Emptiness of Form | There Is No Suffering

The Heart Sutra speaks from the standpoint of the Mahayana idea of ultimate emptiness. The Buddha says that the five skandhas are not separate from emptiness, that they are indeed empty. Form is emptiness because it does not exist in a definite, enduring location; nor does it have an enduring shape or appearance. Forms, whether atoms or planets, interdependently exist and interact with all other forms. This is the only way we can know of their existence. If something had an eternal, unchanging, independent nature, it would never react with anything else, and, hence, we would never become aware of its existence.

Our lives are fleeting. You may think eighty years is a long time, but it is not. Time is also relative. A hundred-year-old may see a seventy-year-old as a youth. If it were a parent-child relationship, and the child died first, the parent would still think it was too soon. In our practice we reflect that our bodies, our mental activities, and the environment constantly change, and that, therefore, they are empty. This is true for all five skandhas, not just form. If you directly experience this truth, even for an instant, your grip on your sense of self will loosen. As attachment to a sense of self diminishes so too does suffering. In fact, we all suffer because we do not truly perceive the emptiness of the five skandhas. We can practice contemplating the emptiness of the five skandhas at any time. It is not limited to sitting meditation. However, if you do not meditate and study the Dharma, it will be difficult to practice such a method in daily life.

After the phrase “…form is not other than emptiness,” it is of crucial importance to add, “and emptiness is not other than form.” It affirms that emptiness is precisely the five skandhas. Armed with only the first insight, people might develop a negative attitude toward life and a false view of emptiness. They might feel there is no need for responsibilities and forget their families, their jobs, and their health. After all, if everything were empty, what would be the point of caring about or doing anything? This, however, is illusory emptiness. The relationship between form and emptiness is to be understood this way: in the midst of the five skandhas, there is emptiness, and in the midst of emptiness, there are the five skandhas. However, one needs the wisdom of direct experience to truly understand this.

Indeed, everything is empyt, but emptiness is wonderful existence. It is precisely because our existence is illusory that we can experience enlightenment and help others to do the same. For this reason, “emptiness is not other than form” is more important to understand than “form is not other than emptiness,” in that the workings of the five skandhas are the full display of emptiness. The five skandhas do have a conventional existence. Our bodies are illusory, but we will suffer if we do not care for them. Food is illusory, but we’ll starve if we do not eat. Our activities are illusory, but only through activity can we help others. For this reason, there is action in the midst of emptiness, and because of this, we should remain active and positive, and avoid nihilism.

The line “Form is precisely emptiness, and emptiness is precisely form,” seems to repeat the previous two lines, but indicates something subtly different. The first two lines provide a concept, but these two lines point out a method for direct contemplation (direct perception) of that truth. Again, if one directly contemplates that form is precisely emptiness, but stops there, it would lead to a nihilistic attitude. Advanced practitioners who enter deep levels of samadhi and perceive that everything is empty sometimes get stuck on this point. In extreme cases, they may stay in samadhi until they waste away, because they see no need to continue living. We also see, to one degree or another, this kind of apathy affecting some misguided practitioners. Having the correct concept is important, but it is not enough; one must also directly contemplate that emptiness is precisely form.

One of my former disciples never shaved his beard because, as he said, “If everything is empty, what does it matter?” Later, when he became abbot of his own temple, he decided to become clean-shaven. He did it, as he said, because his followers requested it of him. Also, he said that he had moved beyond the idea of form being only emptiness and accepted that emptiness is also form. Emptiness separate from phenomena is not a true Buddhist understanding.

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