Depedent Origination 3/21/2014 In the Majjhima Nikaya there is a short passage on how the world has come to be. It is very simple, very easy to understand, and yet very deep. This is, because that is. This is not because that is not. This is like this, because that is like that. This is the Buddhist teaching of Genesis. Everything is of a dependent nature, this explains karma, because there are causes there are effects, This is (effects) because that is (cause) There can not be an effect without a cause. We can easily see dependent origination all around us in the physical world. That everything can be broken down into parts and the parts can be broken down into smaller parts and so forth. We can see that we need the earth, wind, fire, water, space and consciousness to exist. Our existence depends on these elements. In the Heart Sutra it says: Form is empty, emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form, form is not other than emptiness. Feeling is empty, emptiness is feeling. Emptiness is not other than feeling, feeling is not other than emptiness. Discrimination is empty, emptiness is discrimination. Emptiness is not other than discrimination, discrimination is not other than emptiness Formation is emptiness, emptiness is formation. Emptiness is not other than formation, formation is not other than emptiness. Consciousness is empty, emptiness is consciousness. Emptiness is not other than consciousness, consciousness is not other than emptiness. Thus Shariputa, all phenomena are emptiness. Emptiness is not a thing so if we are to understand emptiness we must examine it closely and perhaps the first question we should ask is: Empty of what? So that is where I will leave this for today and look forward to your responses. Many Blessings, Jimpa
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:20:13 +0000
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