Dear Mr AndrewPKYap, I have already explained to you what is
'Emptiness is Form' in my previous post. I wonder if you have read
it?
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
And as I replied, those who have true realisation and understand of
what it means by "form is emptiness" also knows exactly what is
meant by emptiness is form, as emptiness is the infinite
potentiality of our intrinsic luminosity.
Emptiness is in fact refering that All There Is is the crystal
clear emphemeral phenomena all around due to dependent arising that
is self-knowing. It is appearance-emptiness, luminosity-emptiness
inseparable.
See:
The nature of the separate self, duality (Page 5)
There is no such thing as a 'ball of light' apart from all
conditions. Even the experience of Mind devoid of all gross objects
and thoughts as infinite expanse and 'void' is merely a particular
type of condition as well relating to the thought realm, commonly
mistaken to be 'I AMness' (also see Thusness's first posts to your
first topic in our forum --
be in touch with unseen nature - Andrew PK Yap which Thusness
told you, "The pure sense of existence, that "I AM", though vividly
clear relates only to the thought realm. This is what I can say for
now. Happy journey.") which in fact is an aspect of our pristine
awareness but not all of it. True nature is not just that.
Emptiness in Buddhism has nothing to do with that sort of
'void'.
Thusness has also often warned not to mistake a minor aspect of our
pure luminosity as realising our true nature. The true nature of
reality, is Emptiness. So, our true nature is only realised when we
have an intuitive perception of the true reality of Emptiness as
Dependent Arising (see
http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2007/03/thusnesss-six-stages-of-experience.html,
last updated Today.) -- therefore 'Ming Xin' does not necessarily
mean 'Jian Xing'.
Regarding this, the Dalai Lama also spoke about it before:
http://www.lamayeshe.com/otherteachers/hhdl/happinesskarma.shtml
...Through the gates of the five sense organs a being sees, hears,
smells, tastes and comes into contact with a host of external
forms, objects and impressions. Let the form, sound, smell, taste,
touch and mental events which are the relations of the six senses
be shut off. When this is done the recollection of past events on
which the mind tends to dwell will be completely discontinued and
the flow of memory cut off. Similarly, plans for the future and
contemplation of future action must not be allowed to arise. It is
necessary to create a space in place of all such processes of
thought if one is to empty the mind of all such processes of
thought. Freed from all these processes there will remain a pure,
clean, distinct and quiescent mind. Now let us examine what sort of
characteristics constitute the mind when it has attained this
stage. We surely do possess some thing called mind, but how are we
to recognize its existence? The real and essential mind is what is
to be found when the entire load of gross obstructions and
aberrations (i.e. sense impressions, memories, etc.) has been
cleared away. Discerning this aspect of real mind, we shall
discover that, unlike external objects, its true nature is devoid
of form or color; nor can we find any basis of truth for such false
and deceptive notions as that mind originated from this or that, or
that it will move from here to there, or that it is located in
such-and-such a place. When it comes into contact with no object
mind is like a vast, boundless void, or like a serene, illimitable
ocean. When it encounters an object it at once has cognizance of
it, like a mirror instantly reflecting a person who stands in front
of it. The true nature of mind consists not only in taking clear
cognizance of the object but also in communicating a concrete
experience of that object to the one experiencing it.* Normally,
our forms of sense cognition, such as eye-consciousness,
ear-consciousness, etc., perform their functions on external
phenomena in a manner involving gross distortion. Knowledge
resulting from sense cognition, being based on gross external
phenomena, is also of a gross nature. [b]When this type of gross stimulation
is shut out, and when concrete experiences and clear cognizance
arise from within, mind assumes the characteristics of infinite
void similar to the infinitude of space. But this void is not to be
taken as the true nature of mind. We have become so habituated to
consciousness of the form and color of gross objects that, when we
make concentrated introspection into the nature of mind, it is, as
I have said, found to be a vast, limitless void free from any gross
obscurity or other hindrances. Nevertheless, this does not mean
that we have discerned the subtle, true nature of the mind. What
has been explained above concerns the state of mind in relation to
the concrete experience and clear cognizance by the mind which are
its function, but it describes only the relative nature of
mind.
There are in addition several other aspects and states of mind. In
other words, taking mind as the supreme basis, there are many
attributes related to it. Just as an onion consists of layer upon
layer that can be peeled away, so does every sort of object have a
number of layers; and this is no less true of the nature of mind as
explained here; it, too, has layer within layer, slate within
state.
All compounded
things are subject to disintegration. Since experience and
knowledge are impermanent and subject to disintegration, the mind,
of which they are functions (nature), is not something that remains
constant and eternal. From moment to moment it undergoes change and
disintegration. This transience of mind is one aspect of its
nature. However, as we have observed, its true nature has many
aspects, including consciousness of concrete experience and
cognizance of objects. Now let us make a further examination in
order to grasp the meaning of the subtle essence of such a mind.
Mind came into existence because of its own cause. To deny that the
origination of mind is dependent on a cause, or to say that it is a
designation given as a means of recognizing the nature of mind
aggregates, is not correct. With our superficial observance, mind,
which has concrete experience and clear cognizance as its nature,
appears to be a powerful, independent, subjective, completely
ruling entity. However, deeper analysis will reveal that this mind,
possessing as it does the function of experience and cognizance, is
not a self-created entity but Is dependent on other factors for its
existence. Hence it depends on something other than itself. This
non-independent quality of the mind substance is its true nature
which in turn is the ultimate reality of the
self.
Of these two aspects, viz. the ultimate true nature of mind and a
knowledge of that ultimate true nature, the former is the base, the
latter an attribute. Mind (self) is the basis and all its different
states are attributes. However, the basis and its attributes have
from the first pertained to the same single essence. The
non-self-created (depending on a cause other than itself) mind
entity (basis) and its essence, sunyata, have unceasingly existed
as the one, same, inseparable essence from beginningless beginning.
The nature of sunyata pervades all elements. As we are now and
since we cannot grasp or comprehend the indestructible, natural,
ultimate reality (sunyata) of our own minds, we continue to commit
errors and our defects persist....[/b]
