Excerpted Verses from the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra with Explanations: The Ultimate Truth (paramārtha-satya)

Original text of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra: 尔时大慧菩萨摩诃萨。复白佛言。世尊。惟愿为说。离一异俱不俱。有无非有非无。常无常。一切外道所不行。自觉圣智所行。离妄想自相共相。入于第一真实之义。诸地相续渐次。上上增进清净之相。随入如来地相。无开发本愿。譬如众色摩尼境界。无边相行。自心现趣部分之相。一切诸法。我及余菩萨摩诃萨。离如是等妄想自性。自共相见。疾得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提。

Explanation: Bodhisattva Mahāmati requests the World-Honored One to expound the ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya). After the bodhisattvas understand this ultimate truth, they can advance from bhūmi to bhūmi, enter the Tathāgata stage, and become the perfectly accomplished Buddha, the World-Honored One. This ultimate truth is apart from identity and difference, apart from both-together and not-both-together, apart from existence and non-existence as well as neither existence nor non-existence, and apart from permanence and impermanence. The wisdom realm of this ultimate truth is not understood by any of the non-Buddhist paths (tīrthikas); none of them can realize it. Only the noble ones who have already awakened and attained the bhūmis can realize it. The noble ones can be apart from the specific characteristics (svalakṣaṇa) and common characteristics (sāmānya-lakṣaṇa) possessed by the deluded minds of the seven consciousnesses, and realize entry into the true and profound principle—that is, the ultimate truth. Then, beginning from the first bhūmi, they can advance progressively from bhūmi to bhūmi, with the mind-ground becoming ever purer; when ignorance is completely severed and the minds of the seven consciousnesses are thoroughly purified, they enter the Tathāgata stage and become the ultimate Buddha.

This ultimate truth is like a maṇi jewel that can manifest boundless, infinite radiance and manifest the marks of infinite, boundless conditioned dharmas. Mahāmati Bodhisattva says that the phenomena of the phenomenal realm manifested in part by one's own mind, together with the marks of all dharmas—he and the other bodhisattva mahāsattvas can all be apart from these illusory marks manifested by the ultimate truth through the deluded thinking of the minds of the seven consciousnesses, be apart from the specific and common characteristics of these illusory marks, and see only the mark of the ultimate truth itself; in this way they can swiftly attain anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. The specific and common characteristics of deluded thinking include the material form (rūpa) and mental (citta) dharmas produced by the ultimate truth.

Among these, "identity and difference" refers to the relationship between the ultimate truth and all dharmas, which is neither identical nor different: "identity" means in common, "difference" means not the same; the ultimate truth and all dharmas have both what is shared and what is not shared. "Both-together and not-both-together" refers to the relationship between the ultimate truth and all dharmas, which is neither conjoined nor disjoined: the ultimate truth and all dharmas are both together and not together. "Existence, non-existence, neither existence nor non-existence" refers to the nature of existence and non-existence of the ultimate truth, its nature of being neither existent nor non-existent: the essential nature of the ultimate truth exists, while its worldly appearance does not; therefore it both exists and does not exist, being neither existent nor non-existent. "Permanence and impermanence" refers to the permanent and impermanent nature of the ultimate truth: the ultimate truth abides permanently without perishing, and the seven intrinsically existing great seeds (earth, water, fire, wind, space, seeing, consciousness) also abide permanently without perishing; yet the karmic seeds of the seven consciousnesses that it contains arise, cease, and change, which is not a permanent nature, and consequently even its name is not permanent—depending on the different stages of cultivation and the changes in the karmic seeds it contains, its name changes.