Lecture on the Sutra of the Gathering of Father and Son (192)

Nirvana is a manifestation of a state of quiescence

If we attain Nirvana, extinguishing the worldly dharmas of the Three Realms, the Five Aggregates vanish, the Eighteen Realms vanish, the body vanishes, the mind vanishes, sensations vanish, thoughts vanish, and the actions and creations of body, speech, and mind vanish—all vanish completely—leaving only the Alaya-vijnana, neither arising nor ceasing, pure and quiescently extinguished. This state is called Nirvana. The state where the Five Aggregates and Eighteen Realms have all vanished is itself empty, subject to arising, ceasing, and change; it is not eternally unchanging. The state of Nirvana also has no coming from anywhere and no going to anywhere; there is no one who enters Nirvana, nor is there anyone who emerges from Nirvana. There is no doer and no experiencer.

Therefore, Nirvana is not truly existent; Nirvana is a manifestation of a state of quiescence. Like the clamorous phenomena of the world, it is unreal and illusory. This state is also empty; only the Alaya-vijnana is not empty, while everything else is empty. Nirvana is signless; even the state of emptiness is empty, and this emptiness does not exist apart from the Alaya-vijnana.

All dharmas have no doer and no experiencer. When one attains the fourth fruition of Arhatship and enters Nirvana, there is no one who attained the fourth fruition, nor is there an Arhat who entered Nirvana. There is no Arhat enjoying the bliss of extinction. Who experiences the blissful quiescence of Nirvana? Can such a person be found? Within Nirvana, there is no person, no Arhat. If there were, it would not be Nirvana. The Arhat's physical body vanishes, the conscious mind vanishes, the functions of the Five Aggregates vanish, and the phenomena of the Eighteen Realms vanish. Therefore, within Nirvana, there is no Arhat, no one experiencing the bliss of quiescence.