འཕགས་པ་བྱང་ཆབ་སམས་དཔའ་སྤྱད་པ་བསྟན་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 10

10

are existent, or are nonexistent,’ ‘grasping and letting go,’ ‘meeting and separating,’ ‘going, coming, remaining, transmigrating, phenomena associated with attachment, hatred, and delusion, and right and wrong.’¹² They should not impute the concept that ‘ignorance and the like¹³ up to and including the qualities of hearers, the qualities of solitary buddhas, the qualities of the buddhas, the factors of pollution, the factors of purification, the physical and nonphysical, perception and lack of perception, marks and lack of marks, pure conduct, sameness, difference, body, mind, and all correct and incorrect qualities arise.’ So you tell me, Maudgalyā­yana—do you think the thus-gone ones are complete buddhas who manifest unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”

Maudgalyā­yana replied, “That is not the case.”

The boy said, “Do you assert that the thus-gone ones are not included in suchness, that awakening is not included in suchness, or that ordinary beings are not included in suchness?”

Maudgalyā­yana said, “That is not the case.”

“Maudgalyā­yana,” the boy responded, “do you conceptualize the lack of conceptualization?”

“I teach by means of the conventions of the world,” Maudgalyā­yana replied.

The boy continued, “Maudgalyā­yana, the world is a fake, deceptive, and illusory appearance that tricks childish beings.”

“If the world is a fake and deceptive phenomenon,” said Maudgalyā­yana, “then this teaching is also a fake and deceptive phenomenon. Why, then, do you teach it?”

“Maudgalyā­yana,” answered the boy, “phenomena cannot be demonstrated.