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FA-TSANG (643-712 A.D.): A Chinese Buddhist philosopher, Fa-tsang (styled Hsien-shou) was noted for a famous lecture he gave at the imperial court in 704, called the Essay on the Gold Lion (Chin Shih-tzŭ Chang). He was speaking to the Emperor (really Empress Wu [ruled 684-705], but she insisted upon the title of “emperor”), trying to explain the “Wreath” (or “Flower Garland,” Hua-yen) school of Buddhism to her. When young, Fa-tsang had assisted Hsüan-tsang of the Mere Idea theory (whose slogan was: “This man, being a product of magic, is not a real man”) in his work of translation, until “differences in viewpoint caused him to leave the translation hall.” Explaining he did not agree with Hsüan-tsang that the outside world is simply created by our own minds, Fa-tsang spoke of the ten mysteries of Indra’s net, the samādh; of the ocean symbol, the harmonizing of the six qualities, and other doctrines. The Emperor became thoroughly bewildered. So Tsang pointed to a golden lion guarding the palace hall, and used it to illustrate his “ten theories”:

1) arising-th rough-causation, because the gold metal of the lion lacks any inherent nature of its own, and the shape of the lion is caused by the technical skill of the artisan;

2) discriminating the emptiness of matter, that the outward aspect of the lion is void, and only the gold substance is real;

3) Summarizing the three characters, (i) that from the viewpoint of the senses, the lion exists (this is called

“sole imagination”); (ii) that from a higher viewpoint, the lion seems to exist, being dependent

upon others; and (iii) that from the viewpoint of ultimate reality, the gold of which the lion

is made is immutable in its nature; 4) revelation of the qualityless, that the gold completely includes the lion, and

apart from the gold, the lion itself has no qualities that may be seized; 5) explaining non-generation, that whereas the lion undergoes generation and

destruction, the gold itself incurs neither increase nor decrease; 6) discussing the five teachings,

(i) that there is really no quality to the lion that may be grasped;

(ii) that all things, being the product of causation, lack any nature of their own, and in the final analysis there is only emptiness;

(iii) the final teaching of Mahayana is that although, in the final analysis, there is only emptiness, this does not conflict with the illusory appearance of being;

(iv) being and emptiness are mutually annulled and abolished, so that neither retains any influence, and the mind can rest in non-attachment;

(v) all things of the senses, when revealed in their true essence, become merged into one great mass, so that great functions arise, every one of which represents the Absolute. The all is the one, and the one is the all. All things have equally the nature of non-being. This is called Yi Ch’eng, the perfect teaching of the One Vehicle.