大般涅槃經集解 53.52

53.52

Sengliang states: As for '[it is] neither earth, water, fire, nor wind, yet not separate from earth, water, fire, and wind,' the five sense faculties are provisional matter. Thus, while the faculty is one, the great elements are four. Therefore, the supreme-meaning emptiness is not separate from the four [elements], and [the sūtra] speaks of conventional-truth emptiness. Because conventional truth is empty, there is no grasping of the one and four as [substantial], which is emptiness. 'Neither blue nor yellow' also refutes substantial matter in the same way. 'Neither existent nor non-existent' is fully endowed with the emptiness of the threefold Middle Way. Because of continuous similarity, it resembles permanence; ordinary beings do not understand, and speak of existence and permanence. Baoliang states: Proceeding with the Buddha's reply below, he first dispels the second objection. He says: 'The nature of all phenomena is fundamentally empty of itself.' If the myriad existents could be non-empty, existence would ultimately have nothing to exist—how could it possibly be found to exist? Since it cannot be found, we know that from the very beginning it is not different from emptiness; it is merely existent for the diseased, and constantly non-existent for the awakened. Therefore, as our school cites, like flowers in the sky, for one without disease they have never existed. Although they are existent for the diseased and non-existent for the non-diseased, the one without disease is also not unaware of the diseased person's delusional perception. Thus, when the sage examines it, the two knowledges are never deficient. For this reason, it is said in the 'Pure Conduct' [Chapter]: 'All conventional truths are entirely supreme-meaning truth for the Tathāgata.' From 'the nature of matter cannot be found' onwards, it is further explained in terms of phenomena. First, refuting provisional nominal matter as not being the four great elements clarifies that earth, water, fire, and wind are fundamentally empty in their nature, without intrinsic substantiality. This clarifies the ultimate truth. 'Not separate from earth, water, fire, and wind' means not separate from the function of the four great elements; this is falsely constructed through causes and conditions, possessing only name and function, which clarifies conventional truth. 'Neither blue, yellow, red, nor white' next refutes real-entity matter, clarifying that colors such as blue and yellow fundamentally do not exist; this is the ultimate truth. 'Not separate from blue, yellow, and so forth' is likewise falsely constructed through causes and conditions and delusively existent, having only name and function; this clarifies conventional truth. Existence ultimately does not exist, nor is there any existence that can exist; non-existence ultimately does not non-exist, nor is there any non-existence that can be non-existent. Since the characteristics of phenomena are like this, how could they not be empty? It is precisely because the bodhisattva is fully endowed with the above five things and sees the myriad phenomena as empty that there is no longer anger or joy.