No Self and Emptiness

The concepts of "No Self" and "Emptiness" in Buddhism could be difficult to comprehend for many lay people, as well as monks and nuns. This is not surprising, for humans have different levels of Dharma practice, understanding, and insight. What's more, understanding these concepts also evolves as one grows spiritually. No wonder His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that, of 84,000 methods the Buddha taught, those for the highly skillful are much different from those for beginners or intermediate practitioners. Sometimes the two ends of the continuum might seem completely different, even opposite.

Many years ago, a monk, in a casual talk with me, raised the question:"If there is no self, then who practices the Dharma, and who attains Enlightenment?" His doubt revealed his level of understanding of "No Self," even though he had received Buddhist training since he was very young. Because we have been thinking the conventional way too long, it is not easy for us to get rid of that way of thinking. We are trapped in the cycle of "I"-"Mine", "You"-"Yours", "S/he"-"Hers/His", "We"-"Ours" and "They"-"Theirs." Our view is shrouded by a thick veil which prevents us from seeing "No Self."

Buddhism teaches us the right way to view ourselves and everything around us. Physically and mentally, humans are a combination of many factors or elements which, under the right conditions, exist as they appear to, and which continuously undergo some micro-transformation or changes from moment to moment. Nothing is static or remains the same all the time. Nothing exists by itself; instead, it depends on multiple factors for its existence. Hence, it is nothing. No Self. Impermanence. Interdependence. Interconnectedness.

Phenomena have no ultimate reality. On a coarse level, a mountain may look stable, or remain the same today and tomorrow, as it did yesterday. But on a very subtle level, its particles are changing from one instant to the next. Nothing remains the same; no two consecutive instants are alike. The impermanence of phenomena depends on external causes and conditions.

Our perception of time, too, is illusory. What is the past? It is not a reality; it has no substance. What is the future? Future projections and anticipations do not have a reality, either. Only the present is what we are experiencing here and now, but it does not last. We are in a paradoxical situation: the illusive present moment constitutes a border between a past and a future which have no concrete reality, for the past no longer exists, and the future has not yet happened. Thus, perceived phenomena exist from the standpoint of their designation, or the names and the concepts we attach to them. (Stril-Rever, pp. 90-91)

The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, which is usually chanted every day and night in Buddhist temples, is all about Emptiness at both the micro and the macro levels: No suffering. No cause of suffering. No end of suffering. No Path. No Enlightenment. Nothing.

By declaring that phenomena are empty of intrinsic existence, we are declaring not their non-existence, but their interdependence, and their absence of a stable reality. (Stril-Rever, p. 91)

From this right view there arises an immense, boundless space of peace and tranquility, filled with love and compassion for everything and every being. Why? Because there is no distinction, "One in All and All in One" on a constant, endless move: Buddha Nature.

Source:
The Dalai Lama: My Spiritual Journey.(New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2010). Collected by Sofia Stril-Rever, and translated by Charlotte Mandell.