Why the Buddha Teaches Great Wisdom

The Buddha comes forth from the great path of the Perfection of Wisdom. The Buddha has fully sounded the great ocean of this wisdom. In the characteristics and meaning of this wisdom, the Buddha is unobstructed. I bow to the unequaled Buddha of the Perfection of Wisdom.

The two views of existence and nonexistence are completely ended. The Buddha teaches the true character of all dharmas: abiding, unbroken, and able to purify afflictions. I bow to the Dharma honored by the Buddha.

The noble Sangha is like a great ocean, practicing as a field of merit. It is adorned by those still in training and those beyond training. The seed of craving for future existence has been forever exhausted; the sense of “mine” has ceased, and its root has been removed.

They have left behind the affairs of the world and become a dwelling place for many virtues. Foremost among all assemblies, this Sangha is true, pure, and greatly virtuous. I bow to it.

Having single-mindedly honored the Three Jewels, and also Maitreya and the other saviors of the world, Śāriputra, foremost in wisdom, and Subhūti, who practices emptiness without conflict, I now wish, according to my ability, to explain the true meaning of the far shore of Great Wisdom. May all noble and wise ones listen with one mind, receptive and well-disposed.

Question: For what causes and conditions did the Buddha teach the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra?

The Dharma of all Buddhas is not spoken without purpose, nor is it spoken for some small cause or condition. It is like Mount Sumeru, king of mountains: it does not move without purpose or for some small cause. What great causes and conditions, then, led the Buddha to teach the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra?

Answer: In the Three Baskets, the Buddha used many kinds of examples and taught the Dharma for the śrāvakas, but he did not teach the bodhisattva path.

Only in the Beginning and End Sutra of the Middle Āgama did the Buddha give a prediction to the bodhisattva Maitreya, saying, “In a future age, you will become a Buddha, and your name will be Maitreya.” Even there, however, he did not explain the many practices of the bodhisattvas.

Now the Buddha wishes to explain the bodhisattva practices broadly for Maitreya and the others. For this reason, he teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, there are bodhisattvas who cultivate Buddha-recollection samādhi. In order to help them increase and deepen this samādhi, the Buddha teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

As the first chapter of the Prajñāpāramitā says, the Buddha displays spiritual power, releases golden light, and illuminates worlds in the ten directions as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. He manifests a great body of pure radiance, filled with many wondrous colors, filling empty space. In the midst of the assembly, the Buddha is upright, beautiful, and beyond compare, like Mount Sumeru, king of mountains, standing in the great ocean.

When the bodhisattvas see this transformation of the Buddha, their Buddha-recollection samādhi increases even more. For this reason, the Buddha teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, when the Bodhisattva was first born, he emitted great light that filled the ten directions. He walked seven steps, looked around in the four directions, and uttered a lion's roar in verse:

“My share in the womb is finished. This is my final body. I have already attained liberation, and I will also liberate beings.”

After making this vow, he gradually grew up. Wanting to leave his relatives and go forth to cultivate the unsurpassed path, he rose in the middle of the night and saw the entertainers, queens, and palace women as if they were foul corpses. He ordered Chandaka to saddle his white horse. At midnight he crossed the city wall, traveled twelve yojanas, and reached the forest where the sage Bhārgava lived. There he cut off his hair with a knife and exchanged his fine jeweled garments for a coarse saṅghāṭī robe.

Beside the Nairañjanā River, he practiced austerities for six years, eating only one sesame seed or one grain of rice each day. Then he reflected, “This is not the path.” Giving up the place of austerity, the Bodhisattva went to the bodhi tree and sat on the vajra seat. Māra, king of demons, brought eighteen koṭis of followers to disturb him. By the power of wisdom and merit, the Bodhisattva subdued Māra's army and attained unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening.

At that time Brahmā, lord of the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system, named Śikhin, together with the gods of the form realm, Śakra Devānām Indra, the gods of the desire realm, and the Four Heavenly Kings, all came to the Buddha and requested the Blessed One to first turn the wheel of Dharma. Remembering his original vow, and moved by great loving-kindness and great compassion, the Bodhisattva accepted their request and taught the Dharma.

Among the dharmas that are extremely profound, the perfection of wisdom is foremost. For this reason, the Buddha teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, some people doubt that the Buddha has attained all-knowledge. Why? They think, “Dharmas are immeasurable and countless. How could one person know all dharmas?”

The Buddha abides in the true character of the perfection of wisdom, pure like empty space. Among immeasurable and countless dharmas, he sincerely declares, “I am a person of all-knowledge.” Wishing to cut off the doubts of all beings, he teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, there are beings who are ready to be liberated, but because the Buddha's great merit and wisdom are immeasurable, hard to know, and hard to understand, they are misled by bad teachers. Their minds sink into wrong teachings and do not enter the right path.

For such people, the Buddha gives rise to great loving-kindness. With the hand of great compassion, he takes hold of them and leads them into the Buddha path. Therefore he manifests the most wondrous virtues and displays great spiritual power.

As the first chapter of the Prajñāpāramitā says, the Buddha enters the samādhi called King of Samādhis. Emerging from that samādhi, he observes the worlds of the ten directions with his divine eye. From all the pores of his body he smiles. From the thousand-spoked wheel marks on the soles of his feet, he releases six hundred thousand ten-thousands of koṭis of rays of many colors. From his toes up to the crown of his head, every place releases rays of many colors, illuminating immeasurable and countless buddha-worlds in the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.

Emerging from samādhi, the Buddha wishes to reveal the true character of all dharmas and cut through the knots of doubt in all beings. For this reason, he teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, there are crooked and harmful people who, out of jealousy, slander the Buddha, saying, “The Buddha's wisdom does not surpass ordinary human wisdom. He merely uses magical arts to deceive the world.”

To cut off their arrogance and wrong pride, the Buddha displays immeasurable spiritual power and immeasurable wisdom. In the Prajñāpāramitā he says, “My spiritual virtue is immeasurable. I am specially honored in the three realms and protect all beings. If someone gives rise to even one evil thought toward this, that person gains immeasurable fault. If someone gives rise to even one pure faith, that person receives the happiness of humans and devas and will certainly attain the fruit of nirvāṇa.”

Furthermore, in order to lead people to trust and accept the Dharma, the Buddha says, “I am the Great Teacher. I possess the ten powers and the four fearlessnesses. I abide in the dwelling place of the noble ones. My mind is free and sovereign. I utter the lion's roar and turn the wondrous wheel of Dharma. In all worlds, I am most honored and supreme.”

Furthermore, the Blessed Buddha teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra in order to bring beings joy. He says, “You should give rise to great joy. Why? All beings have entered the net of wrong views and are confused by bad teachers of other paths. I have escaped from all the wrong nets of bad teachers. The Great Teacher who possesses the ten powers is hard to encounter. Now you have met him. At the proper time, I open up the treasury of profound dharmas, such as the thirty-seven factors of awakening, so that you may gather from it as you wish.”

