入楞伽經

Volume Six

Chapter Five: Lokayata

At that time, the venerable bodhisattva Mahamati again addressed the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! On one occasion, the Tathagata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, said that those who draw near to and make offerings to people who engage in the various arguments of the Lokayata acquire the food of desire, but do not acquire the food of Dharma. World-Honored One! Why is it said that those who draw near to and make offerings to people who engage in the various arguments of the Lokayata acquire the food of desire, but do not acquire the food of Dharma?”

The Buddha said:

“Mahamati! The Lokayatas possess various kinds of eloquence, using ingenious words and phrases to delude the world. They do not speak in accordance with the Dharma, nor do they speak in accordance with the truth. They speak only of worldly matters, following the preferences and sentiments of foolish ordinary people in the world. Through clever words and elegant passages, they cause the true meaning to be lost. Mahamati! This is called the fault of the Lokayatas’ various forms of eloquence and delight in disputation.

“Mahamati! Such eloquence of the Lokayatas attracts only foolish ordinary people of the world. They do not teach the Dharma in accordance with the true characteristics of reality. Since they themselves do not awaken to and know all dharmas, they fall into the multitude of erroneous views of the two extremes. They lose the right path themselves and also cause others to lose it. Therefore, they cannot escape the various destinies of rebirth, because they are unable to see that the perceived characteristics of external dharmas, which they discriminate and grasp, are merely their own mind. Thus, they do not depart from false discrimination.

“Mahamati! Therefore I say that although the Lokayatas possess various forms of ingenious eloquence and delight in discussing all dharmas, because they have lost the correct principle, they cannot escape birth, aging, illness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, and distress—the entire mass of suffering. Relying upon various names, passages, similes, and clever explanations, they delude and deceive people.

“Mahamati! Shakra, Lord of the Devas, had a broad understanding of many treatises and himself composed a treatise on phonetics. One disciple of the Lokayatas, who had attained worldly supernormal powers, went to the palace of Shakra and established the rules of debate, saying: ‘Kaushika! I wager with you and shall debate with you. Whoever is in error must submit in defeat.’ So that all the devas might see and know, he then publicly set forth this condition: ‘If I win, you must shatter your wheel with its thousand spokes. If I am in error and lose, then, from my head to my feet, every joint and every bone shall be separated as recompense to you.’

“Having made this solemn vow, the disciple of the Lokayatas manifested the body of a dragon and debated with Shakra, Lord of the Devas. By his methods of argument, he was able to defeat Shakra and compel that deva to submit. There in heaven, he shattered the chariot wheel with its thousand spokes into particles of dust, and then descended to the human realm.

“Mahamati! In this way, the Lokayata brahmin, using various corresponding similes and even manifesting the body of an animal, relies upon names to delude the world—humans, devas, asuras, and others. This is because all sentient beings throughout the worlds cling to dharmas of arising and cessation; how much more is this so among human beings?

“Mahamati! For this reason, one should distance oneself from Lokayata brahmins, because the words of such people can give rise to the mass of suffering. Therefore, one should neither draw near to nor make offerings to them, nor honor them or respectfully request instruction from them.

“Mahamati! The teachings propounded by Lokayata brahmins perceive only the immediate realm apprehended by bodily consciousness and cognition, and they rely upon worldly names to expound erroneous doctrines. Mahamati! The treatises composed by Lokayata brahmins contain as many as a hundred thousand verses. In the later age of the Dharma’s decline, they will be divided into many schools, each bearing a different name, because they were composed according to the views of their own minds.

“Mahamati! The Lokayata brahmins have no disciples capable of receiving and preserving those treatises. Therefore, in later ages they will be divided into many schools bearing various different names.

“Mahamati! Because the followers of the various non-Buddhist paths have no true understanding within their minds, they rely upon various causes and various differing explanations created according to their own minds, which they then teach to others, clinging to such causes as Ishvara and the like.

“Mahamati! Among all the treatises composed by the followers of non-Buddhist paths, there is no Dharma that accords with reality. They are all merely Lokayata doctrines, teaching hundreds of thousands of myriad dharmas through various causal approaches, yet those followers of non-Buddhist paths do not know that these are Lokayata doctrines.”

The bodhisattva Mahamati addressed the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! If all followers of non-Buddhist paths teach only Lokayata doctrines, relying upon various worldly names, passages, and similes while clinging to various causes, then, World-Honored One, sentient beings, devas, humans, and asuras from all lands throughout the ten directions assemble where the Tathagata dwells. The Tathagata also uses various worldly names, passages, and similes to teach the Dharma, rather than speaking of the Dharma personally realized by inner wisdom. If so, the Tathagata’s teaching would be the same as the teachings of all followers of non-Buddhist paths and would not differ from them.”

The Buddha said:

“Mahamati! I do not teach Lokayata doctrines, nor do I say that all dharmas do not come and do not go.

“Mahamati! I teach that all dharmas neither come nor go.

“Mahamati! What is called ‘coming’? Mahamati! What is described as ‘coming’ refers to the arising of an aggregate, because it arises through the conjunction of conditions.

“Mahamati! What is called ‘going’? Mahamati! What is described as ‘going’ refers to cessation. Mahamati! What I call neither going nor coming means neither arising nor cessation.

“Mahamati! What I teach is not the same as the doctrines of those followers of non-Buddhist paths. Why is this? Because I do not cling to the existence or nonexistence of external objects. I establish my teaching upon what is seen to be one’s own mind. I do not abide in either of the two extremes, nor do I engage in discrimination concerning the realm of various characteristics. Because one knows in accordance with reality that what is seen is one’s own mind, discriminative views do not arise within one’s own mind. Because one does not discriminate any characteristic, one can enter the three gates of liberation: emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. Therefore, this is called liberation.

