Chapter 13. Investigation of the Formations
What the Blessed One called deceptive is what has the property of deception. All formations have the property of deception, and therefore they are deceptive.
If what has the property of deception is deceptive, then what is deceived there? The Blessed One said this in order to make emptiness clear.
That existents are without own nature is known from the fact that they become other; and there is no existent that lacks own nature, because existents are empty.
What could become other, if own nature does not exist? What could become other, if own nature does exist?
Becoming other is possible neither for the same thing nor for another thing, because a young man does not grow old, and an old man does not grow old either.
If the same thing became other, then milk itself would be curds; and if it were something other than milk, then what would the being of curds be?
If anything at all were non-empty, then there would also be something empty; but there is nothing non-empty — so where would the empty come from?
Emptiness was proclaimed by the Victors as the way out of all views; but those who hold a view of emptiness were called incurable.
Every verse here is genuine and stands in its own order — the forum is only a way of breaking the chapter up. Not a single line in these posts was added.
Where a second voice appears, it is the pūrvapakṣa: the opponent’s position, stated by Nāgārjuna in his own words so that he can take it apart.