything you have asked about arises from the measuring mind. In dreams, things appear in endless variety; upon waking, there is nothing there. Since you wish to pass this on to the world, and have asked by borrowing names, please set aside such traces. Therefore it is called the Treatise on Cutting Off Contemplation."
緣門論一卷
Treatise on the Gate of Conditions, one fascicle
□□□阿、志澄闍梨、各執一本校勘訖。
The Venerable Azhi and the Elder Zhicheng each took a copy and completed the collation.