---
title: "The True Mark of All Dharmas: This Mind Is Unborn and Unceasing"
author: "釋慧鏡 (Shi Huijing)"
series: "S2 Understanding — Prajñāpāramitā: Illuminating Reality (S2-P06)"
series_short: "S2"
paper_id: "S2-P06"
paper_number: 6
date: "2026-03"
version: "1.0"
license: "CC BY-NC-SA 4.0"
---
# The True Mark of All Dharmas: This Mind Is Unborn and Unceasing

**Heart Sūtra Third Meaning: The Six Negations as Direct Pointing to the Nature of Mind**

*是諸法空相——此心不生不滅*

## Abstract

The eighteen characters of the Heart Sūtra's passage — "The true mark of all dharmas is: no arising, no ceasing; no defilement, no purity; no increase, no decrease" — constitute the highest concentration of doctrinal meaning in the entire text. This paper proposes that these six negations are not abstract philosophical categories but the Buddha's direct pointing to the nature of mind itself. "Empty mark" (空相, śūnya-lakṣaṇa) refers to the true mark of all dharmas, i.e. tathatā (suchness). "No arising, no ceasing" points to the unconditioned nature of tathatā — the dharma-realm itself was never fabricated. "No defilement, no purity" indicates that the essence of tathatā transcends the polarity of purity and impurity — defilement and purity are functional states of consciousness, not the nature of mind. "No increase, no decrease" indicates that mind is not material and therefore unlimited — its essence neither grows through awakening nor diminishes through delusion. The paper builds its doctrinal framework on three layers: the Buddha's own words as sūtras (the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra*, the *Anūnatvāpūrṇatva-nirdeśa*, the *Śrīmālādevī-siṃhanāda Sūtra*, and the *Śūraṅgama Sūtra*), bodhisattva treatises as warp (*Ratnagotravibhāga* and *Cheng weishi lun*), and patriarchal commentaries as verification (Kuiji's *Youzhan* and Fazang's *Lüeshu*). Special attention is given to Kuiji's dialectical treatment of the six negations using the ākāśa (space) and mirage analogies, and Fazang's threefold exposition — by stage, by dharma, and by contemplative practice — which maps the six negations onto the three-natures-three-no-natures framework. The cross-disciplinary section offers conservation of energy and the triple point of water as heuristic analogies. The Middle Way Correction section cites the Buddha's own refutation of Ānanda's lapis lazuli analogy, and strictly distinguishes the Dharmapāla-Xuanzang position ("tathatā does not condition-follow") from the *Awakening of Faith* position ("tathatā follows conditions").

**摘要**

心經「是諸法空相，不生不滅，不垢不淨，不增不減」十八字，是整部心經義理密度最高的段落。本文提出：此六不描述不是哲學概念的抽象界定，而是佛陀對心體本質的直接指陳。以經為主（般若經、不增不減經、勝鬘經、楞嚴經），論為輔（寶性論、成唯識論），疏為證（窺基幽贊、法藏略疏），三層交織建立義理架構。中道校正引佛陀破斥阿難瑠璃椀喻，嚴格區分護法-玄奘系「真如不隨緣」與起信論系「真如隨緣」的分歧。

**Keywords:** Heart Sūtra, true mark of dharmas, six negations, tathatā, amalā-vijñāna, āśraya-parāvṛtti, Kuiji, Fazang, tathāgatagarbha, self-nature purity of mind | 般若心經、諸法空相、六不、真如、無垢識、轉依、窺基、法藏、如來藏、自性清淨心

---

## I. Introduction

### 1.1 Textual Position

When the Heart Sūtra reaches "The true mark of all dharmas is: no arising, no ceasing; no defilement, no purity; no increase, no decrease," the teaching undergoes a fundamental pivot.

The preceding passages — from Avalokiteśvara's practice (S2-P02) through the deep practice of prajñāpāramitā (S2-P03) to the illumination that the five aggregates are empty (S2-P04/P05) — constitute a progressive deconstruction: the substantiality of form is dissolved, the self-nature of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness is penetrated, until prajñā wisdom has seen through all appearances.[^1]

[^1]: Shi Huijing, "The Avalokiteśvara Awakening Loop," Pointing at the Moon S2-P02; "Going Deep: Inward into the Formations," S2-P03.

But deconstruction is not the goal. The terminus of prajñā is not "everything is empty" — that would merely be another attachment, substituting emptiness-attachment for form-attachment. What prajñā truly points to is that which cannot be deconstructed.

Here the Heart Sūtra pivots. The Buddha calls out Śāriputra's name — in the oral tradition, calling someone's name is the most solemn form of awakening — and then delivers the sūtra's most essential pronouncement:

> Śāriputra, the true mark of all dharmas is: no arising, no ceasing; no defilement, no purity; no increase, no decrease.

Six negations, three pairs, eighteen characters. These eighteen characters are not describing a philosophical concept. They are pointing directly at the nature of your mind.

