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| Pine Trees, by Hasegawa Tohaku, Tokyo National Museum |
There are two types of emptiness:
1) self emptiness and 2) other emptiness.
1) self emptiness and 2) other emptiness.
We may call the first “empty-emptiness” and the second “non-empty-emptiness”.
Self
emptiness means that something is empty of its own entity or self. This is the
case with any samsaric phenomena, including the outer world and inner world of
unenlightened beings.
Anything
that appears due to various combinations of causes and conditions is self
empty. Anything that changes is self-empty. Anything that can be analyzed and
divided in small fragments and atoms is self empty. Any samsaric universe with
all the various planets, solar systems and unenlightened beings living there is
self empty because they appear due to various causes and conditions, change due
to causes and conditions and disappear due to causes and conditions.
Anything
that is self empty is a dream, a mirage, a magical display, and ultimately not
real. All phenomena and beings of samsaric existence are self empty. The
so-called inner or outer reality that unenlightened beings experience is self
empty and ultimately not real. It is like when you wake up from a dream and you
realize it was just a dream with unreal events, while when you were immersed in
it you felt that was the real world. The Awakened Ones (the Buddhas) who also
act as awakeners of others became aware of their Buddha nature (true reality) and
by dwelling in it they have realized that the dream world of sleeping beings
(unenlightened beings/not Buddhas yet) is self empty and not actually real.
Samsara,
being self empty has only a relative reality just like the dream is real for
the dreamer, while the Buddha nature and those who dwell in it (the Buddhas) experience
the True Reality – the reality of the Awakened Ones. The single goal of all the various Dharma
Gates is to help you escape the dream world of samsara and awake to the true
Reality or the Reality of Buddha nature which is NOT self empty, but only empty
of delusions, empty of blind passions, empty of defilements, etc, and filled
with the infinite qualities of true freedom.
It is extremely important to understand
the difference between self emptiness that was described above and was
mentioned in the Heart Sutra, and
other emptiness.
Buddha
nature is NOT actually empty or not self empty for the simple reason that it is
the true Reality, unconditioned by anything, not created by anything, not
dependent on anything, not appearing according to causes and conditions, not
changing according to causes and conditions and not disappearing due to causes
and conditions. A dream appears due to various reasons but the reality
experienced when awake has always been there and it is what you awake to when
you stop dreaming. Thousands upon
thousands of dreams (samsaric states of existence) may appear and disappear but
the reality (Buddha nature) never changes and it is always there. This is why
such a reality is not self empty.
There
is only one way in which we can say that true reality or Buddha nature is empty
and that is other emptiness or non-empty-emptiness. The samsaric phenomena of
inner and outer world is empty-emptiness because it is truly empty, while the Buddha nature is non-empty-emptiness
because it is only empty of samsara, but not empty of itself and not empty of
its innate infinite enlightened qualities.
Unfortunately,
even during the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha in flesh and bones and nowadays,
more than 2500 years after, there are some who do not understand the difference
between empty-emptiness and non-empty-emptiness or between what is truly empty
(self empty) and that which is only empty of other (empty of delusions and
samsaric phenomena). This is exactly why I am writing this text because I want
that members of Amidaji have the right understanding of all main Buddhist
doctrines.
In
the Angulimala Sutra it is said[1]
(comments in the brakes are my own),
“For example, a
rain-storm falls from a great cloud, and a person with a childish nature picks
up a piece of hail. Thinking that it is a precious vaidurya jewel, the person carries it home and, not daring
to hold it due to its great coldness thinks to treat it as a treasure and
carefully puts it into a vase. Seeing that round piece of hail melt, the person
thinks, ‘Empty’, and turns speechless. Similarly, one who meditates on extreme
emptiness and considers emptiness to be profound uncomfortably sees all
phenomena to be destroyed. Even· non-empty liberation is seen and considered to
be emptiness”.
First
some people think that samsaric phenomena (the piece of hail) are permanent.
