一切經音義 26.519

26.519

Hare's horns and empty space (because a hare's horns fundamentally do not exist, they also do not exist now; because empty space is permanent, it fundamentally existed and exists now. Buddha-nature is not like this: it fundamentally existed and is now non-existent, or it was fundamentally non-existent and now exists; therefore it both exists and does not exist, which is the meaning of the Middle Way. The sūtra says: "When the afflictions, fetters, wholesome, and indeterminate [states] are exhausted, it is called Buddha-nature." That which fundamentally existed and is now non-existent is affliction; that which was fundamentally non-existent and now exists is bodhi. If one says that throughout the three times afflictions are entirely non-existent like empty space, and that throughout the three times bodhi is entirely non-existent like a hare's horns, this is called slandering the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. Therefore it is said: "That phenomena exist in the three times is impossible").