### 1.2 Research Questions

The doctrinal density of the six negations is extremely high. Historically, at least three interpretive paths have been taken:

The first is the Madhyamaka path, taking Nāgārjuna's eightfold negation in the *Mūlamadhyamakakārikā* as reference — no arising, no ceasing; no permanence, no annihilation; no unity, no plurality; no coming, no going — reading the Heart Sūtra's six negations as a condensation of prajñā emptiness.

The second is the Yogācāra path, represented by Kuiji's *Commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra* (T1710), which identifies "empty mark" as tathatā (the "suchness of consciousness") and the six negations as six negative descriptions of the unconditioned nature of tathatā.

The third is the Huayan path, represented by Fazang's *Brief Commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra* (T1712), which reads the six negations through the three-natures-three-no-natures contemplation — no-characteristic of the imagined nature, no-arising of the dependent nature, no-intrinsic-nature of the consummated — while simultaneously unfolding them across the three stages of practice (pre-path, on-path, post-path).

The three paths do not contradict one another — they are three observational angles illuminating the same tathatā. This paper takes the Buddha's own sūtra-level statements as its foundation, Yogācāra as its primary analytical tool, and Huayan as its complementary path, aiming to establish a doctrinal framework that is both precise and accessible.

### 1.3 Paper Structure

The paper unfolds in three documentary layers: §II establishes the sūtra-level evidence from four canonical texts; §III develops the core argument through sequential analysis of each negation pair and a comparison of the two commentarial approaches; §IV offers cross-disciplinary analogies as intuitive entry points for modern readers; §V provides Middle Way Corrections to guard the doctrinal boundaries; §VI concludes.

---

## II. Scriptural Foundations

### 2.1 The Prajñā Sūtras: The True Mark of Dharmas Is Unborn and Unceasing

The doctrinal root of the six negations lies first in the prajñā sūtras' teaching on "the true mark of all dharmas" (諸法實相).

The *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* (大智度論), commenting on the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra*, offers a precise formulation:

> "Various people each describe the true mark of dharmas, each claiming their own as real. The 'true mark' here means: that which cannot be destroyed, which abides permanently without change, which no one can fabricate."[^2]

[^2]: *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* (大智度論), fascicle 18, by Nāgārjuna, trans. Kumārajīva, T25, No. 1509.

Nāgārjuna then cites the Buddha's words:

> "If a bodhisattva contemplates all dharmas as neither permanent nor impermanent, neither suffering nor bliss, neither self nor non-self, neither existent nor non-existent, and does not even hold this contemplation — that is called practicing prajñāpāramitā."

And concludes:

> "This meaning — abandoning all contemplations, extinguishing all language, departing from all mental operations — has from the very beginning been unborn and unceasing, like the mark of nirvāṇa. The mark of all dharmas is likewise. This is called the true mark of dharmas."[^3]

[^3]: Ibid.

This passage establishes three critical doctrinal points: first, the true mark of dharmas has been "from the very beginning" unborn and unceasing — it is not that it becomes unborn after practice; it has always been so. Second, the true mark "is like the mark of nirvāṇa" — it is not that nirvāṇa must be reached before this mark appears; the intrinsic mark of all dharmas already resembles nirvāṇa. Third, arriving here requires "abandoning all contemplations" — including the contemplation of "unborn and unceasing" itself.

The Heart Sūtra's "the true mark of all dharmas is: no arising, no ceasing" is the compression of precisely this teaching.

### 2.2 The Anūnatvāpūrṇatva-nirdeśa: The Realm of Beings Is the Dharma Body

The direct scriptural basis for "no increase, no decrease" appears most concentratedly in the *Anūnatvāpūrṇatva-nirdeśa Sūtra* (不增不減經). In it, the Buddha tells Śāriputra:

> "Śāriputra! Those who hold the great wrong view are those who see the realm of beings as increasing, or see the realm of beings as decreasing."
>
> "Beings are the dharma body; the dharma body is beings. 'Beings' and 'dharma body' — the meaning is one, only the name differs."[^4]

[^4]: *Anūnatvāpūrṇatva-nirdeśa Sūtra* (佛說不增不減經), trans. Bodhiruci, T16, No. 668. Cited via *Zongjing lu* fascicle 17 (T2016) and *Huayan jing shu* fascicle 2 (T1866).

The doctrinal impact of this sūtra is radical: the dharma body and the realm of beings are "one in meaning, different only in name." When beings attain buddhahood, the buddha-realm does not increase and the being-realm does not decrease. To perceive increase or decrease here, the Buddha directly judges as "the great wrong view."

The *Huayan jing shu* further cites the *Mañjuśrī Prajñā Sūtra*:

> "Suppose all buddhas in the ten directions, each abiding for one kalpa or more, teaching the Dharma day and night without cease, each liberating immeasurable Ganges-sands of beings into nirvāṇa — still the realm of beings neither increases nor decreases. Why? Because apart from the dharma-realm of tathatā, the fixed characteristic of 'beings' cannot be found. Therefore the realm of beings neither increases nor decreases."[^5]

[^5]: *Vajra-ṛṣi-śāstra* (金剛仙論), fascicle 9, citing the *Mañjuśrī Prajñā Sūtra*, T25, No. 1512.

