There Is No Suffering 48

Indeed, everything is empyt, but emptiness is wonderful existence. It is precisely because our existence is illusory that we can experience enlightenment and help others to do the same. For this reason, “emptiness is not other than form” is more important to understand than “form is not other than emptiness,” in that the workings of the five skandhas are the full display of emptiness. The five skandhas do have a conventional existence. Our bodies are illusory, but we will suffer if we do not care for them. Food is illusory, but we’ll starve if we do not eat. Our activities are illusory, but only through activity can we help others. For this reason, there is action in the midst of emptiness, and because of this, we should remain active and positive, and avoid nihilism.

The line “Form is precisely emptiness, and emptiness is precisely form,” seems to repeat the previous two lines, but indicates something subtly different. The first two lines provide a concept, but these two lines point out a method for direct contemplation (direct perception) of that truth. Again, if one directly contemplates that form is precisely emptiness, but stops there, it would lead to a nihilistic attitude. Advanced practitioners who enter deep levels of samadhi and perceive that everything is empty sometimes get stuck on this point. In extreme cases, they may stay in samadhi until they waste away, because they see no need to continue living. We also see, to one degree or another, this kind of apathy affecting some misguided practitioners. Having the correct concept is important, but it is not enough; one must also directly contemplate that emptiness is precisely form.

One of my former disciples never shaved his beard because, as he said, “If everything is empty, what does it matter?” Later, when he became abbot of his own temple, he decided to become clean-shaven. He did it, as he said, because his followers requested it of him. Also, he said that he had moved beyond the idea of form being only emptiness and accepted that emptiness is also form. Emptiness separate from phenomena is not a true Buddhist understanding.