The Essence of the Heart Sutra

Chapter 4: The True Meaning of "Non-duality of Form and Emptiness"

Sutra text: 【舍利子。色不异空，空不异色。色即是空。空即是色。受想行识。亦复如是。】 

Section 1: The Aggregate of Form and the Tathāgatagarbha Are Neither One Nor Different

Why is it said that "色不异空。空不异色"? Because the aggregate of form cannot exist independently apart from the tathāgatagarbha; it cannot exist and operate independently of the tathāgatagarbha. It is manifested from the four great elements outputted by the tathāgatagarbha; it arises only by relying on the tathāgatagarbha, and only by relying on the tathāgatagarbha can it have its own functions and effects; it is one portion of the totality of the tathāgatagarbha's seed functions. And only by manifesting and operating the aggregate of form can the tathāgatagarbha display the existence of its own substance and reveal the seed functions and effects of its own substance. The relationship between the mind of emptiness (śūnyatā), the tathāgatagarbha, and the aggregate of form is like that of a water droplet and the ocean, dust and a high mountain, a tree and a forest—neither one nor different.

This word "emptiness" represents the mind of emptiness, the tathāgatagarbha. Why is the tathāgatagarbha empty? Because He lacks any mark whatsoever among the dharmas of the three realms—no mark of form, sound, scent, taste, or touch, and no mark of dharmas either. He has no marks of the six sense objects; we cannot see Him, hear Him, smell Him, taste Him, touch Him, or sense Him. He exists precisely in this formless and markless way—this is the mark of emptiness of the tathāgatagarbha. Although He is without marks, He is not mere nothingness, because He is a truly existent dharma; therefore He is called the mind of emptiness, the mind of ultimate reality (dharmatā-citta). He exists with a dharma-mark that does not belong to the existence of the three realms, and He has His own distinctive characteristics of activity. Therefore, bodhisattvas can find Him through the method of investigating Chan, and after enlightenment can engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) upon Him. Those who have not cultivated the correct knowledge and views of the tathāgatagarbha dharma find it difficult to believe in Him; those who have not realized the tathāgatagarbha find it difficult to understand Him.

The Diamond Sutra says: 凡所有相，皆是虚妄。 Although the tathāgatagarbha is without marks, cannot be seen or touched, He can manifest all dharma-marks, and among all dharmas only He is real. Although the tathāgatagarbha is of the nature of emptiness, He contains the seeds of all dharmas and can give birth to all dharmas; apart from Him, no dharma possesses this genuine merit and virtue. He is without marks and empty, empty yet possessing a nature; His marks are empty but His nature is not empty—all marked people and things are accomplished by the markless Him.

All material form, besides our five-aggregate physical body, also includes the universe, mountains, rivers, the great earth, trees, flowers, and grass—the vessel-world (bhājana-loka) in which we live. This vessel-world is likewise manifested by the tathāgatagarbhas of sentient beings with shared karma. The tathāgatagarbha contains the seeds of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—and when conditions ripen, it transmits them forth, forming the material vessel-world in which sentient beings live. Among the seeds of the four great elements, the earth element has the nature of solidity and support, the water element has the nature of moisture and lubrication, the fire element has the nature of warmth, and the wind element has the nature of flow. The seeds of the four great elements needed for the formation and growth of all things are all supplied by the tathāgatagarbha; according to conditions and according to karma, the tathāgatagarbha transmits the seeds forth one by one, and everything needed for sentient beings' existence is thereby formed. As for exactly how it is formed, bodhisattvas with the wisdom of the varieties of paths can understand it partially; only at the buddha-stage can it be understood exhaustively.