“Mahamati! I recall that in the past, when I was dwelling in a certain place, a great Lokayata brahmin came to me and asked: ‘Gautama! Is everything created?’ Mahamati! At that time, I replied: ‘Brahmin! To say that everything is created is the first Lokayata doctrine.’ The brahmin said: ‘Gautama! Then is everything uncreated?’ I replied: ‘Brahmin! To say that everything is uncreated is the second Lokayata doctrine.’ The brahmin said: ‘Then is everything permanent, or is everything impermanent? Does everything arise, or does everything not arise?’ I replied: ‘Brahmin! These are the sixth Lokayata doctrines.’

“Mahamati! The Lokayata brahmin again asked me: ‘Gautama! Is everything one? Is everything different? Is everything both? Is everything neither? Do all dharmas arise in dependence upon causes? Do you perceive that they arise from various causes?’ Mahamati! I replied: ‘Brahmin! These are the eleventh Lokayata doctrines!’”

O Mahamati! That brahmin further asked me: “O Gautama! Is everything indeterminate?

Is everything determinate? Is there a self? Is there no self?

Is there this world? Is there no this world? Is there a world hereafter?

Is there no world hereafter? Is there liberation? Is there no liberation?

Is everything empty? Is everything not empty? Is everything space?

Is it not cessation through conditions? Is it nirvana? O Gautama!

Is there action? Is there non-action? Is there an intermediate existence?

Is there no intermediate existence?” O Mahamati! I then replied: “O Brahmin! To speak in this way is entirely Lokayata; these are not my words, but doctrines proclaimed by you!

O Brahmin! I teach that, because of the beginningless perfuming of afflictions by causes of conceptual proliferation, falsehood, and discrimination, the three existences are spoken of. Because beings do not awaken to the fact that what they discriminate and perceive as existing is merely their own mind, they imagine external existence, as do the teachings of non-Buddhists.”

O Mahamati! The non-Buddhists say: “The conjunction of three things—the self, the faculties, and their objects—can produce cognition.” I reply: “O Brahmin! I do not teach in that way. I teach neither causation nor causelessness; I teach only that the appearances of objects and a perceiving subject that discrimination sees as existing are manifestations of one’s own mind. I teach that phenomena arise through the provisional designation and conjunction of causes and conditions, unlike you brahmins and others within your sphere, who have fallen into the view of self.”

O Mahamati! Nirvana, space, and cessation through conditions cannot be reckoned among three enumerated entities; how much less can one speak of action, an agent, or non-action?

O Mahamati! Another Lokayata brahmin came and asked me: “O Gautama! Do ignorance, craving, and karma serve as causes that produce the three existences in these worlds, or are they without a cause?” I then replied: “O Brahmin! These two alternatives belong to Lokayata and are not my Dharma!”

The brahmin further asked me: “O Gautama! Do all phenomena fall under individual characteristics or common characteristics?” I then replied: “O Brahmin! This is Lokayata, not my Dharma! O Brahmin! Whatever the mind, mentation, and consciousness cling to as external objects is all Lokayata and is not my Dharma.”

O Mahamati! The Lokayata brahmin further asked me: “O Gautama! Is there any doctrine that is not Lokayata?

O Gautama! All the non-Buddhists establish various names, phrases, reasons, and analogies in order to expound their doctrines; all these are my doctrine!” I then replied: “O Brahmin! There is a Dharma that is not your doctrine.

Yet it is not devoid of establishment, nor does it fail to employ various names and phrases; neither is it independent of meaning. It speaks in accordance with meaning, yet it is not a doctrine established by Lokayata. O Brahmin!

There is a Dharma that is not Lokayata. All non-Buddhists, including you, are unable to comprehend it because you falsely cling to unreal external phenomena and indulge in discriminative conceptual proliferation. What is meant by freedom from discrimination?

It is to examine existence and nonexistence within the mind and to awaken, in accord with reality, to the appearances seen by one’s own mind. Therefore, one no longer gives rise to any discrimination or grasps any external objective phenomenon. When the discriminating mind ceases, one abides in mastery, in a state of tranquil quiescence.

This is called that which is not Lokayata; it is my discourse on Dharma, not your discourse! O Brahmin! I shall state it briefly: where consciousness neither operates, grasps, retreats, seeks, arises, clings, delights, sees, looks upon, abides, nor makes contact—this is called abiding; it is called the distinct meaning of oneness.

O Brahmin! Clinging to various characteristics, identifying them with a self, and becoming lovingly attached to causes—this is the brahminical doctrine of Lokayata, not my Dharma!”

O Mahamati! The Lokayata brahmin came to me and questioned me about the Dharma in this way. When I answered him with the words given above, the brahmin departed in silence without asking about my establishment of the true Dharma.

The Lokayata brahmin conceived this thought: “This Sakyan ascetic, standing outside my doctrine, is truly pitiable! He says that all phenomena are without causes, without conditions, and without the characteristic of arising, and merely says that the phenomena perceived through discrimination are one’s own mind. If one can awaken to the appearances seen by one’s own mind, the discriminating mind ceases.” O Mahamati!

You now ask me why those who approach, make offerings to, and honor the proponents of the various arguments of Lokayata obtain only the flavor of sensual desire and not the flavor of Dharma.

The Venerable Mahamati said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! What is meant by the meaning of the phrase ‘food’? What is meant by the meaning of the phrase ‘Dharma’?”

The Buddha told the Venerable Mahamati:

“Excellent! Excellent! Excellent, O Mahamati! For the sake of beings in future ages, you are able to ask the Tathagata about these two meanings. Excellent, O Mahamati! Listen carefully! Listen carefully! I shall explain them for you!”

The Venerable Mahamati said to the Buddha:

“Excellent, World-Honored One! Yes, indeed! I shall respectfully receive your teaching.”

The Buddha told the Venerable Mahamati:

“What is food? It is the flavor of food coming into contact with the faculty of taste; delighting in the pursuit of expedient means; skillful flattery; intoxication with flavors; and attachment to external objects. Such phenomena are said to constitute the distinct meaning of oneness, because one cannot enter the meaning of the Dharma gateway to the nondual realm.

“Furthermore, O Mahamati! What is called food is that which, arising in dependence upon wrong views, produces the skandhas and a bodily form, so that one is not freed from birth, aging, illness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, and distress; and craving produces existence, and so forth. Such phenomena are called food. Therefore, I and all Buddhas say that those who approach and make offerings to those Lokayata brahmins obtain the flavor of food but do not obtain the flavor of Dharma.

