(excerpt from 'Buddhism is the light of salvation')
Tutor Yin Shun
"Color (receptivity, thought, action, and knowledge, hereinafter represented by color, and in general, the five skandhas) is emptiness," "Emptiness is color," what is the meaning of this? What is the meaning of "emptiness is color"? It is important to understand the meaning of "color" and "emptiness". "Color" is the world we touch, the world of physical and mental phenomena. The realm that the combination of body and mind called "self" recognizes is "color" and so on, and this is the current reality. However, this is the reality of sentient beings; if they remain like this, they will be forever confused, forever suffering, forever living without ease, and dying without ease. This is the great problem of life as recognized by the Dharma. To study Buddhism is to realize the reality (the five skandhas) and achieve great liberation (the elimination of all suffering). Whether it is Hinayana or Mahayana, Hinayana or Empty Sect, all of them think that there is an experience beyond common sense. The actual content of the experience cannot be understood or imagined by the ordinary mind; nor can it be expressed in ordinary language and words. This is nothing, not even "not". For ordinary people, this is something that cannot be understood in any way. The Buddha's teachings are not meant to explain this, but only to instruct and guide sentient beings on the current reality of their bodies and minds, so that in the process of practicing, scholars can be free from inversion and confusion and move toward and enter this realm of truth. In the cultivation of the practice of detachment from perversity and confusion, the Buddha always teaches "impermanence," "non-self," and "silence" (the Three Dharma Seals); "emptiness," "non-appearance," and "non-activity" (the Three Samadhi); and "disenchantment," "detachment," "extinction," and "renunciation. In the practice, it is realized by the shedding of common sense, so in the absence of a name for it, it is called "emptiness" and "emptiness" (also known as no-phase, no-action, and no-perishable, etc.). The ancients said, "Emptiness is also empty; but in order to guide the living beings, it is said under a false name". If one thinks of emptiness as emptiness, then one has long been mistaken. Emptiness can be said to be a symbol for that which is inconceivable to all beings, but which can be realized through the observation of emptiness and selflessness. In this way, the current reality (the five skandhas, the possible experiences) of emptiness is opposed in our intentional understanding. To worldly scholars, this is reality and ideal, phenomenon and essence, metaphysics and metaphysics. In Buddhism, phase and nature, matter and reason, are also pitted against each other in theory. For example, the sick-eyed one sees the emptiness of the sky with flowers, and the bright-eyed one sees the emptiness of the sky with clarity and purity: it is unavoidable (and beings just love this), but in fact, it is unnecessary to oppose the emptiness of flowers with clarity and purity, and to talk about the same and different.
The reality of "color" (embodiment), etc., may be the actualization of "emptiness" (phase, emptiness, etc.), such as the root cause of the said, this is all the Dharma ****. In terms of different terms (different meanings make a difference in description), they are "delusion" and "reality," "birth and death" and "nirvana," "world" and "nirvana," "action" and "inaction," and "origination" and "extinction. If we talk about "energy", then it is "ignorance" and "prajna", "ignorance" and "bodhi". "There are different levels of realization of emptiness by saints, but there is no difference in the realization of emptiness by all saints. This is why it is said in the sutra that the Bodhisattva of the eighth place of enlightenment has realized the non-differentiated nature, which is ****ed by the two Hinayana (the Avatamsaka Sutra). The wisdom of the Second Vehicle, if it is broken, is the Bodhisattva's non-survival Dharma patience (Prajna Sutra). What you are practicing is the path of the Bodhisattva (Dharma Flower Sutra). In realizing the "emptiness" of the five skandhas, the Mahayana Bodhisattva does not only "see that the five skandhas are all empty", but also proves that "color is emptiness" and "emptiness is color". The practice of "color is emptiness" and "emptiness is color" is a way of observing the Dharma, a convenient way to enter into the "emptiness" of the world. In terms of explanation, this is where the difference with the Dzogchen lies. This is a fact, a fact of the Buddhist world. The saints who are called Hinayana saints, when they look at the five skandhas and realize the "emptiness" of the skandhas, are in a state of "transcendence", transcending birth and death. Therefore, they naturally tend to leave the five skandhas and enter into emptiness, and leave the world and realize Nirvana. Thus, as a systematic theoretical explanation, there is a difference