Commentary on the Sutra of the Compendium of Father and Son (193)

The Three Gates of Liberation

Original Text: Great King, you should know: The sense faculties are like illusions; the realms [of perception] are like dreams. All dharmas are entirely empty and quiescent. This is called the gate of liberation of emptiness. Emptiness has no characteristic of emptiness; this is called the gate of liberation of signlessness. If there are no characteristics, then there is nothing to crave; this is called the gate of liberation of wishlessness. If one can fully comprehend these three gates of liberation, walking together with emptiness, the path to enlightenment is as vast as the dharma-nature and as ultimate as empty space. These analogies should be understood thus.

Explanation: Great King, you should know that the six sense faculties are like magical transformations, and all perceived realms are like dreams. All dharmas are entirely empty and quiescent—this is the gate of liberation of emptiness. Since dharmas are empty, they have no characteristics of emptiness; this is called the gate of liberation of signlessness. If dharmas are without characteristics, one should give rise to no cravings whatsoever—this is called the gate of liberation of wishlessness. Thus, the three gates of liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—coexist with emptiness, leading to the path of nirvana, and should be cultivated accordingly. To seek nirvana, one must first understand that all dharmas are the true reality of the dharma-realm, the one true dharma-realm of the alaya consciousness, pervading throughout the ten directions and the bounds of empty space. These analogies should be comprehended in this manner.