Furthermore, all beings are troubled by the sickness of the fetters. Since beginningless birth and death, no one has been able to cure this sickness, and they have constantly been misled by bad teachers of other paths. “Now I appear in the world as the great king of physicians. I have gathered the medicines of the Dharma. You should take them.” For this reason, the Buddha teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, some people think, “The Buddha is the same as ordinary people. He too has birth and death and truly experiences the sufferings of hunger, thirst, cold, heat, aging, and sickness.” The Buddha wishes to cut off this thought, and so he teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra, showing them: “My body is inconceivable.”

Even if Brahmā kings and the ancestor-gods of the devas tried, for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, to measure my body and investigate my voice, they could not fathom them. How much less could they fathom my wisdom and samādhi?

As the verse says: “In the true character of all dharmas, the Brahmā kings and all rulers of heaven and earth are confused and cannot understand. This Dharma is extremely deep and wondrous. No one can measure it. When the Buddha appears, he opens and explains it all, and its brightness shines like the sun.”

When the Buddha first turned the wheel of Dharma, a bodhisattva named Ying-shi came from another direction to measure the Buddha's body. He went upward through empty space, passing immeasurable buddha-lands, until he reached the world of Flower-Superior Buddha. There he saw that the Buddha's body was still the same. The bodhisattva said in verse, “Empty space has no boundary, and the Buddha's virtues are the same. If one tries to measure his body, one labors in vain and can never reach the end.”

Just as the Buddha's body is immeasurable, his light and voice are also immeasurable. The virtues of the Buddhas, such as discipline, samādhi, and wisdom, are all immeasurable.

Furthermore, when the Buddha was first born, he fell to the ground, walked seven steps, and spoke by himself. After speaking, he became silent. Like other infants, he did not walk or speak. He was nursed and fed for three years by his mothers and was gradually raised. Yet the Buddha's body is countless and surpasses all worlds. For the sake of beings, he manifests as an ordinary human.

Ordinary people, when born, have not yet developed the body, the faculties, or consciousness. They do not yet understand the four postures of sitting, lying down, walking, and standing, nor speech, silence, and the many human ways. As days, months, and years pass, they gradually learn and become complete in human conduct. How then could the Buddha speak and walk at birth, but afterward no longer be able to do so? People might find this strange.

For this reason alone, by the power of skillful means, the Buddha manifests human conduct and ordinary human dignity, so that beings may have faith in the profound Dharma. If the Bodhisattva, at birth, could immediately walk and speak, people in the world would think, “This person is unlike anyone ever seen in the world. He must be a deva, nāga, spirit, or god. The Dharma he studies must be beyond our reach. We are fleshly bodies in birth and death, pulled along by fetters and karma, without freedom. Who could reach such profound Dharma?” In this way they would cut themselves off and would not become vessels for the Dharma of sages.

For the sake of such people, he was born in Lumbinī Garden. Although he could have gone directly to the bodhi tree and become a Buddha, by the power of skillful means he manifested as a child, a youth, and an adult. In each stage he experienced play, arts, skills, clothing, conveyances, the five desires, and the full range of human life. Later, gradually seeing the sufferings of aging, sickness, and death, he gave rise to disenchantment. At midnight he crossed the city wall and went forth. He went to the sage Udraka Rāmaputra and appeared as a disciple, though he did not practice that teacher's Dharma.

Although he constantly used spiritual powers and remembered past lives, including how he upheld discipline and practiced the path in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, he now manifested six years of austerity in search of the path. Although the Bodhisattva is lord of the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system, he manifested the defeat of Māra's army and the attainment of the unsurpassed path. In accord with worldly Dharma, he displayed all these transformations.

Now, in the Prajñāpāramitā, he manifests great spiritual power and the power of wisdom so that people will know: the Buddha's body is countless and surpasses all worlds.

Furthermore, among those who can be liberated, some fall into two extremes. Some, because of ignorance, seek only bodily pleasure. Others, taking that as the path, cling to the practice of painful austerities. Such people lose the right path of nirvāṇa within ultimate meaning. The Buddha wishes to pull them out of these two extremes and lead them into the middle way. Therefore he teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, he teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra in order to explain the karmic results of making offerings to the birth-body and the Dharma-body, as described in the chapter on the reliquary stūpa.

Furthermore, he teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra because he wishes to explain non-retrogression and the marks of non-retrogression.

He also teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra to address the illusions and activities of Māra.

Furthermore, he teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra so that people in future generations may create causes and conditions by honoring the perfection of wisdom, and so that he may bestow predictions upon the three vehicles.

As the Buddha told Ānanda: “After my nirvāṇa, this perfection of wisdom will go to the south. From the south it will go to the west. In the latter five-hundred-year period, it will go to the north. There, many faithful good men and good women will honor it with many kinds of flowers, incense, necklaces, banners, music, lamps, jewels, and material gifts. Some will copy it themselves, teach others to copy it, read and recite it, listen to it being explained, remember it correctly, and practice it. In this way they make offerings through the Dharma. Because of these causes and conditions, they will receive many kinds of worldly happiness, and in the end they will attain one of the three vehicles and enter nirvāṇa without remainder.”

For such causes and conditions, as seen throughout the chapters, the Buddha teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, the Buddha teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra because he wishes to explain the mark of the siddhānta of ultimate meaning. There are four kinds of siddhānta: first, the worldly siddhānta; second, the siddhānta taught for each individual person; third, the siddhānta of counteractive treatment; and fourth, the siddhānta of ultimate meaning.

Within these four siddhāntas, all the twelve divisions of scripture and the eighty-four thousand Dharma treasuries are true and do not contradict one another. In the Buddha Dharma, some things are true by worldly siddhānta; some are true by the siddhānta taught for individual persons; some are true by the siddhānta of counteractive treatment; and some are true by the siddhānta of ultimate meaning.

What is the worldly siddhānta? A thing exists because causes and conditions come together. It has no separate nature of its own. For example, a cart exists because the pole, axle, spokes, rim, and other parts come together. Apart from these, there is no separate cart. A person is the same: because the five aggregates come together, there is a person. Apart from the five aggregates, there is no separate person.

If there were no worldly siddhānta, then since the Buddha is a speaker of truth, how could he say, “With my pure divine eye, I see beings die here and be born there according to their good and bad karma, receiving their results. Those with good karma are born among devas and humans; those with bad karma fall into the three bad destinations”?

The sutras also say, “When one person appears in the world, many people receive celebration, blessing, happiness, and benefit. This is the Blessed Buddha.” The Dhammapada says, “One's own self can save oneself. How can another save one? When one practices good with wise understanding, this is the best way to save oneself.” Other sutras say, “Ordinary people who do not hear the Dharma cling to self,” and “From the night the Buddha first attained the path until the night of his parinirvāṇa, all the scriptures he taught between those two nights are true and not inverted.”

