The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra
Then at that time the Blessed One recited this couplet of
verses:
I always preach emptiness which is beyond eternalism and
nihilism; Samsara is like a dream and a vision, and karma vanishes
not.
Space, Nirvana, and the two forms of cessation— thus the ignorant discriminate the things which
are not effect-producing, but the wise stand above being and
non-being.
At that time again, the Blessed One said this to Mahāmati the
Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva; This [teaching of] emptiness, no-birth,
non-duality, and no-self-nature is found in all the sutras of all
the Buddhas, and this doctrine is recognised in every one of them.
However. Mahāmati, the sutras are the teaching in conformity with
the dispositions of all beings and deviate from the [real] sense,
and not the truth-preserving statement. Mahāmati, it is like unto
the mirage which entices the deer with its treacherous springs, the
springs are not there but the deer are attached, imagining them to
be real. So with the teachings disclosed in all the sutras, they
are for all beings for the gratification of their own
discriminating minds. They are not the truth-preserving statements
meant for noble wisdom to grasp. For this reason, Mahāmati, be in
conformity with the sense and be not engrossed in the
word-teaching.
