Why the Tathagata Has No Definitive Dharma to Expound

Diamond Sutra Original Text: Subhuti said, "As I understand the meaning of what the Buddha has taught, there is no fixed dharma called anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, nor is there any fixed dharma that the Tathagata can teach. Why? The dharmas spoken by the Tathagata cannot be grasped, cannot be spoken of; they are not dharmas, nor non-dharmas. All sages and saints differ based on the unconditioned dharmas."

The explanation of this passage is as follows: Subhuti replied to the Buddha, saying: According to my understanding of the essence of what the Buddha has taught, there is no fixed, unchanging dharma named anuttara-samyak-sambodhi; there is no truly existent dharma named anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Why is this said? Because anuttara-samyak-sambodhi is also called supreme perfect enlightenment, meaning the attainment of Buddhahood. However, the event of attaining Buddhahood is not an innate, fixed, unchanging dharma; it is an achievement attained through cultivation over three asamkhyeya kalpas. Therefore, it is also subject to arising and ceasing; it comes into being from non-existence. Hence, it is not a fixed dharma, nor is it a truly existent dharma.

Nor is there any fixed dharma that the Tathagata can teach. Why is this said? Because the dharmas taught by the Tathagata during the forty-nine years in the Saha World, comprising the Tripitaka and twelve divisions of scriptures, cannot be grasped as truly existent. Even all the dharmas taught by the Tathagata throughout the ten directions cannot be grasped as truly existent. Why can they not be grasped as truly existent? Because the dharmas spoken by the Buddha arise due to various causes and conditions. Without causes and conditions, these dharmas would not exist, and the Buddha would not teach any dharma. Even the great matter of the Buddha liberating sentient beings requires the maturation and completeness of causes and conditions; it also requires the sentient beings' merit, virtuous roots, the aspiration for liberation, and so forth. If any one condition is lacking, the Buddha cannot liberate sentient beings. The dharmas taught to liberate sentient beings are determined by the causes and conditions, adapting to the capacities, merit, and wisdom of the sentient beings. There is no fixed dharma that can be taught.

A fixed dharma means an unchanging, inherently existing dharma that does not transform according to causes and conditions, does not vary with causes and conditions; it is a truly existent, immutable dharma, applied uniformly to all sentient beings regardless of their capacities, regardless of their roots, and regardless of the causes and conditions present. Clearly, this is incorrect, unattainable, unfeasible; such a dharma does not exist. Dharmas arising from causes and conditions are not innate dharmas; they are not fixed dharmas. Therefore, it is said that the Tathagata has no fixed dharma to teach for liberating sentient beings.

Therefore, the dharmas spoken by the Tathagata cannot be spoken of as truly existent, unchanging dharmas; they are dharmas subject to arising, ceasing, and change – dharmas that come from non-existence, exist, and then cease, dharmas to be abandoned upon reaching the shore. They are also empty dharmas. Thus, they are called dharmas, but in reality, dharmas have no inherent nature, no self-essence that can be spoken of; therefore, they are not dharmas (non-dharmas). Yet, they are not entirely non-dharmas either, for they still have illusory function; provisional dharmas can be provisionally used and borrowed. Sentient beings use them to attain Buddhahood, and after attaining Buddhahood, they are discarded. Therefore, the dharmas spoken by the Buddha are also non-non-dharmas; they are not entirely not dharmas.

Since all dharmas spoken by the Tathagata are non-dharmas, being dharmas arising from causes and conditions with no fixed dharma, then the dharmas taught by the Tathagata to sentient beings of different capacities, according to different causes and conditions – after sentient beings study and practice them, they realize unconditioned dharmas (asamskrta dharmas) of different levels, including the unconditioned of the Great, Medium, and Small Vehicles. Even within the same vehicle, the unconditioned dharmas have distinctions. In this way, sages and saints of different levels and distinctions are achieved. All sages and saints, due to differences in their virtuous roots, merit, and causes and conditions, differ based on the unconditioned dharmas they have realized.