Meditation on Emptiness

Jeffrey Hopkins

• Editorial: Wisdom Publications
• Año: 2014
• ISBN:
  9780861717057
• Categoría: Theology & Religion
• Categoría: Buddhism

In this major work, Jeffrey Hopkins, on e of the world's foremost scholar-practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism, offers a clear exposition of the Prasangika-Madhyamaka view of emptiness as presented in the Ge-luk-ba tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. In bringing this remarkable and complex philosophy to life, he describes the meditational practices by which emptiness can be realized and shows throughout that, far from being merely abstract, these teachings can be vivid and utterly practical. Presented in six parts, this book is indispensable for those wishing to delve deeply into Buddhist thought.

Part One
Meditation

1 Purpose and Motivation

Sources

Jang-gya’s Presentation of Tenets

Kensur Lekden’s oral teachings

Jam-ȳang-shay-ba’s Great Exposition of Tenets

The Perfection of Wisdom Sutras set forth emptiness as the final mode of existence of all phenomena.¹ Nāgārjuna explained the approaches to that emptiness, and Buddhapālita and Chandrakīrti lucidly commented on Nāgārjuna’s explanations in exact accordance with his thought. It is necessary to rely on the perfection of wisdom as these masters explain it, not only to attain omniscience, but even to attain liberation from cyclic existence. One who wishes to become a Hearer Superior, Solitary Realizer Superior, or Bodhisattva Superior must rely on this perfection of wisdom. The Eight Thousand Stanza Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (Aṣhṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā)² says:

Subhuti, one who wishes to realize the enlightenment of a Hearer is to learn just this perfection of wisdom. Subhuti, one who wishes to realize the enlightenment of a Solitary Realizer is to learn just this perfection of wisdom. The Bodhisattva, the Great Being who wishes to realize the supreme perfect complete enlightenment, is also to learn just this perfection of wisdom.

Nāgārjuna’s works teach that realization of the subtle emptiness of all phenomena is a prerequisite for the path of liberation from cyclic existence. His Precious Garland (35ab) says:

As long as the aggregates are [mis]conceived,

So long is there [mis]conception of an I.

One cannot free oneself from cyclic existence merely through cognition of the coarse selflessness of the person. One must realize the final subtle suchness of the person and of the mental and physical aggregates.

One must eradicate the innate non-analytical intellect that misconceives the nature of the person and other phenomena. It is not sufficient merely to withdraw the mind from conceiving a self of persons and of phenomena, or merely to stop the mind’s wandering to objects, for these do not constitute realization of emptiness. If they did, then deep sleep and fainting would absurdly involve realization of emptiness. Āryadeva says:

When selflessness is seen in objects,

The seeds of cyclic existence are destroyed.

Chandrakīrti says in his Supplement to (Nāgārjuna’s) ‘Treatise on the Middle Way’ (VI. 116):³

[Extreme] conceptions arise with [the conception of inherently existent] phenomena.

It has been thoroughly analyzed how phenomena do not [inherently] exist;

When [the conception of an inherently existent] phenomenon does not exist.

These [extreme conceptions] do not arise, just as there is no fire when there is no fuel.

Bhāvaviveka says:

With the mind in meditative equipoise,

Wisdom analyzes in this way

The entities of these phenomena

Apprehended conventionally.

Shāntideva says:

When one has searched [for these] as realities,

Who desires and what is desired?

Dharmakīrti says:

Without disbelieving the object of this [misconception]

It is impossible to abandon [misconceiving it].

With one voice all the Mahāyāna masters proclaim that analysis of objects, and not mere withdrawal of the mind from them, is the path to liberation.

One must analyze well whether the inherent existence of phenomena, as it is conceived by the innate non-analytical intellect, exists or not. Through reasoning and scriptural citation one must ascertain that objects do not exist as conceived and penetratingly understand the falseness of inherent existence. It is very important to analyze again and again with discriminating wisdom. The King of Meditative Stabilizations Sutra (Samādhirāja) says:

If the selflessness of phenomena is analyzed

And if this analysis is cultivated,

It causes the effect of attaining nirvana.

Through no other cause does one come to peace.

The Cloud of Jewels Sutra (Ratnamegha) says, ‘Analyzing through special insight and realizing the lack of inherent existence constitute understanding of the signless.’ The Questions of Brahmā Sutra (Brahmāparipṛchchhā) says, ‘The intelligent are those who correctly analyze phenomena individually.’

