Dhamma for you.
EMPTINESS
By Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
EMPTINESS
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A moment ago we mentioned the word "emptiness" (sunnata). Let us now have a closer look at it. Sunnata is a Pali word. Sunna means "void" or "empty," and "-ta" is the equivalent of "-ness". Sunnata is emptiness or voidness.
In the everyday language of people who have not seen or penetrated to
the truth, emptiness means simply the absence of any content whatsoever,
a physical void, a vacuum, a useless nothingness. This is emptiness in
everyday language. Emptiness or sunnata in Dhamma language is
quite different. Here everything of every kind and variety may be
present in any quantity - everything, that is, with the single exception
of the ideas of "me" and "mine". Everything may be present, everything
of every sort and kind you can think of, the entire lot of both physical
and mental phenomena, with just this one exception - there is no idea
of "me" and "mine". No "I," no "my," - that is emptiness as it is
understood in Dhamma language, the language of the Buddha.
The world is empty. Empty of what? Empty of self and anything belonging
to self. With this single exception, everything may be present, as long
as nothing is regarded as "me" or "mine". This is the emptiness of
Dhamma language. When the Buddha spoke of emptiness, he was speaking
Dhamma language. Foolish people understand this as everyday language and
take it that there is nothing i the world at all, just a vacuum! If the
word "emptiness" is misinterpreted like this in term of everyday
language, the Buddha's teaching of emptiness becomes meaningless. Those
foolish people come out with many strange assertions that have nothing
whatever to do with emptiness as taught by the Buddha.
I hope you will take an interest in this and bear it well in mind. This
word "empty" applied to physical things naturally means absence of any
content, but in the metaphysical context, it means that though every
sort of thing may be present, there is utter absence of "I-ness" and
"my-ness." In the physical world, the mental world, or anywhere at all,
there is no such thing as "me" or "mine". The conditions of "I-ness" and
"my-ness" just do not exist. They are unreal, mere illusions, hence the
world is described as empty. It is not that the world is devoid of all
content. Everything is there, and it can be made use of with
discernment. Go ahead and make use of it! Just one thing though - don't
go producing the ideas of "me" and "mine"!
Thus,
in Dhamma language, empty does not mean "devoid of all content." Anyone
who takes it as meaning this is ignorant of Dhamma and ignorant of the
language of Dhamma. Such a person is speaking only everyday language. If
we go forcing this everyday meaning into the context of Dhamma
language, how can we ever make any sense of Dhamma? Do make a special
effort to understand this word. It has these two quite distinct
meanings.
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