THIEÄN PHUÙC

BAÙT NHAÕ
&

TAÙNH KHOÂNG

PRAJNA
&

EMTINESS
 2

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 3

Muïc Luïc
Table of Content

Muïc Luïc—Table of Content 3

Lôøi Ñaàu Saùch—Preface 7

Phaàn Moät—Part One: Baùt Nhaõ Theo Quan Ñieåm Phaät Giaùo—Prajna in
Buddhist Point of View 11
Chöông Moät—Chapter One: Toång Quan Veà Baùt Nhaõ—An Overview of Prajna 13
Chöông Hai—Chapter Two: Chuûng Loaïi Baùt Nhaõ—Categories of Prajna 25
Chöông Ba—Chapter Three: Nhöõng Ñaëc Tính Cuûa Baùt Nhaõ—Characteristics of
Prajna 39
Chöông Boán—Chapter Four: Duïng Cuûa Baùt Nhaõ—The functions of Prajna 41
Chöông Naêm—Chapter Five: Trí Tueä & Baùt Nhaõ—Wisdom & Prajna 51
Chöông Saùu—Chapter Six: Baùt Nhaõ Vaø Taùnh Khoâng—Prajna and Sunyata 63
Chöông Baûy—Chapter Seven: Baùt Nhaõ Vaø Töï Taùnh—Prajna and Self-Nature 67
Chöông Taùm—Chapter Eight: Ma Ha Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña—The Maha-Prajna-
Paramita 73
Chöông Chín—Chapter Nine: Baùt Nhaõ Vaø Caùi Duïng Cuûa Thöùc Cuõng Nhö Voâ
Thöùc—Prajna and Conscious and Unconscious Functions 83
ChöôngMöôøi—Chapter Ten: Giaûi Thoaùt Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät—Prajna-Paramita
Emancipation 87
ChöôngMöôøi Moät—Chapter Eleven: Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh—The Sutra of the
Prajnaparamita 91
ChöôngMöôøi Hai—Chapter Twelve: Haønh Giaû Tu Thieàn Vaø Trí Tueä Baùt Nhaõ—Zen
Practitioners and Prajna Wisdom 95
ChöôngMöôøi Ba—Chapter Thirteen: Haønh Giaû Tu Thieàn Quaùn Chieáu Baùt Nhaõ —
Zen Practitioners and the Contemplation on the Prajna 105
ChöôngMöôøi Boán—Chapter Fourteen: Nhaäp Phaùp Giôùi Thaäm Thaâm Vaø Baùt Nhaõ
Tam Muoäi—Enter the Extremely Deep Dharma Realm and the Prajna Samadhi
115

Phaàn Hai—Part Two: Taùnh Khoâng Theo Quan Ñieåm Phaät Giaùo—Sunyata
in Buddhist Point of View 119
ChöôngMöôøi Laêm—Chapter Fifteen: Chaân Lyù Veà Caùi Khoâng Trong Ñaïo Phaät—The
Truth of Emptiness In Buddhism 121
ChöôngMöôøi Saùu—Chapter Sixteen: Toång Quan Vaø YÙ Nghóa Cuûa “Khoâng” Theo
Phaät Giaùo—An Overview and Meanings of “Sunya” in Buddhism 125
ChöôngMöôøi Baûy—Chapter Seventeen: Ñaëc Taùnh Cuûa Taùnh Khoâng—
Characteristics of “Sunyata” 133
ChöôngMöôøi Taùm—Chapter Eighteen: Taùnh Khoâng Theo Quan Ñieåm Phaät Giaùo—
Emptiness in Buddhist Point of View 137
ChöôngMöôøi Chín—Chapter Nineteen: Nhöõng Quan Ñieåm Khaùc Veà “Taùnh
Khoâng”—Different Views on Emptiness 149
 4

Chöông Hai Möôi—Chapter Twenty: Nhöõng Phaùp Khoâng Trong Phaät Giaùo—
Dharmas of Sunyata In Buddhism 155
Chöông Hai Möôi Moát—Chapter Twenty-One: Khaùi Nieäm Veà Taùnh Khoâng Trong
Kinh Ñieån Ñaïi Thöøa—Concept of Sunyata in Mahayana Canon 173
Chöông Hai Möôi Hai—Chapter Twenty-Two: Khaùi Nieäm Veà “Khoâng Taùnh” Theo
Phaät Giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy—Concept of Sunnata (Sunyata) In the Theravada
Buddhism 177
Chöông Hai Möôi Ba—Chapter Twenty-Three: “Taùnh Khoâng” Theo Kinh Baùt
Nhaõ—Emptiness in the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra 179
Chöông Hai Möôi Boán—Chapter Twenty-Four: Khoâng Taùnh Theo Quan Ñieåm Thieàn
Toâng—Emptiness in the Point of View of the Zen Sect 183
Chöông Hai Möôi Laêm—Chapter Twenty-Five: Ñöùc Phaät Daïy Veà Taùnh Khoâng—The
Buddha Taught About the Emptiness 191
Chöông Hai Möôi Saùu—Chapter Twenty-Six: Baûn Chaát Khoâng Cuûa Vaïn Höõu—The
Unreality of All Things 193
Chöông Hai Möôi Baûy—Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hai Loaïi Khoâng—Two Kinds of
Void 197
Chöông Hai Möôi Taùm—Chapter Twenty-Eight: Baûy Loaïi Khoâng—Seven Kinds of
Emptiness 199
Chöông Hai Möôi Chín—Chapter Twenty-Nine: Möôøi Taùm Hình Thöùc Cuûa Khoâng—
Eighteen Forms of Emptiness 205
Chöông Ba Möôi —Chapter Thirty: Hai Möôi Baûn Chaát Cuûa Taùnh Khoâng—Twenty
Characteristics of Sunyata 215
Chöông Ba Möôi Moát—Chapter Thirty-One: Hai Möôi Laêm Hình Thöùc Cuûa
Khoâng—Twenty-Five Forms of Emptiness 221
Chöông Ba Möôi Hai—Chapter Thirty-Two: Tam Ñeá Khoâng Giaû Trung—Three
Prongs of Empty-Borrowed-Middle 235
Chöông Ba Möôi Ba—Chapter Thirty-Three: Töï Taùnh Khoâng—The Emptiness of
Self-Nature 241
Chöông Ba Möôi Boán—Chapter Thirty-Four: Boán Khoâng Xöù—The Four Immaterial
or Formless Realms 251
Chöông Ba Möôi Laêm—Chapter Thirty-Five: Khoâng Luaän—Commentaries on
Sunyata 255
Chöông Ba Möôi Saùu—Chapter Thirty-Six: Hieåu Veà Khoâng Theo Quan Ñieåm Cuûa
Moät Soá Toâng Phaùi Phaät Giaùo—Understanding of Sunyata According to Some
Buddhist Schools 261
Chöông Ba Möôi Baûy—Chapter Thirty-Seven: Khoâng Khoâng Phaùp Giôùi—The
Dharma Realm of the Emptiness of Emptiness 265
Chöông Ba Möôi Taùm—Chapter Thirty-Eight: Taùnh Khoâng Baát Sanh Baát Dieät—The
Emptiness Is Neither Birth Nor Death 269
Chöông Ba Möôi Chín—Chapter Thirty-Nine: Haønh Giaû Tu Thieàn & Söï Quaùn Chieáu
Veà Taùnh Khoâng—Zen Practitioners and Meditation on Emptiness 277
Chöông Boán Möôi—Chapter Forty-: Coâng AÙn Veà “Khoâng” Trong Nhaø Thieàn—
Koans of Emptiness in Zen 283
 5

Chöông Boán Möôi Moát—Chapter Forty-One: Taùnh Khoâng Chieáu Dieäu—The

Illuminating-Void Suchness 289
Chöông Boán Möôi Hai—Chapter Forty-Two: Kinh Kim Cang: Chæ Thaúng Vaøo Taùnh
Khoâng—The Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra: Pointing Directly to the
Emptines 297
Chöông Boán Möôi Ba—Chapter Forty-Three: Kinh Kim Cang: Thöïc Haønh Bình
Ñaúng Laø Theå Hieän Taùnh Khoâng—The Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra: To
Practice the Evenness Means to Show the Emptiness 301
Chöông Boán Möôi Boán—Chapter Forty-Four: Lyù Duyeân Sanh Vaø Taùnh Khoâng—The
Theory of Causation and the Emptiness 307
Chöông Boán Möôi Laêm—Chapter Forty-Five: Trung Ñaïo Voâ Töï Tính—The
Nonabiding Middle Way 313
Chöông Boán Möôi Saùu—Chapter Forty-Six: Khoâng Taùnh Trong Trung Quaùn
Luaän—The Emptiness in the Treatise on the Madhyamika 317
Chöông Boán Möôi Baûy—Chapter Forty-Seven: Chöùng Nghieäm Tueä Giaùc Taùnh
Khoâng—Realization of Wisdom of Emptiness 323
Chöông Boán Möôi Taùm—Chapter Forty-Eight: Tu Taäp Taùnh Khoâng Vaø Taâm Voâ Sôû
Ñaéc—To Cultivate Emptiness With the Mind of No Attaining 327
Chöông Boán Möôi Chín—Chapter Forty-Nine: Theå Nhaäp Tính Khoâng—To Penetrate
the Truth of Emptiness 331
Chöông Naêm Möôi—Chapter Fifty: Huyeãn Höõu Vaø Taùnh Khoâng—Illusory Existence
and the Emptiness 335
Chöông Naêm Möôi Moát—Chapter Fifty-One: Baûy Loaïi Nhò Ñeá—Seven Kinds of Two
Truths 339
Chöông Naêm Möôi Hai—Chapter Fifty-Two: Chaân Khoâng Dieäu Höõu—True Void Is
Wonderful Existence 343
Chöông Naêm Möôi Ba—Chapter Fifty-Three: Chaân Khoâng Dieäu Trí—True Void &
Marvellous Wisdom 345
Chöông Naêm Möôi Boán—Chapter Fifty-Four: Saéc Töùc Thò Khoâng, Khoâng Töùc Thò
Saéc Trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh—Form is Emptiness and the Very Emptiness is
Form In the Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra 351
Chöông Naêm Möôi Laêm—Chapter Fifty-Five: Nhaát Thieát Phaùp Khoâng—All
Dharmas Are Empty 359

Phaàn Ba: Phuï Luïc—Part Three: Appendices 363

Phuï Luïc A—Appendix A: Taùnh Voán Khoâng—Nature Is Empty In Its Nature 365
Phuï LuïcB—AppendixB: TaùnhKhoâng Vaø Söï TónhLaëng—Emptiness and Quietude369
Phuï Luïc C—Appendix C: Vaïn Höõu Baûn Lai Khoâng, Vaïn Phaùp Nhö AÛo Hieän—All
Things Are Originally By Nature Empty, All Dharmas Are the Same As Magical
Illusions 373
Phuï Luïc D—Appendix D: Ñöøng Duøng Kinh Ñieån Ñeå Tìm Caàu Khoâng Taùnh!—Don't
Go Using the Buddhist Scriptures to Look for Emptiness! 377
Phuï Luïc E—Appendix E: Söï Phaùt Trieån Taùnh Khoâng Trong Kinh Ñaïi Baùt Nhaõ—
Development of Sunyata in Prajna-Paramita Sutra 381
Phuï Luïc F—Appendix F: Thieàn Voâ Sôû Truï—No-Abiding Zen 385
 6

Phuï Luïc G—Appendix G: Ca Na Ñeà Baø vaø Trieát Hoïc Trung Quaùn—Aryadeva and
the Madhyamaka Philosophy 389
Phuï Luïc H—Appendix H: Taùnh Khoâng Cuûa Vaïn Höõu Trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh—
The Emptiness of All Phenomena in the Heart Sutra 393
Phuï Luïc I—Appendix I: Tu Taäp Phaùp Khoâng Quaùn—Meditating On Emptiness 399
Phuï Luïc J—Appendix J: Hoa Nieát Baøn—Blossom of Nirvana 405
Phuï Luïc K—Appendix K: Taát Caû Laø Moät, Caùi Moät Voán Troáng Khoâng—All Is One,
and This One Is Empty 411
Phuï Luïc L—Appendix L: Tu Haønh Chæ Vôùi Moät Chöõ “Voâ”—Cultivation With Just
One Word “Mu” 417
Phuï Luïc M—Appendix M: Chöõ Khoâng Theå Chôû Ñöôïc Caùi Khoâng Chöõ, Nhöng Sô Cô
Vaãn Caàn Kinh Ñieån—Words Cannot Carry the Wordless, But Beginning
Practitioners Still Need Scriptures 425
Phuï Luïc N—Appendix N: Boán Trí Baùt Nhaõ—Four Prajna Wisdoms 429
Phuï Luïc O—Appendix O: Boán Caùch Dieãn Taû Nieát Baøn—Four Ways of Description
of a Nirvana 433
Phuï Luïc P—Appendix P: Chaân Lyù—The Truth 435
Phuï Luïc Q—Appendix Q: Chaân Lyù Nhö Lai—Tathagata's Truth 441
Phuï Luïc R—Appendix R: Saùu Möôi Hai Kieán Giaûi—The Sixty-Two Views 445
Taøi Lieäu Tham Khaûo—References 449
 7

Lôøi Ñaàu Saùch

Baùt Nhaõ laø aâm cuûa thuaät ngöõ Prajna töø Phaïn ngöõ coù nghóa laø trí tueä
(yù thöùc hay trí naêng). Coù ba loaïi baùt nhaõ: thaät töôùng, quaùn chieáu vaø vaên
töï. Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù nghóa laø thöïc löïc nhaän thöùc roõ raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng
nguyeân taéc caên baûn cuûa chuùng cuõng nhö xaùc quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi
ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ coù nghóa laø caùi bieát sieâu vieät. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh
dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä nhaát trí tueä trong heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì
cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh baèng (voâ thöôïng, voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Coù ba loaïi
Baùt Nhaõ: Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ, Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ, vaø Phöông tieän Baùt
Nhaõ. Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ laø trí hueä ñaït ñöôïc khi ñaõ ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Quaù n
chieáu baùt nhaõ laø phaàn hai cuûa trí hueä Baùt Nhaõ. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát
khi thaät söï ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ hay vaên töï Baùt nhaõ. Ñaây
laø loaïi trí hueä hieåu bieát chö phaùp giaû taïm vaø luoân thay ñoåi. Ñaây laø trí
hueä caàn thieát ñöa ñeán yù höôùng “Ñaùo Bæ Ngaïn”. Trong khi Baùt Nhaõ Ba
La Maät coù nghóa laø quaùn saùt taát caû chö phaùp nhö thaät. Trí tueä khieán
chuùng sanh coù khaû naêng ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Trí tueä giaûi thoaùt laø ba la maät cao
nhaát trong saùu ba la maät, laø phöông tieän chaùnh ñeå ñaït tôùi nieát baøn. Noù
bao truøm söï thaáy bieát taát caû nhöõng huyeãn hoaëc cuûa theá gian vaïn höõu,
noù phaù tan boùng toái cuûa si meâ, taø kieán vaø sai laïc. Theo Phaät giaùo, trí
hueä Ba la maät laø cöûa ngoõ ñi vaøo haøo quang chö phaùp, vì nhôø ñoù maø
chuùng ta ñoaïn tröø taän goác reã boùng toái cuûa si meâ. Trong caùc phieàn naõo
caên baûn thì si meâ laø thöù phieân naõo coù goác reã maïnh nhaát. Moät khi goác reã
cuûa si meâ bò baät tung thì caùc loaïi phieàn naõo khaùc nhö tham, saân, chaáp
tröôùc, maïn, nghi, taø kieán, ñeàu deã bò baät goác. Nhôø coù trí hueä Ba La Maät
maø chuùng ta coù khaû naêng daïy doã vaø höôùng daãn nhöõng chuùng sanh si
meâ.
Noùi veà Taùnh Khoâng, goác tieáng Phaïn cuûa “Taùnh khoâng” laø
“Sunyata.” “Sunya” laáy töø goác chöõ “svi” coù nghóa laø phoàng leân. Chö
phaùp khoâng coù thöïc höõu noäi taïi, khoâng coù baûn chaát thöôøng haèng, khoâng
coù thöù gì coù thöïc taùnh cuûa chính noù. Nhöõng gì hieän höõu ñeàu coù ñieàu
kieän, vaø coù lieân quan vôùi nhöõng yeáu toá khaùc. Giaùo phaùp coát loõi Phaät
giaùo thöøa nhaän raèng chö phaùp laø khoâng hay laø troáng roãng (söï khoâng coù
tính chaát caù bieät hay ñoäc laäp), voâ thöôøng, vaø khoâng coù töï ngaõ. Nghóa laø
vaïn phaùp khoâng coù töï tính, maø tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân, vaø thieáu haún
töï taùnh. Vì vaäy moät con ngöôøi noùi laø khoâng coù “töï taùnh” vì con ngöôøi
aáy ñöôïc keát hôïp bôûi nhieàu thöù khaùc nhau, nhöõng thöù aáy luoân thay ñoåi
 8

