http://www.blia.org/english/publications/booklet/pages/06.htm
III.
The Third Characteristic: Sunyata
Ordinarily,
people do not understand the concept of sunyata (emptiness). They
generally think that sunyata means nothingness. This is a
misconception. We have already mentioned the phenomenon of
Conditioned Genesis, in which all dharmas arise from causes and
conditions and they cease because of causes and conditions. All
dharmas come into being because of the coming together of the right
causes and conditions; they cease due to the disintegration of the
causes and conditions that were responsible for their formation.
Therefore the nature of all dharmas is emptiness. That is, dharmas
do not have any true self-nature, so they are described as
"empty."
Commonly
people limit their understanding of sunyata to mean "absolute
nothingness," yet
consider existence real. According to the Buddhist teachings,
existence—arising
due to Conditioned Genesis—is
illusory yet does not preclude emptiness. Similarly,
Sunyata—the
nature of all existence is fundamentally empty—means
nonsubstantiality but does not preclude existence. This is the
concept of Conditioned Genesis with nature of emptiness.
I
would like to explain sunyata as follows:
A.
The four great elements are fundamentally empty; the five
aggregates do not have true existence.
Sunyata
is the infinite meaning of Mahayana Buddhism. It is not "absolute
nothingness." It
is a constructive and revolutionary concept. It is used by the
Mahayanists to explain the existence of this world and universe.
"The four great elements are fundamentally empty; the five
aggregates do not have true existence" is
how the Buddha explained of the nature of all events and phenomena
of this world and universe after he attained enlightenment. All
dharmas exist due to the coming together of the four great
elements. What are the four great elements? They are earth, water,
fire, and wind. Earth has the property of solidity, water has the
property of humidity, fire has the property of heat, and wind has
the property of mobility. Why do we say that the four elements of
earth, water, fire, and wind are great? Because everything in this
world and universe is formed by these four elements. For example, a
cup is made by firing clay that is constructed in the shape of a
cup. Clay belongs to the earth element. Water is added to the clay
in order to shape the clay into a cup. The cup is then fired. After
being fired, the cup is cooled and dried by the wind. So, all four
great elements are involved in the formation of this
cup.
Similarly,
a human being is also formed by the unity of the four great
elements. For example, our skin, hair, nails, teeth, bones, and
flesh all belong to the earth element. Our blood, saliva, and urine
belong to the liquid element. Our body heat belongs to the fire
element, and our breathing and movement belong to the wind element.
Thus, if any one of these four great elements is out of balance, we
will become ill. If these four great elements disintegrate, we will
no longer exist.
From
these examples, we therefore can see that the physical body is
formed by the combination of the four great elements. Furthermore,
the mind, or the consciousness according to our usual
understanding, is only a combination of the five
aggregates—rupa
(form), vedana (feeling), samjna (perception), samskara (mental
formation), and vijnana (consciousness). Life is the result of the
combination of causes and conditions, without a true independent
self-nature; a physical body with consciousness is only an
existence due to a combination of factors. When the uniting force
of these causes and conditions is exhausted, the previously formed
combination of these factors dissolves, and the living being will
no longer exist. Where then is the separate true self? Therefore,
the Buddha teaches thus, "The four great elements are fundamentally
empty; the five aggregates do not have true existence."
Once,
Tung-p'o Su of the Sung Dynasty went to visit Ch'an Master Fo Yin.
When Tung-p'o Su arrived, Ch'an Master Fo Yin was teaching the
Dharma. When the Ch'an Master saw Tung-p'o Su, he said to him, "Mr.
Su, where did you just come from? We do not have a place for you to
sit."
Tung-p'o
Su replied immediately, "Master, if there is no seat, why don't you
lend me your four great elements and five aggregates (your body) to
use as my meditation seat?"
Ch'an
Master Fo Yin said, "I have a question for you. If you can give me
a satisfactory answer, I will let you use me as your seat. If you
cannot give me an answer, then please leave your jade belt behind
as a souvenir. Here is my question: my four great elements are all
empty and my five aggregates do not have true existence. May I ask
where you are going to sit?"
Tung-p'o
Su could not give him an answer. So he took off his jade belt,
which had been presented to him by the emperor, and
left.
From
this story we can see that the human body, an illusive combination
of the four great elements and five aggregates, does not have any
true substantial essence for us to attain.
B.
What is sunyata?
In
the Mahayana teaching, the word "sunyata" integrates
the Three Dharma Seals. Sunyata is the Ultimate Truth. It is an
important concept in Buddhism and a special characteristic of
Buddhism that distinguishes it from other worldly
teachings.
Most
people do not understand what sunyata means. They think it means
complete nullity and nothingness. This is just not so. Sunyata is,
in fact, a most profound and wonderful philosophy. If one can truly
understand sunyata, one can understand the whole of Buddhism. What,
then, is sunyata? It is simply not possible to explain the meaning
of sunyata in just one sentence. The Treatise That Explains
Mahayana gives ten definitions of sunyata. Although these
definitions cannot thoroughly explain the true meaning of sunyata,
they are very close.
The
ten definitions of sunyata, as explained in this treatise, are as
follows:
Although
these ten definitions cannot entirely describe the truth of
sunyata, nevertheless, together they provide us with a vivid
depiction for better understanding of this important Buddhist
teaching.
C.
How can sunyata be perceived?