between life and death and nirvana, forming two different contents. Based on this understanding, the style of the saints was formed, and they were eager to leave the world, and the spirit of "remaining alone in the world" and "coming out of the mud and not being stained by it" was manifested. In Buddhism, this can be said to be the purest of the saints! On the other hand, the saints who have attained another level of enlightenment feel that although enlightenment and Buddhism are not the same thing, the five skandhas that are present in the minds of the lost and the emptiness that is present in the minds of the saints are by no means antithetical to each other. When one looks at the five skandhas and realizes emptiness, emptiness is not separate from the five skandhas, but can be said to be the five skandhas; it is the reality of the five skandhas, the nature of the five skandhas. It is the reality of the five skandhas, the nature of the five skandhas. It is like the pure emptiness seen by a person with clear eyes, and it is not the opposite of what is seen by the sick eyes, but it is the truth of the emptiness seen by the sick eyes, the emptiness of the empty flowers falling in the air. There is no emptiness separate from the five skandhas, and there is no emptiness separate from the five skandhas. This category of saints is what is called bodhisattvas. The meaning is "inherent" in the realization of emptiness according to the skandhas. Truth is not separate from everything. Based on this characteristic, one naturally tends to be true in the sense of being commonplace. From this, we can develop theoretical explanations, such as "the world is nirvana," "life and death are liberation," "color is emptiness," and "the reality of ignorance is bodhicitta. Based on these qualities, the bodhisattva's style is "to be in the world but to be out of the world"; "to enter the Dharma realm without leaving the world"; "not to be attached to birth and death but not to live in nirvana"; "not to be separated from the world"; "not to be detached from the world"; "not to give up all living beings", and to emanate the spirit of "nirvana but not Buddhism".
Rooted in the current fact of living beings - "color" (embodiment, etc.) and interested in "emptiness" - is the fundamental problem of Buddhism. Contextually, theoretically, and stylistically, the Buddha's teachings are expressed as either "transcendent," or "immanent," or "immanent," in two categories. The qualities of the Bodhisattva, though, are that he is "true to the world" and "color is emptiness", and he is not separate from the world, and he even uses greed, anger, infatuation, and slowness as a convenient way to achieve his goal. However, in the process of cultivation, Mahayana still "sees that the five skandhas are all empty", and still realizes "the emptiness of all dharmas", "there is no color in the air, no feelings, thoughts, actions, and knowledge". This is because the five skandhas are the current reality of sentient beings, the familiar reality of birth and death. Of course, the goal to be realized is not the five skandhas. The main goal of cultivation is to realize "emptiness" by viewing "color" and "emptiness. Without the realization of emptiness, it is impossible to say that one has achieved the wonderful enlightenment of color and emptiness. Therefore, to realize "emptiness" by observing "emptiness" is the turning point for turning the lost into the enlightened and the ordinary into the holy. "The Prajna Sutra says, "The eye of wisdom sees nothing in all dharmas. "The Vajra Sutra says, "If you see the non-appearance of all appearances, you will see the Buddha. According to the Vaisnava Sutra, the fundamental wisdom of the true nature of the Buddha is to eliminate all appearances. It is here that the saints' present realization, the fundamental breakthrough through the barrier of life and death, lies. "The Tantra Sutra says, "It is not by not seeing the true nature that one can realize that all actions are like illusory things, which are there but not true. Unlike the worldly view of all actions (the five skandhas) as illusory, it is through this fundamental realization, the realization of the vacuum, that one gradually reaches it. Therefore, the fundamental wisdom (prajna) proves the truth, and the convenience (hindsight) reaches the world. Convenience is the wonderful use of prajna, and it is triggered after the realization of prajna. In theory, convenience is not different from prajna, i.e., the wonderful use of prajna. The five skandhas are the five skandhas that are empty, and there is no difference between skandhas and emptiness. As a matter of fact, the cultivation of Indian sages is to face the reality; even though it is color and emptiness, what is being realized is "emptiness" (the fundamental wisdom is not to say that the Bodhisattva's cultivation stops at this point). This is a little different from some scholars who talk about the subtleties of theory, which is very pleasing to the ear.
