Expert: John Willemsens aka Advayavadananda - 1/7/2009

Question
What does the following mean: Things are not what they seem; nor are they
otherwise.

Answer
Hello David,

The Lankavatara Sutra in fact reads (according to Suzuki) as follows:

As all things are unreal, there is neither defilement nor purity; things are not as they are seen, nor are they otherwise.

The statement is much clearer this way.

I believe it means that things are neither A nor B, because they simply do not exist as such.

Kind regards,

Advayavadananda.