This provides the most explicit canonical anchor for the Heart Sūtra's "no increase, no decrease": increase and decrease are beings' deluded views; the dharma-realm itself has no increase or decrease.

### 2.3 The Śrīmālādevī Sūtra: The Self-Nature Purity of Mind and Adventitious Defilements

The sūtra-level basis for "no defilement, no purity" appears most precisely in the *Śrīmālādevī-siṃhanāda Sūtra*. The *Ratnagotravibhāga* cites Queen Śrīmālā's words, affirmed by the Buddha:

> "Goddess! The self-nature-pure mind yet possessing defilement — this is difficult to know. Two dharmas are difficult to know: the self-nature-pure mind is difficult to know, and that this mind is defiled by afflictions is also difficult to know. Goddess! Only you and bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who have accomplished great Dharma can accept this teaching. All other śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas can only believe these two dharmas by relying on the Buddha's words."[^6]

[^6]: *Ratnagotravibhāga* (究竟一乘寶性論), fascicle 2, citing the *Śrīmālādevī Sūtra*, T31, No. 1611.

This passage directly marks the doctrinal difficulty of "no defilement, no purity": the self-nature-pure mind is "difficult to know," and that this pure mind is defiled by afflictions is "also difficult to know" — both hold simultaneously, forming the core tension of tathāgatagarbha doctrine. The purity of mind-nature is the essence (體, tǐ); adventitious defilement is the function (用, yòng). "No defilement, no purity" speaks of the essence; the practice of removing defilement speaks of the function. The two do not contradict.

### 2.4 The Śūraṅgama Sūtra: Lapis Lazuli with a Bright Moon Within

The Buddha not only points directly to the six negations in doctrinal terms but also provides the most refined intuitive access through analogy. Among the Śūraṅgama Sūtra's thirteen lapis lazuli analogies, the description in the Three Gradual Stages of fascicle eight is the most complete:

> "Dust no longer conditions; the sense faculties have no counterpart. Reversing the flow and returning to unity, the six functions cease. The lands in the ten directions are pristinely pure. Like lapis lazuli with a bright moon suspended within — body and mind at ease, wondrously complete and equal, attaining great peace. All the Tathāgatas' secret, complete, pure, and wondrous [dharmas] are all manifested within. This person then attains the patience of the unborn."[^7]

[^7]: *Śūraṅgama Sūtra* (楞嚴經), fascicle 8, trans. Pramiti, T19, No. 945.

Within this single analogy, all three pairs of the six negations are simultaneously present: the lapis lazuli itself is unborn and unceasing — it was not fabricated and cannot be destroyed. Its substance is undefiled and unpurified — dust may adhere to its surface while its transparent nature remains unchanged. Its substance neither increases nor decreases — "all the Tathāgatas' secret, complete, pure, and wondrous dharmas are all manifested within," reflecting without limit while its nature is neither augmented nor diminished by what it reflects.

Fascicle ten at the exhaustion of the consciousness-aggregate confirms again: "The worlds in the ten directions together with body and mind are like vaiḍūrya (lapis lazuli), luminously transparent within and without."[^8] The attainment of buddhahood concludes: "Like pure lapis lazuli containing a jewel moon within... complete bodhi, returning to nothing attained."[^9] The lapis lazuli never changes; what changes is the depth to which the practitioner can see.

[^8]: *Śūraṅgama Sūtra*, fascicle 10, T19, No. 945.
[^9]: Ibid.

---

## III. Core Argument

### 3.1 "Empty Mark": The True Mark of Dharmas, Not the Appearance of Emptiness

The "empty mark" (空相) in "the true mark of all dharmas is empty" is easily misread as "the appearance of emptiness" — as if emptiness has a look, and the Buddha is telling you what it looks like.

Kuiji in the *Youzhan* (幽贊), fascicle two, precisely corrects this misreading. He cites a verse from the *Madhyāntavibhāga* (辯中邊論, T1600):

> "Because there is no duality yet there is its absence, it is neither existent nor non-existent, neither different nor identical — this is called the empty mark."[^10]

[^10]: *Bore boluomiduo xinjing youzhan* (般若波羅蜜多心經幽贊), fascicle 2, by Kuiji, T33, No. 1710. All subsequent Kuiji citations are from this fascicle.

"Empty mark" is not the appearance of emptiness; it is the true nature (實相) of all dharmas — which in Yogācāra terms is tathatā. "The suchness of consciousness means: all conditioned things are nothing but consciousness; this consciousness has two meanings, hence it is called 'suchness of suchness'" — all dharmas are manifested by consciousness alone, and the suchness-nature of consciousness is the empty mark.

