Our Continued Wandering On (sutra)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Soma Thera, The Illusion of Samsara

Once the Buddha was staying at Ayodhya on the river Ganges, and there he said:

 

"Meditators, if this river Ganges in any way were to bring forth a ball of foam and an intelligent person were to see it, reflect on it, and thoroughly examine it, then, to that person seeing, reflecting on, and thoroughly examining it, that ball of foam would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in a ball of foam?

 

The Buddha reflected in a gorgeous pool of light (Gift-of-light/flickr.com)

  

"Meditators, in the same way, a meditator sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines FORM of any kind, past, future, or present, internal (pertaining to self) or external (pertaining to objects), coarse or fine, low or high, far or near. 

 

"To the meditator who sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines it, form would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in form?

 

"If, meditators, the heavy rains of autumn were to in any way give rise to a popping bubble, and an intelligent person were to see it, reflect on it, and thoroughly examine it, then, to that person who sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines it, that bubble would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in a bubble? 

"Meditators, in the same way, a meditator sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines FEELING of any kind, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or fine, low or high, far or near. To the medtitator who sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines it, feeling would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in feeling?

 

"If, in any manner, meditators, a mirage quivers at midday in the last month of the hot season, and an intelligent person were to see it, reflect on it, and thoroughly examine it, then, to that person who sees, reflects on, and examines it, that mirage would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in a mirage?
 
NOTE: The Buddha is not saying a mirage does not exist. It, indeed, has a kind of conditioned existence (utterly dependent on its factors and not independent of them). In any case, it is certainly not what it appears to be. It is empty, impersonal, without continuity (since it arises and passes away with its constituents). The same is true of the groups or "heaps," which the Buddha called the Five Aggregates (skhandha), the psycho-physical constituents of our illusory existence.

 

"Meditators, in the same way, a meditator sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines PERCEPTION of any kind, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or fine, low or high, far or near. To the medtiator who sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines it, perception would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in perception?

 

"If, meditators, a person in search of heartwood were to enter a forest with a sharp axe and were to see a giant young banana tree growing faultlessly, cut it at the root, cut off its top, and strip the rind from the stalk, that person by stripping it would not come even to sapwood, how much the less to heartwood? 

 

"Were an intelligent person to see it, reflect on it, and thoroughly examine it, then, to that person who sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines it, that banana stalk would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in a banana stalk? 

"Meditators, in the same way, a meditator sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines FORMATIONS of any kind, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or fine, low or high, far or near. To the meditator who sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines them, formations would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in formations?

 

"If, meditators, an illusionist or an illusionist's apprentice were to produce an illusion at the intersection of four roads, and an intelligent person were to see it, reflect on it, and thoroughly examine it, then, to that person who sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines it, that illusion would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in an illusion?

 

"Meditators, in the same way, a meditator sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines CONSCIOUSNESS of any kind, past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or fine, low or high, far or near. To the meditator who sees, reflects on, and thoroughly examines it, consciousness would appear worthless, empty, and without essence. Indeed, meditators, how can there be essence in consciousness?

 

Mara's daughters try to delude Siddhartha

"The instructed noble disciple [as distinguished from the uninstructed ignorant worldling] who sees thus turns away from form, turns away from feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness [or the Five Aggregates, as anything to cling to as a self].

 

"[With mind and heart naturally] turning away [after seeing things just as they are], one becomes detached. With detachment one becomes free. When free one knows, 'This is freedom!' And one understands, 'Birth has been exhausted, the spiritual life has been lived, what ought to be done has been done, and there will be no more of this [disappointment and delusion] to come.'"