法身章第八
Chapter 8: Dharmakaya
「若於無量煩惱藏所纏如來藏不疑惑者，於出無量煩惱藏法身亦無疑惑。於說如來藏、如來法身、不思議佛境界及方便說，心得決定者，此則信解說二聖諦。如是難知難解者，謂說二聖諦義。何等為說二聖諦義？謂說作聖諦義、說無作聖諦義。說作聖諦義者，是說有量四聖諦。何以故？非因他能知一切苦、斷一切集、證一切滅、修一切道。是故世尊！有有為生死、無為生死。涅槃亦如是，有餘及無餘。說無作聖諦義者，說無量四聖諦義。何以故？能以自力知一切受苦、斷一切受集、證一切受滅、修一切受滅道。如是八聖諦，如來說四聖諦。如是四無作聖諦義，唯如來、應、等正覺事究竟，非阿羅漢、辟支佛事究竟。何以故？非下、中、上法得涅槃。何以故？如來、應、等正覺，於無作四聖諦義事究竟，以一切如來、應、等正覺，知一切未來苦、斷一切煩惱上煩惱所攝受一切集、滅一切意生身、除一切苦滅作證。
If you have no doubt about the Tathāgatagarbha—the thus-gone one’s inner potential wrapped in boundless afflictions—you will also have no doubt about the Dharma-body, which emerges after freeing itself from those same boundless afflictions. When your mind finds firm certainty in the teachings on the tathāgatagarbha, the dharmakaya, the inconceivable realm of the Buddha, and the skillful means of explanation—this means you truly understand and believe in the two kinds of noble truths.
What are these two kinds of noble truths that are so difficult to grasp and comprehend? They are the noble truth of conditioned effort and the noble truth of unconditioned effort.
The noble truth of conditioned effort refers to the four noble truths seen as limited. Why? Because one cannot, on their own, know all suffering, abandon all its causes, realize all its cessation, or cultivate the entire path. Therefore, O World-Honored One, there is both conditioned saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death) and unconditioned saṃsāra, and similarly, nirvāṇa is divided into the nirvāṇa with remainder and without remainder.
The noble truth of unconditioned effort refers to the four noble truths seen as unlimited. Why? Because one can, by their own power, know all the suffering of existence, abandon all the causes of that suffering, realize all its cessation, and cultivate the complete path that leads to its end.
Thus, the Tathāgata expounds the eight noble truths as the conventional four noble truths. Yet, the meaning of these four unconditioned noble truths is something that only a Tathāgata, an Arhat, a fully enlightened Buddha can fully realize—it is not the full realization of an arhat (arahant) or a pratyekabuddha (solitary enlightened one). Why? Because the path to nirvāṇa is not a matter of the lesser, middling, or superior levels of practice. Why? Because only a Tathāgata, an Arhat, a perfectly enlightened Buddha has fully accomplished the meaning of the four unconditioned noble truths—by knowing all future suffering, severing all afflictions—including the subtle defilements that drive all rebirth—and realizing the cessation of all mind-made bodies, thereby personally witnessing the complete end of suffering.
「世尊！非壞法故，名為苦滅。所言苦滅者，名無始無作、無起無盡、離盡常住、自性清淨，離一切煩惱藏。世尊！過於恒沙不離、不脫、不異、不思議佛法成就，說如來法身。世尊！如是如來法身不離煩惱藏，名如來藏。
"World-Honored One! It is not through the destruction of a phenomenon that we speak of the cessation of suffering. What is called 'cessation of suffering' means that which has no beginning, no creation, no arising, and no end; that which is free from ending, ever-present, pure in its own nature, and free from all stores of afflictions. World-Honored One! It is by the realization of the Tathagata's dharmas — which are countless as the Ganges' sands, unseparated, undetached, non-dual, and inconceivable — that we speak of the Tathagata's Dharmakaya. World-Honored One! This Dharmakaya of the Tathagata, undivided from the store of afflictions, is called the Tathagatagarbha."