A Heart Sutra Journey | Part Thirteen
"NO SUFFERING, NO CAUSE OF SUFFERING, NO EXTINGUISHING, NO PATH;"
The Buddha, having quit his ascetic practice and embraced The Middle Way, sat down under a bodhi tree with the resolve not to rise again until he was fully awakened. Having so accomplished, he proceeded to Deer Park to expound the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, his first sermon. Here, he outlined The Four Noble Truths, and The Eightfold Path:
Suffering - Suffering is characteristic of existence in the realm of rebirth
The Cause of Suffering - The origin of suffering is craving or attachment
The End of Suffering - The cessation of suffering comes with the cessation craving or attachment.
The Eightfold Path - The path to liberation from suffering
Right understanding - The understanding of how suffering emerges
Right thought - The resolution to act with good intention, free from harm
Right speech - Do not lie, abuse, or divide others with speech
Right action - Act in ways that do not harm, i.e., don't kill, steal, or engage in sexual misconduct
Right livelihood - Make a living wholesomely and honestly
Right effort - Strive to give rise to skillful thoughts, words, and acts and renounce unskillful ones
Right mindfulness - Be mindful of your body, feelings, and mind
Right concentration - Practice meditation in the light of the preceding seven considerations
In so doing, the Buddha distilled the wisdom of The Chain of Dependent Origination and gave sound instructions for practice.
Avalokitesvara now looks upon this from the perspective of emptiness and sees that suffering is also free of self-existence, as there is no self to suffer. So there is no cause of suffering, no suffering to extinguish, and therefore no path to liberation.
When all these concepts are extinguished - what is experienced?
See the full text of the Heart Sutra at: https://oneriverzen.org/heart-sutra
