Dharmas

All phenomena in the world are devoid of the self. All phenomena arise from the three poisons, leading to the differentiation of dharmas, which is conditioned by the habitual tendencies formed through sentient beings' physical, verbal, and mental actions. Within the dharmas, there is no self; I too am without a dharma, nor is there any ultimate dharma. The Buddhas transcend all characteristics and names of phenomena; the dharma realm is inherently devoid of name and form, yet it can also manifest names and forms. Names and characteristics, as well as representations, are all worldly phenomena, which serve as a bridge as well as the ocean of karma.

By penetrating the essence of all phenomena, one discerns that they are empty; all nominal constructs are devoid of inherent existence, transcending both existence and non-existence without limit. The Buddha uses nominal constructs to guide sentient beings to abide in a state of pure thought, such as the recitation of the names of all Buddhas, which facilitates the Buddha's teaching in the world. The Buddha represents a nominal existence rather than an ultimate reality; only through thoroughly relinquishing attachment to all phenomena can one truly eradicate the roots of afflictions. The attachment to 'self' and 'dharma' stems from the three poisons within the mind: greed and anger, while delusion is the deepest layer of ignorance. Due to a lack of understanding that all things arise dependent on conditions and are without self-nature, one mistakenly asserts that these phenomena exist independently, thereby generating attraction and aversion, which solidify attachment to self and the world through physical, verbal, and mental actions.

The myriad phenomena in the world are merely temporary illusions constructed through language, text, concepts, and sensory perception. People from different regions assign different names to the same phenomena based on their languages and ways of thinking, yet fundamentally, they all depend on various conditions for their existence, and none possess an independent or unchanging essence. The manifestation of all existence is merely a magical formation of conditions, which cannot be conceived as possessing true inherent nature; thus, all names and representations are merely expedient means and do not reflect ultimate reality. Although worldly dharmas can serve as a resource for practice—such as using the Buddha’s teachings on non-self to counteract greed, or employing patience to transform anger—if one becomes attached to these virtuous practices, they can still become causes and conditions for samsara. If one is misled by the pursuit of names and forms, they ultimately remain unable to escape the cycle of birth and death.

The ultimate truth transcends all binary oppositions; it is neither absolute existence nor absolute non-existence, neither the annihilation of all dharmas nor the attachment to their reality. Names and forms are simply tools for convenient expression, aiding beings in momentarily grasping the meaning of the dharma; however, one must ultimately transcend the confines of language and concepts to directly realize the non-dual, non-self nature of reality. The key to practice lies in recognizing the roots of afflictions, cultivating wisdom, surpassing all names and distinctions, and fully realizing unobstructed non-discriminative wisdom. Only in this way can one avoid falling into attachment to emptiness and prevent being lost in the afflictions brought about by worldly phenomena. When an individual transforms their thoughts and genuinely relinquishes attachment to self and all phenomena, they can depart from all forms of discrimination and calculation, crossing over from the cycle of karmic rebirth into a realm of tranquility and clarity. This represents the true meaning of the Buddhist teaching of the “emptiness of person and dharma,” and is the ultimate goal in the process of practice. Wisdom enables the realization that all phenomena lack inherent self-nature, leading to profound and ultimate liberation. 

All within and outside the dharma realm utilizes nominal constructs to express dependent origination. The nominal dharma realm serves as a convenient description for both worldly dharmas and ultimate dharmas without discrimination.

One should rely on the dharma rather than on individuals, on meaning rather than on words, on that which is fully understood rather than on that which is not, and depend on wisdom rather than on consciousness. The third and seventh dimensions all exist within the dharma realm; there is fundamentally no distinction among the third, fourth, and seventh dimensions. These concepts resemble the hierarchical structures of worldly dharmas. The notion of the seventh dimension is constructed from human thought, where length, width, and height comprise the three dimensions. Thus, when one deduces the logic of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh dimensions, it is fundamentally illusory, leading beings in the three-dimensional worldly realm to generate more delusions, pursuing ascension to higher dimensions and fearing lower dimensions. Yet, does this bring suffering to beings living within your defined three-dimensional existence? Describing distinctions among dimensions gives rise to pursuits, generating an insatiable desire. When science discovers that the universe might contain twenty dimensions, the pursuit continues; yet, the desire for inherent existence in all worldly phenomena remains the same.