The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines

Then the venerable Subhūti asked the Blessed One, “Blessed Lord, if the sameness of all phenomena is empty of inherent nature, and therefore nothing at all does anything to any phenomenon, in that case all phenomena do nothing whatsoever and are nothing whatsoever. How, then, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom, without stirring from the ultimate, do they still act for the sake of all beings through generosity, pleasant speech, purposeful activity, and harmonious activity?”

“It is so, Subhūti, it is so,” replied the Blessed One. “It is just as you have said. That which is emptiness does not do anything to anything at all, nor does it not do anything. If beings were by themselves to know emptiness, there would not be the powerful leadership of the tathāgatas,¹⁴¹⁷ whereby without stirring from emptiness they separate beings from the notion of self, and having separated them from the notion of self, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of a being, and having separated them from the notion of a being, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of a life, and having separated them from the notion of a life, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of one who goes, and having separated them from the notion of one who goes, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of one who lives, and having separated them from the notion of one who lives, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of a person, and having separated them from the notion of a person, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of an individual, and having separated them from the notion of an individual, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of one born of Manu, and having separated them from the notion of one born of Manu, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of a child of Manu, and having separated them from the notion of a child of Manu, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of an agent, and having separated them from the notion of an agent, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of an experiencer, and having separated them from the notion of an experiencer, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of a knower, and having separated them from the notion of a knower, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of a viewer, and having separated them from the notion of a viewer, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of physical forms, and having separated them from the notion of physical forms, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of feelings, and having separated them from the notion of feelings, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of perceptions, and having separated them from the notion of perceptions, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of formative predispositions, and having separated them from the notion of formative predispositions, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of consciousness, and having separated them from the notion of consciousness, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the eyes, and having separated them from the notion of the eyes, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the ears, and having separated them from the notion of the ears, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the nose, and having separated them from the notion of the nose, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the tongue, and having separated them from the notion of the tongue, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the body, and having separated them from the notion of the body, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the mental faculty, and having separated them from the notion of the mental faculty, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of sights, and having separated them from the notion of sights, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of sounds, and having separated them from the notion of sounds, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of odors, and having separated them from the notion of odors, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of tastes, and having separated them from the notion of tastes, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of tangibles, and having separated them from the notion of tangibles, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of mental phenomena, and having separated them from the notion of mental phenomena, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of visual consciousness, and having separated them from the notion of visual consciousness, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of auditory consciousness, and having separated them from the notion of auditory consciousness, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of olfactory consciousness, and having separated them from the notion of olfactory consciousness, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of gustatory consciousness, and having separated them from the notion of gustatory consciousness, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of tactile consciousness, and having separated them from the notion of tactile consciousness, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of mental consciousness, and having separated them from the notion of mental consciousness, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of visually compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of visually compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the aurally compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of aurally compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of nasally compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of nasally compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of lingually compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of lingually compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of corporeally compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of corporeally compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of mentally compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of mentally compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of feelings conditioned by visually compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of feelings conditioned by aurally compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of feelings conditioned by nasally compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of feelings conditioned by lingually compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of feelings conditioned by corporeally compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of feelings conditioned by mentally compounded sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the earth element, and having separated them from the notion of the earth element, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the water element, and having separated them from the notion of the water element, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the fire element, and having separated them from the notion of the fire element, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the wind element, and having separated them from the notion of the wind element, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the space element, and having separated them from the notion of the space element, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the consciousness element, and having separated them from the notion of the consciousness element, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of ignorance, and having separated them from the notion of ignorance, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of formative predispositions, and having separated them from the notion of formative predispositions, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of consciousness, and having separated them from the notion of consciousness, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of name and form, and having separated them from the notion of name and form, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the six sense fields, and having separated them from the notion of the six sense fields, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of sensory contact, and having separated them from the notion of sensory contact, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of sensation, and having separated them from the notion of sensation, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of craving, and having separated them from the notion of craving, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of grasping, and having separated them from the notion of grasping, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of the rebirth process, and having separated them from the notion of the rebirth process, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of birth, and having separated them from the notion of birth, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; separate them from the notion of aging and death, and having separated them from the notion of aging and death, liberate them from saṃsāra through emptiness; and separate them from the notion of the realm of conditioned phenomena, and having separated them from the notion of the realm of conditioned phenomena, establish them in the realm of unconditioned phenomena even though the realm of unconditioned phenomena is empty.”