Fazang's *Brief Commentary* also cites the same verse but reads it from the Huayan perspective: "no duality" means no grasper or grasped; what "exists" is the absence of grasper and grasped. The empty mark is neither existence nor non-existence, neither unity nor plurality — it is reality itself, beyond the four alternatives.[^11]

[^11]: *Bore boluomiduo xinjing lüeshu* (般若波羅蜜多心經略疏), fascicle 1, by Fazang, T33, No. 1712. All subsequent Fazang citations are from this fascicle.

The two commentators arrive at the same destination by different routes: empty mark = true mark of dharmas = tathatā.

### 3.2 No Arising, No Ceasing: Tathatā as the Unconditioned

Kuiji's treatment of "no arising, no ceasing" in the *Youzhan* employs a method of three-position dialectic. He first distinguishes the sūtra's structure: "Previously [the text] declared the emptiness of the substance of dharmas; now it declares the emptiness of the meaning of dharmas" — the earlier "form is emptiness" addresses the emptiness of dharmas' substance; the present six negations address the emptiness of dharmas' attributes.

He then unfolds three positions[^12]:

[^12]: Kuiji, *Youzhan*, fascicle 2, T33, No. 1710.

**The proponent of superior emptiness** argues: according to conventional truth, form and so on exist, so arising and ceasing are possible. According to ultimate truth, form and so on are fundamentally empty — how could there be arising and ceasing within emptiness? Hence: no arising, no ceasing.

**The proponent of the correct position** (Dharmapāla's Yogācāra) argues: the imagined nature (parikalpita) is fundamentally void, and even the naturally arisen dharmas on the dependent nature (paratantra) are empty — not because there are no dharmas, but because dharmas do not exist in the way you grasp them — hence there are no stage-distinctions of arising and ceasing as the two vehicles suppose.

Kuiji concludes with the ākāśa (space) analogy:

> "Just as within the vast sky, forms may arise and cease, yet the mark of space has none [of this arising and ceasing] — likewise, although the dependent nature has arising and ceasing, true emptiness does not."

Forms arise and pass within the sky, but the sky itself — as the space that contains everything — has never arisen or ceased. Tathatā is the same: dependently arisen dharmas come and go within it, but tathatā as the true nature of dharmas has from the beginning never arisen, and therefore cannot cease.

Fazang unfolds "no arising, no ceasing" from three dimensions[^13]:

[^13]: Fazang, *Lüeshu*, fascicle 1, T33, No. 1712.

**By stage:** No arising, no ceasing corresponds to the "pre-path mundane stage" — ordinary beings die here and are reborn there, transmigrating through vast kalpas in a stage of arising and ceasing; true emptiness is free from this.

**By dharma:** Form arises from conditions — true emptiness does not arise. Form perishes through conditions — true emptiness does not cease.

**By contemplative practice:** One applies the contemplation of marklessness to the imagined nature — "it is empty and void, nothing there to arise or cease." That which the imagined nature posits is held to exist by deluded mentation but is non-existent in reality — viewed at any point in time, there is nothing there to arise or cease.

Kuiji emphasizes analysis — dialectic, inference, reduction to the three natures. Fazang emphasizes integration — stage, dharma, and contemplation simultaneously deployed. Viewed together, the six negations' doctrinal meaning becomes three-dimensional.

### 3.3 No Defilement, No Purity: The Essence of Tathatā Transcends the Purity-Impurity Polarity

"No defilement, no purity" is the most easily misunderstood of the three pairs. The misunderstanding runs as follows: practitioners suppose that their mind is currently defiled, and that after practice it will become pure.

Kuiji corrects this with an extension of the ākāśa analogy:

> "Suppose someone objects: if all dharmas are true emptiness, and the mark of emptiness pervades both defilements like greed and purities like faith, then it should be defiled and pure accordingly. The correct answer: just as within the vast sky there are both defiled and pure forms, yet the mark of space is not so — likewise, although dharmas include both defilement and purity, the empty mark has none [of either]."

He cites a verse as evidence:

> "Neither defiled nor not defiled, neither pure nor not pure — because mind-nature is originally pure, [yet] defiled by adventitious dust."[^14]

[^14]: Kuiji, *Youzhan*, fascicle 2, T33, No. 1710. This verse appears in multiple sūtras and śāstras.

The four lines of this verse contain a precise essence-function distinction: the first two lines speak of the **essence** — tathatā itself is neither defiled nor pure, transcending the polarity entirely. The latter two lines speak of **function** — mind-nature is originally pure (essence), yet defiled by adventitious dust (the defiled aspect of function).

The *Ratnagotravibhāga* provides the complete ākāśa analogy chain:

> "As space pervades all, its substance fine, unstained by dust — so buddha-nature pervades all beings, unstained by afflictions."
> "Unwholesome mentation abides within the pure mind, yet the self-nature-pure mind does not abide in those dharmas."
> "The pure mind is like space — without cause, without condition, without conjunction, without arising, abiding, or ceasing."
> "The pure mind like space is always luminous and without transformation; it is defiled by the false discrimination of adventitious afflictions."[^15]

[^15]: *Ratnagotravibhāga*, fascicle 3, T31, No. 1611.

