T his is similar to a person pointing his finger at the moon to show it to someone else. Guided by the finger, the other person should see the moon. If he looks at the finger instead and mistakes it for the moon, he loses not only the moon but the finger also. quote 7972 | The Surangama Sutra Book 2, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 如人以手指月示人，彼人因指當 應看月，若復觀指以為月體，此 人豈唯亡失月輪，亦亡其指。 share
W hen our mind is under delusion, the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra ‘turns us round’. With an enlightened mind we ‘turn round’ the Sutra instead. To recite the Sutra for a considerable time without knowing its principal object indicates that you are a stranger to its meaning. The correct way to recite the Sutra is without holding any arbitrary belief. Otherwise, it is wrong. He who is above ‘Affirmative’ and ‘Negative’ rides permanently in the White Bullock Cart (the Vehicle of Buddha). quote 7973 | The Platform Sutra The Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra,ch.7, translated by A. F. Price and Wong Mou-Lam. See original Chinese 心迷法華轉，心悟轉法華。 誦經久不明，與義作仇家。 無念念即正，有念念成邪。 有無俱不計，長御白牛車。 share
A t first there was one essential brightness, which split into a sixfold combination. If but one part ceases and returns, all six functions will stop as well. quote 7974 | The Surangama Sutra Book 6, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 元依一精明，分成六和合，一處 成休復，六用皆不成。 share
C onfusion is groundless and ultimately empty in nature. In the past, there basically was no confusion. It merely seemed as if there were confusion and enlightenment. When the delusion about confusion and enlightenment is ended, enlightenment will not give rise to confusion. quote 7975 | The Surangama Sutra Book 4, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 此迷無本，性畢竟空，昔本無 迷，似有迷覺，覺迷迷滅，覺不 生迷。 share
C onsider the person who, because of cataracts, saw flowers in space. Once the cataracts were removed, the flowers in space disappeared. quote 7976 | The Surangama Sutra Book 4, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 亦如翳人見空中花，翳病若除 華於空滅。 share
F rom such confused causes, the cause of confusion perpetuates itself. When one realizes that confusion has no cause , the falseness becomes baseless. Since it never arose, why would you hope for its end? quote 7977 | The Surangama Sutra Book 4, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 如是迷因因迷自有，識迷無因妄 無所依，尚無有生欲何為滅。 share
P ut an end to defiling dust, and unite with enlightenment, so that true suchness, the wonderful enlightened bright nature, comes into being. quote 7978 | The Surangama Sutra Book 4, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 滅塵合覺故，發真如妙覺明性。 share
I f world systems actually existed, that would constitute a unity of appearances. What the Thus Come One speaks of as a unity of appearances is not a unity of appearances. Therefore it is called a unity of appearances. quote 7979 | The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra Translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 若世界實有者，則是一合相。如 來說一合相，則非一合相，是名 一合相。 share
A ll the defiling objects that appear, all the illusory, ephemeral phenomena, spring up in the very spot where they also come to an end. quote 7980 | The Surangama Sutra Book 2, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 一切浮塵，諸幻化相，當處出 生，隨處滅盡。 share
C onsider the nature of earth: its coarsest aspect is the earth itself; its subtlest aspect is a mote of dust, which at its smallest would be a particle of dust bordering on emptiness. If one divided one of those particles of dust that is barely form to begin with into seven parts and then split one of those parts, emptiness itself would be arrived at. quote 7981 | The Surangama Sutra Book 3, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 汝觀地性，麁為大地細為微塵，至隣虛塵析彼極微，色邊際 相七分所成，更析隣虛即實空 性。 share
A ll dharmas that arise are only manifestations of the mind. All causes and effects, the worlds as many as atoms of universe, take on substance because of the heart. quote 7982 | The Surangama Sutra Book 1, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 諸法所生唯心所現，一切因果 世界微塵，因心成體。 share
A ll conditions that bring about forms and the mind as well as dharmas pertaining to the mind and all the conditioned dharmas are manifestations of the mind only. Your bodies and your minds all appear within the wonder of the bright, true, essential, magnificent mind. quote 7983 | The Surangama Sutra Book 2, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 色心諸緣及心所使諸所緣法， 唯心所現。汝身汝心皆是妙明真 精妙心中所現物。 share