If there were truly no person at all, how could the Buddha say, “With my divine eye I see beings”? Therefore, when we say there is a person, this is by worldly siddhānta. It is not by the siddhānta of ultimate meaning.

Someone asks: “The first siddhānta, ultimate meaning, is what is truly real. Because it is real, it is called first. The others should not be called real.” The answer is: Not so. Each of the four siddhāntas has its own reality. Suchness, Dharma-nature, and the real limit are nonexistent by worldly siddhānta, but existent by ultimate siddhānta. Persons and other such things are the same: they exist by worldly siddhānta, but do not exist by ultimate siddhānta.

Why? Because a person exists through the causes and conditions of the five aggregates. It is like milk: because the causes and conditions of color, smell, taste, and touch exist, there is milk. If milk truly did not exist, the causes and conditions of milk should also not exist. But since the causes and conditions of milk truly exist, milk too should exist. It is not like a second head or third hand on one person, which is only a false name with no causes and conditions. Such marks are called worldly siddhānta.

What is the siddhānta taught for each individual person? The Buddha observes a person's mental tendencies and then teaches the Dharma accordingly. In regard to one matter, he may permit it for one person and not permit it for another.

For example, one sutra says, “Because of mixed-result karma, beings are born into the mixed world and receive mixed contacts and mixed feelings.” Yet the Phagguna Sutra says, “There is no person who obtains contact, and no person who obtains feeling.”

Question: How can these two sutras be reconciled? Answer: Some people doubt future lives, do not believe in fault and merit, commit unwholesome actions, and fall into the view of annihilation. To cut off their doubt, make them abandon bad conduct, and pull out their annihilationist view, the Buddha says that beings are born into the mixed world and receive mixed contacts and mixed feelings.

Phagguna, however, held the view that there is a self, a spirit, and he fell into eternalism. Phagguna asked the Buddha, “Great Virtuous One, who receives feeling?” If the Buddha had said, “So-and-so receives it,” Phagguna would have fallen further into eternalism, and his view of self and person would have become even more solid and immovable. Therefore the Buddha did not say that there is a receiver of feeling or a receiver of contact. Such marks are called the siddhānta taught for each individual person.

What is counteractive siddhānta? A Dharma may exist as a remedy, while by real nature it does not exist. For example, heavy, hot, oily, sour, and salty medicines, herbs, foods, and drinks are called medicine for wind illness, but not for other illnesses. Light, cool, sweet, bitter, and astringent medicines, herbs, foods, and drinks are called medicine for heat illness, but not for other illnesses. Light, pungent, bitter, astringent, and hot medicines, herbs, foods, and drinks are called medicine for cold illness, but not for other illnesses.

The treatment of mental illness in the Buddha Dharma is the same. Reflection on impurity is a good counteractive Dharma for the illness of lust, but it is not good for the illness of anger. Why? Reflection on impurity observes the faults of the body. If an angry person observes faults, this increases the fire of anger.

Reflection on loving-kindness is a good counteractive Dharma for the illness of anger, but it is not good for the illness of lust. Why? Loving-kindness seeks what is good in beings and observes their virtues. If a lustful person seeks what is good and observes virtues, this increases lust.

Contemplation of causes and conditions is a good counteractive Dharma for the illness of delusion, but it is not good for the illnesses of lust and anger. Why? Because wrong views first arise from wrong contemplation, and wrong view is delusion.

Someone asks: “The Buddha Dharma says the twelve links of dependent arising are extremely profound. The Buddha told Ānanda, ‘This Dharma of causes and conditions is extremely profound, hard to see, hard to understand, hard to awaken to, and hard to contemplate. Only people with subtle minds and skillful wisdom can understand it.’ Deluded people have difficulty understanding even shallow and nearby dharmas. How much more difficult is profound dependent arising? How can you now say that deluded people should contemplate causes and conditions?”

The answer is: Deluded people here does not mean deluded like cattle or sheep. It refers to people who seek the true path but, because they contemplate with a wrong mind, give rise to many wrong views. For such deluded people, contemplation of causes and conditions is a good counteractive Dharma.

For people ruled by anger or lust, who seek pleasure or wish to trouble others, this is not a good counteractive Dharma. For those two kinds of people, reflection on impurity and loving-kindness are good counteractive Dharmas, because these two contemplations pull out the poisonous thorns of anger and lust.

Furthermore, beings who are attached to the inverted view of permanence do not understand that dharmas exist in a similar and continuous succession. For such people, contemplation of impermanence is counteractive siddhānta, but not ultimate meaning. Why? Because the nature of all dharmas is empty.

As the verse says: “Seeing permanence in what is impermanent is called inversion. In emptiness, there is no impermanence. Where then could permanence be seen?”

Someone asks: “All conditioned dharmas are connected with the mark of impermanence. This is ultimate meaning. Why do you say impermanence is not real? All conditioned dharmas have the marks of arising, abiding, and ceasing: first arising, next abiding, and later ceasing. How can you say impermanence is not real?”

The answer is: Conditioned dharmas should not have three marks. Why? Because the three marks are not real. If arising, abiding, and ceasing are the marks of conditioned dharmas, then arising itself should also have these three marks, since arising is a conditioned mark. Each and every place would likewise have three marks, and this would lead to infinite regress. The same is true of abiding and ceasing. If each arising, abiding, and ceasing does not itself have arising, abiding, and ceasing, then they should not be called conditioned dharmas. Why? Because the marks of conditioned dharmas would be absent.

Therefore, the impermanence of dharmas is not ultimate meaning. Furthermore, if all real natures were impermanent, then there would be no karmic action and result. Why? Impermanence means loss through arising and ceasing. It is like a rotten seed that cannot produce fruit. If this were so, there would be no action. Without action, how could there be result? Yet all dharmas of sages have results, and wise people can trust and accept this. It should not be denied.

Therefore, dharmas do not have impermanence as their real nature. For countless reasons such as these, one cannot say that dharmas have impermanence as their nature. What is said about all conditioned dharmas being impermanent is also true of suffering, no-self, and so on. Such marks are called counteractive siddhānta.

What is the siddhānta of ultimate meaning? The nature of all dharmas, all debates and language, all claims that something is Dharma or not Dharma, can each be analyzed, broken apart, and dispersed. But the true Dharma practiced by the Buddhas, pratyekabuddhas, and arhats cannot be broken apart and cannot be dispersed. Whatever could not be reconciled in the previous three siddhāntas is reconciled here.

Question: What does “reconciled” mean? Answer: It means being free from every fault, unable to be changed, and unable to be overcome. Why? Apart from the siddhānta of ultimate meaning, all other debates and all other siddhāntas can be broken apart.

