Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (53)

The Tathāgatagarbha, like empty space, neither comes nor goes

Original text of the sutra: 佛言大王。设使彼人。复填以土。于意云何。空何所去。王曰。空无所去。所以者何。是虚空界。无去来故。不住男相。亦非女相。

大王。外虚空界。本来无动。自性离故。但唯言说。之所显示。除佛正慧。而能了知。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, suppose that person fills the pond and the well with earth again—what do you think, where has the space gone? King Śuddhodana said: The space has nowhere to go. Why is this so? It is because the realm of empty space fundamentally has no coming or going. The realm of empty space has no male form, nor any female form.

The Buddha said: Great King, the external realm of empty space has never undergone any change; its intrinsic nature is apart from all marks—it is only through words and speech that empty space can be revealed. Empty space has no real substance. Only the Buddha's supreme great wisdom can fully comprehend its meaning.

The realm of empty space neither comes nor goes; the tathāgatagarbha likewise, like empty space, neither comes nor goes—He is formless and without marks. You have come here from your home—has your tathāgatagarbha come? The tathāgatagarbha has no feet and no wings, so it cannot come; when you return home, does the tathāgatagarbha go back? The tathāgatagarbha does not go either, for the same reason that it is formless. That is why a Chan master of the past asked his disciple: "Where have you come from?" The disciple said: "I have come from Shanghai." The master then asked: "Did you come by boat or on foot?" The disciple replied: "I came by boat." Upon hearing this, the master said: "Before you came by boat, I should already have given you a blow with the staff." He indeed deserved the blow—can you ride a boat? Have you ever ridden a boat? With what do you ride a boat? The Chan master's questions never depart from the tathāgatagarbha; the tathāgatagarbha, like empty space, neither comes nor goes, because it is without marks.