On Emptiness and the Middle Way
In Zen, lengthy discussion is
abhorred, indicating that such may lead us to
confusion as opposed to live in the facts of life. Yet, still a few words may of some use. In this file, I summarized a few references
pointing this miraculous insight on Emptiness and the Middle Way from Suttanipata, Heart sutra, Vimalakirti
sutra, and Nagarjuna. My comments are in
parenthesis: ((…)). Good
day, good life!
- Kio Suzaki
(June, ’03)
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Contents:
Emptiness and
Judgment, Views, Thinking, Duality, etc.
Cautioning on Emptiness for Misinterpretation
Heart Sutra: Satori/Enlightenment and Emptiness
Vimalakirti: On
Emptiness –Flower from Heaven
Vimalakirti: On
Emptiness – Man and Woman
Vimalakirti:
The Dharma Door of Non-Duality/Thunder of Silence
((I see the following from Suttanipata an example to point to Emptiness/Detachment. Also, I take this is
the very stance of meditation/mindfulness/awareness/samadhi-prajna. In other words, any view, judgment, thinking or 8-fold noble path should have this stance at the
core, also corresponding to Nagarjuna’s teaching on emptiness and middle way.)):
When dwelling on views as
"supreme," a person makes them the utmost thing in the world, &,
from that, calls all others inferior and so he's not
free
from disputes. When he sees his
advantage in what's seen, heard, sensed,
or in precepts & practices, seizing it there he sees all else as inferior.
That, too, say the skilled, is a binding
knot: that in dependence on which
you regard another as inferior. So a
monk shouldn't be dependent
on what's seen, heard, or sensed, or on precepts & practices; nor should he conjure a view in the
world in connection with knowledge or precepts & practices; shouldn't take himself
to be "equal"; shouldn't think himself inferior or superlative.
Abandoning
what he had embraced, abandoning self,[1] not clinging, he doesn't make himself
dependent even in connection with knowledge; doesn't follow a faction among
those who are split; doesn't fall back on any view whatsoever.
One
who isn't inclined toward either side
-- becoming or not-, herre or beyond -- who has no
entrenchment when considering what's grasped among doctrines, hasn't the least
preconceived perception with regard to what's seen, heard, or sensed. By whom, with what, should
he be pigeonholed here in the world?
-- this brahman
who hasn't adopted views. They don't conjure, don't yearn, don't
adhere even to doctrines.
A brahman
not led by precepts or practices, gone to the beyond -- Such
-- doesn't fall back.
From: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/khuddaka/suttanipata/snp4-05.html (Suttanipata IV-5)
((Since the above verse may
be seen as really, really “non-essential”, the Buddha
may have cautioned us as shown in the following verse)):
"…, in.. the future there will be monks
who won't listen when discourses that are words of the Tathagata
-- deep, deep in their meaning, transcendeent, connected with emptiness -- are
being recited. They won't lend ear, won't set their
hearts on knowing them, won't regard these teachings as worth grasping or
mastering. But they will listen when discourses that
are literary works -- the works of poets, elegant in sound, elegant in
rhetoric, the work of outsiders, words of disciples -- are recited. They will lend ear and set their hearts on knowing them. They will regard these teachings as worth grasping &
mastering.
"In this way the disappearance of the
discourses that are words of the Tathagata -- deep,
deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness -- will come
about.
(Source: Samyutta
Nikaya XX, 7)
((To address this point
mentioned above, I see Nagarjuna made a significant contribution in revisiting
emptiness and middle way, leading to the development of Prajnaparamita
sutra, etc. To be
reminded, here is the famous Heart sutra (Translated from Tibetan))):
Thus
have I once heard:
… the
Blessed One fully entered the meditative concentration... At that very time… Avalokitsevara…beheld the
practice itself of the profound perfection of wisdom, and he saw the five
aggregates as empty of inherent nature. Thereupon,…
the venerable Sariputra spoke to Avalokitsevara… "Any noble son who wishes to engage in the practice
of the profound perfection of wisdom should train in what way?"
… ".. they should see insightfully*, correctly, and repeatedly that even the five
aggregates are empty of inherent nature. Form is
empty, emptiness is form, Emptiness is not other than form, form is also not
other than emptiness. Likewise, sensation,
discrimination, conditioning, and awareness are empty. In
this way, Sariputra, all things are emptiness; they
are without defining characteristics; they are not born, they do not cease,
they are not defiled, they are not undefiled. They have no
increase, they have no decrease.