As the Sutra of Many Meanings says in verse: “Each relying on one's own view, conceptual elaboration gives rise to dispute. If one can know that this is not so, this is to know right view. Refusing to accept another's Dharma is called being deluded. One who argues in this way is truly a deluded person. If one relies on one's own view as right and gives rise to conceptual elaborations, if this were pure wisdom, then there would be nothing that is not pure wisdom.”

In these three verses, the Buddha teaches the mark of the siddhānta of ultimate meaning. Beings in the world rely on their own views, their own dharmas, and their own arguments, and from these arise disputes. Conceptual elaboration is the root of dispute, and conceptual elaboration arises depending on views.

As another verse says: “Because there is grasping of dharmas, there are arguments. If there were no grasping, what would there be to argue about? The views of grasping and non-grasping, and all such views, have been removed in this person.”

If practitioners can know this as it really is, then with regard to all dharmas and all conceptual elaborations, they do not receive them, do not cling to them, do not see them as real, and do not enter into dispute. They are able to know the sweet nectar taste of the Buddha Dharma. If they do not know this, they slander the Dharma.

If someone refuses another's Dharma, does not know it, and does not accept it, that person lacks wisdom. If so, then all people engaged in debate would lack wisdom. Why? Because each refuses to accept the Dharma of the others. Some people claim that their own Dharma is the pure ultimate meaning, while others speak falsely and impurely. But in worldly laws, those who administer punishment, execution, and many impure acts are trusted and followed by people of the world as genuinely pure. Among renunciants and good noble people, however, such things are most impure.

Among non-Buddhist renunciants, some stand on one foot amid five fires, pull out their hair, and practice other austerities. The Nirgrantha followers consider these to be wondrous wisdom, while others call them deluded practices. In this way, many kinds of non-Buddhist renunciants, householders, and brahmins each consider their own practices good and all others false.

Even within the Buddha Dharma there are Vātsīputrīya monks who say, “Just as the eye-dharma exists from the combination of the four great elements, so too the person-dharma exists from the combination of the five aggregates.” In the Vātsīputrīya Abhidharma it is said, “The five aggregates are not separate from the person, and the person is not separate from the five aggregates. It cannot be said that the five aggregates are the person, nor that the person is apart from the five aggregates. The person is included in the fifth, inexpressible Dharma treasury.”

Those who follow the path that says all exists say, “A spirit-person cannot be found in any mode, at any time, or in any Dharma-door. It is like rabbit horns or turtle hair, always nonexistent. Moreover, the eighteen elements, twelve sense bases, and five aggregates truly exist, but there is no person within them.” Others within the Buddha Dharma, followers of the Vaipulya path, say, “All dharmas are unborn and unceasing, empty, and without anything at all, like rabbit horns or turtle hair, always nonexistent.”

All such debaters guard their own Dharma and do not accept other Dharmas. They say, “This is real; the rest is false.” If they accept only their own Dharma, honor only their own Dharma, practice only their own Dharma, and neither accept nor honor others, this becomes a fault. If this were purity and the benefit of ultimate meaning, then nothing would fail to be pure. Why? Because all of them love their own Dharma.

Question: If all views have faults, which one is the siddhānta of ultimate meaning? Answer: It is beyond every path of language. The range of mental activity has ceased. It depends on nothing anywhere and does not display any dharma. The true character of all dharmas has no beginning, no middle, and no end. It is not exhausted and not destroyed. This is called the siddhānta of ultimate meaning.

As the verses on the meaning of the Mahāyāna say: “Language has come to an end; mental activity also has ceased. Unborn and unceasing, dharmas are like nirvāṇa. To speak of places where action moves is called worldly Dharma; to speak of the place where action does not move is called ultimate meaning. All is real, all is not real; all is both real and not real; all is neither real nor not real. This is called the true character of all dharmas.”

In passages such as these, the scriptures teach the siddhānta of ultimate meaning. This meaning is extremely deep, hard to see, and hard to understand. Because the Buddha wishes to teach this meaning, he teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, the Buddha teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra in order to bring great debaters such as the brahmin Long Nails to faith in the Buddha Dharma. There was a brahmin named Long Nails; there were also others named Śreṇika Vatsagotra, Satyaka Nirgranthīputra, and so on. These great debaters of Jambudvīpa said, “Every doctrine can be refuted, every statement can be broken down, and every attachment can be overturned. Therefore, there is no real dharma worthy of trust or reverence.”

As the Sutra on the Origin and End of Śāriputra says: “Śāriputra's uncle, Mahākauṣṭhila, was unable to defeat his elder sister Śārī in debate.” Kauṣṭhila thought, “This is not my sister's own power. She must be carrying a wise person in her womb, whose words are being sent through his mother's mouth. If he is already like this before birth, what will he be like when he is born and grows up?” After thinking this, he gave rise to arrogance. In order to pursue broad debate, he left home and became a brahmin. He entered southern India and began to study scriptures. People asked him, “What is your aim? What texts are you studying?” Long Nails answered, “I want to read all eighteen great scriptures.” They said, “Even if you spent your whole life, you could not master even one of them. How much less could you master them all?”

Long Nails thought to himself, “In the past I was arrogant and was defeated by my sister. Now these people also look down on me and insult me. Because of these two things, I make this vow: I will not cut my nails until I have finished reading the eighteen kinds of scriptures.” When people saw that his nails were long, they called him the brahmin Long Nails. With the power of wisdom gained from many scriptures, he criticized in every way what was Dharma and what was not Dharma, what was fitting and what was not fitting, what was real and what was not real, what existed and what did not exist, and he defeated the arguments of others. He was like a powerful mad elephant charging and trampling, with no one able to restrain him.

After Long Nails had used the power of debate to subdue many debaters, he returned to Magadha, to Rājagṛha, to the village of Nālaka, his birthplace. He asked people, “Where is the son born to my sister now?” Someone said, “Your sister's son, when he had just reached eight years old, had already finished reading all the scriptures. By the age of sixteen, he surpassed everyone in debate. A Śākya renunciant surnamed Gautama has made him his disciple.” When Long Nails heard this, arrogance arose at once and he gave rise to disbelief. He said, “Since my sister's son is so intelligent, by what technique did that man entice and deceive him into shaving his head and becoming a disciple?”

Having said this, he went straight to the Buddha. At that time Śāriputra had been newly ordained for half a month. He was standing beside the Buddha, fanning him with a fan. Long Nails saw the Buddha, greeted him, and sat to one side. He thought, “Every doctrine can be refuted, every statement can be broken down, and every attachment can be overturned. Among these, what is the true character of all dharmas? What is ultimate meaning? What is their nature? What is their mark? What is not inverted?” Thinking in this way, he was like someone in the waters of the great ocean who wanted to reach all the way to its shore and bottom. After searching for a long time, he could not find even one real dharma that his mind could enter into.