vaø hoaøn toaøn tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân. Tuy nhieân, Phaät töû nhìn yù
nieäm veà “khoâng” trong ñaïo Phaät moät caùch tích cöïc treân söï hieän höõu, vì
noù aùm chæ moïi vaät ñeàu luoân bieán chuyeån, nhôø vaäy môùi môû roäng ñeå
höôùng veà töông lai. Neáu vaïn höõu coù taùnh chaát khoâng bieán chuyeån, thì
taát caû ñeàu bò keït ôû nhöõng hoaøn caûnh hieän taïi maõi maõi khoâng thay ñoåi,
moät ñieàu khoâng theå naøo xaûy ra ñöôïc. Phaät töû thuaàn thaønh phaûi coá gaéng
thaáy cho ñöôïc taùnh khoâng ñeå khoâng vöôùng víu, thay vaøo ñoù duøng taát caû
thôøi giôø coù ñöôïc cho vieäc tu taäp, vì caøng tu taäp chuùng ta caøng coù theå
tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc thaønh ñaït “trí hueä” nghóa laø caøng tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc
tröïc nghieäm “khoâng taùnh,” vaø caøng chöùng nghieäm “khoâng taùnh” chuùng
ta caøng coù khaû naêng phaùt trieån “trí hueä ba la maät.”
Vaøo khoaûng naêm 2009, Thieän Phuùc ñaõ bieân soaïn boä Phaät Phaùp
Caên Baûn, goàm 8 taäp. Tuy nhieân, quaû laø raát khoù ñaëc bieät laø ngöôøi taïi gia
vôùi nhieàu gia vuï ñoïc hay nghieân cöùu moät boä saùch vôùi khoaûng 6184
trang giaáy khoå lôùn. Vì vaäy maø Thieän Phuùc ñaõ trích chöông 85, vôùi töïa
ñeà Baùt Nhaõ vaø Taùnh Khoâng, töø trang 2877 ñeán trang 2929 trong taäp IV
ra, coá gaéng bieân soaïn goïn laïi vaø in thaønh taäp saùch nhoû cuõng coù nhan ñeà
laø Baùt Nhaõ vaø Taùnh Khoâng. Quyeån saùch nhoû coù töïa ñeà “Baùt Nhaõ vaø
Taùnh Khoâng” naøy khoâng phaûi laø moät nghieân cöùu veà trieát lyù soáng, maø
noù chæ ñôn thuaàn trình baøy nhöõng giaùo phaùp coát loõi cuûa ñaïo Phaät. Phaät
töû chaân thuaàn neân luoân nhôù raèng tu Phaät khoâng haún laø phaûi xuaát gia
vaøo chuøa laøm Taêng hay Ni, maø noù coù nghóa laø böôùc vaøo vieäc thöïc taäp
nhöõng baøi taäp ñöôïc lieân keát ñeå thieát laäp nhöõng maãu möïc soáng haèng
ngaøy cuûa mình, laøm cho ñôøi soáng cuûa chuùng ta trôû neân yeân bình hôn.
Ñöùc Nhö Lai ñaõ giaûi thích roõ veà con ñöôøng dieät khoå maø Ngaøi ñaõ tìm ra
vaø treân con ñöôøng ñoù Ngaøi ñaõ tieán tôùi quaû vò Phaät. Ñöôøng tu taäp coøn
ñoøi hoûi nhieàu coá gaéng vaø hieåu bieát lieân tuïc. Chính vì theá maø maëc duø
hieän taïi ñaõ coù quaù nhieàu saùch vieát veà Phaät giaùo, toâi cuõng maïo muoäi
bieân soaïn taäp saùch “Baùt Nhaõ vaø Taùnh Khoâng” song ngöõ Vieät Anh
nhaèm giôùi thieäu giaùo lyù nhaø Phaät cho Phaät töû ôû moïi trình ñoä, ñaëc bieät laø
nhöõng ngöôøi sô cô. Nhöõng mong söï ñoùng goùp nhoi naày seõ mang laïi lôïi
laïc cho nhöõng ai mong caàu coù ñöôïc cuoäc soáng an bình, tænh thöùc vaø
haïnh phuùc.

Thieän Phuùc
 9

Preface

Prajna is a Sanskrit term which means wisdom. There are three

kinds of prajna: real mark prajna, contemplative prajna, and literary
prajna. Prajna also means the real power to discern things and their
underlying principles and to decide the doubtful. Prajna means a
transcendental knowledge. The Prajna-paramita-sutra describes
“prajna” as supreme, highest, incomparable, unequalled, unsurpassed.
There are three prajnas or perfect enlightements: The first part of the
prajnaparamita. The wisdom achieved once crossed the shore. The
second part of the prajnaparamita. The necessary wisdom for actual
crossing the shore of births and deaths. The wisdom of knowing things
in their temporary and changing condition. The necessary wisdom for
vowing to cross the shore of births and deaths. While transcendental
wisdom means observing all things as they truly are. The wisdom
which enables one to reach the other shore, i.e. wisdom for salvation;
the highest of the six paramitas, the virtue of wisdom as the principal
means of attaining nirvana. It connotes a knowledge of the illusory
character of everything earthly, and destroys error, ignorance,
prejudice, and heresy. According to Buddhism, the prajna-paramita is a
gate of Dharma-illumination; for with it, we eradicate the darkness of
ignorance. Among the basic desires and passions, ignorance has the
deepest roots. When these roots are loosened, all other desires and
passions, greed, anger, attachment, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views
are also uprooted. The prajna wisdom which enables one to reach the
other shore, i.e. wisdom for salvation.
A Sanskrit root for “Emptiness” is “sunyata”. The Sanskrit word
“sunya” is derived from the root “svi,” to swell. Sunya literally means:
“relating to the swollen.” Unreality of things or all things (phenomena)
lack inherent existence, having no essence or permanent aspect
whatsoever, nothing has a nature of its own. All phenomena are empty.
All phenomena exist are conditioned and, relative to other factors. The
central notion of Buddhism recognized that all composite things are
empty (samskrita), impermanent (anitya) and void of an essence
(anatamn). That is to say all phenomena lack an essence or self, are
dependent upon causes and conditions, and so, lack inherent existence.
Thus, a person is said to be empty of being a “self” because he is
 10

composed of parts that are constantly changing and entirely dependent

upon causes and conditions. However, the concept of emptiness is
viewed by Buddhists as a positive perspective on reality, because it
implies that everything is constantly changing, and is thus open toward
the future. If things possessed an unchanging essence, all beings would
be stuck in their present situations, and real change would be
impossible. Devout Buddhists should try to attain the realization of
emptiness in order to develop the ability to detach on everything, and
utilize all the available time to practice the Buddha-teachings. The
more we practice the Buddha’s teachings, the more we approach the
attainment of wisdom, that is to say the more we are able to reach the
“direct realization of emptiness,” and we realize the “emptiness of all
things,” the more we can reach the “perfection of wisdom.”
In around 2009, Thieän Phuùc composed a set of 8 books titled “Basic
Buddhist Doctrines”. However, it's really difficult for people,
especially lay people with a lot of familiy duties, to read or to study the
total of 6,184 big-sized pages. So, Thieän Phuùc extracted Chapter 85,
titled Prajna and Sunyata, from pages 2877- 2929 in Volume IV,
tried to revise and publish it as a small book also titled “Prajna and
Sunyata”. This little book titled “Prajna and Sunyata” is not a
profoundly philosiphical study of Buddhism, but a book that simply
presents the core teachings of the Buddha. Devout Buddhists should
always remember that cultivation in Buddhism does not mean to
renounce the world and to enter into a temple as a monk or nun, but it
means to enter into practicing well-being exercises that are linked to
established daily life patterns, makes our lives more peaceful. The
Buddha already explained clearly about the path of elimination of
sufferings which He found out and He advanced to the Buddhahood on
that path. The path of cultivation still demands continuous efforts with
right understanding and practice. Presently even with so many books
available on Buddhism, I venture to compose this booklet titled “Prajna
and Sunyata” in Vietnamese and English to introduce basic things in
Buddhism to all Vietnamese Buddhist followers, especially Buddhist
beginners, hoping this little contribution will help Buddhists in different
levels to understand on how to achieve and lead a life of peace,
mindfulness and happiness.
Thieän Phuùc
 11

Phaàn Moät
Baùt Nhaõ Theo
Quan Ñieåm Phaät Giaùo

Part One
Prajna in Buddhist Point of View
12
 13

Chöông Moät
Chapter One

Toång Quan Veà Baùt Nhaõ

Töôûng cuõng neân nhôù raèng thôøi kyø Baùt Nhaõ hay Lieân Hoa laø moät
trong naêm thôøi giaùo thuyeát cuûa Ñöùc Phaät. Thôøi Baùt Nhaõ chuû yeáu giaûng
Vieân giaùo nhöng coøn lieân heä Thoâng giaùo vaø Bieät giaùo. Do ñoù noù chöa
hoaøn toaøn vieân maõn. Trong 22 naêm cuûa thôøi kyø naày, Ñöùc Phaät thuyeát
giaûng giaùo phaùp Ñaïi Thöøa ôû caáp cao hôn vaø baùc boû söï luyeán chaáp Tieåu
Ñaïi cuûa caùc haøng ñeä töû. Ñöùc Phaät ñaõ giaûng veà tính hö khoâng trong
Kinh Baùt Nhaõ. “Prajna” thöôøng ñöôïc dòch laø “tri thöùc” trong Anh ngöõ,
nhöng chính xaùc hôn phaûi dòch laø “tröïc giaùc.” Ñoâi khi töø naøy cuõng ñöôïc
dòch laø “trí tueä sieâu vieät.” Söï thöïc thì ngay caû khi chuùng ta coù moät tröïc
giaùc, ñoái töôïng vaãn cöù ôû tröôùc maët chuùng ta vaø chuùng ta caûm nhaän noù,
hay thaáy noù. ÔÛ ñaây coù söï löôõng phaân chuû theå vaø ñoái töôïng. Trong “Baùt
Nhaõ” söï löôõng phaân naøy khoâng coøn hieän höõu. Baùt Nhaõ khoâng quan taâm
ñeán caùc ñoái töôïng höõu haïn nhö theá; chính laø toaøn theå tính cuûa nhöõng söï
vaät töï yù thöùc ñöôïc nhö theá. vaø caùi toaøn theå tính naøy khoâng heà bò giôùi
haïn. Moät toaøn theå tính voâ haïn vöôït qua taàm hieåu bieát cuûa phaøm phu
chuùng ta. Nhöng tröïc giaùc Baùt Nhaõ laø thöù tröïc giaùc toång theå “khoâng theå
hieåu bieát ñöôïc baèng trí cuûa phaøm phu” veà caùi voâ haïn naøy, laø moät caùi gì
khoâng bao giôø coù theå xaûy ra trong kinh nghieäm haèng ngaøy cuûa chuùng ta
trong nhöõng ñoái töôïng hay bieán coá höõu haïn. Do ñoù, noùi caùch khaùc, Baùt
Nhaõ chæ coù theå xaûy ra khi caùc ñoái töôïng höõu haïn cuûa caûm quan vaø trí
naêng ñoàng nhaát vôùi chính caùi voâ haïn. Thay vì noùi raèng voâ haïn töï thaáy
mình trong chính mình, noùi raèng moät ñoái töôïng coøn bò coi laø höõu haïn,
thuoäc veà theá giôùi löôõng phaân cuûa chuû theå vaø ñoái töôïng, ñöôïc tri giaùc
bôûi Baùt Nhaõ töø quan ñieåm voâ haïn, nhö theá gaàn guõi vôùi kinh nghieäm con
ngöôøi cuûa chuùng ta hôn nhieàu. Noùi moät caùch töôïng tröng, höõu haïn luùc
aáy töï thaáy mình phaûn chieáu trong chieác göông cuûa voâ haïn. Trí naêng cho
chuùng ta bieát raèng ñoái töôïng höõu haïn, nhöng Baùt Nhaõ choáng laïi, tuyeân
boá noù laø caùi voâ haïn, vöôït qua phaïm vi cuûa töông ñoái. Noùi theo baûn theå
luaän, ñieàu naøy coù nghóa laø taát caû nhöõng ñoái töôïng hay höõu theå höõu haïn
coù ñöôïc laø bôûi caùi voâ haïn laøm neàn taûng cho chuùng, hay nhöõng ñoái
töôïng töông ñoái giôùi haïn trong phaïm vi cuûa voâ haïn maø khoâng coù noù
chuùng chaúng coù daây neo gì caû.
 14

Theo Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng daïy: “Naøy thieän tri
thöùc, “Ma Ha Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät” laø tieáng Phaïn, dòch laø ñaïi trí tueä
ñeán bôø kia, noù phaûi laø haønh nôi taâm, khoâng phaûi tuïng ôû mieäng. Mieäng
tuïng maø taâm chaúng haønh nhö huyeãn nhö hoùa, nhö söông, nhö ñieån.
Mieäng nieäm maø taâm haønh aét taâm vaø mieäng hôïp nhau, baûn taùnh laø Phaät,
lìa taùnh khoâng rieâng coù Phaät. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, sao goïi laø Baùt Nhaõ?
Baùt Nhaõ nghóa laø “trí tueä.” Taát caû choã, taát caû thôøi, moãi nieäm khoâng
ngu, thöôøng haønh trí hueä töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ haïnh. Moät nieäm ngu khôûi leân,
töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ baët. Moät nieäm trí khôûi leân, töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ sanh. Ngöôøi
ñôøi ngu meâ khoâng thaáy Baùt Nhaõ, mieäng noùi Baùt Nhaõ maø trong taâm
thöôøng ngu, thöôøng töï noùi ta tu Baùt Nhaõ, nieäm nieäm noùi khoâng nhöng
khoâng bieát ñöôïc chôn khoâng. Baùt Nhaõ khoâng coù hình töôùng, taâm trí tueä
aáy vaäy. Neáu khôûi hieåu nhö theá töùc goïi laø Baùt Nhaõ trí. “Prajna” laø töø
Phaïn ngöõ coù nghóa laø trí tueä (yù thöùc hay trí naêng). Coù ba loaïi baùt nhaõ:
thaät töôùng, quaùn chieáu vaø vaên töï. Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù nghóa laø thöïc löïc
nhaän thöùc roõ raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng nguyeân taéc caên baûn cuûa chuùng cuõng
nhö xaùc quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh dieãn taû
chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä nhaát trí tueä trong heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì cao
hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh baèng (voâ thöôïng, voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Baùt Nhaõ hay
caùi bieát sieâu vieät nghóa laø yù thöùc hay trí naêng (Transcendental
knowledge). Theo Phaät giaùo Ñaïi thöøa, do trí naêng tröïc giaùc vaø tröïc
tieáp, chöù khoâng phaûi laø trí naêng tröøu töôïng vaø phuïc tuøng trí tueä phaøm
phu maø con ngöôøi coù theå ñaït ñeán ñaïi giaùc. Vieäc thöïc hieän trí naêng cuõng
ñoàng nghóa vôùi thöïc hieän ñaïi giaùc. Chính trí naêng sieâu vieät naày giuùp
chuùng ta chuyeån hoùa moïi heä phöôïc vaø giaûi thoaùt khoûi sanh töû luaân hoài,
chöù khoâng ôû loøng thöông xoùt hay thöông haïi cuûa baát cöù ai.
Phaät töû chôn thuaàn, baát cöù ôû ñaâu vaø baát cöù luùc naøo, töøng haønh ñoäng
cuûa chuùng ta phaûi luoân kheá hôïp vôùi “trí tueä Baù t Nhaõ”. Phaøm phu luoân
khoe khoang nôi mieäng, nhöng taâm trí laïi meâ môø. Ñaây laø moät trong ba
loaïi Baùt Nhaõ, laáy trí tueä quaùn chieáu caùi lyù thöïc töôùng hay nhôø thieàn
quaùn maø giaùc ngoä ñöôïc chaân lyù, vì ñaây laø trí tueä giaûi thoaùt hay Baùt
Nhaõ Ba La Maät laø meï cuûa chö Phaät. Baùt nhaõ laø ngoïn ñao trí tueä coù khaû
naêng caét ñöùt phieàn naõo vaø aùc nghieäp. Baùt Nhaõ laø söï hieåu bieát tröïc giaùc.
Noùi chung, töø naøy chæ söï phaùt trieån söï hieåu bieát tröïc giaùc laø yù nieäm chuû
yeáu trong Phaät giaùo. Theo Phaät giaùo Ñaïi thöøa, “baùt nhaõ ba la maät” laø
ba la maät thöù saùu trong saùu ba la maät maø moät vò Boà Taùt tu haønh treân
ñöôøng ñi ñeán Phaät quaû, vaø do trí naêng tröïc giaùc vaø tröïc tieáp, chöù khoâng
 15

