宗鏡錄 59.29

59.29

Answer: This characteristic arises relying on causes and conditions; it is merely an illusory existent phenomenon of the other-dependent nature, not a self. Because that [mind] falsely grasps it as a self, it is called false grasping. Here there is a twofold characteristic: in terms of this characteristic arising from causes and conditions and possessing the capacity to produce mind, this is indeed existent, and is called a phenomenon of the other-dependent nature. In terms of this not matching the sense of the grasped phenomenon, it is called the imagined grasping, and is thus called non-existent. It is like someone in the dark grasping a stone as an ox: the substance of the stone is not non-existent. The objective condition (*ālambanapratyaya*) of the view of self exists as an other-dependent characteristic; just as the stone is fundamentally not an ox, but the deluded mind grasps it as an ox—this grasped ox is completely devoid of substance. Just so, the nimittabhāga is fundamentally not a self, but the deluded mind grasps it as a self—this grasped [self] is completely devoid of substance. There is only the grasping mind, but no grasped self. That is to say, at this stone there is the stone as object, but no ox as grasped; upon this nimittabhāga, there is a phenomenon as object, but no self as grasped.

Another analogy says: It is like a person from the south who does not recognize camel's hair; having once heard tortoise hair spoken of elsewhere, when suddenly seeing camel's hair later, because of not recognizing it, falsely takes the camel's hair to be tortoise hair. Because this camel's hair that is seen exists, it is like the phenomenon of the other-dependent nature. That there is no tortoise hair on the camel's hair, and yet the deluded mind takes it to be tortoise hair, is like the grasped real self and phenomena.

The treatise says: "Some say: all [citta] and caitta phenomena, by the power of perfuming, transform into the two parts; because they are produced from conditions, they are called other-dependent. The imagined nature relies on these to falsely grasp determinate reality, existence, non-existence, identity, difference, both, neither, and so forth. These two are called the imagined nature."