“By what path of debate did he win over my sister's son?” After thinking this, he said to the Buddha, “Gautama, I accept no dharma at all.” The Buddha asked Long Nails, “You accept no dharma at all. Do you accept this view?” The meaning of the Buddha's question was this: “You have already drunk the poison of wrong views, and now you exhale its poisonous fumes, saying, ‘I accept no dharma at all.’ Do you accept this view?” At that time the brahmin Long Nails was like a fine horse that awakens as soon as it sees the shadow of the whip and immediately takes to the right road. Long Nails was the same: when the shadow of the Buddha's words entered his mind, he immediately cast off his arrogance, felt shame, and lowered his head.

He thought, “The Buddha has placed me inside two doors of defeat. If I say, ‘I accept this view,’ that door of defeat is coarse, and many people will know it. How could I say, ‘I accept no dharma at all,’ and now accept this view? This would be an obvious falsehood, a coarse door of defeat known by many. The second door of defeat is subtle. I will accept that one, because not many people will know it.” After thinking this, he answered the Buddha, “Gautama, I accept no dharma at all, and I also do not accept this view.” The Buddha said to the brahmin, “You do not accept any dharma, and you also do not accept this view. Then there is nothing you accept, and you are no different from everyone else. What use is there in exalting yourself and giving rise to arrogance?”

In this way, the brahmin Long Nails could not answer. Knowing himself that he had fallen into a defeated position, he gave rise to reverence for the Buddha's all-knowledge and produced faith. He thought, “I have fallen into defeat, yet the World-Honored One does not expose my defeat, does not say who is right or wrong, and does not take it to heart. The Buddha's mind is gentle and yielding, foremost in purity. The place where all statements and arguments cease is where he has attained the great, profound Dharma. This is worthy of reverence; his mind is foremost in purity.” Because the Buddha taught the Dharma and cut off his wrong views, while still seated there he became far from dust and free from defilement, and with respect to dharmas he attained the pure Dharma-eye. At that time Śāriputra heard these words and became an arhat. The brahmin Long Nails left home, became a renunciant, and attained the state of a powerful arhat.

If the brahmin Long Nails had not heard even a trace of the Prajñāpāramitā, the Dharma corresponding to ultimate meaning that is apart from the four propositions, he could not have gained even a small measure of faith. How much less could he have attained the fruit of the path after leaving home? Because the Buddha wished to guide great debaters and sharp-minded people such as these, he taught the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Furthermore, the Buddhas teach Dharma in two ways: first, by observing people's minds and following what can liberate them; second, by observing the marks of dharmas.

Now the Buddha wishes to teach the true character of all dharmas, and therefore he teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra. As the chapter “Marks and Non-Marks” says, the devas' sons asked the Buddha, “This Prajñāpāramitā is extremely deep. What is its mark?” The Buddha told the devas' sons, “Emptiness itself is its mark: the mark of signlessness, the mark of wishlessness, the mark of non-arising and non-ceasing, the mark of non-activity, the mark of constant non-arising, the mark of suchness, the mark of quiescent cessation, and so on.”

Furthermore, there are two kinds of Dharma teaching: first, a place of dispute; second, a place without dispute.

Places of dispute are taught in other sutras. Here, because the Buddha wishes to clarify the place without dispute, he teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. Having marks and having no marks, having something and having nothing, depending on something and depending on nothing, being opposed and being unopposed, being surpassed and unsurpassed, being worldly and not worldly, and so forth, are all like this.

Question: Since the Buddha has a mind of great loving-kindness and compassion, he should only teach the Dharma without dispute. Why does he teach the Dharma that becomes a place of dispute?

Answer: The Dharma without dispute is entirely without marks, constantly quiescent and impossible to speak. When the Buddha now teaches giving and other practices, and dharmas such as impermanence, suffering, and emptiness, he teaches all of them for the sake of quiescence and freedom from conceptual elaboration. Those of sharp faculties understand the Buddha's intention and do not give rise to dispute. Those of dull faculties do not understand the Buddha's intention; because they seize upon marks and attach their minds, dispute arises.

This Prajñāpāramitā is the place without dispute, because all dharmas are ultimately empty. If ultimate emptiness could be obtained and disputed over, it would not be called ultimate emptiness. Therefore the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra is called the place without dispute, because both existence and nonexistence are quiescently extinguished.

Furthermore, in other sutras the Buddha often teaches dharmas through three gateways: the gateway of what is wholesome, the gateway of what is unwholesome, and the gateway of what is indeterminate. Here, because he wishes to teach the marks of dharmas that are not the wholesome gateway, not the unwholesome gateway, and not the indeterminate gateway, he teaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra. The dharmas of learners, the dharmas of those beyond learning, and dharmas that are neither learning nor beyond learning; dharmas abandoned by seeing the truths, dharmas abandoned by cultivation, and dharmas not to be abandoned; visible and resistant, invisible and resistant, invisible and non-resistant; higher, middle, and lower dharmas; small, great, and immeasurable dharmas; and other threefold Dharma gateways are also like this.

Furthermore, in other sutras the Buddha teaches the four establishments of mindfulness according to the Dharma gateway of the śrāvakas. There, a monk observes the thirty-six substances inside the body in order to remove the illness of desire and attachment. In the same way he observes the external body, and the internal and external body. Now, with regard to the four establishments of mindfulness, the Buddha wishes to teach Prajñāpāramitā through a different gateway. As it is said: when a bodhisattva observes the internal body, with regard to the body he does not give rise to conceptual observation of the body and does not obtain the body, because there is nothing to be obtained. In the same way, when he observes the external body and the internal and external body, with regard to the body he does not give rise to conceptual observation of the body and does not obtain the body, because there is nothing to be obtained.

Within the establishment of mindfulness of the body, to observe the body without giving rise to conceptual observation of the body is extremely difficult.

The other three establishments of mindfulness are the same. The four right efforts, the four bases of spiritual power, the four dhyānas, the four truths, and the various fourfold Dharma gateways are also like this.

Furthermore, in other sutras the Buddha teaches the five aggregates as marked by impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and no-self. Here, because he wishes to teach a different Dharma gateway with regard to these five aggregates, he teaches the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. As the Buddha told Subhūti: “If a bodhisattva observes form as a practice of permanence, he is not practicing Prajñāpāramitā. If he observes feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness as a practice of permanence, he is not practicing Prajñāpāramitā. If he observes form as a practice of impermanence, he is not practicing Prajñāpāramitā. If he observes feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness as a practice of impermanence, he is not practicing Prajñāpāramitā.” The five appropriated aggregates, the five paths of rebirth, and various fivefold Dharma gateways such as these are also like this. The remaining sixfold, sevenfold, eightfold, and even immeasurable Dharma gateways are also like this.