phaûi laø trí naêng tröøu töôïng vaø phuïc tuøng trí tueä phaøm phu maø con ngöôøi
coù theå ñaït ñeán ñaïi giaùc. Vieäc thöïc hieän trí naêng cuõng ñoàng nghóa vôùi
thöïc hieän ñaïi giaùc. Chính trí naêng sieâu vieät naày giuùp chuùng ta chuyeån
hoùa moïi heä phöôïc vaø giaûi thoaùt khoûi sanh töû luaân hoài, chöù khoâng ôû
loøng thöông xoùt hay thöông haïi cuûa baát cöù ai. Baùt Nhaõ laø söï thaáy bieát
baát thình lình. Baùt Nhaõ quaû thaät laø moät thuaät ngöõ bieän chöùng chæ caùi
tieán trình tri thöùc ñaëc bieät ñöôïc bieát ñeán nhö laø “thaáy baát thình lình,”
hay “boãng thaáy,” “chôït thaáy,” khoâng theo baát cöù moät ñònh luaät hay lyù
luaän naøo; vì khi Baùt Nhaõ vaän haønh thì ngöôøi ta töï thaáy caùi khoâng cuûa
vaïn höõu moät caùch baát ngôø vaø kyø dieäu. Ñieàu naøy xaûy ra moät caùch baát
thaàn vaø khoâng do keát quaû cuûa lyù luaän, maø vaøo luùc aáy lyù luaän nhö bò
queân laõng, vaø noùi theo caùch taâm lyù, ñoù laø vaøo luùc naêng löïc cuûa yù chí ñi
ñeán choã thaønh töïu. Caùi duïng cuûa Baùt Nhaõ maâu thuaãn vôùi taát caû nhöõng
gì chuùng ta coù theå nhaän thöùc veà theá giôùi naøy; noù thuoäc veà moät traät töï
hoaøn toaøn khaùc vôùi traät töï cuûa cuoäc soáng bình thöôøng cuûa chuùng ta.
Nhöng ñieàu naøy khoâng coù nghóa Baùt Nhaõ laø moät caùi gì ñoù hoaøn toaøn
caùch bieät vôùi ñôøi soáng, vôùi tö töôûng chuùng ta, moät caùi gì ñoù phaûi ñeán
vôùi chuùng ta töø caùi nguoàn naøo ñoù khoâng bieát vaø khoâng theå bieát ñöôïc,
baèng pheùp laï. Neáu vaäy, Baùt Nhaõ seõ khoâng theå coù lôïi ích gì cho chuùng
ta vaø chuùng ta khoâng theå ñaït ñöôïc giaûi thoaùt. Quaû thaät vai troø cuûa Baùt
Nhaõ laø baát lieân tuïc vaø noù laøm giaùn ñoaïn böôùc tieán cuûa suy luaän hôïp lyù,
nhöng Baùt Nhaõ khoâng ngöøng hieän dieän döôùi söï suy luaän naøy vaø neáu
khoâng coù noù chuùng ta khoâng theå suy luaän gì caû. Cuøng moät luùc Baùt Nhaõ
vöøa ôû treân vöøa ôû trong quaù trình suy luaän. Veà hình thöùc maø noùi, ñieàu
naøy maâu thuaãn, nhöng söï thaät do chính maâu thuaãn naøy khaû höõu cuõng do
Baùt Nhaõ ñem laïi.
Haàu nhö taát caû vaên hoïc toân giaùo ñeàu chöùa ñaày nhöõng maâu thuaãn,
phi lyù vaø nghòch lyù, vaø khoâng bao giôø coù theå coù ñöôïc, vaø ñoøi hoûi tin vaø
chaáp nhaän nhöõng thöù aáy nhö laø chaân lyù maëc khaûi, chính laø vì tri thöùc
toân giaùo ñaët caên baûn treân söï vaän haønh cuûa Baùt Nhaõ. Moät khi ngöôøi ta
thích quan ñieåm Baùt Nhaõ thì taát caû nhöõng phi lyù coát yeáu cuûa toân giaùo
trôû neân coù theå hieåu ñöôïc. Noù gioáng nhö moät maåu chuyeän chaâm bieám
hay caàn phaûi thöôûng thöùc. Treân maët phaûi cuûa noù phôi ra moät söï loän xoän
haàu nhö khoù tin cuûa caùi ñeïp, vaø ngöôøi nhaän thöùc seõ khoâng vöôït qua
ñöôïc nhöõng sôïi chæ roái beng. Nhöng ngay khi caâu chuyeän chaâm bieám bò
ñaûo ngöôïc thì taùnh caùch phöùc taïp vaø thaàn tình cuûa caùi ñeïp aáy hieän ra.
Baùt Nhaõ goàm trong söï ñaûo ngöôïc naøy. Cho ñeán baây giôø con maét nhaän
 16

thöùc beà maët cuûa caùi aùo, beà maët duy nhaát maø noù thöôøng cho pheùp chuùng
ta quan saùt. Baây giôø boãng nhieân caùi aùo bò loän traùi, chieàu höôùng cuûa caùi
thaáy thình lình bò giaùn ñoaïn, khoâng coù söï lieân tuïc naøo cuûa caùi nhìn. Tuy
nhieân do söï giaùn ñoaïn naøy, toaøn boä caáu truùc cuûa cuoäc soáng boãng nhieân
ñöôïc nhaän thöùc, ñoù laø “thaáy trong töï taùnh.” Chính Baùt Nhaõ ñaët nhöõng
baøn tay cuûa noù leân “Taùnh Khoâng,” hay “Chôn Nhö,” hay “Töï Taùnh.”
Vaø baøn tay naøy khoâng ñaët leân caùi maø noù hình nhö hieän höõu. Ñieàu naøy
roõ raøng phaùt sinh töø caùi maø chuùng ta ñaõ noùi quan heä ñeán nhöõng söï vieäc
töông ñoái. Cho raèng töï taùnh ôû beân kia laõnh vöïc ngöï trò cuûa theá giôùi
töông ñoái, söï naém laáy noù baèng Baùt Nhaõ khoâng theå coù nghóa theo nghóa
thoâng thöôøng cuûa thuaät ngöõ naøy. Naém laáy maø khoâng phaûi laø naém laáy,
söï xaùc quyeát khoâng theå traùnh ñöôïc nghòch lyù. Theo thuaät ngöõ Phaät
giaùo, söï naém laáy naøy coù hieäu quaû baèng söï khoâng phaân bieät, nghóa laø
baèng söï phaân bieät coù tính caùch khoâng phaân bieät. Caùi quaù trình ñoät
nhieân, giaùn ñoaïn, noù laø moät haønh ñoäng cuûa taâm, nhöng haønh ñoäng naøy,
duø raèng khoâng phaûi laø khoâng coù yù thöùc, phaùt sinh töø chính töï taùnh, töùc
laø voâ nieäm.
Ngaøy naøo ñoù Baùt Nhaõ phaûi ñöôïc phaùt khôûi trong töï taùnh; vì chöøng
naøo chuùng ta chöa coù kinh nghieäm naøy thì khoâng bao giôø chuùng ta coù
ñöôïc cô hoäi bieát Phaät, khoâng nhöõng chæ nôi baûn thaân chuùng ta maø coøn
nôi nhöõng ngöôøi khaùc nöõa. Nhöng söï phaùt khôûi naøy khoâng phaûi laø moät
haønh ñoäng ñaëc thuø thaønh töïu trong laõnh vöïc ngöï trò cuûa yù thöùc thöïc
nghieäm, vaø vieäc naøy cuõng coù theå ñem so saùnh vôùi phaûn aûnh cuûa maët
traêng trong doøng suoái; noù khoâng phaûi lieân tuïc; noù ôû beân kia sanh töû;
cuõng nhö khi ngöôøi ta baûo noù cheát, noù khoâng bieát cheát; chæ khi naø o ñaït
ñöôïc traïng thaùi voâ taâm thì môùi coù nhöõng thuyeát thoaïi chöa töøng ñöôïc
noùi ra, nhöõng haønh ñoäng chöa töøng ñöôïc thöïc hieän. Theo Luïc Toå Hueä
Naêng trong Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, Baùt Nhaõ ñöôïc phaùt khôûi trong töï taùnh
theo caùch “baát thình lình”, chöõ baát thình lình ôû ñaây khoâng coù nghóa laø
töùc thì, theo caùch baát ngôø hay thình lình, noù cuõng coù nghóa laø haønh vi töï
phaùt, noù laø caùi thaáy, khoâng phaûi laø moät haønh ñoäng coù yù thöùc thuoäc phaàn
töï taùnh. Noùi caùch khaùc, aùnh saùng cuûa Baùt Nhaõ phoùng ra töø voâ nieäm tuy
nhieân noù khoâng bao giôø rôøi voâ nieäm; Baùt Nhaõ ôû trong voâ thöùc veà söï
vaät. Ñaây laø caùi maø ngöôøi ta aùm chæ khi noùi raèng “thaáy laø khoâng thaáy vaø
khoâng thaáy laø thaáy,” hoaëc khi noùi raèng voâ nieäm hay töï taùnh, trôû neân yù
thöùc chính noù baèng phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ, tuy nhieân trong yù thöùc naøy noù
khoâng coù söï phaân caùch naøo giöõa chuû vaø khaùch. Do ñoù, Luïc Toå Hueä
 17

Naêng noùi: “Ai hieåu ñöôïc chaân lyù naøy töùc thì khoâng nghó, khoâng nhôù vaø
khoâng dính maéc.” Nhöng chuùng ta phaûi nhôù raèng Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng
khoâng bao giôø giaûng moät giaùo phaùp naøo veà caùi “Voâ” ñôn giaûn hay veà
söï baát ñoäng ñôn giaûn vaø Ngaøi khoâng caäy ñeán quan nieäm veà caùi voâ tri
trong vaán ñeà ñôøi soáng. Cuõng theo Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng, Baùt Nhaõ laø caùi
teân ñaët cho “Töï Taùnh,” hay chuùng ta coøn goïi noù laø “Voâ Thöùc,” khi noù
töï yù thöùc chính noù, hay chính xaùc hôn, chính haønh ñoäng trôû thaønh yù
thöùc. Do ñoù Baùt Nhaõ chæ veà hai höôùng: Voâ thöùc vaø theá giôùi cuûa yù thöùc
hieän môû ra. Hình thaùi thöù nhaát ñöôïc goïi laø Trí Voâ Phaân Bieät vaø hình
thaùi kia laø Trí Phaân Bieät. Khi chuùng ta quan heä vôùi höôùng ñi ra ngoaøi
cuûa yù thöùc vaø phaân bieät taïi ñieåm queân höôùng kia cuûa Baùt Nhaõ, höôùng
quy taâm veà Voâ thöùc, chuùng ta coù thuaät ngöõ ñöôïc bieát döôùi teân “Trí
Töôûng Töôïng.” Hay chuùng ta coù theå noùi ngöôïc laïi: khi trí töôûng töôïng
töï xaùc ñònh, Baùt Nhaõ bò che khuaát, söï phaân bieät ngöï trò laøm chuû, vaø beà
maët thanh tònh, khoâng voâ nhieãm cuûa Voâ Thöùc hay Töï Taùnh hieän thôøi bò
che môø. Nhöõng ai chuû tröông “voâ nieäm” hay “voâ taâm” ñeàu mong chuùng
ta ngaên Baùt Nhaõ khoûi laïc theo höôùng phaân bieät vaø chuùng ta cöông
quyeát quay caùi nhìn theo höôùng kia. Ñaït voâ taâm coù nghóa laø, noùi moät
caùch khaùch quan, phaùt hieän ra trí voâ phaân bieät. Khi quan nieäm naøy
ñöôïc phaùt trieån theâm, chuùng ta hieåu ñöôïc nghóa cuûa voâ taâm, trong tö
töôûng Thieàn.
Sau thôøi Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng, Thieàn daàn daàn ñaõ trôû thaønh moät "Ngheä
thuaät," moät ngheä thuaät ñoäc nhaát ñeå truyeàn Chaân lyù Baùt Nhaõ, nhö taát caû
nhöõng ngheä thuaät vó ñaïi, töø choái khoâng chòu theo moät hình thöùc, khuoân
maãu, hay heä thoáng nhaát ñònh naøo trong vieäc bieåu hieän. Thaùi ñoä phoùng
khoaùng ñaëc bieät naøy phaùt sinh ra nhöõng caùch bieåu thò quaù khích vaø ñoâi
khi "hoang daïi" ñoù cuûa Thieàn, goùp phaàn lôùn lao cho tính phöùc taïp vaø
khoù hieåu cuûa vaán ñeà. Haønh giaû tu Thieàn neân luoân nhôù raèng Chaân lyù
Baùt Nhaõ cöùu caùnh maø Thieàn coá gaéng chuyeån taûi khoâng theå naøo coù theå
laø moät caùi gì heïp hoøi, höõu haïn hoaëc chuyeân bieät; noù phaûi laø moät caùi gì
bao la, ñaïi ñoàng vaø voâ haïn, haøm chöùa taát caû vaø bao truøm taát caû; khoâng
theå ñònh nghóa vaø meänh danh ñöôïc. Ñoù laø lyù do taïi sao Chaân lyù Baùt
Nhaõ cöùu caùnh Thieàn laø khoâng theå ñònh nghóa cuõng khoâng theå laõnh hoäi
ñöôïc baèng phaøm trí. Caùi baûn chaát khoâng theå ñònh nghóa vaø khoâng theå
laõnh hoäi naøy cuûa Chaân lyù Thieàn ñöôïc giaûi minh raát roõ raøng trong nhöõng
coâng aùn theo sau ñaây. Theo Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, chöông baûy, Nam
Nhaïc Hoaøi Nhöôïng ñeán Taøo Kheâ tham vaán Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng. Toå hoûi:
 18

“ÔÛ ñaâu ñeán?” Sö thöa: “ÔÛ Tung Sôn ñeán.” Toå hoûi: “Maø vaät gì ñeán?”
Sö thöa: “Noùi in tuoàng moät vaät töùc khoâng truùng.” Toå hoûi: “Laïi coù theå tu
chöùng chaêng?” Sö thöa: “Tu chöùng töùc chaúng khoâng, nhieãm oâ töùc
chaúng ñöôïc.” Toå noùi: “Chính caùi khoâng nhieãm oâ naày laø choã hoä nieäm
cuûa chö Phaät, ngöôøi ñaõ nhö theá, ta cuõng nhö theá. Toå Baùt Nhaõ Ña La ôû
Taây Thieân coù lôøi saám raèng: ‘Döôùi chaân ngöôi seõ xuaát hieän NHAÁT MAÕ
CAÂU (con ngöïa tô) ñaïp cheát ngöôøi trong thieân haï. ÖÙng taïi taâm ngöôi
chaúng caàn noùi sôùm.’” Vaø ñaây laø moät coâng aùn khaùc: Phoù Ñaïi Só noùi
trong baøi keä noåi tieáng cuûa ngaøi:
"Khoâng thuû baû xöø ñaàu;
Boä haønh kî thuûy ngöu;
Nhaân tuøng kieàu thöôïng quaù.
Kieàu löu thuûy baát löu."
(Tay khoâng, caàm caùn mai;
Ñi boä, löng traâu ngoài;
Ngöôøi ñi qua treân caàu.
Caàu troâi nöôùc chaúng troâi!)
Thaät vaäy, theo Chang Chen-Chi trong quyeån "Thieàn Ñaïo Tu Taäp,"
ngay chöõ "ñònh nghóa" khieán chuùng ta lieân töôûng ñeán moät ngoùn tay chæ
vaøo moät ñoái töôïng ñaëc thuø, vaø chöõ "laõnh hoäi," gôïi yù moät baøn tay caàm
chaéc moät caùi gì khoâng ñeå cho noù thoaùt ra. Hai hình aûnh naøy mieâu taû
moät caùch linh ñoäng caùi baûn tính eo heïp, böng bít vaø chaáp tröôùc cuûa taâm
trí con ngöôøi. Vôùi tính chaát haïn heïp vaø böng bít ñaùng thöông naøy baét reã
saâu xa trong loái suy töôûng cuûa con ngöôøi, khoâng laï gì caùi Chaân lyù Baùt
Nhaõ töï do vaø bao haøm taát caû trôû neân moät chieác boùng maõi maõi treo lô
löûng trong söï coá naém baét cuûa con ngöôøi.

An Overview of Prajna

It should be remembered that the Prajnaparamita Period or the

Lotus period was one of the five periods of the Buddha’s teachings.
The period of Prajnaparamita-Sutra or Lotus-Sutra. The Time of
Wisdom mainly teaches the Round Doctrine and yet is linked with the
Common and Distinct Doctrines. Therefore, it is not quite perfect or
complete. This phase lasted twenty-two years, in which the Buddha
expounded a higher level of provisional Mahayana and refuted his
disciples’ attachment to the distinction between Theravada and
 19

Mahayana by teaching the doctrine non-substantiality or emptiness. He

taught the teachings of shunyata in the Prajnaparamita-sutra. Prajna is
ordinarily translated as “knowledge” in English, but to be exact
“intuition” may be better. It is sometimes translated as “transcendental
wisdom.” The fact is even when we have an intuition, the object is still
in front of us and we sense it, or perceive it, or see it. Here is a
dichotomy of subject and object. In prajna this dichotomy no longer
exists. Prajna is not concerned with finite objects as such; it is the
totality of things becoming conscious of itself as such. And this totality
is not at all limited. An infinite totality is beyond our ordinary human
comprehension. But the prajna-intuition is this “incomprehensible”
totalistic untuition of the infinite, which is something that can never
take place in our daily experience limited to finite objects or events.
The prajna, therefore, can take place, in other words, only when finite
objects of sense and intellect are identified with the infinite itself.
Instead of saying that the infinite sees itself, it is much closer to our
human experience to say that an object regarded as finite, as belonging
in the dichotomous world of subject and object, is perceived by prajna
from the point of view of infinity. Symbolically, the finite then sees
itself reflected in the mirror of infinity. The intellect informs us that the
object is finite, but prajna contradicts, declaring it to be the infinite
beyond the realm of relativity. Ontologically, this means that all finite
objects or beings are possible because of the infinite underlying them,
or that the objects are relatively and therefore limitedly laid out in the
field of infinity without which they have no moorings.
According to the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma
Treasure, the Sixth Patriarch, Hui-Neng, taught: “Good Knowing
Advisors, Maha Prajna Paramita is a Sanskrit word which means ‘great
wisdom which has arrived at the other shore.’ It must be practiced in
the mind, and not just recited in words. When the mouth recites and the
mind does not practice, it is like an illusion, a transformation, dew
drops, or lightning. However, when the mouth recites and the mind
practices, then mind and mouth are in mutual accord. One’s own
original nature is Buddha; apart from the nature there is no other
Buddha. Good Knowing Advisors, what is meant by ‘Prajna?’ Prajna in
our language means wisdom. Everywhere and at all times, in thought
after thought, remain undeluded and practice wisdom constantly; that is
 20

