We continued Lesson 17 of Learning from Buddha College & Seminary course DCB23 with a discussion of the truth of emptiness as expressed in the lines from the Heart Sutra that says, “The same is true of feeling, conceptualization, action, and consciousness. Sariputra, emptiness is the characteristic of all dharmas. They do not arise or perish, are not defiled or pure, do not increase or decrease.” A few of the questions discussed are summarized here:
What must we rely on to realize prajna?
“. . . we still have to rely on cultivating ourselves to realize prajna.”
What does it mean to say that phenomena manifest when causes and conditions arise, and they perish when causes and conditions end?
” Phenomena, or dharmas, fundamentally do not exist in the truth. Their current existence is fundamentally illusory. When causal conditions arise, they manifest. When causal conditions end, they perish. Moreover, the present moment can never be established since all phenomena are undergoing changes due to impermanence. Therefore, any phenomenon produced from causes and conditions must have an arising and a perishing.”
What characteristics can you give to emptiness?
“As long as a there is an arising, there is a cessation. However, from the perspective of emptiness being the characteristic of all phenomena, this emptiness is boundless, eternal, unchanging, and immovable. Thus, it is not the case that this emptiness did not exist in the past but now does exist. This is what is called non-arising. Moreover, the characteristics of emptiness are boundlessness, eternalness, and invariability. Thus, it cannot be said that this emptiness arises and perishes along with conditionally arisen phenomena.”
Which came first our original nature or karmic forces?
“If karmic forces had come into being first, then original nature could not have been stored within us. Hence, all we can say is that both have existed since beginningless time.”
Why then are all living beings constrained by the law of cause and effect?
“Therefore, the characteristic of emptiness is boundless, eternal, and unchanging. . . They all manifest with the characteristic of emptiness, which is beginningless and unchanging; that is, eternal and forever invariant. Therefore, the emptiness that is the characteristic of all phenomena does not perish. The emptiness that is the characteristic of all phenomena is forever imperishable. That is, your Buddha-nature will not perish. True wisdom of prajna will not perish. . . The reason is that all dharmas in the world are produced from causes and conditions. Without a cause, no effect can arise. Without causal conditions, no cause can be planted. That is why all living beings are constrained by the law of cause and effect.“
What is meant by the term “all dharmas”?
“Disciples, do not misunderstand the term ‘all dharmas’ that I am referring to here. It should not be said that Buddha Dharma means all dharmas. I explained to you the term ‘all dharmas’ a long time ago. Dharmas refer to everything in the world belonging to the two realms of sentient beings and insentient things, including all substances without manifest form, which are also called dharmas. All these are called dharmas. A human being is also a dharma. This building is also a dharma. And so on and so forth. There are too many to mention. In short, everything in the two realms of sentient beings and insentient things are called ‘all dharmas.’
What is the meaning of the term “beginningless”?
“This explains the absolute truth of the absence of arising and perishing in the reality of all dharmas. In addition, the emptiness that is the characteristic of all dharmas is devoid of form. All dharmas have been since beginningless time and forever will be formless entities. That is, the emptiness that is the characteristic of all dharmas is without appearance. Moreover, this is the way it has been without a beginning. The term “without beginning” or “beginningless” means an unascertainable period of time. It can only be described in such way. Forever and eternally without limit into the past is called beginningless.”
The Buddha Master also gave us several analogies (sunlight and traveling by airplane) to help explain the principles involved in realizing prajna.
Next:
We will continue Lesson 17 of DCB23 at our October 5, 2024 ZOOM session at 9:00 am discussing the Heart Sutra, starting with question #.
The class is still open to anyone who wants to join. If you have enrolled in C41 or DCB22 (or DCB21 or DCB26) you may continue to use the same ZOOM link to attend the Saturday morning discussions. You will need to enroll in DCB23 to be able to watch the video recordings of the classes, download study materials, or study the related questions.
TO DATE: DCB23-Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra: PART TWO–II and C41-Three Principal Stages & Paths of Buddhist Practice
The recording of the September 28 DCB23-Lesson 17B class is now available. You must be enrolled in DCB23 in one of the membership programs at the LFBCS to access the course materials, questions covered (in parenthesis), and/or the class recordings. Please note that these links will only work if you are logged into LFBCS with your membership identification number AND are enrolled in this class.
“Sariputra, Form Does Not Differ from Emptiness; Emptiness Does Not Differ from Form. Form is Emptiness; Emptiness Is Form. The same is true of feeling, conceptualization, action, and consciousness. Sariputra, emptiness is the characteristic of all dharmas. They do not arise or perish, are not defiled or pure, do not increase or decrease. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, conceptualization, action, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, or objects of mind; no realm of eyes, up to and including no realm of mind consciousness; no avidya and also no ending of avidya, up to and including no aging and death and also no ending of aging and death; . . .”
September 28, 2024: Lesson 17B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–II, “The same is true of feeling, conceptualization, action, and consciousness. Sariputra, . . .” ( 122-132) and (HERE) for recording of class.
September 21, 2024: Lesson 17A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–II, “The same is true of feeling, conceptualization, action, and consciousness. Sariputra, . . .” (86-89 and 90-121) and (HERE) for recording of class.
September 14, 2024: Lesson 16B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–II, “. . . Sariputra, Form Does Not Differ from Emptiness; Emptiness Does Not Differ from Form.” (71-85) and (HERE) for recording of class.
September 7, 2024: Lesson 16A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–II, “. . . Sariputra, Form Does Not Differ from Emptiness; Emptiness Does Not Differ from Form.” (49-70) and (HERE) for recording of class.
August 31, 2024: Lesson 15B–The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–II, “. . . Sariputra, Form Does Not Differ from Emptiness; Emptiness Does Not Differ from Form.” (34-48) and (HERE) for recording of class.
August 24, 2024: Lesson 15A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–II, “. . . Sariputra, Form Does Not Differ from Emptiness; Emptiness Does Not Differ from Form.” (1-33) and (HERE) for recording of class.
CLICK for article on the entire text of Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra.
CLICK for article with instructions on how to enroll in LFBCS classes and how to register for the 8 ZOOM discussions.
CLICK for article on the last class held on DCB22 and links to videos of all 21 ZOOM class discussions on DCB22 held from February 10, 2024 to August 3, 2024.
CLICK for article on the last class held on DCB21 and links to videos of all 18 ZOOM class discussions on DCB21 held from November 2022 to April 2023. Note: not all of the forwards, notes, and introductions are complete.
CLICK for article on last class held on DCB26 and links to videos of all 8 ZOOM class discussions held on DCB26 held from April 2024 to June 2024.
CLICK for Background information on Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra and why it is such an important text.
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