Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (53)

The Tathāgatagarbha, like empty space, neither comes nor goes

Original text: 佛言大王。设使彼人。复填以土。于意云何。空何所去。王曰。空无所去。所以者何。是虚空界。无去来故。不住男相。亦非女相。

大王。外虚空界。本来无动。自性离故。但唯言说。之所显示。除佛正慧。而能了知。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, suppose that person then fills the pond and well with earth again. What do you think — where has the space gone? King Śuddhodana said: The space has gone nowhere. Why is this so? It is because the realm of empty space fundamentally has no coming or going. The realm of empty space has no male form, nor any female form.

The Buddha said: Great King, the external realm of empty space has never undergone any change; its self-nature is free of all marks — it is only through words and speech that empty space can be indicated. Empty space has no substance of its own. Only the Buddha's supreme great wisdom can fully comprehend its content.

The realm of empty space neither comes nor goes, and the tathāgatagarbha likewise, like empty space, neither comes nor goes; He is without form and without mark. When you came here from your home, did your tathāgatagarbha come? The tathāgatagarbha has no feet and no wings, so He cannot come; when you return, does the tathāgatagarbha go back? The tathāgatagarbha also does not go, likewise because He is formless. That is why the Chan masters of the past would ask their disciples: "Where have you come from?" The disciple would say: "I have come from Shanghai." The master would then ask: "Did you come by boat or on foot?" The disciple would answer: "I came by boat." Upon hearing this, the master would say: "Before you came by boat, I should already have given you a blow of the staff." He indeed deserved the blow — can you ride a boat? Have you ever ridden a boat? With what would you ride a boat? The Chan masters' questioning never departs from the tathāgatagarbha; the tathāgatagarbha, like empty space, neither comes nor goes, because He is without mark.