Prajna conduct. Prajna is cut off by a single deluded thought. By one

wise thought, Prajna is produced. Worldly men, deluded and confused,
do not see Prajna. They speak of it with their mouths, but their minds
are always deluded. They constantly say of themselves, ‘I cultivate
Prajna!’ And though they continually speak of emptiness, they are
unaware of true emptiness. Prajna, without form or mark, is just the
wisdom of the mind. If thus explained, this is Prajna wisdom. Prajna is
a Sanskrit term which means wisdom. There are three kinds of prajna:
real mark prajna, contemplative prajna, and literary prajna. Prajna also
means the real power to discern things and their underlying principles
and to decide the doubtful. The Prajna-paramita-sutra describes
“prajna” as supreme, highest, incomparable, unequalled, unsurpassed.
Prajna means real wisdom or transcendental wisdom. According to the
Mahayana Buddhism, only an immediate experienced intuitive
wisdom, not intelligence can help man reach enlightenment. Therefore,
to achieve prajna is synonymous with to reach enlightenment. One of
the two perfections required for Buddhahood—The wisdom which
enables us to transcend disire, attachment and anger so that we will be
emancipated (not throught the mercy of any body, but rather through
our own power of will and wisdom) and so that we will not be reborn
again and again in “samsara” or transmigration.
At anywhere and at all time, Devout Buddhists’ actions must be in
accordance with “Prajna” at all time. Worldly people always brag with
their mouths, but their minds are always deluded. This is one of the
three kinds of Prajna, the prajna or wisdom of meditative
enlightenment on reality, for prajna is wisdom for salvation, and
through wisdom is the mother or source of all Buddhas. Prajna is the
spear of wisdom, which is able to cut off illusion and evil. Prajna is the
intuitive understanding. In general, this refers to the development of
intuitive understanding of key Buddhist concepts. According to the
Mahayana Buddhism, the “prajna paramita” or the “perfection of
wisdom” is the sixth of the perfections that a Bodhisattva cultivates on
the path to Buddhahood, and only an immediate experienced intuitive
wisdom, not intelligence can help man reach enlightenment. Therefore,
to achieve prajna is synonymous with to reach enlightenment. One of
the two perfections required for Buddhahood. The wisdom which
enables us to transcend disire, attachment and anger so that we will be
 21

emancipated (not throught the mercy of any body, but rather through
our own power of will and wisdom) and so that we will not be reborn
again and again in “samsara” or transmigration. Prajna is abruptly
seeing. Prajna is really a dialectical term denoting that this special
process of knowing, known as “abruptly seeing,” or “seeing at once,”
does not follow general laws of logic; for when prajna functions one
finds oneself all of a sudden, as if by a miracle, facing Sunyata, the
emptiness of all things. This does not take place as the result of
reasoning, but when reasoning has been abandoned as futile, and
psychologically when the will-power is brought to a finish. The use of
prajna contradicts everything that we may conceive of things worldly; it
is altogether of another order than our usual life. But this does not
mean that Prajna is something altogether disconnected with our life and
thought, something that is to be given to us by a miracle from some
unknown and unknowable source. If this were the case, prajna would
be no possible use to us. It is true that the functioning of Prajna is
discrete, and interrupting to the progress of logical reasoning, but all
the time it underlies it, and without Prajna we cannot have any
reasoning whatever. Prajna is at once above and in the process of
reasoning. This is a contradiction, formally considered, but in truth this
contradiction itself is made possible because of Prajna.
That most of religious literature is filled with contradictions,
absurdities, paradoxes, and impossibilities, and demands to believe
them, to accept them, as revealed truths, is due to the fact that religious
knowledge is based on the working of Prajna. Once this viewpoint of
Prajna is gained, all the essential irrationalities found in religion
become intelligible. It is like appreciating a fine piece of brocade. On
the surface there is an almost bewildering confusion of beauty, and the
professional fails to trace the intricacies of the threads. But as soon as it
is turned over all the intricate beauty and skill is revealed. Prajna
consists in this turning-over. The eye has hitherto followed the surface
of the cloth, which is indeed the only side ordinarily allows us to
survey. Now the cloth is abruptly turned over; the course of the
eyesight is suddenly interrupted; no continuous gazing is possible. Yet
by this interruption, or rather disruption, the whole scheme of life is
suddenly grasped; there is the “seeing into one’s self-nature.” It is
Prajna which lays its hands on Emptiness, or Suchness, or self-nature.
 22

And this laying-hands-on is not what it seems. This is self-evident from

what has already been said concerning things relative. Because the
self-nature is beyond the realm of relativity, its being grasped by
Prajna cannot mean a grasping in its ordinary sense. The grasping must
be no-grasping, a paradoxical statement which is inevitable. To use
Buddhist terminology, this grasping is accomplished by non-
discrimination; that is, by discrete, an act of the conscious; not an
unconscious act but an act rising from self-nature itself, which is the
unconscious.
Prajna must once be awakened in self-nature; for unless this is
experienced we shall never have a chance of knowing the Buddha not
only in ourselves but in others. But this awakening is no particular deed
performed in the realm of empirical consciousness, and for this reason
it is like a lunar reflection in the stream; it is neither continuous nor
discrete; it is beyond birth and death; even when it is said to be born, it
knows no birth; even when it is said to have passed away, it knows no
passing away; it is only when no-mind-ness or the Unconscious is seen
that there are discourses never discoursed, that there are acts that
never acted. According to the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng in the Platform
Sutra, Prajna is awakened in self-nature abruptly, and the term
“abrupt” not only means ‘instantaneously’, ‘unexpectedly’ or
‘suddenly’, but signifies the idea that the act of awakening which is
seeing is not a conscious deed on the part of self-nature. In other
words, Prajna flashes from the Unconscious and yet never leaves it; it
remains unconscious of it. This is the sense of saying that “seeing is no-
seeing, and no-seeing is seeing,” and that the Unconscious or self-
nature becomes conscious of itself by means of Prajna, and yet in this
consciousness there is no separation of subject and object. Therefore,
Hui-Neng says: “One who understands this truth is without thought,
without memory, and without attachment.” But we must remember that
Hui-Neng never advocated the doctrine of mere nothingness, or mere-
doing-nothing-ness, nor assumed an unknown quantity in the solution of
life. Also according to Hui-Neng, Prajna is the name given to self-
nature, or the Unconscious, as we call it, when it becomes conscious of
itself, or rather to the act itself of becoming conscious. Prajna therefore
points in two directions to the Unconscious and to the world of
consciousness which is now unfolded. The one is call the Prajna of non-
 23

discrimination and the other the Prajna of discrimination. When we are

so deeply involved in the outgoing direction of consciousness and
discrimination as to forget the other direction of Prajna pointing to the
Unconscious, we have what is technically known as “Prapanca,”
imagination. Or we may state this conversely: when imagination
asserts itself, Prajna is hidden, and discrimination has its own sway, and
the pure, undefiled surface of the Unconscious or self-nature is now
dimmed. The advocates of “no-thought” or “no-mind” want us to
preserve Prajna from going astray in the direction of discrimination,
and to have our eyes looking steadily in the other direction. To attain
“no-mind” means to recover, objectively speaking, the Prajna or non-
discrimination. When this idea is developed in more detail we shall
comprehend the significance of “no-mind” in Zen thought.
After the period of the Sixth Patriarch Hui-neâng (638-713), Zen
gradually became an "Art", a unique art for transmitting the Prajna-
Truth, refusing, as all great arts do, to follow any set form, pattern, or
system in expressing itself. This exceptionally liberal attitude gave
birth to those radical and sometimes "wild' Zen expressions, which also
contribute so greatly to the complexity and incomprehensibility of the
subject. Zen practitioners should always remember that the ultimate
Prajna-Truth that Zen tries to convey cannot be a thing that is narrow,
finite, or exclusive; it must be something vast, universal, and infinite;
all-inclusive and all-embracing; defying definition and designation.
That's why the ultimate Prajna-Truth cannot be defined and grasped by
ordinary intellect. This indefinable and ungraspable nature of Zen-truth
is well illustrated in the following koans. According to the Flatform
Sutra, Chapter Seven, Nan-Yueh came to Tsao-Xi to study with Hui-
Neng. Hui-Neng said to Nan-Yueh: “Where did you come from?” Nan-
Yueh said: “From Mount Song.” Hui-Neng said: “What is it that thus
come?” Nan-Yueh couldn’t answer. After eight years, Nan-Yueh
suddenly attained enlightenment. He informed the Sixth Patriarch of
this, saying: “I have an understanding.” The Sixth Patriarch said: “What
is it?” Nan-Yueh said: “To say it’s a thing misses the mark.” The Sixth
Patriarch said: “Then can it be made evident or not?” Nan-Yueh said:
“I don’t say it can’t be made evident, but it can’t be defiled.” The Sixth
Patriarch said: “Just this that is undefiled is what is upheld and
sustained all Buddhas. You are thus. I am also thus. “Prajnadhara has
 24

foretold that from beneath your feet will come a horse which will
trample to death everyone in the world. Bear this in mind but don’t
soon repeat it.” And here is another koan: Fu Ta Shih said in his
famous stanza:
"Empty-handed I go,
but a spade is in my hand;
I walk on my feet,
yet I am riding on the back of a bull;
When I pass over the bridge,
The bridge, but not the water, flows!"
As a matter of fact, according to Chang Chen-Chi in the "Practice
of Zen (p.17)," the very word "defining" suggests a finger pointing to a
particular object, and the word "grasping", a hand holding something
tightly and not letting it go. These two pictures vividly portray the
narrow, tight, and clinging nature of the human mind. With this
deplorable limitation and tightness deeply rooted in the human way of
thinking, no wonder the free and all-inclusive Prajna-Truth becomes an
evasive shadow forever eluding one's graps.
 25

Chöông Hai
Chapter Two

Chuûng Loaïi Baùt Nhaõ

Baùt nhaõ coù nghóa laø Trí tueä khieán chuùng sanh coù khaû naêng ñaùo bæ
ngaïn. Trí tueä giaûi thoaùt laø ba la maät cao nhaát trong luïc ba la maät, laø
phöông tieän chaùnh ñeå ñaït tôùi nieát baøn. Noù bao truøm söï thaáy bieát taát caû
nhöõng huyeãn hoaëc cuûa theá gian vaïn höõu, noù phaù tan boùng toái cuûa si
meâ, taø kieán vaø sai laïc. Coù hai loaïi Baùt Nhaõ. Thöù nhaát laø theá gian Baùt
nhaõ. Thöù hai laø xuaát theá gian Baùt nhaõ. Laïi coù thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ vaø
quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ. Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ laø phaàn ñaàu cuûa Baùt Nhaõ Ba
La Maät hay trí tueä goác. Quaùn chieáu Baùt nhaõ laø phaàn thöù nhì cuûa Baùt
Nhaõ Ba La Maät hay trí tueä ñaït ñöôïc qua tu taäp. Laïi coù coäng baùt nhaõ vaø
baát coäng baùt nhaõ. Coäng baùt Nhaõ laø ba giai ñoaïn cuûa Thanh vaên, Duyeân
giaùc vaø Boà Taùt. Baát coäng baùt nhaõ laø loaïi baùt nhaõ cuûa hoïc thuyeát toaøn
thieän Boà Taùt. Coù ba loaïi baùt nhaõ: thöïc töôùng Baùt nhaõ, quaùn chieáu Baùt
nhaõ, vaø phöông tieän Baùt nhaõ. Theo caùc truyeàn thoáng Phaät giaùo, coù ba
loaïi kieán thöùc Baùt Nhaõ chính: Thöù nhaát laø Thöïc Töôùng Baùt Nhaõ: Thöïc
töôùng Baùt Nhaõ laø trí chöùng ñaéc lyù thöïc töôùng hay chaân tueä chöùng thöïc,
phaàn ñaàu cuûa Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät hay trí tueä goác. Ñaây laø loaïi trí hueä
ñaït ñöôïc khi ñaõ ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Thöù nhì laø Quaùn Chieáu Baùt Nhaõ: Sau khi
quaùn trieät Phaät phaùp trong kinh ñieån, ngöôøi ta quaùn chieáu thöïc nghóa
cuûa noù qua thöïc haønh. Phaàn thöù nhì cuûa Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät hay trí tueä
ñaït ñöôïc qua tu taäp. Ñaây laø moät trong ba loaïi Baùt Nhaõ, laáy trí tueä quaùn
chieáu caùi lyù thöïc töôùng hay nhôø thieàn quaùn maø giaùc ngoä ñöôïc chaân lyù.
Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát khi thaät söï ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Thöù ba laø Phöông Tieän
Baùt Nhaõ: Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ laø loaïi trí hueä bieát ñöôïc traïng thaùi taïm
bôï vaø luoân thay ñoåi cuûa vaïn höõu. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát ñöa ñeán yù
höôùng “Ñaùo Bæ Ngaïn”.
Ngoaøi ra, coøn coù nhieàu loaïi Trí Baùt Nhaõ khaùc: Thöù nhaát laø Baùt
Nhaõ Ba La Maät hay Trí Baùt Nhaõ: Ñaây laø loaïi trí hieåu roõ caùc phaùp, giöõ
vöõng trung ñaïo. Söï tu taäp trí tueä vaø taâm linh cuûa moät vò Boà Taùt ñeán giai
ñoaïn ñaït ñöôïc trí ba la maät, töø ñoù caùc ngaøi thaêng tieán töùc thôøi ñeå
chuyeån thaønh moät vò Phaät toaøn giaùc. Söï kieän yù coù nghóa nhaát cuûa trình
ñoä naøy vaø bieåu töôïng cao nhaát cuûa söï thaønh töïu toái thöôïng cuûa Boà Taùt
laø böôùc vaøo traïng thaùi thieàn ñònh cuûa taâm caân baèng ñöôïc khôûi leân töø trí
 26

tueä baát nhò cuûa taùnh khoâng. Ñaây cuõng laø böôùc khôûi ñaàu cuûa Boà Taùt vaøo
coång nhaát thieát trí cuûa moät vò Phaät, töùc laø trí tueä tinh hoa nhaát. Trí tueä
ba la maät coù moät phaåm chaát phaân tích nhö moät ñaëc tính ñaëc thuø cuûa trí
baát nhò phaùt khôûi khi Boà Taùt ñaït ñeán giai ñoaïn trí ba la maät. Vì vaäy, trí
tueä bình thöôøng nghieâng veà phaàn tri giaùc trong khi trí tueä ba la maät laïi
nghieâng veà phaàn tröïc giaùc. Loaïi Baùt Nhaõ thöù nhì laø Trí Baùt Nhaõ Boà Ñeà:
Theo Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng daïy: “Naày thieän tri thöùc,
Trí Baùt Nhaõ Boà Ñeà, ngöôøi ñôøi voán töï coù, chæ nhaân vì taâm meâ khoâng theå
töï ngoä, phaûi nhôø ñeán ñaïi thieän tri thöùc chæ ñöôøng môùi thaáy ñöôïc taùnh.
Phaûi bieát ngöôøi ngu ngöôøi trí, Phaät taùnh voán khoâng khaùc, chæ duyeân meâ
ngoä khoâng ñoàng, do ñoù neân coù ngu trí. Nay toâi vì noùi phaùp Ma Ha Baùt
Nhaõ Ba La Maät, khieán cho caùc oâng, moãi ngöôøi ñöôïc trí tueä, neân chí
taâm laéng nghe, toâi vì caùc oâng maø noùi. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, coù ngöôøi troïn
ngaøy mieäng tuïng Baùt Nhaõ nhöng khoâng bieát töï taùnh Baùt Nhaõ, ví nhö
noùi aên maø khoâng no, mieäng chæ noùi khoâng, muoân kieáp chaúng ñöôïc thaáy
taùnh, troïn khoâng coù ích gì.” Thöù ba laø Baùt Nhaõ Baát Khaû Tö Nghì hay
Baát Khaû Tö Nghì Trí: Ñaây laø caùi bieát hay caùi trí vöôït ngoaøi söï hieåu bieát
bình thöôøng hay laø caûnh giôùi trí tueä baát tö nghì cuûa chö Nhö Lai (baát tö
nghì chö Nhö Lai trí tueä caûnh giôùi). Thöù tö laø Baùt Nhaõ Bình Ñaúng Taùnh
hay Bình Ñaúng Taùnh Trí: Ñaây laø caùi trí vöôït ra ngoaøi söï phaân bieät Toâi
Anh, do ñoù maø döùt boû ñöôïc caùi yù nieäm veà ngaõ. Caùi trí xem moïi söï moïi
vaät ñeàu bình ñaúng nhö nhau. Nhôø coù trí naøy maø ngöôøi ta khôûi leân taâm
ñaïi bi. Theo lyù thuyeát Duy Thöùc, moät khi bình ñaúng taùnh trí khôûi leân thì
boán thöù oâ nhieãm töï aùi, töï kieán, kieâu maïn vaø si meâ ñeàu tan bieán. Thöù
naêm laø Baùt Nhaõ Caên Baûn hay Caên Baûn Trí: Coøn ñöôïc goïi laø Chaân Trí,
Chaùnh Trí, Nhö Lyù Trí, Voâ Phaân Bieät Trí, nghóa laø hieåu bieát roõ chaân lyù
maø khoâng coù söï phaân bieät naêng duyeân hay sôû duyeân, ñaây laø trí sanh ra
nhaát thieát chaân lyù vaø coâng ñöùc, ñoái laïi vôùi “haäu ñaéc trí”. Thöù saùu laø
Chaùnh Baùt Nhaõ hay Chaùnh Trí: Ñaây laø loaïi trí hueä chaân chaùnh. Theo
Thieàn Sö D. T. Suzuki trong Nghieân Cöùu Kinh Laêng Giaø, ñaây laø moät
trong naêm phaùp töôùng. Trí hueä chaân chaùnh thaáy roõ nhöõng loãi laàm cuûa
söï phaân bieät cuûa phaøm phu. Chaùnh trí bao goàm hieåu ñuùng baûn chaát cuûa
Danh vaø Töôùng nhö laø söï xaùc nhaän vaø quyeát ñònh laãn nhau. Chaùnh trí
laø ôû choã nhìn thaáy caùi taâm khoâng bò dao ñoäng bôûi caùc ñoái töôïng beân
ngoaøi, ôû choã khoâng bò mang ñi xa bôûi nhò bieân nhö ñoaïn dieät hay
thöôøng haèng, vaø ôû choã khoâng bò rôi vaøo traïng thaùi cuûa Thanh Vaên hay
Duyeân Giaùc, hay luaän ñieäu cuûa caùc trieát gia. Thöù baûy laø Dieät Ñeá Baùt
 27

