維摩義記 1.71

1.71

Question: The principle of non-self applies universally to all dharmas; why is it classified exclusively as saṃsāra? This meaning is not fixed, and proceeds through four approaches: First, distinguishing according to emotional delusion: saṃsāra has a self, while nirvāṇa has no self. Because of attachment to a self, one takes birth in the world; therefore, the self is located exclusively in saṃsāra. Being free from a self, one is not reborn; for this reason, nirvāṇa is definitively non-self. Second, distinguishing in mutual contrast based on the characteristics of dharmas: saṃsāra is non-self, while nirvāṇa has a self. The essence of the dharmas of saṃsāra lacks substantial reality of nature, and its function is unfree; thus it is spoken of as non-self. Nirvāṇa is real in nature, so it is spoken of as having a self. Third, according to substantial reality of nature and provisional functioning: both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa have a self. What does this mean? In saṃsāric dharmas, there are two kinds of self: first, the self of substantial nature, namely the buddha-nature. Hence the sūtra asks: "In the twenty-five realms of existence, is there a self or not?" The Buddha answered: "The self is the tathāgatagarbha, and the garbha is the buddha-nature. All sentient beings possess the buddha-nature, which is the meaning of the self." Second, the self of provisional functioning: the five skandhas unite and assemble to form the self and person. Hence the sūtra says: "The buddha-nature of sentient beings is not identical to the six dharmas, nor is it separate from the six dharmas." The six dharmas refer to the five skandhas and the self; this self is the self of provisional functioning. Saṃsāra has this, and nirvāṇa is likewise. The Tathāgata's dharmakāya is this self of nature, as the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: "If a dharma is permanent, true, real, sovereign, and a refuge, it is called the self; this is the self of substantial nature." Saying that the five skandhas of the Buddhas assemble into a provisional person is the self of provisional functioning. This is the third. Fourth, according to the empty principle of refuting characteristics through dependent origination: both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are without self, as explained in the sūtra. Now, based on the second approach, non-self is classified as belonging to saṃsāra. Thus the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: "The dharmas of saṃsāra are impermanence, suffering, non-self, and impurity; the dharma of nirvāṇa is permanence, bliss, self, and purity."