Just as the Mahāprajñāpāramitā is immeasurable and boundless, the causes and conditions for teaching the Prajñāpāramitā are also immeasurable and boundless. Because this matter is vast, this is only a brief explanation of the arising causes and conditions of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā.

Chapter One of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā: Explanation of “Thus Have I Heard: At One Time,” Section Two

Sutra: Thus have I heard: at one time.

Treatise: Question: Why do the sutras of the Buddhas begin with the word “thus”?

Answer: In the great ocean of the Buddha Dharma, faith is what enables one to enter, and wisdom is what enables one to cross over. The meaning of “thus” is faith.

If a person's mind has pure faith, that person can enter the Buddha Dharma. If there is no faith, that person cannot enter the Buddha Dharma. One who lacks faith says, “This matter is not thus.” This is the mark of disbelief. One who has faith says, “This matter is thus.”

It is like oxhide that has not yet been softened: it cannot be bent or folded. A person without faith is the same.

It is like oxhide that has already been softened: it can be made into whatever is needed. A person with faith is the same.

Furthermore, it says in the sutras: “Faith is like a hand. Just as a person with hands can enter a mountain of jewels and freely take jewels, a person with faith can enter the jewel mountain of the Buddha Dharma, with its undefiled faculties, powers, factors of awakening, path, and meditative concentrations, and freely take what is there. Lack of faith is like having no hands. If a person without hands enters a mountain of jewels, that person cannot take anything. Lack of faith is the same: one enters the jewel mountain of the Buddha Dharma and obtains nothing at all.”

The Buddha said, “If a person has faith, that person can enter my great ocean of Dharma and attain the fruits of renunciation. Such a person does not shave the head and dye the robe in vain. If there is no faith, that person cannot enter my ocean of Dharma. Like a withered tree that produces no flowers or fruit, that person cannot attain the fruits of renunciation. Even if such a person shaves the head, dyes the robe, reads many sutras, and is able to challenge and answer others, within the Buddha Dharma that person gains nothing at all.” Therefore the meaning of “thus” stands at the beginning of the Buddha Dharma, because it is the mark of wholesome faith.

Furthermore, the Buddha Dharma is deep and far-reaching; only another Buddha can fully know it.

If a person has faith, then even though that person has not yet become a Buddha, by the power of faith one can enter the Buddha Dharma. For example, when Great Brahmā King requested the Buddha to turn the wheel of Dharma for the first time, he requested him with a verse: “In Jambudvīpa there have long appeared many impure dharmas. Please open the gate of nectar and teach the pure path!”

The Buddha replied in verse: “My Dharma is extremely hard to obtain; it can cut off the fetters. Those whose minds are attached to love for the three realms cannot understand it.”

Great Brahmā King said to the Buddha, “Great Virtuous One, in the world there are beings of superior, middle, and inferior wisdom. Those whose minds are gentle, soft, and upright can easily be liberated. If such people do not hear the Dharma, they will fall back into evil difficulties. They are like lotuses in the water: some are young, some are mature, and some have not yet emerged from the water. If they do not receive sunlight, they cannot open. The Buddha is also like this. Because the Buddha has great loving-kindness and compassion and takes pity on beings, he teaches the Dharma.”

The Buddha reflected, “The Dharma of all Buddhas of the past, future, and present is to teach Dharma in order to liberate beings. I too should do this.” After reflecting in this way, he accepted the request of Great Brahmā King and the other devas to teach the Dharma. At that time the World-Honored One replied in verse: “I now open the gate to the taste of nectar. Those who have faith will gain joy. Among human beings I teach the wondrous Dharma; I do not teach it in order to trouble others.”

In this verse the Buddha does not say that people who give will gain joy. Nor does he say that those who are learned, keep precepts, practice patience, vigor, meditative concentration, or wisdom will gain joy. He speaks only of people who have faith. The Buddha's intention is this: “My foremost, extremely deep Dharma is subtle, immeasurable, countless, inconceivable, unmoving, unsupported, unattached, and without anything to be obtained. Those who are not omniscient cannot understand it.”

Therefore in the Buddha Dharma, the power of faith comes first. The power of faith enables one to enter. Giving, keeping precepts, meditative concentration, wisdom, and so on are not what first enable one to enter the Buddha Dharma. As a verse says: “People of the world have agitated minds. They delight in the fruits of merit but do not delight in the causes of merit. They seek existence and do not seek cessation. Having first heard dharmas of wrong view, their minds become attached and enter deeply into them. Without faith, how could they understand this deep Dharma of mine?”

For example, Devadatta's chief disciple Kokalika and others, because they had no faith in the Dharma, fell into the bad destinies. Such people lack faith. Even if they seek within the Buddha Dharma by their own wisdom, they cannot obtain it. Why? Because the Buddha Dharma is extremely deep.

As Great Brahmā King instructed Kokalika in verse: “If one wants to measure the immeasurable Dharma, the wise do not measure it. When a person wants to measure the immeasurable Dharma, that person buries himself.”

Furthermore, the meaning of “thus” is this: if a person's mind is wholesome, upright, and faithful, that person can listen to the Dharma. If this mark is absent, the person will not understand. As a verse says: “The listener gazes steadily, as if drinking while thirsty; with one mind he enters into the words and their meaning. Leaping with joy on hearing the Dharma, his heart is moved with gladness and sorrow. Such a person should be taught.”

Furthermore, the meaning of “thus” stands at the beginning of the Buddha Dharma because faith is a great power, the root of all benefits: benefit in this life, benefit in future lives, and the benefit of nirvāṇa.

Furthermore, all non-Buddhist renunciants think in their minds, “My Dharma is subtle, wondrous, and foremost in purity.” Such people praise the Dharma they practice and disparage the Dharma of others. For this reason, in the present life they strike one another and enter into fights and disputes; in future lives they fall into hell and experience many kinds of immeasurable suffering. As a verse says: “Because one is stained by love for one's own Dharma, one scorns and slanders the Dharma of others. Even if one is a person who keeps precepts and practices, one does not escape the suffering of hell.”

Within this Buddha Dharma, all craving, all views, and all arrogance of “I” and “mine” are abandoned, completely cut off, and not clung to. As the Raft Simile Sutra says: “If you understand my Dharma of the raft simile, then even wholesome dharmas should be abandoned, to say nothing of unwholesome dharmas.”

The Buddha himself does not think of or rely upon Prajñāpāramitā. How much less should there be reliance or attachment to any other Dharma? For this reason, the beginning of the Buddha Dharma is called “thus.”

The Buddha's intention is this: “My disciples have no Dharma of craving, no Dharma of defilement, and no factional party. They only seek liberation from suffering and do not conceptually elaborate upon the marks of dharmas.” As the challenging verses of Māgandiya in the Atthakavagga Sutra say: “If, amid determinate dharmas, one gives rise sideways to many kinds of perceptions, and if all internal and external things are abandoned, how then can the path be attained?”

