Journal Of Chinese Philosophy
Vol. 13, 1986
Pp. 21-47
Copyright @ 1986 by Dialogue Publishing Company, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.
. P.21 It has been observed in contemporary Buddhist studies that new and distinct ways of upressing Buddhist "ultimate truth" and its relation to ordinay truth and experience began to emerge in the Chinese Buddhist tradition in the sixth and seventh centuries A.D. During this period of Chinese history, several systems of Buddhist thought arose that seemed to mitigate the primacy of negative language in references to 'ultimate truth" and the predominantly negative evaluation of conventional truth and experience that had dominated the tradition previously. This development has been noticed especially in the Sui/T'ang systems of Buddhist thought, T'ien-t'ai and Hua-yen, as well as in later Ch'an thoght and practice. This tendency and movement in Chinese Buddhism attained its most articulate theoretical expression in the Hua-yen school of thought. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the understanding of language and truth that is expressed in the thought of Fa-tsang(a) (643-712), the third patriarch and most widely known proponent of the Hua-yen school of Buddhism. In dealing with the question of truth, Fa-tsang and the Hua-yenua-yen Buddhists adopted basic terms and structures of thought from the Buddhist tradition that had been brought from India and established in China by that time. The most important distinction that this tradition had made with respect to the question of truth was that between two kinds of truth, qonventional truth (samvrti-satya/ su-t'i(b) )and ultimate truth (paramaartha-satya/ chen-t'i(c) ) . Conventional truth consists of the entire corpus of ideas, values, and customs that come to be presupposed or regarded as truth by the "common sense" of a community. It includes any truth about oneself or the world that can be propositionaly formulated and expressed in language. Ultimate truth, which is manifest in the experience of enlightenment (bodhil p'u-t'i(d)), transcends and negates the norms of conventional truth, and cannot be conceptually grasped or expressed in language. Conventional truth came to he regarded as the basis of life as samsara, life characterized by ignorance p.22 and suffering. Ultimate truth referred to the wisdom of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, the exalted being who had transcended the ignorance and suffering of samsara in the experience of enlightenment. This fundamental distinction between two kinds of truth was in the final analysis a way of denying the thuth of "conventional truth." Conventional truth was true only for those who lived in ignorance of ultimate truth. Ihe "perfection or wisdom" then, was the perfection of one's ability to see thlrough the illusions of what is conventionally regarded as true, such as the existence of the "self' and worldly entities each possessing their "own-being" (svabhaava). Fa-tsang and other Hua-yen Buddhists understood and accepted this formulation of the nature of truth, but began to reformulate and extend their undefstanding an the basis of their own insights and heritage. This process, which by this time had already been taking plaee for several centuries in China, inevitably produced innovationn and transformations of Buddhist ideas and resulted in a new way of expressing the Buddhist understanding of truth. One of the most significant transformations that took place with respect to the question of truth was that Fa-tsang and the Hua-yen Buddhists were more inclined to reflect on and to clarify the nature and function of "conventional truth" and its relation to "ultimate truth", an inclination that also involved a re-thinking of the relation between language and truth. This re-evaluation led eventually to a system of Buddhist thought that gave greater importance to conventional truth, especially in so far as it could (1) lead to an ontological analysis of the status of conventional truth, (2) show how conventional truth relater to ultimate truth and necessarily functions in the quest for ultimate truth, and (3) stipulate that the awakening of ultimate truth does not entail a complete denial of the forms and structures of conventional truth. This essay will describe an understanding of how Fa-tsang's Hua-yen Buddhist system accomplishes that re-evaluation, how it deals with language and conventional truth in relation to ultimate truth and the experience of Buddhist enlightenment The essay will be structured in terms of a sequence of quertions that are intended to direct us to the principal issues and problems. The questions will be answered and discussed on the basis of relevant portions of Fa-tsang's writing and a general interpretation of his formulation of the Hua-yen system of thought. p.23 I. WHAT IS CONVENTIONAL TRUTH AND HOW IS IT RELATED TO LANGUAGE? Conventional truth is the thought and form of truth that is conventionally accepted as valid and efficacious in the practical matters of daily life. For this reason it is also called "worldly truth"(shlh-t'i(e) ) . It reflects the ordinary mode of awareness through which.one conducts everyday affairs. Since, according to Buddhists, conventional truth expresse the mental perspective of all but enlightened beings, this form of truth would necessarily include various and diverse intellectual positions, as well as kinds and qualities of awareness and is, themfore, an extremely broad designation. But what primarily defines this kind of truth is the assumption, in all one's thinking, that objects of thought have own-being or self-nature (svabhaava/tzu-hsing(f)). In conventional thought and truth one pre-supposes that objects of experience are real and substantial entities in themselves independent of all other objects and of one's thinking about them. They are assumed to possess. their "own-being" or permanent "self-nature." In accordance with the conventions of worldly truth, the self-nature of each entity is known through its own unique characteristics or form (hsiang(g) ). These distinctions (fen-pieh(h)), that are made in thought, establish the differences and the boundaries between distinct and autonomous entities. Thinking that differentiates and estabishes objects of experience follows the rules of logic, a fundamental component of conventional truth. Thinking that is governed by the pattems of conventional truth attributes "self-nature" not just to objects, but to the subject also. Conventional truth is based on the assumption that the subject or self has an autonomous and permanent being independent of the world of relations in which if exists. In ordinary thought and experience one presupposes the self-nature of the subject or self so that the question of its true status rarely arises. The structures of conventional tnrth are deeply ingrained in human existence by way of presupposition. All of the structures of conventional truth are understood by Hua-yen Buddhists to be embedded in language. The link between language and conventional truth is more fundamental than the simple fact that conventional truth is expressed in a linguistic