((Unless the “seeing
insightfully” takes place as a direct experience (i.e., Satori), the whole
point of this sutra may not convey the point.))
"Therefore,
Sariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no
sensation, no discrimination, no conditioning, and no awareness. There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no
mind. There is no form, no sound, no smell, no taste,
no texture, no phenomenon. There is no eye-element and
so on up to no mind-element and also up to no element of mental awareness. There is no ignorance and no elimination of ignorance and
so on up to no aging and death and no elimination of aging and death. Likewise, there is no suffering, origin, cessation, or
path; there is no wisdom, no attainment, and even no
non-attainment.
"Therefore,
Sariputra, since
the bodhisattvas have no obtainments, they abide relying on the perfection of
wisdom. Having no defilements in their minds,
they have no fear, and passing completely beyond error, they reach nirvana. Likewise, all the Buddhas
abiding in the three times clearly and completely awaken to unexcelled,
authentic, and complete awakening in dependence upon the perfection of wisdom.
"Therefore,
one should know that the mantra of the perfection of wisdom - the mantra of
great knowledge, the precious mantra, the unexcelled mantra, the mantra equal
to the unequalled, the mantra that quells all suffering - is true because it is
not deceptive. The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is proclaimed:
tadyatha - gate gate
paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha!
Sariputra, a bodhisattva, a great being, should train in the profound perfection of
wisdom in that way." … ((This is catch-22. It is like if we
have it we know it. Useful
to only those who had it. But by raising interest, inquiring mind, and will may
help.))
(For the heart sutra translated from Japanese,
see: http://www.indranet.co.nz/FiveRings/Void/HeartSutra.asp
)
* Satori is actually a state where there is no attachment to Satori or
Buddha. Detachment is Buddha’s
Satori. This is the prajna sutra’s
spirit. – p.63 Emptiness by Kajiyama
((This famous lines may be found more like a joke, although it
is not a joking matter… It is a teaching
but this also constitutes a Zen koan. We
need to have eye of wisdom to get the meaning and to practice the understanding
(of no-understanding) in our life. One may ignore the sarcastic implication,
however.))
Thereupon,
a certain goddess who lived in that house, having heard this teaching of the
Dharma of the great heroic bodhisattvas, and being delighted, pleased, and
overjoyed, manifested herself in a material body and showered the great
spiritual heroes…. with heavenly flowers. When the
flowers fell on the bodies of the bodhisattvas, they fell off on the floor, but
when they fell on the bodies of the great disciples, they stuck to them and did
not fall. The great disciples shook the flowers and
even tried to use their magical powers, but still the flowers would not shake
off. Then, the goddess said to the venerable Sariputra, "Reverend Sariputra,
why do you shake these flowers?"
Sariputra replied, "Goddess, these flowers are not proper for religious persons
and so we are trying to shake them off."
The
goddess said, "Do not say that, reverend Sariputra. Why? These flowers are proper
indeed! Why? Such flowers
have neither constructual thought nor discrimination. But the elder Sariputra has both
constructual thought and discrimination.
"Reverend
Sariputra, impropriety for one who has renounced the
world for the discipline of the rightly taught Dharma consists of constructual thought and discrimination, yet the elders are
full of such thoughts. One who is without such
thoughts is always proper.
"Reverend
Sariputra, see how these flowers do not stick to the
bodies of these great spiritual heroes, the bodhisattvas! This
is because they have eliminated constructual thoughts
and discriminations.
"For
example, evil spirits have power over fearful men but cannot disturb the
fearless. Likewise, those intimidated by fear of the
world are in the power of forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures, which do
not disturb those who are free from fear of the passions inherent in the
constructive world. Thus, these flowers stick to the
bodies of those who have not eliminated their instincts for the passions and do
not stick to the bodies of those who have eliminated their instincts. Therefore, the flowers do not stick to the bodies of these
bodhisattvas, who have abandoned all instincts."
Then
the venerable Sariputra said to the goddess,
"Goddess, how long have you been in this house?"
The
goddess replied, "I have been here as long as the elder has been in
liberation." ((Another
nice koan!))
Sariputra said, "Then, have you been in this house for quite some time?"
