Samdhinirmocana-sutra

Chapter VIand purification. Good son, these four aspects of meaning encompassall meaning."Moreover, good son, those bodhisattvas are said to know meaningbecause they know the three aspects of meaning: the meaningof expressions, the meaning of meaning, and the meaning of realms.Good son, the meaning of expressions refers to the collection ofwords, etc. The meaning of meaning is of ten kinds: the marks ofreality, the marks of universal knowing, the marks of final severance,the marks of realization, the marks of cultivation, the marksof the differences between reality and the other [four items above],the marks of the synergy between support and supported, themarks of the obstacles to universal knowing, the marks of the statesharmonious with that [universal knowing], and the marks of thewretchedness of the absence of universal knowing and the advantageof its presence. The meaning of realms is fivefold: the realmof the surrounding world, the realm of sentient beings, the realm ofdoctrine, the realm of discipline, and the realm of the methods ofdiscipline. Good son, these three aspects encompass all meaning."The Bodhisattva Maitreya addressed the Buddha and said:"World-honored One, what is the difference between meaningknown through wisdom gained from hearing [doctrine], meaningknown through wisdom gained from thinking, and meaningknown through wisdom gained from the cultivation of quietudeand vision?"The Buddha answered the Bodhisattva Maitreya and said:"Good son, [in the case of] the wisdom gained from hearing [doctrine],[bodhisattvas] rely upon the literal meaning of a text withoutreally understanding its intent or making it clear. They movetoward liberation without being able to realize the meaning thatbrings about that liberation. [In the case of] the wisdom gainedfrom thinking, [bodhisattvas] also rely upon the text, but not justto the letter, for they are able really to understand its intent. Butthey are not yet able to make [that intent] clear, and, althoughthey turn toward liberation, they are yet unable to realize themeaning that brings about that liberation. [In the case of] the700c63