Nhaõ hay Dieät Trí: Caùi trí chieáu roõ ñaïo lyù Dieät Ñeá, döùt khoå tröø phieàn
naõo. Thöù taùm laø Dieäu Quaùn Saùt Baùt Nhaõ hay Dieäu Quaùn Saùt Trí: Ñaây
laø moät trong naêm trí ñöôïc noùi ñeán trong kinh ñieån cuûa toâng Chaân Ngoân.
Trí chuyeån töø yù thöùc maø ñöôïc, trí phaân bieät caùc phaùp haûo dieäu phaù
nghi, töông öùng vôùi nöôùc vaø Phaät A Di Ñaø ôû Taây phöông. Theo Tònh
Ñoä vaø Chaân Toâng, Phaät A Di Ñaø thuø thaéng hôn caû trong soá Nguõ Trí
Nhö Lai; maëc duø quoác ñoä cuûa Ngaøi ôû Taây Phöông chöù khoâng ôû trung
öông. Trong soá Nguõ Trí Nhö Lai, Ñöùc Phaät A Di Ñaø ôû phöông Taây coù
theå ñoàng nhaát vôùi Trung öông Ñaïi Nhaät Nhö Lai, laø Ñöùc Phaät cuûa Phaùp
Giôùi Theå Taùnh. Caùc boån nguyeän cuûa Ñöùc A Di Ñaø, söï chöùng ñaéc Phaät
quaû Voâ Löôïng Quang vaø Voâ Löôïng Thoï, vaø söï thieát laäp Cöïc Laïc quoác
ñoä ñaõ ñöôïc moâ taû ñaày ñuû trong Kinh A Di Ñaø. Thöù chín laø Ñaúng Giaùc
Baùt Nhaõ hay Ñaúng Giaùc Trí: Coøn goïi laø Tòch Chieáu Hueä, hay trí hueä
cuûa Boà taùt ôû Ñaúng Giaùc Vò ñaõ quaùn trieät thöïc taùnh vaø thöïc töôùng cuûa
Nieát Baøn. Thöù möôøi laø Ñònh Baùt Nhaõ hay Ñònh Trí, hay Ñònh Tueä: Ñaây
laø loaïi trí tueä coù ñöôïc töø ñònh taâm, moät trong boán loaïi trí hueä. Thöù möôøi
moät laø Ñoaïn Baùt Nhaõ hay Ñoaïn Trí: Ñaây laø loaïi trí cuûa söï ñoaïn dieät
hoaøn toaøn. Khi caùi trí cuûa söï ñoaïn dieät hoaøn toaøn (kshayajnana) ñöôïc
theå chöùng thì seõ khoâng bao giôø coøn söï xaùc ñònh veà caùc phieàn naõo nöõa.
Thöù möôøi hai laø Giaûi Thoaùt Baùt Nhaõ hay Giaûi Thoaùt Trí, hay Tueä Giaûi
Thoaùt: Caùc vò A La Haùn chæ ñaéc ñöôïc tueä chöùng giaûi thoaùt, chæ thích
giaùc ngoä ñaïo lyù, chöù khoâng thích taùc duïng coâng ñöùc cuûa söï vieäc, neân
chæ ñoaïn ñöôïc kieán tö phieàn naõo hay chöôùng ngaïi cuûa trí tueä voâ laäu,
chöù khoâng lìa boû ñöôïc chöôùng ngaïi cuûa thieàn ñònh, ví nhö ngöôøi thích
truy caàu tìm hieåu chöù khoâng thích haønh trì. Thöù möôøi ba laø Haäu Ñaéc
Baùt Nhaõ hay Haäu Ñaéc Trí: Coøn goïi laø Phaân Bieät Trí, töùc laø caùi trí chaân
chaùnh, saâu kính, ngaàm hôïp chaân nhö, trí sôû ñaéc theo sau caên baûn trí. Trí
khôûi leân töø caên baûn trí. Trí coù theå phaân bieät hieän töôïng hay söï töôùng
höõu vi, ñoái laïi vôùi voâ phaân bieät hay caên baûn thöïc trí cuûa Ñöùc Phaät. Thöù
möôøi boán laø Khoå Loaïi Baùt Nhaõ hay Khoå loaïi trí: Ñaây laø moät trong taùm
trí, voâ laäu trí hay chaân trí saùng suoát do quaùn “khoå ñeá” maø ñaéc ñöôïc
(thoaùt khoûi khoå ñau phieàn naõo trong luaân hoài sanh töû) trong caùc coõi
(duïc, saéc vaø voâ saéc). Thöù möôøi laêm laø Khoå Loaïi Nhaãn Baùt Nhaõ hay Khoå
Loaïi Nhaãn Trí: Moät trong taùm loaïi nhaãn khôûi leân töø “khoå loaïi trí” quaùn.
Khoå loaïi trí nhaãn laø nhaân, khoå loaïi trí laø quaû. Thöù möôøi saùu laø Khoå
Phaùp Baùt Nhaõ hay Khoå Phaùp Trí: Moät trong Baùt Trí, do quaùn khoå ñeá ôû
coõi duïc giôùi maø phaùt sanh trí hueä saùng suoát, chaët ñöùt meâ hoaëc. Thöù
 28

möôøi baûy laø Kieán Baùt Nhaõ hay Kieán Trí: Coøn goïi laø Kieán Hueä hay kieán
tueä, khôûi leân do tu taäp thieàn ñònh (do söï tu taäp thieàn ñònh maø ñöôïc phaùt
trí tueä veà caùc thöù kieán chaáp). Thöù möôøi taùm laø Laäu Taän Baùt Nhaõ hay
Laäu taän trí: Laäu taän trí hieän chöùng thöïc teá khôûi Boà Taùt haïnh chaúng
ñoaïn dieät. Thöù möôøi chín laø Phaùp Baùt Nhaõ hay Loaïi Trí: Trí tueä quaùn
xeùt Töù Ñeá cuûa Duïc giôùi goïi laø Phaùp Trí, ví vôùi trí tuïc hay loaïi trí quaùn
xeùt töù ñeá cuûa hai giôùi cao hôn laø Saéc giôùi vaø Voâ saéc giôùi. Thöù hai möôi
laø Nhaõn Baùt Nhaõ hay Nhaõn trí hay tueä nhaõn: Ñaây laø con maét trí tueä
thaáy vaïn höõu giai khoâng. Vôùi con maét naày, Boà Taùt neùm caùi nhìn vaøo
taát caû nhöõng caùi kyø dieäu vaø baát khaû tö nghì cuûa caûnh giôùi taâm linh, thaáy
taän hoá thaúm saâu xa nhaát cuûa noù. Thöù hai möôi moát laø Nhaân Voâ Ngaõ Baùt
Nhaõ hay Nhaân Voâ Ngaõ Trí: Trí hueä cuûa moät con ngöôøi voâ ngaõ. Caùi trí
bieát raèng khoâng coù caùi ngaõ hay linh hoàn. Thöù hai möôi hai laø Nhaát
Thieát Trí Baùt Nhaõ hay Nhaát Thieát Trí Trí: Ñaây laø trí tueä cuûa chö Phaät
(boà ñeà, toaøn giaùc vaø thanh tònh). Thöù hai möôi ba laø Nhö Lai Baùt Nhaõ
hay Nhö Lai Trí: Chö Boà Taùt bieát Nhö Lai trí voâ bieân neân chaúng duøng
chöøng ngaèn ño löôøng (chö Boà Taùt bieát taát caû vaên töï theá gian noùi ra ñeàu
coù chöøng ngaèn, ñeàu chaúng bieát ñöôïc Nhö Lai trí hueä). Thöù hai möôi
boán laø Phaùp Voâ Ngaõ Baùt Nhaõ hay Phaùp Voâ Ngaõ Trí: Naêng löïc veà nhaän
bieát nhôø ñoù maø caùi chaân lyù veà “Phaùp Voâ Ngaõ” ñöôïc chaáp nhaän. Thöù
hai möôi laêm laø Phaùp Voâ Ngaïi Baùt Nhaõ hay Phaùp Voâ Ngaïi Trí: Trí tueä
hay khaû naêng giaûng giaûi ñuùng theo Chaùnh Phaùp moät caùch voâ ngaïi. Thöù
hai möôi saùu laø Quaû Duy Baùt Nhaõ hay Quaû duy Trí: Trí tueä ñaït ñöôïc do
tö duy vaø quaùn saùt caùi lyù cuûa duy thöùc (taàm vaø töù), bao goàm boán thöùc
ñaàu trong baùt thöùc. Thöù hai möôi baûy laø Quaùn Saùt Baùt Nhaõ hay Quaùn
Saùt Trí: Ñaây laø caùi trí thaáy suoát vaøo töï tính cuûa hieän höõu laø caùi trí vöôït
khoûi töù cuù hay boán meänh ñeà cuûa söï phaân bieät. Ñaây laø moät trong hai
loaïi trí ñöôïc noùi ñeán trong Kinh Laêng Giaø. Quaùn saùt trí laø trí tuyeät ñoái,
töông ñöông vôùi Vieân Thaønh Thöïc Trí. Chöõ Phaïn Pravicaya nghóa laø
tìm toøi xuyeân suoát hay khaûo saùt töôøng taän, vaø caùi trí ñöôïc ñònh tính nhö
theá thaâm nhaäp vaøo baûn chaát caên baûn cuûa taát caû caùc söï vaät, laø caùi vöôït
khoûi phaân tích lyù luaän, vaø khoâng theå ñöôïc dieãn taû baèng meänh ñeà naøo
trong töù cuù. Thöù hai möôi taùm laø Quaùn Baùt Nhaõ hay Quaùn trí (quaùn
hueä): Trí tueä quaùn saùt thaáu hieåu ñöôïc chaân lyù. Thöù hai möôi chín laø
Sanh Ñaéc Baùt Nhaõ hay Sanh Ñaéc Trí (Sinh Ñaéc Tueä): Baåm sinh trí tueä,
moät trong boán loaïi trí hueä. Thöù ba möôi laø Taát Caùnh Baùt Nhaõ hay Taát
caùnh trí: Ñaây laø loaïi trí hueä toái thöôïng. Thöù ba möôi moát laø Tha Taâm
 29

Baùt Nhaõ hay Tha Taâm Trí: Trí thöù taùm trong thaäp trí. Teân ñuû laø Trí Tha
Taâm Thoâng hay laø trí bieát roõ taâm traïng cuûa ngöôøi khaùc. Ñaây cuõng laø
thaàn thoâng thöù ba trong Luïc Thoâng, vaø lôøi nguyeän thöù taùm trong boán
möôi taùm lôøi nguyeän cuûa Phaät A Di Ñaø; Ngaøi nguyeän khoâng thaønh
Phaät cho ñeán khi naøo heát thaûy chuùng sanh ñeàu coù ñöôïc Tha Taâm Trí
naày. Thöù ba möôi hai laø Thaùnh Baùt Nhaõ hay Thaùnh Trí: Ñaây laø loaïi
Thaùnh Trí Phi Ngoân Ngöõ. Chaân lyù toái haäu chæ vaøo söï theå chöùng caùi trí
tueä toái thöôïng trong taâm thöùc saâu thaúm nhaát, vaø khoâng thuoäc phaïm vi
cuûa ngoân töø vaø caùi trí phaân bieät; söï phaân bieät nhö theá khoâng theå phaùt
hieän ñöôïc chaân lyù toái haäu. Tuy nhieân ngoïn ñeøn ngoân töø laø coù lôïi ích
cho vieäc soi saùng con ñöôøng ñöa ñeán chöùng ngoä toái haäu. Ñaây laø caùi trí
tueä toái thöôïng hay trí hueä cuûa baäc Thaùnh, nhôø ñoù ngöôøi ta coù theå nhìn
vaøo nhöõng choã thaâm saâu nhaát cuûa taâm thöùc ñeå naém laáy caùi chaân lyù
thaâm maät bò che khuaát maø caùi trí taàm thöôøng khoâng theå thaáy ñöôïc.
Trong ñaïo Phaät, ñaây laø Phaät trí hay trí cuûa caùc baäc Thaùnh, trí sieâu vieät
vaø vöôït ra ngoaøi moïi söï phaân bieät. Thöù ba möôi ba laø Thaân Baùt Nhaõ:
Coøn goïi laø Thaân Trí hay Tueä Thaân. Trí tueä vieân minh ñöôïc coi nhö laø
phaùp thaân cuûa Phaät, ñaây laø moät trong möôøi thaân Phaät. Ñaây cuõng laø moät
trong nguõ phaàn phaùp thaân, laø thaân ñaõ ñöôïc thaønh töïu töø voâ laäu trí tueä.
Thöù ba möôi boán laø Theå Baùt Nhaõ hay Theå Trí: Trí hueä theå hoäi chaân
khoâng. Coøn goïi laø Phaân Bieät Trí, töùc laø caùi trí chaân chaùnh, saâu kính,
ngaàm hôïp chaân nhö, trí sôû ñaéc theo sau caên baûn trí. Ñaây laø Chaân Trí,
Chaùnh Trí, Nhö Lyù Trí, Voâ Phaân Bieät Trí, nghóa laø hieåu bieát roõ chaân lyù
maø khoâng coù söï phaân bieät naêng duyeân hay sôû duyeân, ñaây laø trí sanh ra
nhaát thieát chaân lyù vaø coâng ñöùc, ñoái laïi vôùi “haäu ñaéc trí”. Thöù ba möôi
laêm laø Thieân Nhaõn Baùt Nhaõ: Coøn goïi laø Thieân Nhaõn Trí hay Thieân
Nhaõn Trí Chöùng Thoâng. Thieân nhaõn trí hay trí bieát söï sanh töû cuûa
chuùng sanh tuøy theo nghieäp cuûa hoï. Theo Caâu Xaù Luaän, luïc thoâng ñeàu
laáy trí laøm theå, laøm löïc duïng chöùng tri söï phaân bieät vaø thoâng ñaït voâ
ngaïi. Thieân nhaõn trí chöùng thoâng laø döïa vaøo trí tueä ñöôïc khôûi leân bôûi
thieân nhaõn. Thöù ba möôi saùu laø Thieân Nhó Baùt Nhaõ hay Thieân Nhó Trí:
Thaàn thoâng thöù nhì trong luïc thoâng, coù khaû naêng nghe vaø hieåu tieáng noùi
trong saéc giôùi. Moät soá caùc baäc A La Haùn vaø caùc baäc khaùc ñaõ ñaït ñöôïc
töù thieàn coù theå nghe ñöôïc moïi thöù aâm thanh vaø hieåu ñöôïc taát caû nhöõng
ngoân ngöõ trong saéc giôùi do ñaït ñöôïc Thieân nhaõn trí thoâng. Thöù ba möôi
baûy laø Thöïc Baùt Nhaõ hay Thöïc Trí: Söï hieåu bieát hay thoâng ñaït veà thöïc
töôùng cuûa chö phaùp, ñoái laïi vôùi quyeàn trí laø söï thoâng ñaït veà söï sai bieät
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cuûa caùc quyeàn phaùp. Thöù ba möôi taùm laø Tòch Chieáu Baùt Nhaõ hay Tòch
Chieáu Trí: Tòch Chieáu Hueä hay trí hueä ôû ngoâi vò Phaät chieáu khaép chuùng
sanh (töø caùi theå cuûa trung ñaïo maø khôûi leân caùi duïng cuûa trung ñaïo).
Thöù ba möôi chín laø Tueä Giaùc Baùt Nhaõ hay Tueä Giaùc Trí: Moät trong
taùm ñaëc taùnh cuûa giaùc ngoä trong Thieàn. Ngoä laø ñaëc tính trí naêng ôû
nhöõng kinh nghieäm thaàn bí, vaø ñieàu naày cuõng aùp duïng cho kinh nghieäm
cuûa Thieàn, ñöôïc goïi laø ngoä. Moät teân khaùc cuûa ‘ngoä’ laø ‘Kieán Taùnh,’ coù
veû nhö muoán noùi raèng coù söï ‘thaáy’ hay ‘caûm thaáy’ ôû chöùng ngoä. Khoûi
caàn phaûi ghi nhaän raèng caùi thaáy naày khaùc haún vôùi caùi maø ta thöôøng goïi
laø tri kieán hay nhaän thöùc. Chuùng ta ñöôïc bieát raèng Hueä Khaû ñaõ coù noùi
veà söï chöùng ngoä cuûa mình, ñöôïc Toå Boà Ñeà Ñaït Ma aán khaû nhö sau:
“Theo söï chöùng ngoä cuûa toâi, noù khoâng phaûi laø moät caùi khoâng hö toaøn
dieän; noù laø tri kieán thích öùng nhaát; chæ coù ñieàu laø khoâng theå dieãn thaønh
lôøi.” Veà phöông dieän naày, Thaàn Hoäi noùi roõ hôn: “Ñaëc tính duy nhaát cuûa
Tri laø caên nguyeân cuûa moïi leõ huyeàn dieäu.” Khoâng coù ñaëc tính trí naêng
naày, söï chöùng ngoä maát heát caùi gay gaét cuûa noù, bôûi vì ñaây quaû thöïc laø
ñaïo lyù cuûa chính söï chöùng ngoä. Neân bieát raèng caùi tri kieán ñöôïc chöùa
ñöïng ôû chöùng ngoä vöøa coù quan heä vôùi caùi phoå bieán vöøa lieân quan ñeán
khía caïnh caù bieät cuûa hieän höõu. Khi moät ngoùn tay ñöa leân, töø caùi nhìn
cuûa ngoä, cöû chæ naày khoâng phaûi chæ laø haønh vi ñöa leân maø thoâi. Coù theå
goïi ñoù laø töôïng tröng, nhöng söï chöùng ngoä khoâng troû vaøo nhöõng gì ôû
beân ngoaøi chính caùi ñoù, vì chính caùi ñoù laø cöùu caùnh. Chöùng ngoä laø tri
kieán veà moät söï vaät caù bieät, vaø ñoàng thôøi, veà thöïc taïi ñaèng sau söï vaät
ñoù, neáu coù theå noùi laø ñaèng sau. Thöù boán möôi laø Tuyeät Ñoái Baùt Nhaõ
hay Tuyeät ñoái Trí: Kieán thöùc tuyeät ñoái laø chaân lyù cao nhaát hay chaân
nhö, chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái. Huyeàn aûo vaø thöôøng nghieäm töông öùng vôùi
chaân lyù töông ñoái, coøn tuyeät ñoái thì töông öùng vôùi chaân lyù cao nhaát cuûa
Trung Luaän toâng. Ñaây laø moät trong hai loaïi trí cuõng ñöôïc noùi ñeán trong
Kinh Laêng Giaø. Quaùn saùt trí laø trí tuyeät ñoái, töông ñöông vôùi Vieân
Thaønh Thöïc Trí. Chöõ Phaïn Pravicaya nghóa laø tìm toøi xuyeân suoát hay
khaûo saùt töôøng taän, vaø caùi trí ñöôïc ñònh tính nhö theá thaâm nhaäp vaøo baûn
chaát caên baûn cuûa taát caû caùc söï vaät, laø caùi vöôït khoûi phaân tích lyù luaän,
vaø khoâng theå ñöôïc dieãn taû baèng meänh ñeà naøo trong töù cuù. Thöù boán
möôi moát laø Vaên Baùt Nhaõ hay Vaên trí (Vaên Tueä): Trí tueä do nghe vaø
trau doài maø coù, trí hueä môû ra do ñöôïc nghe hieåu veà chaân lyù trung ñaïo,
moät trong boán loaïi trí hueä. Thöù boán möôi hai laø Voâ Laäu Baùt Nhaõ hay Voâ
Laäu Trí: Trí hueä thanh tònh, khoâng bò oâ nhieãm vì vò kyû (Voâ laäu tueä hay
 31

trí tueä giaùc ngoä). Thöù boán möôi ba laø Voâ Sö Baùt Nhaõ hay Voâ Sö Trí:
Ñaây laø trí hueä Phaät, trí giaùc ngoä töï ñaït, khoâng thaày chæ daïy. Thöù boán
möôi boán laø Xuaát Theá Gian Baùt Nhaõ: Coøn goïi laø Xuaát theá gian trí hay
Xuaát Theá Gian Thöôïng Thöôïng Trí. Xuaát theá gian thöôïng thöôïng trí laø
Nhö Lai trí thanh tònh coù ñöôïc trong söï nhaän bieát veà nhaãn, tòch tònh
tuyeät vôøi, vaø noù taïo ra yù nghóa tuyeät vôøi nhaát vöôït khoûi moïi haønh ñoäng.

