What Is the Three Dharma-Seals About? (9)

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© Anonymous, August 7, 2013 at 3:38 PM (http://tantrismuskritik.blogspot.tw/2013/07/what-is-three-dharma-seals-about-8.html?showComment=1375861130031#c31099444883380578")

Then can we use the dharma-seal of “nirvana being tranquil” to subsume all dharma-seals?


Well, let us first take a closer look of the content of the Three Samadhis. Like what we have done before, we will group the Three Samadhis into two types for the sake of our discussion. How are we going to divide them?

The dharma-seal of nirvana corresponds to Emptiness whereas “all formations being impermanent” corresponds to that of No-Appearance and Wishlessness (or, No-Appearance and No-Fabrication, Part 2).

But why would we characterize nirvana as emptiness? This is actually a very crucial point for the understanding of the Three Dharma-Seals, Three Samadhis, or Three Liberation Ways. Some people say that the sound-hearer dharmas refer to “emptiness due to impermanence.” So, to them, the Emptiness Samadhi in the Three Samadhis means “emptiness due to impermanence.”

Owing to this understanding, they believe that once they have thoroughly observed the emptiness in all dharmas they would have realized the Emptiness Samadhi. Yet, this view is fallacious.

When a non-Buddhist practitioner who believes in nihilism observes and confirms that all dharmas in the aggregates [skandhās], sense-fields [ayatanās] and sense-realms [dhātavas] are indeed “emptiness due to impermanence” and will eventually become extinguished, he would come to the conclusion that no dharma exists in the three realms and that the No-Appearance and Wishlessness Samadhis in the Three Samadhis refer to the elimination of appearances and wishes.

In this case, would all of the Three Samadhis not be rendered as empty, nothing, and impermanent? Wouldn’t all of them have to be eliminated? If that were correct though, this dharma would be no different from that of those non-Buddhist nihilists. If Emptiness Samadhi is explained in terms of “emptiness due to impermanence,” then non-Buddhist nihilists should be regarded as enlightened saints in the Buddha dharma. Yet obviously, this is not the case.

It is perfectly normal if you have to do repeat readings, as I wrote earlier, this sujbect is a bit advanced Buddha dharma.

Try to connect and weave all info you have gained from this thread, as these basics will enhance your Buddhist knowledge even till future lifetimes. (Part 9)