三性

trisvabhāva

唯识所立遍计、依他、圆成三性。AI-generated

Type ViewDifficulty AdvancedTruth-level span III · nominal designation ⇢ IV · beyond wordsInitial AI estimate · evolves with use

初立第三重：遍计／依他／圆成的三分是名言安立层的典范，即细则所举第三重的标准案例；究竟第四重：三性对翻三无性（相无性／生无性／胜义无性），圆成实性即离言真如，教法深化终归离言。〔中观应成镜头：三性安立属不了义方便说，不承认其有第四重的了义地位〕。

A Contemporary ReadingAI-generated

What This Concept Is Talking About

In Mahayana Buddhist philosophy—particularly within Yogācāra (Mind-Only) thought—the doctrine of the Three Natures (*trisvabhāva*, 三自性) represents the ultimate blueprint of reality. It explains how human perception functions, why suffering arises, and how liberation is actualized. Far from being a mere metaphysical taxonomy, the Three Natures provide a diagnostic framework that maps every phenomenon (*dharma*) across three distinct dimensions or modes of existence:

1. Parikalpita-svabhāva (遍計所執性 / 妄想自性): The Imagined Nature (or Nature of Conceptual Projection). 2. Paratantra-svabhāva (依他起性 / 緣起自性): The Other-Dependent Nature (or Nature of Interdependent Arising). 3. Pariniṣpanna-svabhāva (圓成實性 / 成自性 / 具實): The Consummate/Perfected Nature (or Nature of Ultimate Reality).

To understand where this framework fits into the path of liberation (*mōkṣa*), one must recognize the core predicament of sentient beings: we do not experience the world as it truly is; we experience our own cognitive projections *superimposed* upon a stream of causes and conditions. The Three Natures explain how this delusion works and how it can be reversed through "transformation of the basis" (*āśraya-parāvṛtti*, 轉依).

1. The Imagined Nature (Parikalpita-svabhāva / 妄想自性)

In the *Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra* (楞伽阿跋多羅寶經), this is termed the "Imagined Nature born from appearances" (妄想自性從相生). It is built upon two structural attachments: * Attachment to Names and Marks (名相計著相): Projecting conceptual labels onto internal thoughts and external objects, taking those labels to be intrinsic realities. * Attachment to Phenomena as Concrete Entities (事相計著相): Grasping at the specific characteristics (*svalakṣaṇa*) and general characteristics (*sāmānyalakṣaṇa*) of things as if they possess an inherent, fixed essence.

In the *Ghanavyūha Sūtra* (大乘密嚴經), this nature is dissected across four core dimensions: 1. Verbal Superposition on Unarisen Phenomena: While all phenomena are inherently unarisen, unceasing, neither one nor many, sentient beings invent arbitrary names (*妄立種種名*) and treat them as real. 2. Grasping at Illusions: Beings cling (*妄所取*) to appearances that are like dreams, mirages, castles in the sky (*gandharvanagara*), reflections of the moon in water, or firebrands spun in a circle. 3. Unfindability of Referents: Attempting to locate an actual, self-existent entity matching a name reveals that the supposed entity is completely unfindable (*不可得*). 4. Identity of Mind and World: The worldly environment consists entirely of name and form (*nāmarūpa*); severed from the expressing word (*能詮*), the expressed reality (*所詮*) vanishes. As the sūtra states: *"Such is the nature of conceptual projection; I call it the world"* (如是遍計性，我看為世間).

The *Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra* illustrates this nature with the famous classic metaphors of "horns of a rabbit in empty space" (虛空兔角) and "the child of a barren woman" (槃大子 / 焦芽敗種). These metaphors highlight that the Imagined Nature is "verbally asserted without actual existence" (無而有言說). It is a pure cognitive construct—a hallucination created by egoic grasping.

2. The Other-Dependent Nature (Paratantra-svabhāva / 依他起性)

The *Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra* concisely defines this nature: *"That which arises dependent on conditions is called the dependent nature"* (若依若緣生，是名緣起).

