Saṃyukta Āgama (864)

Original text: 如是我聞：一時，佛住舍衛國祇樹給孤獨園。尔時，世尊告諸比丘：若比丘若行、若形、若相，離欲、惡不善法，有覺有觀，離生喜樂，初禪具足住。彼不憶念如是行、如是形、如是相，然於彼色、受、想、行、識法；作如病、如癰、如刺、如殺、無常、苦、空、非我思惟，於彼法生厭、怖畏、防護；生厭、怖畏、防護已，以甘露門而自饒益，如是寂靜，如是勝妙，所謂捨離，餘愛盡、無欲、滅盡、涅槃。

To attain liberation through studying and practicing Buddhism, one must first recognize and realize that the five aggregates are subject to decay, destruction, and exhaustion; only afterward can one practice the Mahāyāna dharma by investigating Chan, recognizing and realizing that the five aggregates are all empty and are neither identical to nor different from the tathāgatagarbha. The preceding foundation must be laid well, and one must actually practice it, in order to subdue the self, subdue afflictions, and attain liberation of mind. Without this foundational part, the later Mahāyāna dharma is like a castle in the air: one cannot subdue the self, cannot eliminate afflictions, and may even increase afflictions.

The afflictions of the five aggregates all arise from taking the five aggregates as a real self. If one does not break through the five aggregates, does not clearly recognize their arising, ceasing, and mutability, and does not realize that they are truly not the self, one will continue to grasp at the five aggregates and create the karma of birth and death.

If one directly takes the five aggregates to be the eighth consciousness, to be the functions and activities of the eighth consciousness, then when committing unwholesome karma, one will cover up for oneself, saying: "The five aggregates are the eighth consciousness; committing unwholesome karma is also done by the eighth consciousness, and everything the eighth consciousness does is illusory, with no cause and effect." Yet the result is that one cannot change one's own mind and remains exactly the same as before. Whenever any affliction arises, if one always says "affliction is itself bodhi," that there is no mark of affliction, that it is all a liberated aspect of the bodhi mind, then one cannot change one's own mind; the afflictions remain as before, and the unwholesome retribution is endless. When one cannot keep the precepts, one says that the eighth consciousness originally does not need to keep precepts and there are no precepts to keep, and that clinging to the marks of precepts is also birth and death. The result of such perverted grasping of emptiness is that one will never be able to keep the precepts and will never attain liberation. When liberation is mentioned, someone will immediately retort, "I do not seek liberation." But the eighth consciousness is originally liberated and without bondage, so of course it does not seek liberation. Can your seventh consciousness and five-aggregate body be equated with the eighth consciousness? Are they also originally liberated, requiring no seeking?

Studying Buddhism is originally for the sake of obtaining the sweet dew (amṛta) of the Buddha's dharma, removing the obscuration of ignorance, and attaining liberation. What is the result of studying and practicing in this way? More ignorance, more afflictions—how could one attain liberation? The Buddha's dharma is like sweet dew, like excellent medicine; it must be taken properly. If it is not taken correctly, it is like drinking poison. When sweet dew turns into poison, whose fault is it?