form. Language carries the structures of conventional truth in such a way that to participate in a common language p.24 is to participate in conventional truth. Hua-yen Buddhists make this connection between conventional truth and language when they.characterize conventional truth in terms of "name and form" (ming hsiang(i)). It is language ("name''-ming) and the mind's inclination to distinguish form (hsiang) that lie at the basis of conventional truth. As ons learns a language and learns to make conventional distinctions in thought, one begins to live in a world that is structured in terms of conventional truth. Language and conventional truth, however, are regarded by Buddhists as misleading and unsatisfactory in view of enlightened awareness. Conventional truth is, in the final analysis, regarded as an illusion, but, for Hua-yen Buddhists,as an illusion that is real and grounded in reality. In order to address the origins and ontological status of conventional truth and language, Fa-tsang turns to another set of Buddhist concepts. In his effort to place conventional and ultimate truth ontologically, Fa-tsang has employed a group of related dieas,drawn from the text, Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahaayaana(1), that revolve around the doctrine of the One Mind (i-hsin(j)). In working with this idea in his influential commentary on the Awrkening of Faith(2), Fa-tsang clarifies the nature of the two truths. This is accomplished in the implication that the two truths have a common basis, the One Mind(i-hsin) . After introductory remarks, the Awakening of Faith begins: On the basis of the Dharma of One Mind, there are two aspects. What are these two? The first aspect is Mind as true suchness. The second aspect is Mind as origination and cessation(samsaara/sheng-ssu(k)).(3) If we take these two aspects to correspond to ultimate truth and conventional truth respectively, we can see that the two truths are both based on the One Mind. The One Mind (i-hsin) is the unchanging (pu-pien(l)), undifferentiated (pu-i(m)), .non-dual (wu-erh(n)) basis of all experience, deluded and enlightened. The One Mind is emptiness ('suunyataa/k'ung(o))(4) non-dual (wu-erh(n) )basis of all experience, deluded and enlightened. The One Mind is emptiness ('suunyata/k'ung(o) ) (4) , and lacks all differentiated and autonomous form. Although it transcends all form (hsiang), the One Mind is described as the source (yuan(p)) and the basis or root (pen'(q)) of all form. For this p.25 reason Hua-yen masters were more inclined to identify the One Mind with non-existence (wu(r)) than with existence (yu(s)). Existence (yu) is conditioned and temporal. The One Mind precedes time and is unconditioned (wu-wei(t)). The One Mind is not an existent being: it is ontologically more fundamental than existence. Rather, it is the ground (pen) and source (yuan) for the existence of anything at all. The One Mind or emptiness is the prereflective, original awareness (pen-chio(u)) that grounds all modes of awareness. It is fundamental in that it precedes all differentiation that arises in ordinary experience, language, and thought. Tne One Mind cannot itself be grasped as an object of awareness, yet it is presupposed and already present when any differentiated object is grasped. his original consciousness is one of pure identity and emptiness, yet, from this foundation all distinctions emerge and take form in time and space. According to the Awakening of Faith, the One Mind is comprised of two aspects, "Mind as true suchness'. and "Mind as samsara."(4) Furthermore, it says that "these two aspects each universally include all moments of experience (dharma/fa)."(5) These two aspects correspond to the two kinds of truth. "Mind as true suchness" is ultimate truth or reality as it appears to enlightened awareness; "Mind as samsara" is conventional truth, or reality as it appears to ordinary awareness. Both kinds of truth or awareness arise on the basis of the One Mind; they share a common foundation. But at this point the crucial question is, how does conventional truth arise out of and relate to the One Mind? The second aspect of Mind, "Mind as samsara," refers to the differcntiation and movement of Mind in which the forms of conventional awareness are created.(6) Under the influence of the "winds of ignorance, "(7) the One Mind, while simultaneously retaining its pbn identity, creates the world of conventional truth and samsara, the continual origination and cessation of phenomena or form.(8) In this process, unconditioned Mind appears in the form of conditioned phenomena that an differentiated temporally and spacially in terms of their self-nature (tzu-hsing). The origination of distinct phenomena is coterminus with the rise of language and thought through which the differntiation of Mind is conceived. Undifferentiated consciousness, the One Mind, or emptiness, is the foundation from which all distinct form arises. Although it remains as it p.26 is, unformed and unconditioned, the appearance of distinct form obscures its underlying presence. The One Mind or primal awareness (pen-chio) is hidden by the structures and forms of conventional truth. Hua-yen texts often describe the relation between the two as being analogous to the relation between the root(pen)and branches(mo(v))o f a tree. The One Mind in its pure identity in the original foundation or root (pen) on which the derivative branches (mo),i.e., phenomena and form, an established.(9),(l0) In the Awakening of Faith, the differentiation of the One Mindis caused by what appears to be an external influence. The "winds of ignorance," the tendency to distinguish form in terms of its self-nature, are said to obstruct the pure identity of Mind. But the Awakening of Faith does not go on to deal with the further question of the origins of ignorance. What is the relation between the One Mind and the "winds of ignorance" that cause the differentiation of Mind? Despite the fact that one of the primary objcctives of the text is to overcome the split between samsara and nirvana, the awakening of Faith retains a subtle form of dualism in its inability to unite the 0ne Mind and ignorance(wu-ming(w)). Fa-tsang's version of the One Mind doctrine, however, very carefully avoids setting ignorance apart from Mind,(11) a fact that had significant implications for his understanding of truth. In Hua-yen texts,the One Mind and ignorance an ultimately inseparable, so that phenomena and form are understood to derive from Mind itself without the aid of an external influence. The positing of form and conventional truth is the activity of the One Mind itself and not an extrinsic conditioning of Mind.(12) In this interpretation lies the potential to understand phenomena not simply as the illusory obscuration of true reality, but also as conditioned expressions of unconditioned reality. Whatever forms of consciousness appear can be seen to derive suchness itself. The "creation" (tso(x)) of phenomenal form by the One Mind must not be considered, however, as a singular act at the beginning of time. According to Fa-tsang, both ignorance and form are "beginningless" (wu-shih(y) ) .