Our world is jointly manifested by the tathāgatagarbhas of all sentient beings with karmic connections, and the process of its transformation and creation takes a very, very long time. One full cycle of the earth's arising, abiding, changing, and perishing is one great kalpa, containing four intermediate kalpas, altogether eighty small kalpas; one small kalpa is 16.8 million years. The formation of the earth requires one intermediate kalpa (the kalpa of formation), altogether twenty small kalpas; the tathāgatagarbhas of all sentient beings with shared karma took this long to generate a living environment suitable for sentient beings to inhabit. The seeds of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—that compose the universe's vessel-world and those that compose our physical bodies are the same, all transmitted forth by the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra states that the earth, water, fire, and wind within sentient beings' physical bodies and the earth, water, fire, and wind outside the physical body are non-dual; both are the tathāgatagarbha's own functional attributes. The sentient beings' tathāgatagarbha contains the seeds of the four great elements and can transform and create physical bodies and the myriad things of the universe—this is what the Avataṃsaka Sūtra means by "一切唯心造," and this mind is the tathāgatagarbha.

No dharma arises in isolation; it must rely on conditions to arise. Although the tathāgatagarbha is the fundamental cause of the formation of all dharmas, the myriad dharmas also cannot arise from cause alone without conditions. The tathāgatagarbha has no subjective mental activity wishing to transform and generate the myriad dharmas; therefore, even though He possesses the seeds of the seven great elements capable of creating all dharmas, He will not create them without cause or reason. The three realms are mind-only, the myriad dharmas are consciousness-only; the consciousnesses capable of creating the myriad dharmas number three. The first consciousness capable of creating is the tathāgatagarbha (the first transformative agency, parināma); the second is the seventh consciousness, the manas (the second transformative agency)—whatever the manas wishes to do or whatever it engages with, the tathāgatagarbha will comply and cooperate; the third is the sixth consciousness (the third transformative agency). All tainted and untainted dharmas of the ten directions and three times arise and are revealed because of the eight consciousnesses, the kings of mind. The tathāgatagarbha alone cannot directly create all the dharmas of sentient beings' aggregates, sense bases, and sense fields, and the vessel-world. Even so, in the final analysis all dharmas are still transformed and created by the tathāgatagarbha alone; the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are merely conditions that facilitate the arising of all dharmas.

All the actions and creations of sentient beings are the result of the true mind and the deluded mind operating in cooperation. With only the true and no deluded, no dharmas arise. Only the deluded mind—this is impossible; the situation of only the deluded mind without the true mind does not exist, because the deluded mind is not self-sufficient; it must be given birth by the true mind and operate together with it before the deluded mind can exist and function—apart from the true, there is no deluded. When sentient beings walk, stand, sit, or lie down, and engage in all activities, it is all the result of the true mind and deluded mind operating together in harmony. Exactly how they operate in harmony can be gradually observed directly after one realizes the tathāgatagarbha and sees the mind. The operation of all dharmas of the five aggregates and eighteen realms, and the manifestation of their functions and effects, all have the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha, behind them.

The so-called "色不异空" means that the aggregate of form and the mind of emptiness, the tathāgatagarbha, are non-dual—this is the dharma gate of non-duality. The aggregate of form is born of the tathāgatagarbha; it is a part of the tathāgatagarbha, and therefore is not different from the mind of emptiness, the tathāgatagarbha. This is viewing the relationship between the aggregate of form and the tathāgatagarbha from the perspective of the aggregate of form; viewed from the perspective of the tathāgatagarbha, the relationship between the tathāgatagarbha and the aggregate of form is "emptiness is not other than form." The mind of emptiness, the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with conditions and karma, flows forth a portion of seed functions that become the aggregate of form; the two are not completely two separate entities but are intimately connected in essence—this is the dharma of non-duality. It is like a television set displaying images: the television set and the images on the screen are non-dual, they are connected. It is also like gold being fashioned into a gold ring: the gold and the gold ring are non-dual. It is also like a lump of clay being molded into a clay figure: the clay and the clay figure are non-dual.

