འཕགས་པ་དགངས་པ་ངས་པར་འགྲལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 26

26

[chapter] five.

Then the Bodhisattva Guṇākara asked the Bhagavān: "Bhagavān, when it is said, 'A bodhisattva is skilled in the characteristics of dharmas, a bodhisattva is skilled in the characteristics of dharmas,' Bhagavān, to what extent is a bodhisattva skilled in the characteristics of dharmas? And to what extent does the Tathāgata designate a bodhisattva as skilled in the characteristics of dharmas?"

When he had spoken, the Bhagavān said to the Bodhisattva Guṇākara: "Guṇākara, it is good, good, that you have thought to ask the Tathāgata this matter for the sake of the welfare of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of compassion for the world, and for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of the world with its devas and humans!

"Guṇākara, therefore listen, and I will explain to you skill in the characteristics of dharmas.

"Guṇākara, these are the three characteristics of dharmas. What are the three? The imagined characteristic, the dependent characteristic, and the thoroughly established characteristic.

"Guṇākara, what therein is the imagined characteristic of dharmas? It is the establishment of names and conventions regarding the intrinsic nature or particular attributes of dharmas to whatever extent they are designated for conventional discourse.

"Guṇākara, what is the dependent characteristic of dharmas? It is the dependent origination of dharmas, which is to say: 'Because this exists, that comes to be; due to the arising of this, that arises,' namely: 'conditioned by ignorance are the saṃskāras,' and so on down to 'thus arises this entire great mass of suffering.'