Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (63)

Except for the tathāgatagarbha, all dharmas are empty

Material form is empty in itself, formed from the four great seeds of earth, water, fire, and wind; earth, water, fire, and wind are themselves empty, and the material world they form is therefore empty, utterly unattainable. The eye faculty is likewise empty, utterly unattainable, and should not be clung to. Originally there was no eye base, no eye faculty; the four great seeds were transmitted forth, and from a state of nothing whatsoever the eye faculty came into being, and in the end it returns to nothing whatsoever. Both the process of formation and the result are empty. A dharma that arises and ceases, a dharma that is nothing whatsoever, is empty. What dharma is not empty? Our tathāgatagarbha mind is not empty. Do not dismiss Him just because He is formless and without marks—He is constantly giving rise to mind, constantly functioning, constantly producing the myriad dharmas for us. Apart from Him, all dharmas are empty.