三無性

Readings

Pinyin: sān wúxìng

Wade-Giles: san wu-hsing

Hangul: 삼무성

Korean MC: sam museong

Korean MR: sam musŏng

Katakana: サンムショウ

Hepburn: san mushō

tam vô tính

three non-natures

• In contrast to the "three natures" 三性 of "attachment to pervasive imagination," "dependent arising," and "perfectly accomplished reality," these three non-natures are established from the point of view of the lack of self nature of all phenomena. Thus, this is an explanation from the standpoint of emptiness.
  1. 相無性. The non-nature of imaginary form. When a person is unaware of the law of dependent arising 緣起, he tends to regard the self and phenomena as really existent, while actually they are formed from causation. The commonly cited metaphor is that of a rope appearing like a snake.
  2. 生無性. The non-nature of that which is produced by causation. Phenomena which are produced by dependent arising owe their existence to a variety of elements of which they are composed. Phenomena, therefore, cannot have any peculiar characteristics which are properly their own.
  3. 勝義無性. The non-nature of ultimate reality. The tathatā, which is the ultimate reality beyond the world of phenomena transcends description and has no form.
  (Skt. tri-vidhāniḥsvabhāva, tri-vidhā niḥsvabhāvatā) 〔瑜伽論 T 1579.30.345c2, 成唯識論 T 1585.31.47c26〕 [resp. Charles Muller; source(s): Nakamura, JEBD, Hirakawa]

Dictionary References:

Bukkyō jiten (Ui), 379

Bulgyo sajeon, 401a

Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha), 250a/277

Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura), 475a

Fo Guang Dictionary, 627

Ding Fubao

Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa), 0025

Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki), (v.1-6)1686c

Bukkyō daijiten (Oda), 1702-3, 666-1

(Soothill's) Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms, 70

Copyright © 2010 -- Charles Muller

generated: 2014-01-02