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- Jinpa emphasized that we must not see emptiness as the “better truth” and thus attach to it while rejecting form – the line: “emptiness is form” is a way for us to not fall into that trap. Form and emptiness are not two independent realities – they are one unified reality; emptiness is not “better” than form.
People also ask
Is emptiness better than form?
Is emptiness a form or a feeling?
Who said form is emptiness?
Why is form not other than emptiness?
What is form emptiness skandhas?
Why is emptiness important?
Emptiness is not something to be afraid of, says Thich Nhat Hanh. The Heart Sutra teaches us that form may be empty of self but it’s full of everything else.
“Emptiness is form, form is emptiness” suggests that the substance of life and the Universe is empty, which can be used to dismiss or undermine your felt-experience and can encourage you to check out from engaging with it.
Because one cannot experience emptiness without phenomena, emptiness is form. Emptiness and form cannot be separated from each other. If the bulb and the electricity are separated, the bulb cannot show its functionality, and the electricity has no means to express its energy.
Nov 12, 2023 · Form is (Not) Emptiness: The Enigma at the Heart of the Heart Sutra. By J. S. Attwood. ⭐ Recommended. Get it: Online pdf. 29 pages. I am able to show that the four phrases exemplified by “form is emptiness” were once a reference to the well-known simile, “Form is like an illusion”.
- His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama
- Dr. Thupten Jinpa*
- Resources Related to The Heart of The Prajnaparamita Sutra
“Essence of the Heart Sutra”
During our session, we read pages 114 to 117 from the book “Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama’s Heart of Wisdom Teaching“ by The Dalai Lama. These are the first few pages of a section entitled: “Understanding the Two Truths”, from Chapter 10 of the book: “Developing an Unmistaken View of Reality.” We highly recommend looking up this book (ISBN: 978-0861712847) at your local library.
The Heart Sutra – Day 1 of the Dalai Lama’s three-day Dharma Talk
We shared only a short clip of this talk by His Holiness during our session, from 07:35 to 09:57. This recording is part of His Holiness’ three-day virtual teaching on The Heart Sutra at the request of Korean Buddhists from his residence in Dharamsala, HP, India on January 5-7, 2021. Recordings of second and third day of talks on Heart Sutra are posted on His Holiness’ official website and Youtube:
On “Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form”
* Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.is the Founder and Chairman of Compassion Institute, and the principal author of Compassion Cultivation Training™ (CCT©), the Institute’s flagship compassion education offering, developed while Jinpa was at Stanford University. Jinpa trained as a monk at the Shartse College of Ganden Monastic University, South India, where he received the Geshe Lharam degree. Jinpa also holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Cambridge University. He has been the principal English transl...
The root of the Heart Sutra:
SOURCE: Conze, Edward. Preface. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and Its Verse Summary, translated by Edward Conze, Grey Fox Press, 2001 paperback edition, pp.xi (ISBN 0-87704-049-4). https://huntingtonarchive.org/resources/downloads/sutras/02Prajnaparamita/Astasahasrika.pdf
Various versions and translations of the Heart Sutra
1. The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom– Translation by Thupten Jinpa 2. Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra– San Francisco Zen Center 3. The Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra– Western Chan Fellowship (in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen.)
Suggested Contemplations
“Form is emptiness, emptiness is form” is only used as an example for all five aggregates (skandhas) in the Heart Sutra. Try contemplating the same line of teaching by substituting “Form (Rūpa)” with the other aggregates and see what impact that may have on us. 1. Feeling (Vedanā) is emptiness, emptiness is feeling; emptiness is not other than feeling, feeling too is not other than emptiness. 2. Perception (Saṃjñā) is emptiness, emptiness is perception; emptiness is not other than perception,...
One of the perhaps most quoted lines from the Heart Sutra—“form is emptiness, emptiness is form”—is not an isolated assertion that can be addressed on its own. It is instead the first of a long list of abhidharma categories the independent existence of which is being denied.
Apr 30, 2024 · Simply put, “Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form” states that what appears to be matter or “form” is ultimately empty. The term “Emptiness” in this case does not mean nothing, but more precisely, nothing exists independently, everything is created by fate.