(13) The differentiation of Mind cannot be understood in terms of a temporal transition. The One Mind and its derivatives are mutually dependent (hsiang-i(z)).(14) Although the dichotomy between pen (origin) and mo (derivative) may suggest a temporal sequence, what seems to be implied is that the One Mind is ontologically more fundamental than the forms in which it p.27 expresses itself. Neither, however, an independent of the other. Creation is a continuous activity that takes place throughout the dharmadhaatu in every instant. But in that process, form and its foundation are slmultaneously present. The world of form constantly arises (heng-ch'i(aa)), and this activity, which constitutes samsara and conventional truth, is without begining(wu-shih).(15) The simultaneity of Mind (or emptiness) and form derives from their ultimate non-duality. The essence (t'i(ab)) of Mind andits function (yung(ac)), root (pen) and branch (mo), emptiness and form are non-different(pu-i(ad))(16) Mind is not separate from the appearance of samsara. Therefore, as to the appearance of samsara, there is nothing that is not ultunate truth. Samsara is not separate from the characteristics of Mind. If they are not separated in this way, then it is called united.(17) As to non-samsara, this is the tathagatagarbha pure Mind. Moving, it creates samara, but is not separate from it. Therefore it is called united. It does not refer to another existence; samsara is united together with the true. Referring to the Mind of smsara and the samsara of Mind, there are no dual characteristics.(19) If we understand the original identity or emptiness of Mind to be a prereflective awareness that underlies and provides the basis for all linguistic, conceptual, and experiential differentiation, then the identity between the two can be seen in the fact that what is differentiated is Mind itself. The differentiated forms of conventional truth are all "Mind only" (wei-hsin(ae))(19). Even though what appears in the world of conventional truth appears separated and differentiated, they are differentiations or expressions of one essence (t'i). Fa-tsang states this clearly: 'The mind of samsara arises from original awareness (pen-chio), and their non-dual essence is not mutually separated."(20) But, according to Hua-yen thought, even though the essence of one's experience is Mind or emptiness, the nature of conventional truth does not readily perrmt one to realize that. Conventional truth is samsara in that it p.28 alienates ons from the source and truth of all existence. It is I form of truth that in itself leads only to suffering and induces one to seek a liberating form of truth. II. WHAT Is ULTIMATE TRUTH AND HOW DOES IT BELATE TO LANGUAGE? Ultimate truth (paramaartha-satya/chen-t'i) is the form of truth that cor- responds to the Buddhist pale of freedom, realization, and enlightenment. Ihe realzation of ultimate truth also entails release from the ignorance and suffering that characterize life lived strictly within the limits of conventional truth and romurm The experience of ultimate truth overcomes the negative and alienating implications of conventional truth by establishing a renewed and enlightened mode of being. But according to Fa-tsang, this experience is "unfathomable" (p'o-ts'e(af) ) to anyone who thinks and experiences reality within the limitations imposed by the linguistic and logical structures of conventional truth. Because ultimate truth "cannot be spoken" (pu k'e shuo(ag)), it will therefore necessarily elude any description given here or in the writings of Hua-yen masters. In spite of that claim, however, ultimate truth is articulated in numerous ways in those texts so that one's discussion can focus both upon those descriptions and the claim that one must also trsrucend those dcscriptions. One of Fa-tsang's methods of articulating the notion of ultimate truth is to refer to it as a "return to the source'. (kuei-yuan(ah)). Enlightennent is the process in which one retums to an awareness of the source of reality (One Mind, emptiness) from one's alienation in conventional truth. Just as one's experience of individuality and self-nature in conventional truth constitutes a negation of one's original nature (pen hsig(ai)), the experience of ultimate truth entails a negation of conventional truth. This "return" (kuei), therefore, is a dialectical return that involves a double negation. Samsara or conventional truth is posited within and upon emptiness in an initial negation; and one returns to the source of all form through its negation in emptiness in the experience of enlightenment. In this context of the discussion of enlightenment, Hua-yen Buddhists p.29 generally employ the traditional Mahayana idea of the tathaagatagarbha (ju-lai tsang(aj) ) , the "womb of the tathagata." Although interpretations of the tathaagatagarbha vary, the meaning that is essential to most accounts is the innate potential for enlightenment within all human beings. Fa-tsang correlates this doctrine with the idea of the One Mind by referring to the tathaagatagarbha, the innate potential for enlightenment, as the eternal presence of the One Mind underlying the conventional awareness of form and differentiation. Although the One Mind is alienated from itself in unenlightened human consciousness, the potential for enlightenment, or the 'return" to pure Mind, is still present in consciousness as the underlying tathaagatagarbha, emptiness, or the Ons Mind. Emptiness or suchness that lies hidden beneath ah discrimination of form is the eternal presence of the Buddha within. The return of Mind to itself or the process of enlightenment, is brought about on the basis of this innate presence of the Buddha, the tathaagata garbha.(21) Neither the ultimate truth that becomes manifest in the experience of exptiness nor that to which one "returns" is a metaphysical reality in the sense of a transcendent, ideal realn existing beyond the precent world of experience.(22) Rather, it is a prereflective level of awareness that grounds the structures of conventional awareness. Ultimate truth is an immediate and direct experience of emptiness, the root (pen) and essence (t'i) of all differentiated experience. Although the conventional use of Ianguage objectifies that to which if refers, Fa-tsank msintairs that the ultimate truth of "emptiness" is neither abjective (so(ak) ) nor subjective (neng(al)), but the source (yuan) and basis (pen) of both subject and object. On that basis, enlightenment is understood as the elimination of all opposition and conflict between subject and object. The realization. of emptiness and one's identity in the One Mind is the realization that subject and object am not simply polar opposites, but are essentially interrelated aspects of the One Mind. The enlightened "self" is the medium through which the One Mind realizes and expresses itself. In the unfolding of enlightenment, the individual "self' releases all attachment to individualily and self-nature and in so doing becomes aware of the Buddha, or the One Mind, as his true nature or self.