The Seven Elements are All-Pervasive

VOLUME 3, Chapter 6

 

O5 The element emptiness.
P1 He reveals the nature by digging for it.

Sutra:

“Ananda, the nature of emptiness has no shape; it is only apparent because of form. For instance, Shravasti is far from the river, so when the kshatriyas, brahmans, vaishyas, shudras, bharadvajas, chandalas, and so forth, build their homes there, they dig wells seeking water. Where a foot of earth is removed, there is a foot of emptiness; where as many as ten feet of earth are removed, there are ten feet of emptiness. The depth of the emptiness corresponds to the amount of earth removed.

Commentary:

Ananda, the nature of emptiness has no shape; it is only apparent because of form. Having finished explaining the element wind, the Buddha now discusses the element of emptiness.

How can emptiness be an element? Emptiness, too, pervades the dharma-realm. It is like the earth, water, fire, and wind already discussed. He says, “The nature of emptiness has no shape.” If there is a shape, it is not emptiness. Is there any emptiness in places where there are shapes? Yes, there is not less emptiness in places where there are shapes and forms, and not more emptiness in places where there are no shapes or forms.

You say “If we dig a big pit in the ground, the pit will be filled with emptiness. Isn’t that a case of there being more emptiness?”

Before you dug the pit, the emptiness was not less. The emptiness was contained in the earth. It is the same principle as “Ice is water and water is ice.” Although the ice is hard, water is within it. In this case, the earth has been dug up to reveal emptiness, but actually wherever there is a shape there is emptiness within. It’s not that there isn’t any emptiness there. It’s not the case that there is no emptiness just here where there’s a table. There is still emptiness here. Where is the emptiness? It’s within the table.

Thus, emptiness pervades all places. It’s everywhere. The text says, “It is only apparent because of form.” Emptiness hasn’t any shape or form; you can’t see it. Only because of the manifestation of shapes and forms can you distinguish places where there is emptiness. If there were no forms, you would be unaware of emptiness.

For instance, Shravasti is far from the river, thus the people of that city can’t use the river water. So when the kshatriyas, the royal class, the brahmans, the priestly class, the vaishyas - the vaishyas are the business class - the shudras, who are the servant class, the bharadvajas, chandalas, and so forth - those of mean and lowly birth. Chandalas are the butchers, the lowliest people in India.

In India, the chandalas had to carry flutes and play upon them as they walked on the streets to let people know they were approaching. They had to separate themselves from the other people. When they build their homes there, they dig wells seeking water. Where a foot of earth is removed, there is a foot of emptiness. If you take a foot of dirt out of the earth, a foot of emptiness will appear there. Where as many as ten feet of earth are removed, there are ten feet of emptiness. The more you dig down in search of water, the more emptiness will appear. The depth of the emptiness corresponds to the amount of earth removed. That’s the way it is at the site of a well.

P2 He explains the digging in detail.

Sutra:

“Does this emptiness come out of the dirt, does it exist because of the digging, or does it arise of itself without a cause?

Commentary:

Now I’m asking you, Ananda. When a well is drilled, emptiness is created. What do you say? Does this emptiness come out of the dirt? Is it because of the dirt that the emptiness appears? Does it exist because of the digging? Is it because the earth is drilled that the emptiness exists? Or does it arise of itself without a cause? Is it that the emptiness arises of itself, for no reason at all? Where do you say the emptiness comes from?

Sutra:

“Moreover, Ananda, suppose this emptiness arose of itself without any cause. Why wasn’t it unobstructed before the earth was dug? Quite the contrary, one saw only the great earth; there was no emptiness evident in it.

Commentary:

Moreover, Ananda, suppose this emptiness arose of itself without any cause. Suppose it came about by itself without any reason and without any conditions for it. Why wasn’t it unobstructed before the earth was dug? Why wasn’t it free from obstruction? Before the earth was drilled there was an obstruction; something was blocking the emptiness. Quite the contrary, one saw only the great earth; there was no emptiness evident in it. There wasn’t a place of emptiness that could be penetrated. It was exactly the opposite of penetrating.