“Blessed Lord, of what is it empty?” asked Subhūti.

“It is empty of all notions,” replied the Blessed One. “Subhūti, if someone¹⁴¹⁸ were to conjure up an emanation, would it have any such real basis that is not emptiness?”

“No, Blessed Lord,” replied Subhūti. “That emanation has no such real basis that is not emptiness. That which is emptiness and that which is the emanation‍—those two phenomena‍—are neither conjoined nor disjoined. So, since they are both empty owing to emptiness, why is it therefore hidden in ‘This is emptiness. That is an emanation’? If you ask why, it is because neither emptiness nor the emanation is apprehended in emptiness.”

“Subhūti,” said the Blessed One, “are there any physical forms, feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, or consciousness that are not an emanation? Those emanations are empty.”

“Blessed Lord,” said Subhūti, “if mundane phenomena are emanations, are supramundane phenomena‍—namely, the four applications of mindfulness, the four correct exertions, the four supports for miraculous ability, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven branches of enlightenment, and the noble eightfold path; the three gateways to liberation, the four truths of the noble ones, all the emptinesses, the eight liberations, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, all the meditative stabilities, and all the dhāraṇī gateways; the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas; and their fruit, in terms of which there is a presentation of those individuals designated as ‘having entered the stream, once-returners, non-returners, arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas’‍—emanations as well?”

“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “all phenomena are emanations. Some are emanations conjured by śrāvakas. Some are emanations conjured by pratyekabuddhas. Some are emanations conjured by bodhisattvas. Some are emanations conjured by tathāgatas. Some are emanations conjured on account of afflicted mental states. Some are emanations conjured by karma. For this reason, Subhūti, all phenomena are emanations.”

Subhūti asked, “Blessed Lord, is ‘the abandonment’‍—those phenomena that are the abandonment that is the fruit of having entered the stream, or that is the fruit of once-returner, or the fruit of non-returner, or arhatship, or the level of the pratyekabuddhas, or the level of the buddhas, or the abandonment of all the connecting propensities‍—also an emanation?”

“Subhūti, all phenomena whatsoever that have arisen or ceased are emanations,” replied the Blessed One.

“Blessed Lord, what phenomenon is not an emanation?” asked Subhūti.

“That phenomenon that is without arising and without ceasing is not an emanation,” replied the Blessed One.

“What is that?” asked Subhūti.

“Peerless¹⁴¹⁹ nirvāṇa‍—that phenomenon is not an emanation,” replied the Blessed One.

Subhūti said, “According to what the Blessed One has said, ‘There is no such phenomenon at all that stirs from emptiness, that is apprehended dualistically, that is not emptiness.’ Therefore, Blessed Lord, peerless nirvāṇa is also an emanation.”

“It is so, Subhūti, it is so,” replied the Blessed One. “Subhūti, all phenomena are empty. They have not been created by the śrāvakas. They have not been created by the pratyekabuddhas. They have not been created by bodhisattva great beings. They have not been created by tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly complete buddhas. The emptiness of essential nature is nirvāṇa.”

Subhūti then asked, “Blessed Lord, how should people who are beginners be instructed and advised, so as to understand the emptiness of essential nature?”

“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “has there been an entity in the past that will become a nonentity in the future? Subhūti, here, since there is no entity, no nonentity, no essential entity, and no entity from something else,¹⁴²⁰ how could there possibly be something called the emptiness of essential nature that they might comprehend?”

This completes the seventy-second chapter, “The Teaching on the Unchanging Reality of Phenomena,” from “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.”¹⁴²¹