“O Mahamati! What is the flavor of Dharma? It is the ability to know in accord with reality the two kinds of non-self. Because one sees the characteristics of the non-self of persons and the non-self of phenomena, the characteristics of discrimination no longer arise. One can also know in accord with reality the progressively higher wisdom of the bodhisattva stages. At that time, one can transcend mind, mentation, and consciousness, enter the stage of the wisdom of the Buddhas, receive that station, comprehend all ultimate expressions, and know in accord with reality every aspect of the Buddhas’ mastery. This is called the flavor of Dharma, which does not fall into any wrong views, conceptual proliferations, or the two extremes.

“O Mahamati! The many doctrines taught by non-Buddhists cause beings to fall into the two extremes; they do not enable the wise to avoid those extremes. Why is this? O Mahamati! The non-Buddhists and others speak extensively of annihilation and permanence. By asserting causelessness, they fall into the view of permanence; by seeing the destruction of causes, they fall into the view of annihilation.

“O Mahamati! I teach seeing in accord with reality, without attachment to arising or cessation. Therefore, my teaching is called the flavor of Dharma. O Mahamati! This is what I mean by the flavor of food and the flavor of Dharma. O Mahamati! You and all bodhisattva-mahasattvas should train in this Dharma!”

At that time, the World-Honored One once again spoke in verse:

I gather in sentient beings,

Relying on precepts to restrain all evil;

Through wisdom, wrong views are extinguished,

And the three liberations increase.

The non-Buddhists’ false assertions

Are all worldly discourses;

Employing wrong views of cause and effect,

They establish doctrines devoid of right view.

I establish the Dharma,

Free from false views of causation;

I teach it for my disciples,

That they may transcend worldly doctrines.

There is mind alone, no external phenomena;

The mind is free from the two extremes.

The perceiver and the perceived

Are free from views of annihilation and permanence.

Whatever is merely the mind’s activity

Is all conventional discourse.

If one can contemplate one’s own mind,

One does not perceive any falsehood.

One who comes sees causes arising;

One who departs sees effects ceasing.

Knowing truly the coming and going,

One does not discriminate falsely

Action, non-action, or permanence,

Impermanence, this thing, or that.

Such phenomena, and so forth...

All are worldly doctrines.

Chapter Six: Nirvana

At that time, the venerable bodhisattva Mahamati addressed the Buddha, saying:

“World-Honored One! As the Buddha has spoken of nirvana, on account of what dharmas is it called nirvana, while the various non-Buddhist teachers each falsely discriminate nirvana?”

The Buddha told the bodhisattva Mahamati:

“Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Mahamati, listen well! Listen well! I shall explain this for you. The non-Buddhist teachers and others falsely discriminate the characteristics of nirvana. What those non-Buddhist teachers discriminate is not nirvana.”

Mahamati addressed the Buddha, saying:

“Excellent, World-Honored One! I shall reverently receive your teaching!”

The Buddha said:

“Mahamati, the non-Buddhist teachers, becoming weary of the various realms of experience, see the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas as extinguished, all dharmas as impermanent, and the mind and its mental factors as no longer arising. Because they do not recollect the pleasurable objects of the past, future, or present, they regard the place where the skandhas are exhausted—like a lamp flame going out, with all manner of winds coming to rest (?)—and where the falsely discriminated characteristics are no longer grasped, as nirvana.

“Mahamati, those non-Buddhist teachers, seeing dharmas in this way, give rise to the notion of nirvana. It is not because they see cessation that it is called nirvana. Mahamati, some non-Buddhist teachers call passage from one direction to another nirvana.

“Other non-Buddhist teachers discriminate the various objects as being like wind; therefore, through such discrimination, they call it nirvana. Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘Not seeing the realm of the seer, while the seen does not cease, is called nirvana.’

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘Discriminatingly seeing all manner of distinct characteristics can produce every kind of suffering.’ Because these are seen by their own minds, they falsely discriminate all characteristics, become frightened by them, and, upon perceiving signlessness, delight in it deeply and give rise to the notion of nirvana.

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers see that the individual characteristics and common characteristics of all dharmas do not arise, and they give rise to the discriminative conception of cessation. They regard the dharmas of the past, future, and present as existent and call this nirvana.

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers regard the self, person, sentient being, life, living being, and so forth as dharmas that do not cease. They falsely discriminate these and call this nirvana.

“Furthermore, other non-Buddhist teachers, being devoid of wisdom, discriminate the self-nature of what is perceived. They hold that the life-principle undergoes transformation, and discriminate this transformation as nirvana.

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘Because sins are exhausted, merit is also exhausted. This is called nirvana.’

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘When the afflictions are exhausted, reliance upon wisdom is called nirvana.’

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘Seeing that the Lord Ishvara creates sentient beings is falsely discriminated and called nirvana.’

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘Sentient beings arise through the mutual interaction of causes and are not created by any other cause.’ Those non-Buddhist teachers cling to a cause that neither knows nor perceives; in ignorance and dullness, they falsely discriminate this and call it nirvana.

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers speak of realizing the truth of the Path and falsely discriminate this as nirvana.

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘There are an agent and that which is acted upon, which combine together. Seeing them as one or different, both or neither, is falsely discriminated and called nirvana.’

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘All dharmas arise spontaneously, just as an illusionist produces all manner of forms. Seeing all manner of precious objects, thorns, and so forth arise spontaneously is falsely discriminated and called nirvana.’

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘All things are created solely by time, and awareness is itself only time.’ They falsely discriminate this and call it nirvana.

“Furthermore, Mahamati, other non-Buddhist teachers say: ‘Seeing that things exist, seeing that things do not exist, or seeing that things both exist and do not exist—such discrimination is called nirvana.’