**A doctrinal precision point must be marked here.** The Dharmapāla-Xuanzang Yogācāra system strictly distinguishes the ālaya-vijñāna (eighth consciousness in the causal stage) from the amalā-vijñāna or "immaculate consciousness" (eighth consciousness in the fruition stage). The *Cheng weishi lun*, fascicle three, defines explicitly:

> "It is also called the immaculate consciousness (無垢識), being the basis of the most supremely pure uncontaminated dharmas. This name applies only at the Tathāgata stage. At the stages of bodhisattvas, two-vehicle practitioners, and ordinary beings, [the eighth consciousness] still holds contaminated seeds and is subject to perfuming — one has not yet attained the purified eighth consciousness."

And cites the verse:

> "The Tathāgata's immaculate consciousness / is the pure, uncontaminated realm. / Liberated from all obstructions, / it corresponds with the mirror-like wisdom."[^16]

[^16]: *Cheng weishi lun* (成唯識論), fascicle 3, by Dharmapāla et al., trans. Xuanzang, T31, No. 1585.

This means: in the Dharmapāla-Xuanzang system, "no defilement, no purity" refers to the essence of tathatā (pariniṣpanna, the consummated nature), not to the functional aspect of the ālaya-vijñāna. The ālaya-vijñāna, through perfuming, does possess a functional distinction of defiled and pure seeds. But tathatā as the true nature of consciousness transcends this polarity.

Paramārtha's system instead posits the amalā-vijñāna as a ninth consciousness specifically designating this immaculate essence. Xuanzang does not posit a ninth consciousness but instead designates "immaculate consciousness" as the fruition-stage name of the eighth consciousness itself — the essence is the same; it is merely that in the causal stage it is obscured by defiled seeds (named ālaya) and in the fruition stage the defilements are transformed and purity is attained (named immaculate consciousness).[^17]

[^17]: *Zongjing lu*, fascicle 56: "The Tang Tripiṭaka Master [Xuanzang] says: this translates as 'immaculate'; it is the eighth consciousness vipāka, which at the time of attaining buddhahood is transformed from the eighth. There is no separate ninth." T48, No. 2016.

This is precisely the meaning of āśraya-parāvṛtti (basis-transformation): what is transformed is the state of the basis, not the nature of the basis. The nature has always been pure — this is "no defilement, no purity."

### 3.4 No Increase, No Decrease: Mind Is Not Material, Therefore Unlimited

Material things have boundaries — a container can only hold a finite amount. But mind is not material.

The doctrinal foundation of the *Anūnatvāpūrṇatva-nirdeśa* is precisely this: the dharma-realm does not decrease because beings are deluded, nor increase because beings awaken. All the karma, habitual tendencies, and wholesome and unwholesome seeds from beginningless time are faithfully stored by the ālaya-vijñāna — never too many, never overflowing.

The *Ratnagotravibhāga* illustrates with the analogy of space within three vessels:

> "All ordinary beings, sages, and buddhas — their self-nature-pure mind is equal and without distinction. This pure mind across the three times — in the time of faults, in the time of virtues, in the time of virtues ultimately purified — has the same nature without difference. Just as space within earthenware, silver, and gold vessels is equal and without difference at all times."[^18]

[^18]: *Ratnagotravibhāga*, fascicle 3, T31, No. 1611.

The self-nature-pure mind within ordinary beings (earthenware), sages (silver), and buddhas (gold) is equal and without difference. The vessels' materials differ, but space does not increase or decrease due to the material of its vessel.

Fazang reads "no increase, no decrease" from the perspective of stage:

> "No increase, no decrease corresponds to the post-path stage of buddha-fruition. The obstructions of birth-and-death, formerly not exhausted, are now exhausted — this is decrease. The myriad virtues of cultivation, formerly not complete, are now complete — this is increase. True emptiness is free from this; hence, no increase, no decrease."[^19]

[^19]: Fazang, *Lüeshu*, fascicle 1, T33, No. 1712.

### 3.5 Kuiji and Fazang: Analysis and Integration as Two Paths

Synthesizing the above, Kuiji and Fazang's interpretations of the six negations form a clear complementary pattern.

**Kuiji emphasizes analysis.** He employs three-position dialectics and deploys the ākāśa and mirage analogies as primary tools. The mirage analogy is especially incisive:

> "Like seeing a mirage and grasping it as real water — this 'water' has always been empty; how could it have arising or ceasing? Yet it is not that there is no mirage with the semblance of water."[^20]

[^20]: Kuiji, *Youzhan*, fascicle 2, T33, No. 1710.

Seeing a distant mirage and clinging to it as water — this "water" was never anything but empty. How could it arise or cease? Yet one cannot say there is no mirage — the mirage does present the appearance of water. The imagined nature (water) is empty; the dependent nature (mirage) exists. What is empty is the "real water" you superimposed; not the dependently arisen appearance itself.

