The Ultimate Truth of Emptiness
in Buddhism 1
I
will investigate the Ultimate Truth of Emptiness stated in Sutra No. 335 of Saṃyuktāgama
in this lecture. The Saṃyuktāgama has both a
Larger Sūtra on Emptiness and a Smaller
Sūtra on Emptiness, wherein is found the early Buddhist teaching
on emptiness. Perhaps you find it a bit odd when Sūtra 335 states, “. . . when
vision arises, there is no place that it comes from; and when it ceases, there
is no place that it goes to. Thus vision arises out of insubstantiality, and
afterwards ceases. The results of karma exist, but not the doer thereof.”
先來解第一義空 （雜阿含經第一義空經中），《雜阿含經》關於講空法的有《大空經》跟《小空經》，佛陀在講空法的時候最初提到的就是《大空經》跟《小空經》，這邊是《雜阿含335經》的第一義空內文 。大家是不是覺得這經文內容怪怪的 「眼生時無有來處 滅時無有去處，如是眼不實而生 生已盡滅 有業報而無作者 」。
This
passage may seem somewhat incoherent. When the
Buddha taught his disciple, none of his discourses were actually written
down during his lifetime. After his death, his disciples got together to recite
from memory the teachings they had received from the Buddha. The recitations which
everyone present had agreed actually taught or authenticated by the Buddha were
then collected as Āgama. Therefore, we need to be clear that Āgama, considered
the closest to the Buddha’s original form of expression, is not a verbatim
record of what the Buddha said on a particular occasion.
經文好像整個連貫不起來!內容都是釋迦摩尼佛當時在世的時候講的，但佛陀住世時並沒有把祂的講經言論記載下來，是祂涅槃以後由祂的弟子將各自聽聞到的佛法誦出來， 就根據你聽到什麼誦出來，他又聽到什麼背誦出來的……， 然後大家認同這個是佛陀教授內容才把它記錄下來，所以我在講《阿含經》的時候 ，說這是最貼近佛陀的說法，沒有說這個經是佛陀當時講的。我用詞用得很謹慎，要有這樣的概念。
Sūtra
335 teaches śūnyatā.
335經就是講述「空法 」。
Yesterday
somebody asked me if it was really necessary for the Buddhist scriptures to use
so much obscure terminology. I explained this by comparing scripture study to nianfo
practice, chanting the name of Buddha. When you’re new to nianfo practice,
you’re not very particular about how well it’s going; you just muddle along,
reciting a buddha’s name for five or ten minutes, without any particular goal
or attainment in mind. But once you begin to practice diligently and start to
get good at it, you begin to evaluate how well your mind has become absorbed in
the recitation.
昨天有人問我說 ：佛經都有需要用那麼深的字眼解釋嗎?我先試著說明，從簡單的唸佛號談起，開始唸佛時漫不經心唸，一天唸10分鐘、5分鐘也好 ，你覺得我沒有要追求什麼嘛!就唸一唸佛號就好 !當開始認真唸的時候就會計較了!我這10句到底有沒有唸好100句有沒有唸好！
Similarly, a few days ago I taught a
fifth-grader how to practice breath counting, from one to ten; it’s such a
simple practice that he found it rather amusing and could barely suppress his
laughter. But he gave it a try for a few minutes, and when I asked him if any extraneous
thoughts came into his mind while he was counting his breaths, and he had to
admit that that’s indeed what had happened. Are adults also aware of their extraneous
thoughts? Of course they are! When you start to practice diligently, working hard
to eliminate these extraneous thoughts, you become more particular about how
prevalent they are; you become more particular about how well your nianfo
practice is progressing.
我不曉得大人怎麼想 ，幾天前一個小朋友我教他在呼吸裡面從1數到10而已他還在那邊偷玩偷笑， 等一下我問他說:數到10那裡面有沒有雜念， 他小五的學生都知道默念時他的腦袋是出現雜想的，有其他的想法出現。 那大人會不會知道自己的雜念? 會吧 !當你開始追求要讓這些雜唸消失的時候是不是就會計較起自己有多少妄念， 計較起這10句的佛號要怎麼唸！
Pure
Land School centers on nianfo, which eventually takes you all the way to the
attainment of nianfo samādhi. It’s a gradual progression from simple to
complex. It is impossible for one to enter samādhi after merely ten
repetitions; that (samādhi) only comes by taming the restless mind and subduing
all its desultory thoughts through lots of diligent practice.
淨土宗從最初簡單的佛號到最後要求你要成就「唸佛三昧」，也就是唸佛念到有定力這整個從簡單到複雜進而成就的結構就會出來。(形容詞開始複雜)但是不可能說你開始唸佛 ，10句唸佛到你要入定了還是最初的說法，不會 ，會隨著你開始精進以後怎麼對付大腦裡面那些胡思亂想，然後再講到大腦雜想的處理。
These
days, psychological terminology is typically used to describe the mind, along
with its states and functions. For example, the term “depression” is used to
describe a state of profound unhappiness. But in ancient times such phenomena
were described in terms of consciousness. The ancient Indian practitioners
understood the workings of the mind quite clearly, since spiritual practice
necessarily involves consciousness. Right from the start, all the various
Buddhist schools of practice have recognized how the mind generates obstacles
to spiritual practice; this is something everyone needs to understand. These
days we use psychological terminology to talk about our feelings and inner
experience; as soon as a practitioner comes to understand the impact his thought
processes has on his spiritual practice, he will make an effort to find an
adequate way to talk about it. In discussing our deep inner experience in Buddhist
practice, we need to use specialized terminology, and this gave rise to various
Buddhist schools, each with their own set of technical terms, such as the
Mind-only School.
