維摩經疏卷第三．第六 3.17

3.17

自下五句明識空中。前二破相。後三即實。前兩句中初句約塵以明識空。後句正就識體明空。初句中法無動搖者。正明理無。六識之心往來取塵名為動搖。真法常住不同於彼名不動搖。不依六塵者。類以顯無。不同六識依六塵生故無動搖。或可。妄識取境為塵吹心名為動搖。真心離念雖緣萬品緣無所緣故無動搖也。法無去來者。正明理無。六識之心三世流轉名為去來。去是過去。來是未來。真法離此故無去來。常不住者。釋以顯無。現在名住。若便真法曾住現在故可對之說去說來。法無現住。知復望何說來說去。此二遣相下三即實。法順空者順空門也。隨無相無相門也。應無作無作門也。依中邊論。空有三種。一無體空。即分別性一向無體。二不如空。即依他性緣生不實不同分別一向無也。三自性空。即真實性即上二性無相無生為自性空。無相亦三。一無人相。二無法相。三無執空分別之相。無願亦三。三相空故故無三願。同一無性故名順空。即隨即應綺互言爾。類通萬法悉入三空。

From here on, the five phrases explain the emptiness of consciousness. The first two refute characteristics; the latter three identify with the real. Among the first two phrases, the first explains the emptiness of consciousness with reference to sense objects; the latter phrase directly explains emptiness with reference to the substance of consciousness. In the first phrase, 'the Dharma has no shaking': this directly clarifies that the principle is absent. The mind of the six consciousnesses goes back and forth grasping objects, which is called shaking. The true Dharma is eternal and unlike that; thus it is called unshakeable. 'Not relying on the six sense objects': this illustrates nonexistence by analogy. Unlike the six consciousnesses that arise in reliance on the six sense objects, it has no shaking. Alternatively: the deluded consciousness grasps objective spheres as sense objects, which blows upon the mind and is called shaking; the true mind is free from thought, and although it takes the myriad categories as objects, in objective conditioning there is nothing conditioned; therefore, it has no shaking. 'The Dharma has no going or coming': this directly clarifies that the principle is absent. The mind of the six consciousnesses transmigrates through the three times, which is called going and coming. 'Going' is the past; 'coming' is the future. The true Dharma is free from these; hence it has no going or coming. 'Constantly abiding nowhere': this explains by revealing nonexistence. The present is called abiding. If the true Dharma had ever abided in the present, then relative to that one could speak of going and coming; but the Dharma has no present abiding, so in relation to what could one speak of coming and going? These two dispel characteristics. The three below identify with the real. 'The Dharma accords with emptiness' means according with the gate of emptiness; 'follows the signless' means the gate of signlessness; 'responds to the wishless' means the gate of wishlessness. According to the Madhyāntavibhāga-śāstra, emptiness has three kinds: first, the emptiness of non-substance, which is the imputed nature completely lacking substance; second, the emptiness of not-such, which is the dependent nature being conditionally arisen and unreal, not being entirely nonexistent like the imputed nature; third, the emptiness of intrinsic nature, which is the consummate nature, namely that the above two natures are signless and unarisen, constituting the emptiness of intrinsic nature. Signlessness is also threefold: first, having no sign of a person; second, having no sign of dharmas; third, having no sign of the discrimination that grasps emptiness. Wishlessness is also threefold: because the three signs are empty, there are no three wishes. Being identical in one naturelessness is called according with emptiness. 'Following' and 'responding' are merely alternating expressions. By analogy, this applies universally to the myriad dharmas, all entering the three emptinesses.