The Heart Sutra – An Elaboration
Buddhism started with a minute analysis of the human personality (the pudgala) into the elements (dharma) of which it is composed. These elements were divided into good and bad, those that can be purified or defiled and also those that are considered to be neutral. Ordinary life was considered as a condition of degradation and misery. The purifying elements were those moral features that led to Nirvana - an unconditioned element. The defiling ones led one to a life of suffering. That then was our mental life. There was no Ego, no Soul and Personality. The so called personality was a collection of ever changing, interrelated elements. It was the Lord Buddha’s teaching as interpreted by the Theravadins, the “Doctrines of the Elders”.
With the emergence of the Mahayanist, all physical and mental elements which were interrelated, dependent on each other were view as unreal. The real, ultimate existence or ultimate reality is a reality that is free of all relations and interdependence, it was unconditioned. It was a No-Elements doctrine, a doctrine of relativity and unreality of all elementary data into which existence has been analyzed.
The Sutra opens with the early Buddhist understanding of what constitutes the individual Self; the form and the remaining four other mental aggregates. It then when on to discuss other early Buddhist teachings and how it is view and interpreted from the Mahayanist perspective. The language of negation is used to describe what ultimate reality is, as it is something beyond concepts and can only be grasped by intellectual intuition only. But when one have ‘arrived’ at that state of realization, there are certain qualities that will become evident in the person which can be described. This is expounded in the later part of the Sutra when it dwelled on the paramitas of the Mahayanist.
There are many translation of the Heart Sutra. This is one, as follows:
When Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was practicing the profound Prajna Paramita, he illuminated the Five Skandhas and saw that they are all empty, and he crossed beyond all suffering and difficulty.
Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. So too are feeling, cognition, formation, and consciousness.
Shariputra, all Dharmas are empty of characteristics. They are not produced, not destroyed, not defiled, not pure; and they neither increase nor diminish. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, feeling, cognition, formation, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no sights, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch, or Dharmas; no field of the eyes up to and including no field of mind consciousness; and no ignorance or ending of ignorance, up to and including no old age and death or ending of old age and death. There is no suffering, no accumulating, no extinction, and no Way, and no understanding and no attaining.
Because nothing is attained, the Bodhisattva through reliance on Prajna Paramita is unimpeded in his mind. Because there is no impediment, he is not afraid, and he leaves distorted dream-thinking far behind. Ultimately Nirvana! All Buddhas of the three periods of time attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi through reliance on Prajna Paramita. Therefore know that Prajna Paramita is a Great Spiritual Mantra, a Great Bright Mantra, a Supreme Mantra, an Unequalled Mantra. It can remove all suffering; it is genuine and not false. That is why the Mantra of Prajna Paramita was spoken. Recite it like this:
Gaté Gaté Paragaté Parasamgaté Bodhi Svaha!
"When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.”
The Mahayanists considered those who practices according to the Doctrines of the Elders, as practices that benefit the individual self only. On the other hand, the Mahayana practice is aimed not just for the benefit of self but is also for others as well. Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was chosen to demonstrate to the followers of the Theravada the full dimension of the Mahayana teaching.
“was practicing the profound Prajna Paramita."
After the first moment of the non intelligible perception of our senses, the intellect takes over, and starts the thought process of constructing what was perceived by our senses into an external object and the discriminating subject perceiving it. With the perceived object, mental states such as our feelings and volitions too arises, these provides the occasions for craving and clinging to develop in the self. Craving and clinging comes about due the present of an Ego.
The perfection of Wisdom (Prajna) is profound, as it required the practitioner to go beyond our thought construction, beyond discriminating knowledge, beyond duality of mind to realized and attain Truth itself, and the abandoning of our Ego. It is to go beyond birth and death.
"He illuminated the Five Skandhas and saw that they are all Empty."
The Buddha taught that an individual is a combination of five aggregates of existence, called the Five Skandhas (aggregates). These are: Form, Feeling, Cognition, Mental formations and Consciousness.
The first is our physical form.
The second is made up of our feelings, both emotional and physical.
The third, cognition which is when a sense organ comes into contact with an object, be it physical, mental, or an idea, causes thoughts to arise follows with conceptualization and reasoning.
The fourth skandha, mental formations, includes habits, prejudices, predisposition, volition, and other mental states both virtuous and not virtuous. The causes and effects of karma are of this aggregate.
The fifth skandha, consciousness, is awareness of or sensitivity to an object, but without conceptualization. Once there is awareness, the third skandha might recognize the object and assign a concept-value to it, and the fourth skandha might react with desire or revulsion or some other mental formation.
The Buddha taught that our egos, personalities and the sense that the “self” are just illusory effects of the skandhas. Through mindfulness contemplation, we should see these aggregates of existence as they rise and fall and not cling on to them. Once our clinging to the skandha diminishes, so too the notion of a separate “self” and the Ego. It will lead us to apprehend that these aggregates as having no intrinsic reality.
The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, does not allow his mind to discriminate: Seeing is seeing, hearing is hearing, smelling is smelling, tasting is tasting, knowing is knowing, understanding is standing; They arises when right conditions are there, ceases when these conditions disappear, they are relative, they are empty, empty of all self existence.