“Furthermore, Mahamati, the wise establish a different Dharma and say: ‘To see in accordance with reality is to see that all is only one’s own mind, without grasping external realms; to be free from the four kinds of propositions; to see all dharmas abiding in accordance with their true nature; not to perceive characteristics discriminated by one’s own mind; not to fall into the two extremes; not to perceive a realm of a grasper and the grasped; to see that everything established in the world is unreal, while deluded beings are confused about the Dharma of suchness.

Because no dharmas are grasped, this is called truth. Through the noble wisdom personally realized within, one knows in accordance with reality the two kinds of non-self, is freed from the two kinds of defilements and afflictions, purifies the two obstructions, and becomes able to know in accordance with reality the characteristics of the progressively higher bodhisattva grounds. One enters the Tathagata ground, attains the Samadhi of Illusion, and becomes entirely free from mind, mentation, consciousness, discrimination, and such views.

This is called nirvana.’

“Mahamati, there are also non-Buddhist teachers and others who, through erroneous views, discursive thought, and examination, propound doctrines that do not accord with the true and proper Dharma. The wise distance themselves from and censure such doctrines. Mahamati, all such non-Buddhist teachers fall into the two extremes and falsely discriminate; theirs is not true nirvana.

“Mahamati, among all the non-Buddhist teachers who falsely discriminate nirvana in this manner, there is no one who abides in nirvana in this world and no one who enters nirvana. Why is this? Because all non-Buddhist teachers rely upon doctrines conceived by their own minds and falsely discriminate, having no wisdom that accords with reality. The dharmas discriminated by their own minds do not exist; therefore, amid their coming, going, and agitation, there is no such nirvana of the non-Buddhist teachers.

“Mahamati, you and all the bodhisattvas should distance yourselves from the falsely conceived nirvana of all non-Buddhist teachers.”

At that time, the World-Honored One again spoke in verse:

Non-Buddhist teachers view nirvana,

Each giving rise to discrimination;

All these arise from characteristics of mind,

And none is a means to liberation.

Not freed from bondage or the bound,

They have strayed far from skillful means;

They themselves conceive a thought of liberation,

Yet liberation truly does not exist therein.

The dharmas established by non-Buddhist teachers

All differ from omniscient wisdom;

None of them bring liberation,

For they are deluded discriminations of the foolish.

All deluded non-Buddhist teachers

Falsely perceive the agent and the acted upon;

Therefore, they have no liberation,

Because they teach existence and nonexistence.

Ordinary beings delight in idle speculation

And do not hear true and genuine wisdom;

Language is the root of the three realms,

But wisdom in accord with reality ends suffering.

Like an image within a mirror,

Though it is seen, it does not exist;

Conditioned by habit, it appears within the mirror of mind,

And ordinary beings declare that there are two.

Not knowing that appearances arise from mind,

They therefore discriminate duality;

Those who know in accordance with reality that all is only mind

Do not give rise to discrimination.

Mind is said to be manifold;

When the seer and the seen are left behind,

One sees that characteristics cannot be seen,

Yet ordinary beings falsely discriminate them.

The three realms are only false conception;

External realms truly do not exist;

False conception sees all manner of things,

But ordinary beings do not understand.

The sutras, each in turn, speak of discrimination,

Each kind bearing its own distinct name;

Yet the Dharma beyond language

Cannot be expressed in words.

Chapter Seven: The Dharma Body

At that time, the venerable bodhisattva Mahamati addressed the Buddha, saying:

“World-Honored One! Tathagata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One! I pray that you expound the Dharma of inner realization personally attained through awakened knowledge! On account of what dharmas is it called the Dharma body? May I and all the bodhisattvas thoroughly understand the characteristics of the Tathagata’s Dharma body, so that both we ourselves and others may enter the state free from doubt.”

The Buddha told the bodhisattva Mahamati:

“Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Mahamati, ask freely whatever doubts you may have! I shall distinguish and explain them for you.”

Mahāmati addressed the Buddha, saying:

“Excellent, World-Honored One! I shall respectfully receive your teaching!” He then addressed the Buddha, saying, “World-Honored One! Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Enlightened One! Is the Dharma-body a conditioned dharma or an unconditioned dharma? Is it itself a cause or itself a result? Is it that which sees or that which is seen? Is it speech itself or that which can be spoken? Is it wisdom itself or that which is known by wisdom? Are such terms and expressions as these different from the Dharma-body of the Tathagata, or are they not different?”

The Buddha said:

“Mahāmati! The characteristic of the Dharma-body of the Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Enlightened One, in relation to such terms and expressions, is neither conditioned nor unconditioned, neither cause nor result. Why is this? Because both extremes are faulty. Mahāmati! If it is said that the Tathagata is a conditioned dharma, then he would be impermanent. If he were impermanent, all conditioned dharmas should be the Tathagata; yet the Buddha, the Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Enlightened One, does not affirm this doctrine.

“Mahāmati! If the Dharma-body of the Tathagata were not a conditioned dharma, it would be without a body; consequently, to say that someone cultivates immeasurable merit and all practices would be false.

“Mahāmati! If it were unconditioned, it should be like a rabbit’s horn or the child of a barren woman. Because there would be no conditioning cause, there would also be no body.

Mahāmati! If a dharma is neither cause nor result, neither existent nor nonexistent, and its essence is apart from the four propositions, then, Mahāmati, those four propositions are called the discourse of the world. Mahāmati!

If a dharma is apart from those four kinds of propositions, that dharma has only a name, like the child of a barren woman. Mahāmati! The child of a barren woman and the like are merely nominal dharmas expressed through phrases, and they conform to the four propositions.

If one falls into the four propositions, the wise do not accept them. Thus should the wise understand all questions concerning the Tathagata!

The Buddha further told Mahāmati, “I teach that all dharmas are without self. Listen carefully to the meaning of non-self! Non-self means that the inner body is without self; therefore it is called non-self. Mahāmati! All dharmas possess their own individual characteristics but lack the characteristics of another, just as with an ox and a horse. Mahāmati! For example, the body of an ox is not the body of a horse, and a horse is likewise not an ox. Therefore, one cannot say that they exist or do not exist, for their own essential characteristics are not nonexistent.