我們現代的人會用心理學的詞語來形容大腦的活動情形比方:用憂鬱形容大腦的處境， 而古時候的用語都是用「意識」來形容大腦的活動狀態。大腦的活動是古代印度修行者就清楚的，修行一定會修到這個法門 —「意識」，佛教很多的修道法門很早就認識到人腦在修道裡面產生的障礙，所以大家都想要解決大腦產生的障礙， 我們近代會用心理學的詞彙表達情緒，當修行者感覺自我大腦結構的想法會影響自己時也想盡辦法要表達、要形容 !想讓在修行中屬於深層這部分的大腦體驗能為外界清楚，例如唯識學。
How
does the mind work? What does consciousness do? In dealing with these
questions, a large collection of specialized terminology was gradually built up
over time, much of which can be opaque to the beginner, and this is especially
true in the case of the Mind-only School. What’s more, lots of this terminology
is based on the direct perception of the structure of the mind while in a deep
state of meditative concentration (samādhi), which only adds to the difficulty.
人的人腦到底在幹什麼!？意識（大腦）都在做些什麼?!為了講述意識（大腦）就漸漸形成結構組織很困難的詞彙出來，唯識學的文字組織更是難度高，讓讀者有燒腦的感觸。而這些困難的形容詞還包括修行者入定看到的人腦架構，其複雜度更可想而知。
You
have to enter samādhi to catch a glimpse of the memory-based character of the
mind, which Buddhism calls the “root of consciousness,” meaning a memory which
is so strong that its effects are felt in all our rebirths, past, present, and
future (as in Yuán-zé’s instance). Yet it’s quite rare for somebody to
recollect the circumstances of their past lives, and even then they don’t
remember everything, so it’s still necessary to relearn such things as
language. This is why the Buddhist scriptures repeatedly describe deep states
of meditative experience as “inconceivable.” Nonetheless, though recollecting one’s past
lives is no easy task; however, for a Buddhist practitioner, it is just part of
his lesson. He still has long way to go before attaining liberation in his Buddhist
practice.
透過入定才能看見的大腦記憶性質，佛法稱為意識根，意思是堅強的記憶，是可以跨越前世、今生、來世的，（如前面的圓澤禪師例子）人能記憶著三世的過往人事跟遭遇是超越經驗的震撼，原先的認知跟文字與語言敘述範圍都得重新修過，所以佛經對修行者深入的境界描述，一直有「不可思議」一詞的重複出現！而縱使修行者能看見自己三輩子的人事，對修行而言還只是部分功課而已，因爲還有解脫三世的佛法可修持。
Now,
it may seem that we can use the terminology of modern psychology to explain difficult
concepts in Buddhism, but this would be a big mistake. This is because they are
two different systems of thought, each with its own purpose, trajectory, and scope.
So, even though I find that using modern terminology and forms of expression to
explain the scriptures helps people understand what I’m getting at, we have to
keep in mind that Buddhism and psychology often have very different
understandings of the same terms; for example, “desire” and “craving.” So we
need to be aware of the danger of borrowing terminology from one system and
applying to another one, without considering the context. For this reason, it
can be very difficult to accurately explain Buddhist concepts by using
simplified forms of expression.
那你說現代心理學出來，是不是就把佛經裡面比較深層的結構文字解開就好 ?那也不對! 他們兩個發展的方向不一樣要講的內容也不同 。以我個人的態度而言很喜歡把佛經白話講述，盡量讓聽眾聽懂 ，但是一個「貪」字一個「愛」字 心理學跟佛經要講的方向完全不一樣， 所以沒有辦法完全取代，大家要有這些概念，用簡單的描述講解佛法困難度同樣很深。
It’s
similar with śūnyatā, which can be difficult to understand and explain. When
discussing śūnyatā, it is also necessary to consider what is meant by the
“existence” of the world, since it is the obstacles arising out of this
“existence” that śūnyatā is meant to rectify. The existing world includes both
material objects, such as the body, the five senses, and my possessions, as
well as mental objects, such as my views and attachments. These are the things
which we get tripped up on, the remedy for which is the understanding of śūnyatā. So we can regard śūnyatā as Buddhism’s
secret weapon, something which isn’t found in other religions.
而「空法」也一樣 也有它思考與講述的困難點，相對於「空法」的是「有」的世界，「有」的世界存在是必須也是必然，而存在產生的障礙，是空法想解決的問題。「有」的世界是肉體五官、物質，我曾經擁有過的，包括我現在有這一個想法，我一定要這樣做 !都在「有」的世界裡面， 當這些都塞著自己的時候，你如果沒有「空」的想法事實上是走不動的，所以為什麼要講「空 」這是佛學的獨門武器， 是其他學派沒有的。
Though
śūnyatā is confusing to many people, it is not so difficult in
deed. The Ultimate Truth of Emptiness starts with the statement “Monks,
when vision
arises, there is no place that it comes from.” Modern readers may
find it odd and start to wonder how a baby could be born with only eyes—how
strange! Now, some may conjecture that something got lost in the process of
reciting and recording this scripture. Though this scripture is not precise enough or
well-structured, it still tells us that some 2,500 years ago
people were explaining the human body in terms of śūnyatā, which indicates that
their thinking was highly sophisticated. Looking at it from this perspective,
there’s nothing at all strange about this passage.
佛陀的空法把很多人搞的團團轉， 事實上也沒有這麼困難 。這第一義空開頭「諸比丘 眼生時無有來處 」。眼睛生來的時候沒有來處 ，現代人聽這句話一定覺得實在太奇怪了!婦女生一個小孩時有可能只生眼睛嗎? 絕對不可能! 我也覺得這句話很怪! 只能告訴各位說:因為這個經文是後代人誦出來而被記錄下來的， 但這個記錄可以告訴我們什麼，告訴我們說印度人他對人體的器官企圖用「空」的思想來解釋他，或許文字結構還沒有那麼精密，但是你看那麼古老的經文在大約公元前623年，那個時代的人企圖用「空」的思想來解釋人體 ，可見他們的思想程度是非常高的，你用這個角度看就不會覺得這句經文實在太奇怪 。
Śūnyatā
has evolved almost 800 years since it was taught by Buddha. Many centuries
later (around 150 AD), Nāgārjuna formulated his "Eight Negations of The
Middle Path". It was until then that the concepts of Buddha’s śūnyatā and
dependent origination were logically analyzed in depth and better understood.
