འཕགས་པ་རན་པ་ཆའ་མཐའ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 8

8

Apart from that I do not see any world that can be pointed out, or a world to experience. I do not see anything distinct from the world’s realm of phenomena. And why not? Because there isn’t any. Regarding the Blessed One’s statement about ‘the world that is experienced,’ the essence of form is without death, transmigration, or birth; it does not disintegrate or perish. This being the case, what is there to experience? Likewise, since the essence of feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness does not exist, there is no arising or ceasing. These things do not go beyond the single characteristic; indeed, their characteristic is identical.”

“Mañjuśrī, tell me, do you think that I, the Thus-Gone One, the Worthy One, the Perfect Buddha, will pass into parinirvāṇa or disappear?”

“No, Blessed One, I do not. And why not? Because the realm of phenomena is not truly established. Blessed One, if the realm of phenomena were truly established, then it would not be something to pass beyond. However, it is not apprehended as something truly established. Thus, how can one speak of not passing beyond¹¹ or passing into parinirvāṇa? The Thus-Gone One is the realm of phenomena. For that reason, the Blessed One is not born and does not pass into parinirvāṇa.”

“Well then, Mañjuśrī,” said the Blessed One, “how can you have conviction in the statement that the thus-gone ones of the past, equal in number to the grains of sand in the River Ganges, have passed into parinirvāṇa?”

“If I had beheld their birth, I would have conviction.”

“Do you maintain that ordinary beings are reborn after they die?”