空 : Part Two (Indian śūnya 2)

A makes B which makes C which makes D which makes E which makes F which makes G which makes F which makes G which makes H which makes I which makes J which makes......Z makes A.



B can't exist without A which can't exist without Z which can't exist without Y which can't exist without X which can't exist without..........



Every things need their origin. Suppose a man made a knife. The man is totally different from knife. The man is a human. Knife is a material to cut something. People tend to think the essence of knife is totally different from human. But the knife's essence can't exist without a essence that the man made the knife. It means the man irrefutably has the essence of the knife. To make mean give the essence, and making itself and "to be made by" are also an essences too.



Any essences can't exist alone. Suppose there is a pot. Pot has many essences. Color, figure, weight, temperature and so on. Each essences can't exist alone. Suppose the pot doesn't have color, it is not pot. Suppose the pot doesn't have figure, it is not pot. Suppose the pot doesn't have weight, it is not pot. Suppose the pot doesn't have temperature, it isn't pot. suppose the pot doesn't have weight again, even if it doesn't have weight, it has a weight that 0 kilo grams. All essences have to exist together. Namely, no thing has special quality in the fullest sense. If one essence is special quality, the essence can exist without relationships. But such essence is not in this universe.



We tend to think there are essential qualities in materials and in things. However, Buddhism denies the view. Nāgārjuna wrote 中論(Cyuuron in Japanese) and this book is one of most important books. According to Nāgārjuna, śūnya means "A lacks A's essential qualities.". The essential qualities means intrinsic and inalterable kind, that is, essential qualities are quality which was not made by and which is not tied to anything. Traditionally, dharma(principle) had been regarded as entity by Buddhists but Nāgārjuna defined dharma is also śūnya, dharma doesn't have essential qualities. If a thing has essential quality, the thing can't exist because it doesn't have relationship. I think I can say "every things can exist because of śūnya. ", every things can exist because every things don't have entity.



Then, what is the dharma? Nāgārjuna said dharma is expediential word to lead us to the enlightenment. Traditionally, buddhism think there are two kind of truth. One is a truth of commoner, the other is the truth of buddha. Dharma is the truth of people who don't get enlightenment. And the world which people who realize enlightenment see is the truth of Buddha.



Buddhist realize śūnya to quell the truth of commoner's view including dharma. Dharma is inferior wisdom. The world which buddha realized is the superior wisdom. "realize" is the phase of that dharma affects one's personal quality.



Nāgārjuna and his students thought the root cause interfere realizing enlightenment is commoner's view including dharma. They thought segmentalization of the world and diversification of the world is the culprit. They thought, that is, to categorize with words and to think there are essential qualities and these adhesion from them are two sides of the same coin.



Nāgārjuna explained about quality of śūnya that not depending on, quietude, not to be discuss by commoner's view, have no separation, no diversity. That is śūnya have a quality that śūnya doesn't have quality. śūnya doesn't have quality, thus, śūnya has quality that śūnya has quality that śūnya doesn't have quality.



Human doesn't have Human's unique quality thus human can exist. Unique quality is a view of commoners. If human has unique quality in the real sense of the term, human doesn't exist in this world because the human doesn't have any relationships with this world. Relationship is the evidence that a thing can't monopolize its quality. As for the meaning of the quality, I already explained. Human's quality is śūnya, thus human can exist.



Traditionally, Indian philosophers think we can explain the truth only with denial. Not all philosophers but this view established about 3,000 years ago, as I recall.



A is not A. Therefore A is not A means A is A because of the denial. Buddhist deny the essential quality, therefore, new existence which is śūnya were established by Buddhist.



It maybe that I should explain about 唯識思想(Yoga buddhists), however I skip about them. They tried to get enlightenment by meditation and some of them thought every one has the nature become Buddha, everyone has the nature of Buddha and it is just smutted by adventitious causes.





I took the photo at Tamagawa Jyousui Ryokudo in Kokubunji city, Tokyo.