「空法」整個結構經過了將近800年，直到了約西元150年時期的龍樹菩薩 ， 做出了八不中論才給「空法」一個完整的結構解釋，才具體有了空的邏輯跟辯證， 到底佛陀當時留下來的「空法」要告訴我們什麼。
I will elaborate “When vision
arises, there is no place that it comes from.” with the
perspective of the Chinese translation of
Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.
Conception of “birth/
arising” was first proposed in earlier teachings and
then developed into “There is neither arising nor ceasing” in "Eight Negations". Taking “arise” in the literal
sense of “birth,” I think you’d all agree that I have been born. Yet according to Eight Negations, the statement “I was born” is
not established; it’s untenable, since it’s necessary to first consider who I
was before I was born. It’s impossible to be born without both a mother and a
father; this is how the underlying causes and conditions of birth are examined
in the approach of Eight Negations. As for the Buddha’s statement “all phenomena
are created and extinguished according to Nidānas”, this becomes "Everything
is based on Nidānas, that I said is Śūnyatā." in Nāgārjuna’s
system of thought.
而我根據漢譯《中觀論》 跟大家講解335經「眼生時無有來處」，從原始教典開始提出「生」的概念到八不演繹「不生不滅」的發表。「生」這觀念怎麼講 ，我生出來你們認同嗎? 你被生出來， 這句話在八不教學是不成立的? 你被生出來那前面呢? 人不可能單獨被生出來，必須先在媽媽肚子裡面，若缺乏爸爸時候也不可能在媽媽的肚子裡， 所以八不概念在因緣條件的結構上解釋 「生」的演繹。佛陀講的「諸法因緣生，諸法因緣滅」， 到《中觀論》的時候龍樹菩薩提出了「因緣所生法，我說即是空」的解釋，他在解釋佛陀的教學「諸法因緣生」。
When you hear the statement “All
phenomena are created and extinguished according to Nidānas”, you probably take
it as self-evident, but how well do you really understand what is meant by “Nidānas”?
Is there anyone here who, like Śāriputra, instantly became an arhat simply by
hearing this statement? In my previous talk I pointed out that
he contemplated Śūnyatā and Nidānas constantly, and thereby was adept in such
topics. So as soon
as he heard the Buddha say “All phenomena are created and extinguished
according to Nidānas”, he immediately and fully comprehended what the Buddha
was getting at, and how it differed from what he had previously learned.
「諸法因緣生」 你們聽起來好像很理所當然!請問各位對「因緣法」了解多少!？有沒有像舍利佛聽到這句話就證阿羅漢果 。我上次講會證果位那是因為他腦袋經常有這些邏輯的觀念在，所以舍利佛一聽「諸法因緣生」就知道跟他原來所學有什麼不一樣!
What does Nidānas expound? Some may argue
that it is not necessary to work, and that even if you don’t do any work, you’ll still have
something to eat every day. Such were classified
as arguments negating
the results of Nidānas, or what’s called “the doctrine of the absence of cause
and effect” in Buddhist scriptures.
因緣法裡面解釋了什麼，比如；A我告訴你 ，其實也不用工作啊!不用工作每天你ㄧ樣都有飯吃! 這有沒有因緣果（作用力）?每天都有飯吃而不用工作，這在佛經叫「無因無果論」，其內容性不具因緣果（作用力）的說法。
Take, for
example, Aṅgulimāla, who I mentioned in my previous talk. His teacher told him
that by murdering a thousand people he would go to heaven, but we all know that
that is impossible. He believed what his
teacher told him. We may mock that ancient people were foolish
in obeying such illogical orders.
However, such
cases did not only happen in ancient times, they have happened in modern societies
as well. Just think about the numerous cults in
modern Japan which have induced their followers to go out and murder people. Many
victims are killed in the name of religious justice in modern Japan. The Buddha would say that such people
have a wrong understanding of cause and effect, that they don’t understand the
results of their actions, but they will get the results all the same.
像上次舉的央掘利摩羅的例子，他師父說你殺1000個人就可以升天， 成立嗎?也不成立！你們不要笑說古人很笨他師父這樣子講他就去殺人， 現代人包括日本發生了很多宗教性的假正義之名殺人案例都死很多人喔! 所以佛陀批評他們這些人說的是「無因無果論」， 你不需要奮鬥不需要努力你的果實就在你眼前有可能嗎 !?
In
fact, this principle of “all phenomena are created and extinguished according to
Nidānas” has a very wide scope of application, and even
applies to Brahmanism’s doctrine on Mahābrahmā, or “God” in modern parlance.
Yet, from the Buddhist perspective, even a creator god is subject to the law of
Nidānas. Seeing that the concept of a self-existing controller god runs counter
to the law of Nidānas, how could such a god exist?
所以一句很簡單的因緣所生法、以及諸法因緣生， 事實上描述的內容非常廣 ，甚至他還可以觸及到當時婆羅門大梵天的思想，大梵天就等於我們現在講的 「神」的存在，其實「諸法因緣生、諸法因緣滅」也包括這個層面 ，主宰我的「神」、大梵天不僅是無因無果， 也不需要因緣果的架構就自己存在，事實是可能嗎?
Nidānas
could be presented in the form of an extensive and complex logical analysis,
but in the case of Śāriputra, the Buddha explained it in a simplified form. When
Śāriputra first came to the Buddha, he was already a famous debater in India
and was familiar with these topics. This is why Śāriputra clearly understood Nidānas
as soon as he heard it from the Buddha. Nothing can arise if the necessary Nidānas(causes
and conditions) are not present, and this is what negates the idea of a
spiritual self, independent of Nidānas. The Buddha’s terse statement to
Śāriputra drove home the impossibility of a self-existing spiritual self,
independent of Nidānas.
