http://buddhism.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=240316
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
[b]The Third Seal:
All Phenomena are Empty; They Are Without Inherent
Existence
When we say all, that means everything, including the Buddha,
enlightenment, and the path. Buddhists define a phenomenon as
something with characteristics, and as an object that is conceived
by a subject. To hold that an object is something external is
ignorance, and it is this that prevents us from seeing the truth of
that object.
The truth of a phenomenon is called shunyata, emptiness, which
implies that the phenomenon does not possess a truly existent
essence or nature. When a deluded person or subject sees something,
the object seen is interpreted as something really existent.
However, as you can see, the existence imputed by the subject is a
mistaken assumption. Such an assumption is based on the different
conditions that make an object appear to be true; this, however, is
not how the object really is. Its like when we see a mirage: there
is no truly existing object there, even though it appears that way.
With emptiness, the Buddha meant that things do not truly exist as
we mistakenly believe they do, and that they are really empty of
that falsely imputed existence.
It is because they believe in what are really just confused
projections that sentient beings suffer. It was as a remedy for
this that the Buddha taught the Dharma. Put very simply, when we
talk about emptiness, we mean that the way things appear is not the
way they actually are. As I said before when speaking about
emotions, you may see a mirage and think it is something real, but
when you get close, the mirage disappears, however real it may have
seemed to begin with.
Emptiness can sometimes be referred to as dharmakaya, and in a
different context we could say that the dharmakaya is permanent,
never changing, all pervasive, and use all sorts of beautiful,
poetic words. These are the mystical expressions that belong to the
path, but for the moment, we are still at the ground stage, trying
to get an intellectual understanding. On the path, we might portray
Buddha Vajradhara as a symbol of dharmakaya, or emptiness, but from
an academic point of view, even to think of painting the dharmakaya
is a mistake.
The Buddha taught three different approaches on three separate
occasions. These are known as The Three Turnings of the Wheel, but
they can be summed up in a single phrase: Mind; there is no mind;
mind is luminosity.
The first, Mind, refers to the first set of teachings and shows
that the Buddha taught that there is a mind. This was to dispel
the nihilistic view that there is no heaven, no hell, no cause and
effect. Then, when the Buddha said, There is no mind, he meant
that mind is just a concept and that there is no such thing as a
truly existing mind. Finally, when he said, Mind is luminous, he
was referring to buddhanature, the undeluded or primordially
existing wisdom.
The great commentator Nagarjuna said that the purpose of the first
turning was to get rid of non-virtue. Where does the non-virtue
come from? It comes from being either eternalist or nihilist. So in
order to put an end to non-virtuous deeds and thoughts, the Buddha
gave his first teaching. The second turning of the Dharma-wheel,
when the Buddha spoke about emptiness, was presented in order to
dispel clinging to a truly existent self and to truly existent
phenomena. Finally, the teachings of the third turning were given
to dispel all views, even the view of no-self. The Buddhas three
sets of teaching do not seek to introduce something new; their
purpose is simply to clear away confusion.
As Buddhists we practice compassion, but if we lack an
understanding of this third sealthat all phenomena are emptyour
compassion can backfire. If you are attached to the goal of
compassion when trying to solve a problem, you might not notice
that your idea of the solution is entirely based on your own
personal interpretation. And you might end up as a victim of hope
and fear, and consequently of disappointment. You start by becoming
a good mahayana practitioner, and, once or twice, you try to help
sentient beings. But if you have no understanding of this third
seal, youll get tired and give up helping sentient beings.
There is another kind of a problem that arises from not
understanding emptiness. It occurs with rather superficial and even
jaded Buddhists. Somehow, within Buddhist circles, if you dont
accept emptiness, you are not cool. So we pretend that we
appreciate emptiness and pretend to meditate on it. But if we dont
understand it properly, a bad side effect can occur. We might say,
Oh, everythings emptiness. I can do whatever I like. So we
ignore and violate the details of karma, the responsibility for our
action. We become inelegant, and we discourage others in the
bargain. His Holiness the Dalai Lama often speaks of this downfall
of not understanding emptiness. A correct understanding of
emptiness leads us to see how things are related, and how we are
responsible for our world.
You can read millions of pages on this subject. Nagarjuna alone
wrote five different commentaries mostly dedicated to this, and
then there are the commentaries by his followers. There are endless
teachings on establishing this view. In Mahayana temples or
monasteries people chant the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutrathis is
also a teaching on the third seal.
Philosophies or religions might say, Things are illusion, the
world is maya, illusion, but there are always one or two items
left behind that are regarded as truly existent: God, cosmic
energy, whatever. In Buddhism, this is not the case. Everything in
samsara and nirvanafrom the Buddhas head to a piece of
breadeverything is emptiness. There is nothing that is not
included in ultimate truth.
Question: If we ourselves are dualistic, can we ever understand
emptiness, which is something beyond description?
Buddhists are very slippery. Youre right. You can never talk about
absolute emptiness, but you can talk about an image of
emptinesssomething that you can evaluate and contemplate so that,
in the end, you can get to the real emptiness. You may say, Ah,
thats just too easy; thats such crap. But to that the Buddhists
say, Too bad, thats how things work. If you need to meet someone
whom you have never met, I can describe him to you or show you a
photograph of him. And with the help of that photo image, you can
go and find the real person.
Ultimately speaking, the path is irrational, but relatively
speaking, its very rational because it uses the relative
conventions of our world. When Im talking about emptiness,
everything that Im saying has to do with this image emptiness. I
cant show you real emptiness but I can tell you why things dont
exist inherently.
In Buddhism theres so much iconography that you might think it was
the object of meditation or an object of worship. But, from your
teaching, am I to understand that this is all non-existent?
When you go to a temple, you will see many beautiful statues,
colors and symbols. These are important for the path. These all
belong to what we call image-wisdom, image-emptiness. However,
while we follow the path and apply its methods, it is important to
know that the path itself is ultimately an illusion. Actually, it
is only then that we can properly appreciate it.[/b]