The *Ghanavyūha Sūtra* expands on this by grounding it in observable cause-and-effect processes: * Sensory Perception: Visual consciousness arises from the confluence of the eye organ (*indriya*) and visual form (*rupa*). * Physical Sound: Sound resonates from the striking of a drum mallet against a drumhead. * Biological Growth: A green sprout emerges from a seed planted in moist soil. * Artifacts & Objects: Palaces, jars, and garments are constructed entirely through an aggregation of materials and human labor.

The Other-Dependent Nature is the dynamic, interconnected flow of cause and effect (*pratītyasamutpāda*). It is not inherent non-existence like a rabbit's horn, nor is it an unchangeable absolute. It is the flux of physical and mental phenomena (*dharmas*) arising from seed-impressions (*bīja*) stored in the storehouse consciousness (*ālayavijñāna*, 藏識/賴耶).

3. The Consummate / Perfected Nature (Pariniṣpanna-svabhāva / 圓成實性)

The *Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra* designates this as the "Perfected Nature" (成自性), defined as the state *completely free from the conceptual projections of names, marks, and concrete phenomena* (離名相、事相妄想). It is not an abstract theory, but the *realm of self-realized noble wisdom* (自覺聖智趣所行境界), explicitly equated in this text with the Tathāgatagarbha (如來藏心, the Womb/Matrix of the Buddha).

The *Ghanavyūha Sūtra* terms it "Real Completeness" or "Possessing Reality" (具實 / 名具實). It is defined as uncontaminated (*anāsrava*, 無漏), ultimate truth that cannot be negated or abandoned, accessible only through direct non-conceptual wisdom (*nirvikalpa-jñāna*).

Crucially, the Consummate Nature is not a separate physical realm located somewhere else. It is simply the Other-Dependent Nature viewed as it truly is—devoid of the Imagined Nature.

Mapping to the Five Dharmas, Eight Consciousnesses, and Two Natures of Selflessness

To see how the Three Natures sit at the heart of Mahayana Soteriology, we must examine their exact alignment with the Five Dharmas (五法), Eight Consciousnesses (八識), and Two Natures of Selflessness (二無我):

As the *Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra* summarizes: * Name, Appearance, and False Conceptualization map to the dual aspects of conditional existence (the Imagined Nature and the Other-Dependent Nature). * Right Wisdom and Suchness map to the Consummate Nature.

When a practitioner realizes the selflessness of persons and phenomena, the latent karmic seeds in the storehouse consciousness (*ālayavijñāna*) cease to generate ignorance (*avidyā*). Active mental afflictions (*kleśa*) dissolve, leaving pure, unconditioned reality (*tathatā*).

A Walk Through Everyday Life

To avoid treating the Three Natures as abstract dogma, let us trace them through a ubiquitous contemporary scenario: Receiving a contentious message in a work chat app during a high-pressure deadline.

Scene: The Urgent Notification

It is 10:00 PM. You are exhausted after working all day. A notification pops up on your smartphone screen from your project manager: *"We need to talk about the proposal draft tomorrow morning first thing."*

Step 1: Observing the Other-Dependent Nature (依他起性)

* What is actually present? Light waves emitted from a glass screen hitting your retina; nerve impulses traveling along the optic nerve; your brain processing the characters; mental activity (*citta*) surging; heart rate increasing due to cortisol release. * The Reality: This entire event is a web of interdependent factors—hardware, light sources, linguistic symbols, past habit-patterns, physical tiredness, and organic physiology. No single element exists independently. This is pure Other-Dependent Nature (*paratantra*).

Step 2: The Fall into the Imagined Nature (遍計所執性)

* Where does the mind instantly go? 1. *Attachment to Names and Marks*: You read the word "talk" and immediately attach the mark "threat/criticism" to it. 2. *Attachment to Phenomena as Inherent Entities*: You instantly construct a rigid mental story: *"My manager hates my work. They are going to fire me. I am a failure."* You solidify "Manager," "Job Security," and "Self" into permanent, inherently existing entities trapped in a dramatic conflict. * The Delusion: You are reacting to a phantom—a "rabbit's horn." The narrative of impending doom is an imagined construction superimposed onto a simple string of text pixels. This projection is the Imagined Nature (*parikalpita*).