如果用邏輯去思考「諸法因緣生」講述的範圍非常廣泛， 但是佛陀卻用簡單的語言就讓舍利佛聽懂。舍利佛本身就是印度相當有名的辯論師， 他對這些題目太熟悉了! 所以佛陀一指點他就清楚所有的事情都是靠因緣條件去組合的，沒有因緣條件的話一切都不成立，有一個「大我」在主宰我嗎? 不太可能， 因為不可能「大我」他不需要任何一個條件就可以存在，用這樣的思維去想舍利佛的證悟。
I’m
not sure how all this impacts you, but in my case it’s been a kind watershed in
my spiritual development. It’s very important to have a clear understanding of
these fundamental concepts; what’s more, a solid understanding of the
Buddhadharma is very helpful when we are confronted with all the odd and
confusing doctrines popping up these days.
我不知道各位聽上面的講解有什麼感想 ，這個對我個人修道起了很大的幫助，幫助我走了很遠的路。 到現在我都認為把這個基礎打好是很重要的，如果我們常要面對社會上很多混亂的想法，佛法的認知是一大助力。
Although
the statement "everything is based on Nidānas” is quite simple, it’s implications
are profound indeed; otherwise, how could Śāriputra have instantly attained
awakening upon hearing it? The doctrine "everything is based on Nidānas” directly
challenges our deep-rooted erroneous ways of thinking; as soon as these engrained
thought patterns arise, the diligent practitioner notices them and strives to
overcome them. This is the kind of insight which only comes when you go deeply
into the practice.
看似很簡單的「因緣所生法」裡面包括的內容很深 !才會讓舍利佛開悟證聖果! 「因緣所生法」最直接挑戰的是大腦根植的觀念，那些紮根的錯誤想法一旦掀起將會在修行者內心層面有著很大的挑戰與衝擊!這是修行者進入深層自我挑戰才會明白的。
In other
words, if you don’t do any work, don’t do any farming, you won’t survive. The
basic concept is quite simple and easy to understand. However, when you apply to
the deeper levels of the mind, such as the subconscious mind, and cultivate it
to become our second nature, it will make huge difference. For example, on the
subconscious level, everyone wants to do as little work as possible, and we’re
invariably pleased by any unexpected gains. Such desires are inherent in human
nature, but one thing spiritual practice teaches us is that there’s no free
lunch waiting for us. These are the kind of erroneous ideas which gradually get
uprooted and discarded in the course of practicing the Dharma. As our spiritual
maturity deepens, life gets better, and we no longer covet what belongs to
others. So, in sum, Nidānas helps to see through ignorance.
進一步說:沒有上班、沒有工作、沒有耕耘誰都活不了，所有的人都清楚根本不需要講，但是把這個內容提升到「意識層次（深沉的大腦知覺）」的時候就大大不同，「意識層次」的自己對於工作都會覺得能避就避免，如果能有突然來的好處降臨自己身上，我們是不是會希望那個好處實現! 人性裡面都有這些慾望，透過修道慢慢讓大腦很清楚沒有那些所謂的好處在等著自己， 那是幻象的錯誤想法， 學佛者不斷透過佛學去糾正自己的大腦， 反而讓生活過得更好，不會在那裡幻想那些不屬於自己的東西 ，所以包括突破「愚痴相」(愚痴妄想)都是用「因緣法 」。
Let me begin by recapitulating an important point. Buddhism is a historical phenomenon, in the sense that the original teaching was put forth by the Buddha, and then passed on by successive generations. I believe this much is self-evident. Later on, around the time of Nāgārjuna, Buddhists began to grapple more explicitly with questions of ontology, including this one: If the body is fixed and unchanging, in what sense one can be said to be born? Buddhism replies that it would be impossible, and that the proper way to understand this issue is to say that one is born as the result of the coming together of a wide array of Nidānas. Indeed, if the body were fixed and unchanging, it couldn’t be born, for it would have already been in existence.
再來請各位注意喔!人是有人類史的，佛陀的時代過去後，後代人必須去解釋祂 留下來的語言，而後代的人腦在不斷的進步中，相信這部份各位都不會否認吧！ 後代人到了龍樹菩薩的時候他提出一個觀念來：如果人體是一個固定的人體， 就前面講的我被生出來，我有可能被生出來嗎？不可能，每一個人都是很多條件組合成功下才被生出來的! 人體如果是固定體，是不需要被生的，固定體也代表著本來就存在。
By
the same token, how could something arise if all the necessary conditions for
its arising are fixed? The Buddha’s doctrine of śūnyatā was passed on through
the centuries, and eventually inspired Nāgārjuna to formulate his
doctrines of not-self and “no the same nor different. If the potential mother
and father are fixed and unchanging, then the conditions for the formation of a
fetus are absent, and you could not have come into existence in your mother’s
body, not to mention your father’s body! And if you yourself are fixed and
unchanging, then it would be even more impossible. This is one consideration.
The other one is: Once one has been born as the result of the coming together
of the requisite Nidānas, is it still necessary to speak of it as “birth”? Once
the conditions have served their purpose, the action of “birth” no longer
exists, so why do we still think of that person as having been born? Is it
because your consciousness has come to a halt on action which is now in the
past. This is where it gets subtle. Your consciousness is fixated on your
birth, even though the actual moment of birth is now in the past.
這個思想微細到考慮了如果各式條件都是固定的，有可能組合嗎? 到龍樹菩薩的時候思考到「空」的意義這個問題！所以佛陀講的「空」的內涵， 隨著傳承到龍樹菩薩的時候，發展起來的是「不一不異、無我」的思考。如果 爸爸媽媽都是固定的個體，裡面缺乏融合成立肉體的條件，那麼你不可能在媽媽的身體，也不可能在爸爸的身體！如果自己也是固定的更不可能被他們融合 而生於世上，這是一個考慮，第二個考慮我被生出來需要其他的條件配合，我已經生出來還需要「生」這個描述嗎？條件過去了「生」這個動作不存在了， 我們為什麼認為他還是被「生」出來？是否代表你的意識停留在剛才的動作， 這個講述微細了!你的意識停留在剛才小孩出生的動作，但事實上是在出生的那 一刻、那一霎那「生」的動作就已經過去了!