Sutra:

“If emptiness came about because of the removal of the earth, we should have seen it entering the well as the earth was removed. If emptiness was not seen entering the well when the earth was first removed, how can we say that emptiness came about because of the removal of the earth?

Commentary:

If emptiness came about because of the removal of the earth - if emptiness took advantage of the removal of earth to make its appearance - we should have seen it entering the well as the earth was removed. You should be able to see how the emptiness goes in. How does emptiness go in? Basically emptiness has no form or appearance; how can it be seen? Emptiness can’t go in; emptiness is not produced and not extinguished. It does not go in or come out.

If emptiness was not seen entering the well when the earth was first removed - if one does not see any emptiness go in when the earth is removed - how can we say that emptiness came about because of the removal of the earth? If you don’t see the emptiness go in when the earth comes out, how can you say that emptiness exists because of the removal of the earth? You can’t explain it that way.

Sutra:

“If there is no going in or coming out, then there is no difference between the earth and emptiness. Why, then, doesn’t emptiness come out of the well along with the earth in the process of digging?

Commentary:

If there is no going in or coming out - if you want to say that the emptiness neither goes in or comes out. The Buddha suspects that Ananda has another argument: “Emptiness is merely emptiness; it doesn’t go in or come out.” However, if it neither goes in nor comes out, then there is no difference between the earth and emptiness. If we accept your theory that emptiness doesn’t go in or come out, then there’s no distinction between emptiness and earth. If there’s no distinction between them, emptiness is just earth and earth is just emptiness. Emptiness and earth are one. Emptiness and earth are non dual. Since they are the same, why, then, doesn’t emptiness come out of the well along with the earth in the process of digging? You say that they are the same, so when the earth comes out, why doesn’t the emptiness follow it?

Sutra:

“If emptiness appeared because of the digging, then the digging would bring out emptiness instead of the earth. If emptiness does not come out because of the digging, then the digging yields only earth. Why, then, do we see emptiness appear as the well is dug?

Commentary:

Suppose you say that emptiness appeared because of the digging into the earth. If that is reasonable, then it follows that the digging would bring out emptiness instead of the earth. The drilling should remove the emptiness, not the earth. Why, then, does it remove the earth? If emptiness does not come out because of the digging - if you say that it is not because of drilling the well that the emptiness appears - then the digging yields only earth. Why, then, do we see emptiness appear as the well is dug? Since what the drilling removes is earth, why do you then see emptiness? How does the emptiness come into being?

Sutra:

“You should consider this even more carefully. Look into it deeply, and you will find that the digging comes from the person’s hand as its means of conveyance, and the earth exists because of a change in the ground. But what causes the emptiness to appear?

Commentary:

The Buddha tells Ananda: You should consider this even more carefully. Investigate this. Really look into it deeply and in detail. And you will find that the digging comes from the person’s hand as its means of conveyance. The drilling is done with a spade. And the earth exists because of a change in the ground. That is, the dirt moves out of the earth and the well is made. But what causes the emptiness to appear? How does the emptiness come about?

Sutra:

“The digging and the emptiness, one being substantial and the other insubstantial, do not function on the same plane. They do not mix and unite. Nor can it be that emptiness exists spontaneously without an origin.

Commentary:

The digging is substantial, and the emptiness is insubstantial. The drilling is the false, the emptiness is the true. They do not function on the same plane. Digging and emptiness don’t function together. They do not mix and unite. So in this there is no mixing and there is no uniting. Nor can it be that emptiness exists spontaneously without an origin. But, what is emptiness ultimately like? How does it arise? It’s not the case that emptiness gives rise to itself. It’s not that emptiness comes into being without any reason, with no cause at all.

P3 He puts them together and admonishes him to awaken.

Sutra:

“Although the nature of emptiness is completely pervasive, it is basically unmoving. You should know that it and earth, water, fire, and wind are together called the five elements. Their natures are true and perfectly fused, and all are the treasury of the Thus Come One, fundamentally devoid of production and extinction.

Commentary:

Although the nature of emptiness is completely pervasive, it is basically unmoving. You should know that it and earth, water, fire, and wind are together called the five elements. Their natures are true and perfectly fused. The nature of emptiness is also true and not false; it is perfect and perfectly fused without obstruction. All are the treasury of the Thus Come One. Why is it perfectly fused without obstruction? It comes forth from the treasury of the Thus Come One and is fundamentally devoid of production and extinction. So it is neither produced nor destroyed.