(23) With respect to the question of how this is experienced, the primary claim must be that it a "sudden realization" (tun-chueh(am)). Ultimate p.30 truth becomes "suddenly manifest" (tun-hsien(an)) in the form of. a breakthrough. Emptiness breaks through the structures of conventional truth as the negation or denial of the self-nature of form. The experience is sudden because what is realized, Buddha-nature, emptiness, need not be created; it In already there, fully complete, as the One Mind underlying all individual minds, as emptiness within form, or as the tathaagarbha the ever-present Buddha within individual beings.(24) Ultimate truth becomes actual in a radical breakthrough because it is nor a form of knowledge like all conventional truths that can be accumulated and compounded sequentially. "Suchness" (tathata/chen-fu(ao)) is indivisible and non-dual, It is not knowledge, but rather I direct awareness of the ground or foundation of all knowledge which is immediately present whether one ir aware of it dr not.(25) And when it does become present to awareness, it breaks through the forms of conventional consciousness in an overpowering, immediate experience. The immediate impact of the breakthrough is that all conventional experience of form and self-nature is destroyed (mieh(ap)) and exhausted (chin(aq)).(26) In this experience one's awareness is not conditioned by the distinction between subject and object, (27) nor by the dirscrimination of selfnature In any entity. What breaks through is non-dual (wu-erh) awareness(28) in which all conventional truth is perceived as empty. The experience of the negation of conventional truth brings all ordinary forms and structures of awareness to quiescence(chi(ar)).(29) Fa-tsang refers to the experience as the awareness of identity or "formless samadhi" (wu-hsiang t'ing(as) ) in which all autonomous difference is eliminated (wang(at)). That the experience of ultimate truth entails a negation of conventional truth can be seen in the predominance of negative language used to describe the experience (aside from traditional symbols like nirvana, emptiness, etc.). Destruction (mieh), cessation (chih(au)), non-existence (wu), elimination(wang), exhaustion (chin) - all give negative description to the experience. The meaning of these terms is that the experience of ultimate truth is, in some significant sense, not in continuity with conventional truth and experience. The negation of conventional truth entailed in the experience of ultimate truth in not, however, a negation of reality nor of experience, which in the experience, become manifest (hsien(av) ) in essence (t'i) and truth. Fa-tsang distinguishes his interpretation of "true emptiness", which includes empty form, from what he calls nihilistic concepts of emptiness (tuan-k'ung(aw)).(30) Hua-yen texts characteristically refer to the experience of ultimate truth as unspeakable (pu-k'e shuo) and mysterious (hsuan(ax)).(31) Whatis mysterious is that the manifestation of truth does not take place through the structures of ordinary knowledge and does not yield knowledge in the conventional sense. Furthermore, the true mystery cannot be expressed in conventional language.(32) Ultimate truth is "unfathomable" (p'o-ts'e) in that it is empty of all "name and form" (ming hsing) i.e., language and conventional experience. The experience of emptiness discloses and transcends the limits of conventional truth; conventional truth is inadequate to grasp the ultimate truth of emptiness.(33) By referring to it simply as "suchness" (tathataa/chen-ju), the texts reem to imply that no content is conceptually graspable in the experience, and also that what becomes manifest is and always was immediately present. Given these restrictions, it is clear that there is a quite different concept of truth applicable in ultimate truth than seems to obtain for conventional truth. Truth in the conventional sense generally implies a correspondence between one's concept of reality and the reality that the concept attempts to grasp. But the implications of the Hua-yen notions of emptiness and interrelatedness render such correspondence impossible in ultimate truth. Both thought and reality are impermanent and co-relative. All objects of experice and all concepts, including the concept emptiness, are empty. Each interrelated aspect of reailty lacks its "own-being" and attains its relative existence only within the infinife network of dependent co-origination. Ultimate truth, therefore, cannot be attributed to a set of propositions about reaity, but rather must designate an immediate awareness of the depth of reality. The emergence of this awareness generates a new mode of being in the world that maintains the emptiness of the structures of conventional truth. Enlightened awareness does not assume the final separation of the existing self from the world. In this mode of being, to be in the world is to see the infinite relatedness that unites and grounds reaity beyond the separation of self and world. for the Hua-yen Buddhist, therefore, the sudden break-through of enlightenment does not involve the disclosure of any absolute doctrines or principles. Utimate truth is not conditioned by any form or conceptual structure implied in conventional truth. The enlightenment experience renders all doctrines and principles empty (k'ung); none are p.32 ultimately true. III. WHAT IS THE RELATION BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL TRUTH AND ULTIMATE TRUTH? Having discussed the nature of conventional truth and ultimate truth, it is now possible to address the question of the relation between them. The most obvious aspect of their relation is that each constitutes a different perspective on reality and mode of being in the world. For one who lives in conventional truth, ultimate truth is not perceived. Conventional truth or samsara is life unaware of emptiness or suchness. And one to whom ultimate truth is manifest no longer lives within the structures of conventional truth wherein ons assumes the self-nature of form, the separation of subject and object, and so on. Fa-tsang's manner of describing this aspect of their relation is to say that each conceals or hides (yin.(ay)) the other. The conventional truth of form conceals the ultimate truth of emptiness and vice versa.(34) But this initial observation, however true in itself, is not complete because in some very important sense Hua-yen Buddhistr claim that the two kinds of truth are also non-different (pu-i). That is to say that there in an identity within the difference between conventional and ultimate truth. That identity can be specified through reference to 1 variety of symbols and concepts. Employing the idea of the One Mind, one would say,from the side of conventional truth, that conventional truth is Mind, that all the forms and mental distinctions of conventional truth are expressions of One Mind. What one experiences in the conventional mode of being is Mind, but Mind in alienation from itself, Mind in ignorance of itself as such. Hua-yen Buddhists therefore claim that there is an ontological identity concealed beneath oneself and the world. Ultimate truth, in this mannr of expression, is the experience of the identity of all differentiated beings within One Mind. In the experience of ultimate truth, one realizes the common ground between the two truths without obscuring the difference. Another way of expressing this identity is the well-known claim that "form is emptiness and emptiness is form." On the side of conventional truth, the texts claim that the origin (pen), essence (t'i), and true nature (hsing(az) ) of form is emptiness. Conversely, the actualization of ultimate truth is the experience of emptiness p.33 in and through form. "True emptiness" (chen-k'ung(ba)), one of Fa-tsang's moat common expressions for ultimate truth,is the awareness of form in emptiness and emptiness in form. When the bodhisottva contemplates form, there are none that am not the perception of emptiness; contemplating emptiness, then is nothing that is not the perception of form. Without limit, without obstruction, it constitutes Dharma of one essence.