The Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Volume Three: The Falsehood of the Element of Consciousness

Original text: 阿难。识性无源。因于六种。根尘妄出。汝今遍观。此会圣众。用目循历。其目周视。但如镜中。无别分析。汝识于中。次第标指。此是文殊。此富楼那。此目犍连。此须菩提。此舍利弗。此识了知。为生于见。为生于相。为生虚空。为无所因。突然而出。

Explanation: Ānanda, the nature of consciousness has no source; it arises falsely in dependence on the six kinds of faculties and sense objects. Now observe universally the assembly of noble ones in this great assembly; use your eyes to observe in sequence, and your eyes can view all dharmas around you. But what the eyes see is like images in a mirror, without any particular analysis. In the course of your observation, your eye-consciousness sequentially designates: this person is Mañjuśrī, this one is Pūrṇa, this one is Maudgalyāyana, this one is Subhūti, this one is Śāriputra. This knowing nature of your eye-consciousness—does it arise from seeing, or from the appearance of form, or from empty space, or from no cause at all, suddenly emerging?

Original text: 阿难。若汝识性。生于见中。如无明暗。及与色空。四种必无。元无汝见。见性尚无。从何发识。若汝识性。生于相中。不从见生。既不见明。亦不见暗。明暗不瞩。即无色空。彼相尚无。识从何发。

Explanation: If your nature of consciousness arises from within seeing, then when there are no appearances of light and darkness, and no appearances of form and space—if all four appearances are absent—then there is no nature of your seeing. If even the nature of seeing does not exist, from where could the nature of consciousness arise? If your nature of consciousness arises from the appearance of form, and not from seeing, then your nature of consciousness could neither see light nor see darkness. If it cannot see light and darkness, then there is no form and no empty space. When even those appearances do not exist, from where could the nature of consciousness arise?

Original text: 若生于空。非相非见。非见无辨。自不能知。明暗色空。非相灭缘。见闻觉知。无处安立。处此二非。空则同无。有非同物。纵发汝识。欲何分别。若无所因。突然而出。何不日中。别识明月。

Explanation: If your nature of consciousness arose from empty space, then it would have neither the appearance of form nor the nature of seeing. Without the nature of seeing there is no capacity to discern, and naturally it could not know the conditions of arising and ceasing of light, darkness, form, and space; seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing could not be established. Emptiness is equivalent to nonexistence, and existence is not the same as objects. Amid these two opposing phenomena, even if your nature of consciousness could arise, what would it distinguish? If the nature of consciousness appeared suddenly without any cause, why does it not, under the midday sun, separately identify the moon?

Original text: 汝更细详。微细详审。见托汝睛。相推前境。可状成有。不相成无。如是识缘。因何所出。识动见澄。非和非合。闻听觉知。亦复如是。不应识缘。无从自出。若此识心。本无所从。当知了别。见闻觉知。圆满湛然。性非从所。兼彼虚空。地水火风。均名七大。性真圆融。皆如来藏。本无生灭。

Explanation: Now examine again carefully, and scrutinize in fine detail: the nature of seeing depends on and is supported by your eyes in order to exist, and the appearance of form is the object realm before you. What has a shape that can be seen is called existence; what has no appearance is nonexistence. But on account of what does the conscious mind appear? The conscious mind is active, while the nature of seeing is clear and still; the two cannot merge or combine. The natures of hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching are also like this. It should not be that the conscious mind arises by itself from nowhere and without cause. If this conscious mind originally has no place from which it is born, you should know that the discerning nature of the conscious mind and the nature of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing are all perfectly complete, pure, and calmly existent; their nature does not arise from any place. Together with empty space and the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, they are all named one of the seven great elements. Their nature is true and perfectly harmonious; they are all the tathāgatagarbha, originally without arising or ceasing. Within the tathāgatagarbha, no dharma arises and no dharma ceases.

Original text: 阿难。汝心粗浮。不悟见闻。发明了知。本如来藏。汝应观此。六处识心。为同为异。为空为有。为非同异。为非空有。汝元不知。如来藏中。性识明知。觉明真识。妙觉湛然。遍周法界。含吐十虚。宁有方所。循业发现。世间无知。惑为因缘。及自然性。皆是识心。分别计度。但有言说。都无实义。

Explanation: Ānanda, your mind is coarse and superficial; you have not yet awakened to the fact that the clarity of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing, and the nature of knowing, are originally the tathāgatagarbha. You should observe this conscious mind at the six places of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas: is it the same as or different from the six places, or neither the same nor different? Is the conscious mind empty or existent, or neither empty nor existent? You fundamentally do not know that within the tathāgatagarbha, the nature of consciousness is the luminous and clear knowing nature, and the true enlightened luminous nature is the true nature of consciousness. The wondrous enlightened nature is pure, calm, and tranquil, pervading all dharmadhātus, containing and projecting the tenfold void—how could it have any direction or location? It manifests according to karma. Worldly people, being ignorant, confusedly take it to be produced by causes and conditions, or to exist naturally; all of these are the false discriminations and calculations of the conscious mind. Whatever words are spoken about it have no real meaning.