The Buddha answered: “It is not attained by seeing, hearing, knowing, or perceiving, nor is it attained by keeping precepts. It is not attained by not seeing and not hearing, and so on, nor is it attained by not keeping precepts. All such doctrines are abandoned, and ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are also abandoned. Without grasping the marks of dharmas, in this way the path can be attained.”

Māgandiya asked: “If it is not attained by seeing and hearing, and so on, nor by keeping precepts; and if it is not attained by not seeing and hearing, and so on, nor by not keeping precepts, then as I observe it in my mind, one attains the path by maintaining silence!”

The Buddha answered: “You rely on the gateway of wrong views. I know your deluded path. When you do not see false imagination, at that time you will naturally be silent.”

Furthermore, saying, “My Dharma is true, while other Dharmas are false speech; my Dharma is foremost, while other Dharmas are not real,” is the root of fighting and dispute. Now the meaning of “thus” shows people the Dharma without dispute. When one hears what another says, one does not declare that person at fault. For this reason, the sutras of the Buddhas begin with “thus.” This is the brief explanation of the meaning of “thus.”

Now the word “I” will be explained.

Question: If in the Buddha Dharma it is said that all dharmas are empty and that there is no “I” or “mine” at all, why do the Buddha's sutras begin by saying, “Thus have I heard”?

Answer: Although the Buddha's disciples know no-self, they speak of “I” in accordance with conventional worldly usage. It is not a real self. It is like buying copper coins with gold coins: no one laughs at this. Why? Because that is how buying and selling are done. Speaking of “I” is the same. Within the Dharma of no-self, one speaks of “I” in accordance with worldly convention, so this should not be challenged. As a verse in the Sutra of Questions from the Devas says: “There is an arhat monk whose outflows have been ended forever. In his final body, can he speak of ‘I’ and ‘mine’?”

The Buddha answered, “There is an arhat monk whose outflows have been ended forever. In his final body, he can speak of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’”

“I” is spoken within worldly Dharma, not within the ultimate meaning.

Therefore, although all dharmas are empty and without self, because it is worldly Dharma, there is no fault in speaking of “I.”

Furthermore, worldly language has three roots: first, wrong views; second, conceit; and third, names. Among these, two are impure and one is pure.

All ordinary people have three kinds of speech: wrong views, conceit, and names. Learners who have seen the path have two kinds of speech: conceit and names. Noble ones have one kind of speech: names. Although inwardly their minds do not contradict the true Dharma, because they follow people of the world, they transmit this speech together with them. They remove worldly wrong views and therefore follow convention without dispute. For this reason, after removing the two kinds of impure speech, they use the one kind of speech that originally follows the world. The Buddha's disciples speak of “I” in accordance with convention, and there is no fault.

Furthermore, if someone clings to the mark of no “I” and no “mine” and says, “This is real; all the rest is false speech,” then that person may rightly challenge, “You say that the true character of all dharmas is no-self. How can you say, ‘Thus have I heard’?” But now the disciples of the Buddhas know that all dharmas are empty and without anything at all. Their minds do not cling within this; nor do they say that they cling to the true character of all dharmas. How much less would their minds cling within the Dharma of no-self? For this reason, one should not challenge them by asking why they speak of “I.” As verses in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā say: “If there were something not empty, there should be something empty. Since even the not-empty cannot be obtained, how much less can emptiness be obtained?

Ordinary people see the not-empty and also see emptiness. Not seeing views and not seeing non-views: this is truly called nirvāṇa.

The peaceful gateway free from duality can break all wrong views. The place practiced by the Buddhas is called the Dharma of no-self.”

This is the brief explanation of the meaning of “I.”

Now the word “heard” will be explained.

Question: As for “heard,” how does hearing occur? Is it heard by the ear faculty? Is it heard by ear-consciousness? Is it heard by mind-consciousness? If the ear faculty hears, then because the ear faculty has no awareness or knowing, it should not be able to hear. If ear-consciousness hears, then because ear-consciousness lasts for only one moment and cannot discriminate, it should not be able to hear. If mind-consciousness hears, then mind-consciousness also cannot hear. Why? First the five consciousnesses cognize the five objects, and only afterward mind-consciousness cognizes them. Mind-consciousness cannot cognize the five present objects; it only cognizes the five objects of the past and future. If mind-consciousness could cognize the five present objects, then blind and deaf people should also cognize sounds and forms. Why? Because their mind-consciousness is not impaired.

Answer: It is not the ear faculty that can hear sound, nor is it ear-consciousness, nor is it mind-consciousness. The event of being able to hear sound occurs because many causes and conditions come together. One cannot say that a single dharma is able to hear sound. Why? Since the ear faculty has no awareness, it should not hear sound. Since consciousness has no form, no resistance, and no location, it also should not hear sound. Since sound has no awareness and also has no faculty, it cannot know sound. At that time, when the ear faculty is unimpaired, sound reaches a place where it can be heard, and the mind wishes to hear. Because faculty, object, and attention come together, ear-consciousness arises; immediately following ear-consciousness, mind-consciousness arises and is able to discriminate the many causes and conditions through which sound is heard. For this reason, one should not pose the challenge, “Who hears the sound?”

In the Buddha Dharma, there is also no single dharma that can act, see, or know. As verses say: “There is karma and there are also results, yet there is no maker of karma and results. This is foremost and extremely deep; this Dharma is what the Buddha can see.

Although empty, it is not annihilated; although continuous, it is not permanent. Misdeeds and merit are also not lost. Such is the Dharma taught by the Buddha.”

This is the brief explanation of “heard.”

Now the word “one” will be explained. Question: In the Buddha Dharma, dharmas such as number and time do not really exist, because they are not included among the aggregates, sense bases, or elements. Why, then, does the sutra say “at one time”? Answer: Because it follows worldly convention, there is no fault in saying “at one time.”

If someone paints or carves images of devas from clay, wood, and other materials, and then bows to them while recollecting the devas, there is no fault. Speaking of “one time” is also like this. Although in reality there is no one time, one speaks of one time according to convention, and there is no fault.

Question: It should not be that there is no “one time.” The Buddha himself said, “When one person appears in the world, many people gain happiness. Who is that person? The Buddha, the World-Honored One.” It is also said in verse: “I practiced without teacher or protector; my resolve was one, without equal companion. Accumulating the one practice, I became Buddha and naturally penetrated the noble path.”

In these and other passages, the Buddha speaks of “one” everywhere. Therefore there should be one.