The Buddha's teachings are not hypothetical reasoning, they are factual, empirical, and then theoretical, and are called "teaching from evidence". It is the teaching that makes people believe and understand, and then the same way they enter into the practice of Buddhism, so there are explanations such as "color is empty of its own nature, but not because of emptiness, color and emptiness are not empty", and then there are the theoretical explanations of the middle-viewers and the yogis. This is the fact of Buddhist practice. In the experience of practice, there are situations that are plausible but not plausible, or situations that will be reached but not yet reached. There are similar situations in the world. Therefore, from these two points again, I will discuss them briefly.
"Color is emptiness, and emptiness is color. It is a matter of Buddhist practice. What "emptiness" represents is the content of profound experience, which is not the theoretical realm of words and language! There is nothing to say about Buddhism! However, the Buddha has the skill and convenience to enlighten and guide all sentient beings on the reality of their bodies and minds, so that they can uncover the false reality of "color" (representing the reality of their bodies and minds) and enter directly into the realm of self-evidence, "emptiness. From this methodological standpoint, why is "color" illusory, false, and empty? Why this kind of illumination can lead to and enter into the "true nature" and "emptiness" is open to discussion. For example, it does not matter what is east, west, south, or north in Yangmingshan itself, but from our own standpoint, through the falsehood of the names recognized by the world, there is east, west, south, and north. And (even though it is a falsehood) we can move forward and achieve our goal by virtue of this east-west, north-south, and west-south direction. The question of the method of cultivation becomes a question of theory. The correspondence between understanding and action, from being sayable and separable to being able to be oriented towards being free from speech and separability, is a great convenience of the Dharma, which is not known to those who talk about the non-establishment of the written word.
To say that "color is emptiness and emptiness is color," there are many interpretations in the Buddhist world, which are caused by adapting to the different ways of thinking of human beings. Although there are differences and depths, all of them have a convenient and wonderful way of guiding one's way to cultivation (which is the Dharma). Here, I would like to cite the explanations of the Middle Way (Mahayana Emptiness Sect) and the Only Sense Sect (Mahayana Arigatou Sect): According to the positive view of the Middle Way, although there is a very strong sense of reality in the five aggregates of the realm of human beings, such as the world of reality (color), in the positive view of the Middle Way, all things are born out of karma, and are integrated and active in a variety of relational conditions; if one seeks to find the ultimate reality, that is unattainable. This is not only the case for the world's recognized "false existence" (composite body), such as a house or a forest, but also for the fact that there is no self that is free from causes. It is also true of the commonly established "reality" (in this regard, identify with the "real self"). The Buddha used a metaphor, such as the "flame of the sun"-a water vapor rising in the sunlight, forming a fluctuating pool of clear water as far as the eye can see. Not only will thirsty deer run towards it (hence the name "deer love"), but people will also mistake it for water. In the desert, it is not uncommon to see water in the distance, but when you go up to it, there is nothing there. It seems to be true, but in fact, it is not as we see, hear and realize. This is "like an illusion", "like a transformation", "like a flame". ...... This is the positive view of the "non-self-existence of origination".1 The "realm" is like the red color of a flower, and how attractive and seductive is that bright and attractive color? However, is this the color red? There are people who are called "color-blind" and cannot see red. This is a small minority among humans, and is of course considered a pathological abnormality. However, in the animal world, most of the cows and pigs do not see the same red color as humans, so is it true that most of the animal world is sick and abnormal? By no means. From the standpoint of animals, can't we say that people who are tempted by the color red and become obsessed with it are insane? In modern physics, color is nothing, let alone. In the different perceptions of the realm of beings, it is to be determined by the combination of the physiological mechanism (eye), and light, etc., which determines its color. Color, sound, smell, taste, and touch-the physical world of the senses, interpreted as external, is not only compounded falsely, but has no self to be attained. Even the smallest of objects - atoms, electrons, in short the smallest of objects - cannot exist apart from karma. Without a specific