“Mahāmati! All dharmas are likewise so: it is not that they are devoid of characteristics, for they possess their own intrinsic characteristics. Foolish ordinary beings do not know that the essential characteristics of all dharmas are without self because their minds discriminate, not because their minds do not discriminate.

“Mahāmati! The emptiness of all dharmas, the non-arising of all dharmas, and the absence of essential characteristics in all dharmas should likewise be understood in this way.

“Mahāmati! The Dharma-body of the Tathagata is also like this: in relation to the five skandhas, it is neither one with them nor different from them. Mahāmati! If the Dharma-body of the Tathagata were one with the five skandhas, it would be impermanent, because the five skandhas are conditioned dharmas. If the Dharma-body of the Tathagata were different from the five skandhas, there would be two dharmas; yet this would not accord with their essential characteristics, just as the two horns of an ox resemble one another and are not different, although they appear as distinct forms and differ slightly in length.

“Mahāmati! If this were so, all dharmas should not differ in conception, yet they would still have distinct characteristics, just as the ox’s left horn differs from its right horn and its right horn differs from its left horn. In this way, their relative characteristics of length and shortness are each distinct, just as the various shapes and colors here and there differ from one another.

“Mahāmati! Thus, the characteristic of the Dharma-body of the Tathagata cannot be said to be one with the five skandhas or different from them; it cannot be said to be one with liberation or different from it; and it cannot be said to be one with nirvana or different from it. Thus, it is in dependence upon liberation that the name and characteristic of the Dharma-body of the Tathagata are spoken of.

“Mahāmati! If the Dharma-body of the Tathagata were different from liberation, it would be like material form and therefore impermanent. If the Dharma-body of the Tathagata were not different from liberation, there would be no distinction between that which realizes and that which is realized.

“Mahāmati! Yet practitioners perceive both that which realizes and that which is realized. Therefore, they are not one.

Mahāmati! In this way, the knowing and the knowable realm are neither one nor different. Mahāmati!

If a dharma is neither permanent nor impermanent, neither cause nor result, neither conditioned nor unconditioned, neither awareness nor non-awareness, neither that which sees nor that which can be seen, neither apart from the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas nor identical with the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas, neither name nor realm, neither one nor different, neither both nor not both, neither continuous nor discontinuous—then it transcends all dharmas.

If it transcends all dharmas, it has only that name. If it has only a name, that dharma does not arise. Because it does not arise, that dharma does not cease.

Because it does not cease, that dharma is equal to empty space.

“Mahāmati! Empty space is neither cause nor result! If a dharma is neither cause nor result, that dharma cannot be observed; and if it cannot be observed, it transcends all conceptual proliferation. If it transcends all conceptual proliferation, that dharma is called the Dharma-body of the Tathagata. Mahāmati! This is called the characteristic of the Dharma-body of the Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Enlightened One, because it transcends all realms of the faculties.”

At that time, the World-Honored One once again spoke in verse:

Apart from all dharmas and faculties, neither result nor cause; having left awareness and the object of awareness, it is also apart from the seer and the seen. In the five skandhas and all conditions, the Buddha sees no dharma. If no dharma is seen, how could there be discrimination?

Neither conditioned nor unconditioned, neither result nor cause; neither the skandhas nor apart from the skandhas, and nowhere else does it abide. Whatever minds discriminate cannot perceive it through discrimination. That dharma is not nonexistent; all dharmas are themselves that dharma.

Because it existed before, one should not call it nonexistent; because it did not exist before, one should call it existent. Therefore, it cannot be called nonexistent, nor can it be called existent. Deluded by self and non-self, one clings only to sounds.

Such a person falls into the two extremes and falsely speaks, bringing ruin upon the world. Free from all faults, one immediately beholds my Dharma. This is called Right View and does not slander the World-Honored One, the Buddha.

At that time, the noble Bodhisattva Mahāmati again addressed the Buddha, saying:

“World-Honored One! I pray that the World-Honored One will explain this for me! I pray that the Sugata will explain this for me! Everywhere the Tathagata teaches that all dharmas neither arise nor cease.

“World-Honored One! You further teach that what neither arises nor ceases is called the Dharma-body of the Tathagata; therefore it is said to neither arise nor cease.

“World-Honored One! Does the Tathagata say that things neither arise nor cease because no dharma exists, and therefore call this non-arising and non-ceasing? Or is another designation of the Tathagata called non-arising and non-ceasing? Yet the Buddha, the Tathagata, constantly teaches that all dharmas neither arise nor cease because they are apart from views that establish existence and nonexistence.

“World-Honored One! If all dharmas do not arise, then one cannot speak of ‘all dharmas,’ because all dharmas do not arise. If this name exists in dependence upon another dharma, then, World-Honored One, please explain it to me.”

The Buddha told Bodhisattva Mahāmati:

“Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Mahāmati! Listen carefully! Listen carefully! I shall explain this for you!”

Bodhisattva Mahāmati addressed the Buddha, saying:

“Excellent, World-Honored One! Yes, I shall respectfully receive your teaching!”

The Buddha said:

– O Mahamati! The Dharma-body of the Tathagata is not immaterial, nor is it the non-arising and non-ceasing of all dharmas. Nor can it be said to exist in dependence upon causes and conditions; neither is the teaching of non-arising and non-ceasing a false assertion. O Mahamati! I often say that what neither arises nor ceases is called the mind-made body. The Dharma-body of the Tathagata is not within the realm of the followers of non-Buddhist paths, shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, or even bodhisattvas abiding on the Seventh Bhumi. O Mahamati! When I speak of what neither arises nor ceases, this is simply another name for the Tathagata. O Mahamati! It is like Shakra Devendra, who is also called Indra, King, Purandara, Hand-Claw, Body, Earth, Bhumi, Space, Unobstructed, and so forth. Such names differ, yet their meaning is one. One does not say, merely because there are many names, that there are many distinct entities called Shakra!

O Mahamati! I am likewise known throughout the Saha world by three asamkhyeyas of hundreds of thousands of names. Although ordinary beings utter them, they do not know that these are different names of the Tathagata.

