PART ONE: Review of Verses 1 - 66
Verses 1 - 6 = Things (dharma) exist only according to relative truth (saṃvṛti). The ultimate truth (paramārtha) is that nothing arises.
Verses 7 - 26 = Everything is pratītyasamutpanna, produced in dependence, thus śūnya, ‘empty’.
Verses 27 - 39 = Characteristics are only on account of the characterized (thing), but the characterized (thing) is only on account of its characteristics; therefore they do not exist in and of themselves.
Verses 40 - 56 = The five skandhas, especially rūpa (material element), are all empty.
Verse 57 = An object of knowledge and the apprehension of that object do not exist inherently, therefore the ‘person who knows the object’ does not exist inherently.
Verses 58 - 66 = “Understanding the non-inherent existence of things means seeing the reality [i.e. emptiness] which eliminates ignorance about the reality of things. This brings about the cessation of ignorantly grasping at an apparently true existence. From that the twelve limbs of dependent origination cease.” - Komito
PART TWO: The Ultimate Truth
Verse 67
“Things with an own being do not exist at all; here non-things also do not exist; things and non-things, born out of causes and conditions, are void.” - Tola y Dragonetti
Verse 68
“Since all things are void of an own being, in an incomparable way the Tathāgata has taught the Dependent Origination of all things.” - Tola y Dragonetti
Verse 69
“The supreme truth (paramartha-satya) is only that. Buddha, the Bhagavant, holding to the relative truth, considered all the diverse things in a correct way.” - Tola y Dragonetti
Verse 70
“The teaching proper of the world has not been abolished; in reality, a teaching of the Doctrine never existed at all; by not understanding what the Tathāgata has said, (ignorant persons) become afraid of this principle free from (all) mental creation.” - Tola y Dragonetti
Verse 71
“It is known in the way of the world that ‘this arises in dependence on that.’ Such statements are not refuted. But whatsoever arises dependently does not exist inherently, and how can that non-inherent existence itself have inherent existence? In fact, that non-inherent existence must definitely not exist inherently!” - Komito
“Depending on this, that does arise – this principle relative to the world is not denied. What arises in dependence lacks an own being, how could it exist? (All that precedes) is perfectly evident.” - Tola y Dragonetti
Verse 72
“Those who have faith in the teaching of emptiness will strive for it through a number of different kinds of reasoning. Whatever they have understood about it in terms of non-inherent existence, they clarify this for others, which helps others to attain nirvāṇa by abandoning grasping at the apparently true existence of cyclic existence and non-cyclic existence.” - Komito
“The man who has faith consecrates himself to the search for truth, does not cling to the teaching of any doctrine, adheres, according to logic, to that principle, having abandoned being and non-being, becomes calm.” - Tola y Dragonetti
Verse 73
“By seeing these internal and external phenomena arising from causes and conditions they will eliminate the whole network of wrong views. With the elimination of wrong views they will have abandoned attachment, closed-mindedness and hatred and thereby attain nirvāṇa unstained by wrong views.” - Komito
“Knowing the conditionality of (all) this, with the cessation of the mental creations, which constitute the net of the false doctrines, and the abandonment of attraction, error and hatred, on proceeds, pure, towards nirvāṇa.” - Tola y Dragonetti