般若波羅蜜多心經贊 1.23

1.23

此約四句正辨空性。於中有二，初、約色蘊以辨四句，後、類四蘊皆有四句，此約色蘊以辨四句。將釋四句，先辨空性者，如前分別，空有二種，一者、生空，二者、法空。所說生空有其四種，一者、所執我無，說之為空，諸法數中所不攝故，是故《瑜伽．菩薩地》曰，有為、無為名為有，無我、我所名為無。二者、生空所顯真如，空所詮故亦說為空。三者、苦諦所攝有漏別空，即用有漏五蘊為體故，《成唯識》第六卷曰，別空非我，屬苦諦故。四者、諸法所攝通空非我，即用諸法以為體性，故諸經說一切法無我。雖有四種，依三性理，攝以為三，一、所執性空，二、依他性空，三、圓成實空，如其次第三性為體。法空四種，雖無正文，以理推徵，應有四句。法空三種，準上應知，若廣分別，有十八空，如《十八空論》，依《大般若》，或說十六、十七、十八乃至二十，具如彼經。

This directly discerns emptiness by means of the four propositions. In this there are two: first, discerning the four propositions with respect to the aggregate of form; and second, analogizing that the other four aggregates each have four propositions. This discerns the four propositions with respect to the aggregate of form. Before explaining the four propositions, first discerning emptiness: as distinguished before, emptiness is of two kinds: first, the emptiness of the person; and second, the emptiness of dharmas. The emptiness of the person that has been spoken of has four kinds: first, the non-existence of the imagined self is called emptiness, because it is not included in the categories of dharmas; hence the *Bodhisattvabhūmi* in the *Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra* says that conditioned and unconditioned dharmas are called existent, while the absence of self and what belongs to self is called non-existent. Second, the tathatā revealed by the emptiness of the person is also called emptiness because it is what is expressed by emptiness. Third, the distinct emptiness of defilements subsumed under the truth of suffering takes the defiled five aggregates as its essence; hence the sixth fascicle of the *Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi* says that distinct emptiness and non-self belong to the truth of suffering. Fourth, the general emptiness and non-self subsumed by all dharmas takes all dharmas as its essential nature; hence the various sūtras say that all dharmas are without self. Although there are four kinds, based on the principle of the three natures, they are subsumed under three: first, the emptiness of the imagined nature; second, the emptiness of the dependent nature; and third, the emptiness of the perfected nature—these take the three natures as their essences, respectively. As for the four kinds of emptiness of dharmas, although there is no explicit canonical text, deduced by reason there should be four propositions. The three kinds of emptiness of dharmas should be known by analogy with the above. If distinguished at length, there are eighteen kinds of emptiness, as in the *Aṣṭādaśanirhāra-śāstra*; based on the *Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra*, they are sometimes spoken of as sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and up to twenty, fully as stated in that sūtra.