O Mahamati! Some beings know the Tathagata; some know the Sovereign One; some know the Omniscient One; some know the Savior of the World; some know the Guide; some know the One of Auspicious Marks; some know the Excellent One; some know the Subtle and Wondrous One; some know the World-Honored One; some know the Buddha; some know the Bull-King; some know the Lion; some know the Seer; some know the Brahma One; some know Narayana, the Mighty One; some know the Excellent One (repeated); some know Kapila; some know the Ultimate One; some know A-li-she-ni-di; some know the Moon; some know the Sun; some know Varuna; some know Vyasa; some know Shakra; some know the Powerful One; some know the Ocean; some know the Unborn One; some know the Unceasing One; some know the Empty One; some know Suchness;

some know the Limit of Reality; some know nirvana; some know the Dharma Realm; some know the Dharma-nature; some know the Eternal One; some know the Impartial One; some know the Nondual One; some know the Signless One; some know Condition; some know the Buddha-body; some know Cause; some know Liberation; some know the Path; some know the Truth of Reality; some know the Omniscient One (repeated!); and some know the mind-made body...

O Mahamati! The Tathagata, Arhat, Perfectly Enlightened One, is known by three asamkhyeyas of hundreds of thousands of such names, neither more nor fewer, throughout the Saha world and other worlds, and beings know them all. Like the moon reflected in water, which neither enters nor departs, ordinary beings neither understand nor know this because they have fallen into the continuous dualistic extremes.

Yet they all revere me and make offerings to me, while failing properly to understand names, phrases, and meanings. Grasping distinctions among appearances, they are unable to know for themselves. Attached to names, they falsely discriminate, calling what neither arises nor ceases the empty Dharma, not knowing that this is a distinctive designation of the Tathagata, just as Indra is called Shakra, King, Purandara, and so forth.

Because they cannot ascertain the relationship between names and reality, they follow names and sounds in grasping dharmas in just the same way.

O Mahamati! In future ages, foolish ordinary beings will say: “The meaning is exactly as the name states,” yet they do not understand that different names can have the same meaning. Why is this? Because meaning has no substantial characteristic. They will also say: “There is no meaning apart from names and sounds,” and that names and sounds themselves are meaning. Why is this? Because they do not understand the essential characteristic of names.

O Mahamati! Those foolish people do not know that sound arises and ceases, whereas meaning neither arises nor ceases.

O Mahamati! The nature of sound falls within the domain of names, but meaning does not likewise fall within the domain of names. Because it is free from existence and nonexistence, it is unborn and without self-nature.

O Mahamati! The Tathagata teaches the Dharma by relying upon his own voice. Because he does not regard written characters as either existent or nonexistent, he does not become attached to names. O Mahamati! If a person teaches while attached to names, that person cannot be called one skilled in teaching the Dharma. Why is this? Because the Dharma has no names.

O Mahamati! Therefore, in the sutras I say that the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, have never spoken even a single word or disclosed even a single name. Why is this? Because dharmas have no written characters. With regard to meaning, nothing is spoken; with regard to discrimination, teachings are spoken.

O Mahamati! If the Dharma were not taught, the Dharma wheel of the Buddhas, the Tathagatas, would cease. If the Dharma wheel ceased, there would also be no shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, or bodhisattvas.

If there were no shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, or bodhisattvas, for whom would the teachings be given? What dharmas would be taught? What matters would be addressed?

O Mahamati! Therefore, great bodhisattvas should not become attached to words or names. O Mahamati!

Names, textual divisions, phrases, and sentences are not fixed dharmas; they are taught according to the minds of sentient beings. The Buddhas, the Tathagatas, teach various dharmas according to the faith of sentient beings. To enable them to abandon mind, manas, and consciousness, the Buddhas do not establish dharmas on the basis of the sacred wisdom inwardly realized by themselves.

They enable beings to know, in accordance with reality, the quiescent characteristics of all dharmas, to see only the awakening of their own mind and the discernment of dharmas, and to transcend the mind’s twofold characteristics of discrimination... The Buddhas do not teach otherwise.

O Mahamati! Great bodhisattvas rely upon meaning, not upon words. If good men and good women teach merely by following written words, they fall into wrong views, ruin the ultimate truth within themselves, and also ruin it for others, preventing them from awakening and understanding.

O Mahamati! The followers of non-Buddhist paths and others all speak according to the divergent views of their own treatises. O Mahamati! You should thoroughly understand the characteristics of all the Bhumis and thoroughly understand joyful eloquence, literary compositions, words, and phrases. Having thoroughly understood the characteristics of all the Bhumis, you should then acquire joyful eloquence in names and phrases and thoroughly understand the corresponding meanings and characteristics of all dharmas. At that time, you yourself will experience the bliss of the signless joy of the Dharma, abide in the Mahayana, and enable sentient beings to understand it.

O Mahamati! To embrace the Mahayana is to embrace the Buddhas, shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas. To embrace the Buddhas, shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas is to embrace all sentient beings.

To embrace all sentient beings is to embrace the supreme and wondrous treasury of Dharma. To embrace the treasury of Dharma is to ensure that the lineage of the Buddha is never cut off. When the lineage of the Buddha is not cut off, all supreme and wondrous places of birth are not cut off.

Because bodhisattvas vow to be born in those supreme and wondrous places, they encounter sentient beings within the Mahayana Dharma and, with sovereign mastery of the ten powers, are able to manifest in accordance with the forms and appearances of sentient beings and their latent defilements, teaching the Dharma in accordance with reality.

O Mahamati! What is the Dharma in accordance with reality? The Dharma in accordance with reality is neither different nor mistaken; it neither grasps nor rejects and is free from all conceptual proliferations. This is called the Dharma in accordance with reality. O Mahamati! Good men and good women do not become attached to written words and sounds, because all dharmas are devoid of written words.

O Mahamati! It is like a person who, wishing to show an object to someone, points to it with a finger, but the foolish person immediately becomes attached to the finger and does not follow the finger to apprehend the object being indicated.

