A Heart Sutra Journey | Part Nine

"O SHARIPUTRA, ALL DHARMAS ARE FORMS OF EMPTINESS; NOT BORN, NOT DESTROYED; NOT STAINED, NOT PURE; WITHOUT LOSS, WITHOUT GAIN."

Yesterday it was made evident that all of the material world, mental constructs, and consciousness are emptiness. Avalokitesvara now addresses teachings (dharmas).

Dharmas play a special role in the Buddhist tradition. Revered as one of the three "jewels", we take refuge in the dharma during jukai - or the precepts ceremony. Shariputra was doctrinally very astute and had tirelessly studied the dharma from a young age. As a compiler of Buddha's teachings, Shariputra would know better than many of the power and truth of the teachings. Yet Avalokitesvara is unequivocal: all dharmas, too, are emptiness. There is no mystical workaround or magic religious formula to reference emptiness - they are intrinsically free of self-existence, too. The reference to the opposing pairs is to underscore the fact that dharmas are not self-referential. They are the same as emptiness and as such can not be born or destroyed, stained or made pure, added to or subtracted from.

The first Zen Patriarch, Bodhidharma, arrived in China from India sometime around 520 C.E. and was summoned by Emperor Wu. Wu asked Bodhidharma what the most important principle of Buddhism was. Bodhidharma replied, "Vast emptiness. No Holiness." Even if you encounter Holiness on your path - simply tuck it into emptiness and continue. If you carve the sacred out of emptiness, you create the profane.

There may be a tendency to feel a little bit of despair when we talk about folding everything into emptiness and letting go of mental constructs. But when you place everything inside of emptiness, including your own self, what is it? This is where Avalokitesvara is taking us - and I think you will find it wonderful...

See the full text of the Heart Sutra at: https://oneriverzen.org/heart-sutra