Quote:
"The various samādhis denote three samādhis: emptiness (S.śūnyatā), wishlessness (S.apraṇihita) and signlessness (S. ānimitta)."
Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, Vol. 5 (Mahāprajnāpāramitāśāstra)
「諸三昧」者，三三昧：空、無作、無相。
《大智度論》卷5
Remarks:
The tathāgatagarbha is sometimes called emptiness, signlessness, or wishlessness, which are terms used to describe its intrinsic nature and dharma characteristics.
To observe and practice the samādhi liberation, the Mahayana bodhisattvas rely on the eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha, that which denotes emptiness nature, devoid of any form or characteristics of the three realms, thus called emptiness. As it denotes emptiness, it has no appearance. When our perceptive mind realizes and acknowledges the existence of this emptiness nature, our mind will affirm that the mental consciousness is impermanent and will finally become empty, along with all the generated conditioned dharmas that are dependent arising without an intrinsic nature. We (the conscious mind) can thus affirm that the emptiness nature of the tathāgatagarbha, that which is intrinsically devoid of attainment (hence, the mental faculty), will be free from wishing. Therefore, the mind will attain its liberation, which is attributed to the Mahayana aspect of samādhi liberation.
On the other hand, when a sound-hearer has truly realized that all formations are impermanent and all dharmas are selfless and subsequently eliminated all the arising-and-ceasing dharmas, he is said, expediently, to have realized nirvana as he will not be born again upon complete elimination of all arising-and-ceasing dharmas. A bodhisattva, however, has not only realized the arising-and-ceasing dharmas but also the neither-arising-nor-ceasing tathāgatagarbha when he has realized the three samādhis. Hence, his realization of the Three Dharma Seals is more comprehensive than that of a sound-hearer.
When the sound-hearers state that sentient beings are impermanent
and empty, they refer to the ceasing-and-arising attribute of the five
aggregates. However, it should never be forgotten that there is an everlasting
underlying foundation, tathāgatagarbha that coexists simultaneously.
Only then can it be consistent with the rationale behind the three samādhis.
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