Categories of Prajna

Prajna means “Enlightened wisdom,” the wisdom which enables

one to reach the other shore, i.e. wisdom for salvation; the highest of
the six paramitas, the virtue of wisdom as the principal means of
attaining nirvana. It connotes a knowledge of the illusory character of
everything earthly, and destroys error, ignorance, prejudice, and
heresy. There are three kinds of Prajna. There are two kinds of prajna.
First, temporal wisdom. Second, supernatural wisdom. There are also
original wisdom and contemplative wisdom. Original wisdom is the
first part of the Prajnaparamita. Contemplative wisdom is the second
part of the Prajnaparamita, or the wisdom acquired from cultivation or
contemplation. There are also prajna of the three stages of Sravaka and
Pratyeka-buddha and the imperfect bodhisattva sect. The prajna of the
perfect bodhisattva teaching. There are three kinds of Prajna. There
are three prajnas or perfect enlightenments: wisdom in its essence or
reality, wisdom of perceiving the real meaning of all things, and
wisdom of knowing things in their temporal and changing condition.
According to Buddhist traditions, there are three main kinds of Prajna
knowledges: First, the real mark prajna: The wisdom in its essence or
reality, or the original wisdom, the wisdom in regard to reality, the first
part of the Prajnaparamita. This wisdom is achieved once crossed the
shore. Second, the wisdom of perceiving the real meaning of all things:
After reading and understanding the Buddhadharma in sutras, one then
contemplates and illuminates their meanings through actual practice.
Wisdom acquired from cultivation or contemplation, the second part of
the Prajnaparamita. This type of contemplation will lead to the real
mark prajna. This is one of the three kinds of Prajna, the prajna or
wisdom of meditative enlightenment on reality. This is the necessary
wisdom for actual crossing the shore of births and deaths. Third, the
 32

Arya-Upaya-Prajna: The wisdom of knowing things in their temporal

and changing condition. The necessary wisdom for vowing to cross the
shore of births and deaths.
Besides, there are many other kinds of Prajna Wisdom: First,
Jnana-paramita or the knowledge of perfection: This is the knowledge
paramita or knowledge of the true definition of all dharmas. The
cultivation of the Bodhisattva’s intellectual and spiritual journey comes
with his ascent to the Jnana Paramita, then immediately preceding his
transformation into a fully awakened Buddha. The most significant
event in this level and the paramount symbol of the Bodhisattva’s
highest accomplishment, is entrance into a meditative state of balanced
concentration immersed in non-dualistic knowledge of emptiness. This
event is represented by his initiation into the omniscience of a perfect
Buddha, which is quintessential perfection. Knowledge perfection or
Prajna paramita has an analysis quality which does not seem to figure
as a specific characteristic of non-dualistic knowledge developed by
the Bodhisattva at the stage of Jnana Paramita. So, whereas Jnana
refers more to intellectual knowledge, Prajna paramita has more to do
with intuition. The second kind of Prajna is the wisdom of Bodhi:
According to the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma
Treasure, the Sixth Patriarch, Hui-Neng, taught: “All-Knowing
Advisors, the wisdom of Bodhi and Prajna is originally possessed by
worldly people themselves. It is only because their minds are confused
that they are unable to enlighten themselves and must rely on a great
Good Knowing Advisor who can lead them to see their Buddha-nature.
You should know that the Buddha-nature of stupid and wise people is
basically not different. It is only because confusion and enlightenment
are different that some are stupid and some are wise. I will now
explain for you the Maha Prajna Paramita Dharma in order that each of
you may become wise. Pay careful attention and I will explain it to
you.” Good Knowing Advisors, worldly people recite ‘Prajna’ with
their mouths all day long and yet do not recognize the Prajna of their
self-nature. Just as talking about food will not make you full, so, too, if
you speak of emptiness you will not see your own nature in ten
thousand ages. In the end, you will not have obtained any benefit. The
third kind of Prajna is the Acintyajnana: This is the wisdom which goes
beyond the ordinary understanding, or the knowledge that is beyond
 33

the ordinary understanding. The fourth kind of Prajna is the wisdom of

Equality: Samata-jnana or the wisdom of understanding the equality of
all things, or the universal wisdom of Ratnaketu (Baûo Töôùng Phaät Trí),
one of the four knowledges. The wisdom of rising above such
distinction as I and Thou, thus being rid of the ego idea. Wisdom in
regard to all things equally and universally. Depending on this wisdom,
one arises the mind of great compassion. According to the Mind-Only
Theory, once the mind of equality arises, the four defilements of self-
love, self-view, pride and ignorance are extinguished. The fifth kind of
Prajna is the Fundamental Knowledge: The fundamental, original,
primal wisdom, source of all truth and virtue; knowledge of
fundamental principles; intuitive knowledge or wisdom, in contrast with
acquired wisdom. The sixth kind of Prajna is the Corrective Prajna:
Also called the Corrective wisdom (Samyagjnana). According to Zen
Master D. T. Suzuki in The Studies In The Lankavatara Sutra, this is
one of the five categories of forms. Corrective wisdom, which correct
the deficiencies of errors of the ordinary mental discrimination. Right
Knowledge consists in rightly comprehending the nature of Names and
Appearances as predicating or determining each other. It consists in
seeing mind as not agitated by external objects, in not being carried
away by dualism such as nihilism and eternalism, and in not faling the
state of Sravakahood and Pratyekabuddhahood as well as into the
position of the philosopher. The seventh kind of Prajna is the Wisdom of
the extinction of suffering: The knowledge or wisdom, of the third
axiom, nirodha or the extinction of suffering. The eighth kind of Prajna
is the ratyaveksana-jnana: This is one of the five wisdoms mentioned
in the Shingon texts. The wisdom derived from wisdom of profound
insight (yù thöùc), or discrimination, for exposition and doubt-destruction;
corresponds to water, and is associated with Amitabha and the west.
According to the T’ien-T’ai and Shingon, Amita is superior over the
five Wisdom Buddhas (Dhyani-Buddhas), even though he governs the
Western Quarter, not the center. Of the five Wisdom Buddhas,
Amitabha of the West may be identical with the central
Mahavairocana, the Buddha of homo-cosmic identity. Amitabha’s
original vows, his attainment of Buddhahood of Infinite Light and Life,
and his establishment of the Land of Bliss are all fully described in the
Sukhavati text. The ninth kind of Prajna is the Wisdom of understanding
 34

of nirvana: The wisdom of understanding of nirvana. Buddha-wisdom

which comprehends nirvana reality and its functioning. The tenth kind
of Prajna is the wisdom of concentration: This wisdom is obtained from
the mind of concentration, one of four kinds of wisdomm. The eleventh
kind of Prajna is the Knowledge of complete destruction (Kshayajnana):
When the knowledge of complete destruction or kshayajnana is
realized, there is never again the assertion of evil passions. The twelfth
kind of Prajna is the wisdom of release: The escape by or into wisdom,
i.e. of the arhat who overcomes the hindrances to wisdom or insight,
but not the practical side of abstraction, better able to understand than
to do. The thirteenth kind of Prajna is the Specific knowledge: Detailed
or specific knowledge or wisdom succeeding upon or arising from
fundamental knowledge (Caên baûn trí). Knowledge succeeding upon
fundamental knowledge. Differentiating knowledge can discriminate
phenomena, as contrast with knowledge of the fundamental identity of
all things (voâ phaân bieät trí). The fourteenth kind of Prajna is the
Duhkhe-nvaya-jnanam: Wisdom releases from suffering in all worlds,
one of the eight forms of understanding. The fifteenth kind of Prajna is
the wisdom of endurance: One of the eight forms of endurance arising
out of contemplation of “duhkhe-nvaya-jnanam.” The wisdom of
endurance is the cause, and Duhkhe-nvaya-jnanam is the fruit. The
sixteenth kind of Prajna is the knowledge of the law of suffering
(Dukkha-dharma-jnana): The knowledge of the law of suffering and
the way of release, one of the eight forms of understanding. The
seventeenth kind of Prajna is the wisdom of right views: Wisdom of
right views Arise from dhyana meditation. The eighteenth kind of
Prajna is the knowledge of extinction of contamination: With
knowledge of extinction of contamination they actually realize the
ultimate truth, while carrying out the deeds of enlightening beings
without ceases. The nineteenth kind of Prajna is the knowledge of the
same order: The knowledge which is of the same order, e.g. the four
fundamental dogmas applicable on earth which are also extended to
the higher realms of form and non-form. The twentieth kind of Prajna is
the wisdom-eyes (Prajnacakshus or Jnanacakshus): The wisdom eye
that sees all things as unreal. With the wisdom-eye, a Bodhisattva takes
in at a glance all the wonders and inconceivabilities of the spiritual
realm to its deepest abyss. The twenty-first kind of Prajna is the
 35

Pudgalanairatmyajnana: The knowledge or wisdom of a man without

ego (anatman). The knowledge that there is no ego-soul. The twenty-
second kind of Prajna is the wisdom of all wisdom: Buddha’s wisdom
(bodhi, perfect enlightenment and purity). The twenty-third kind of
Prajna is the knowledge of Buddhas: Enlightening Beings know that the
knowledge of Buddhas is boundless and do not try to access it in
limited terms (they know that everything written or said in all words
has limitations and cannot comprehend the knowledge of Buddhas).
The twenty-fourth kind of Prajna is the knowledge of non-self of the
dharma (Dharmanairatmyajnana): Knowledge of non-substantiality of
the Dharma. The knowledge or wisdom of the dharmanairatmya, or the
power of cognisance whereby the truth of Dharmanairatmya is
accepted. The twenty-fifth kind of Prajna is the knowledge on the
unimpediment of the Dharma: Wisdom or power of explanation in
unembarrassed accord with the Law, or Buddha-truth. The twenty-sixth
kind of Prajna is the wisdom attained from investigating and thinking
about the Buddha-truth. The wisdom attained from investigating and
thinking about philosophy of the sutras and Abhidharmas; this includes
the first four kinds of “only-consciousness.” The twenty-seventh kind of
Prajna is the absolute knowledge (Pravicayabuddhi): The intellect that
sees into the self-nature of existence which is beyond the fourfold
proposition of discrimination. This is one of the two kinds of knowledge
mentioned in the Lankavatara Sutra. Absolute knowledge corresponds
to the Parinishpanna. Pravicaya means “to search through,” “to
examine thoroughly,” and the Buddhi so qualified penetrates into the
fundamental nature of all things, which is above logical analysis and
cannot be described with any of the four propositions. The twenty-
eighth kind of Prajna is the wisdom obtained from contemplation: The
wisdom which penetrates to ultimate reality. The twenty-ninth kind of
Prajna is the wisdom received by birth: Wisdom received by birth or
nature, one of four kinds of wisdom. The thirtieth kind of Prajna is the
final wisdom: Also called the knowledge of the ultimate (ultimate
wisdom). The thirty-first kind of Prajna is the Paracittaprajna: The
eighth of the ten kinds of wisdom. Intuitive knowledge or
understanding the minds of others (all other beings). This is also the
third of the six transcendental powers, or the eighth of the Amitabha’s
forty-eight vows that men and devas in his paradise should all have the
 36

joy of this power. The thirty-second kind of Prajna is the Sage-like or

saint-like knowledge (Aryajnana): Also called the holy wisdom,
supreme knowledge, wisdom of Buddha. This is the holy wisdom which
does not belong to the realm of word. The ultimate truth points to the
realization of supreme wisdom in the inmost consciousness, and does
not belong to the realm of words and discriminative intellect; thus
discrimination fails to reveal the ultimate truth. However, the lamp of
words is useful to illuminate the passage to final enlightenment. This is
the supreme wisdom, or the wisdom of a saint, whereby one is enabled
to look into the deepest recesses of consciousness in order to grasp the
inmost truth hidden away from the sight of ordinary understanding. In
Buddhism, this is the wisdom of the Buddha, or the saints or the sages;
the wisdom which is above all particularization, i.e. the wisdom of
transcendental truth. The thirty-third kind of Prajna is the wisdom body
( Prajnakaya): Wisdom-body, the Tathagata, one of the ten bodies of a
Thus Come One. This is also one of the five divisions of the
Dharmakaya, which is the embodiment of inherent wisdom. The thirty-
fourth kind of Prajna is the Fundamental wisdom: Original or primal
wisdom which penetrates all reality. Also called Detailed or specific
knowledge or wisdom succeeding upon or arising from fundamental
knowledge (Caên baûn trí). This is the fundamental, origina, or primal
wisdom, source of all truth and virtue; knowledge of fundamental
principles; intuitive knowledge or wisdom, in contrast with acquired
wisdom. The thirty-fifth kind of Prajna is the wisdom obtained by the
deva eye: Knowledge of other beings’ passing away and arising.
Knowledge of others’ deaths and rebirths according to their deeds.
According to the Kosa sastra, the wisdom or knowledge that can see
things as they really are is the complete universal knowledge and
assurance of the deva eye. The thirty-sixth kind of Prajna is the wisdom
obtained by the divine ear: The second of the six abhijnas (luïc thoâng)
by which devas in the form-world. Certain arhats through the fourth
dhyana, and others can hear all sounds and understand all languages in
the realms of form, with resulting wisdom. The thirty-seventh kind of
Prajna is the wisdom of reality: The knowledge of reality, in contrast
with knowledge of the relative. The thirty-eighth kind of Prajna is the
wisdom associated with Buddha-fruition: The wisdom (associated with
Buddha-fruition) of making nirvana illuminate all beings. The thirty-
 37

ninth kind of Prajna is the intuitive insight: The intuitive insight is one
of the eight chief characteristics of ‘satori.’ Enlightenment is ‘to see the
essence or nature,’ which apparently proves that there is ‘seeing’ or
‘perceiving’ in satori. That this seeing is of quite a different quality
from what is ordinarily designated as knowledge need not be
specifically noticed. Hui-K’o is reported to have made this statement
concerning his satori which was confirmed by Bodhidharma himself:
“As to my satori, it is not a total annihilation; it is knowledge of the
most adequate kind; only it cannot be expressed in words.” In this
respect, Shen-Hui was more explicit, for he says that “The one
character of knowledge is the source of all mysteries.” Without this
noetic quality satori will lose all its pungency, for it is really the reason
of satori itself. It is noteworthy that the knowledge contained in satori is
concerned with something universal and at the same time with the
individual aspect of existence. When a finger is lifted, the lifting
means, from the viewpoint of satori, far more than the act of lifting.
Some may call it symbolic, but satori does not point to anything beyond
itself, being final as it is. Satori is the knowledge of an individual
object and also that of Reality which is, if we may say so, at the back of
it. The fortieth kind of Prajna is the absolute knowledge (Parinispanna):
The absolute knowledge is the highest truth or tathata, the absolute.
The illusory knowledge and empirical knowledge correspond to
relative truth (samvrti-satya), and the absolute knowledge to the
highest truth (paramartha-satya) of the Madhyamika system. This is
one of the two kinds of knowledge also mentioned in the Lankavatara
Sutra. Absolute knowledge corresponds to the Parinishpanna.
Pravicaya means “to search through,” “to examine thoroughly,” and the
Buddhi so qualified penetrates into the fundamental nature of all
things, which is above logical analysis and cannot be described with
any of the four propositions. The forty-first kind of Prajna is the wisdom
by hearing: Wisdom by hearing or being taught, wisdom of hearing and
apprehending the truth of the middle way, one of four kinds of
wisdom. The forty-second kind of Prajna is the Jnanam-anasrava:
Passionless or pure wisdom (knowledge or enlightenment), which is
free from the taint of egotism. The forty-third kind of Prajna is the
wisdom attained without a teacher: Self-attained enlightenment, or
wisdom attained through self-attained enlightenment or Buddha’s
 38

wisdom. The forty-fourth kind of Prajna is the super-worldly

knowledge: Also called the supreme supra-worldly knowledge
(Jnanam-lokottaram). Supreme supra-worldly knowledge is the
Tathagata-knowledge which is obtained in the Kshanti, tranquil and
most excellent, and it gives birth to the most excellent meaning which
transcends all doings.
 39

