We finished discussing Lesson 12 of the text of DCB22-Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra: “PART TWO-I “. . . saw that they (the five aggregates) were all empty. . .” at our July 13, 2024 ZOOM session. We also analyzed the principles of emptiness from the perspective of time. The following are a few of the concepts we investigated. You should read or listen to the entire section to fully understand these aspects of emptiness.
What do the words “…illuminated the five aggregates, saw that they are all empty…” refer to ?
“[They] refer to contemplative-illumination prajna. If one illuminates and sees the reality of no self and no dharmas, then one realizes the emptiness of the four aggregates of feeling, conceptualization, action, and consciousness. When one harbors no characteristic of self, one realizes the emptiness of the aggregate of form. Only when one harbors no characteristic of self can one realize the emptiness of the aggregate of form. From the internal body and mind to the external world, there is no distinction between internal and external. All dharmas are empty. The internal body and mind and the external world are the internally empty and externally empty states that I referred to some days ago. Realizing such states, one regards the internal and external as being equal. All dharmas are thus empty.“
What does the Sanskrit word “sunyata” mean?
“In Sanskrit, the word for emptiness is “sunyata.” It means that dharmas produced by causes and conditions are empty. The meaning of this word is that dharmas that arise from causes and conditions are empty. Sutra books are able to prove this principle. For example, the statement in the Vimalakirti-nirdesa Sutra “All dharmas are ultimately nonexistent” is the meaning of emptiness. All dharmas are actually nonexistent. To put it in a thorough and perfect way, everything is empty. This is the meaning of emptiness.“
How many meanings does emptiness have?
“How many meanings does emptiness have, after all? We often speak of realizing the state of emptiness. Actually, it is not just one kind of state. Emptiness has four key meanings and eighteen kinds. This is the usual brief way of explaining emptiness. The four key meanings are: (1) the emptiness of non-existence, (2) the emptiness of space, (3) the emptiness of mind, and (4) the emptiness of dharmas.“
Note: the “Eighteen Kinds” of emptiness will be discussed later.
What do you need to be able to realize the “Emptiness of Mind?”
“The emptiness of dharmas is a state to be realized by Bodhisattvas. Not only should one realize the emptiness of personhood and self and the emptiness of mind, one should also realize the emptiness of dharmas. That is the way it is. The emptiness of dharmas is established on the prerequisite of the emptiness of mind.”
[NOTE: There was a typo in the translation we had of the last sentence. It is so noted in the video of the discussion]How do ordinary human beings live in regards to the five aggregates?
“Each of the five aggregates will then be used. Form, feeling, conceptualization, action, and consciousness will then be set in movement. The six sense objects will then naturally play their role as sense objects. Forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and objects of mind will be simultaneously activated day and night, without end. All through the months and years, you are in this way constantly locked in the state of an ordinary person. This is how human beings live. All day long they live like this. Forms cause attachment and craving. Feelings are then experienced. Conceptualization apprehends phenomena. Actions create, creating all karmic forces. Consciousness understands and differentiates. Consciousness always gets to know and distinguishes. Consequently, the five aggregates become true mental and material existences to you. That is how they become real and truly existent things to you mentally.”
What does the Ekottaragama Sutras say about the five aggregates?
“In reality, the five aggregates are empty. As stated in the Ekottaragama Sutras, “Forms are like amassed foam. Feelings are like floating bubbles. Conceptualizations are like wild horses. Actions are like plantains. Consciousness is like illusory phenomena.” The Ekottaragama Sutras tells you that all five aggregates are empty, illusory, and unreal, like a mirage. Not even one of them exists. Disciples, you should do your best to penetrate deeply and observe in detail. Only by doing so can you progress from crudeness to subtlety and see the essence of this truth.“
What Is Permanent?
“It is when forms end and all reduces to emptiness, when one enters true-thusness yet is not attached to the appearance of true-thusness, and when one realizes intrinsic-reality prajna and eventually even realizes the state of three bodies and four wisdoms. That state can be said to be permanent dharma. This permanent dharma is unchanging thusness. It is permanence that was not born and does not perish. It is the state of the Buddhas. Hence, within worldly phenomena, within samsara, there is no permanent dharma.“
What Is Time?
“Time is a false name for the continuous, uninterrupted arising and passing away of successive events and things. Without this continuity of successive events and things, there would be no time.”
What are “the three times”?
“The past, present, and future.“
Next:
We will continue DCB22 at our July 20, 2024 ZOOM session starting at 9:00 am discussing Lesson 13 “Time, the Ten Illusory Things, and the Eighteen Kinds of Emptiness.”
TO DATE: DCB22-Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra: PART TWO–I and C41-Three Principal Stages & Paths of Buddhist Practice
The recordings of the July 13 DCB22 class are now available. You must be enrolled in DCB22 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. Please note that Lessons 6A and 6B are part of Course C41.
“Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply the prajna-paramita, illuminated the five aggregates, saw that they are all empty, and crossed beyond all suffering and adversity.”
July 13, 2024: Lesson 13A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Time”, (240-241) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 13, 2024: Lesson 12-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “. . . saw that they are all empty. . .”, (220-239) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 6, 2024: Lesson 11D-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Four Great Elements, Death, & Dreaming”, (202-219) and (HERE) for recording of class.
July 6, 2024: Lesson 11C–The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Becoming a Good Person”, (193-201) and (HERE) for recording of class.
June 29, 2024: Lesson 11B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Dual-Use/Two-body Dharma”, (181-192) and (HERE) for recording of class.
April 20, 2024: Lesson 11A.2-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Consciousness”, (171-180) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 30, 2024: Lesson 11A.1-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Consciousness”, (155-170) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 23, 2024: Lesson 10B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Five Aggregates”, (144-154) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 16, 2024: Lesson 10A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Five Aggregates”, (114-143) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 16, 2024: Lesson B.2-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Two Levels”, (108-113) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 9, 2024: Lesson B.1-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Two Levels”, (87-107) and (HERE) for recording of class.
March 9, 2024: Lesson 9A.3-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Practicing Deeply”, (78-86) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 24, 2024: Lesson 9A.2-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Practicing Deeply”, (59-77) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 17, 2024: Lesson 9A.1-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Practicing Deeply”, (51-58) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 17, 2024: Lesson 8C-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Bodhisattva”, (37-50) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 17, 2024: Lesson 8B–The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Avalokiteshvara”, (31-36) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 10, 2024: Lesson 8A-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Text of the Heart Sutra–I, “Avalokiteshvara”, (1-30) and (HERE) for recording of class.
February 3, 2024: Lesson 6B-The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra-Prajna(Wisdom) & Dhyana(Ta), (355-369) and HERE for recording of class.
January 20, 2024: Lesson 6A–The Great Stage–Wisdom Path of the right view of emptiness, Expounding the Absolute Truth through the Heart Sutra-Prajna & Dhyana(Ta), (317-354) 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 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.
Add comment