"色即是空。空即是色。" is also said from the perspective of the essential nature of the aggregate of form. The essence of the aggregate of form is the mind of emptiness, the tathāgatagarbha, because the entirety of the aggregate of form comes from the tathāgatagarbha; the tathāgatagarbha used the seeds of the four great elements to give birth to the entire aggregate of form. Therefore the aggregate of form has no real self-nature of its own; it is all the wondrous true suchness nature of the tathāgatagarbha. The entirety of the aggregate of form is the tathāgatagarbha, and so it is said that form is emptiness. From another perspective, a portion of the tathāgatagarbha's functions accomplished the aggregate of form; the tathāgatagarbha that accomplished the aggregate of form is the aggregate of form, and so it is said that emptiness is not other than form. It is like soybeans that, after being soaked, become bean sprouts—those soybeans that have become bean sprouts are the bean sprouts; water that, after being frozen, becomes ice—at that point the water is the ice.

We say form and emptiness are non-dual, but can we say form and emptiness are one? We cannot say that, because the aggregate of form and the mind of emptiness are not completely identical; each has its own attributes—one is subject to arising and ceasing, the other is without arising and ceasing—and their functions and effects are not the same, and they cannot substitute for each other. To summarize: form is not other than emptiness, emptiness is not other than form; form is emptiness, emptiness is form. The ultimate relationship between emptiness and form is neither one nor different: the two share the same nature yet also have different contents and attributes; in essence both are the tathāgatagarbha, yet they cannot substitute for each other—such is their relationship. If the tathāgatagarbha and the aggregate of form were one, then when the aggregate of form perishes, the tathāgatagarbha would also perish, yet the tathāgatagarbha can never perish. If they were one, the aggregate of form could substitute for the tathāgatagarbha in producing all dharmas, but in fact it cannot. If they were one, the tathāgatagarbha would have the appearance of the aggregate of form and could be seen with the physical eye, but in fact it cannot be seen; therefore the two are still not one. If the tathāgatagarbha and the aggregate of form were different, then the aggregate of form could separate from the tathāgatagarbha and exist independently on its own, but in fact the aggregate of form cannot exist independently and cannot leave the tathāgatagarbha—apart from the tathāgatagarbha there is no aggregate of form, and apart from the aggregate of form the tathāgatagarbha also cannot manifest its functions. Therefore the two are in a relationship of non-difference. Neither one nor different: neither identical nor completely separate entities.

Section 2: The Five Aggregates and the Tathāgatagarbha Are Neither One Nor Different 

By the same reasoning, we know that feeling is not other than emptiness, emptiness is not other than feeling; feeling is emptiness, emptiness is feeling. The aggregate of feeling is not different from the mind of emptiness, the tathāgatagarbha; apart from the mind of emptiness there is no aggregate of feeling. The mind of emptiness, the tathāgatagarbha, is also not different from the aggregate of feeling; the aggregate of feeling is a dharma-mark manifested by the mind of emptiness. The aggregate of feeling is produced by the tathāgatagarbha; it is a portion of the tathāgatagarbha's seed functions and is not different from the tathāgatagarbha. The various feelings of sentient beings are functional effects produced by the seeds that the tathāgatagarbha flows forth; in essence they are the tathāgatagarbha. Feeling is the function of feeling formed when the consciousness formed by the tathāgatagarbha flowing forth consciousness seeds discriminates the six sense objects. Without the tathāgatagarbha's functions and effects, the aggregate of feeling would not appear, and a person would be no different from a block of wood—subject to being slaughtered at will without feeling any pain.