Then they realize that they are empty and impermanent. So far so good, nothing
wrong here, but the problem appear when they start thinking that because
samsaric phenomena are empty and without a self, then everything should be
empty and without self, even the Buddha nature (vaidurya jewel) and its innate
qualities (non-empty phenomena),
“ For example, having thought that a piece of hail is a
jewel, the person meditates even on jewels as empty. Likewise, you
also consider non-empty phenomena to be empty. Seeing phenomena as empty, you
also destroy non-empty phenomena as empty. [However] empty phenomena are other;
non-empty phenomena are other (empty phenomena or samsaric phenomena
are different from non-empty phenomena or the qualities and attributes inherent
in the Buddha nature). The tens of millions of afflictive emotions
like hail-stones are empty. The phenomena in the class of non-virtues, like
hailstones, quickly disintegrate. Buddha,
like a vaidurya jewel, is permanent. The scope of liberation also is like a vaidurya
jewel. […]
Buddha
nature is permanent and non-empty of its own entity. Like a pot empty of water
who is still a pot but empty of the water element, or a house empty of humans
who is still a house but without human beings, the Buddha nature is empty of
defilements and the defects of samsara,
but not empty of itself and its innate Buddha qualities. This is why we say
that Buddha nature is “non-empty-emptiness”,
“An empty home
in a built-up city is called empty due to the absence of humans. A pot is empty
due to the absence of water. A river is empty due to water not flowing. Is a
village that is without ·householders called ‘empty-empty?’ Or are the
households empty in all respects? They are not empty in all respects; they are
called empty due to .the absence of humans.
Is a pot empty
in all respects? It is not empty in all respects; it is called ‘empty’ due to
the absence of water. Is a river empty in all respects? It is not empty in all
respects; it is called ‘empty’ because water is not flowing. Similarly,
liberation is not empty in all respects; it is called ‘empty’ because of being
devoid of all defects. A Buddha, a supramundane Victor, is not empty but is called
‘empty’ because of being devoid of defects and due to the absence of humanness
and godhood that have ten of millions of afflictive emotions.”[2]
Also,
the Nirvana Sutra, using the
non-existence of a horse in a cow and the non-existence of a cow in a horse, states
that the Buddha nature and Nirvana is other-empty in the sense of not being empty
of itself:
“Child of
lineage, a horse does not exist in a cow, but it is not suitable to say that a
cow does not exist, and a cow does not exist in a horse, but it is not suitable
to say that even a horse does not exist. Nirvana also is like that; Nirvana does not exist in afflictive emotions,
and afflictive emotions do not exist in Nirvana. Hence, it is said to be
the non- existence of the one in the other.”[3]
Master
Shan-tao said,
“In His
attainment of highest truth, the Buddha is the One most revered in all the
heavens. He has awakened to the truth that Buddha-nature is not void (not empty
of itself)”.[4]
Speaking
about the virtues and the activities of those born in the Pure Land, Shakyamuni
said,
“With the Buddha
eye, they completely realize the nature of dharmas (phenomena)[5].
They observe
with the eye of equality that the three
worlds are empty and nonexistent.“[6]
He
also said, when describing the spiritual journey of Bodhisatta Dharmakara before
He became Amida Buddha,
“He dwelled in
the realization that all dharmas (phenomena) are empty, devoid of
distinctive features, and not to be sought after, and that they neither act nor
arise; He thus realized that all dharmas (phenomena) are like magical creations.”[7]
From
the point of view of ultimate reality or Dharmakaya (Buddha nature) the various
phenomena of samsaric existence are like “magical creations” and are seen as “neither act nor arise” because they do not have a real,
permanent existence. For Dharmakara Bodhisattva such an understanding of the
emptiness of all phenomena of samsaric existence versus the true reality of
ultimate Dharmakaya or Buddha nature was not an intellectual one, the product
of mind categories and rationalizations, but a genuine realization in which He
dwelt constantly. By having access to this true reality, He could then manifest
His Enlightened realm in accordance with His Vows.
If
the Buddha nature and its innate qualities were really empty of themselves then
it would mean that they do not actually exist or they exist only at the
relative level (do not have real existence). Without a real Buddha nature with truly existent Buddha qualities
(Buddha attributes), there would be no real liberation from samsara and all the
Dharma Gates would be useless because they would not really liberate anybody.
In
the Queen Srimala Sutra it is said,
“There are two
types of Emptiness wisdom concerning the Buddha Nature which are as
follows. (1) The Buddha nature is empty from, separate from, independent
from and different from all the stores of defilement. (2) The Buddha
nature is not-empty from, is not separate from, not independent from and not
different from the inconceivable Buddha Attributes which are more numerous than
the sands of the river Ganges”.[8]
In
Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum of the Great
Vehicle it is said,
“The Matrix of
the One gone thus (Tathagatagarbha/Buddha nature) is empty of all the coverings
of separable and removable afflictive emotions and is not empty of the inseparable, unremovable, inconceivable Buddha-qualities
more numerous than the sands of
the Ganges”[9]
the Ganges”[9]
In
The Awakening of faith in Mahayana by
Master Asvaghosa it is said,
“Suchness (Budhha nature) has two aspects if predicated in words. One is that it is truly empty (sunya), for this aspect can, in the final sense, reveal what is real (by seeing what is false, you can understand the true). The other is that it is truly nonempty (a-sunya), for its essence itself is endowed with undefiled and excellent qualities”.[10]
Liberation
and that in which we are liberated (the Buddha nature) cannot be relative or
not truly existent. Only the samsaric dream can be relatively real (real for
the dreamer) and actually not real from the perspective of ultimate Reality of
the Buddha nature in which all Buddhas dwell and where they want to liberate us. Also, the so-called liberation obtained by
those who follow non-Buddhist or heretical views and who do not understand true
emptiness is not real liberation.