(35) The explication of "true emptiness" is carried out in great detail by the Hua-yen patriarchs. The focal point of this discussion is the principle (li(bb) ) of dependent co-origination (pratiityasamutpaada/yuan-ch'i(bc) ) . In Hua-yen thought, dependent co-origination implies thoroughgoing interdependency. All elements (shih(bd)/fa(be)) intricate network of interrelations. At the basis of this relational web is dependent co-origination, which is the structure of relation by means of which ah nlative phenomena are established. All existents participate in dependent co-origination so that each conditions the existence of all others. The most important implication of dependent co-origination, therefore, is that no entity exists independent of other entities,which is the meaning of the assertion that form is empty. The identity by means of which entities are distinguished is not established through self-relation or self-nature, independent of relntion to other entities. It is not the case for Hua-yen Buddhists that self-constituted entities enter into relation with other self-established entities. Rather, according to this system, particular existents are fundamentally correlative, and are thus ontologically grounded in dependent co-origination. The nature (hsing) of all beings is 'no self-nature" (wu tzuhsing). Thoroughgoing interrelatedness makes individuality and difference relative by linking all empty existents together into a complex network of dependent co-origination or emptiness. Hua-yen Buddhism is best known for the extent to which this analysis it carried out, extending emptiness into the interoenetration (hsiang-ju(bf)') pervasion (pien(bg)), and non-obstruction (wu-ai(bh)) of all phenomena. But this mon limited account should be sufficient to establish the identity p.34 between form and emptiness and the common ground between the two truths. That identity can be seen in the assertion that emptiness is found only in form and form exist only within emptiness. Given this assertion, it is clear that the difference between form and emptiness, or samsara and nirvana, or conventional and ultimate truth, is not the difference between two metaphysical realms. The conventional world of form is not a realm existing apart from emptiness even though ons who dwells in the former may be unaware of the latter. Ultimate truth is both transcendent to and immanent within conventional truth. It is transcendent in that one who participates in conventional truth is not aware of emptiness since emptiness is not a form like all other objects of experience. Ultimate truth is immanent as the essence and ground of conditioned form and is immediately present both in oneself and in the nature of all phenomena. There is no transcendent realm to which one must progress through a full negation of conventional truth. Realization takes place in a sudden break through rather than a gradual accumulation of wisdom because what is to be reallred is the essence (t'i)and true nature (hsing) of what is immediately at hand. Fa-tsang clarifies this relation by employing the analogous relation between pen and mo (rootlfoundation and branch/derivative): Emptiness is the foundation, the ground (pen), on which form, the derivative (mo) is established (ch'eng(bi)).(36) Form, the derivative, depends on(i(bj)) its fouodation in emptiness for its conditioned existence.(37) Emptiness is that on which everything depends (so-i(bk))(38); It is not itself dependent or conditioned (wu-wei). Form is that which is dependent (neng-i(bl) (39) ;it has no self-nature. Form and emptiness an identical in that ah form is grounded in emptiness and emptiness exists only within form.(40) There is no form that does not express emptiness since ah individual form is empty. Yet, form and emptiness an different in that emptiness, the foundation, is not itself a derivative form(41) and cannot be a simple object of experience. In this respect emptiness transcends form while simultaneously being fully immanent within it. It is significant for Hua-yen Buddhist thought that emptiness is expcdenced through or by means of its presence in form. This is equivalent to the claim that conventional truth is the means or medium through which ultimate truth is realized. Form and conventional truth not only conceal (yin) p.35 ultimate truth, but also contain the potentiality of revealing (hsien) ultimate truth.(42) In fact, ultimate truth can only be realized or revealed in and through conventional truth. This particular claim has significant implications for the quest for ultimate truth and enlightenment. Most importantly it implies that the quest must seriously focus on conventional truth rather than beyond it. But how in that possible? Conventional truth implies ignorance and suffering and itself constitutes one's alienation from ultimate truth. IV. HOW DO LANGUAGE AND CONVENTIONAL TRUTH FUNCTION TO REVEAL (HSIEN) ULTIMATE TRUTH? Ultinate truth cannot be discovered through an ordinary and direct application of conventional thought and language. According to Hue-yen Buddhists, ultimate truth is ungraspable (pu k'e ch'u(bm)) within the structures of conventional thought and language. But ultimate truth can be evoked or elicited by means of methods and techniques that are formulated and applied within conventional truth. The capacity to use conventional truth in such a way that if bringsabout an Experience of ultimate truth is traditionally known as upaaya (fang-pien(bo)) , skill in means. It is through skillful means that one uses ideas and techniques to establish the possibility of a sudden manifestation of ultimate truth. The crucial question in the context of upaaya, therefore, is not whether certain ideas and methods are true in the sense of their correspondence with reality, but whether they are efficacious in elicitmg this experience. Because they are articulated within conventional truth, all "skillful means" am empty, or relative, so that none have full identity with or control over the experience of ultimate truth. Techniques are preparatory in their attempt to provide the occasion for the manifestation of truth, but truth itself transcends the techniques and occurs, when it does, in an event that is sudden and unpredictable. All