Therefore the aggregate of feeling and the tathāgatagarbha are not two dharmas: this aggregate of feeling is not different from the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha transformed and gave birth to the aggregate of feeling, so the tathāgatagarbha is also not different from the aggregate of feeling—the aggregate of feeling is the tathāgatagarbha. A portion of the tathāgatagarbha's seed functions transforms into the aggregate of feeling; the tathāgatagarbha is the aggregate of feeling. The relationship between the aggregate of feeling and the tathāgatagarbha is neither one nor different: the two depend on each other and cannot be separated, yet they cannot substitute for each other. Why are the true and the deluded not different yet cannot substitute for each other? For example, gold is an originally existent thing; after it is fashioned into a gold basin, the two are in a relationship of neither one nor different, but they do not substitute for each other: if you want to hold water, you must use the gold basin, not the lump of gold; if you want to build a golden house, the gold basin will not do—you must use the gold. This is the general idea; the analogy is not entirely apt.

Only through the mutual dependence of the true and the deluded can the tathāgatagarbha's various functions be manifested. Only when the tathāgatagarbha is in motion can there be the deluded dharmas of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, and the tathāgatagarbha's characteristics of activity also appear. Only when the true and deluded combine in harmony can all dharmas arise. Therefore, when we have feelings, there must be a true dharma cooperating behind them—it is not merely the deluded function of feeling. Finding this true dharma is of paramount importance. When our five aggregates appear, it is the result of the true and deluded in harmony, not merely the surface marks of the five aggregates. The marks of the five aggregates lack self-mastery (avaśatā); they cannot give birth to themselves—there must be the true dharma, the tathāgatagarbha, that manifests the five aggregates, existing and operating. How does the true dharma, the tathāgatagarbha, function and operate? Investigate this on your own; only by understanding the internal operating mechanism can one attain enlightenment.

So-called enlightenment is realizing the true facts of the tathāgatagarbha operating within all dharmas. It is not seeing something with the eyes, but the mind's eye opening, the wisdom eye opening, observing the secret of the five aggregates' operation and the tathāgatagarbha's operating mechanism. At the same time one knows which is one's own tathāgatagarbha and which is the real self; then one no longer takes the five aggregates as the self, knowing that the five aggregates are indeed false, all being the tathāgatagarbha functioning. At the moment one finds the tathāgatagarbha, the Hīnayāna view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) has certainly already been eradicated, and the fruits of both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna can be attained.

Attaining the fruits—speaking of it as fast, it is fast; but if one's path of learning Buddhism deviates a bit, or one goes around in circles, it will be extremely slow, and perhaps the further one goes, the farther one strays from the correct path. Those with great blessings walk this straight path and progress very quickly in cultivation. Those with insufficient blessings must take detours; the process of taking detours is the process of accumulating the resources of merit, and also the process of cultivating the bodhisattva's six perfections. Not one of the conditions for the six perfections can be lacking: insufficient generosity (dāna) will not do; insufficient precepts, patience, and diligence will not do either; without the power of meditative concentration and the power of wisdom (prajñā-bala), one cannot investigate Chan, cannot see the mind and attain enlightenment. Therefore all six perfections of the bodhisattva must be well cultivated.

By the same reasoning, the relationship between the aggregate of perception and the tathāgatagarbha is also neither one nor different; the relationship between the aggregate of volitional formations and the tathāgatagarbha is also neither one nor different; and the relationships between the aggregate of consciousness—the six consciousnesses—and the tathāgatagarbha are all likewise neither one nor different. The six consciousnesses of the aggregate of consciousness are born of the tathāgatagarbha; when the six faculties and six sense objects make contact, the tathāgatagarbha produces the six consciousnesses. Therefore the entire five aggregates are all manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. Precisely because they are all manifested, it is said that the five aggregates are empty, and are of the nature of emptiness. "Empty" means illusory, void, unreal; "the nature of emptiness" means the nature of the tathāgatagarbha.

The five aggregates cannot exist independently on their own; they cannot arise from nothing by themselves, nor go from existence to non-existence by themselves. Even when they exist, it is not true existence but false existence, an illusory existence, not real. It is like a magician conjuring a gem in the air: although the gem appears to exist, it cannot exist independently; it has no real self-nature—it is false, it is empty; it vanishes the moment it is said to be gone; it cannot be grasped or held onto at all, and therefore it is illusory and empty. From another perspective, the gem is conjured by the magician and belongs to the magician; the conjuring and the withdrawal of the gem are controlled by the magician.