In explaining śūnyatā, Nāgārjuna’s Eight Negations also
considers the possibility of a single cause giving rise to multiple results.
For example, if a teacher teaches 20 students, and they all go on to become outstanding
members of their respective fields, thereby benefiting society in countless
ways, then could the single cause (the teacher) be said to have given rise to
multiple results (benefits)? Yes, it would be possible. By the same token, even
if all 20 students turned out to be good-for-nothings, it would still be a case
of a single cause giving rise to multiple results.
龍樹八不「空法」解釋一種不能是固定性的內容，例如：一因有可能是多果， 如果有人現在在教育單位，教了 20 個學生，假如你教到 20位學生日後都成了社會的菁英，那造福社會層面難以計算！一因多果有沒有可能？是有可能！反面講假如教出了 20位都是敗類，那慘了，也是一因多果對不對？
So
Nāgārjuna’s Eight Negations emphasizes that nothing is fixed and
unchanging. Yet, many don’t understand this, and live their lives as if
everything will always remain the same; and if something comes along that
undermines their habitual way of thinking, it can be quite disconcerting, isn’t
it? Now, it often happens that people get frightened when they first encounter
this teaching on śūnyatā, thinking that it’s tantamount to nihilism or
annihilationism! As for me, I’m no longer scared by the teaching on śūnyatā; in
fact, now I look forward to dissolving into śūnyatā!
所以龍樹菩薩用八不的結構一直要說明，事實上沒有一種定性跟慣性，只是我們的大腦搞不清楚這些，而我們也依賴定性跟慣性活著，如果定位失去也很麻煩，是不是？理所當然的講到空法就會害怕起來，因為會害怕自己失了定性把自己搞丟了（哈）! 而我個人面對空法，已經從害怕在空法裡面消失，訓練到但 願自己在空法裡面消失。
As
for cultivating śūnyatā as a spiritual discipline, it’s a matter of continually
correcting your mistaken views, until you’re able to apply śūnyatā to your
everyday experience, in the process of which you gain increased clarity as to
what śūnyatā really means. Our tendency is to regard things as fixed and
unitary, yet they are really impermanent and compounded. Eight Negations makes
it perfectly clear that there is nothing fixed or static about people, events,
and things. If something were to be fixed and unchanging, then it wouldn’t be
able to take form and come into being. Saying that people, events, and things
are fixed and unchanging runs counter to the Buddha’s doctrine of dependent
origination, which states that all phenomena are created and extinguished
according to Nidānas. There are no exceptions. It’s the absence of a fixed
nature that allows things to come into existence and undergo transformation.
關於「空」的修練，這是一種自己在大腦裡面不斷的糾正自己錯誤想法的改正， 然後去應用它，應用它的時候會更清楚，很多我們原來認識的、固定的一些事 物其實是複雜性的，而且都是不定性的，八不概念裡面直接講：所有的人事物 都是不定性。它一旦是慣性、固定性的時候，是不能組合的，固定性質的人事物是沒辦法產生像「因緣生、因緣滅」這樣的事實或真相，但有什麼人事物是不受條件影響的？人事物一定是裡面充滿了不定性，它才可以組合、變化。
人們害怕講空讓人想起一個案例，0 是印度人發明的，0 剛發明出來的時候大家 都疑惑說 0
要幹什麼？直到現在人們用 0
不是都用得好好的。0 剛開始出現時候 人們會害怕，傳到歐洲更慘，傳到歐洲都要人命了！講 0
那神不就不見了？會 不會有這樣的抵觸？！所以傳 0 入歐洲的那個人是被殺掉的。但現在大家不是把0都用得很好!
It’s
similar with śūnyatā. Once you are clear about what it means and how it
contrasts to materialism, you can correct your mistaken views about the static
nature of things. Once you become accustomed to the concept of śūnyatā, you
become more accommodating and tolerant towards people, events, and things.
空法的運用也是這樣，只要你的大腦清楚空法的思想跟現實的抵觸點，便可以常常把自己可能要成型的固定論再帶向更好的認知。如果你有空法的習慣，或許會讓自己對人事物有保留的習慣與空間。
Science
has brought about many benefits, but it was only after a long period of
development that scientists finally discovered that the Earth’s resources are
limited, which is a major change in attitude. Similarly, this principle of
impermanence has a major impact on our understanding and world view.
如同人們讚美的科學發達到一定的程度才知道原來地球的資源是有限的，原先不論多麼的喜愛與認同又得大轉彎 !因為不定法的存在使認知與規則在作用力下不斷的轉變中！
We
need to be clear that Mūlamadhyamakakārikā highlights the unfixed nature of all
conditioned things. For example, we tend to assume that children always turn
out like their parents, but when we compare ourselves with our parents and with
our own children, we find out that in many cases there are big differences.
在《中觀論》裡面的學習是不同的條件不同的組合要出現什麼不知道？所以請你保留對認知的態度，就好像我們的生活跟我們的父母也落差很多一樣，你們自己的小孩可能跟你的生活落差也會很多，這就是不定性!
Life
is full of uncertainty; in fact, nothing in life is absolutely certain. But we
have difficulty accepting this cruel fact because we want things to be certain,
fixed, and dependable deep in our mind. When we say that someone was born, we
need to be clear that we’re talking about something that has taken place in the
past. Birth won’t wait for you, nor can you catch up with it, for it’s an
event. Both the event and the conditions which gave rise to it are in the past,
yet our sense organs get fixated stuck there, and we find it hard to focus on
the present.
