般若心經略疏連珠記 1.8

1.8

From "although the true..." down, second is using the three truths to reveal the profound. The commentary below states: "To cause them to awaken to the middle way of the two truths and generate right view." Emptiness and the provisional are both the middle; form and emptiness have no fixed locus; only this constitutes the true emptiness of paramārtha-satya, which this sūtra takes as its core doctrine. In this there are two parts: first, the preservation and eradication of the two truths. The text has two clauses: the first clause means that through their contradictory aspect, they are mutually eradicated; the second clause means that through their mutually producing and non-obstructing aspect, they are mutually preserved. Zhenguo says: "When form and emptiness are viewed in relation to each other, there are three meanings in total: first, the meaning of contradiction; second, the meaning of non-obstruction; third, the meaning of mutual production." He concludes: "Only when these three are unhindered is it called true emptiness, and it is also termed the meaning of wondrous existence." The Subcommentary says: "The reason why the ultimate and conventional are mutually eradicated is that the ultimate is the principle of true emptiness, constituting the ultimate truth; the conventional refers to form and all other dharmas, constituting the conventional truth." It also says: "Merely in terms of the myriad distinctions of dependent origination, it is conventional; in terms of the single taste of lacking intrinsic nature, it is ultimate. 'Mutually eradicated' means that because the two truths are not one, through the meaning of contradiction, the conventional harms the ultimate, so the ultimate is eradicated; the ultimate contradicts the conventional, so the conventional perishes. When they mutually negate and both perish, this is called mutual eradication." It also says: "Because these dependently originated dharmas are empty of intrinsic nature, they cause that illusory existence to be ungraspable as existence; therefore, all is solely true emptiness." The sūtra says: "All dharmas are ultimately empty, without the slightest mark of a tip of hair." It also says: "All dharmas are empty, like the burning at the end of an eon," and so forth. The Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra says: "Because form and the rest are empty, within emptiness there is no form." Relying on that approach wherein illusory existence is non-existence, and relying on that approach wherein true emptiness is not non-empty, it is taught that true emptiness perpetually negates illusory existence; hence it causes conventional marks to be perpetually extinguished, constituting the ultimate truth. Furthermore, because these dependently originated dharmas have the mark of illusory existence, they cause that true emptiness also to become non-empty, being solely the distinctions of dependently originated illusory existence. Therefore the Laṅkāvatāra says: "It is not that after destruction they arise again; they arise through continuous causes and conditions." In texts such as the Mahāyānasaṃgraha and Yogācārabhūmi, it is clarified that paratantra dharmas are never non-existent. These are all based on the approach wherein true emptiness is non-empty, and on the approach wherein illusory existence is not non-existent, teaching that conditioned existence is perpetually non-empty; only then does it constitute conventional truth. Only when the two truths thus extremely define and negate each other do they establish their proper positions. The Yingluo [sūtra] says: "Because the conventional truth exists, it is not empty; because the ultimate truth is empty, it does not exist." Therefore they are mutually eradicated. As for "the two truths are constantly preserved": the Zongzhi says: "Because if they were not dependently produced, they would not lack intrinsic nature; conditioned existence demonstrates that things do not exist of themselves. That which does not exist of itself lacks intrinsic nature; furthermore, that which lacks intrinsic nature demonstrates that things do not exist of themselves, and that which does not exist of itself is conditioned existence." The sūtra below says: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form." The treatise says: "The obstacle of wisdom is utterly blind and dark, meaning the separate attachment to the ultimate and the conventional. Nor may one, because of emptiness of intrinsic nature, deny dependent production, for without dependent production, emptiness cannot be established." The treatise says: "Conditioned dharmas are empty because they are produced from conditions. Furthermore, this is true emptiness, not nihilistic emptiness. If one had to wait for the destruction of dependent production before it became empty, that would be the evil nihilistic emptiness of emotional views." Therefore, when the ultimate negates the conventional, the conventional is extinguished yet the conventional is constantly preserved. Furthermore, one also cannot allow conditioned existence to contradict and harm true emptiness, for if it were not empty, it would not be conditioned existence, since if it existed of itself it would not be produced from conditions. Therefore, when the conventional harms the ultimate, the ultimate is eradicated yet the ultimate is constantly preserved. Furthermore, only emptiness that is not different from existence is true emptiness, and only existence that is not different from emptiness is illusory existence. Therefore these two are non-dual, with preservation and eradication occurring simultaneously.