physiological organization (root), and a habitual mental relationship, it is impossible for us to specify its body (identity) and call it what it is.2 The mind "consciousness" is not only a complex synthesis of "corresponding" activities of the mind and the mind, but it also has the root and the realm as the cause. If the root is damaged and the realm is not present, then the mind cannot be present. The content of one's mind is greatly influenced by one's previous habits. Therefore, even the mind of this thought has no self-nature.3 "Roots," in terms of the five previous roots-eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body-there are no roots that can exist independently of one another and function as such. For example, the eye root has the function of being able to see, but if there is a large amount of blood loss, or if the relevant nerves are injured (or if one enters into meditation, etc.), the eye will not be able to function. Further, what is the eye root? The eye is just a mass of flesh, the pure color within the mass of flesh (near the end of the optic nerve), and this is all a composite body such as analyzing and extrapolating to the finest point, that any point, can not be independent and have the ability to see the role of the eye: then the eye's self-nature is what? So everything in the real world, everything is just the existence of karmic relations; in the specific circumstances of karmic relations, the formation of the existence of space-time.
The five skandhas, such as color, or the eighteen realms, such as the eye, are said by the Buddha to be the "Laws arising from karma". The sutra says: "Emptiness corresponds to karma". According to the Chinese viewer, this is the karmic law that has no self-nature and corresponds to emptiness. Since it is based on karma, there is no isolated and unique nature. There is no eternal non-variable (constant) nature, and the karmic existence that is not one (or not different), not very (or not broken), is non-actual (or not real). Such karmically generated dharmas are said to be empty from the absence of self-nature, and they are emptiness, which is the victory of emptiness, which is obedient to the victory of righteousness (the victory of righteousness that is presently realized cannot be established), and even though they are empty of self-nature, karmic dharmas are manifested under the relationship of cause and effect. This is the worldly existence of "name only, appearance only, and falsehood only. The ancients briefly called it: "After all, it is empty, but there is something, and there is nothing after all. It is like the illusion, the transformation, and the flame of the sun. It is said to be real, but when one looks y into it, there is no reality to be gained. But if you say it is not, it is visible and audible, clearly manifested. In the worldly dispensation, cause and effect are clear and not in the least unruly. Therefore, emptiness does not impede karmic existence, and existence does not impede the emptiness of self-nature ("color is emptiness, and emptiness is color"). Further, it is precisely because it is causally existent that it is sexually empty; if it were not causally existent, it would not be sexually empty. On the other hand, because everything is empty, it comes into being according to karma; if it is not empty, but has a self-nature, then it is a real nature, one and constant, and will not come into being according to karma. In this way, not only is there emptiness according to karma, but all dharmas can be established according to the meaning of emptiness. Such causal existence and non-self-existent emptiness are dependent on each other, and are identical and unimpeded. For example, if there is not emptiness, then there is a (real) existence; and if there is emptiness but not existence, then there is an evil emptiness that is devoid of causal reality. To be free from such two-sided delusion and to be free from obstacles is the right view of the Middle Way. However, in the minds of beings-human beings-everything is that real! The reality (self-nature) that is presented to the human mind is a misrepresentation. Deceived by such confusion, they develop all kinds of attachments, have all kinds of worries, create all kinds of karma, suffer all kinds of suffering, and are unable to be liberated from the flow of birth and death. It is only through the illumination of karma and the deep search for the unattainability of self-nature ("seeing that the five skandhas are all empty") that one can break through the chaotic and delusional attachments to reality, and realize the "after all emptiness" of all dharmas that is "free of all discourses," and be liberated from birth and death ("free of all sufferings"). At the time of faith, understanding, hearing, and thinking, one has the correct view of the emptiness of color and emptiness, so "Prajna will enter into emptiness after all, eliminating all the jugglery; convenience will leave emptiness after all, and the land will be ripe for birth". Not being averse to birth and death, not being happy with nirvana, one achieves the right path of the Mahayana Bodhisattva.
