Eliminating Discrimination and Revealing the Essential Bodhi
Then Manjushri, the Dharma Prince, who took pity on the audience, rose from his seat in the midst of the great assembly, prostrated at the Buddha’s feet, placed his palms together respectfully, and said to the Buddha, “Bhagavan, all people here have not awakened to the Tathagata’s teaching about the essence of reality as being both form and emptiness and as being neither of them. World-Honored One, if forms and emptiness were the seeing, there should be an indication of it; if they were not the seeing, there should be nothing visible to be seen. It is not that our roots from former lives are inferior or deficient, but simply we do not understand and therefore we are confused and bewildered. May the Tathagata enlighten us and reveal to us exactly what things fundamentally are and what the seeing-essence is – between objects and the essence of seeing, what ‘is’ and what ‘is not’.”
The Buddha told Manjushri and the great assembly, “To all Tathagatas and all great Bodhisattvas of the ten directions, who abide in the state of Samadhi, seeing and the conditions of seeing, as well as all thoughts and all forms imaginable, are like flowers in the air – fundamentally empty. This seeing and its conditions are essentially the wonderful, pure, and bright substance of Bodhi (Enlightenment). How can there be ‘is’ and ‘is not’ in it? Manjushri, take yourself as an example, I now ask you this: Is there another Manjushri who is or is not?”
Manjushri replied: “No, World Honored One, I am the real Manjushri. There is no Manjushri who ‘is.’ If there were still another Manjushri who ‘is’ Manjushri, there would be two Manjushris. Yet my presence here does not mean that there ‘is not’ Manjushri either. In fact, neither the concept of ‘is’ nor the concept of ‘is not’ exists.”
The Buddha said, “And this is not only the case with seeing. Likewise, the objects (seen) and the emptiness are fundamentally the projections or manifestations of the wonderful, pure and bright Bodhi – the pure, perfect, and true mind, which tend to be falsely perceived as form and emptiness, as hearing and seeing. Just like a second moon is perceived with the misconception of being real or being unreal: which one ‘is’ the moon and which one ‘is not’ the moon? Manjushri, there is only one true moon, and within it there is neither a moon that ‘is’ nor a moon that ‘is not.’ Therefore, if you discern seeing and the objects seen and give rise to all kinds of mental creation, they are called false thoughts, and this act of wrong thinking will prevent you from getting out of the dual condition of ‘is’ and ‘is not.’ However, once you realize the innermost pure essence of the true Mind, you will be able to leave the dualistic state behind.”
是时文殊师利法王子，愍诸四众。在大众中，即从座起，顶礼佛足，合掌恭敬，而白佛言：世尊！此诸大众，不悟如来发明二种精见 色空，是非是义。世尊！若此前缘色空等象，若是见者，应有所指；若非见者，应无所瞩。而今不知是义所归，故有惊怖 。非是畴昔善根轻鲜。惟愿如来大慈发明，此诸物象，与此见精，元是何物？于其中间，无是非是。
佛告文殊及诸大众：十方如来及大菩萨，于其自住三摩地中，见与见缘，并所想相，如虚空华，本无所有。此见及缘，元是菩提妙净明体 ，云何于中，有是非是？文殊！吾今问汝：如汝文殊，更有文殊，是文殊者？为无文殊？如是世尊！我真文殊 ，无是文殊。何以故？若有是者，则二文殊。然我今日，非无文殊，于中实无是非二相。佛言：此见妙明，与诸空尘，亦复如是。本是妙明无上菩提净圆真心，妄为色空，及与闻见。如第二月 ，谁为是月？又谁非月？文殊！但一月真，中间自无，是月非月。是以汝今观见与尘，种种发明，名为妄想 ，不能于中，出是非是。由是真精妙觉明性，故能令汝出指非指。
Buddha Mind 