The Unanimous Declaration by the Buddhas of the Three Existencesregarding the Classification of the Teachings and Which Are to Be Abandoned and Which Upheld Chapter3

Dreams may be called provisional, and the waking state may be called true. This is because dreams are temporary and lack any inherent entity and nature; hence they are termed “provisional.” But the waking state is permanent, the unchanging entity of the mind, and hence it is designated by the term “true.”

For this reason the sutra teachings set forth in the first forty-two years of the Buddha’s preaching life deal with affairs of good and evil as these exist in the dream that is the realm of birth and death. Therefore they are called provisional teachings. They are intended to lead and guide living beings who exist in a realm of dreams and waken them to the enlightenment of the Lotus Sutra. They are sutra teachings of preparation, an expedient means. Therefore they are called provisional teachings.

This is how we should read the words “provisional” and “true” and how we should understand them.

We should read the word “provisional” to mean temporary, because it exemplifies the world of dreams. And we should read the word “true” to mean real, because it exemplifies the waking state.

The dreams that are the realm of birth and death are temporary and lack an inherent entity and nature, and thus exemplify that which is provisional. Hence they are called illusions. The waking state of original enlightenment¹ is true or real, the mind that is removed from the realm of birth and extinction, and thus exemplifies truth. Hence it is called the true aspect.

By grasping the meaning of these two words “provisional” and “true,” we may distinguish in the sacred teachings of the Buddha’s lifetime which ones are provisional and deal with the instruction and conversion of others, and which are true and pertain to the Buddha’s enlightenment. The first three of the four teachings, the first four of the five periods of teachings, and the first nine of the Ten Worlds all alike deal with affairs of good and evil as these exist in the realm of dreams. Hence they are called provisional teachings.