In
the Nirvana Sutra it is said,
“Moreover,
release is non-empty-empty (non-empty-emptiness). That which is called
"empty-empty" is nothingness. Nothingness is like the release of the
forder naked ones (Jains). Since the naked ones do not really have release, it
is called "empty-empty." Because real release is not like
that, it is
non-empty-empty. Non-empty-emptiness is real release. Real release is the
One-gone-thus (Tathagata/Buddha).”[11]
Because
samsaric phenomena and the so-called release (liberation) of non-Buddhists are
false, they are called “empty-empty”, that is, empty of themselves. Anything
which is false does not really exist, so it is a “release” into
nothingness. However, the Buddhist release
which leads to innate Buddha nature is true and real. For this reason it is
called non-empty-empty, that is, empty in the sense of not having any more illusions,
blind passions and defilements. As non-Buddhists, like the Jains mentioned
above, do not understand Buddha nature, they remain entangled in illusions, so
they cannot have true release.
Shinran
Shonin himself quoted Mahaparinirvana
Sutra on this aspect in his Kyogyoshinsho,
"The emancipation of non Buddhist ways is called
impermanent; the emancipation of Buddhist ways is called eternal".[12]
"The ninety-five nonbuddhist teachings[13]
defile the world;
The Buddha's path alone is pure.
Only by going forth and reaching Enlightenment can we benefit others
in this burning house; this is the natural working of the Vow".[14]
The Buddha's path alone is pure.
Only by going forth and reaching Enlightenment can we benefit others
in this burning house; this is the natural working of the Vow".[14]
Because
the Buddhist Path has true knowledge of the Buddha nature and perfect ways to
discover it (reaching Enlightenment), we say about it to be supreme among all
other religions.
to be continued
[1] The fragments I quoted
here from this sutra are told by Angulimala to Manjushri who pretends to not know the difference
between the two types of emptiness. People should not think that since
Angulimala was a sinful person what he said is not true, for he is actually a
Buddha in disguise! In the same sutra it is said that to the south in a vast land
of Buddhas there is a land called “Decorated by all Jewels”, where a Budha
called “Liked When Seen by All the World Manifestly Elevated Great Effort”
resides, and He manifested as Angulimala.
[2] Angulimala Sutra as
quoted in The Mountain Doctrine by
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, translated and introduced by Jeffrey Hopkins, Snow
Lion Publications, Ithaka New York, Boulder, Colorado, 2006, p.210-211
[3] Mahaparinirvana Sutra, as
quoted in The Mountain Doctrine by
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, translated and introduced by Jeffrey Hopkins, Snow
Lion Publications, Ithaka New York, Boulder, Colorado, 2006, p.214
[4] Master Shan-tao as quoted by Shinran in his Kyogyoshinsho, chapter I, The Collected Works of Shinran,
Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.9
[5] When “dharma” is
written with small “d” it refers to phenomena. When it is written with “D” like
in “Dharma”, it refers to the Buddhist teaching.
[6] The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from
Chinese by Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo
Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003,
p.44
[7] The Three Pure Land Sutras - A Study and Translation from Chinese by
Hisao Inagaki in collaboration with Harold Stewart, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and
Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Kyoto, 2003, p.22
[8] Queen Srimala and her Lion’s
Roar Sutra, chapter 9, verse 97, translated by Tsultrim Gyurme, https://whatdobuddhistsbelieve.wordpress.com/teachings/queen-srimala-sutra
[11] Mahaparinirvana Sutra, as
quoted in The Mountain Doctrine by
Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, translated and introduced by Jeffrey Hopkins, Snow
Lion Publications, Ithaka New York, Boulder, Colorado, 2006, p.213
[12] Nirvana Sutra quoted by
Shinran, Kyogyoshinsho, chapter V, Kyogyoshinsho - The Collected Works of Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation
Series, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.182
[13] Shinran explained that by „ninety-five
nonbuddhist teachings” he meant not a fixed number but that the nonbuddhist
paths are divided into numerous kinds.
[14] Shinran Shonin, Hymns of the
Dharma Ages, The Collected Works of
Shinran, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha, Kyoto, 1997, p.401
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