The Dilemma of Duality and the Middle Path

Then the Buddha praised Bodhisattva Kasyapa: "Well said, well said, Oh good man! You reached the deepest and sharpest of Wisdom. Now, I will talk about how one enters the Tathagatagarbha. If the ‘Self’ lives, this is the teaching of 'is'. It does not depart from suffering. If the Self does not exist, there can be no benefit, even if one practices pure actions. If one says that all things do not possess Self, this is nothing more than the theory of ‘not-is’ ['ucchedika drsti ', i.e., the world-view of the total denial of any existence, which is the theory of all-void]. If one says that Self exists, it is the theory of ‘ever is’ ['sasvata drsti' - a wrong view of life which takes existence as something concrete and immutable]. If one says that all things are non-eternal, this is the view of ‘not-is’. If one says that all things exist, this is the view of ‘ever is’. If one says that all is suffering, this is the ‘not-is’. If one says that all things are bliss, this is the ‘ever is’. If a person practices the Way of ‘ever is’of all things, such a person falls into the heresy of ‘not-is’. A person who practices the Way according to which all things become extinct, falls into ‘ever is’. This is like the measuring of a worm, which carries its hind legs forward by the action of its front legs.

The same goes with the person who practices the ‘ever is’ and the ‘not-is’. The ‘not-is’ rests on [depends on, is based on] the ‘ever is’. Because of this, those of other teachings who practice suffering (the practice of austerities) are called 'not-good'. Those of other teachings who practice bliss are called 'good'. Those of other teachings who practice the 'not-Self' are those of illusion. Those of other teachings who practice 'ever-is' say that the Tathagata secretly holds (it hides) [truths]. The so-called Nirvana has no a cave or house to live in it. Those of other teachings who practice 'not-is' refers to property, those of other teachings who practice the 'ever-is' refers to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha and right emancipation (i.e., distinguish). Know that the Middle Path of the Buddha denies the two plans and speaks of the True Dharma. Even the common mortals and ignorant abide in it and have no doubts. It's like when the weak and the sick take butter, and as a result they feel lightness in spirit.

The dual nature of 'is' and 'not-is' is undefined. For example, the natures of the four elements [earth, water, fire and wind] are not the same. Each differs from the other. A good doctor well sees that each one stands in opposition to the other. He sees even through a unilateral phase (part) of what happens. Oh good man! The same goes with the Tathagata. He acts as a good doctor towards all beings. He knows the difference between the internal and external nature of illusion, eradicates it, and reveals the fact that the undisclosed storehouse of the Tathagata is pure, and the Buddha-Nature is eternal and unchanging. If a person says 'is', it must be attentive to that his Wisdom does not get tainted; if a person says 'not-is', this is just a falsehood. If one says 'is', one cannot fall into contradiction. Also, one could not play with words and dispute; only seek to know the true nature of all things. Common mortals play with words and dispute, betraying their own ignorance as to the undisclosed storehouse of the Tathagata. When it comes to the question of suffering, the ignorant says that the body is non-eternal and everything is suffering. Moreover, they do not know that there is also the nature of bliss in the body. If the Eternal is alluded to, common mortals say that all bodies are non-eternal, and are like tiles. One with Wisdom discriminates things and does not say that everything is non-eternal. Why not? Because humans possess the seed of the Buddha-Nature. When the non-Self is mentioned, common mortals say that there can be no Self in the Buddhist teaching. One who is wise should know that non-Self is a temporary existence (an aspect of duality) and is not true. Knowing thus, one should not have any doubt. When the hidden Tathagatagarbha is established as being empty and quiet, common mortals will think of cessation and extinction. One who is wise knows that the Tathagata is Eternal and Unchanging."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 12 - On the Nature of the Tathagata.

The Chest of True Gold in Our Own Core

Kasyapa said to the Buddha: "Oh World Honored One! Is there the Self in the 25 existences or not?"

The Buddha said: "Oh good man! 'Self’ means 'Tathagatagarbha' [Buddha-Womb, Buddha- Embryo, Buddha-Nature]. All beings possess the Buddha-Nature. This is the Self. Such Self has been, from the very beginning, undercover by innumerable defilements. That is why humans cannot see it. Oh good man! [Imagine that] here there is a poor woman. She has true gold concealed in her home. But none of the people in her household, whether big or small, know of it. But there is a stranger who, through expediency, says to the poor woman: 'I shall employ you. You must now go and remove the weeds of the land’! The woman replies: 'I cannot do that now. If you let my son see where the gold is hidden, I shall soon work for you '. The man says: 'I know the way. I shall point it out to your son’. The woman further says: 'Nobody of my home, whether big or small, knows [of this]. How can you (know)'? The man says: 'I shall now make it clear’. The woman further says: 'I wish to see. I beg to let me'. The man digs out the gold that was hidden in a lair. The woman sees it, is satisfied and begins to respect that person. Oh good man! The case is the same with the Buddha-Nature which humans have. Nobody can see it. This is analogous to the gold which the poor woman possessed and yet could not see. Oh Good man! I shall now let people see the Buddha-Nature that they possess, which is undercover by defilements. This is analogous to the poor woman who could not see the gold, although she owned it. The Tathagata now reveals to all beings the Storehouse of Enlightenment, which is the so-called Buddha-Nature. If all beings see it, they will become satisfied and seek refuge in the Tathagata. The good expedient is the Tathagata, the poor woman is all the innumerable beings, and the Chest of True Gold is the Buddha-Nature.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 12 - On the Nature of the Tathagata.

The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering

“We say 'Truth of the Extinction of Suffering’. If a person practices many teachings and the way of nothingness, this is not good. Why is that? Because this annuls all laws and destroys the true storehouse of the Tathagata. Any practice of this category is the practicing of nothingness. Someone who practices (truly) the extinction of suffering acts against what all Tirthikas do. If the practice of nothingness is the truth of extinction, there are Tirthikas who also practice the teaching of nothingness; then we must say that they also possess the truth of extinction. A person says: 'There is the Tathagatagarbha [Buddha-Womb – the pristine mind under the cover of illusion]. One cannot see it. But if one does away with all illusions, one may indeed enter’. It is so. Through the raising of such a mind [that is, by cultivating such an attitude of mind], one gains freedom in all things. If a person practices the Way of the hidden storehouse, selflessness and emptiness, such a person will recycle between birth and death for countless ages to come, and will suffer sorrow. A person who does not do such practices may certainly, although it might have illusions, soon do away with them. Why is that? Because it well knows the undisclosed storehouse of the Tathagata. This is the Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering. Any person who practices the extinction in such a way is my disciple. A person who does not practice the Way thus is someone who practices emptiness. This is not the Noble Truth of Extinction.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 10 - On the Four Noble Truths.