Chöông Ba
Chapter Three

Nhöõng Ñaëc Tính Cuûa Baùt Nhaõ

Nhö treân ñaõ noùi, Baùt Nhaõ laø aâm cuûa thuaät ngöõ Prajna töø Phaïn ngöõ
coù nghóa laø trí tueä (yù thöùc hay trí naêng). Coù ba loaïi baùt nhaõ: thaät töôùng,
quaùn chieáu vaø vaên töï. Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù nghóa laø thöïc löïc nhaän thöùc roõ
raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng nguyeân taéc caên baûn cuûa chuùng cuõng nhö xaùc
quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ coù nghóa laø caùi bieát sieâu vieät.
Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä nhaát trí tueä trong
heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh baèng (voâ thöôïng,
voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Coù ba loaïi Baùt Nhaõ: Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ, Quaùn chieáu
baùt nhaõ, vaø Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ. Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ laø trí hueä ñaït
ñöôïc khi ñaõ ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ laø phaàn hai cuûa trí hueä
Baùt Nhaõ. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát khi thaät söï ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Phöông tieän
Baùt Nhaõ hay vaên töï Baùt nhaõ. Ñaây laø loaïi trí hueä hieåu bieát chö phaùp giaû
taïm vaø luoân thay ñoåi. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát ñöa ñeán yù höôùng “Ñaùo
Bæ Ngaïn”. Beân caïnh ñoù, Baùt Nhaõ coøn moät soá ñaëc tính khaùc nhö sau
ñaây: Noùi chung, töø naøy chæ söï phaùt trieån söï hieåu bieát tröïc giaùc laø yù
nieäm chuû yeáu trong Phaät giaùo. Theo Phaät giaùo Ñaïi thöøa, “baùt nhaõ ba la
maät” laø ba la maät thöù saùu trong saùu ba la maät maø moät vò Boà Taùt tu haønh
treân ñöôøng ñi ñeán Phaät quaû, vaø do trí naêng tröïc giaùc vaø tröïc tieáp, chöù
khoâng phaûi laø trí naêng tröøu töôïng vaø phuïc tuøng trí tueä phaøm phu maø
con ngöôøi coù theå ñaït ñeán ñaïi giaùc. Vieäc thöïc hieän trí naêng cuõng ñoàng
nghóa vôùi thöïc hieän ñaïi giaùc. Chính trí naêng sieâu vieät naày giuùp chuùng ta
chuyeån hoùa moïi heä phöôïc vaø giaûi thoaùt khoûi sanh töû luaân hoài, chöù
khoâng ôû loøng thöông xoùt hay thöông haïi cuûa baát cöù ai. Baùt Nhaõ quaû
thaät laø moät thuaät ngöõ bieän chöùng chæ caùi tieán trình tri thöùc ñaëc bieät ñöôïc
bieát ñeán nhö laø “thaáy baát thình lình,” hay “boãng thaáy,” “chôït thaáy,”
khoâng theo baát cöù moät ñònh luaät hay lyù luaän naøo; vì khi Baùt Nhaõ vaän
haønh thì ngöôøi ta töï thaáy caùi khoâng cuûa vaïn höõu moät caùch baát ngôø vaø
kyø dieäu. Ñieàu naøy xaûy ra moät caùch baát thaàn vaø khoâng do keát quaû cuûa
lyù luaän, maø vaøo luùc aáy lyù luaän nhö bò queân laõng, vaø noùi theo caùch taâm
lyù, ñoù laø vaøo luùc naêng löïc cuûa yù chí ñi ñeán choã thaønh töïu.
 40

Characteristics of Prajna

As mentioned above, Prajna is a Sanskrit term which means

wisdom. There are three kinds of prajna: real mark prajna,
contemplative prajna, and literary prajna. Prajna also means the real
power to discern things and their underlying principles and to decide
the doubtful. Prajna means a transcendental knowledge. The Prajna-
paramita-sutra describes “prajna” as supreme, highest, incomparable,
unequalled, unsurpassed. There are three prajnas or perfect
enlightements: The first part of the prajnaparamita. The wisdom
achieved once crossed the shore. The second part of the
prajnaparamita. The necessary wisdom for actual crossing the shore of
births and deaths. The wisdom of knowing things in their temporary and
changing condition. The necessary wisdom for vowing to cross the
shore of births and deaths. Besides, Prajna still has some other
characteristics as follows: In general, this refers to the development of
intuitive understanding of key Buddhist concepts. According to the
Mahayana Buddhism, the “prajna paramita” or the “perfection of
wisdom” is the sixth of the perfections that a Bodhisattva cultivates on
the path to Buddhahood, and only an immediate experienced intuitive
wisdom, not intelligence can help man reach enlightenment. Therefore,
to achieve prajna is synonymous with to reach enlightenment. One of
the two perfections required for Buddhahood. The wisdom which
enables us to transcend disire, attachment and anger so that we will be
emancipated (not throught the mercy of any body, but rather through
our own power of will and wisdom) and so that we will not be reborn
again and again in “samsara” or transmigration. Prajna is really a
dialectical term denoting that this special process of knowing, known as
“abruptly seeing,” or “seeing at once,” does not follow general laws of
logic; for when prajna functions one finds oneself all of a sudden, as if
by a miracle, facing Sunyata, the emptiness of all things. This does not
take place as the result of reasoning, but when reasoning has been
abandoned as futile, and psychologically when the will-power is
brought to a finish.
 41

Chöông Boán
Chapter Four

Theå Töôùng Vaø Duïng Cuûa Baùt Nhaõ

Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät coù nghóa laø quaùn saùt taát caû chö phaùp nhö thaät.
Trí tueä khieán chuùng sanh coù khaû naêng ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Trí tueä giaûi thoaùt laø
ba la maät cao nhaát trong luïc ba la maät, laø phöông tieän chaùnh ñeå ñaït tôùi
nieát baøn. Noù bao truøm söï thaáy bieát taát caû nhöõng huyeãn hoaëc cuûa theá
gian vaïn höõu, noù phaù tan boùng toái cuûa si meâ, taø kieán vaø sai laïc. Töôûng
cuõng neân nhaéc laïi, Trí hueä Ba la maät laø cöûa ngoõ ñi vaøo haøo quang chö
phaùp, vì nhôø ñoù maø chuùng ta ñoaïn tröø taän goác reã boùng toái cuûa si meâ.
Trong caùc phieàn naõo caên baûn thì si meâ laø thöù phieân naõo coù goác reã
maïnh nhaát. Moät khi goác reã cuûa si meâ bò baät tung thì caùc loaïi phieàn naõo
khaùc nhö tham, saân, chaáp tröôùc, maïn, nghi, taø kieán, ñeàu deã bò baät goác.
Nhôø coù trí hueä Ba La Maät maø chuùng ta coù khaû naêng daïy doã vaø höôùng
daãn nhöõng chuùng sanh si meâ. Theo nhieàu hoïc giaû Phaät giaùo, taâm ñöôïc
phaân bieät thaønh ba khaùi nieäm: Theå-Töôùng-Duïng. Theå hay boån theå,
töôùng hay hình daùng, vaø duïng hay taùc ñoäng. Trong chöông saùch naøy,
chuùng ta seõ luaän veà ba thöù theå, töôùng vaø duïng naøy cuûa Baùt Nhaõ.
Theå töông ñöông vôùi khaùi nieäm veà theå chaát cuûa hieän höõu, töôùng chæ
veà hình töôùng, vaø duïng chæ veà naêng löïc hoaït ñoäng. Ñaïi Töø Khoan
Trung laø teân cuûa moät vò thieàn sö soáng vaøo khoaûng cuoái nhaø Ñöôøng ñaàu
nhaø Toáng, thuoäc theá kyû thöù chín. Hieän nay chuùng ta khoâng coù nhieàu taøi
lieäu chi tieát veà Thieàn sö Ñaïi Töø Khoan Trung; tuy nhieân, coù moät chi
tieát nhoû veà vò Taêng naøy trong Truyeàn Ñaêng Luïc, quyeån IX. Moät ngaøy,
Trieäu Chaâu ñeán tham kieán Ñaïi Töø, Trieäu Chaâu hoûi Ñaïi Töø: "Theå cuûa
Baùt Nhaõ laø gì?" Ñaïi Töø laëp laïi caâu hoûi: "Theå cuûa Baùt Nhaõ laø gì?" Töùc
thì Trieäu Chaâu cöôøi lôùn vaø boû ñi. Moät hoâm sau, Ñaïi Töø thaáy Trieäu
Chaâu ñang queùt saân, Ñaïi Töø hoûi: "Theå cuûa Baùt Nhaõ laø gì?" Trieäu Chaâu
lieäng caây choåi, cöôøi lôùn vaø boû ñi. Ñaïi Töø lieàn trôû veà phöông tröôïng.
Haønh giaû tu Thieàn neân luoân nhôù raèng Baùt Nhaõ laø chaân lyù toái thöôïng
phaûi ñöôïc kinh nghieäm chöù khoâng phaûi daønh cho söï phaân tích suoâng
cuûa trí thöùc. Thí duï thöù 90 cuûa Bích Nham Luïc cho chuùng ta thaáy Trí
Moân vaø loái vaán ñaùp cuûa oâng vôùi ñeä töû. Moät nhaø sö hoûi Trí Moân : “Vaät
theå cuûa söï khoân ngoan laø gì?” (theá naøo laø Baùt Nhaõ theå?). Trí Moân ñaùp:
“Con ngao coù sao Kim mang trong mình noù traêng saùng.” (con ngao
 42

ngaäm traêng saùng). Nhaø sö hoûi: “Hieäu quaû cuûa söï khoân ngoan laø gì?”
(theá naøo laø Baùt Nhaõ duïng?). Trí Moân ñaùp: “Con thoû caùi chôø luõ thoû
con.” (Con thoû mang thai). Xem Trí Moân ñoái ñaùp nhö theá, ngöôøi khaép
thieân haï thaûo luaän veà ngöõ maïch cuûa Sö chaúng ñöôïc. Hoaëc coù ngöôøi hoûi
Giaùp Sôn: "Khi hoa sen chöa ra khoûi nöôùc thì theá naøo?" Giaùp Sôn ñaùp:
"Coät caùi, loàng ñeøn." Haõy noùi cuøng hoa sen laø ñoàng laø dò? Taêng hoûi:
"Sau khi ra khoûi nöôùc thì theá naøo?" Sö ñaùp: "Ñaàu gaäy kheâu nhaät
nguyeät, döôùi chaân sình raát saâu." OÂng thöû noùi phaûi hay chaúng phaûi? Qua
thí duï naày coå nhaân muoán nhaén nhuû haønh giaø chôù laàm nhaän traùi caân baøn
(moät tieâu chuaån coá ñònh), maø phaûi ñaäp phaù tình traàn. Theo Vieân Ngoä
trong Bích Nham Luïc, khi thieàn sö Trí Moân ñaùp: "Con ngao ngaäm traêng
saùng, con thoû mang thai," troïn duøng yù Trung thu. Tuy nhieân nhö theá, coå
nhaân yù chaúng ôû treân con ngao, con thoû. Trí Moân laø haøng toân tuùc cuûa
toâng Vaân Moân, moät caâu noùi phaûi ñuû ba caâu: haøm caùi caøn khoân, tieät
ñoaïn chuùng löu, vaø tuøy ba truïc laõng, cuõng chaúng an baøi, töï nhieân vöøa
vaën, lieàn ñeán choã hieåm. Lôøi Trí Moân ñaùp cho vò Taêng naày löôïc baøy ñoâi
chuùt phaàn muõi nhoïn, haún laø phi thöôøng. Choã ñaùp cuûa coå nhaân khoâng coù
nhieàu vieäc, trung thu traêng moïc, thoû haù mieäng nuoát aùnh saùng maët traêng
lieàn thoï thai, trong mieäng sanh ra con, traêng saùng thì sanh nhieàu, traêng
toái thì sanh ít. Coå nhaân chæ möôïn yù kia ñeå ñaùp laïi caùi theå hay aùnh saùng
Baùt Nhaõ. Tuy nhieân, coå nhaân chaúng phaûi ôû treân ngoân cuù, töï laø ngöôøi
sau chaïy treân ngoân cuù ñeå kieám soáng maø thoâi. Baøn Sôn noùi: "Taâm
nguyeät rieâng troøn, saùng truøm muoân töôïng, saùng khoâng chieáu caûnh, caûnh
cuõng chaúng coøn, saùng caûnh ñeàu queân, laïi laø vaät gì?" Ngöôøi ñôøi nay chæ
tröøng maét goïi laø saùng, ñi treân tình giaûi, trong khoâng trung maø ñoùng
ñinh. Coå nhaân noùi: "Taát caû caùc oâng ôû cöûa saùu caên ngaøy ñeâm phoùng ñaïi
quang minh, chieáu phaù nuùi soâng ñaïi ñòa, khoâng nhöõng chæ nhaõn caên
phoùng quang, tyû thieät thaân yù ñeàu phoùng quang." Ñeán trong ñaây phaûi
nhoài ñaäp saùu caên khoâng coøn moät vieäc, loät traàn baøy loà loä, môùi thaáy ñöôïc
choã rôi cuûa caâu naày vaäy!
Töôùng coù nghóa laø dieän maïo hay bieåu hieän beân ngoaøi cuûa söï vaät.
Caùc trieát gia Phaät giaùo cho raèng moïi thöïc taïi coù theå phaân taùch thaønh ba
khaùi nieäm nhö treân. Nhöng ñoâi khi khaùi nieäm töôùng bò huùt maát trong
khaùi nieäm theå. Baùt Nhaõ laø aâm cuûa thuaät ngöõ Prajna töø Phaïn ngöõ coù
nghóa laø trí tueä (yù thöùc hay trí naêng). Coù ba loaïi baùt nhaõ: thaät töôùng,
quaùn chieáu vaø vaên töï. Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù nghóa laø thöïc löïc nhaän thöùc roõ
raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng nguyeân taéc caên baûn cuûa chuùng cuõng nhö xaùc
 43

quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ coù nghóa laø caùi bieát sieâu vieät.
Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä nhaát trí tueä trong
heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh baèng (voâ thöôïng,
voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Theo Caûnh Ñöùc Truyeàn Ñaêng Luïc, quyeån XXV, moät
hoâm Thieàn sö Thieân Thai Ñöùc Thieàu (891-972) thöôïng ñöôøng thuyeát
phaùp. Coù moät vò Taêng hoûi: “Ngöôøi xöa noùi thaáy Baùt Nhaõ töùc bò Baùt
Nhaõ raøng buoäc, chaúng thaáy Baùt Nhaõ cuõng bò Baùt Nhaõ raøng buoäc. Sao
ñaõ thaáy Baùt Nhaõ maø coøn bò Baùt Nhaõ raøng buoäc laø gì?” Sö hoûi: “OÂng noùi
Baùt Nhaõ thaáy caùi gì?” Vò Taêng hoûi: “Chaúng thaáy Baùt Nhaõ thì bò raøng
buoäc nhö theá naøo?” Sö ñaùp: “OÂng noùi Baùt Nhaõ chaúng thaáy caùi gì?” Roài
sö tieáp: “Neáu thaáy Baùt Nhaõ, ñoù chaúng phaûi laø Baùt Nhaõ; chaúng thaáy Baùt
Nhaõ, ñoù cuõng chaúng phaûi laø Baùt Nhaõ. Baùt Nhaõ laø caùi gì maø noùi laø thaáy,
vaø chaúng thaáy?” Sö laïi tieáp: “Neân ngöôøi xöa noùi: ‘Neáu thieáu moät phaùp,
chaúng thaønh phaùp thaân; neáu thöøa moät phaùp, chaúng thaønh phaùp thaân;
neáu coù moät phaùp ñeå thaønh chaúng thaønh phaùp thaân; neáu khoâng moät phaùp
naøo ñeå thaønh, cuõng chaúng thaønh phaùp thaân.’ Chö Thöôïng Toïa, ñoù laø
chaân toâng Baùt Nhaõ.” Trong moät laàn noùi chuyeän vôùi ngöôøi ñeä töû kieám
khaùch Lieãu Sinh Ñaûn Ñaûo Thuû Toâng Cuû, Thieàn Sö Traïch Am Toâng
Baøn ñaõ khuyeân nhuõ veà vieäc chính yeáu cuûa moät kieám khaùch laø phaûi
luoân giöõ taâm ôû traïng thaùi troâi chaûy, vì Sö noùi raèng neáu noù döøng laïi ôû
ñaâu theá coù nghóa laø söï troâi chaûy bò giaùn ñoaïn vaø chính söï giaùn ñoaïn
naøy coù haïi cho söï an toaøn cuûa taâm. Trong tröôøng hôïp cuûa moät kieám
khaùch, nhö theá coù nghóa laø cheát. Nhöõng phieàn naõo che môø taám göông
baùt nhaõ nguyeân sô cuûa con ngöôøi, vaø söï caân nhaéc trí naêng caûn trôû hoaït
ñoäng töï nhieân cuûa noù. Baùt Nhaõ maø Thieàn Sö Traïch Am goïi laø "Baùt
Nhaõ Baát Ñoäng" laø nhaân ñieàu khieån moïi cöû ñoäng cuûa chuùng ta, trong
cuõng nhö ngoaøi, vaø khi noù bò caûn trôû caùi taâm höõu thöùc bò beá taéc vaø löôõi
kieám, baát tuaân caùi ñoäng tính baåm sinh, töï do, töï nhieân tröïc tieáp cuûa caùi
"Baùt Nhaõ Baát Ñoäng" töông ñöông vôùi caùi voâ thöùc cuûa chuùng ta, baét ñaàu
tuaân theo caùi kheùo leùo hoïc ñöôïc moät caùch höõu thöùc cuûa ngheä thuaät:
Baùt nhaõ laø caùi baát ñoäng taùc ñoäng moät caùch voâ thöùc trong phaïm vi cuûa yù
thöùc. Khi ngöôøi kieám khaùch ñoái dieän vôùi ñoái thuû, haén khoâng ñöôïc nghó
ñeán ñoái thuû, cuõng khoâng ñöôïc nghó ñeán mình, cuõng chaúng nghó ñeán
ñöôøng kieám cuûa ñoái thuû. Haén chæ ñöùng ñoù vôùi löôõi kieám cuûa mình maø
queân taát caû kyõ thuaät, thaät söï chæ tuaân theo nhöõng meänh leänh cuûa voâ
thöùc. Ngöôøi aáy ñaõ queân mình laø keû muùa kieám. Khi haén cheùm, khoâng
phaûi laø con ngöôøi cheùm maø laø löôõi kieám trong ñoâi tay cuûa voâ thöùc
 44

