Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (116)

The creation of all dharmas has no agent and no experiencer

The creation of karmic formations has no agent—so does the karmic retribution that is received have an experiencer? If there is no creator, there is no experiencer, because the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) are a false composite with no substantial subject; who is there to receive the retribution? There is no "I" that suffers pain or pleasure. The body does not suffer, and the mind consciousness does not suffer either; both body and mind are illusory, and the retributive suffering itself is also illusory. Therefore, among all dharmas there is no real agent and no real experiencer. No single dharma can be said to be a person, and even less is a combination of multiple dharmas a person—they are all false composites. Therefore, the creation of all dharmas has no agent and no experiencer. If one truly realizes this point, it is not merely enlightenment; one may have reached the level of a bodhisattva who has attained the first bhūmi.

Since all dharmas have no real characteristics and are all conjured up through illusion, it can be said that all dharmas are nothing but the false discrimination of names and marks. For example, a noun is assigned to a certain object to represent and display it; otherwise there would be no way to address or express it. This four-legged thing is named "chair"; upon hearing "chair," the appearance of a chair arises in the mind. Only when the name and the mark appear can the chair be discriminated and displayed, facilitating communication and use among sentient beings. The body, a false composite of the four great elements, is named the "form body" (aggregate of form, rūpa), so that people can express the state of the form body in language, making it easy to identify and communicate. The several consciousnesses on the form body are named the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, and mind consciousness, and the consciousness that serves as the master is named manas. Only then can the functions, roles, and states of these consciousnesses be expounded and described, and only then can we express, display, and communicate. Without names and marks, we could not communicate or live; assigning a false name makes everything convenient. If, in the beginning, a towel had been named "bedsheet," then when we wanted to use a towel to wipe our face, we would tell the child, "Bring the bedsheet to wipe the face." As long as the habit is formed and fixed, whatever name was originally given does not matter—they are all just nouns, names and marks, without much actual significance.