techniques and means are formulated within conventional truth, but must correlate in some way with what they seek to reveal. The basis for the capacity of particular techniques to elicit an rrperience of ultimate p.36 truth is the identity of form and emptiness or conventional and ultimate truth. On this basis several types of technique am possible. They can evoke the experience by illuminating the identity of conventional and ultimate truth, or by negating the difference between them, a both. But all techniques must be employed "skillfully, " with the understanding that all means an themselves empty and relative. The skillful means that is involved in the soteriological function of conventional truth is the capacity to use language fluidly and dynamically sc that one does not "settle down" or became attached to any particular technique or formulation of truth. For Hua-yen Buddhists, the key meditstive technique incorporates the principle of dependent co-origination. If as thoroughly contemplates the fact that ah forms of existence are empty and originally dependent.on all other forms of existence, then one begins to shift the focus of attention from the self-nature of form to what connects and grounds form, from their static existence to their dynamic relations. The purpose of this type of contemplation is to establish an openness within conventional truth. This means that the bodhisattva must use conceptual techniques in such a way that they remove or negate themselves and in so doing refer beyond their own self-nature to the non-conceptual basis of all concepts, emptiness. Since no concept or method can grasp ultimate truth, a concept that is informed by upaaya must lead one away from all conventional concepts to an awareness that is open to what lies beyond all conceptual formulation. Fa-tsang illustrates this type of "skillful means" by reference to the meditative concept of "suchness," the meaning of which denies all formulations of truth in preference for the experience of truth "such as it is." Assuming the perspective of a doubting questioner, Fa-tsang asks himwlf: If the goal of ultimate truth impies the exhaustion and eradication of all "name and form," why do you continue to contradict that goal by concentrating on the name and form "suchness"? The explanation in that the word "suchness" in the ultimate extremity of speaking. After pronouncing this one name, then there are no other names. If that is the case then among all names, this is the ultimate extremity...One causer words to abolish words. Establishing this extremity of names causes the p.37 abolition of names. If this name did not exist, then there would be no means to abolish names. However, if this one name is retained, one still doesn't abolish names. It is just like emitting the sound "silence" If there were not this sound, then the resi 1 of the sounds would not cease. But, if in order to retain this round you repeatedly say "silence," then you yourself are making noise. This too fails to stop sounds.(43) The concept "suchness" denotes the limits of all concepts and refers one beyond all formulations of conventional truth so that an openness to the presence of ultimate truth is established. Fa-tsang refers to anything that demonstrates this capacity as an 'illuminating cause" (Iiao-yin(bp)) of the manifestation of ultimate truth.(44) The medium for the experience, the "illuminating cause" can only act in this capacity if it is handled in such a way that it denies itself or negate and transcends its own self-nature in order to evoke an experience of the "fundamental nature" (pen-hsing) that lies concealed within all form and sil conventional truth. The "illuminating cause"operates as a medium only in so far as one does not take it to be the ultimate truth in itself. The technique or medium must enable an attitude of non-attachment to all conventional formulations and an openness to the experience of truth that may occur through thnn. The concept, symbol, or technique, which is an aspect of convenuanal truth, is not. therefore, ultimately We, but rather, the place where ultimate truth may be experienced, or the locus for its manifestation. The medium must be denied in itself(wu tzu-hsing)so that ultimate truth may be experienced through it. If the medium in taken to be ultimate truthin itself, then that act of grasping or attachment is itself sufficient to deny the presence of ultimate truth since the experience of emptinesr is what enabler one to eliminate all such attachment. In this regard, Buddhist make special use of self-denying concepts that deny their own ultimate truth in making their The model for this kind of self-negation is the concept emptiness, symbolizes the emptiness of all symbols, including itself. Emptiness empty and is, therefore,not ultimate truth in itself. me effect that this movement has is to force one beyond all empty concepts to a to what transcends all conceptuality and conventionaltruth. It p.38 is a thought, articulated within the structures of conventional truth, that designates the limits of thought and conventional truth. This sort of technique bears resemblance to the kung-en (koan)of the Ch'an school of Chinese Buddhism. As meditative devices pushing through conceptuality toward direct experience, kung-an do not allow attachment to any formulation o truth including their own form. In the mental activity of working with a kung-an, one arrives at the self-negation of thought, which is precisely the point at which thought is open and receptive to the truth that transcends thought. When, through such techniques, ultimate truth is "suddenly revealed". (tun-hsien), it is disclosed in a way that is contradictory to conventional truth. That is, emptiness and ultimate truth simultaneously establish(ch'eng) and destroy (mieh) form and conventional truth. Pursuing this leads us to a final question. What does it mean to say that ultimate truth both establishes and destroys conventional truth, and what is the status of Ermvcntional truth after the experience of ultimate truth? V. WHAT IS THE ENLIGHTENED STATUS OF LANGUAGE AND CONVENTIONAL TRUTH? The experience of ultimate truth renders an ambiguous judgment with regard to language and coventional truth. According to Fa-tsang, one becomes aware that emptiness simultaneously establishes (ch'eng) and destroys (huai(bq) form.