Among the five aggregates, the aggregate of consciousness is a mental dharma, and the aggregates of feeling and perception are mental concomitants. When faculties and objects make contact, the tathāgatagarbha flows forth the seeds of the six consciousness-minds, forming consciousness; when the six consciousnesses discriminate the six sense objects, there are feelings and grasping at marks with discriminative thought. Therefore the aggregates of consciousness, feeling, and perception are all produced by the tathāgatagarbha; they are a portion of the tathāgatagarbha's seed functions, and so they are not different from the tathāgatagarbha; in essence they are all the tathāgatagarbha, and their relationship with the tathāgatagarbha is neither one nor different.

Now consider the aggregate of volitional formations: all our bodily, verbal, and mental actions are the aggregate of volitional formations. Why do sentient beings' bodies and minds arise and perish moment by moment? It is entirely because behind them there is a tathāgatagarbha continuously outputting karmic seeds. From the perspective of worldly phenomena, all dharmas flow on without cease, never stopping for even a moment. From the perspective of the mind of emptiness, the tathāgatagarbha, the changes of all dharmas are the result of the tathāgatagarbha's continuous transformation and upholding. The tathāgatagarbha outputs karmic seeds; after they become manifest, they fall away and return to the substance of the tathāgatagarbha's mind; then it outputs karmic seeds again, which again return to the tathāgatagarbha's mind—thus arising and ceasing rapidly without stop. The arising, abiding, changing, and perishing of all dharmas is, in essence, the process of the arising, abiding, changing, and perishing of the seeds outputted by the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, the relationship between the aggregate of volitional formations and the tathāgatagarbha is neither one nor different.

The enlightenment of Mahāyāna practitioners is understanding one true fact: comprehending the operating mechanism of the five aggregates and their relationship with the tathāgatagarbha, realizing the tathāgatagarbha, and knowing that He is the real self—henceforth no longer taking the false self of the five aggregates as the self. Because one can directly observe at that very moment that the five-aggregate body is like a puppet, and the tathāgatagarbha is the puppeteer behind it.

Section 3: The Tathāgatagarbha's Accommodation of Sentient Beings

The entire five aggregates are conjured forth by the tathāgatagarbha, and therefore the five aggregates are empty and unreal. The five aggregates cannot exist on their own; they are personally objectified and upheld by the tathāgatagarbha, arising from nothing and ceasing into nothing within the dharma-realm of the tathāgatagarbha, arising and perishing without end. The tathāgatagarbha is apart from seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing—this is said relative to the scope of what the mind consciousness's knowing mind discriminates. The tathāgatagarbha has His own unique capacity for discrimination and can accommodate us in accomplishing worldly dharmas. At times He is like the most faithful servant, obeying our every word and accommodating us in every way: if I go east, He does not go west; if I sit or lie down, He does not stand; if I eat, He does not drink tea; if I look at objects, He does not listen to sounds; if I am a human, He does not become a ghost; if I ascend to heaven, He does not enter the earth.

There are also times when the tathāgatagarbha does not accommodate; He has a side that is autocratic and shows no favoritism. What is this situation? It is when sentient beings' karmic conditions have already ripened, and the tathāgatagarbha must, according to the force of karma, actualize sentient beings' causes, conditions, and retributions. The seeds of all karmic actions created by the five-aggregate body and mind are stored in the substance of the tathāgatagarbha's mind; the tathāgatagarbha can discriminate these karmic seeds at any time and, according to them, upholds sentient beings' bodies in the six realms and alters their living environments. If in a future life one is due to obtain a human body, then with the cooperation of the seventh consciousness one enters the mother's womb and is reborn in the human realm; if one is due to obtain an animal body, then together with the manas one enters an animal womb, transforming an animal body within the animal mother's womb.

