The Difference between Buddhadharma and Worldly Dharmas

The Buddha-dharma is the dharma that guides sentient beings to liberation; it can liberate sentient beings from birth and death. Worldly dharmas include all kinds of dharmas apart from the Buddha's path, such as Confucian and Daoist teachings; they cannot guide sentient beings toward liberation, nor can they free sentient beings from birth and death. Only the Buddha-dharma speaks of the illusory emptiness of the world, speaks of the emptiness of ultimate reality; only by realizing emptiness can one attain liberation. Dharmas apart from the Buddha's path mostly speak of existence; even when they speak of emptiness, it is only partial emptiness, emptiness at a shallow level. The emptiness of the world is never ultimate, let alone the emptiness of ultimate reality that transcends the world. Emptiness brings liberation; existence is bondage. The Buddha-dharma is the dharma of emptiness that liberates and seeks nothing, while the teachings of non-Buddhists are the dharma of existence that binds and seeks something.

The Buddha-dharma is the Buddha-dharma, and the teachings of non-Buddhists are the teachings of non-Buddhists; their views and concepts differ. If they were the same, the teachings of non-Buddhists would not be the teachings of non-Buddhists—they would also be called the Buddha-dharma. If Laozi had been enlightened, and the dharma he transmitted could also liberate sentient beings, then the Buddha would not have needed to come to the human world—it would have been superfluous. What the teachings of non-Buddhists share with the Buddha-dharma is meditative concentration (samādhi) and worldly goodness, but their views, concepts, and states differ. The Buddha-dharma teaches that the world is illusory and unreal, teaching emptiness; the teachings of non-Buddhists teach existence, practicing meditative concentration and wholesome dharmas on the basis of existence. Therefore they cannot be empty, and cannot liberate the five aggregates (pañca-skandha). 

Although certain worldly teachings also contain terms such as "the source" or "the origin," these are all shallow, partial meanings, referring to sources and origins of a worldly nature; the source is still existence, not emptiness, and does not touch upon the true and fundamental source of birth and death underlying all dharmas. Worldly teachings are not truly awakened dharma; otherwise they would be called the Buddha-dharma.