Step 3: Realizing the Consummate Nature (圓成實性)

* How does insight operate? You pause, take a conscious breath, and apply non-conceptual awareness (*nirvikalpa-jñāna*). You notice the physical sensations in your body and the fleeting nature of the thoughts. You recognize that the text message itself contains no intrinsic hostility, nor does your mind contain an inherently threatened "Ego." * The Awakening: Stripping away the imagined threat leaves only the bare reality of the moment—luminous, empty, and devoid of intrinsic ego-drama. Seeing the dependent nature *for what it is*, completely freed from conceptual superimpositions, is the direct experience of the Consummate Nature (*pariniṣpanna*).

Common Mismapping Warning: Contemporary readers often mistake the text message on the phone or the physical smartphone itself as "the Imagined Nature." This is inaccurate. The phone, the pixels, and the neurological impulses belong to the Other-Dependent Nature. The Imagined Nature is strictly the cognitive projection—the inner narrative of intrinsic ego, threat, and value judgment—superimposed upon those physical and mental occurrences.

Why Contemporary People Need This Concept

Modern life in an information-saturated, algorithm-driven world is a factory for hyper-inflated Imagined Natures:

1. Deconstruction of the Algorithmic Echo Chamber: Social media feeds are designed to trigger emotional attachments to "names and marks" (labels, outrage stories, identity tags). Understanding the Three Natures allows a person to see that viral digital outrage is often a collective hall of mirrors—pure Imagined Nature built on top of digital bits (Other-Dependent Nature).

2. Cognitive Flexibility & Mental Health: In modern cognitive psychology, techniques like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) help people identify "cognitive distortions." The Three Natures framework offers a deeper ontological diagnosis: anxiety and depression often stem from treating subjective projections (*parikalpita*) as objective, immutable realities (*pariniṣpanna*).

3. Comparison with Contemporary Models (and their limits): * *Neuroscience & Predictive Processing*: Modern neuroscience proposes that the brain is a "prediction engine" constructing a virtual reality model of the world based on sensory inputs. This strongly echoes the Yogācāra view that our perceived world is a projection of storehouse consciousness (*ālayavijñāna*). * *Crucial Limitation*: Neuroscience interprets these processes through a strictly physicalist lens (neurons, brain tissue). In Buddhist thought, physical brain tissue itself is part of the Other-Dependent Nature within consciousness. Furthermore, physical science studies empirical mechanisms, whereas the Consummate Nature (*pariniṣpanna*) is a direct, non-conceptual realization of ultimate reality beyond empirical measurement.

Common Misreadings and Clarifications

Misreading 1: "The Imagined Nature is bad, the Other-Dependent Nature is neutral, and we should live only in the Consummate Nature."

* Clarification: The Three Natures are not three physically separate realms between which you hop around. They are three ways of understanding a single seamless reality. You do not destroy the Other-Dependent Nature to reach the Consummate Nature; rather, the Consummate Nature is simply the Other-Dependent Nature realized as free from the Imagined Nature.

Misreading 2: "Because the Imagined Nature is 'unreal,' my suffering and anxiety aren't real, so I should just ignore them."

* Clarification: Although the Imagined Nature lacks inherent existence (like a rabbit's horn), the *experience* of suffering caused by clinging to it in the Other-Dependent flow of mind is painfully real for unawakened beings. As the *Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra* explains, ignorance within the casual web continues to produce real karmic seeds (*bīja*) that propel cyclic existence (*saṃsāra*).

Misreading 3: "The Consummate Nature is a cosmic God or an absolute physical entity."

* Clarification: The Consummate Nature (*pariniṣpanna*) is defined as "Suchness" (*tathatā*) and "selflessness of phenomena" (*dharma-nairātmya*). It is non-dual, uncontaminated (*anāsrava*), and devoid of fixed self-entity (*ātman*). Equating it with a creator god or a physical substrate misses its foundational nature as ultimate emptiness (*śūnyatā*) and clear comprehension (*jñāna*).

