華嚴五十要問答 2.17

2.17

Fourth, explaining the shallow and the profound, and demonstrating the demarcations of contemplation in relation to [the knowledge of] reality as it is. A passage in the treatise states: "Having explained the meaning of self-nature, profound meaning serves as the cognitive sphere." Investigating in this sense, one comes to know that the two gates of name and referent are shallow and not profound, whereas self-nature and distinction are profound and not shallow. Regarding what is spoken of as contemplation of conceptual discrimination as it is, the commentary on the treatise explains: "What is called the true cognition induced by thorough investigation? If a bodhisattva, regarding a name, has already thoroughly investigated that there is only a name, and later knows in accordance with reality that there is only a name, this definitely knows that the name has nothing existent." Question: If a name definitely lacks an intrinsic substance, why establish names for all phenomena? Answer: In order to lead sentient beings gradually into the correct principle. Conceptualized seeing and verbal discourse rely on names to conceptualize referents, and [sages] having directly realized this, utter speech to teach others by conventionally establishing adventitious names; there are no real phenomena. Therefore the commentary on the treatise states: "If the world did not establish names such as form, among categories such as form not a single person could conceptualize that this category is form. If they could not conceptualize, they would not superimpose; if they did not superimpose, they would not give rise to attachment; if they did not give rise to attachment, they could not instruct one another." What is the true cognition induced by the thorough investigation of referents? If a bodhisattva, regarding a referent, has already thoroughly investigated that there is only a referent, and later knows in accordance with reality that the referent is separated from all verbal discourse and inexpressible—meaning that in categories such as form and sensation, form and non-form are inexpressible, dharma and non-dharma are inexpressible, existence and non-existence are inexpressible—this is called the true cognition induced by the thorough investigation of referents. What is the true cognition induced by the thorough investigation of self-nature? In verbal discourse on the self-nature of categories such as form, one has already thoroughly investigated that there is only verbal discourse. Due to verbal discourse on self-nature, this category is not its self-nature, yet it appears as its self-nature. The bodhisattva penetrates in accordance with reality that this category is like a phantom or an image; it is not the category, yet it appears as the category. This is called the true cognition induced by the thorough investigation of self-nature. What is the true cognition induced by the thorough investigation of distinction? If a bodhisattva, in verbal discourse on distinction, has already thoroughly investigated that there is only verbal discourse, and within categories such as form sees that verbal discourse on distinction lacks two referents: this category is not existent, because it can be spoken of and its substance is not established; it is not non-existent, because it is inexpressible and its substance is established. Thus it is not form, by virtue of ultimate truth; it is not non-form, by virtue of conventional truth, within which there is verbal discourse of form. Therefore, the bodhisattva knows in accordance with reality that verbal discourse on distinction lacks two referents. This is called the true cognition induced by the thorough investigation of distinction. In such contemplations, the bodhisattva thoroughly investigates this conventional establishment of self-nature and distinction regarding names and referents; thus overcoming doubt, resolving dilemmas, and so forth, this is called thorough investigation. Induced by this thorough investigation, one contemplates that names, referents, and so forth are definitely non-existent, which is called true cognition. This is the difference between the two meanings of thorough investigation and true cognition.