The
goddess said, "Has the elder been in liberation for quite some time?"
At
that, the elder Sariputra fell silent.
The
goddess continued, "Elder, you are 'foremost of the wise!' Why do you not speak? Now, when
it is your turn, you do not answer the question." ((Sarcastic to pointing
certain practice, asking to go beyond…))
Sariputra: Since liberation is inexpressible, goddess, I do not know what to say.
Goddess:
All the syllables pronounced by the elder have the nature of liberation. Why? Liberation is neither
internal nor external, nor can it be apprehended apart from them. Likewise, syllables are neither internal nor external, nor
can they be apprehended anywhere else. Therefore,
reverend Sariputra, do not point to liberation by
abandoning speech! Why? The
holy liberation is the equality of all things!
((Like the practice in Zen Mondo: Question and
Answer, If a bit late, the life is lost.))
Sariputra: Goddess, is not liberation the freedom from desire, hatred, and folly?
Goddess:
"Liberation is freedom from desire, hatred, and folly" that is the
teaching of the excessively proud.
But
those free of pride are taught that the very nature of desire, hatred, and
folly is itself liberation. ((This is the very point of inequity is
equity, this world is that world.. Do we have this ‘understanding’ in us?))
Sariputra: Excellent! Excellent, goddess!
Pray, what have you attained, what have you realized, that you have such
eloquence?
Goddess:
I have attained nothing, reverend Sariputra. I have no realization. Therefore
I have such eloquence. ((Beautiful!))
Whoever
thinks, "I have attained! I have realized!"
is overly proud in the discipline of the well-taught Dharma. ((So,
he is only a fool to say such a thing!
The one who knows it does not know it!))
Sariputra: Goddess, do you belong to the disciple-vehicle, to the solitary-vehicle,
or to the great vehicle? ((Stupid
question, kind answer follows as opposed to the hitting of stick by the
“Goddess”!))
Goddess:
I belong to the disciple-vehicle when
I teach it to those who need it. I belong to the
solitary-vehicle when I teach the twelve links of dependent origination to
those who need them. And, since I never abandon the
great compassion, I belong to the great vehicle, as all need that teaching to
attain ultimate liberation.
*Source:
Chapter 6 http://www.imeditate.com/vimalakirti/vimalakirti07.html
Sariputra: Goddess,
what prevents you from transforming yourself out of your female state?
Goddess:
Although I have sought my "female state" for these twelve years, I have
not yet found it.* Reverend Sariputra, if a magician
were to incarnate a woman by magic, would you ask her, "What prevents you
from transforming yourself out of your female state?" ((*form is emptiness))
Sariputra: No! Such a woman would not really exist, so what
would there be to transform?
Goddess:
Just so, reverend Sariputra, all things do not really
exist. Now, would you think, "What prevents one
whose nature is that of a magical incarnation from transforming herself out of
her female state?"
Thereupon,
the goddess employed her magical power to cause the elder Sariputra
to appear in her form and to cause herself to appear in his form. Then the goddess, transformed into Sariputra,
said to Sariputra, transformed into a goddess,
"Reverend Sariputra, what prevents you from
transforming yourself out of your female state?"
And Sariputra, transformed into the goddess, replied, "I
no longer appear in the form of a male! My body has
changed into the body of a woman! I do not know what
to transform!"
The goddess
continued, "If the elder could again change out of the female state, then
all women could also change out of their female states. All
women appear in the form of women in just the same way as the elder appears in
the form of a woman. While they are not women in reality, they appear in the form of
women. With this in mind, the Buddha said, 'In all things, there is neither male nor female.'"
Then,
the goddess released her magical power and each returned to his ordinary form. She then said to him,
"Reverend
Sariputra, what have you done with your female
form?"
Sariputra: I neither
made it nor did I change it.
Goddess:
Just so, all things are neither made nor changed, and that they are not made and
not changed, that is the teaching of the Buddha. ((Re: emptiness))
Sariputra: Goddess, where will you be born when you transmigrate after death?
Goddess:
I will be born where all the magical incarnations of the Tathagata
are born.
Sariputra: But the emanated incarnations of the Tathagata
do not transmigrate nor are they born.
Goddess:
All things and living beings are just the same; they do not transmigrate nor
are they born! ((Know the Unborn… Bankei, for example))
Sariputra: Goddess, how soon will you attain the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood?