Canonical EntryAI-generated

一、定义与核心要义

三自性（trisvabhāva）是大乘佛教的核心法理，指众生及诸法在不同认知与存在状态下的三种自性。在《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》中，佛陀明确指出菩萨摩诃萨应当善于了知三自性之理。在《大乘密严经》中，三自性亦被视为菩萨转依、证入佛地及自觉圣智所必须了知的核心法门。

二、主要阐述

1. 妄想自性（遍计所执性/遍计性）： - 在《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》中，此自性被称为“妄想自性”。经中指出“妄想自性从相生”，它是基于缘起自性的事相与行显现而产生计著。如来、应供、等正觉将其建立为两种：一是“名相计著相”，指对内外法的计著；二是“事相计著相”，指对内外法之自相与共相的计著。经中以“虚空兔角”及“槃大子”为喻，说明妄想自性是“无而有言说”的虚妄之物；凡夫愚痴，在因缘和合的法上生起妄想，不能如实了知，因而轮回于三界之中。 - 在《大乘密严经》中，此自性被称为“遍计性”。该经从四个维度对其进行了定义：其一，诸法本不生灭、不断不常、不一不异、不来不去，而众生于中“妄立种种名”；其二，诸法犹如梦幻、乾城、阳焰、水中月、火轮、云雷等，众生于此幻相中“妄所取”；其三，通过彼彼名言去诠释彼彼诸法，但在彼法中实际上不可得；其四，一切世间法不离名色，若离能诠则所诠不可得，指出“如是遍计性，我说为世间”。

2. 缘起自性（依他起性/依他性）： - 《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》对缘起自性的定义极为简练，即“若依若缘生，是名缘起”，指依待其他因缘而生起的现象。 - 《大乘密严经》则指出一切有情及诸法皆是依众缘和合而起。经中列举了多种现象进行说明，如眼根与色境等为缘因三和合而起、声音依桴鼓撞击而发出、萌芽从地中种子而生长，乃至宫殿与瓶衣等器物，皆是无依而由众缘起，这些悉属于依他性。

3. 成自性（圆成实性/具实）： - 《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》称之为“成自性”，指“离名相、事相妄想”的状态，是“圣智所得”以及“自觉圣智趣所行境界”，并明确指出其即是“如来藏心”。 - 《大乘密严经》称之为“具实”（或“名具实”），将其界定为“无漏”之法，其真实之义不可舍弃，且属于“自觉圣智境”。

三、不同部类与译本的表述差异

在不同经典及译本中，三自性及相关概念的术语表述存在明显差异： 1. 第一自性：《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》（劉宋求那跋陀羅譯）译为“妄想自性”；《大乘密嚴經》（唐不空譯）译为“遍計性”。 2. 第二自性：《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》译为“緣起自性”；《大乘密嚴經》译为“依他性”。 3. 第三自性：《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》译为“成自性”；《大乘密嚴經》译为“具實”或“名具實”。 4. 心识术语：《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》使用了“藏識”与“轉識”等词；《大乘密嚴經》则使用“藏識”与“賴耶”等词汇来指代阿赖耶识。

四、与相关概念的关系

1. 五法、八识、二无我： - 《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》将“五法三自性”与“八种识”、“二种无有我”并提，指出这些概念共同摄受了摩诃衍（大乘）。 - 《大乘密严经》同样将三自性与五法、八识、二无我并提。经中指出，菩萨了知这些法门能得如幻定，获得随意所成身与自在神通，入于佛地中，永离变易而寂然常住。转依之后，能见法无我，成就诸明，通达五法、三自性及八种识。金刚藏菩萨亦强调，开示八种识差别、三自性不同、五法二无我等微妙法门，能令修行者见此法清净如真金。 2. 五法与三自性的对应： - 《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》指出，“名、相、虚妄想”对应于“自性二种相”（即妄想自性与缘起自性），而“正智”与“如如”则对应于“成相”（即成自性）。 3. 与七种性自性的关系： - 《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》中除了“三自性”外，还提到了“七种性自性”（包括集性自性、性自性、相性自性、大种性自性、因性自性、缘性自性、成性自性）。 4. 与藏识、转识的关系： - 《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》探讨了藏识真相与转识的异同关系，指出非自真相识灭，而是业相灭。