O Mahamati! Ignorant ordinary beings are likewise: shravakas cling to the “finger” of written words, and even until the end of their lives they cannot relinquish that “finger” of written words to choose the Ultimate Meaning.

O Mahamati! It is like rice, which is called food for ordinary people, yet unless it is hulled and cooked, it cannot be eaten. If someone eats that rice before it has been prepared as food, that person is called insane. One must proceed in the proper sequence... until it has been thoroughly cooked, and only then does it become food.

O Mahamati! Non-arising and non-cessation are likewise. Unless one cultivates practices through skillful means and wisdom, one cannot attain the fully adorned Dharma-body.

O Mahamati! Those who cling to names and words and claim thereby to have understood the meaning are like that ignorant person who, without knowing how to hull or cook rice, swallows the “unhulled grains” of written words and fails to obtain the “food” of meaning. For this reason, one should study until one reaches the meaning and should not cling to written words.

O Mahamati! What is called meaning is nirvana; what is called names and words is the characteristic of discrimination, which binds and gives rise to worldly understanding.

O Mahamati! To be learned means to possess skillful means concerning the meaning, not skillfulness concerning sounds.

O Mahamati! Skillful means concerning the meaning is free from all false doctrines of non-Buddhist teachers and does not mingle with them. Speaking in this way, one does not oneself fall into the erroneous doctrines of non-Buddhist teachers. O Mahamati! This is called being learned and possessing skillful means concerning the meaning.

O Mahamati! Those who wish to attain the meaning should draw near to learned and wise persons, making offerings to and revering them. Those who cling to names and words should be kept at a distance and not approached.

At that time, Bodhisattva Mahamati, through the power of the Buddhas, addressed the Buddha, saying:

“World-Honored One! The Tathagata, the World-Honored One, teaches that all dharmas neither arise nor cease, but this is not especially extraordinary! Why is this? All non-Buddhist teachers also say that causes neither arise nor cease. The Tathagata likewise says that space, cessation not dependent upon conditions, and the realm of nirvana neither arise nor cease.

“World-Honored One! The non-Buddhist teachers also say that sentient beings arise in dependence upon causes and conditions. The Tathagata likewise says that the worlds arise through the causes and conditions of ignorance, craving, karma, and discrimination. If so, although the Tathagata uses different names for causes and conditions, he also says that dharmas can arise in dependence upon external causes and conditions. The non-Buddhist teachers also say that dharmas arise in dependence upon external causes and conditions. Therefore, there is no difference between what the Tathagata teaches and what the non-Buddhist teachers teach.

“World-Honored One! The non-Buddhist teachers speak of atoms, the Supreme Principle, Ishvara, Brahma, and so forth, together with nine kinds of external causes and conditions, and say that dharmas neither arise nor cease. The Tathagata also says that all dharmas neither arise nor cease, that existence and nonexistence cannot be apprehended, and that the four great elements are not destroyed.

Their intrinsic characteristics neither arise nor cease. Although the Buddha, the Tathagata, explains this in various different ways, his teaching does not depart from the assertions of the non-Buddhist teachers, for they too say that the great elements are not separate from the substance of the great elements. World-Honored One!

For this reason, the Tathagata’s teaching does not differ from that of the non-Buddhist teachers. If they are not the same, the Tathagata should explain the distinctive characteristic that he alone possesses. If there is such a distinctive characteristic, we shall know that his teaching is not the same as that of the non-Buddhist teachers.

“World-Honored One! If the Buddha, the Tathagata, does not explain the supreme characteristic within his own Dharma, then there should also be Buddhas among the non-Buddhist teachers, because they too teach that dharmas neither arise nor cease. The Tathagata constantly says that it is impossible for many Buddhas to appear simultaneously in a single world. Yet according to the foregoing assertions, there should be many Buddhas in a single world. Why is this? Because there is no difference between what is taught concerning causes and the absence of causes. If the Buddha’s words are not false, why does the World-Honored One not explain the supreme characteristic within his own Dharma?”

The Buddha said to Mahamati:

“O Mahamati! My teaching that ‘dharmas neither arise nor cease’ is not the same as the non-arising and non-cessation taught by non-Buddhist teachers, nor is it the same as their doctrine of an impermanent entity that does not arise. Why is this? O Mahamati! The non-Buddhist teachers say that there is an actual existent nature that neither arises nor changes its characteristics, whereas I do not fall within factions that uphold existence or nonexistence in this manner.

“O Mahamati! My teaching is free from the dharmas of existence and nonexistence and free from the characteristics of arising, abiding, and cessation. It is neither existent nor nonexistent. All the various forms and appearances that are seen are like illusions and dreams. Therefore, one cannot say that they exist or do not exist.

“O Mahamati! Why can one not say that they exist or do not exist? Because the essential characteristics of forms may be seen or not seen and may be grasped or not grasped. O Mahamati! Therefore, I say that all dharmas are neither existent nor nonexistent. O Mahamati! Because beings do not awaken and know, what they see arises solely from the discriminations of their own minds. All worldly dharmas have originally neither arisen nor ceased, but ordinary beings give rise to discrimination; noble ones do not!

“O Mahamati! The deluded discrimination of unreal meanings is like ordinary beings seeing a city of the gandharvas, or seeing the various illusory people and various elephants and horses produced by a magician. Seeing those things enter and depart, they falsely discriminate and say: ‘These enter in such and such a way... and these depart in such and such a way....’ O Mahamati! Yet in that place there are in truth no people entering or departing; these are merely deluded discriminations seen by their own minds. Dharmas that arise and dharmas that do not arise are likewise.

“O Mahamati! Yet in that place there is truly no such existence or nonexistence. Dharmas are like the magical displays produced by that magician, and those magical displays neither arise nor cease.

“O Mahamati! With regard to whether dharmas exist or do not exist, there is nothing whatsoever that is produced, because they are free from arising and cessation. Only ordinary beings fall into inverted states of mind and discriminate arising and cessation; noble ones do not.