Goddess:
At such time as you, elder, become endowed once more
with the qualities of an ordinary individual, then will I attain the perfect
enlightenment of Buddhahood.
Sariputra: Goddess, it is impossible that I should become endowed
once more with the qualities of an ordinary individual.
Goddess:
Just so, reverend Sariputra, it is impossible that I
should attain the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood! Why? Because perfect
enlightenment stands upon the impossible. Because it
is impossible, no one attains the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood.
Sariputra: But the Tathagata has declared:
"The Tathagatas, who are as numerous as the
sands of the Ganges, have attained perfect Buddhahood,
are attaining perfect Buddhahood, and will go on
attaining perfect Buddhahood."
Goddess:
Reverend Sariputra, the expression, "the Buddhas of the past, present and future," is a
conventional expression made up of a certain number of syllables. The Buddhas are neither past, nor present, nor future. ((End of Time))
Their
enlightenment transcends the three times! But tell me,
elder, have you attained sainthood?
Sariputra: It is
attained, because there is no attainment.
Goddess:
Just so, there is perfect enlightenment because there is no attainment of
perfect enlightenment.
((The
logic here is called “Prajna’s
immediate denial logic” (my translation – original in Japanese: “Hannya sokuhi no ronri”) by Daisetz Suzuki:
A is not A, therefore A. Time is not time, it is Time. Attainment is no attainment, therefore
Attainment. Born is not born, therefore,
it is called Born. Women are not women,
then, they are called Women., etc.))
((From
Chapter 8…I omitted the names of Bodhisattvas, while adding a number for each of
them. I also added in the parenthesis
some inspirational comments mainly from Zen as above. -Kio)):
"Good
sirs, please explain how the bodhisattvas enter the Dharma-door of nonduality!"
1) "Noble
sir, production and destruction are two, but what is not produced and does not
occur cannot be destroyed. Thus the attainment of the
tolerance of the birthlessness of things is the
entrance into nonduality." ((Production means rising of mind, or birth, for example.
Unborn/Birthlessness: See My Bankei file))
2)
" 'I' and 'mine' are two. If there is no
presumption of a self, there will be no possessiveness. Thus,
the absence of presumption is the entrance into nonduality." ((No self. Or should I say,
there is no “No self” as well? As we
should tell, words create problem – our conscious mind may find itself in a
maze))
3)
" 'Defilement' and 'purification' are two. When
there is thorough knowledge of defilement, there will be no conceit about
purification. The path leading to the complete
conquest of all conceit is the entrance into nonduality." ((A
Zen master joined in gambling with the monk: Joshu
jump into the sea of suffering.))
4)
" 'Distraction' and 'attention' are two. When
there is no distraction, there will be no attention, no mentation,
and no mental intensity. Thus, the absence of mental
intensity is the entrance into nonduality." ((Flexible mind – Dogen,
Flexible in the sense of “Let the mind flow freely without abiding anywhere –
Diamond sutra))
5) 'Bodhisattva-spirit'
and 'disciple-spirit' are two. When both are seen to
resemble an illusory spirit, there is no bodhisattva-spirit, nor any
disciple-spirit. Thus, the sameness of natures of
spirits is the entrance into nonduality." ((All
sentient being has Buddha nature. Rocks
and stones included.))
6)
" 'Grasping' and 'nongrasping' are two. What is not grasped is not perceived, and what is not
perceived is neither presumed nor repudiated. Thus,
the inaction and noninvolvement of all things is the entrance into nonduality." ((Try not to try – See my vipassana experience (3rd retreat) file))
7)
" 'Uniqueness' and 'characterlessness' are two. Not to presume or construct something is neither to
establish its uniqueness nor to establish its characterlessness. To penetrate the equality of these two is to enter nonduality." ((This shore is that shore. Finite is infinite. How can one exist without the other?))
8)
" 'Good' and 'evil' are two. Seeking neither good
nor evil, the understanding of the nonduality of the
significant and the meaningless is the entrance into nonduality." ((If
you seek for it, you will not find it.
Before good and evil, what is your original face before your parents are
born?))
9)
" 'Sinfulness' and 'sinlessness' are two. By means of the diamond-like wisdom that pierces to the
quick, not to be bound or liberated is the entrance into nonduality."