"and He cross beyond all Suffering and difficulty."
Ignorance (delusion) and desire are the root causes of our suffering. Ignorance is not able to see the true nature of things and in the believed that an independent “I” existed, which give rise to the suffering of the cycle of birth and death. Desire is craving for pleasure, material goods, and immortality, and can never be satisfied. As a result, desiring them can only bring suffering. With the realization that the Skandhas are relative and empty of any self existence, our ignorance and wrong views of existence is abandoned and with it the clinging to an Ego and the notion of a separate “I”.
The Buddha taught there are three main kinds of Sufferings (dukkha). These are:
Suffering or Pain - Ordinary suffering, in the form of physical, emotional and mental pain.
Impermanence or Change - Thing that is subject to change, such as happiness, sadness, worries and even the state of bliss experienced in spiritual practice, its rise and fall with passing time.
Conditioned States - To be conditioned is to be dependent on or affected by something else. According to the teaching of dependent origination, all phenomena are conditioned. Everything affects everything else. This is also suffering as it gives rise to the clinging to the skandhas with all its accompanying ills and difficulties.
When Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara perceived that all the five skandhas are void, he had transcended all suffering and its accompanying difficulty. It does not mean that suffering of pain in the form of physical, emotional and mental are not there, it is just that we do not cling or be overwhelmed by it.
"Sariputra, Form Does not Differ from Emptiness, Emptiness Does Not Differ From Form. Form itself is Emptiness and Emptiness itself is Form; so too are Feelings, Cognition, Formation, and Consciousness."
Sariputra was the best, the most advanced disciple of Theravada Buddhism, renowned for his wisdom. This part of the sutra is thus directed at the adherents of the Theravadins.
Words and names are indirect knowledge obtain from our memories, thought construction and concepts. They are also dual in nature. The word “Blue” come about after our intellect has run through all that is consider as “not-Blue” and “other than Blue” before arriving at the conclusion that what we saw is called “Blue”.
The paradox nature of the above passages is difficult to explain in words, more so when the word “Emptiness” is used to describe a realization that is non-dual in nature.
To say Form is empty of any self existence can be intellectually analyzed and understood. It is another matter altogether to become “aware and feel” that it is so as it require one to go beyond our dualistic intellectual thought process. It is like saying, “if you open your mouth you are already wrong, if you give rise to a single thought you are in error." It is the silence that follows after the sound of discussion has ceased and when the role of thought is over. The result of this realization will eventual leads us on to the path of letting go of our clinging and grasping of the Self. This realization can only be designate a term; in this case, “Emptiness” is assigned. Of course we can also call this realization “a leave” or “a flower” if one has not as yet designate “leave” and “flower” to some other things already.
Form is not just empty of any inherent existence, what is percept by the senses are momentary flash of energy only and have the character of being instantaneous, of being spit in discrete moments, and they disappear as soon as they appear. Matter does not exist apart from sense-data and everything necessarily must have an end. We would have notice by observation, that such thing as fire, changes every moment, so do our thoughts, even our body is constantly changing. This is the true nature of all things when it is perceive by a mind that does not try to grasp and cling on to everyday objects which have been constructed by our imagination and stabilized. “Form is Emptiness”, is a realization that the nature of all things are void of all inherent self existence.
There is motion always going on in living reality, but what we noticed are only some special moments which we stabilized in our imagination. This is the function of our understanding which differentiated these sensations into subject and object. This is the first construction of our mind and in which further cognition is accompanied by an Ego. Ego is always emotional, be it in very slight degree. Objects perceived can give rise to desirable or undesirable, pleasant or unpleasant feelings. The stronger these emotions are, the stronger will be the present of the Self in us and the more it will cling on to the existence of the physical body without the individual realizing that it is the body that goes through the cycle of birth and death and what is deathless is the pure mind. It is in this mind that all things arise and cease. “Emptiness is Form”, is the realization that it is in this imperishable and indestructible mind that all Form takes shape. Mind itself when polluted by passions and ignorance is phenomenal life, that very Mind when empty of it is deliverance. There is no “Is” or not-“Is”; it is devoid of all duality.
The skandha of form embodies eleven dharmas (constituent factors) consisting of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, the five attachments or aversions of these senses plus the thoughts of our mind. All these are "not different from Emptiness" as well, therefore "form does not differ from Emptiness, and the Emptiness does not differ from form."
The remaining four skandhas are the domain of the Mind. Once the skandha of form are found to be empty of a separate, lasting self, the mind skandhas were also be found to be empty. Feelings, cognition, perception and consciousness are, likewise, recognized as void of selfhood: Emptiness is their true essence.
"Sariputra, All Dharmas are empty of Characteristics. They are not Produced, not Destroyed, not Defiled, not Pure, and they neither Increase, nor Diminish."
In the Theravada tradition, form, feeling, cognition, formation and consciousness are considered to be the ultimate reality. They are the final irreducible component of existence. These are the dharmas, the ultimate entities that existed. In combination, they give rise to conventional reality such as persons, animals and also give the apparent stability to objects in our daily lives. When conditions are not there, they cease to be. In other word, there is conditioned birth and death.
