Life Is Truly Precious

Life is indeed precious,

Yet Nirvana holds higher worth.

If for attaining Buddhahood,

Both may be relinquished.

Nirvana is a state—a state of tranquil silence, a state of neither arising nor ceasing, a state of neither increasing nor decreasing, a state of neither defilement nor purity, a state of neither coming nor going. Since it is a state, it must depend upon some real dharma to exist; it must be illusory and false; it must be subject to production and cessation; it must be capable of being abandoned.

Therefore, Nirvana is said to be non-ultimate and not a state to abide in. The great wise do not grasp or cling to it. Only Tathāgatagarbha is the real dharma, the true reality, the substantial entity. It exists without depending on other dharmas or conditions; it neither arises nor can cease; it is tranquil and silent; it eternally remains without change; it can never be discarded nor abandoned.

Thus, Tathāgatagarbha is the most reliable and most worthy to pursue, yet it need not be pursued, cannot be abided in, and indeed cannot be abided in.