“They should train in the emptiness of internal phenomena, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of external phenomena, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of emptiness, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of great extent, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of ultimate reality, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of the unlimited, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of nonexclusion, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of inherent nature, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of all phenomena, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of nonentities, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; they should train in the emptiness of essential nature, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; and they should train in the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities, by way of the essential nature of nonentity.
“They should train in the applications of mindfulness, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the correct exertions, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the supports for miraculous ability, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the faculties, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the powers, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the branches of enlightenment, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; and should train in the noble eightfold path, by way of the essential nature of nonentity.
“They should train in the truths of the noble ones, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the meditative concentrations, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the immeasurable attitudes, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the formless absorptions, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the eight liberations, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; and should train in the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, by way of the essential nature of nonentity.
“They should train in the meditative stability of emptiness, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the meditative stability of signlessness, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; and should train in the meditative stability of wishlessness, by way of the essential nature of nonentity.
“They should train in the extrasensory powers, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the meditative stabilities, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the dhāraṇī gateways, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the ten powers of the tathāgatas, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the four fearlessnesses, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the four kinds of exact knowledge, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in great loving kindness, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in great compassion, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; and should train in the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, by way of the essential nature of nonentity.
“They should train in omniscience, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; should train in the knowledge of the aspects of the path, by way of the essential nature of nonentity; and should train in all-aspect omniscience, by way of the essential nature of nonentity.
“Subhūti, in this way there is a path of serial practice, serial training, and serial setting out of bodhisattva great beings training with all phenomena having the essential nature of nonentity, which is to say, by training in the path of serial practice, serial training, and serial setting out, bodhisattva great beings complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the perfection of generosity; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the perfection of ethical discipline; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the perfection of tolerance; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the perfection of perseverance; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the perfection of meditative concentration; and complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the perfection of wisdom.
“They complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of internal phenomena; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of external phenomena; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of emptiness; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of great extent; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of ultimate reality; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of the unlimited; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of nonexclusion; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of inherent nature; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of all phenomena; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of nonentities; they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of essential nature; and they complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities.
“They complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the applications of mindfulness; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the correct exertions; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the supports for miraculous ability; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the faculties; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the powers; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the branches of enlightenment; and complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the noble eightfold path.
“They complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the truths of the noble ones; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the meditative concentrations; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the immeasurable attitudes; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the formless absorptions; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the eight liberations; and complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption.
“They complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the meditative stability of emptiness; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the meditative stability of signlessness; and complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the meditative stability of wishlessness.
“They complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the extrasensory powers; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the meditative stabilities; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the dhāraṇī gateways; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the ten powers of the tathāgatas; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the four fearlessnesses; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the four kinds of exact knowledge; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, great loving kindness; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, great compassion; and complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas.
“They complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, omniscience; complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, the knowledge of the aspects of the path; and complete, by way of the essential nature of nonentity, all-aspect omniscience.
“They will fully awaken to all phenomena having the essential nature of nonentity, so, where there is not even a nonentity,1168 how could there possibly be physical forms, feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, or consciousness; the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, or the mental faculty; sights, sounds, odors, tastes, tangibles, or mental phenomena; visual consciousness, auditory consciousness, olfactory consciousness, gustatory consciousness, tactile consciousness, or mental consciousness; visually compounded sensory contact, aurally compounded sensory contact, nasally compounded sensory contact, lingually compounded sensory contact, corporeally compounded sensory contact, or mentally compounded sensory contact; feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact, feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact, feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact, feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact, feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact, or feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact; the earth element, the water element, the fire element, the wind element, the space element, or the consciousness element; ignorance, formative predispositions, consciousness, name and form, the six sense fields, sensory contact, sensation, craving, grasping, the rebirth process, birth, or aging and death; the perfection of generosity, the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, or the perfection of wisdom; the emptiness of internal phenomena, the emptiness of external phenomena, the emptiness of external and internal phenomena, the emptiness of emptiness, the emptiness of great extent, the emptiness of ultimate reality, the emptiness of conditioned phenomena, the emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, the emptiness of the unlimited, the emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, the emptiness of nonexclusion, the emptiness of inherent nature, the emptiness of all phenomena, the emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, the emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, the emptiness of nonentities, the emptiness of essential nature, or the emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, or the noble eightfold path; the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the liberations, the serial steps of meditative absorption, the emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, or the dhāraṇī gateways; the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, or the distinct qualities of the buddhas; omniscience, the knowledge of the aspects of the path, or all-aspect omniscience; or the transcendent knowledge of an all-aspect omniscient one? It is impossible.”
The Blessed One having said that, the venerable Subhūti asked him, “Blessed Lord, if in that manner all phenomena have the essential nature of nonentity, in that case, are there no physical forms, are there no feelings, are there no perceptions, are there no formative predispositions, and is there no consciousness? Are there no sensory elements, are there no sense fields, is there no dependent origination, are there no links of dependent origination, are there no perfections, and there are none of the emptinesses? Are there no applications of mindfulness, are there no correct exertions, are there no supports for miraculous ability, are there no faculties, are there no powers, are there no branches of enlightenment, and is there no path? Are there no truths of the noble ones, are there no meditative concentrations, are there no immeasurable attitudes, are there no formless absorptions, are there no liberations, are there no serial steps of meditative absorption, are there no emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, are there no extrasensory powers, are there no meditative stabilities, and there are no dhāraṇī gateways? Are there no powers of the tathāgatas, are there no fearlessnesses, are there no kinds of exact knowledge, is there no great loving kindness, is there no great compassion, and are there no distinct qualities of the buddhas? Is there no transcendent knowledge of an omniscient one, is there no transcendent knowledge of a knower of aspects of the path, and is there no transcendent knowledge of an all-aspect omniscient one? Is there no Buddha, is there no Dharma, is there no Saṅgha, is there no path, is there no fruit, is there no defilement, is there no purification, is there no attainment, is there no clear realization, and are there no phenomena at all?”