“O Mahamati! Inversion means discriminating that this dharma is thus and thus, while that dharma is not thus and thus.... Yet it is not that there is an actual inversion; rather, through inverted discrimination, beings cling to dharmas as existent or nonexistent, and thus are not quiescent. Because they do not see quiescence, they cannot abandon false discrimination. Therefore, O Mahamati, seeing quiescence is called the Supreme Characteristic. It is not seeing the various characteristics that is called the Supreme Characteristic. Because perceiving characteristics cannot sever the cause of arising, O Mahamati, what is called the unconditioned is freedom from all discriminating minds. Non-arising and signlessness are precisely what I teach and call nirvana.

“O Mahamati! To speak of nirvana means seeing the suchness in which all dharmas abide, becoming free from the discriminating mind and its associated mental factors, and cultivating in proper sequence, in accordance with reality, toward that which is realized by the noble wisdom of one’s own inner realization. What I teach in this way is called nirvana.”

At that time, the World-Honored One once again spoke in verse:

To prevent the arising of dharmas,

The doctrine of non-arising is established.

I teach that dharmas are without a cause,

But ordinary beings cannot understand.

I teach that dharmas are without a cause,

Yet ordinary beings do not understand;

All dharmas do not arise,

But neither can they be said not to exist.

A gandharva city, dreams, and illusions—

These dharmas appear without a cause;

All dharmas are empty and signless.

How could I express them?

Apart from the conjunction of conditions,

They cannot be perceived by wisdom;

Because they are originally nonexistent and unborn,

They are therefore said to lack intrinsic substance.

When each condition comes together,

No object that is seen can be apprehended;

This is not what non-Buddhist teachers have perceived.

Conjunction cannot be apprehended.

Dreams, illusions, and hair-wheels,

Gandharva cities and flames,

Are falsely perceived without a cause;

So too are worldly affairs.

When doctrines of causelessness are subdued,

The meaning of non-arising is established.

If non-arising can be established,

Then my Dharma is not destroyed.

When doctrines of causelessness are proclaimed,

The followers of other paths become afraid:

Why? By whom?

Through what cause? Where does it occur?

The causeless arising of all dharmas

Is neither caused nor causeless.

If the wise are able to perceive this,

They can abandon views of cessation and arising.

That no dharma arises, yet is not non-arising,

Is the characteristic of being without causes and conditions.

If this were merely a name assigned to a dharma,

Then what I teach would be meaningless.

It is not that a dharma possesses non-arising,

Nor does it depend upon causes and conditions.

Nor does a dharma first exist and afterward receive a name;

This is also called the “teaching that is not empty.”

It is not the domain of shravakas,

Pratyekabuddhas, or followers of other paths.

Abiding upon the Seventh Bhumi,

There is no characteristic of arising there.

One departs from dharmas of causes and conditions

In order to preclude attachment to causes and conditions.

The establishment of mind-only

Is what I call non-arising.

All dharmas are without causes and conditions;

They transcend discriminating discrimination

And abandon adherence to existence and nonexistence—

This is what I call non-arising.

All views and mind are left behind;

The twofold nature of dharmas is forever transcended,

And the body is transformed in reliance upon the true characteristic—

This I call non-arising.

The external is neither real nor unreal,

Nor is it an object grasped by mind.

Illusions, dreams, and hair-wheels,

Gandharva cities and flames—

When all views have been completely abandoned,

This is called the perception of non-arising.

Such dharmas as emptiness...

And such scriptural statements should be understood.

They are neither arising nor emptiness,

Yet emptiness is not present within arising.

When causes and conditions conjoin,

There is cessation and there is arising;

When causes and conditions disperse,

There is neither cessation nor arising.

Apart from causes and conditions, there are no dharmas;

Apart from conjunction, nothing can be established.

Followers of other paths falsely discriminate

And immediately perceive identity or difference.

Dharmas neither exist nor do not exist, and do not arise;

Neither existence nor nonexistence can be apprehended.

It is only through the conjunction of dharmas

That cessation and arising are perceived.

They exist only in names,

Which mutually bind like fetters.

Apart from the fetters of causes and conditions,

An arisen dharma cannot be established.

When no arising is perceived in an arisen dharma,

One escapes the errors of the followers of other paths.

I teach the fetters of conditions,

But ordinary beings do not understand.

If, apart from the fetters of conditions,

There were some separate dharma,

That would amount to causelessness

And would destroy the meaning of conditioned bonds.

Just as a lamp reveals visible forms,

So too do fetters give rise to things;

If so, then apart from these fetters,

There must separately be a dharma that arises.

An arisen dharma is fundamentally impossible;

Its self-nature is like empty space.

Those who seek dharmas apart from fetters

Are fools who do not understand.

There is also another kind of non-arising:

The Dharma attained by noble ones.

Regarding arisen and non-arisen dharmas,

This is the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.

If one perceives all worlds,

One thereby perceives their fetters.

All things are fettered;

Thus the mind becomes settled in samadhi.

Ignorance, craving, karma, and the rest

Are the inner fetters.

A drill, spindle, lump of clay, and wheel,

Together with seeds and the great elements, are fetters.

If there were some other dharma

Arising from causes and conditions

But apart from the meaning of fetters,

It would not accord with the noble teaching.

If an arisen dharma is empty,

Then what is there to fetter?

Things mutually give rise to one another—

This is called the meaning of causes and conditions.

The qualities of hardness, moisture, heat, and movement

Arise from the discriminations of ordinary beings.

Apart from fetters, there are no dharmas;

Therefore, their essence is said to be empty.

Just as medicines cure every illness,

And treatments are prescribed according to the illness,

While medical theory itself does not differ,

Different illnesses require different medicines.

I consider how all sentient beings

Are defiled by the faults of the afflictions;

Knowing the differences in their faculties and capacities,

I transmit the teaching according to their ability to receive it.

My Dharma is without difference,

Yet it is taught differently according to their illnesses and faculties.

I teach only the Dharma of the One Vehicle:

The pure and undefiled Noble Eightfold Path.

The Lankavatara Sutra

— End of the Sixth Fascicle —