**Fazang emphasizes integration.** His "four meanings of true emptiness" — self-effacing to establish the other, dissolving the other to reveal the self, both coexisting, both dissolved — manifest the distinctive character of the Huayan dharma-realm contemplation. His threefold contemplative reading directly connects the six negations to practice:

> "First, apply the marklessness contemplation to the imagined nature — it is empty and void, nothing to arise or cease. Second, apply the no-arising contemplation to the dependent nature — dependent defilement and purity arise from conditions and have no self-nature. Third, apply the no-intrinsic-nature contemplation to the consummated nature — the former two do not exist, yet this is not decrease; contemplative wisdom illuminates and manifests, yet this is not increase."[^21]

[^21]: Fazang, *Lüeshu*, fascicle 1, T33, No. 1712.

Fazang here directly maps the three-natures-three-no-natures contemplation onto the six negations: imagined-no-mark → no arising, no ceasing; dependent-no-arising → no defilement, no purity; consummated-no-intrinsic-nature → no increase, no decrease. This is a complete contemplative guide — not only telling you what the six negations *mean* but how to *contemplate* them.

---

## IV. Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue

### 4.1 "Never Created, Therefore Indestructible": An Intuitive Entry Point for Modern Readers

For readers unfamiliar with Buddhist doctrine, the most challenging aspect of "no arising, no ceasing" is not understanding its meaning but finding an intuitive entry point — what in everyday experience is "unborn and unceasing"?

In modern physics, the law of conservation of energy offers a structural parallel: energy is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. Kinetic energy becomes thermal energy; chemical energy becomes electrical energy. Forms change, but total energy neither increases nor decreases. "Never created, therefore indestructible" — this inferential structure matches the logical form of the Heart Sūtra's six negations.

The phase transitions of water provide another intuitive entry: the molecular structure of H₂O does not change, but it can manifest as liquid water, solid ice, or gaseous steam. Essence does not change with phenomena. At the "triple point" of water (0.01°C, 611.657 Pa), water can even coexist in all three phases simultaneously — one essence, multiple phenomenal states conditioned by circumstances, and capable of simultaneous co-presence.

⚠️ **These two analogies capture structural form only — "essence does not arise or cease with phenomena."** The mind-nature the Buddha describes transcends matter and is not governed by physical laws. Conservation of energy is a law of the material realm; the phases of water are functions of temperature and pressure — both are passive and condition-dependent. Tathatā is not "forced by external conditions" to manifest different aspects, nor is it "conserved" in the material sense. This is the fundamental boundary of the analogy.

---

## V. Middle Way Corrections

### 5.1 Even Lapis Lazuli Cannot Be Grasped

Section II cited the Śūraṅgama Sūtra's lapis lazuli analogy as scriptural evidence. But in the very same sūtra, fascicle one, the Buddha himself refutes Ānanda's attachment to the lapis lazuli analogy:

Ānanda says: "It is like a person taking a lapis lazuli bowl and placing it over both eyes — though an object covers them, it does not obstruct [vision]."

The Buddha counters: "If your mind were like lapis lazuli covering [your eyes], then while seeing mountains and rivers, why would you not see your own eyes?"[^22]

[^22]: *Śūraṅgama Sūtra*, fascicle 1, T19, No. 945.

The Buddha dismantles his own analogy. The value of the lapis lazuli image lies in pointing toward the transparency and undefilability of mind-nature. But if you actually equate mind with a piece of lapis lazuli — a material object with shape, capable of being "placed over your eyes" — you have fallen back into attachment to characteristics. The analogy is a raft for crossing the river; once across, the raft must be set down.

### 5.2 "Unborn and Unceasing" Does Not Equal Eternalism

The greatest doctrinal risk in the six negations is this: readers, having understood "no arising, no ceasing" and "no increase, no decrease," may conclude that the Buddha is asserting the existence of a permanently unchanging entity — a "constant."

This is precisely the "eternalist view" (śāśvata-dṛṣṭi) most severely criticized in Buddhism.

The Heart Sūtra's "no arising, no ceasing" speaks of the unconditioned nature of tathatā — not that some entity "exists forever," but that it "never entered the game of arising and ceasing in the first place." Not "immortality," but "never within the domain of birth, aging, sickness, and death." The former is eternalism; the latter is prajñā.

Kuiji's ākāśa analogy precisely avoids eternalism: forms arise and cease within the vast sky, but the sky is not "an eternally unchanging entity" — the sky, precisely because it is empty of self-nature, is untouched by arising and ceasing. Not "too solid to break," but "nothing there to break."

### 5.3 Tathatā Does Not Follow Conditions: The Strict Position of Dharmapāla-Xuanzang

This paper's citations of the *Śrīmālādevī Sūtra*'s "self-nature-pure mind" (§II) and the *Ratnagotravibhāga*'s ākāśa analogies (§III) involve tathāgatagarbha doctrine. A sectarian divergence must be strictly marked here:

In the orthodox Yogācāra position of Dharmapāla-Xuanzang, tathatā does not produce dharmas. Dependently arisen form-dharmas arise from the actualization of seeds in the ālaya-vijñāna, not from tathatā "flowing forth" or "magically manifesting." Tathatā is disclosed, not generative. This is the most critical dividing line between Yogācāra and the tathāgatagarbha system.[^23]

[^23]: The core text for this divergence is the section on "tathatā as the unconditioned" in *Cheng weishi lun*, fascicle 2, T31, No. 1585.

