Discourse on the Father and Son Sutra (137)

How are illusory phenomena conjured and unreal?

Cultivation involves recognizing and investigating how these illusory appearances arise and how they are unreal. Does the act of applying perfume in a dream truly exist? One cannot deny the existence of such illusory appearances, which are profoundly insubstantial. But how do these unreal phenomena manifest? How are they conjured? Only through such investigation can one attain great wisdom. Upon awakening from a dream, all activities performed by the five aggregates are likewise illusory, conjured, and no different from dreaming. So how are the five aggregates and their activities conjured? Continuous contemplation and investigation in this manner constitute genuine practice. We must diligently cultivate meditative concentration and deeply engage in Chan meditation to realize these profound principles.

Apart from the ālaya-vijñāna (Tathāgatagarbha), all phenomena are conjured and illusory. Yet illusory phenomena possess their own functions; even when functioning, they remain illusory. Our five aggregates themselves are illusory, yet the functions of the five-aggregate body must still be maintained. Sentient beings below the fourth fruition lack the capacity to eradicate the illusory appearance of the five aggregates. Therefore, one must purify and liberate these illusory phenomena to eliminate all suffering. Even upon attaining Buddhahood, sentient beings do not annihilate the illusory phenomenon of the five skandhas' material body. Rather, they transform the five skandhas into something supremely magnificent and utterly pure—free from even a trace of defilement or ignorance—endowed with the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor marks.