All Dharmas Have Neither a Sovereign Nor a Creator

The Sutra of the Ten Wholesome Paths of Action, Spoken by the Buddha: Original Text

The aggregation and arising of all dharmas ultimately have no master, no self-nature, nor possession. Although each follows its own karma, the manifested appearances differ. Yet within this, there is truly no creator. Therefore, all dharmas are inconceivable; their intrinsic nature is like an illusion.

Explanation:

The aggregation and arising of all dharmas in the world ultimately have no sovereign ruler, no master, no self-nature, nor the nature of possession. Although these dharmas arise according to their respective karmic seeds and conditions, the manifested dharma appearances differ. Yet in the process of these dharmas arising and ceasing, there is indeed no creator. Thus, it is said that all these dharmas are inconceivable; the intrinsic nature of dharmas is like an illusion.

The aggregation of dharmas refers to karmic actions gathering together to form karmic seeds. After the karmic seeds ripen, with the support of karmic conditions, all dharmas are born. Yet the birth of dharmas has no one acting as a sovereign within them, controlling their birth, abiding, change, and cessation—there is no controller. These dharmas have no self-nature; they are without self and do not belong to me. For example, who causes the aggregate of form to arise? The Tathāgatagarbha has no mind to aggregate or arise; it does not govern the aggregate of form. The manas (mental faculty) is also illusory and does not govern the aggregate of form. Karmic seeds and conditions are likewise illusory—none have a mind to aggregate or arise—yet the aggregate of form inexplicably appears. Is the aggregate of form the self? It is not the self, for it lacks autonomy and is empty. Does the aggregate of form belong to me? It does not belong to me, for it is empty. The same applies to the aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness, as well as the six sense faculties, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses.

Sentient beings A, B, C, and D each appear in the six realms of rebirth according to their respective karmic actions and karmic seeds. However, their manifested appearances—such as form, identity, status, blessings, race, and so forth—differ greatly. Yet within these manifested appearances, there is truly no creator; no one fabricated the appearances of the six realms for sentient beings. Therefore, A’s heavenly appearance is inconceivable—the intrinsic nature of the heavenly form is like an illusion, without a substantial heavenly being. B’s human appearance is inconceivable—the intrinsic nature of the human form is like an illusion, without a substantial human. Similarly, C’s hellish appearance and D’s hungry ghost appearance are all like this—inconceivable, with an intrinsic nature like an illusion, without substance.

Comprehending these dharmas with the conscious mind may not be overly difficult, but the conscious mind can only grasp a rough outline and does not know the internal details. That is to say, the conscious mind cannot know the specific causes or the precise workings of the dharmas. It is like viewing flowers through mist—blurred and indistinct. Only by deeply contemplating with the manas in meditative concentration can one fully penetrate them, seeing all details exhaustively, knowing the reasons why, and thereby realizing the dharmas directly, reaching the very source of dharmas. Then one will no longer view flowers through mist or scratch an itch from outside the boot. For any dharma, the more the manas contemplates it, the more fascinating it becomes; the more one seeks to understand it, the more wisdom and meditative concentration one gains. The entire person becomes utterly captivated—this is the joy of exploring truth. Abandoning the shallow understanding of the conscious mind and learning the profound contemplation of the manas will lead to ever-increasing wisdom. One’s thoughts and logic will grow clearer, the person will become increasingly composed and insightful, and all difficult problems will cease to be obstacles, resolving themselves effortlessly.