其實我們整個生活裡面充滿了不定性，但是我們人的心情跟感情喜歡接受定論， 都希望定下來，但是事實是沒有那種可以定下來的空間跟時間！在探討「生(成立) 」的過程中，會清楚「生（成立）」的動作已過去！「生（成立）」的動作 不會再等你，是自己追不上時間，自己追不上動作。條件跟動作都過去了，是自我的感官停留在之前的感受，所以我們很難把自己拉著往前。
In
my own case, I’ve been aware of śūnyatā in Mūlamadhyamakakārikā for nearly 40
years now, yet I still have to use the Buddhadharma repeatedly remind myself to
correct my ingrained misconceptions. Śāriputra and Buddha‘s other leading
disciples were highly familiar with the various schools of thought prevalent in
India at that time, and that’s why they were able to readily understand what
the Buddha was talking about. So we need to make a major effort to gain a
thorough understanding of the doctrine of śūnyatā.
以我個人而言 從接觸《中觀論》的空法到現在將近 40 年，直到今天我都是反覆拿來提醒自己， 提醒自己的大腦一些習慣性的錯誤反射，我也是藉佛法不斷在修正自我。像舍利弗他們是對印度學派的教學內容相當非常熟悉了，才能進而對佛陀的教學做出判斷，我們也要透過很多的努力去熟悉空的思維。
What
do you think about all this? As for the principle of “non-birth,” it needs to
be understood in the context of birth being dependent on Nidānas. “Not-self”
can be seen as an extension of "Everything is based on Nidānas”. So we
need to understand śūnyatā and not-self in the context of Eight Negations and Nidānas.
你們聽到現在有沒有什麼想法？回頭講「不生」，「不生」主要在說明剛才講的「生不是單獨生出來」，沒有單獨「生(成立) 」這件事，不是單獨的、不是唯一的另一個表達是｢無我｣，而｢無我｣依然是｢諸法因緣生｣的延伸，在正確的因緣法與八不概念支撐之下說空與無我。
Also,
maintaining awareness of the conditional, interdependent nature of the self
makes it easier to work with others, since it keeps us in touch with the fact
that we depend on others and have to cooperate with them. When cooperating with
others, don’t be fixated on a particular outcome, since the process is
uncertain; first make an effort, see what happens, and make adjustments as
necessary. Don’t labor under preconceptions; this is a kind of practice; it’s
how I use the principle of śūnyatā as a kind of spiritual discipline.
再者人若能一直意識到自我不是單獨、不是唯一的時候，也可以衍生很多你工作範圍裡面的條件，因為認識到自己既然不是唯一單獨的存在，自我的條件裡面一定需要別人一定是要跟別人合作，在跟別人合作的時候就不要先預期說：我跟他合作一定要創造出什麼來，過程是不一定的，可以去努力等結果出來再修正！不要再預設立場，這是一種自我的訓練，我常常用空法的思想訓練自己。
So
this statement from Saṃyuktāgama 335, “when vision arises, there is no place
that it comes from,” is actually about śūnyatā and not-self. Śūnyatā pertains
to vision prior to its arising, and not-self pertains to vision after it has
arisen. Birth or arising doesn’t come from some place, and the same goes for
ceasing. Now, we need to keep in mind that non-birth or non-arising is the
condition for non-existence, rather than an ontological statement about the
non-existence of arising. It’s a continuous process in the past, which isn’t
fixed to a particular place. When I first came across the doctrine of śūnyatā I
found it amusing and interesting, but later on it gave me lots of inspiration. Śūnyatā
seems to have a kind of cleansing effect on the mind, and this is its practical
application.
所以 335 經說：眼生的時候沒有來處，其實就是我剛剛講的｢空與無我｣觀點，空是條件未起的傳達，無我是條件下的存在問題。那「生」 既然都沒有來處了，滅就不用講這是「不生不滅」的傳達，請注意「不生」是不存在生的單一條件，而不是沒有生的事實(果實)！是連續的動作一直在過去， 所以它不能駐留在那個點。起初我看空法只是覺得好玩，好有意思，後來空法 於我實在太令人振奮！大腦裡面好像有一種可以藉空法被洗一洗、有力量被洗 一洗的感覺，我才慢慢發覺空法真的很實用。
A
related point is that some claim that the Chinese Tripitaka only talks of
arising and ceasing in the context of Twelve Nidānas, and that it doesn’t use
the term attachment, which is a later expression. But if non-attachment isn’t
an integral part of Buddhist practice, then who would be able to cultivate
non-attachment? I have no idea! Continually contemplating śūnyatā is a way of
cultivating the ability to let go, or the mental faculty of non-attachment; without
this ability or strength, it’s not possible to let go. Through my own practice
I’ve come to realize that without contemplating śūnyatā, non-attachment is
impossible. If we are hesitant to go forward, it’s because of uncertainty about
what lies ahead; but as soon as we adopt the perspective of śūnyatā, our
misgivings disappear. It’s like regarding arising as something rooted in the
past, and nobody’s going to wait for you while you keep thinking about the
past! But when you know how to contemplate śūnyatā and how to apply it, you’ll
probably swiftly accomplish things you’ve never been able to do before.
還有再帶出一個觀點，佛經只講到十二因緣的生跟滅，沒有講到不要執著這句話，不要執著也是後代語不是佛經語。 如果把不要執著的講法列入佛法的範圍，那請問：要如何才能辦到不要執著， 連我也做不到！但是如剛剛講的，反覆在自己大腦裡面去想空法的內容，就是在培養自我一個強而有力的心理元素。舉例：如果要做到不要執著是一個大考驗，反覆的思考空法的內容就是在建立放下的力量。要人放下是那個人心裡要有一定的力量，要不然人們放不下！ 我個人修持到現在只有一個感觸：｢只有空法的思維可以做出不要執著｣，人們不敢往前走是因為感到前途不可知，但是只要想到空法的教育，我會想到自己猶豫也沒有用，像剛才講的生的成立動作就過去了，別人也不等你啊！是自己在那個記憶的時空徘迴留念！如果你有空法思想可以去實際運用，或許會加快速度把以前做不到的事情做到。
Śūnyatā also helps us look at things
from a different perspective and break out of our inertia. Suppose somebody is
caught stealing, and the customary punishment for theft is to cut off the
thief’s hands. From the legalistic perspective, the situation is clear-cut:
removal of the offending limbs. But looking at things from a different angle, it
becomes apparent that the same pair of hands that were used for stealing could
also be used for doing all sorts of beneficial things, even for saving
someone’s life.