Feeling, cognition, and consciousness combined, give rise to the fifty two mental formations of wholesome (pure) and unwholesome (defile) factors. These mental formations will also rise and cease with the state of consciousness we are in. At the same time, such beautiful factors as mindfulness and love and unwholesome factors such as greed and delusion will also increase or diminishes dependant on the zest in our cultivations.
To the Mahayanist, these are all worldly dharmas, by themselves they do not existence, their existence are due to the dependence on each other, the characteristic that are attributed to them are not real and do not exist and should also be abandoned as well. Rejecting unwholesome factors, clinging to wholesome one, these are acts that will eventually give rise to yet another attachment because of our natural tendency toward opinions and prejudice. It is only when discriminating thought no longer arises that liberation can be attained. That they are not produced, not destroyed, not defiled, not pure; that they neither increase, not diminished are also distinguishing marks of their emptiness.
"Therefore, in Emptiness there is No Form, Feeling, Cognition, Formation or Consciousness. No Eye, Ears, Nose, Tongue, Body, or Mind; No Sights, Sounds, Smells, Tastes, Objects of Touch or Dharmas; No Field of the Eyes, up to and Including No Field of Mind Consciousness.”
Form come into existence when a deluded mind crave for it, when the mind no longer grasp for it, form will ceases to exist and with it, the other four mental aggregate of feeling, cognition, formation and consciousness as well.
The teaching on Emptiness is also connected with the eighteen worldly dharmas, where the objects of the world, the senses and the senses’ consciousness combined to give us the deluded views of permanence and the independence of individual existence.
The supra-mundane Emptiness of True Existence is possessed by all and we are endowed with the same truth and would come to know it, that is, once we relinquished our discriminating mind. Anyone can become a buddha spontaneously by deeply comprehending that "all existences are Emptiness."
"and No Ignorance or Ending of Ignorance, Up to and Including No Old Age and Death and Ending of Old Age and Death."
This part of the Sutra is made in reference to the Doctrine of Dependent Origination of the Twelve Causal Links of existence of the Theravada teaching. It falls under the sphere of the five skhandhas which was discussed above. Since these skhandas were found to be empty, the twelve links are also empty of any ultimate reality.
The wheel of Twelve Causal Links represents the whole of phenomenal life itself. The series is conditioned by the central element of Ignorance. (1) Due to our Ignorance, we cling on to a self, (2) Our pass karma then, provide the conditioning factors for the next life, (3) Consciousness arises, which again carries the sense of self, (4) It give rise to name and form, the individual mental and physical constituents, (5) Follow by our six senses, (6) Accompany by our sensations, (7) And the Feeling of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral states, (8) Which give rise to our Desires, (9) Allowing free actions of clinging, grasping, (10) Which brought about future becoming again, (11) New birth in the six realms, (12) Follow by old age and death. The whole series of process is only interrupted, when the element of Ignorance is extinct. This is the Theravada special law of moral causation.
To free oneself from confusion or ignorance is a requisite for right or correct practice. When ignorance is eliminated, all delusory activity ceases. Without grasping there can be no becoming, which means that all future rebirths are extinguished. Without birth there is no aging and death and that is the end of pain, grief, lamentation and anguish.
Those who practice the dharma of the Twelve Causal Links would be liberated from birth and death, but will not have reached the realm of buddhahood without the realization that they are in themselves empty and are not ultimate reality.
To understand the essential Emptiness of all existence is to understand the True Mind. To see one's Self Nature enables the attainment of buddhahood, because when the ignorance of the existence of a permanent self is dispelled and recognized as empty of any such self existence, there is nothing left to cling on. Therefore the sutra says "also there is no ending of ignorance", as originally, there is no such thing as old age and death and ending of old age and death. They are just the product of our conceptual mind.
"There is No Suffering, No Accumulating, No Extinction, and No Way.”
This sentence deals with Emptiness as the ground of the Four Noble Truths. The Truths are stated as; there is Suffering, Causes of Suffering, Cessation of Suffering and the Way to the Cessation of Suffering. The teaching transcends the mundane and provides access to sainthood. A saint from the Theravada tradition attains the path and the fruit on the basis of one’s practice of The Four Noble Truths. The Mahayana attainment is in the realm of the supra-mundane. The suffering spoken of is the suffering in this world. Its causes are, likewise, of this world, the path is operative in this world and Nirvana or cessation of suffering is our exit from this world. The path, which is the Noble Eightfold Path provides for the practice aimed toward enlightenment.
The first of the Noble Truths is presented in three aspects:
Suffering or Pain - Ordinary suffering, in the form of physical, emotional and mental pain.
Impermanence or Change - Thing that is subject to change, such as happiness, sadness, worries and even the state of bliss experienced in spiritual practice, its rise and fall with passing time.
Conditioned States - To be conditioned is to be dependent on or affected by something else. According to the teaching of dependent origination, all phenomena are conditioned. Everything affects everything else. This is also suffering as it gives rise to the clinging to the skandhas with all its accompanying ills and difficulties.