10)
"To say, 'This is impure' and 'This is immaculate' makes for duality. One who, attaining equanimity, forms no conception of
impurity or immaculateness, yet is not utterly without conception, has equanimity without any attainment of
equanimity - he enters the absence of conceptual knots. Thus, he enters into nonduality." ((To attain is not to attain. - See sariputta’s
comment above.))
11)
"To say, 'This is happiness' and 'That is misery' is dualism. One who is free of all calculations, through the extreme
purity of gnosis - his mind is aloof, like empty space; and thus he enters into
nonduality."
((View of no view, Conscious
of unconscious. I find my son, Kenji, is
often in this state!!))
12)
"To say, 'This is mundane' and 'That is transcendental' is dualism. This world has the nature of voidness,
so there is neither transcendence nor involvement, neither progress nor
standstill. Thus, neither to transcend nor to be
involved, neither to go nor to stop - this is the entrance into nonduality." ((Effortless effort))
13)
"'Life' and 'liberation' are dualistic. Having
seen the nature of life, one neither belongs to it nor is one utterly liberated
from it. Such understanding is the entrance into nonduality." ((As we live, living dead and conduct life
as ‘we’ wish is good. – Shido Bunan (Jp. Shinin to natte
narihatete…)))
14)
"'Destructible' and 'indestructible' are dualistic. What
is destroyed is ultimately destroyed. What is ultimately
destroyed does not become destroyed; hence, it is called 'indestructible.'
What is indestructible is instantaneous, and what is instantaneous is
indestructible. The experience of such is called 'the
entrance into the principle of nonduality.'" ((Dogen’s
firewood and ash story - Shoboganzo. (Jp. Zengo
saidan)))
15)
"'Self' and 'selflessness' are dualistic. Since
the existence of self cannot be perceived, what is there to be made 'selfless'? Thus, the nondualism of the
vision of their nature is the entrance into nonduality." ((The perfect way knows no difficulties except that it refuses to make
preferences – Shin-jin-mei))
16),
"'Knowledge' and 'ignorance' are dualistic. The
natures of ignorance and knowledge are the same, for ignorance is undefined,
incalculable, and beyond the sphere of thought. The
realization of this is the entrance into nonduality."
((Find the movement of
consciousness-unconsciousness to realize this point in our mind-body system. – For example, see my Vippasana
file))
17-a)
"Matter itself is void. Voidness
does not result from the destruction of matter, but the nature of matter is
itself voidness. Therefore,
to speak of voidness on the one hand, and of matter,
or of sensation, or of intellect, or of motivation, or of consciousness on the
other - is entirely dualistic. ((Find the experiential wisdom of “Mind
and matter are one.” – Vippasana file))
17-b)
Consciousness itself is voidness. Voidness does not result from the destruction of
consciousness, but the nature of consciousness is itself voidness. Such understanding of the five compulsive aggregates and
the knowledge of them as such by means of gnosis is the entrance into nonduality." ((Five aggregates are emptiness – Heart
Sutra))
18)
"To say that the four main elements are one thing and the etheric space-element another is dualistic. The four main elements are themselves the nature of space. The past itself is also the nature of space. The future itself is also the nature of space. Likewise, the present itself is also the nature of space. The gnosis that penetrates the elements in such a way is
the entrance into nonduality." ((They
exist because of the other. In itself,
there is no substance that stand on its own. Do we know their ephemeral, empty nature?))
19)
"'Eye' and 'form' are dualistic. To understand
the eye correctly, and not to have attachment, aversion, or confusion with
regard to form - that is called 'peace.' Similarly,
'ear' and 'sound,' 'nose' and 'smell,' 'tongue' and taste,' 'body' and touch,'
and 'mind' and 'phenomena' - all are dualistic. But to
know the mind, and to be neither attached, averse, nor confused with regard to
phenomena - that is called 'peace.' To live in such
peace is to enter into nonduality." ((Notice
hot as hot…but also realize that hot is not hot – as our direct experience as
it is and not in our brain))
20-a)
"The dedication of generosity for the sake of attaining omniscience is
dualistic. The nature of generosity is itself
omniscience, and the nature of omniscience itself is total dedication. ((Do
for the sake of doing, No expectation of merits))
20-b) Likewise, it is dualistic to dedicate
morality, tolerance, effort, meditation, and wisdom for the sake of omniscience. Omniscience is the nature of wisdom, and total dedication is
the nature of omniscience. Thus, the entrance into
this principle of uniqueness is the entrance into nonduality." ((Do for
the sake of its own sake; means and end are the same))
21)
"It is dualistic to say that voidness is one
thing, signlessness another, and wishlessness
still another. What is void has no sign. What has no sign has no wish. Where
there is no wish there is no process of thought, mind, or consciousness. To see the doors of all liberations in the door of one liberation is the entrance into nonduality."