空法可以推動固定不動的自己動起來，空法是最好用的。再來想像一下：有隻手去偷竊，難道就把那隻手給砍了嗎？表面上講起來很乾脆， 斷了、斷捨離、把它斷了！更深一層的意義是那隻手還可以做什麼？手不只是用來偷竊還可以做很多動作，為什麼不把思想延伸到用那一隻手可殺人、偷竊 也可以用同樣的那隻手去救很多人，去創造很多事物啊！同樣都是那隻手!在觀念被打開以後，你能用的角度就是不一樣。
Gaining
a clear understanding of the Buddhist approach to attachment and letting go
increases our ability to effectively deal with all sorts of situations; śūnyatā
is especially effective for dealing with knotty problems.
當執著與放下在個人腦袋有豐富的佛學資源時，相信人們會做出最好的處理，在遇到瓶頸的時候把空法拿出來想一想，絕對對個人的人生有著很大的幫助。
龍樹菩薩透過八不精密的思想與思維告訴你說； 那些看似相同的動作，看似相同的時間，事實上是一直「不住留」的， 但是表面上看起來無波無瀾。你會覺得那桌子就一直是桌子， 但物質也會在它的時間條件下腐壞，只是肉眼看不出來， 就像我們看昨天的自己跟今天的自己會覺得是一樣!
The
statement “when vision arises, there is no place that it comes from; and when
it ceases, there is no place that it goes to” in Saṃyuktāgama 335 tells us that the body and its functions arise depending on Nidānas.
As such, it would be incorrect to assume that there is a preexistent sight
faculty waiting to be born. Rather, it’s the coming together of the essential Nidānas—a
process which could not occur without śūnyatā. The
simultaneous formation of the body and its sense faculties is a manifestation
of non-abiding, rather than arising and ceasing.
但是八不概念告訴你不一樣啊!它希望你去體會比較深層的那一刻的內容，體會到「不住留」的感受後你整個生命會做出一個大幅度的修正。335經 「眼生時，無有來處 ，眼滅時，無有去處。」說明著因緣條件下的人體組合，不是有ㄧ個眼睛等待著被生出，而是條件組合前空的存在提供了組合必要的空間（有些解釋用空寂），當人體組織與眼睛同時組合生成時是「不住(時間)」，而不是生與滅。
Looking
at this from another perspective, when the Buddha says, “when vision arises,
there is no place that it comes from,” it’s such a bold philosophical statement
that he must have thoroughly penetrated śūnyatā. While deciding on a topic
to discuss, I came upon Saṃyuktāgama 335 and immediately declared, “What an
amazing age that was!”
「眼生時，無有來處」，換個思維方式，這麼膽氣十足的開頭經文，必須有十足的智慧已經洞穿條件中的空，才讓佛陀說出這樣的修行哲理，更可怕的是直接用人體做說明。我在找要講解的佛法時，再看到335經直接發出驚嘆！不可思議的年代！
再來看後面的經文 「此陰滅已 ，異陰相續 ，除俗數法」。 除俗數法的意思就是我們給這個桌子安立了一個名字，但是我也可以把木頭重拆做成一個椅子，剛才的桌子就不見， 剛才的「桌子」就只是一個暫時的名字（安立名 ）。「此陰滅已 ，異陰相續 」指的是延續性質的人事物，而在眼前的人事物加以利用的只是一個暫時的命名而已。
Despite
the provisional nature of conventional designations, their effect on us can be
very strong, thereby obscuring the actual state of affairs. We find it really
hard to regard people, events, and things as the temporary coming together of Nidānas,
and this is why we get caught up in them. The entangling effect is presented in
the scriptures in terms of Twelve Nidānas (ignorance, conditioning,
consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving,
attachment, becoming, birth, and aging-and-death). A related point is whether
or not spiritual development affects all our sense organs equally. For example,
is it possible to be free of attachment towards visual objects, but strongly
attached to every other type of sense object? No, it doesn’t work like that;
spiritual development affects all the sense faculties equally. So when we have
established a correct understanding of Twelve Nidānas and conventional
designations, we might apply it to loosening our attachment to a particular
class of sense objects, but the effect will carry over to the other senses as
well, and the whole process propels one forward along the spiritual path.
俗數法雖然只是暫時的名稱，但對於人們的牽制卻也是最強烈的。我們很難在環境的現實下還有真相的運用可言，也就是對現存的人事物不能清楚是暫時條件下的呈現，不是原來就存在，我們是被所處的暫時現象完全牽制的。在佛經談到這種現象的牽動力，用12因緣的相互勾索糾纏來說明，(無明、行、識、名色、六入、觸、受、愛、取、有、生、老死) 在這裡我提供一個概念，譬如說； 以眼睛而言假如眼睛可以因修持得到部分解脫，鼻子會不會跟著解脫 ?假使眼睛看到一個不舒服的畫面，心裡跟著激動起來，如果藉由修持到達可以平衡自己的激動，那眼睛跟其他器官的感受會同步的進展，不可能只有眼睛解脫，而其他感官停頓 ! 解脫是同步的， 五官跟著感受都一起得到昇華，不可能只有眼睛的感受進步而已。 所以12因緣跟除俗數法只要有一個觀點被正確建立，就可以脫離一個勾索的扣環，脫離一個勾其餘的勾索力量就轉薄弱，在這種勾索已然薄弱的狀態下，提供修行者開啟了生命運轉的空間加大。
Another
effective focus of spiritual practice is craving, the scope of which is quite
wide. When you have a strong craving for something, but can’t get it, you can
ask yourself what you would do with it if you did get it. The Zen school takes
this a step further, challenging your greed by asking what you would do with the
object of covetousness, where you can keep it, and so on, until you see the
folly in all of it.