The second of the Noble Truths posits the cause of suffering as craving which produces becoming, accompanied by passionate clinging. Numerous causes come together, and we know that our present suffering is the effect of previous causes. Likewise, our present behavior is the foundation for future effects. The cause of suffering is a cluster of six root defilements: Greed, hatred, ignorance, pride, doubt and heterodox views and together with the lesser defilements cause all the suffering in the world.
The third of the Noble Truths follows logically from the first two. If craving is removed or transcended, there will be no more suffering. Cessation means calmness and extinction, or Nirvana, yearning for Nirvana, will made one resolve to practice and attain the path and the fruit, i.e., Nirvana.
The fourth Noble Truth makes the teaching a complete whole. Those who focus their desire on attaining the supra-mundane Nirvana can break off the causes of suffering and practice toward enlightenment. The practice of discipline removes the obstacle of greed, meditation reduces delusion and the two combined foster wisdom.
The practitioner of the teaching of the Four Noble Truths should reach understanding of the cause of suffering and direct one’s efforts toward the dissolution of the cause of suffering and resolve to attain Nirvana.
At the time the Buddha set the wheel in motion by teaching the Four Noble Truths, the followers of the Theravada tradition attained sainthood. In the later teaching, the Buddha taught the Dharma of Emptiness to promote the understanding of the supra-mundane Emptiness of True Existence. We have seen the emptiness of the five skandhas, the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths is also empty as well. There is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation of suffering and no path. They are just like the reflection on a mirror. The reflection is not separate from that which reflects it; the reflective surface and the reflection are one. To understand this means to be close to enlightenment.
"There is No Understanding, and No Attaining."
This part of the sutra concerns the teaching of the six paramitas (perfections), the bodhisattva practice of Giving, Discipline, Patience, Effort, Concentration and Wisdom which can take one across the Sea of Suffering, enter Nirvana and attain enlightenment. Allowing one's actions to be guided by the paramitas, one will surely attain the path and the fruit. Each of the six paramitas is an antidote for each of the six fundamental defilements
Giving eliminates greed, Discipline cures laziness, Patience overcomes hatred, Effort overcomes laxity, Concentration cools the mind making it receptive to Wisdom and Wisdom dispels ignorance. The Mahayana doctrine of action and principle differs from the Theravada as to its intention. Besides cultivating the paramitas, one should endeavor to liberate all sentient beings by leading them toward an upward path while seeking one’s own enlightenment.
According to the Buddha, "there is no understanding and there is no attainment". It means that the paramitas and the bodhisattva action are not entities to be grasped, conceptualized, and manipulated. The six paramitas and the bodhisattva action are like the reflection in the mirror, since they are all amenable to change and therefore empty of self. The true nature of a mirror is its capacity to receive and relinquish all that goes on in front of it without holding on to any part of it. If the paramitas are practiced with the understanding that they are rooted in Emptiness, the great enlightenment can be attained. Non-wisdom is the true wisdom, non-attainment is the true attainment.
"Because nothing is attained, the Bodhisattva through reliance on Prajna Paramita is unimpeded in his Mind.”
"Nothing is attained" is the all-important theme of the Sutra. The impediment refers here to the working of the: The impediment of deeds done in the past, the impediment of retribution and the impediment of earthly desire.
Since the bodhisattva cannot seek outside help when dealing with these impediments, he has to rely on insights provided by his own radiant wisdom for his attainment of freedom. The first of the impediment to break off is the impediment of retribution. Since the infinite past, we have accumulated much heavy karma in our past existences. Unless we embrace the True Law, we will be obliged to carry such a karmic debt and to suffer karmic retribution in this present life and perhaps in future lifetimes as well. Therefore, when we encounter various hardships in the course of Buddhist practice, we can consider them as the retribution of slanderous deeds in the past, effects that would otherwise have had to be experienced to a greater degree and over a much longer period of time. A bodhisattva would have already discarded this obstruction, and anxiety would also vanish from his mind.
"Because there is no Impediment, He is not afraid,"
This is the removal of the impediment to action, cause by bad karma created by committing any of the five cardinal sins or ten evils. The five sins are the killing of one’s own parents, an arhat, injuring a Buddha and causing disunity in the Buddhist Order, the ten evils are the precepts of not killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, five kinds of wrong speeches, covetousness and wrong views.
When the body and mind is not impeded by our past actions and deeds, we are free of worry and fear. There are five kinds of fear, and those who have not break off delusion yet, who are in the early stages of the bodhisattva career, are particularly susceptible:
(1) Fear of being left without sustenance after giving away all possessions; (2) Fear of being insignificant after giving up one's reputation; (3) Fear of dying in situations that call for self-sacrifice; (4) Fear of falling into evil circumstances; (5) Fear of addressing an assembly, especially in the presence of important people.
These five fears obstruct Dharma practice and without them there is no impediment to action.
"and He leaves distorted dream-thinking far behind.”
This statement is related to the obstacle or impediment of desire. That obstruction has its root in the defilement of ignorance arising from the three poisons of greed, anger, and foolishness, manifested as mistaking the impermanent for permanent, the ugly for beautiful, and suffering for happiness. It is the way of people of mundane interests. The bodhisattva whose perception has been clarified through Prajna has been liberated to a great extent from this impediment.
"Ultimate Nirvana!"
