འཕགས་པ་ཀླའ་རྒྱལ་པ་མ་དྲས་པས་ཞས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 38

38

they think, ‘That which depends on causes also depends on conditions, and that which depends on conditions is unborn. That which is unborn is empty. That which is empty is beyond signs. That which is beyond signs is beyond wishes. That which is beyond wishes is peaceful. That which is peaceful is at peace. That which is at peace does not stir. That which does not stir is inert by nature. That which is inert by nature depends on conditions. That which depends on conditions is without self and without ‘mine.’ That which is without self is inexpressible in accordance with the absence of apprehending.

“Lord of nāgas, those bodhisattva great beings rely on four reliances. What are the four? They rely on meaning rather than words; they rely on wisdom rather than consciousness; they rely on the definitive meaning rather than the provisional meaning; and they rely on the true nature rather than individuals. These are the four reliances on which they rely.

“What is this ‘meaning’? What is this ‘wisdom’? What is this ‘definitive meaning’? What is this ‘true nature’? Meaning refers to emptiness, which does not elaborate views. The absence of signs is the meaning; it does not elaborate conceptual thinking. The absence of wishes is the meaning; it does not elaborate the three realms. This is what is referred to as meaning.

“Furthermore, lord of nāgas, ‘meaning’ is the absence of distinction between phenomena and non-phenomena. It means that phenomena, usually presented in terms of categories, cannot be expressed by words and sounds and are baseless and without individuality—beings and persons are merely conventional designations. This is what is referred to as meaning.

“Furthermore, meaning refers to concern for the Dharma but not for attainment.