The Blessed One said, “Subhūti, do you think, given that all phenomena have the essential nature of nonentity, that a ‘there-is’ or a ‘there-is-not’ can be apprehended?”
“No, Blessed Lord,” replied Subhūti, “given that all phenomena have the essential nature of nonentity, a ‘there-is’ or a ‘there-is-not’ cannot be apprehended.”
“In that case, Subhūti,” continued the Blessed One, “if all phenomena have the essential nature of nonentity, why would you think that there are no physical forms, there are no feelings, there are no perceptions, there are no formative predispositions, and there is no consciousness; that there are no eyes, there are no ears, there is no nose, there is no tongue, there is no body, and there is no mental faculty; that there are no sights, there are no sounds, there are no odors, there are no tastes, there are no tangibles, and there are no mental phenomena; that there is no visual consciousness, there is no auditory consciousness, there is no olfactory consciousness, there is no gustatory consciousness, there is no tactile consciousness, and there is no mental consciousness; that there is no visually compounded sensory contact, there is no aurally compounded sensory contact, there is no nasally compounded sensory contact, there is no lingually compounded sensory contact, there is no corporeally compounded sensory contact, and there is no mentally compounded sensory contact; that there are no feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact, there are no feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact, there are no feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact, there are no feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact, there are no feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact, and there are no feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact; that there is no earth element, there is no water element, there is no fire element, there is no wind element, there is no space element, and there is no consciousness element; that there is no ignorance, there are no formative predispositions, there is no consciousness, there are no name and form, there are no six sense fields, there is no sensory contact, there is no sensation, there is no craving, there is no grasping, there is no rebirth process, there is no birth, and there are no aging and death; that there is no perfection of generosity, there is no perfection of ethical discipline, there is no perfection of tolerance, there is no perfection of perseverance, there is no perfection of meditative concentration, and there is no perfection of wisdom; that there is no emptiness of internal phenomena, there is no emptiness of external phenomena, there is no emptiness of external and internal phenomena, there is no emptiness of emptiness, there is no emptiness of great extent, there is no emptiness of ultimate reality, there is no emptiness of conditioned phenomena, there is no emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, there is no emptiness of the unlimited, there is no emptiness of that which has neither beginning nor end, there is no emptiness of nonexclusion, there is no emptiness of inherent nature, there is no emptiness of all phenomena, there is no emptiness of intrinsic defining characteristics, there is no emptiness of that which cannot be apprehended, there is no emptiness of nonentities, there is no emptiness of essential nature, and there is no emptiness of an essential nature of nonentities; that there are no applications of mindfulness, there are no correct exertions, there are no supports for miraculous ability, there are no faculties, there are no powers, there are no branches of enlightenment, and there is no noble eightfold path; that there are no truths of the noble ones, there are no meditative concentrations, there are no immeasurable attitudes, there are no formless absorptions, there are no liberations, there are no serial steps of meditative absorption, there are no emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness gateways to liberation, there are no extrasensory powers, there are no meditative stabilities, and there are no dhāraṇī gateways; that there are no powers of the tathāgatas, there are no fearlessnesses, there are no kinds of exact knowledge, there is no great loving kindness, there is no great compassion, and there are no distinct qualities of the buddhas; that there is no transcendent knowledge of an omniscient one, there is no transcendent knowledge of a knower of aspects of the path, and there is no transcendent knowledge of an all-aspect omniscient one; and that there is no Buddha, there is no Dharma, there is no Saṅgha, there is no path, there is no fruit, there is no defilement, there is no purification, there is no attainment, there is no clear realization, and there are no phenomena at all?”
“Blessed Lord,” replied Subhūti, “I am not unsure about and entertain no doubts about these phenomena. However, Blessed Lord, in the future there will be monks in the vehicle of the śrāvakas, in the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, or in the vehicle of the bodhisattvas who will say, ‘If all phenomena have the essential nature of nonentity, who, given that all phenomena have the essential nature of nonentity, will become defiled or purified?’ Since they will not understand defilement and purification, they will become those whose ethical discipline has gone wrong, become those whose views have gone wrong, become those whose conduct has gone wrong, and become those whose livelihood has gone wrong. Those whose ethical discipline has gone wrong, views have gone wrong, conduct has gone wrong, and livelihood has gone wrong will go to one of the three lower realms—the hells, the animal realm, or the world of Yama. Blessed Lord, seeing this future danger I question the tathāgata, arhat, perfectly complete Buddha about this matter, even though, Blessed Lord, I am not unsure about and entertain no doubts these phenomena.”
“Excellent, excellent, Subhūti,” said the Blessed One. “It is as you have said.”
This completes the sixtieth chapter from “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.”