Sutra:

"Ananda, your mind is murky and confused, and you do not awaken to the fact that the source of the four elements is none other than the treasury of the Thus Come One. Why do you not take a look at emptiness to see whether it is subject to such relativities as coming and going?

Commentary:

Ananda, your mind is murky and confused. You are so stupid! Your mind is too murky, too lacking in understanding, and you do not awaken to the fact that the source of the four elements is none other than the treasury of the Thus Come One. I have explained the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind to you before, but you still don’t understand. You are still mixed up. You don’t understand that the four elements are basically the treasury of the Thus Come One. Therefore, now you should take a look at emptiness to see whether it is subject to such relativities as coming and going? Does emptiness ultimately come out or go in? Or is it that it doesn’t come out and doesn’t go in, either? Look it over; consider it carefully.

P4 He concludes by showing the substance and function.

Sutra:

“You do not know at all that in the treasury of the Thus Come One the nature of enlightenment is true emptiness, and the nature of emptiness is true enlightenment. Pure at its origin, it pervades the dharma-realm.

Commentary:

You do not know at all. Now it has reached the point that Ananda doesn’t understand at all. That in the treasury of the Thus Come One the nature of enlightenment is true emptiness. The essence of the nature of enlightenment is the nature of the substance of true emptiness. And the nature of emptiness is true enlightenment. And the essence of the nature of emptiness is the nature of the substance of genuine, wonderful enlightenment. Pure at its origin - this state of being is pure at its source, and it pervades the dharma-realm. Thus, emptiness and the four elements mentioned above are all pure at their origin, and they all pervade the dharma realm. Since that is the case, how can they go in or come out?

Sutra:

“It accords with living beings’ minds, in response to their capacity to know.

Commentary:

It accords with living beings’ minds throughout the nine dharma-realms, in response to their capacity to know. They come to know however much they should know, whether it is a little or a lot, big or small.

Sutra:

“Ananda, if in one place there is a well empty of earth, there will be emptiness filling up that one place. If there are wells empty of earth in the ten directions, there will be emptiness filling them up in the ten directions. Since it fills up the ten directions, is there any fixed location in which emptiness is found?

Commentary:

Ananda, I will now tell you clearly. If in one place there is a well empty of earth, there will be emptiness filling up that one place - the emptiness fills up the whole well. If there are wells empty of earth in the ten directions, there will be emptiness filling them up in the ten directions. If there were wells everywhere throughout the ten directions, the ten directions would be replete with emptiness. Emptiness everywhere follows the principle explained above. Since it fills up the ten directions - since there is emptiness in every place, anywhere there is a well there will be emptiness. Is there any fixed direction or location in which emptiness is found? Can you still say that there is a place that emptiness comes from and a place it goes to? It doesn’t come or go.

P5 He rejects the two theories for being mere conjectures.

Sutra:

“It is experienced to whatever extent is dictated by the law of karma. Ignorant of this fact, people in the world are so deluded as to assign their origin to causes and conditions or to spontaneity. These mistakes, which arise from the discriminations and reasoning processes of the conscious mind, are nothing but the play of empty words which bear no real meaning.

Commentary:

It is experienced to whatever extent is dictated by the law of karma. According to the karmic obstacles of living beings, such karmic retributions as these arise. They come about through the wonderful functioning of the nature of the treasury of the Thus Come One. But, ignorant of this fact, people in the world - adherents of the provisional teaching, ordinary people, and adherents of externalist religions, who lack wisdom - are so deluded as to assign their origin to causes and conditions. They are confused about this principle and call it causes and conditions. Adherents of other religions say that it is the principle of spontaneity; they ascribe the arisal of emptiness to spontaneity.

These mistakes, which arise from the discriminations and reasoning processes of the conscious mind - it is a case of using the considering, discriminating, conscious mind to distinguish and calculate. They are nothing but the play of empty words which bear no real meaning. But, it is merely a principle which lends itself to discussion; it is not a true principle. What they discuss is not proper theory, but idle speculation.

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