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MASTER
HSING YUN'S TALK
Form
and Emptiness are the Same:
Once, a novice asked Ch'an
Master Chao-chou, "What's the meaning of
'form is emptiness, and emptiness is form'?" Chao-chou
answered, "Listen to this verse: Obstacles
are not walls, Nor are
places without obstacles empty; If
you understand this, You know form and emptiness are by nature the
same." Seeing that the novice was still puzzled, Ch'an Master
Chao-chou continued:
The Buddha-nature manifests itself in all its dignity; But
conscious beings hardly understand the nature of existence. Once
they are awakened to the non substantiality of self. They
see that there is no distinction between the Buddha's face and
their own. Still perplexed, the novice monk queried, "But
Master! What is the implication behind 'form is emptiness, and
emptiness is form'?" Opening his eyes widely, the Master
declared, "Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form!"
Upon hearing this, the novice monk finally attained realization.
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All material substances
in the universe are called "form," but form is a product
of causal conditions,. It
has no independent existence, and thus, it has no true nature that
can be grasped. Emptiness
is not the absence of matter, but rather, a void that can embrace
everything. As the
sutras state: "True emptiness does not hinder existence;
existence does not hinder emptiness."
Unenlightened beings remain attached to the notion that the
phenomenal world has an ultimate reality.
Thus, they will encounter obstructions everywhere because
the true implication of "form is emptiness" is not
understood. As soon
as people realize that form is without an inherent self and that
form arises from conditioned co production, then they will
understand the implication of "there is no distinction
between the Buddha's face and their own." |
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