五、代表性原文引用

1. 《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》：“妄想自性從相生……若依若緣生，是名緣起……離名相、事相妄想，聖智所得及自覺聖智趣所行境界，是名成自性。” 2. 《大乘密嚴經》：“如是遍計性，我說為世間”；“眼色等為緣，而生於眼識……如是等諸法，皆依眾緣起”。

By SutraAI-generated

《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經》T0670 · 經集部

本經以「三自性」標舉三性，三名依本經自身術語為：妄想自性、緣起自性、成自性，而非他經常見的「遍計所執性、依他起性、圓成實性」之名稱，此為本經用詞之重要特徵。以下歸納本經對三自性的論述要點。

一、總標三自性之名本經云：「菩薩摩訶薩，當善三自性。云何三自性？謂妄想自性、緣起自性、成自性。」三名並列，次第舉示，是本經成立此概念之核心表述。

二、妄想自性（對應他經遍計所執性）本經明言「妄想自性從相生」，謂由緣起之事相而起計著。其計著復分二種：「名相計著相者，謂內外法計著。事相計著相者，謂即彼如是內外自共相計著。是名二種妄想自性相。」又於五法會通中云：「彼名及相，是妄想自性。」即以名與相之二邊為妄想自性之內容。

三、緣起自性（對應他經依他起性）本經以「依若緣生」釋緣起：「若依彼妄想生心心法，名俱時生，如日光俱。種種相各別分別持，是名緣起自性。」又云：「緣起自性事相相，行顯現事相相。」此即心、心法依妄想而生，種種分別之相各別持住，是名緣起自性。

四、成自性（對應他經圓成實性）本經釋成自性之體性與境界：「離名相、事相妄想，聖智所得，及自覺聖智趣所行境界，是名成自性，如來藏心。」此處以成自性直接等同於如來藏心，是本經獨特之表述。又云：「正智如如者，不可壞，故名成自性。」以正智與如如不可壞之體性而立成自性之名。

五、三自性與五法之會通本經云：「三種自性及八識、二種無我，悉入五法。」五法者，即相、名、妄想、如如、正智。偈頌總結云：「五法三自性，及與八種識，二種無有我，悉攝摩訶衍。名相虛妄想，自性二種相，正智及如如，是則為成相。」由是觀之，本經以五法為框架攝盡三自性，並以「名相」攝妄想自性、「自性二種相」攝緣起自性、「正智及如如」攝成自性，建立三自性與五法的對應關係。

綜上，本經論述三性之獨特側面有三：其一，以「妄想、緣起、成」三自性取代其他譯本常見的三性名稱；其二，明確將成自性等同於如來藏心；其三，強調三自性、八識、二無我同入五法之體系結構。

《大乘密嚴經》T0682 · 經集部

《大乘密嚴經》論「三性」，以「三性」與「三自性」二名並用。此經將三性與五法、二無我、八識並列為大乘教法之綱要，數處明文提及：「末那與意識，并餘識相續，五法及三性，二種之無我，恒共而相應」——將三性置於心識活動之脈絡中；「五法三自性，八識二無我，得於如幻定」——三自性為菩薩入地所了知之法；「八種識差別，三自性不同，五法二無我，各各而開示」——三自性為大乘法眼所開示之內容；「善說阿賴耶，三性法無我，其身轉清淨，而生密嚴國」——以三性之教說為轉染成淨、生密嚴國之關鍵。

此經對三性之具體闡釋，集中於之長行偈頌，茲依三性分述：

一、遍計所執性——經中從四方面界定：(1)「妄立種種名，是為遍計性」——以虛妄施設種種名相為其體相；(2)「諸法猶如幻，如夢與乾城，陽焰水中月，火輪雲雷等，此中妄所取，是為遍計性」——以幻、夢、乾闥婆城、陽焰、水中月、火輪、雲、雷等八喻顯諸法皆無實體，凡於其中妄所取著者即遍計性；(3)「由彼彼名詮，以名彼彼法，於彼不可得，是為遍計性」——能詮之名稱彼彼法，於彼終不可得故名遍計性；(4)「一切世間法，不離於名色，若離於能詮，所詮不可得，如是遍計性，我說為世間」——一切世間法依名色施設，離能詮、所詮不可得，故遍計性即世間之別名。