A ll countries that have outflows and all living beings are the enlightened bright wonderful mind without outflows. Seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing are an illusory falseness brought about by the disease and its conditions. quote 7984 | The Surangama Sutra Book 2, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 諸有漏國及諸眾生，同是覺明 無漏妙心，見聞覺知虛妄病緣， 和合妄生、和合妄死。 share
W ithin a clap or a snap of a finger there are 3.2 trillion thoughts. Each thought creates forms and each form contains consciousness. These consciousnesses and thoughts are extremely subtle and cannot be grasped. quote 7985 | The Bodhisattva Dwelling in the Womb Sutra Book 2, translated by Poh Lan Song. See original Chinese 拍手彈指之頃。三十二億百千 念。念念成形。形形皆有識。識 念極微細不可執持。 share
A ll conditioned dharmas are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble or a shadow, Like dew or like a lightning flash. Contemplate them thus. quote 7986 | The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra Translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 一切有為法，如夢、幻、泡、影，如露亦如電，應作如是觀。 share
Y ou cannot recover past thoughts, you cannot hold on to present thoughts, and you cannot obtain future thoughts. quote 7987 | The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra Translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 過去心不可得，現在心不可得， 未來心不可得。 share
C onfusion about falseness brings about emptiness. Relying on emptiness, worlds coming into being. Thoughts settle, forming countries. Consciousness becomes beings. quote 7988 | The Surangama Sutra Book 6, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 迷妄有虛空，依空立世界，想澄 成國土，知覺乃眾生。 share
A ll beings come into being because of false interaction. Their bodies go through changes and they are caught in the temporal and spatial combinations of this world. quote 7989 | The Surangama Sutra Book 4, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 一切眾生織妄相成，身中貿遷， 世界相涉。 share
T he union and mixture of various causes and conditions account for their illusory and false existence, and the separation and dispersion of the causes and conditions result in their illusory and false extinction. quote 7990 | The Surangama Sutra Book 2, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 因緣和合虛妄有生，因緣別離 虛妄名滅。 share
T he reason for this lies in the delusion of beings who have turned their backs on enlightenment and joined with the defiling dust. Thus, the wearisome defilements come into being and mundane phenomena exist. quote 7991 | The Surangama Sutra Book 4, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 眾生迷悶，背覺合塵，故發塵 勞，有世間相。 share
O n the tip of an extremely fine hair, appear jewelled lands of past, present and future; lands on hair tips as numerous as dust motes in all lands of the ten directions, I58 deeply enter, adorn, and purify. quote 7992 | The Avatamsaka Sutra Ch.40, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 57 此句與第273句的「我」均指普賢菩薩。 58 “I” here refers to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. 於一毛端極微中，出現三世莊嚴 剎，十方塵剎諸毛端，我57皆深 入而嚴淨。 share
O n the tip of a single hair appear the lands of the Jewelled Kings. Sitting in a mote of dust, I turn the great Dharma wheel. quote 7993 | The Surangama Sutra Book 4, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 於一毛端現寶王剎，坐微塵裏轉 大法輪。 share
I 59 can penetrate the future and exhaust all eons in a single thought. In a single thought I completely enter all eons of the three periods of time. quote 7994 | The Avatamsaka Sutra Ch.40, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 59 “I” here refers to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. 我能深入於未來，盡一切劫為 一念，三世所有一切劫，為一念 際我皆入。 share
I nconceivable, the Buddha’s body holds within it all lands. He is present everywhere, guiding beings and teaching true Dharma. quote 7995 | The Avatamsaka Sutra Ch.2, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 佛以一一身，處處轉法輪，法界 悉周遍，思議莫能及。 share
D o not follow the knowing and seeing influenced by objects before you. True understanding does not follow from the sense organs. Yet lodged at the organs is the potential to discover mutual functioning of the six organs. quote 7996 | The Surangama Sutra Book 4, translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society. See original Chinese 不由前塵所起知見，明不循根 寄根明發，由是六根互相為用。 share