182 C O N C L U D I N G H O M AG E to mistaken extremes His teachings are the cause of attaining the omniscient wisdom that abides neither in the extreme of existence nor in that of peace They are prajnaparamita, the teachings on dependent arising that completely dissolve all conceptual fabrica tions You who taught in this way are the sage called Gautama, the unequaled Lion of the Shakyas Recalling your great kindness, and with deep respect, I prostrate before you." Thus ends The Funda mental Wisdom of the Middle Way Appendix ROOT VERSES FROM THE FUNDAMENTAL WISDOM OF THE MIDDLE WA Y O PENING H O M AGE I prostrate to the one Who teaches that whatever is dependently arisen Does not arise, does not cease, Is not permanent, is not extinct, Does not come, does not go, And is neither one thing nor different things I prostrate to the perfect Buddha, the supreme of all who speak, Who completely dissolves all fabrications and teaches peace C HAPTER 1: AN EXAMINAT I O N Not from self, not from other, Not from both, nor without cause: Things not arise At any place, at any time (1)44 OF CAUSAL CONDITIONS C HAPTER 2: AN EXAMINATION O F CO MING AND GOING On the path that has been traveled, there is no moving, On the path that has not been traveled, there is no moving either, And in some other place besides the path that has been traveled and the path that has not, Motions are not perceptible in any way at all (1) 44 Numbers in parentheses refer to the numbers of the root verses in the specific chapters APPENDIX C HAPTER 3: AN EXAMINATION OF T H E S O URCES OF CONSCIO USNESS Know that these reasonings refuting the faculty that sees Refute the faculties that hear, smell, taste, touch, and the mental faculty as well, Refute the hearer and the other perceiving consciousnesses, Refute sound and the other perceived objects (8) C HAPTER : AN EXAMINATION OF THE AGGREGATES Except for there being the cause of form, Form would not be seen Except for there being what we call "form," The cause of form would not appear either (1) Feelings, discriminations, formations, Minds, and all the things there are Are susceptible to the same stages of analysis That forms have been put through here (7) When emptiness comes up for debate, Whatever answers try to prove true existence, Those answers are unsound Because they are equivalent to the very thesis to be proved (8) When explanations are given about emptiness, Whoever would try to find faults in them Will not be able to find any faults at all, Because the faults are equivalent to the very thesis to be proved (9) C HAPTER : AN EXAMINATION O F T H E ELEMENTS Space can in no way exist Prior to its defining characteristics If space existed prior to its defining characteristics, It would follow that space could exist without defining characteristics (1) 185 ROOT VERSES Therefore, space is not something, it is not nothing, It is not a basis for characteristics, its defining characteristics not exist, And the other five elements are precisely the same (7) Those with little intelligence View things as being existent or nonexistent They not see that what is to be seen Is perfect and utter peace (8) C HAPTER 6: AN EXAMINATION OF DESIRE AND THE DESIROUS O N E If before desire existed, If without any desire there existed a desirous one, In dependence upon that, there would in fact be desire, For when there is a desirous one, there is also desire (1) C HAPTER : AN EXAMINATI O N OF THE CO MPOSITE Arising, abiding, and ceasing not exist, And therefore there are no composite things Since composite things are utterly nonexistent, How could anything noncomposite exist? (33) Like a dream, like an illusion, Like a city of gandharvas, That's how birth and that's how living, That's how dying are taught to be (34) C HAPTER 8: AN EXAMINATI O N OF ACTORS AND ACTIONS An actor exists in dependence upon an action, An action exists in dependence upon an actor, And apart from that, No reason for their existence can be seen (12) C HAPTER : AN EXAMINATION OF WHAT C O M ES FIRST The one who experiences perceptions does not exist Before, during, or after the experiences of seeing and so forth APPENDIX 186 Knowing this, all thoughts of an experiencer of perceptions either existing or not existing are reversed (l2) C HAPTER 10: AN EXAMINATION OF FIRE AND FIREW O O D If something exists in dependence upon something else, But that thing upon which it depends Must also depend upon it, Then which one of these exists in dependence upon which? (10) The firewood itself is not the fire, There is no fire that exists apart from the firewood, The fire does not possess the firewood, The fire does not support the firewood, and the firewood does not support the fire (14) This examination of fire and firewood Refutes the self and the aggregates it appropriates in all five ways Similarly, examining vases, blankets, and so forth, It is perfectly explained that none of them exist in any of these five ways (15) C HAPTER ll: AN EXAMINATION OF SAMSARA Since one cannot happen before the others, And they cannot happen simultaneously, Why would you ever think That birth, aging, and death truly exist? (6) C HAPTER l2: AN EXAMINATION OF S U F F ERING That which is only suffering does not arise From any of the four extremes, and not only that, All outer phenomena not arise From any of the four extremes either (10) C HAPTER 13 : AN EXAMINATION O F THE PRECISE NATURE OF REALITY If there were the slightest thing not empty, There would be that much emptiness existent ... parentheses refer to the numbers of the root verses in the specific chapters APPENDIX C HAPTER 3: AN EXAMINATION OF T H E S O URCES OF CONSCIO USNESS Know that these reasonings refuting the faculty... AN EXAMINATION OF THE AGGREGATES Except for there being the cause of form, Form would not be seen Except for there being what we call "form," The cause of form would not appear either (1) Feelings,... upon it, Then which one of these exists in dependence upon which? (10) The firewood itself is not the fire, There is no fire that exists apart from the firewood, The fire does not possess the firewood,