The Vaisnavas, who succeeded the Middle Way Buddhists, showed the meaning of emptiness in terms of causation; they emphasized cause and effect by saying that all dharmas are empty; and they established the Mahayana path of not attaching to birth and death and not abiding in Nirvana through the triumph of emptiness, which was the same as that of the Middle Way Buddhists. In Indian Buddhism, these two streams have always maintained the fundamental position of Sakyamuni Buddhism - the position of karmic neutralism (non-metaphysical). However, due to the difference in the way of thinking inherited from the Sakyamuni, the interpretation of "color is emptiness and emptiness is color" is not the same as that of the Vaisnavas. The Vaisnavites interpret "emptiness" as two things: First, the delusional nature that has no self-nature - omnipresent nature - is empty, which means that it has no self-nature. Secondly, the true reason that has a self - the nature of reality, which is manifested from the practice of emptiness; manifested from emptiness, so it is called emptiness, in fact, it is "emptiness manifested by nature", emptiness is there. The solution of "existence" is also divided into two: First, the "false existence" of delusion, which is manifested by the falsehood of names, and this is the nature of all-pervasive attachment. Second, the "self-existence" of karmic nature - the nature of attachment, which is said to be secular and not real with respect to the reality of victory. To the "false-phase-establishment" of pervasive nature, this is "self-establishment," which is there, and can be called victoriously there. The existence of the all-pervasive nature (incorporeal fickle falsehood) is empty; the existence of the dependent nature (incorporeal scholastic falsehood) is non-empty, non-existent. If it is said to be empty, then it is the emptiness of evil taking. It is on this point that the 'controversy between emptiness and existence' is formed.
The difference between the two schools of thought stems from the way they think, and is manifested in the different meanings of emptiness and existence. The delusional nature is empty, which is the same as each other. The Chinese viewer also says that it is a false name, and that the true meaning is unsettled, and that it does not matter whether it is empty or not, or whether there is something or not. However, it cannot be established, and is compatible with the meaning of emptiness, so it might as well be called emptiness. "Emptiness" contains two meanings, namely, separation from attachment and manifestation of reason, so it is "broken and manifested". The only consciousness thinks: Dharma nature is no matter empty or not empty, there is not there, but can not say there is no (the only consciousness is to empty for no), then "away from clinging to send interpretation", should be said to be there. However, the focus of the argument between the two schools of thought is still on the nature of dependent origination - the emptiness of karmic law. According to the Chinese viewpoint, karmic dharmas are existent, but they are illusory and transformative; they are chaotic; they are seemingly existent, but now they are "real". As an example ("The easy-to-understand emptiness is a metaphor for the difficult-to-understand emptiness"), it is not a delusion to say that the distant view of the "flame of the sun" is like water, but there is indeed a watery phase in the karmic relationship; this watery phase cannot be said not to be empty. All cause-generated dharmas such as color and other five skandhas, which appear to be real - "self-existence" - are not delusional, but give rise to delusion, and are therefore called "deception. Such an existence cannot be said not to be empty. However, to say that it is empty is not to say that there is nothing, but only that there is no "self-nature," which does not hinder the manifestation of a phase. In this way, the theory of "there is nothing but emptiness" (applied by the Chinese metaphysical Buddhism) was established. According to the Vaisnavites, the law of eta-arising is based on the use of phases, and cause and effect are different from each other. What kind of seed gives rise to what kind of existence is called "separate self-origination". This is called "separate self-origination." Such a manifestation of phases and causality cannot be said to be empty. The main difference