((Find the state of Samadhi so
it realizes itself without the help of anything else.))
22) "It
is dualistic to say 'Buddha,' 'Dharma,' and 'Sangha.' The Dharma is itself the nature of the
Buddha, the Sangha is itself the nature of the Dharma,
and all of them are uncompounded. The uncompounded is
infinite space, and the processes of all things are equivalent to infinite
space. Adjustment to this is the entrance into nonduality."
((It is as if there is a
reflection of one on the other in Buddha-Dharma-Sanga,
or Shila-Samadhi-Prajna so to speak))
23)
"It is dualistic to refer to 'aggregates' and to the 'cessation of aggregates.' Aggregates themselves are cessation. Why? The egoistic views of
aggregates, being unproduced themselves, do not exist
ultimately. Hence such views do not really
conceptualize 'These are aggregates' or 'These aggregates cease.'
Ultimately, they have no such discriminative constructions and no such
conceptualizations. Therefore, such views have
themselves the nature of cessation. Nonoccurrence and nondestruction are the entrance into nonduality."
((As in Unborn mentioned above))
24)
"Physical, verbal, and mental vows do not exist dualistically. Why? These things have the nature
of inactivity. The nature of inactivity of the body is
the same as the nature of inactivity of speech, whose nature of inactivity is
the same as the nature of inactivity of the mind. It
is necessary to know and to understand this fact of the ultimate inactivity of
all things, for this knowledge is the entrance into nonduality."
((Nature of ‘inactivity’ means ‘on its own’))
25)
"It is dualistic to consider actions meritorious, sinful, or neutral. The non-undertaking of meritorious, sinful, and neutral
actions is not dualistic. The intrinsic nature of all
such actions is voidness, wherein ultimately there is
neither merit, nor sin, nor neutrality, nor action itself. The
nonaccomplishment of such actions is the entrance
into nonduality." ((As
in Bodhidharma’s No merit (Jp.
Mukudoku) for donation))
26)
"Dualism is produced from obsession with self, but true understanding of
self does not result in dualism. Who thus abides in nonduality is without ideation, and that absence of
ideation is the entrance into nonduality."
27)
"Duality is constituted by perceptual manifestation. Nonduality is objectlessness. Therefore, nongrasping and nonrejection is the entrance into nonduality."
((Object is subject. Perceiver is perceived.))
28)
"'Darkness' and 'light' are dualistic, but the absence of both darkness and
light is nonduality. Why? At the time of absorption in cessation, there is neither
darkness nor light, and likewise with the natures of all things. The entrance into this equanimity is the entrance into nonduality." ((Dogen’s
story on day light in the night – Shunryu Suzuki))
29)
"It is dualistic to detest the world and to rejoice in liberation, and
neither detesting the world nor rejoicing in liberation is nonduality. Why? Liberation can be found
where there is bondage, but where there is ultimately no bondage where is there
need for liberation? The mendicant who is neither
bound nor liberated does not experience any like or any dislike and thus he
enters nonduality." ((Liberated not from anything
else but on its own))
30)
"It is dualistic to speak of good paths and bad paths. One
who is on the path is not concerned with good or bad paths. Living
in such unconcern, he entertains no concepts of 'path' or 'nonpath.' Understanding the nature of concepts, his
mind does not engage in duality. Such is the entrance
into nonduality." ((Going
for a ride))
31)
"It is dualistic to speak of 'true' and 'false.' When
one sees truly, one does not ever see any truth, so how could one see falsehood? Why? One does not see with the
physical eye, one sees with the eye of wisdom. And
with the wisdom-eye one sees only insofar as there is neither sight nor nonsight.
There,
where there is neither sight nor nonsight, is the entrance into nonduality." ((When
you are enlightened, you do not know that you are enlightenened.- Dogen))
When
the bodhisattvas had given their explanations, they all addressed the crown
prince Manjusri: "Manjusri,
what is the bodhisattva's entrance into nonduality?"
