The work called Awakening of Faith[110] and ascribed to Asvaghosha is not extant in Sanskrit but was translated into Chinese in 553 A.D.  Its doctrine is practically that of the Yogacara school and this makes the ascription doubtful, but it is a most important treatise.  It is regarded as authoritative in China and Japan at the present day and it illustrates the triple tendency of the Mahayana towards metaphysics, mythology, and devotional piety.  It declares that faith has four aspects.  Three of these are the three Jewels, or Buddha, the Law and the Church, and cover between them the whole field of religion and morality as generally understood.  The exposition is tinged with a fine unselfish emotion and tells the believer that though he should strive not for his own emancipation but for the salvation of others yet he himself receives unselfish and supernatural assistance.  He is remembered and guarded by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in all quarters of the Universe who are eternally trying to liberate mankind by various expedients (upaya).  By expedient is meant a modified presentment of the truth, which is easier of comprehension and, if not the goal, at least on the road to it, such as the Paradise of Amitabha.[111]

But the remaining aspect of faith, which is the one that the author puts first in his enumeration, and treats at great length, is “to believe in the fundamental truth, that is to think joyfully of suchness.”  By suchness (in Sanskrit bhuta-tathata, in Chinese Chen ju) is meant absolute truth as contrasted with the relative truth of ordinary experience.[112] The word is not illuminating nor likely to excite religious emotion and the most that can be said for it is that it is less dreary than the void of Nagarjuna.  Another and more positive synonym is dharma-dhatu, the all-embracing totality of things.  It is only through our ignorance and subjectivity that things appear distinct and individuate.  Could we transcend this subjectivity, isolated objects would cease to exist.  Things in their fundamental nature cannot be named or explained:  they are beyond the range of language and perception:  they have no signs of distinction but possess absolute sameness (samata).  From this totality of things nothing can be excluded and to it nothing can be added.  Yet it is also sunyata, negation or the void, because it cannot be said to possess any of the attributes of the world we live in:  neither existence nor non-existence, nor unity nor plurality can be predicted of it.  According to the celebrated formula of Nagarjuna known as the eight Nos there is in it “neither production (utpada) nor destruction (uccheda) nor annihilation (nirodha) nor persistence (sasvata) nor unity (ekartha) nor plurality (nanartha) nor coming in (agamana) nor going out (nirgama).”  But when we perceive that both subject and object are unreal we also see that suchness is the one reality