When there is no more mental pain or grief, Nirvana becomes perceptible, comprehensible, inviting and attractive. It is the complete and final cessation of greed or craving, hatred and ignorance, and therefore the cessation of rebirth and of the continuity of life. Prajna, and consequently freedom, manifest themselves to their fullest. Nirvana cannot be expressed through words; it has to be experienced.
"All Buddhas of the Three Periods of Time Attain Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi through reliance on Prajna Paramita. Therefore know that Prajna Paramita is a Great Spiritual Mantra, a Great Bright Mantra, a Supreme Mantra, an Unequalled Mantra. It can remove all Suffering; It is Genuine and not False.”
Prajna is proclaimed to be the perfect, ultimate Dharma of supreme relevance not only to bodhisattvas but also to all the past, present and future Buddhas as well.
The perfected Wisdom (Prajna) here is then equated with the qualities of a Mantra. Mantra is a “tool for thinking”, a “thing which creates a mental picture”. With its sound it calls forth its content into a state of immediate reality. Mantra is power. It is not mere speech which the mind can contradict. The words are deeds, acting immediately. The power and the effect of a mantra depend on the spiritual attitude, the knowledge and the responsiveness of the individual. The sound of a mantra is not a physical sound but a spiritual one. It should be heard by the heart and uttered by the mind. Mantra has power and meaning only to one who has gone through a particular kind of experience connected with the mantra and gives power only to those who are conscious of its inner meaning. Its power and its strength are operative in realms not amenable to manipulation. Its effect can manifest itself instantaneously, transcending the worldly, attaining holiness. When Prajna is here link with a Mantra, it also suggests that the theme and the essence of the Heart Sutra transcends concept.
"That is why the Mantra of Prajna Parmita was spoken. Recite it like this:
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!"
Mantras are esoteric teaching by means of which we are reminded of the subtlety and complexity of the inconceivable Dharma. The teaching of the Heart Sutra includes some exoteric parts, such as the sutras, and some esoteric ones, such as the mantras. Exoteric Teachings are accessible to rational understanding and can be explained, but the meanings of the esoteric or mystic forms of prayer such as mantras are not within the reach of the intellect. During recitation, mantras enable the one reciting them to control both the sound and the timing, but any recognizable words and meanings which would normally hold in one’s mind captive are not there. One has then an opportunity to experience the expanse or space of one’s mind, it being one of mind's very special characteristics.
To recite this mantra by itself, omitting the text of the sutra is a true Mahayana practice of the non-discriminating mind. The inconceivable nature of the teaching is apprehended and the teaching seen as a whole. Thorough study of the sutra and a complete understanding is equal to the meaning implied in the mantra.
The elaboration of the Teachings is here completed. Blessed indeed is one who is acquainted with this Sutra.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:though there is an understanding of dependent origination and emptiness in this article, and the author realized non duality of subject and object, he is still unable to penetrate the truth of anatta and sunk back into substantialist non dualism, aka the inseperability of an inherent awareness with its reflections. but all along awareness is just the flow of reflecting without reflector, the flow of self luminous manifestation. p.s. saw some articles by the same author last time but did not commented until now. many practitioners, teachers and masters fall into the same error
Thanks for your observation. Appreciate if you can elaborate further on how such obstacle can be overcome or recommend relevant material for further reading.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:though there is an understanding of dependent origination and emptiness in this article, and the author realized non duality of subject and object, he is still unable to penetrate the truth of anatta and sunk back into substantialist non dualism, aka the inseperability of an inherent awareness with its reflections. but all along awareness is just the flow of reflecting without reflector, the flow of self luminous manifestation. p.s. saw some articles by the same author last time but did not commented until now. many practitioners, teachers and masters fall into the same error
By the way, what is your take on the “Mind Only Doctrine” of the Yogacara-Vijnanavadin?
Originally posted by Aik TC:By the way, what is your take on the “Mind Only Doctrine” of the Yogacara-Vijnanavadin?
Madhyamaka is said to be a higher view than Yogacara. The reason being, in Yogacara mind is still taken to be real (though empty of self), while objects are said to have no existence apart from the six/eight consciousnesses (mind), but in Madhyamaka all internal and external phenomena including mind are said to be empty.
However, Yogacara is not the same as the view of substantialist non-dualism. Why? Yogacara conceives of mind as being a momentary process without a substantial self. In other words, in Yogacara, consciousness itself is real - it exists as a series, or stream, of successive momentary awareness of events, each immediately replaced by consciousness in the next moment, and is dependent on the consciousness of the preceding instant, and therefore has no substantial, permanent, independent Self-essence.
The author however, is holding the view of a permanent, independently existing Awareness/Mind.
Substantialist non-dualism is a view held by Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Vajrayana's Shentong, and many teachers in Zen etc (but not all). Such teachers, especially in Buddhism, may have an (not yet experiential) understanding of D.O. and emptiness but fails to realize Anatta.
If you read Thusness/PasserBy's Seven Stages of Enlightenment - I AM (Stage 1 & 2) is the first insight into Mind, but at this phase Mind and phenomena are still conceived as separate. At Stage 4, non-dual is realized but it is still substantialist non-dual - non-dual is conceived as the inseparability of an inherent Mind with its reflections/objects. At Stage 5 - there is no mirror, no subject, no inseparability of subject and object because there is no subject to begin with - only a self-luminous stream of manifestations. At Stage 6, emptiness of objects and D.O. is experientially realized (in contrast to theoretically understood).