Furthermore, because a single dharma comes together with other conditions, a thing is called “one.” If there were truly no dharma of one, why would one thought arise toward one thing, and not two or three? Why would two thoughts arise toward two things, and not one or three? Why would three thoughts arise toward three things, and not two or one? If numbers truly did not exist, then two thoughts should arise toward one thing, and one thought should arise toward two things. The same would apply to three, four, five, six, and so on. Therefore it is certain that within one thing there is a dharma of one. Because this dharma comes together with the thing, one thought arises toward one thing. Answer: Whether one is identical with the thing or different from the thing, both positions have faults.

Question: If they are identical, what fault is there?

Answer: If “one” and “pot” have the same meaning, just as Indra and Śakra have the same meaning, then wherever there is one, there should also be a pot. Just as wherever there is Indra, there is also Śakra, now clothes and all other things should also be pots, because “one” and “pot” are identical.

In this way, wherever there is one, everything should be a pot. Pots, clothes, and so on would all be one thing, with no distinction.

Furthermore, if “one” is a numerical dharma, then “pot” should also be a numerical dharma.

The substance of a pot has five dharmas; “one” should also have five dharmas. A pot has form and resistance; “one” should also have form and resistance. If the one found everywhere is not called a pot, then one should not say that “pot” and “one” are identical. If one says that one does not include pot, then one should also say that pot does not include one. Since “pot” and “one” are not different, if one wants to speak of one, one should say pot; and if one wants to speak of pot, one should say one. In this way everything becomes confused.

Question: The faults in identity are like this. What fault is there in difference?

Answer: If one is different from pot, then pot is not one. If pot is different from one, then one is not pot. If a pot is called one because it is joined with one, then when one is joined with pot, why is one not called pot? Therefore one cannot say that pot is different from one.

Question: Although the pot is one because it is joined with the number one, still one does not become pot.

Answer: The first among all numbers is one. If one is different from pot, then for this reason pot does not become one. Since one does not exist, many also do not exist. Why? Because first there is one and afterward there are many.

In this way, when analyzed as different, one also cannot be obtained. Therefore, through the two gateways of identity and difference, the dharma of one cannot be found. Since it cannot be found, how could it be included among the aggregates, elements, or sense bases? The Buddha's disciples merely follow conventional speech and call it one; their minds truly do not cling. They know that numerical dharmas exist as names. For this reason, when the Buddha Dharma speaks of one person, one teacher, or one time, it does not fall into the fault of wrong view. This is the brief explanation of “one.”

Now the word “time” will be explained.

Question: In India there are two names for “time”: one is kāla, and the other is samaya. Why does the Buddha not say kāla, but instead say samaya?

Answer: If he said kāla, there would also be doubts.

Question: Since it is lighter and easier to say, he should say kāla. Kāla has two syllables, while samaya has three syllables; the heavier word is more difficult.

Answer: In order to remove wrong views, he says samaya and does not say kāla.

Question: Some people say, “All the good and bad things in heaven and earth take time as their cause. As verses in the Sutra on Time say: ‘When time comes, beings mature; when time arrives, it urges them on. Time can awaken people; therefore time is the cause. The world is like a wheel, and the change of time is like a turning wheel. People too are like a wheel, sometimes rising and sometimes falling.’”

Others say, “Although all the good and bad things in heaven and earth are not made by time, still time is an unchanging cause and truly exists. Because the dharma of time is subtle, it cannot be seen or known directly; but through effects such as flowers and fruits, one can know that time exists.

Past year and present year, long and short, slow and fast: when these marks are seen, then even though time itself is not seen, one can know that time exists. Why? Because when one sees an effect, one knows there is a cause.

Therefore there is a dharma of time, and because the dharma of time is not destroyed, it is permanent.”

Answer: Take a lump of clay as present time, clay dust as past time, and a pot as future time. If the mark of time is permanent, past time does not become future time. According to your scriptures, time is one thing. Therefore the past world does not become the future world, nor does it become the present world, because the fault of confusion would follow. There is also no future world within the past world; therefore there is no future world. The present world is the same.

Question: You accept the time of past clay dust. If there is past time, then there must also be future time. Therefore the dharma of time truly exists.

Answer: Did you not hear what I said before? The pot is the future world, and the clay dust is the past world.

The future world does not become the past world. When something falls within the mark of the future world and is the mark of the future world, how can it be called past time? Therefore past time also does not exist.

Question: Why is there no time? There must be time.

The present has the mark of the present, the past has the mark of the past, and the future has the mark of the future.

Answer: If all times in the three periods had their own marks, then all of them should be the present world, and there would be no past or future time. If the future exists now, it should not be called future; it should be called present. Therefore this statement is not correct.

Question: Past time and future time do not move within the mark of the present. Past time moves within the past world, and the future world moves within future time.

Therefore, each dharma and each mark has its own time.

Answer: If the past again becomes past, then the mark of the past is destroyed. If the past does not become past, then there is no mark of the past.

Why? Because it has abandoned its own mark. The future world is also like this.

For this reason, the dharma of time has no reality. How then could it give rise to all the good and bad things in heaven and earth, or to flowers, fruits, and other things? For these many reasons, in order to remove wrong views, the Buddha does not speak of time as kāla, but says samaya. When the arising and ceasing of aggregates, elements, and sense bases are seen, this is provisionally called time; there is no separate time. Names such as direction, time, separation, conjunction, one, different, long, and short arise from the attachments in ordinary people's minds, and they take them to be really existing dharmas. For this reason, the worldly dharmas of names and language are removed and abandoned.

Question: If there is no time, then how can there be the precept that permits “eating at the proper time” and forbids “eating at the wrong time”?

Answer: I have already said that worldly dharmas of names exist, but time is not a real dharma. You should not raise this challenge. This is also a rule established in the Vinaya; it is real in the world, but it is not the mark of the ultimate real Dharma, because the marks of “I” and “mine” truly cannot be obtained. It is also established because people would otherwise criticize and rebuke, because it protects the Buddha Dharma and enables it to remain long, and because it fixes the rules of conduct for disciples. When the World-Honored Ones of the three realms establish precepts, one should not search within them asking: What is real here? What are only names? What corresponds? What does not correspond? Which dharma has such a mark? Which dharma does not have such a mark? Therefore this matter should not be challenged.

Question: If “eating at the wrong time,” “medicine for the proper time,” and “robes for the proper time” all use kāla, why does the Buddha not say samaya there?

Answer: Those are spoken in the Vinaya, which laypeople do not hear. How could non-Buddhists hear them and give rise to wrong views? Other sutras are open for everyone to hear; therefore the Buddha says samaya so that they will not give rise to wrong views. Samaya is an indirect name, and time is also a provisional name. Moreover, in the Buddha Dharma samaya is spoken often and kāla is spoken rarely. Since it is rare, this should not be challenged.

This completes the brief explanation of the individual meanings of the five words: “thus,” “I,” “heard,” “one,” and “time.”