The *Dasheng qixin lun* (大乘起信論, *Awakening of Faith*) system holds that "tathatā follows conditions" — tathatā follows defiled conditions to become saṃsāric dharmas, and follows pure conditions to manifest as awakening. This position has been enormously influential in East Asian Buddhism (Huayan, Tiantai, and Chan all bear its mark), but it is not accepted within the strict Dharmapāla-Xuanzang system.

This paper's approach: use the Dharmapāla-Xuanzang framework as the primary analytical tool (tathatā is disclosed, not generative), while acknowledging the practical value of the tathāgatagarbha system's "mind-nature is originally pure, defiled by adventitious dust" — on the direction of practice ("removing dust to reveal purity"), the two systems converge; the divergence lies in the *source* of purity — whether it is intrinsic to the essence (tathāgatagarbha) or the result of seed-transformation (Yogācāra).

### 5.4 Three Boundaries of the Cross-Disciplinary Analogies

First, conservation of energy is a law of the material realm and does not apply to the nature of mind. The nature of mind transcends matter and is not governed by physical laws.

Second, the phase transitions of water are passive — temperature and pressure determine the phase state. Tathatā is not determined by any external condition.

Third, the "simultaneous coexistence" of the triple point cannot be extended to "the Buddha simultaneously exists across past, present, and future in infinite dimensions." Speculating about higher dimensions from the standpoint of four-dimensional cognition has no epistemological basis. The doctrine that the dharma body transcends the three times has already been established through pure doctrinal reasoning in S1-P02,[^24] and does not require the dimensional concepts of physics.

[^24]: Shi Huijing, "Bodhicitta and Dharma-Flow," Pointing at the Moon S1-P02.

---

## VI. Conclusion

The Heart Sūtra's eighteen characters — "The true mark of all dharmas is: no arising, no ceasing; no defilement, no purity; no increase, no decrease" — constitute the pivotal turn of the entire sūtra, from deconstruction (illuminating that the five aggregates are empty) to direct pointing (the nature of mind has always been thus).

The doctrinal conclusions of this paper are as follows:

**The empty mark is the true mark of dharmas, is tathatā.** Not "the appearance of emptiness," but the ineffable true nature of all dharmas beyond language and marks. Kuiji glosses it as "the suchness of consciousness"; Fazang reveals it as "true emptiness and wondrous existence." Both converge on the same meaning.

**No arising, no ceasing is the unconditioned nature of tathatā.** The dharma-realm was never fabricated — from the beginning unborn, therefore unable to cease. Kuiji's ākāśa analogy: though the dependent nature has arising and ceasing, true emptiness does not. Fazang's dharma reading: form arises from conditions — true emptiness does not arise; form perishes through conditions — true emptiness does not cease.

**No defilement, no purity is the essence of tathatā transcending the purity-impurity polarity.** Defilement and purity are functional states of consciousness (function); tathatā is the true nature of consciousness (essence). The Dharmapāla-Xuanzang system designates "immaculate consciousness" as the fruition-stage name of the eighth consciousness, strictly maintaining the meaning of āśraya-parāvṛtti: what is transformed is the state of the basis, not the nature of the basis. Adventitious dust is a guest, not the host.

**No increase, no decrease means mind is not material, its nature permanently so.** The dharma-realm does not decrease because beings are deluded, nor increase because beings awaken. The *Anūnatvāpūrṇatva-nirdeśa* directly judges views of increase and decrease as "the great wrong view." The *Ratnagotravibhāga* analogizes with space equally present within earthenware, silver, and gold vessels.

The six negations are not six isolated denials. They are a progressive illumination: first illuminating that the dharma-realm does not arise or cease (ontological), then illuminating that mind-nature is neither defiled nor pure (axiological), and finally illuminating that its essence neither increases nor decreases (quantitative). Three pairs, six negations — from "what is it?" to "is it good or bad?" to "is there more or less?" — progressively and completely negating ordinary beings' three layers of false imputation onto the nature of mind.

And the ultimate import of the six negations is confidence in practice:

A cave dark for ten thousand years — a single flame can illuminate it. However deep the karma, however thick the habitual tendencies — none of this matters. Because the mind you are illuminating does not arise or cease, is not defiled or pure, does not increase or decrease. How long the darkness has existed does not affect how long the light takes to illuminate it.

When the wisdom of prajñā arises, it illuminates instantly — not by gradual grinding, not by peeling layer after layer, but by seeing. Right here, right now.

This is why "deeply practicing prajñāpāramitā" is so critical. What you are igniting is that single flame.