between the two schools comes down to the fact that the existing self-manifestation of karmic origination may or may not be empty. The Vaisnavas think that this is something that is there and not empty, and so they interpret the sutra "color is emptiness and emptiness is color" to mean that it is about the nature of all-pervasive attachment (of color, etc.), such as seeing a snake on a rope, and that this kind of snake's meaning is empty and has no self-existent nature. If we talk about the law of causation, we cannot say that "color is emptiness and emptiness is color. Of course, it is not possible to say about the nature of the reality (emptiness), which is non-existent and non-destructive, so how can it be the same! The only thing that can be said about attachment - color, etc. - and the emptiness of the reality is that "color is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from color". As the Discussion of the Middle Ground says, "There is only emptiness in this, and there is also this in the other," which indicates the non-dissimilarity of the natures, emptiness and existence. Therefore, it can be said that, in regard to the nature of emptiness and emptiness (such as color and emptiness), the strength of the Vaisnava is in the strictness of the separation; and the positive view of emptiness and emptiness, which is unobstructed, can not be denied to the Chinese viewer.
"Color is emptiness, and emptiness is color" is not just a theoretical one, but a matter of practice. The "seeing the emptiness of the five skandhas" of Prajna is to use "color is emptiness, emptiness is color" - the positive view of emptiness as a convenient way to enter into the "emptiness of all dharmas". In terms of method, it is koan, the view of emptiness - "when it is not yet realized, it is called emptiness (samadhi, the name of the Vaisnava Sutra is Kagyu Undifferentiated Wisdom)". Because of the deepening of the practice of emptiness view, the realization of the actual reality - "when it is accomplished, it is called Prajna" (also known as the Fundamental Undifferentiated Wisdom in the Vaisnava Sect). In terms of method, it is koan, but although koan is based on cessation and is practiced to the extent that cessation and koan are both practiced, koan is not cessation. By the time one achieves the virtue, prajna and meditation will correspond to each other, and meditation and wisdom will be equal, but prajna paramitra is not meditation paramitra. Speaking of koan, koan is contemplation, choice. It is to choose that all dharmas are empty of self-nature; or to choose that the name is not real and to enter into the positive view of the meaninglessness of consciousness alone, and prajna is triggered from the practice of koan. The Middle Way (undifferentiated view) is not the same as the practice of rest, and is fundamentally different from the undifferentiated jhāna, which is attained by going straight down to the point of no differentiation. It is not even the same as some of the similar fixations, not to mention the illusory ones. Not to mention the similar transcendental experiences of the body and mind caused by the power of mantras and medicines! To interpret the supernormal experience caused by the power of medicine as "color is emptiness, emptiness is color," is certainly unorthodox, and to praise it exclusively on the theory of the school of thought, there is still a long way to go for the sutra of "color is emptiness"!
One is the misunderstanding arising from doctrinal concepts such as the idea that life is suffering, that there is no other world, and that everything is empty.
2. Institutional misunderstandings such as monkhood and vegetarianism.
Thirdly, the misunderstandings arising from rituals such as Buddhist rites, worship, and chanting.
4. Misunderstandings arising from Buddhist phenomena such as the decline of the nation if one believes in Buddhism and the unproductive nature of Buddhism.
The Guru took great pains to explain all these to dispel the misconceptions of the general public about Buddhism.
Other examples such as "The Shariputra Explained" and "Mount Sumeru and the Four Continents" all present very reasonable views on these issues from the standpoint of both the Sutra and secular meanings of Buddhism, while respecting modern scientific knowledge and highlighting the spirit of the Buddha's teachings, which are worthy of readers' reference.