師子吼菩薩摩訶薩 白佛言 世尊 云何名爲佛性 佛告師子吼菩薩 善男子 佛性者 名第一義空 第一義空 名爲智慧 所言空者 不見空與不空 智者見空及與不空 常與無常 苦之與樂 我與無我
shī zǐ hǒu pú sà mó hē sà bái fó yán shì zūn yún hé míng wéi fó xìng fó gào shī zǐ hǒu pú sà shàn nán zǐ fó xìng zhě míng dì yī yì kōng dì yī yì kōng míng wéi zhì huì suǒ yán kōng zhě bù jiàn kōng yǔ bù kōng zhì zhě jiàn kōng jí yǔ bù kōng cháng yǔ wú cháng kǔ zhī yǔ lè wǒ yǔ wú wǒ
Key Message
The wisdom of the Buddha-nature is the power to see contradictory things simultaneously. The place that embraces both existence and non-existence, the permanent and the impermanent — this is the Buddha-nature.
▸This is the scene in which Bodhisattva Lion's Roar directly asks the Buddha, 'What is Buddha-nature?' The Buddha defines the Buddha-nature as 'the emptiness of highest meaning' (第一義空) — the emptiness at the highest level — and states that this 'emptiness of highest meaning' means wisdom (智慧).
This is the scene in which Bodhisattva Lion's Roar directly asks the Buddha, 'What is Buddha-nature?' The Buddha defines the Buddha-nature as 'the emptiness of highest meaning' (第一義空) — the emptiness at the highest level — and states that this 'emptiness of highest meaning' means wisdom (智慧). The Buddha then explains sharply how emptiness should be understood. 'To be empty' does not simply mean failing to distinguish between empty and not-empty. The foolish see only empty or only not-empty. But the wise one (智者) sees both empty and not-empty together, sees both the impermanent and the permanent together, sees both suffering and bliss together, and sees both without-self and self together. This paradoxical simultaneous seeing is the wisdom of the Buddha-nature.