---

## References

### Buddhist Canonical Texts

- *Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra* (摩訶般若波羅蜜經), trans. Kumārajīva, T08, No. 223.
- *Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra* (般若波羅蜜多心經), trans. Xuanzang, T08, No. 251.
- *Anūnatvāpūrṇatva-nirdeśa Sūtra* (佛說不增不減經), trans. Bodhiruci, T16, No. 668.
- *Śrīmālādevī-siṃhanāda Sūtra* (勝鬘師子吼一乘大方便方廣經), trans. Guṇabhadra, T12, No. 353.
- *Śūraṅgama Sūtra* (大佛頂如來密因修證了義諸菩薩萬行首楞嚴經), trans. Pramiti, T19, No. 945.
- *Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra* (解深密經), trans. Xuanzang, T16, No. 676.
- *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa* (大智度論), by Nāgārjuna, trans. Kumārajīva, T25, No. 1509.
- *Vajra-ṛṣi-śāstra* (金剛仙論), by Vasubandhu, trans. Bodhiruci, T25, No. 1512.
- *Madhyāntavibhāga* (辯中邊論), by Vasubandhu, trans. Xuanzang, T31, No. 1600.
- *Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi* (成唯識論), by Dharmapāla et al., trans. Xuanzang, T31, No. 1585.
- *Mahāyānasaṃgrahabhāṣya* (攝大乘論釋), by Vasubandhu, trans. Paramārtha, T31, No. 1593.
- *Ratnagotravibhāga* (究竟一乘寶性論), trans. Ratnamati, T31, No. 1611.
- *Bore boluomiduo xinjing youzhan* (般若波羅蜜多心經幽贊), by Kuiji, T33, No. 1710.
- *Bore boluomiduo xinjing lüeshu* (般若波羅蜜多心經略疏), by Fazang, T33, No. 1712.
- *Zongjing lu* (宗鏡錄), compiled by Yanshou, T48, No. 2016.

### Related Papers

- Shi Huijing, "The Heart Sūtra Title as Teaching," Pointing at the Moon S2-P01.
- Shi Huijing, "The Avalokiteśvara Awakening Loop," Pointing at the Moon S2-P02.
- Shi Huijing, "Going Deep: Inward into the Formations," Pointing at the Moon S2-P03.
- Shi Huijing, "Bodhicitta and Dharma-Flow," Pointing at the Moon S1-P02.
- Shi Huijing, "Diamond Prajñā: The Jífēi Tripartite Formula as Trisvabhāva Mapping," Pointing at the Moon S5-P01.

---

## Scripture Index

| Text | Taishō Location | Fascicles Cited |
|------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra 摩訶般若波羅蜜經 | T8, No. 0223 | — |
| Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra 心經 | T8, No. 0251 | fasc. 1 |
| Anūnatvāpūrṇatva-nirdeśa 不增不減經 | T16, No. 0668 | fasc. 1 |
| Śrīmālādevī-siṃhanāda Sūtra 勝鬘經 | T12, No. 0353 | — |
| Śūraṅgama Sūtra 楞嚴經 | T19, No. 0945 | fasc. 1, 8, 10 |
| Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra 解深密經 | T16, No. 0676 | — |
| Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa 大智度論 | T25, No. 1509 | fasc. 18 |
| Vajra-ṛṣi-śāstra 金剛仙論 | T25, No. 1512 | fasc. 9 |
| Madhyāntavibhāga 辯中邊論 | T31, No. 1600 | — |
| Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi 成唯識論 | T31, No. 1585 | fasc. 3 |
| Mahāyānasaṃgrahabhāṣya 攝大乘論釋 | T31, No. 1593 | — |
| Ratnagotravibhāga 寶性論 | T31, No. 1611 | fasc. 2, 3 |
| Youzhan 幽贊 (Kuiji) | T33, No. 1710 | fasc. 2 |
| Lüeshu 略疏 (Fazang) | T33, No. 1712 | fasc. 1 |
| Zongjing lu 宗鏡錄 | T48, No. 2016 | fasc. 56 |

---

## Cross-Reference Index

| Paper | Relationship to This Paper |
|-------|---------------------------|
| S2-P02 The Avalokiteśvara Awakening Loop | Establishes the practice subject → this paper continues the doctrinal pivot after "illumination" |
| S2-P03 Going Deep: Inward into the Formations | Prajñā methodology → the six negations are what deep prajñā reveals |
| S2-P05 Form Is Emptiness: Assembly Line of Suffering | Completes five-aggregate deconstruction → this paper pivots from deconstruction to direct pointing |
| S5-P01 Diamond Prajñā: Jífēi Tripartite Formula | Kuiji mapping vs. Pointing mapping → methodological precedent for the dual-path approach |
| S1-P02 Bodhicitta and Dharma-Flow | Dharma body transcends the three times → doctrinal root of "no increase, no decrease" |
| S2-P07 No Form in Emptiness | After establishing mind-nature → unfolds twelve sense-fields analysis |

---

*All sūtra and śāstra citations in this research have been verified against the CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripiṭaka Collection.*

*This research paper is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.*

*Source repository: https://github.com/pointing-at-the-moon/dharma-research*