Translated from the Sanskrit by Ben Connelly and Weijen Teng in Vasubandhu’s ‘Three Natures’: A Practitioner’s Guide for Liberation (Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2022).
Treatise on Three Natures
The imaginary, dependent, and Complete, realized natures: The wise say these three Are what is known as profound. ll1ll
What appears is the dependent. How it appears is the imaginary, Since it is dependent on conditions, And it exists as mere imagination. ||2||
The constant absence of How it appears in what appears Is known as the complete, realized nature, Since it is never otherwise. ||3||
What appears there? Unreal imagination. How does it appear? As being dual What is its nonexistence? The essential nonduality there. ||4||
What is the unreal imagination there? Mind. Since it is imagined like this, Both how it is imagined and the thing imagined Are ultimately thus, undiscoverable. ||5||
Mind is said to be twofold, Cause and result, Also called store consciousness and Arising consciousness, which is sevenfold. ||6||
First it is called mind (citta) because It is full of (citatvāt) seeds of afflictive tendencies. Second it is called mind (citta) because It is the arising of various (citra) appearances. ||7||
In brief, the unreal imagination Is considered threefold. Ripening, thus caused, Or else appearance. ||8||
The first is the root consciousness For it is characterized by ripening The others are the arising consciousnesses; They are the active cognition of seer and seen. ||9||
Because affliction and cessation are both Existent and nonexistent, both dual and one, Not different in characteristics, These natures are said to be profound. ||10||
Both grasped as existing and really not existing, The imaginary nature is considered To have the characteristic Of existence and nonexistence. ||11||
Since it exists as an illusion, and does not exist As it appears, the dependent Is considered to have the characteristic Of existence and nonexistence. ||12||
Since it exists as nonduality and is the very Nonexistence of duality, the complete, realized nature Is considered to have the characteristic Of existence and nonexistence. ||13||
Since an imagined thing is known as dual But being one due to the absence of that duality, The imaginary nature of the foolish Is said to be both dual and unitary. ||14||
Since it appears to have a dual nature, And being one as that is mere illusion, The dependent nature Is said to be both dual and unitary. ||15||
Since it is the nature of dual existence, And the singular nature of nonduality, The complete, realized nature Is said to be both dual and unitary. ||16||
The imaginary and dependent are known As the characteristic of affliction. While the complete, realized is known As the characteristic of purity. ||17||
Due to nonexistent duality nature and That very nonexistence nature, The complete, realized is said to be nondifferent In characteristic from the imaginary. ||18||
Due to nonduality nature and Nonexistent duality nature, The imaginary nature is said to be nondifferent In characteristic from the realized. ||19||
Due to the nonexistence of how it appears, And being the reality of that very nature, The realized is said to be nondifferent In characteristic from the dependent appearance. ||20||
Due to nonexistent duality nature and Since how it appears is not its own nature, The dependent is said to be nondifferent In characteristic from the realized. ||21||
For the purpose of growth in understanding. These natures are often understood in stages From the point of view of conventions and insight into them. ||22||
The imagined is conventional existence, The other is the maker of conventional existence, The third nature is the cutting off Of convention, it is said. ||23||
First one understands the dependent, A dual nonexistence. Then one understands the merely imaginary there, Nonexistent duality. ||24||
Then one understands the realized, The existence of the nonexistence of duality, For then it is just thus- It is said to be and not to be. ||25||
The three natures have the characteristic Of nonduality, ungraspability, Due to nonexistence, not existing like it appears, And being the nature of that nonexistence. ||26||
Just as an illusion produced by an incantation May appear to be an elephant A mere form is there, But the elephant is truly no elephant. ||27||
The imaginary nature is the elephant, Its appearance is the dependent, and The nonexistence of the elephant there Is said to be the complete, realized nature. ||28||
The false imagination thus appears From the root mind as dual. The duality is utterly nonexistent, The mere appearance is there. ||29||
The root consciousness is like the mantra, Thusness is like the wood, Conceptualization is like the appearance Of the elephant, and duality is like the elephant. ||30||
In understanding how things really are, The three characteristics are employed together Corresponding respectively with knowing, Relinquishment, and attainment. ||31||
It is said that knowledge is nonperception, Relinquishment is nonappearance, Groundless perception though Is attainment, direct realization. ||32||
Through not perceiving duality, The dual form vanishes. Through vanishing, the realized, Nonduality, is attained. ||33||
lust like with the illusion, The nonperception of the elephant, The vanishing of its form, and the perception Of the piece of wood all occur at once. ||34||
By these reasons-minds cause contrary views, Minds see unreal things, Accordance with the three knowledges, and Effortless attainment of liberation- ||35||
Through the perception of mind-only, There is no perception of knowable things. Through the nonperception of knowable things, There is no perception of mind. ||36||
Through not perceiving either, The dharma realm is perceived Through perceiving the dharma realm, Unlimitedness is perceived. ||37||
Through perceiving unlimitedness, Accomplishing well-being for self and others, The wise know unsurpassable awakening, The threefold body. ||38||
Thus is completed the work Treatise on Three Natures Of Venerable Acharya Vasubandhu.