Manjusri replied, "Good sirs, you have all spoken well. Nevertheless,
all your explanations are themselves dualistic. To
know no one teaching, to express nothing, to say nothing, to explain nothing,
to announce nothing, to indicate nothing, and to designate nothing - that is
the entrance into nonduality."
Then
the crown prince Manjusri said to the Licchavi Vimalakirti, "We
have all given our own teachings, noble sir. Now, may
you elucidate the teaching of the entrance into the principle of nonduality!"
Thereupon,
the Licchavi Vimalakirti
kept his silence, saying
nothing at all.
((This
is called Vimalakirti’s
thunder of silence.))
((Kasho smiled when the Buddha
twirled a flower to a group of minks. This
is the teaching outside the sutras; Jp. Kyogai Betsuden)) ((The most valuable
sutra has nothing written on it. –Saiyu-ki))
The
crown prince Manjusri applauded the Licchavi Vimalakirti:
"Excellent! Excellent, noble sir! This is indeed the entrance into the nonduality
of the bodhisattvas. Here there is no use for
syllables, sounds, and ideas."
When
these teachings had been declared, five thousand
bodhisattvas entered the door of the Dharma of nonduality
and attained tolerance of the birthlessness of
things.
Source: http://www.imeditate.com/vimalakirti/vimalakirti09.html
((Here
is a brief description of Nagarjuna and his teaching from Shambhala
dictionary.))
One of
the most important philosophers of Buddhism and the founder of the Madhyamika school. … His most important authentic work is the Madhyamika-karika (memorial Verses on the Middle
Teaching)…Nagarjuna’s major accomplishment was his systematization and
deepening of the teaching presented in the Prajnaparamita-Sutra. He developed a special dialectic based on a reductio ad absurdum of opponents’ positions. Starting from the premise that each thing
exist only in virtue of its opposites, he shows that all things are only
relative and without essence, i.e., are empty (shunyata).
Nagarjuna’s
methodological approach of rejecting all opposites is the basis of the middle
way of the Madhyamikas; it is
directly connected with the teaching of the Buddha. This middle position is
clearly expressed in the ‘eight negations’; no elimination, no
production, no destruction, no eternity, no unity, no manifoldness, no
arriving, no departing….
Nagarjuna
is the first in the history of Buddhism to have constructed a philosophical “system.” With this system, he sought to prove the
thesis of the unreality of the external world, a point that is
presented in the Prajnaparamita-sutra as an
experiential fact…. Nagarjuna selected
as his point of departure the law of conditioned arising, which for him
constitutes the basic nature of the world.
He sees it as unreal and empty, since through it no arising, passing
away, eternity, mutability, etc. are possible.
Nagarjuna
attempts to show the emptiness of the world through the relativity of
opposites. Opposites are mutually dependent; one member of a pair of opposites
can only arise through the other. From
this, he draws the conclusion
that such entities cannot really exist, since the existence of one presupposes
the existence of the other.
A central notion in his proofs is that of
non-essentiality: the things of the phenomenal world
possesses no essence. An essence
is eternal, immutable, and independent of all other essences; but the things of
the world of appearance arise and pass away – they are empty.
Thus for Nagarjuna emptiness means the absence of an
essence in things but not their non-existence as
phenomena. Thus
it is false to say that things exist or that they do not exist. The truth lies in the middle, in
emptiness. The world of phenomena does
have a certain truth, a truth on the conventional level, but not definitive
truth.
From
the point of view of the conventional truth, the world and
also the Buddhist teaching have their validity; from the point of view
of the definitive truth, all of that does not exist since everything is only
appearance. For Nagarjuna the phenomenal
world is characterized by manifoldness, which is the
basis of all mental representation and thus creates the appearance of an
external world.
Absolute
reality, on the other hand, is devoid of all manifoldness. Absence of manifoldness means nirvana. In nirvana the manifoldness of the world and
the law of conditioned arising are effaced. It is by its very nature peaceful. ((Ultimately,
therefore, as one expereinces nirvarna,
one can confirm the “unteachable” teaching of
Nagarjuna – after the fact.))