In the commentary, the author wrote:
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/heartv05.htm
Let us return to the example of the bright mirror. The worldling, unlike the saint, is interested solely in the reflection, never giving as much as a thought to the mirror's reflectivity. Clinging, grasping the reflection, the worldling grasps an incidental occurrence on the mirror's surface and mistakes it for the original. The uninformed fail to understand that all that exists has its nature; earth has earth nature; fire has fire nature; water has water nature; wind has wind nature and consequently the mirror has mirror nature. Our True Nature is also like that and yet most people are confusing illusion with reality, quite unaware of their True Nature. They grasp and cling to reflections and dust. For them the Tao of Bodhi is difficult to attain. The Buddha made use of many expedients while teaching the Dharma of Truth. He repeated over and over again so those who listened could follow his example and attain enlightenment. Reflection in the mirror is impermanent, but the mirror-nature is constant. Reflections come and go, but the reflectivity of the mirror remains. However, the enlightened practitioner in the tradition of Theravada holds form and mind to be two, distinct and separate.
A bodhisattva who attained the intermediate level of practice views the reflection as the characteristic of the mirror's nature, and the mirror's capacity for reflecting is not held as separate from the reflection. There is a cohesive hold, meaning that form and mind are inseparable. It is the material entities that are unreal; that is what "immateriality of substance" means. Although it is true that a bodhisattva is enlightened and the Mahayana doctrine more accomplished then the Theravada one, there is still more that needs to be done. The only complete enlightenment is that of the buddha, and it is attainable only by means of mindfulness, by being observant and by awakening to the Ultimate Truth. Form is mind, mind is form and they are neither two nor one: That is the fundamental Buddhadharma. True Existence is the supramundane Void, and the True Void inconceivably exists.
The author still conceives of a subjective Awareness that is nevertheless inseperable from phenomena.
The author also wrongly misunderstood the Arhant's realization as being only the I AM stage (Mind separate from phenomena), aka Thusness Stage 1 or 2.
The author then wrongly misunderstood the Bodhisattva's realization as being substantialist non-dual, aka Thusness Stage 4.
In reality, Stage 1 to 4 is found in non-Buddhist contemplatives (such as Advaita Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Taoism, Christian mysticism, Islamic sufism, Jewish Kabbalah etc). Luminosity is realized, non-dual is realized, but the inherent view is not removed via insight into anatta and shunyata.
An arya (an enlightened being in Buddhism - sotapanna to arhant, or bodhisattva of various bhumis, etc) must give rise to the insights of anatta and shunyata, the twofold emptinesses - which correspond to Thusness Stage 5 and 6.
Arhants (or even a Sotapanna) are said to realize emptiness of self/anatta, while Bodhisattvas are said to realize the twofold emptinesses (emptiness of self + emptiness of objects), though it could be argued that Arhants also realize the emptiness of objects (nevertheless the Theravadin commentaries made the mistake of giving the elements of skandhas substantiality thus showing the insight into anatta but not the insight into emptiness of objects, thus giving rise to the need for prajnaparamita literatures).
The twofold emptiness are corresponded with Thusness's stages, Stage 5 = "anatta"/emptiness of self/first fold emptiness, Stage 6 = emptiness of objects/second fold emptiness.
Originally posted by Aik TC:
Thanks for your observation. Appreciate if you can elaborate further on how such obstacle can be overcome or recommend relevant material for further reading.
Such obstacle can be overcome by having the right view. Nevertheless, in practice you can still go through the various phases (though with right view you will not be in great danger of getting stuck somewhere for a long time), and I found Thusness's progress of insight to be quite similar to mine as well.
The three 'must read' articles, all written by Thusness, in my blog should clarify these things:
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Such obstacle can be overcome by having the right view. Nevertheless, in practice you can still go through the various phases (though with right view you will not be in great danger of getting stuck somewhere for a long time), and I found Thusness's progress of insight to be quite similar to mine as well.
The three 'must read' articles, all written by Thusness, in my blog should clarify these things:
Thanks for your recommended reading materials.
To said that the Madhyamaka doctrine is of a higher view than Yogacara is not exactly correct. The Idealism of the Yogacara doctrine comes about as a reaction against what appeared to some, as the Madhyamaka extremism and unqualified negation of phenomena. To the Yogacara, what appears is real but not the manner of its appearance. The rope is inherently devoid of the ‘snake’ appearance, but it is not devoid of its own intrinsic nature as a rope. The reality of Vijnana (consciousness) cannot be denied. The reality of subject and object which it is infected is considered as non-existent; emptiness applies to this unreal aspect. To the Vijnanavadin, consciousness is real, not apparent; consciousness alone is real, not the object.
