大乘入道次第 1.52

1.52

Question: In this stage of preparatory application, one can contemplate that both the imagined mind and objects are empty; why does one not realize tathatā at this very time? The answer: Although in this stage one contemplates the imagined mind and objects, one is still unable to eliminate the signs of emptiness and existence. Due to the presence of these signs, one cannot realize the principle. Only when both signs are eliminated can one penetrate the true principle. Thus the Cheng weishi lun says: "Because those two signs of emptiness and existence have not yet been eliminated, and because contemplating the mind accompanied by signs involves apprehension (upalambha), one does not truly abide in the principle of true representation-only. Only when those signs have been extinguished does one truly abide."