(45) Form is established in that the experience of "true emptiness" is the awareness of the ultimate truth of emptiness in and through the various forms of conventional truth, and the awareness of the ultimate truth of emptiness in and through the various forms of conventional truth, and the awareness of the source (yuan) and foundation (pen) of form in emptiness. Form in established and grounded within the context of emptiness, and form is the medium through which emptiness is experienced, but it is simultaneously destroyed (huai) or exhausted (chin) by the manifestation of ultimate truth. Form is experienced as empty, relative, and not ultimately true in itself. What is destroyed in the experience is any notion of the autonomy, independence, or self-nature of form, p.39 Presuppostions that constitute conventional truth are exhausted in the experience of the true nature (hsing) of form. The ultimate truth of form is clarified or illluminated (ming(br)) in the experience of emptiness (i i k'ung ming shih(bs)), that is, form is taken out of its conventional context and illuminated within the context of dependent co-origination. The existence of form in experienced not in and of itself but in and through its foundation in emptiness. The realization that form is not different from emptiness and vice versa establishes form in its identity with ultimate truth, and destroys form in that form is experienced as empty of self-nature. Form and emptiness are non-different in that emptiness is immanent within form as its essence (t'i) and nature (hsing) . The fact that Fa-tsang expresses this identity between form and emptiness in ultimate truth in the negative form of' "nondifference" (pu-i) clearly shows the dialectical nature of the experience. The identity of form and emptiness is a dialectical identity that includes their difference. The experience of ultimate truth does not obscure the differentiation and multiplicity of form in one's experience of the world. The nature of this identity can be clarified by reference to the doctrine of the One Mind. The human mind differentiates the conventional world of experience out of the primal identity of emptiness or the One Mind. The experience of enlightenment in which conventional truth is negated is a "return to the source" (kuei-yuan), a return (kuei) to an awareness of that original source or ground of all differentiated expenence. The identity to whioh Mind returns is not however, an original of formless identity.(46) Mind returns to itself.. through its differentiation; emptiness is realized through form. Enlightenment is not the total obliteration of the forms and structures that one initially came to experience in conventionaltruth. What is negated in the "return" to Mind or emptiness is the false assumption of own-being or self nature that is implied in conventional truth and that eonstitutes "worldly experience." Form is experienced as empty form, form lacking self-nature but having relative existence upon the ground of emptiness. The experience of enlightenment illuminates the identity of all form in emptiness without destroyir,g its relative difference. Rather than destroying form,the experiof ultimate truth manifests its true and original nature. The breakrthrough of ultlmate truth is also described as an ecstatic p.40 experience in which the conventional separation and autonomy of subject and object are overcome. In the experience the bodhisattva is directly aware of the unconditional foundation of both subject and object in emptiness or Mind. Although the subject/object opposition is overcome, they an not experienced as merged together into an indistinguishable identity. In the experience of ultimate truth one fully realizes the situation of all entities, including one's "self", within the infinite context of interrelations. The alienation of the subject from the objective world is overcome in the awareness of a fundamental identity between them. One realizes that subject and object are not simply isolated and independent entities, but are fundamentally interrelated aspectsl of the One Mind. The "self" is the medium through which enlightenment or Buddhahood is realized and expressed. But in the actualization of enlightenment, the individual self releases all attachment to itself and its own self-nature, and in so doing becomes aware of the Buddha as his/her true nature or self(47) . Hua-yen texts depict the experience of the tathaagatagarbha as the arising of the Buddha-nature within oneself fulfilling the "self" by breaking down its false barriers and limtattons. The "positive" teaching of the tathaagatagarbha supplements rather than conflicts with the "negative" doctrine of noself if we bear in mind that the tathaagatagarbha is the innate potential in all human beings to realize no-self. The nature of the tathaagatagarbha is"no nature" (i wu-hsing wei hsing (bt)).(48) The tathaagatagarbha comes to fruition as the awareness of emptiness in oneself and one's world. But the Buddhanature is an identity that fulfills one's relative identity rather than annihilating it. Like the "self", the true nature of all interdependent reality is "nonature" (wu-hsing) The emptiness of form breaks down all rigid boundaries and exhausts all static attributes. In the awareness of "suchness" there are no definite borders and limits; everything extends to include and penetrate all else. The line of differentiation between one phenomenon and another la still present but simultaneously abolished. In ultimate truth the unity and identity of all existence is manifest without obstruction to multiplicity and difference. Expressions that emerge from the experience of ultimate truth are commonly paradoxical for Hua-yen Buddhists because the norms of conventional truth have been relativized. Awareness of suchness includes all p.41 polarities and oppositions that in conventional awareness cannot be united because Of the tension and obstruction between them. In ultimate truth all oppositions are united ''withhout obstruction" (wu-ai). This is possible on the basis of thoroughgoing emptiness and interdependency, because in emptiness no phenomenal form has a self-nature that permanently excludes other natures. All phenomena are continually involved in the dynamic process of dependent origination, each existing in a changing and relative form that unites each phenomenon with all other. This extension of the Buddhist concept of emptiness is known in Huayen texts as "shih Shih wu-ai"(bu) , the non-obstruction of all phenomena. The bodhisattva who Lives in awareness of "non-obstruction" can "exist as he is" (wan-jan(bv)) in the world. There is no need or reason to escape or transcend the world because in this experience all worldly phenomena are perfectly harmonious and expressive of the ultimate truth of emptiness.(49) The bodhisattva who experiences emptiness in form can be freely and creatively involved amidst the plentitude of phenomenal form. But thisis not form as conventionally understood. No attribution of self-nature is made, no attachments formed..Phenomena Ohih) are no longer just expressions of individual self-hood; they reveal (hsien) the ultimate truth of emptiness. The doctrine of "non-obstruction" (wu-ai) embodies the dynamic qualitils of "no-stationing". (pu-chu(bw)),"no-lodging"(wu-chi(bx))(50) and so on, that are characteristic of the bodhisattva's enlightened mode of being. For this reason it was incorporated into meditation techniques by Hua-yen Buddhists. These contemplative techniques (vipa'syanaa/kuan(by) ) deal freely with the various forms and structures of existence, but in a way that has been liberated from the constraints of conventional truth. Contemplation (kuan) is meditation on form and emptiness or empty form. These exercises express the revival and liberation of thought that occurs in the Hua-yen reali- zation of "true emptiness."