To the Vijnanavadins, the occurrence of illusion, dream-objects, mirage, reflections, etc. shows the self-contained nature of consciousness; its content is the result of its own inner modifications. Objectivity itself is the work of creative thought. Object cannot stand by itself; it is nothing without consciousness on which it is super-imposed. It is consciousness that can undergo modification, and it can purify itself by getting rid of the superimposed duality. One can analysed away everything as an illusion, but illusion itself implies the ground on which the illusory construction can take place. The Vijnanavadin give substance to emptiness by identifying it with Pure Consciousness that is devoid of duality.
If this is substantialism, than Buddhism too have its fair share of it as well; in the doctrine of the Vijnanavadin.
Yogacara view of mind is being non-dual, and real, but due to the belief in subject & object the eight consciousnesses arises. The eight consciousness arises due to the false apprehension of reality. When the view of subject and object dissolves through knowledge and vision, the eight consciousnesses transforms into the five wisdoms. This is the basic stance of Yogacara.
In view of these, all are simply forms of non-dual consciousness, but due to the view of duality, consciousness is "modified" into the eight consciousness.
Yet, this is not the non-Buddhist view of what I call substantialist non-dualism. Why?
The non-Buddhist view of consciousness is that of an ultimate, independent, unchanging, unified and fundamental and over-arching cosmic consciousness. This metaphysical essence, called in many names like God, Brahman, etc, is shared by all forms and beings, and is the ground of being out of which all forms arise.
The Yogacarin's view of consciousness is that of a non-dual, changing, personal and unique consciousness. In other words, there is no cosmic source of all phenomena and beings, there is only individual mindstreams which are however non-dual in nature.
Also, substantialist non-dualism as I and Thusness puts it isn't really no-dualism but a form of monism. It is the view that there is an ultimate Subject, but this ultimate Subject is unified with all its contents such that there is no real division between subject and object. Brahman and the World, Awareness and the contents of Awareness are thus seen as an inseparable seamless unity.
Yogacara is different, there is no ultimate consciousness apart from the process of personal non-dual cognitions. In Yogacara, the nondual mind, the flow of perceptions prior to the dualizing of subject and object, is what is ultimately existent.
Note that even though there is no objectivity and everything is simply the modification of consciousness according to the latent tendencies and karma, unlike non-Buddhist traditions like Advaita or Kashmir Shaivism, consciousness is not the ultimate subject of all perceptions that is the oneness of all (unified without division between subject and object). There is no Subject and Object in yogacara, period. It is not that there is an ultimate Awareness unified with all its contents. There can be no inseparability or unity if there is no Subject ot begin with. Consciousness is not a Subject.
Some reification is happening in Yogacara as consciousness is given some reality, and thus is not the complete understanding of emptiness like Madhyamaka, though Yogacara is skillful in pointing out certain aspects of experiential reality. But in Yogacara, consciousness is not reified into an ultimate, fundamental, over-arching and unchanging consciousness like Hinduism's Atman or Brahman.
So it is this process of personal, unque and non-dual mindstream, empty of subject and object, that is taken to be real in Yogacara. Therefore it is not merely the non-Buddhist substantialist non-dualism. It is not merely Thusness's Stage 4 (substantialist non-dualism).
By the way, Madhyamaka does not deny the appearance of consciousness, but it denies the permanency, selfhood, and inherent existence of consciousness. Emptiness does not deny luminosity, and appearance, it denies a self-existing independent substance. Emptiness and luminosity are fundamentally inseparable. The inseparability of emptiness and luminosity is buddha-nature.
As Buddha himself said in Phena Sutta about the emptiness of consciousness (which is a Pali sutta, which shows that emptiness teachings actually start from the original teachings itself):
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.095.than.html
Form is like a glob of foam; feeling, a bubble; perception, a mirage; fabrications, a banana tree; consciousness, a magic trick — this has been taught by the Kinsman of the Sun. However you observe them, appropriately examine them, they're empty, void to whoever sees them appropriately.
That said, loads of practitioners in Buddhism still get stuck at substantialist non-dual phase, or the I AM phase.
Just curious Aik TC, what tradition of Buddhism do you practice? What is your main practice?
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Just curious Aik TC, what tradition of Buddhism do you practice? What is your main practice?
Well, I do not subscribe to the practices of any particular form of Buddhist schools. My usual daily practice consists of a morning session on the recitation of the Metta Sutta, the Heart Sutra (both of English translated format) and some Mantras with the aid of prayer beads. I would normally spend an hour before bedtime on sitting contemplation on any teaching of the Buddhist doctrine that come to mind. This practice do at time go on to two and up to three hours in one sitting if both body and mind are supple and willing on that day, though it happens only occasionally. These are the occasions when the mind is as its most lucid moment, and understanding and insight on the contemplated subject do tend to just flow in with amazing speed.
In the earlier day of my Buddhist practice, I used the colour Blue as the meditation subject before switching to just using the Buddhist teachings as a source of meditation. I have recently turn to writing as I find that it requires a more in-depth understanding and insight of the subject matter than just reading up on the subject. It is also a way to share the dharmas with other Buddhists. Posting one’s writing on the ‘Wisdom Bliss’ site has the advantage of other fellow believers and moderators correcting one’s mistake and misinterpretation, and also addition information and insight on the subject other may have as well.
Going forward, when I can continue to see all sentient beings in a state of being ‘well and happy’ and feel the same for them too, than I think, I have already lead a good Buddhist life, and all other attainment would be insignificant.
