Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (39)

The external fire element comes from nowhere and goes nowhere

The external fire element is jointly upheld by the tathāgatagarbhas of sentient beings sharing common karma; the tathāgatagarbha of a single individual cannot uphold the external fire element, but can only uphold the fire element within his own body. In the past, unlike now, there were no matches or lighters; people used other methods to make fire—holding a convex lens under sunlight to focus the rays and ignite wormwood, dried cow-dung shavings, or cotton-wool (tūla). Once kindled, these were used to light other things, in order to make fire for cooking, or to burn other materials.

Once this fire burns, it may burn grass, trees, mountains, forests, and villages. Originally there was not a single flame, but once this fire arises, it will blaze across the mountains and fields. It can burn an entire mountain until nothing is left; no matter how tall the trees or how vast the forest, all are destroyed; if the fire spreads further, it can destroy the entire world. Where does this fire come from? Setting aside for the moment that it comes from the tathāgatagarbha, let us first speak of emptiness. If fire came from the sun, then without holding a convex lens in one's hand, no matter how the sun shines, no fire would be produced. If the sun had fire capable of burning up forests, it could also roast the bodies of us sentient beings thoroughly, and we would die at any moment and in any place; there could be no life left in the world. Therefore fire does not come from the sun.

Does fire come from empty space? It does not come from empty space either. If there were fire in empty space, all objects would be burned up, and the world would be left with nothing. Fire does not come from the sun, does not come from empty space, does not come from a person's hand, does not come from the lens, does not come from the grass—it has no place of origin. Let us first speak of the Hīnayāna teaching. The fire element comes from nowhere; and when the fire finally goes out, where does it go? There is no destination—it goes nowhere. If there were a destination, then wherever the fire went, that place would burn. The fire element is simply the nature of burning and the nature of heat: it comes from nowhere and goes nowhere; when it comes, no place of origin can be found; when it goes, no destination can be found. In essence, it is all the nature of the tathāgatagarbha, the function of the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, when all dharmas are traced back to the very end, they all come down to that true mind of ours; apart from this, no dharma is real.