Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (193)

The Three Gates of Liberation

Original text: 大王当知。诸根如幻。境界如梦。一切诸法。皆悉空寂。此名空解脱门。空无空相。名无相解脱门。若无相者。则无希求。名无愿解脱门。若能了此。三解脱门。与空共行。菩提先道。广大如法性。究竟如虚空。于此譬喻。当如是知。

Explanation: Great King, you should know that the six faculties are like illusions, and the various sense objects are like dreams. All dharmas are entirely empty and tranquil—this is called the gate of emptiness liberation. That dharmas are empty and yet there is no mark of emptiness is called the gate of signlessness liberation. If all dharmas are without even a mark, then one should give rise to no aspiration or seeking—this is called the gate of wishlessness liberation. When the three gates of liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—exist together with emptiness, walking the path toward nirvāṇa, this is how one should cultivate and learn. To seek nirvāṇa, one must first know that all dharmas are the dharmadhātu of suchness, all being the one true dharmadhātu of the ālayavijñāna, pervading the bounds of empty space in the ten directions. Regarding these analogies, you should understand them in this way.