Nirvana and the phenomenal world, for Nagarjuna as
well as Prajnaparamaita-Sutra, are fundamentally
identical. They are only two forms of
appearance of the same reality. That which
constitutes the phenomenal world in the aspect of conditioned-ness and
contingency is, in the aspect of unconditioned-ness and non-contingency,
nirvana. ((Satori is to ‘know’ this as experiential wisdom…. Yet, when I say so, how can I say that is
what I meant? Again,
catch-22. Yet, to know that I am
lost is to find it. Slippery, is it not?))
Thus,
for Nagarjuna, nirvana consists not of something that can be
attained, but rather in the realization of the true nature of phenomena,
in which manifoldness comes to rest.
((So,
all these words are only useful when we know that it is just pointing
something. Yet, as we find uselessness,
we may find usefulness in that finding moment/act.))
Source:
p.151-153, The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and
Zen
((Representative of the school of the Middle way. Nagarjuna as founder))
Madhyamika (mädyu´mike) [Skt.,=of the middle], philosophical school of Mahayana Buddhism , based on
the teaching of “emptiness” (see sunyata
) and named for its adherence to the “middle path” between the views of
existence or eternalism and nonexistence or nihilism. The school was founded by Nagarjuna (2d cent. AD) who came from S India to the Buddhist university of Nalanda and entered into debate with other schools
including the Hindu logic school, or Nyaya, and the
Buddhist Abhidharma . About 25 works
are attributed to Nagarjuna, the most important being the Middle Stanzas
( Madhyamika Karika
). Nagarjuna took key ideas from early Mahayana
scriptures and expounded them using a rigorous dialectic. He
attacked the concept of essence or “self-nature” ( svabhava
) as self-contradictory, holding that nothing self-existent can be subject to change. He then refuted
all possible answers to philosophical problems such as causality, identity, and
change by showing their logical inconsistency, with the aim of freeing the mind
from all speculative views, which are the source of attachment that prevents
enlightenment. He claimed to have no view of his own and to be
attempting only to refute the views of his opponents. Nagarjuna's
ultimate principle of emptiness was equated by him with “dependent co-arising,”
the causally conditioned, relative nature of all phenomena. He
declared that there is no distinction
between nirvana
and samsara (bondage in
birth-and-death) when the latter is seen without delusory concepts. He recognized
two levels of truth, the absolute and the conventional. Thus
his system does not deny the validity of empirical experience in its own
sphere, although it does not accept the possibility of statements about
absolute reality, which is beyond conceptualization. Nagarjuna's
immediate disciple Aryadeva carried on his teaching. About AD 500 Bhavaviveka,
heading the Svatantrika school of the Madhyamika, held that the Buddhist position can be put
forward by positive argument. The Prasanga
school, championed by Candrakirti, opposed him and
reaffirmed the simple refutation of opponents by reductio
ad absurdum as the true Madhyamika position. Santideva (691-743) wrote the
philosophical and inspirational classic Bodhicaryavatara
(tr. by M. L. Matics, Entering the Path of
Enlightenment, 1970). Santaraksita
and Kamalasila were the chief representatives of the Madhyamika's last phase, a syncretism with the Yogacara
school that was transmitted to Tibet. Madhyamika was also transmitted to China as the San-lun, or Three Treatises, school, introduced by Kumarajiva
.
Bibliography: See T. R. V. Murti, The Central
Philosophy of Buddhism (2d ed. 1960, repr. 1970); D.
T. Suzuki, Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism (1963); R. H. Robinson, Early Madhyamika in India and China (1967); F. Streng, Emptiness: A Study in Religious Meaning (1967).
Source: http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/M/Madhyami.asp
I am not sure how many have
arrived to this point of the file. In
any case, upon ending this file, here are few pointing words:
- The most valuable sutra has nothing written
on it.
- One’s ultimate aim may be
found in the aimless aim.
- When we master the most valuable
(‘nothing/emptiness’), then, we do not have to carry any burden.
- Once on the other shore, there is no need to
carry a raft. This is as if to carry a
spade in empty hand.
And, the words from Daisetz on studying:
The key is not study
itself. The study is to confirm the
“secure mind.” If we can do that, that
is quite sufficient. –
Daisetz Suzuki (p.45, Omoide)
Also, that could be the beginning of living our life as it
is meant.
Then, on the Middle way:
* He
does the imperfection perfectly…. (Blyth)
* Contradiction is
resolved in his being. By Shimura/Okamura on
Daisetz.))
Good day, good life!!
Kio