(51) In the experience of ultimate truth, the intellect is not forfeited; it is fully operative through the realization of its own true nature. Ultimate truth, therefore, is not the absence of thinking,(52) but rather the presence of a kind of thinking that is free of attachment to all empty forms of thought. It is thinking that takes the realization of emptiness as its origin and point of departure. In traditional Buddhist thought, this ability to deal with the complex p.42 world of experence by mean of the "wisdom" of emptiness was known as "skill in means"(upaaya/fang-pien). "skill in means" can be interpreted as the capacity to maintain an awareness of ultimate truth while living and working in the conventional world. This is possible because, given their common ground, the experience of ultimate truth involves the reaffirmation of the reality of conventional truth. This is not a reaffirmation of conventional furth as such, however, but a reaffirmation of the reality and the unreality of that experience seen as it truly is. The symbol of upaya. expresses realization in the midst of the world, the perfect conjunction of form and emptiness. It is the working principle of the enlightened bodhisattva. Fa-tsang calls it a "well-skilled mind." This means that while one contemplates true principle, it does not interfere with various affairs and one skillfully cultivates the ten thousand activities.(53) What is implied in this aspect of "skill in means" is that the bodhisattva regards conventional truth as conventionally true and relative to a particular situation. This allows one to focus on the usefulness of language and truth on its efficacy in evoking an awareness of ultimate truth while fully aware that no doctrine or statement is ultimately true. One remains detached and free of language and conventional truth in the process of working with them. This is why the bodhisatrva's mode of being is described in terms of "no stationing","no grasping", "no attachment","no settling down" in any particular formulation of truth. The experience of ultimate truth ends all grasping for ultimate truth, thereby establishing 1 receptivity to its presence. According to the Hua-yen masters, the awareness of ultimate truth obviates the nacessity to limit the Buddhist Dharma to doctrine and practices of negative character alone. In fact, Hua-yen thought can be seen as an attempt to synthesize positive and negative techniques, especially as formulated inthe Tathagatagarbha and Madhyamira traditions. Although negative techniques are crucial, especially in the initial stages of practice " in order to cultivate an awareness of the emptiness of self and world, with the sudden manifestation of ultimate truth,the mind is directed back to the world in a positive way as well. In this enlightened mode of being, the p.43 bodhisattva is freed from the constraints and obstructions entailed in conventional truth and language(54) while still working with conventional truth and Language in a positive and cnative way. For Hua-yen Buddhists, the negative Language that is essential in the preparation and actualization of enlightenment is not an adequate representation of enlightenment or the relation between the two truths. This is so because the experience of ultimate truth does not "cut off" or negate the world. It is not the case that true essence cuts off the dharmas of origination and cessation (samsara). They have no self nature, therefore, they are not different from suchness and don't have to be cut off.(55) The experience of ultimate truth does not abolish language and logic which are the basis of conventional truth. Language and Logic are negated because they an empty and not directly expressive of ultimate truth, but also affirmed as essential and useful for Life in the world. Furthermore, Buddhist practice and realization presuppose language and logic. Without language and conventional forms of awareness there would be no conscious experience of ultimate truth. Completely formless experience is no experience at all. The identity of Mind can only be experienced through the negation or differentiation of Mind. Conventional truth is the inescapable medium for that awareness which has been described as the experience of identity within difference or emptiness within form. Finally, it is helpful to conceive of the two kinds of truth as two possible and alternative modes of being in the world. For Buddhists, it is possible to live in the same reality in at least two very different ways. Conventional truth refers to a mode of being characterized by opposition and alienation. Subjects are alienated from the objective world, and the selfnatue of all entities is experienced as excluding and obstructing all others. Ultimate truth designates a made of being characterized by "non- obstruction" because the "enlightened" being experiences all beings as empty of a permanent and exclusive self-nature. The bodhisattva is open and receptive to all form and to the ultimate truth that is revealed through it. This mode of being is not a negation of the world. On the contrary, to the "true emptiness" of all form is to become a medium for p.44 the infinite compassion of the Buddha, which is expressed in care and respect for all worldly form and all beings. OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE NOTES 1. Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun T.32(1666). 2. Ta-ch'eng ch'i-hsin lun i-chi T.44(1846). 3. T.32, p.576a. 4. T.32, p.576a. 5. T.32, p.576a. 6. T.45, p.640a. 7. T.32, p.576c. 8. T.44, p.253a. 9. T.45, p.635b. 10. There are two similar analogies in Hua-yen texts. Phenomenal form is related to Mind as particular rings are related to the gold substance from which they are formed (T.35 p.405b), and as individual waves are to the one body of water out of which they continually arise and disappear (T. 45, p.652c). 11. T.45, pp.635c-636a. 12. T.44, p.254bc. 13. T.44, p.267a. 14. T.44, p.254b. 15. T.45, p.668b. 16. T.44, p.255a. 17. T.44, p.254c. 18. T.44, p.254c. 19. T.45, p.640a. 20. T.44, p.254c. 21. T.44, p.251ab. 22. T.45, p.639b. 23. T.45, p.640b. 24. T.45, p.639b. 25. T.44, p.253a. 26. T.45, p.634a. 27. T.45, p.651b. p.45 28. T.45, p.628c. 29. T.45, p.628a. 30. T.45, p.656a. 31. T.45, p.637a. 32. T.45, p.630b. 33. T.45, p.636b. 34. T.45, p.639c. 35. T.45, p.651a. 36. T.45, p.635b. 37. T.45, p.652c. 38. T.45, p.652c. 39. T.45, p.652c. 40. T.45, p.652c. 41. T.45, p.653c. 42. T.45, p.653b. 43. T.44, pp.252c-253a. 44. T.45, p.673b. 45. T.45, p.653c. 46. T.44, p.253a. 47. T.45, p.640b. 48. T.45, p.631c. 49. T.45, p.652c. 50. T.45, p.633b. 51. T.45, p.654b. 52. T.45, p.629a. 53. T.45, p.651a. 54. T.45, p.653b. 55. T.44, p.253a. p.46 a ªkÂà x §@ au ¤î b «U¿Í y µL©l av Åã c ¯u¿Í z ¬Û¨Ì aw Â_ªÅ d µÐ´£ aa ùÚ°_ ax ¥È e ¥@¿Í ab Åé ay Áô f ¦Û©Ê ac ¥Î az ©Ê g ¬Û ad ¤£²§ ba ¯uªÅ h ¤À§O ae °ß¤ß bb ²z i ¦W¬Û af ¥r´ú bc ½t°_ j ¤@¤ß ag ¤£¥i»¡ bd ¨Æ k ¥Í¦º ah Âk·½ be ªk l ¤£ÅÜ ai ¥»©Ê bf ¬Û¤J m ¤£²§ aj ¦p¨ÓÂà bg ¹M n µL¤G ak ©Ò bh µLê o ªÅ al ¯à bi ¦¨ p ·½ am ¹y¨M bj ¨Ì q ¥» an ¹yÅã bk ©Ò¨Ì r µL ao ¯u¦p bl ¯à¨Ì s ¦³ ap ·À bm ¤£¥i¨ú t µL¬° aq ºÉ bn µL¥i±o u ¥»Ä± ar ±I bo ¤è«K v ¥½ as µL¬Û©w bp ¤F¦] w µL©ú at ¤` bq Ãa p.47 br ©ú bu ¨Æ¨ÆµLê bx µL±H bs ¥H¤@ªÅ©ú¨Æ bv ©{µM by Æ[ bt ¥HµL©Ê¬°©Ê bw ¤£¦í