What kind of body should be manifested for a sentient being—the tathāgatagarbha knows it all: whether a male or female body, whether the body is adorned or ugly, healthy or disabled—the tathāgatagarbha can manifest it accurately and without error according to karma and conditions. The tathāgatagarbha upholds our physical body; He will not have the self-consciousness of thinking, "That animal body is so ugly, I don't want to uphold it; I'd rather manifest a human body or a heavenly body." He has no view of self or grasping on self; whatever karma the five aggregates create and whatever retribution is due, none of it can be hidden from Him. He does not heed the mind consciousness's suggestions, nor does He deliberate with the mind consciousness. The tathāgatagarbha has His own innate wisdom of original awakening; this wisdom is inherent to the tathāgatagarbha, not acquired through study and cultivation, and is fundamentally different from the wisdom of the mind consciousness's discrimination of the myriad dharmas of the six sense objects.

Some people think about getting rich every day but never get rich; some hope for longevity but pass away before reaching middle age; some seek health yet never have medicine far from their bodies; some wish to ascend to heaven to enjoy blessings, yet at the end of life they fall into evil destinies. Do not complain that the tathāgatagarbha does not accommodate: the tathāgatagarbha discriminates both sentient beings' minds and their karma; whatever sentient beings want to do, He will accommodate and cooperate, yet He Himself has no room for choice and no such thoughts. If the tathāgatagarbha does not contain such karmic seeds and karmic conditions for what sentient beings wish to accomplish, He is helpless too—He cannot make bricks without straw. When conditions ripen, regardless of whether sentient beings have such thoughts, whether it is evil or good, whether sentient beings want it or not, He invariably makes the karmic seeds manifest and actualizes the retribution as it is. The tathāgatagarbha's operation has its own distinctive laws and is not swayed by our wishes. He faithfully records the bodily, verbal, and mental actions we create, all the wholesome and unwholesome karma we create, without the slightest error. When karmic seeds mature, He knows what the karmic retribution is: for those due to ascend to heaven and enjoy blessings, He creates a deva's body; for those due to descend into hell to suffer, He creates a hell body and a hellish living environment. Both the direct retribution and the circumstantial retribution are accomplished by Him; therefore both hell and heaven are created by mind alone.

The tathāgatagarbha is intrinsically pure, without a self, absolutely according with conditions, making no distinction between good and evil; while according with conditions He does not change the purity of His own substance; amid unchangingness He completely accords with conditions—according with conditions yet unchanging, unchanging yet according with conditions. Our deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses, however, has a very strong sense of self, always wanting others or all external states to submit to its own will, always wanting to manipulate everything, extremely subjective, with very heavy grasping on self. If the seven consciousnesses, through cultivation, can become as pure as the tathāgatagarbha, we can perfectly accomplish the buddha path. Therefore, we should know how to truly cultivate: we should, through cultivating the bodhisattva's six perfections, see the mind and find the tathāgatagarbha, rely on Him to eradicate the view of self and the grasping on dharmas, extinguish afflictive habits, exhaust ignorance, and thereby attain ultimate liberation.

Those who study Buddhism must recognize the illusory nature of the five aggregates, knowing that they cannot long remain in the world—a human life of a hundred years is but the space of a moment. One should have an urgent mind for liberation from birth and death, striving to realize bodhi early. Once one has realized the tathāgatagarbha, one may be reborn at will in the worlds of the ten directions, because at that point the mind corresponds with the buddha-lands of the ten directions; bodhisattvas who have seen the mind and awakened to the way are the most basic members composing the buddha-lands. As long as one has the power of vow wishing to be reborn there, all buddhas will receive and guide one—this is determined by the power of vow and wholesome karma. If one does not cultivate and does not realize the true, one will not attain freedom; when the conditions for evil karma ripen, one has no way whatsoever to resist the force of karma, and in a flash one follows evil conditions off to undergo the retribution of birth-and-death transmigration.