Thanks for the further elaborating of the Yogacara doctrine and sharing it with all.
Originally posted by An Eternal Now:i see. you are an introspective person. i believe you will achieve success if you practice the direct path method of asking yourself “who am i?” as you have great doubt for truth, a necessity for great realization
self inquiry is a direct path method that leads to a non conceptual direct realization of your essence (the I AM realization)
Thanks, I will start the self enquiry as suggested.
Hi All,
Recently I am being drawn to the heart sutra and I hope that I can get some pointers over here.
From what I have realised the Heart Sutra indeed contains a lot of Buddhist principles although it is only 260 words long. I understand the main jist of the sutra is about emptiness but when I read on further about 四谛，八苦，å��äºŒå› ç¼˜ etc., I feel even more counfsed on top of figuring out what exactly is "emptiness".
I would like to find out how should I integrate the heart sutra into my daily life for a beginner? How should I perceive emptiness and the idea of there is no real self?
Thank you :)
The Heart Sutra is very popular and is chant at services in temples very often. My take is that, for most devotees, they just go through the motion of chanting it without any idea of what actually they are chanting about. The beauty of this sutra is that it covers the whole spectrum of the Buddhist teaching from the Theravada and concluding with Tantric Buddhism.
I have been reciting this sutra (the English version) for more than 25 years now. If one is to do just that without going into the meaning of what it is trying to impart to us, it would be a waste of time except maybe, hopefully we will carried the imprint of the sutra with us into our next life and continue with our cultivation again from there.
The foundation of any religious practices starts with the cultivation of virtues, without which one would certainly make little progress in our spiritual cultivation. We can be very intelligent and understand most of the Buddhist teachings, but when it come to such realization as no-self and emptiness, a certain level of purification of our virtues are necessary for one to reached these levels.
I read somewhere in this forum where someone said that their relatives are practicing Buddhists, they go to temple to offer prayers on the 1st and 15th but on the other remaining days of the month they are back to their normal self, gambling, doing all the other ‘normal things’ in life and of course progressing nowhere in their cultivation and asking why. I also read somewhere, where an Indian devotee asked a holy man whether it is true that washing oneself in the Ganges will removed all the sins of a life time. Well, his answer was that, before one submerged oneself in the water all one’s sins will turn into a crow and flew off onto a branch of a tree, and when one emerges from the water, the crow will revert back to its original forms and return back into the person. How true.
The Buddhist five precepts may sound very simple, but to strictly practice it would required the used of the faculty of mindfulness to its maximum. That is why mindfulness is considered to be one of the factors required for enlightenment. To start out with, try to carry out the practice of the five precepts as much, and as often as possible and couple with regular meditation, one should come to understand the Buddhist teachings and scriptures including the Heart Sutra in a much clearer and deeper manner with time. Of course the way to enlightenment for most of us is a gradual and slow process of learning and experiencing, but eventually, be it the realization of no-self or emptiness, one should be able to arrive to these stages in our own little way eventually.
My master said those who truly understand the Heart Sutra would recite it till they cried. I recite the heart sutra in Chinese. The part which really touches me is。。。 æ— çœ¼è€³é¼»èˆŒèº«æ„�, æ— è‰²å£°é¦™å‘³è§¦æ³•ï¼Œæ— çœ¼ç•Œä¹ƒè‡³æ— æ„�识界。。。。。I find this part profound. I seem to understand but don't know whether I really understand ha ha....... May be the day when I fully understand, I will be like what my master said, recite with tears.
Originally posted by manjusaka:Hi All,
Recently I am being drawn to the heart sutra and I hope that I can get some pointers over here.
From what I have realised the Heart Sutra indeed contains a lot of Buddhist principles although it is only 260 words long. I understand the main jist of the sutra is about emptiness but when I read on further about 四谛，八苦，å��äºŒå› ç¼˜ etc., I feel even more counfsed on top of figuring out what exactly is "emptiness".
I would like to find out how should I integrate the heart sutra into my daily life for a beginner? How should I perceive emptiness and the idea of there is no real self?
Thank you :)
Heart sutra is about emptiness and if you can see through that everything is emptiness and impermanent ( I think heart sutra is more profound than these), it will help you to let go a lot of worldly worries and things. You will be a happier person.
I recite heart sutra everyday.
This sutra is good cos It's easy to read.
250 words and this sutra also sumarises the essense of diamond sutra.
Diamond sutra is longer.
Hi Manjusaka,
-off-topic abit... There was once i also felt guilt and "watery eyes" when chanting. It's not Heart Sutra but another one.
I was thinking why am I doing "here"? Why have I done in the "past"?
Now I have a human body which is already very lucky. To have the chance to learn Dharma is even harder... When I know this, i try to maintain fitness for healthier mind. Luckily I also did not made any rash decisions like tattooing my body...
But this body also must eat to survive. Need to work for food... lol
And sleep... Waking up in the morning to work is sooo tiring lol (desire)
Due to this body, i have the chance to learn Dharma, but also due to this body i can't do the things i want to do like sleeping haha... work work... life of a peasant
We should cherish the chance to learn dharma.