The great Mahāyāna masters taught many forms of reasoning, directed toward the ascertainment of suchness, in order to illuminate the path of liberation for the fortunate and not for the sake of mere disputation. Dzong-ka-ba says, ‘All of the analytical reasonings set forth in Nāgārjuna’s Treatise on the Middle Way (Madhyamakashāstra) are only for the sake of sentient beings’ attaining liberation.’ The wish to attain liberation from cyclic existence is the motivation for entering into analysis of phenomena and attaining realization of emptiness.

Among Buddhist practitioners, those of lesser capacity enter into religious practice for the sake of attaining a happy migration in a future life.⁴ They have seen the sufferings of bad migrations and seek to avoid pain through endeavor at virtue. One cannot make effort at religious practice merely for the sake of improving the present lifetime and be considered a practitioner of Buddhism; at least, a Buddhist’s motivation is aimed at attaining a happy migration as a human or a god in a future life. Others, who have greater capacity, seek to leave cyclic existence completely. They see that the attainment of a happy migration in the next life is not sufficient because they must still grow old, become sick, die, and be reborn again in accordance with their former deeds. Their motivation for practice is the wish to attain liberation from cyclic existence for themselves. Still others, who have even higher capacity, realize the extent of their own suffering, infer the suffering of others, and practice so that they may become free from cyclic existence and attain Buddhahood in order to help all sentient beings to do the same.

Thus, it is very important that a motivation be stated verbally and explicitly before meditation:

I am meditating on emptiness and analyzing phenomena in order to attain liberation from cyclic existence and omniscience so that I may help all sentient beings to do the same.

The other possible motivation is:

I am meditating on emptiness and analyzing phenomena in order to attain liberation from cyclic existence.

The former is far more powerful because, through it, the meditation is related to all sentient beings. The force of the meditation increases as many times as the beings with whom it is related.

Emptiness itself is a very powerful object of meditation. Āryadeva says:⁵

Those of little merit would not even

Have doubts about this doctrine [of emptiness].

Even suspicion [that objects are empty]

Wrecks [the seeds of] cyclic existence.

Even a suspicion that emptiness—the lack of inherent existence—is the mode of being of phenomena disturbs the very causes that produce the rounds of powerless suffering. For, when one has such suspicion, the actual mode of being of objects acts for the slightest bit as an object of one’s mind. Dzong-ka-ba says:

Aspirational prayers should be made for the ability to listen to the treatises on the profound [emptiness], to memorize them, to think about their meaning, to meditate on them, and over the continuum of lives to have faith in them, all without harming ascertainment of the dependent-arising of cause and effect.

Jam-ȳang-shay-ba warns that though the transmission of the Buddhist teaching to Tibet was prophesied in sutra, it was also prophesied that there would be few who would take the perfection of wisdom all the way through to the process of meditation.⁶ He says there are many who memorize the words and many who propound the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras but few who actually achieve the perfection of wisdom. He adds that there are uncountable numbers who through the force of the five ruinations do not want to meditate on emptiness but still claim to meditate on the ‘natural mind’ or something other than emptiness that lacks the elaborations of duality. Since ‘natural mind’, ‘freedom from the elaborations of duality’, and so forth are none other than emptiness itself, and since it is meditation on emptiness that puts an end to the elaborations of misconception, it is mistaken to think that there is another final object of meditation. The various teachings that Buddha does not even abide in the middle way, or that Buddha ultimately does not even teach emptiness must be understood as referring to his not abiding in, or his not teaching, an inherently existent middle way, or inherently existent emptiness.

Those who actually do not meditate on emptiness but claim to do so mistakenly think that merely by withdrawing the mind from objects and by ceasing thought they can realize the suchness of phenomena. Rather, analysis is the very foundation of meditation on emptiness.

2 Self: The Opposite of Selflessness

Sources

Kensur Lekden’s oral teachings

Nga-Wang-bel-den’s Annotations

Corresponding section of the translation pp.625-36

Emptiness in all four Buddhist schools is a ‘self-emptiness’, but this does not mean that objects are empty of themselves.⁷ If objects were empty of themselves, then no object, not even an emptiness, would exist. Rather, ‘self-emptiness’ in the Prāsaṅgika system specifically refers to an object’s lack of its own inherent existence.

The term ‘self-emptiness’ distinguishes the Buddhist emptiness from systems such as Sāṃkhya, which assert that the person is empty of b...