What Is the Oneness of Nature and Marks?

The mark (lakṣaṇa) of a thing and the nature (svabhāva) of that thing are both true suchness (tathatā), the one true dharmadhātu. The mark is manifested from the four great element seeds within the self-nature of true suchness — it is manifested by true suchness, its essence is true suchness, and its nature is the nature of true suchness. For example, a golden vessel is made of gold: its mark is the mark of gold, its nature is the nature of gold, and its nature and mark are unified as gold.