二、依他起性——經云：「眼色等為緣，因三和合起，聲依桴鼓發，芽從地種生，宮殿與瓶衣，無依眾緣起，有情及諸法，此悉依他性」。以眼色等三事和合、聲依桴鼓、芽從地種、宮殿瓶衣等例，明一切有情及諸法皆由眾緣和合而生、無有自性，即名依他性。

三、圓成實性——經云：「若法是無漏，其義不可捨，自覺聖智境，此性名具實」。指出無漏之法其真實之義不可捨離，此乃自覺聖智所證之境，此性名為「具實」。本經並未使用「圓成實」全稱，而以「具實」二字代之，為其特殊用語，值得留意歸一。

本經論三性與藏識（即阿賴耶識、賴耶）密切相聯。經中藏識、阿賴耶、賴耶三名並用：「意生從藏識，餘六亦復然」、「賴耶亦復然，隨諸地差別，修有下中上，捨染而明顯」、「藏識亦如是，體非流轉法」。三性之施設即為轉依阿賴耶之所依——「已轉於所依，即見法無我，五法三自性，及與八種識」——顯示由轉所依（阿賴耶）而證五法、三自性、八識之清淨深義；又「漸淨阿賴耶……至於密嚴已，漸次而開覺，轉依獲安樂」，亦以三性之修證為趨入密嚴佛國之階梯。

總結：《大乘密嚴經》以「三性」與「三自性」並稱；遍計性著重於名相之妄立與諸法如幻之不可得，依他性強調眾緣和合、無有自性，圓成實性則簡稱為「具實」，指向無漏、自覺聖智之境。此三性與五法、二無我、八識共同構成密嚴淨土之修行要門。

《阿毘達磨俱舍論》T1558 · 毘曇部

《阿毘達磨俱舍論》中所論之「三性」，乃指善、不善、無記三種性類，與唯識宗所立遍計所執性、依他起性、圓成實性之「三性」，名同而義異。本論以「三性」之框架貫穿於根、智、變化、神境等門類之性類分析中，茲依原文條列其要點。

一、二十二根之性類。論云：「信等八根一向是善，憂根唯通善不善性，意及餘受一一通三，眼等八根唯無記性」。信、進、念、定、慧五根合未知當知根、已知根、具知根為八善根，一向是善性；憂根唯通善與不善之二性，無記性所不攝；意根與苦、樂、捨三受之其餘二者，一一皆通善、不善、無記三性；眼、耳、鼻、舌、身五根及女根、男根、命根等八根唯屬無記性，不通善與不善。

二、十智之性攝。論云：「世俗通三性，餘九智唯是善」。世俗智通善、不善、無記三性，餘九智——法智、類智、苦智、集智、滅智、道智、盡智、無生智、他心智——唯是善性，不通不善及無記。

三、能化心之性攝。論云：「修得無記攝，餘得通三性」。變化心就所依得而言，修得者唯屬無記性，生得、呪得等其餘之得則通善、不善、無記三性。

四、神境通之性攝。論云：「除修皆三性」。神境五得（修、生、呪、藥、業）中，修得者屬無記性，餘生、呪、藥、業四得皆通三性。此與變化心之「修得無記攝，餘得通三性」之結構相同，可相互印證。

要之，本論中之「三性」乃承說一切有部阿毘達磨之傳統用法，以善性、不善性、無記性為其內容，屢以「通三性」「唯無記」「一向是善」「唯通善不善性」等語為性類分析之標記，廣用於根、智、化心、神境等論題之中。此一用法與唯識宗以遍計所執、依他起、圓成實為三性之體系，名相雖同，所詮則別，讀者宜明辨之。

真如藏識五法依他起相遍計所執相遍計所執性唯識依他起性圓成實性三無性

三性