No. 953 "Colors and Emptiness – Live in Peace" 2023/8/17

No. 953 "Colors and Emptiness – Live in Peace" 2023/8/17

//Summary//

Eliminating "attachments", breaking down relative "frames", removing barriers between self and others, and eliminating conflicts and strife paves the way for harmony, unity and absoluteness for all humanity.

Still, the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death will not disappear.

But you can live in peace knowing that the truth will exist forever.

In Buddhism, "colour" refers to an object or phenomenon that appears as a specific shape or colour.

Although "Emptiness" has both meanings of nothingness and existence, denial and affirmation, the world tends to grasp it with senses such as "empty, nothing, sad,'' etc. It emphasises only the "nothingness'' aspect.

1)

Somon Horisawa has a book called Breaking the Frame in 2017.

In the following, I will explain what the "frame" in the title of this book, "Breaking the Frame", means.

First, explain the four sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death:

In his youth, Shakyamuni(Buddha) sincerely doubted his very life, which was limited by these four sufferings.

2)

Birth is already 'suffering', old age is 'suffering of old age', sickness is 'suffering of sickness', and finally, death is the ultimate 'suffering of death' that it is life.

How full of suffering is life? That is life. In his youth, the Buddha wondered if there was any value in living such a life.

3)

It is preached about the origin of Buddha's ordination.

The Buddha then left his princely position, wife and children, entered the priesthood and underwent penance.

However, he realised he could not attain enlightenment through austerity, so he practised zazen under the Bodhi tree and saw the morning star at dawn.

4)

Mr Horisawa said about the Buddha's enlightenment:

The young Buddha could not get out of the four frames of suffering, that is, the frame of life, the frame of old age, the frame of sickness and the structure of death, and he was in agony and suffering.

He could say that the frame is a concept.

In other words, he was in the frame of 'life pain', 'old age pain', 'sickness' and 'death', and he struggled to be free.

5)

That is why he suffers.

Rather than actual suffering, the 'frame of mind' afflicts people.

He broke all barriers when his doubts were cleared and he realised the truth. He broke through the four hardships and all the 'frames of mind'.

So he was free and no longer had any pain.

6)

It is strange to say that the "framework of ideas" affects people.

Furthermore, Mr Horisawa says:

Even after attaining great enlightenment, the Buddha lived an everyday life.

So he grew old, got sick and finally died. What made him different from ordinary people was that he was freed from the 'torment of ideas' and could quickly grow old, get sick and die.

7)

He will grow old quickly, get sick easily and die easily, which means he will never grow old, never get sick and never die.

Mr Horisawa said enlightenment is a state of "breaking the boundaries".

"Because we are within the framework of relativity, the idea of self and other is born. When you break the frame of the concept of relativity, the conflict between yourself and others disappears. Then the path to human harmony, unity and absoluteness will be considered. "

8)

He also explains colours and emptiness in an easy-to-understand way.

First, he explains that "colour" is a Buddhist term that refers to "all objects that can be seen with the eye".

The Heart Sutra says that not only is colour empty, but so is the conscious mind. Since enlightened action is a function of the mind, Mr Horisawa preaches that "all matter and mind are contrasted with 'emptiness'.

9)

This means "feeling is emptiness" and "heart is emptiness".

We are obsessed with "colour" that appears as a phenomenon.

Because you are also a 'colour', self-attachment is your attachment to yourself. If you cling to it as your own, you will compete with each other.

10)

"In other words, 'attachment' is the source of all confusion, the source of all conflict and the head of all suffering," Mr Horisawa said.

"So when 'attachment' is gone, everything is resolved."

Mr Horisawa said, "But in the world view of Mutual(Sougo), "attachment" is inherently allowed, so conflicts in this world will never end. "

"Sougo" is to exist only under certain relationships and conditions and in a dependent relationship with others.

11)

Furthermore, about "Emptiness",

"When you mercilessly throw away 'colour' and lose it completely, this is called 'emptiness'. In other words, it means 'Karappo(nothing)'.

Therefore, we can understand that "emptiness" is a word for "state" rather than "thing."

12)

Mr Horisawa preaches "experiencing space".

It is an experience of feeling "Emptiness".

What he means is, "Our bodies are full of colour."

This "colour" is gradually eliminated or "emptied" from the top of the head to the toes of the feet.

13)

I will train this with pictures. I have learnt to use the 'empty' filter.

"Apply the 'empty filter' from the top of your head and gradually lower it until you reach your feet.

From where this "empty filter" passes, I imagine that "colour" disappears and becomes "empty".

It's an image so that you can bring it down quickly and smoothly.

Repeat this with all your heart. This is practice.

The practice also means "to repeat a thing firmly. "

14)

If you repeat this way, you will gradually be able to feel emptiness.

At first, you will feel the weight and stiffness of your body, but eventually, you will feel your body becoming lighter and less stiff.

You will also be able to feel that your body is "present" and "not present. "

15)

In this way, when 'colour' passes through 'sky(Emptiness)', the complex problem of the relative world disappears for the first time.

By thoroughly emphasising emptiness, the reasons for attachment disappear.

Mr Horisawa said, "Since we are human beings, no matter how much we pass through the sky(Emptiness), we are still human beings. It would be good to think about how Buddha lived as a human being even after enlightenment."

16)

I thought that colours exist as 'real existences', but now I understand they are 'temporary existences' in which colours seem to live temporarily.

Therefore, for those who have passed through 'Emptiness', 'colour' changes from actual to temporary existence. Temporary existence is mysterious existence.

17)

Mr Horisawa said:

The Buddha passed through 'emptiness' to temporary existence, and his subsequent forty-five years of missionary life were the full flowering of his work as 'exquisite(Myoyu)'.

From being stuck in a frame bound by colour to breaking through the frame and experiencing the sky(Emptiness).

18)

From being caught in the colour, stuck in the frame, finally breaking the structure, and experiencing the sky(Emptiness), we will live leisurely as Myoyu.

Myoyu is the worldview of Mahayana Buddhism, which positively evaluates reality, assuming that true emptiness is not nothingness but an extraordinary existence.

In other words, we can live comfortably, feeling that the truth will exist forever.