如果從愛的範圍去修持，也可以修持得很好 ，愛的範圍也很廣對不對! 東西你喜歡的 非要到不可的， 那要到要作什麼用，也可以這樣問自己!北傳佛法到後來禪宗的教學思辨會一直逼迫修行者，用ㄧ種貼身式的感官震撼直掐修行者要那麼多幹什麼，裝在哪裡?裝在胃、裝在肚子、裝在嘴巴， 就這樣一直逼你，逼到吞卻不是，吐出不是的地步，禪師把人逼到兩難之後生死自己決定(哈)!
Don’t
worry, my approach is not so demanding; I just teach Twelve Nidānas and how to
apply this teaching to your everyday experience. Still, it’s sometimes helpful
to push yourself a bit now and then; śūnyatā
is a kind of mental prop, and Zen is a kind of artifice.
明白上面講的12因緣的了解後，應該在生活裡面可以喘一口氣 !所以我只教一個觀念去運用練出實際的生活功力。修持具體的方法就是有時候可以逼一逼自己 ，空法是一個思想支撐，禪宗是一個手段。
Eight Negations in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā are
as follows: " There is no arising nor ceasing; no permanent nor impermanent;
no coming nor going; no the same nor different ". My
talk on “no the same nor different” can be found on
YouTube. Once you fully understand one of these four pairs, it won’t be
difficult to understand the remaining three pairs. In the pair “no arising nor
ceasing,” arising means the arising of something due to the coming together of
various Nidānas. Since it’s a process, arising is constantly changing. Try contemplating
these concepts for yourself and see what effect they have on you.
再說《中觀論》八不概念裡面講「不生不滅 、不斷不常、不來不出 、不一不異」 ，不一不異我在Youtube有解釋大家可以去找一下。同樣的找出八不概念一個點來思維，只要熟悉一個點應該就可以深入了解八不概念。以「不生不滅」而言， 「生」要俱足條件，生的構成無法是單一因素的， 整個「生」的動作在進行是無法停留的，大家可以試試讓這些觀念進入大腦裏看自己會起什麼變化。
From these eight negations we can see that Nidānas
function within the context of śūnyatā. Śūnyatā
refers to the unfixed nature of all things, including you and me; without śūnyatā,
no development would be possible. Who you are now is not the same as who you were
at the age of 10, 15, or 20, but nor are you totally different from who you
used to be. Without this process of development, how could you have become
yourself?
八不直指因緣裡面必須具足空的性質，空的概念是什麼?空是各個元素的不定性， 假設每一個元素包括個人的人生都是固定的，人絕對沒有路走怎麼講呢? 小時候的你是固定嗎 ?10歲的你固定， 15歲的你也固定， 20歲的你也固定，假如這所有的固定都是單獨存在，試問你是誰?
In
the process of growth we are constantly leaving things behind. To get to today,
you had to leave yesterday behind. Śūnyatā is what provides the space to grow;
if not for śūnyatā, it wouldn’t be possible to leave things behind, in which
case we’d end up getting crushed by all the accumulated stuff! From the
perspective of śūnyatā, you reach the age of five, and then you leave it
behind; you reach the age of ten, and then you leave it behind. In the study
group I put it like this: If everything that happened in 2010 still exists in
2020, what would that be like? How could you move forward? It would be as if
you were stuck in 2010; it’s now 2020, so if you’re still holding onto
everything from 2021, you’re going to wear yourself out!
我們在整個成長裡面一定有些遺失了!有些在成長 ，沒有誰能不走過昨天而存在，如果自己生命中的時間跟空間不過去，全部都是「有」的世界， 沒有存在「空」的世界，那恐怕會把自己擠死掉!有了空法你活了5歲 ，5歲過去了 !活了10歲10歲過去 !我在讀書會有舉例； 你在2010年代發生的事情假使到2020年代還存在、都存在 ，那你到底要不要走路啊?你到底有沒有在走路? 如果都存在你現在應該活在2010年那個時空，可是你今天又活在2020年 那每件事都這樣扛著一定累死人!
The
principle of śūnyatā demonstrates that if A and B are fixed elements, then they
can’t blend or interact; only if A is not fixed will it be able to blend with
something else to create something new. As such, everything is born out of śūnyatā;
it’s the plenum void. Thus in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā we read, “It’s by virtue
of śūnyatā that all things exist.” Personally, I have found these eight
negations to be quite edifying; looking back at the past few decades, I can see
that most of what was important or pressing 20 years ago has now vanished into
thin air. Looking at things in this way helps to ease the burden of being
human.
空的思維讓人認識到假如A跟B都是固定的成份是不能融合的 ，A是不定體裡面有空的成份它才可能融合其他然後產生新的生命，換句話說:有空的存在才能成就一切人事物，「以有空義故，一切法得成」這是 《中觀論》主講的 。我研究八不概念很久後對我個人的生命做了很大的啟發 ，至少我活過20年代以後20年代裡面的承載大都會過去。然後走過2020年進入2021年，這種效應讓我個人的生命負擔少很多。
Don’t
look down on śūnyatā as a mere concept, for its application can bring about
major changes in your life. These are some of the things a serious Buddhist
needs to contemplate in order to overcome the fetters laid down by a skewed
view of existence, and to bring about deep inner transformation. Otherwise,
we’ll probably lack the courage required to progress in the practice. Most
people simply go along with the crowd, rather than intentionally charting their
own course in life; they are carried along by circumstances, rather than
shaping them. Without an understanding of śūnyatā, we lack the courage to let
go of the past, and lose the opportunity to grow and to realize our potential.
(Translated by Ken Kraynak)
(Proofread by Sophia
Fang-chun Kuo and Grace Jui-hsin Tsai)
空是一個思想但卻是讓人起改變的最大資源，想實際得到佛法利益的學佛者必須去思考這些問題，才有可能扭轉「有」給的臃腫與阻塞培養出轉身再建起的能力 。不然大部分的人是沒有勇氣去做那些事情的，我們大都是被環境逼著走而走， 而不是去創造環境， 因為我們沒有空的思想導致我們不敢遺忘過去，同時也喪失創新的可能性。
半寄
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