All Dharmas Are Merely Provisional Names

For example, a country: a single person does not constitute a nation; since a single person is not a nation, many people are also not a nation, and thus a billion people are not a nation either. Where is the nation? It is merely a provisional name! Therefore, all dharmas are merely provisional names, without real substance—except for suchness (tathatā).

By the same reasoning, a head alone is not called a person, an arm alone is not called a person, a leg alone is not called a person, and even when combined together, they are still not called a person. What, then, is a person? There is no person! It is merely a provisional name, without real substance! All dharmas are merely provisional names, without real substance—except for suchness (tathatā).

What is so-and-so, that particular person? There is no such person as so-and-so: the head, eyes, brain, and marrow are not so-and-so; the arms, legs, and feet are not so-and-so; thoughts, awareness, concepts, and feelings are also not so-and-so. Combined together, they are even less so-and-so; yet one does not perceive so-and-so apart from these dharmas. If someone insults so-and-so, can they actually insult so-and-so? No! If someone strikes so-and-so, can they actually strike so-and-so? No, they cannot! So-and-so is empty, and both striking and insulting are empty! There is no such person and no such event.