妙法蓮華經玄義 8.63

8.63

To clarify the meaning through an analogy: just as the beams and pillars frame a house, what is neither beam nor pillar is the empty space within the house. The pillars and beams are likened to cause and fruit; that which is neither beam nor pillar is likened to the true aspect. The true aspect is the substance, not the beams and pillars. If the house lacked empty space, it could accommodate nothing; if cause and fruit lacked the true aspect, nothing could be established. The *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* says: 'If it were not for this emptiness, nothing could be done.' Again, it is like the sun and moon ordering the sky, and dukes and ministers assisting the sovereign: the sun and moon can be two, but the great void of heaven cannot be two; ministers and generals can be many, but the sovereign cannot be many. For this reason, one must distinguish and bring forth the primary substance. Just as the three tracks form the vehicle—neither vertical nor horizontal, neither identical nor separate—for the convenience of revealing the meaning, one must separate out contemplation and illumination, etc., and point solely to the true nature under its proper name, making the primary intention clear. As it is with the three tracks, so it is with the other dharmas by analogy, and so forth.