迦葉菩薩白佛言 世尊 如佛所說 一切諸法 無有我者 云何如來 說言佛性 是我義耶 佛告迦葉 一切諸法 雖無我 然有佛性 佛性者 即是如來 如來者 即是法身 法身常住 不可思議
jiā yè pú sà bái fó yán shì zūn rú fó suǒ shuō yī qiē zhū fǎ wú yǒu wǒ zhě yún hé rú lái shuō yán fó xìng shì wǒ yì yē fó gào jiā yè yī qiē zhū fǎ suī wú wǒ rán yǒu fó xìng fó xìng zhě jí shì rú lái rú lái zhě jí shì fǎ shēn fǎ shēn cháng zhù bù kě sī yì
Key Message
That there is no-self and yet the Buddha-nature exists is not a contradiction. There is no individual ego, but the Dharmakāya of truth is eternally present.
▸Kāśyapa Bodhisattva poses a sharp question to the Buddha: 'You have said that all phenomena are without self (無我) — then why do you say that the Buddha-nature is the meaning of self (我)?' This question directly confronts what appears to be the core contradiction between the doctrine of no-self (無我) and the concept of 'self' (我) in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra.
Kāśyapa Bodhisattva poses a sharp question to the Buddha: 'You have said that all phenomena are without self (無我) — then why do you say that the Buddha-nature is the meaning of self (我)?' This question directly confronts what appears to be the core contradiction between the doctrine of no-self (無我) and the concept of 'self' (我) in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra. The Buddha answers: 'All phenomena are without self, and yet the Buddha-nature exists.' And he declares: 'The Buddha-nature is the Tathāgata itself; the Tathāgata is the Dharmakāya itself; the Dharmakāya permanently abides and is inconceivable.' This passage reveals the triadic structure of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra in which Buddha-nature, Tathāgata, and Dharmakāya are connected as one reality.