Alex Wilding

It is here and now in every perception that we can see, or fail to see, emptiness. The tension between these points of view, the one emphasizing the need for extremely thorough intellectual analysis, while the other emphasizes immediate perception, has got a long history, and there is no need to try to settle the argument here.

The traditional commentaries therefore contain a lot of analytical philosophy, but we mustn't overlook the importance of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, the Prajnaparamita Sutras,

Legend has it that these were given to various disciples by the Buddha himself, but were hidden under the care of a class of snake-like water spirits known as Nagas, until, in due course, they were recovered by Nagarjuna. I did just say perfection of wisdom, though this may not be an ideal translation.

Wisdom is perhaps not too bad for the Prajna part, but perfection is rather more doubtful, although finding a snappy translation isn't necessarily easy either. Things like liberating virtue have been tried, and I think that's quite good apart from being a full six syllables and so not exactly snappy. These little points do matter, I think.

I recall many years ago talking to someone who was a teacher of religious education in a secondary school. Now, the usual number of these liberating virtues is six, but due to the translation as perfection, the six perfections, he was effectively dissing them on the grounds that they were mere counsels of perfection, urging us to be perfectly generous, perfectly ethical,

perfectly disciplined, meditate perfectly and be perfectly wise. This is, of course, not terribly useful advice if it's given to a real human being. Such are the results of not actually studying the teachings but judging them on the basis of a not altogether well-translated title. You might be tempted to obtain translations of some of these sutras to study.

that is without doubt a good idea, and therefore good luck with it. However, you might meet one problem, namely that for modern people they turn out to be, forgive me for saying so, boring. The thing is that they were not composed to be engaging or entertaining, even in the sense of a well-written philosophy book, let alone of a novel.

To my mind, they are extended, highly ornamented and repetitive hymns to this transcendental, liberating wisdom. They are meant for recitation as a practice in itself. They've been used for that purpose in the past, and the practice continues.

One of the ways in which my own teacher makes a living is by reading these sutras in people's homes for hours or even days at a time as a way of generating blessings for the house and home. And almost a thousand years ago, Machik Labdron was doing the same thing. To put it simply, she was the founder of the Chö tradition that I touched on in episode 19.

In her younger days, before she went all yogic, she was well known as someone who could read such sutras with extraordinary beauty and correctness. To give you at least an impression, however, I hope you'll indulge me reading a couple of short extracts, all of them in the translations of Edward Kahn's The first is from the Perfection of Wisdom in 700 lines.

Just before I start, I'll explain that the word Tathāgata, which is used a lot in this passage, is an epithet for the Buddha. This passage is in the mouth of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, who says, Through the mode of suchness do I see the Tathāgata. Through the mode of non-discrimination in the manner of non-observance, I see him through the aspect of non-production.

through the aspect of non-existence. But suchness does not attain enlightenment. Thus do I see that a targetter. Suchness does not become or cease to become. Thus do I see that a targetter. Suchness does not stand at any point or spot. Thus do I see that a targetter. Suchness is not past, future or present. Thus do I see that a targetter. Suchness is not brought about by duality or non-duality.

Thus do I see that a targetter. Suchness is neither defiled nor purified, thus do I see the Tartagata. Suchness is neither produced nor stopped, thus do I see the Tartagata. In this way the Tartagata is seen, revered, and honoured. The second extract comes from the Perfection of Wisdom for Surya Garba. Here the Buddha is speaking, saying,

Those people, son of good family, who will take up the sutra on perfect wisdom, the obstacles from their past deeds will become extinct. They will produce an equipment with merit. They will become endowed with a measureless equipment with wisdom. They will be endowed with mindfulness, morality and concentration. Once more again, son of good family, bodhisattvas should train in perfect wisdom.

Finally, if this isn't too much, a few words from the Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 lines. I wanted to include a bit of this because it's probably the best known of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. Here, the Buddha says,

If a person who belongs to the vehicle of the Bodhisattvas does not seize on past, future and present Dharmas, does not mind them, does not get at them, does not construct nor discriminate them, does not see nor review them, if he considers them with the conviction that all Dharmas are fabricated by thought construction, unborn, not come forth, not come, not gone, and that no Dharma is ever produced or stopped in the past, future or present, if he considers those Dharmas in such a way

then his jubilation is in accordance with the true nature of those dharmas, and so is his transformation of the merit into full enlightenment. So, this is not literature that's going to fly off the shelves of the airport bookshop. It's intended, it seems clear to me, to wash over the listeners and readers.

Reminded again and again about this perfection of wisdom, they may become almost intoxicated with its subtle transcendental beauty. As a result of this essentially devotional approach to wisdom, Prajnaparamita also takes the form of a deity and bears the epithet of the mother of all the Buddhas. I include a picture in the comments. Summarising, Reality is ultimately beyond any possible concepts.

We can stop there, perhaps reciting the Heart Sutra every day and its mantra, OM GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BUDDHI SOHA. This mantra can be translated, perhaps more roughly, as OM, gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, awakening, swaha. That last word being a little bit like our men, or so be it.

Or, since appearances are indeed here, we can work with them, seeing them not as real things, but as expressions, or it's sometimes even said that they are ornaments of the empty luminous mind. This is of course a more tantric approach. One short answer to the question of what is emptiness is therefore that nothing exists in itself, but neither is there an absence of existence.