cheùm. Naêm 1638 oâng trôû thaønh vieän tröôûng ñaàu tieân cuûa tu vieän Tokai-
ji. OÂng laø moät thieàn sö xuaát saéc, nhöng oâng cuõng noåi tieáng veà thô, veà
hoa, traø ñaïo vaø thö ñaïo. OÂng laø thaày cuûa ngheä só vaø kieám só Miyamoto
Niten, ngöôøi ñöôïc oâng chæ daïy cho söï hôïp nhaát giöõa ñaïo Thieàn vaø ñaïo
Kieám trong moät böùc thö noåi tieáng veà tinh thaàn cuûa kieám ñaïo.
Trong Phaät giaùo, "Duïng" laø taàng ngoaøi cuøng, laø caùi beà maët theå hieän
vaø hoaït ñoäng. "Duïng" bao haøm nhöõng taùc naêng tinh thaàn hoaït ñoäng cuûa
baùt thöùc, caû nhöõng chöùc vuï trí naêng laãn tình caûm, tröøu töôïng vaø töôïng
tröng, nhö laø yeâu, gheùt, duïc voïng, lyù trí, töôûng töôïng, kyù öùc, vaân vaân.
Ñaây laø phöông dieän hieån nhieân maø ai cuõng ñaõ töøng tröïc tieáp theå
nghieäm. Phöông dieän naøy luoân laø muïc tieâu nghieân cöùu thieát yeáu trong
phaïm vi toång quaùt cuûa taâm lyù hoïc, nhöng laïi laø moät chuû ñeà maø Phaät
giaùo Thieàn toâng ít löu taâm ñeán. Khoâng coù duïng thì khoâng coù vaät naøo
heát, nhöng duïng khoâng theå ñoäng duïng ñöôïc neáu khoâng coù gì chuyeån
duïng. Neân theo caùc trieát gia Phaät giaùo, theå vaø duïng laø hai khaùi nieäm
khoâng theå taùch rôøi nhau trong vieäc nhaän thöùc vuõ truï. Caùi duïng cuûa Baùt
Nhaõ maâu thuaãn vôùi taát caû nhöõng gì chuùng ta coù theå nhaän thöùc veà theá
giôùi naøy; noù thuoäc veà moät traät töï hoaøn toaøn khaùc vôùi traät töï cuûa cuoäc
soáng bình thöôøng cuûa chuùng ta. Nhöng ñieàu naøy khoâng coù nghóa Baùt
Nhaõ laø moät caùi gì ñoù hoaøn toaøn caùch bieät vôùi ñôøi soáng, vôùi tö töôûng
chuùng ta, moät caùi gì ñoù phaûi ñeán vôùi chuùng ta töø caùi nguoàn naøo ñoù
khoâng bieát vaø khoâng theå bieát ñöôïc, baèng pheùp laï. Neáu vaäy, Baùt Nhaõ seõ
khoâng theå coù lôïi ích gì cho chuùng ta vaø chuùng ta khoâng theå ñaït ñöôïc
giaûi thoaùt. Quaû thaät vai troø cuûa Baùt Nhaõ laø baát lieân tuïc vaø noù laøm giaùn
ñoaïn böôùc tieán cuûa suy luaän hôïp lyù, nhöng Baùt Nhaõ khoâng ngöøng hieän
dieän döôùi söï suy luaän naøy vaø neáu khoâng coù noù chuùng ta khoâng theå suy
luaän gì caû. Cuøng moät luùc Baùt Nhaõ vöøa ôû treân vöøa ôû trong quaù trình suy
luaän. Veà hình thöùc maø noùi, ñieàu naøy maâu thuaãn, nhöng söï thaät do chính
maâu thuaãn naøy khaû höõu cuõng do Baùt Nhaõ ñem laïi. Haàu nhö taát caû vaên
hoïc toân giaùo ñeàu chöùa ñaày nhöõng maâu thuaãn, phi lyù vaø nghòch lyù, vaø
khoâng bao giôø coù theå coù ñöôïc, vaø ñoøi hoûi tin vaø chaáp nhaän nhöõng thöù
aáy nhö laø chaân lyù maëc khaûi, chính laø vì tri thöùc toân giaùo ñaët caên baûn
treân söï vaän haønh cuûa Baùt Nhaõ. Moät khi ngöôøi ta thích quan ñieåm Baùt
Nhaõ thì taát caû nhöõng phi lyù coát yeáu cuûa toân giaùo trôû neân coù theå hieåu
ñöôïc. Noù gioáng nhö moät maåu chuyeän chaâm bieám hay caàn phaûi thöôûng
thöùc. Treân maët phaûi cuûa noù phôi ra moät söï loän xoän haàu nhö khoù tin cuûa
caùi ñeïp, vaø ngöôøi nhaän thöùc seõ khoâng vöôït qua ñöôïc nhöõng sôïi chæ roái
 45

beng. Nhöng ngay khi caâu chuyeän chaâm bieám bò ñaûo ngöôïc thì taùnh
caùch phöùc taïp vaø thaàn tình cuûa caùi ñeïp aáy hieän ra. Baùt Nhaõ goàm trong
söï ñaûo ngöôïc naøy. Cho ñeán baây giôø con maét nhaän thöùc beà maët cuûa caùi
aùo, beà maët duy nhaát maø noù thöôøng cho pheùp chuùng ta quan saùt. Baây giôø
boãng nhieân caùi aùo bò loän traùi, chieàu höôùng cuûa caùi thaáy thình lình bò
giaùn ñoaïn, khoâng coù söï lieân tuïc naøo cuûa caùi nhìn. Tuy nhieân do söï giaùn
ñoaïn naøy, toaøn boä caáu truùc cuûa cuoäc soáng boãng nhieân ñöôïc nhaän thöùc,
ñoù laø “thaáy trong töï taùnh.” Thieàn Sö Thaïnh Thieân Thuaàn Toâng soáng vaø
daïy Thieàn taïi chuøa Thaïnh Thieân ôû Tuyeàn Chaâu. Ngoâi chuøa naøy ñöôïc
xem laø moät trong ba ngoâi chuøa lôùn ôû Phuùc Chaâu thôøi xöa. Moät hoâm, coù
moät vò Taêng khaùc hoûi Thieàn sö Thaïnh Thieân Thuaàn Toâng: "Theá naøo laø
coát loõi cuûa baùt nhaõ?" Thaïnh Thieân noùi: "Maây ñan ñaûnh xanh thaønh roå."
Vò Taêng noùi: "Theá naøo laø duïng cuûa baùt nhaõ?" Thaïnh Thieân noùi: "Traêng
trong ao trong."

The Substances Appearances and functions of Prajna

Transcendental wisdom means observing all things as they truly

are. The wisdom which enables one to reach the other shore, i.e.
wisdom for salvation; the highest of the six paramitas, the virtue of
wisdom as the principal means of attaining nirvana. It connotes a
knowledge of the illusory character of everything earthly, and destroys
error, ignorance, prejudice, and heresy. It should be reminded that the
prajna-paramita is a gate of Dharma-illumination; for with it, we
eradicate the darkness of ignorance. Among the basic desires and
passions, ignorance has the deepest roots. When these roots are
loosened, all other desires and passions, greed, anger, attachment,
arrogance, doubt, and wrong views are also uprooted. The prajna
wisdom which enables one to reach the other shore, i.e. wisdom for
salvation. According to many Buddhist scholars, three conceptions are
distinguished: Substance-Appearance-Function. Substance of body,
appearance, and function or activity. In this chapter, we will discuss on
these three substance and function of Prajna.
Substance of body corresponds to the idea of mass or being,
appearance to that of form, and function to that of force. Ta-Tzu Huan
Chung was name of a Zen master who lived between late T'ang and
early Sung, of the ninth century. We do not have detailed documents
 46

on this Zen master; however, there is a brief information on him in The

Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Ch’uan-Teng-Lu), Volume
IX. One day, Chao-chou came and asked Ta-Tzu, "What is the body of
the Prajna?" Ta-Tzu repeated: "What is the body of the Prajna?"
Thereupon, Chao-chou gave a hearty laugh and went off. On the day
following Ta-tzu saw Chao-chou sweeping the ground. Ta-Tzu asked,
"What is the body of the Prajna?" Chao-chou threw up his broom and
with a hearty laugh went away. Ta-Tzu then returned to his quarters.
Zen practitioners should always remember that Prajna is the ultimate
truth which is to be experienced and not to be made a mere subject of
intellectual analysis. Example 90 of the Pi-Yen-Lu shows us Master
Chih-Men in a conversation with his disciples as followed: A monk
asked Chih-Men, “What is the wisdom body?” Chi-Men said, “The
Venus mussel bears the bright moon in it.” The monk asked, “And what
is the effect of wisdom?” Chih-Men said, “The female hare gets
pregnant.” Look at him responding like this: no one on earth can searth
out the stream of his words. If someone asked me, "How is it when the
lotus flowers have not yet emerged from the water?" I would just
answer him by saying, "The pillar and the lamp." Tell me, is this the
same as the lotus flowers or different? If I were asked, "What about
after they've emerged from the water?" I would answer, "The staff
upholds the sun and moon, underfoot how muddy and deep!" You tell
me, is this right or wrong? Through this example, the ancient virtues
want to advise Zen practitioners that they should never mistakenly
stick by the zero point of a scale, but break up people's emotional
interpretations. According to Yuan-Wu in the Pi-Yen-Lu, when Chih
Men said, "An oyster swallowing the bright moon, and a rabbit getting
pregnant," he used a mid-autumn sense; even so, the Ancient's
meaning was not in the oyster or the rabbit. As Chih Men was a
venerable adept in the congregation of Yun Men, each of his phrase
had to contain three phrases; that is, the phrase that contain heaven and
earth, that phrase that cuts off the myriad stream, and the phrase that
follows the waves. Moreover, without using any prearranged
maneuvers, each of his phrase is spontaneously appropriate. Thus he
went to the danger point to answer this monk's questions, showing a bit
of his sharp point, he was undeniably extraordinary. That Ancient's, in
mid-autumn when the moon comes out, the rabbits open their mouths
 47

and swallow its light, thus becoming pregnant. Here too, if there's
moonlight the offspring are many; without a moon, they're few. The
Ancient jus made temporary use of these meanings to answer about the
substance or the light of wisdom. Although his answer was this way, his
meaning wasn't in the words and phrases. It's just that later people go to
his words to make a living. P'an Shan said, "The mind-moon is solitary
and full: its light engulfs the myriad forms. The light is not shining on
objects. Nor do the objects exist. Light and objects both forgotten. Then
what is this?" People these days just stare and call this the light: from
their feelings they produce interpretations, driving spikes into empty
space. An Ancient said, "Day and night all of you people release a
great light from the gates of your six senses; it shines through
mountains, rivers, and the great earth. It's not only your eyes that
release light, nose, tongue, body and mind also all release light." To
get here you simply must clean up your six sense faculties so that
you're without the slightest concern, purified and naked, free and
unbound, only then will you see where this story is at!
Appearance means external appearance or the appearance of
things. Every reality is regarded by Buddhist philosophers as
analysable into these three notions. Sometimes, however, the second
conception, 'appearance', is absorbed in that of 'being' or 'body'. Prajna
is a Sanskrit term which means wisdom. There are three kinds of
prajna: real mark prajna, contemplative prajna, and literary prajna.
Prajna also means the real power to discern things and their underlying
principles and to decide the doubtful. Prajna means a transcendental
knowledge. The Prajna-paramita-sutra describes “prajna” as supreme,
highest, incomparable, unequalled, unsurpassed. According to the
Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Ch’uan-Teng-Lu), Volume
XXV, one day Zen master T'ien-T'ai Te-Shao entered the hall to
preach. A monk asked: “I understand this was an ancient wise man’s
saying ‘When a man sees Prajna he is tied to it; when he sees it not he
is also tied to it.’ Now I wish to know how it is that man seeing Prajna
could be tied to it.” The master said: “You tell me what it is that is seen
by Prajna.” The monk asked: “When a man sees not Prajna, how could
he be tied to it?” The master said: “You tell me if there is anything that
is not seen by Prajna.” The master then went on: “Prajna seen is no
Prajna, nor is Prajna unseen Prajna; how could one apply the predicate,
 48

seen or unseen, to Prajna? Therefore, it is said of old that ‘When one

thing is missing, the Dharmakaya is not complete; when one thing is
superfluous, the Dharmakaya is not complete; and again when there is
one thing to be asserted the Dharmakaya is not complete; when there is
nothing to be asserted, the Dharmakaya is not complete.’ This indeed
the essence of Prajna.” In a conversation with his swordsman disciple
Yagyu Tajima-no-kami, Zen Master Takuan soho advised that the main
matter of a swordsman is to keep the mind in the state of flowing, for
he says when it stops anywhere that means the flow is interrupted and
it is this interruption that is injurious to the well-being of the mind. In
the case of a swordsman, it means death. The affective taint darkens
the mirror of man's primary "prajna", and the intellectual deliberation
obstructs its native activity. Prajna, which Master Takuan soho calls
"Immovable Prjana," is the directing agency of all our movemnets,
inner as well as outer, and when it is obstructed the conscious mind is
clogged and the sword, disregarding the native, free, spontaneous
directive activity of the "Immovable Prjana," which corresponds to our
unconscious, begins to obey the consciously mind technical skill of the
art. Prajna is immovable mover which unconsciously operates in the
field of consciousness. When the swordsman stands against his
opponent, he is not to think of the opponent, nor of himself, nor of his
enemy's sword-movemnets. He just stands there with his sword which,
forgetful of all technique, is really one to follow the dictates of the
unconscious. The man has effaced himself as the wielder of the sword.
When he strikes, it is not the man but the sword in the hands of the
unconscious that strikes. In 1609 he became abbot of Daitoku-ji in
Kyoto and in 1638 moved at the request of the Shogun Tokugawa
Iemitsu to Shinagawa near Edo (later called Tokyo), where he became
the first abbot of the Takai-ji monastery. Takuan was not only an
outstanding Zen master but also made a name as a poet of waka, as a
painter, and as a master of the way of writing (shodo) and the way of
tea (chado). He was the master of the swordsman Yogyu Munenori,
whom he instructed in a famous letter on the spirit of the way of the
sword (kendo) concerning the unity of the kendo and Zen.
In Buddhism, the "Function" or the outer layer, is the manifesting
and active fact. This includes the active mental functions of all the
Eight Consciousnesses, both noetic and emotional, abstract and
 49

symbolic, such as love, hate, desire, reason, fantasy, memory, and so

forth. This is the obvious aspect, of which every human being has had
direct experience. It has been a primary study in the general field of
psychology, but it is a subject in which Zen Buddhism has little interest.
Without functioning no objects exist, but functioning cannot take place
without something functions. The two ideas, according to Buddhist
philosophers, are thus inseparable for our understanding of the
universe. The use of prajna contradicts everything that we may
conceive of things worldly; it is altogether of another order than our
usual life. But this does not mean that Prajna is something altogether
disconnected with our life and thought, something that is to be given to
us by a miracle from some unknown and unknowable source. If this
were the case, prajna would be no possible use to us. It is true that the
functioning of Prajna is discrete, and interrupting to the progress of
logical reasoning, but all the time it underlies it, and without Prajna we
cannot have any reasoning whatever. Prajna is at once above and in the
process of reasoning. This is a contradiction, formally considered, but
in truth this contradiction itself is made possible because of Prajna.
That most of religious literature is filled with contradictions,
absurdities, paradoxes, and impossibilities, and demands to believe
them, to accept them, as revealed truths, is due to the fact that religious
knowledge is based on the working of Prajna. Once this viewpoint of
Prajna is gained, all the essential irrationalities found in religion
become intelligible. It is like appreciating a fine piece of brocade. On
the surface there is an almost bewildering confusion of beauty, and the
professional fails to trace the intricacies of the threads. But as soon as it
is turned over all the intricate beauty and skill is revealed. Prajna
consists in this turning-over. The eye has hitherto followed the surface
of the cloth, which is indeed the only side ordinarily allows us to
survey. Now the cloth is abruptly turned over; the course of the
eyesight is suddenly interrupted; no continuous gazing is possible. Yet
by this interruption, or rather disruption, the whole scheme of life is
suddenly grasped; there is the “seeing into one’s self-nature.” Zen
master Ch'eng-t'ian Ch'uan-tsung lived and taughed Zen at Chengtian
Temple in Quanzhou. The temple was regarded as one of the three
great temples of ancient Fuzhou. One day, a monk asked Ch'eng-t'ian,
"What is the essence of prajna?" Ch'eng-t'ian said, "Clouds basket the
 50

blue peaks." The monk said, "What is the function of prajna?" Ch'eng-
t'ian said, "The moon in a clear pool."
 51

Chöông Naêm
Chapter Five

Trí Tueä & Baùt Nhaõ

Trí tueä vaø Baùt Nhaõ laø söï hieåu bieát veà vaïn höõu vaø thöïc chöùng chaân
lyù. Trí tueä khôûi leân söï hieåu bieát veà vaïn höõu. Trí tueä laø caên baûn veà thöïc
chöùng chaân lyù (Trí tueä döïa vaøo chaùnh kieán vaø chaùnh tö duy). Ñoái vôùi
ñaïo lyù cuûa heát thaûy söï vaät coù khaû naêng ñoaùn ñònh phaûi traùi chaùnh taø.
Trí vaø tueä thöôøng coù chung nghóa; tuy nhieân thoâng ñaït söï töôùng höõu vi
thì goïi laø “trí.” Thoâng ñaït khoâng lyù voâ vi thì goïi laø “tueä.” Phaïn ngöõ
“Prajna: coù nghóa Trí Tueä Baùt Nhaõ. Ñoâi khi khoù maø vaïch ra moät caùch
roõ raøng söï khaùc bieät giöõa Buddhi vaø Jnana, vì caû hai ñeàu chæ caùi trí
töông ñoái cuûa theá tuïc cuõng nhö trí sieâu vieät. Trong khi Prajna roõ raøng laø
caùi trí sieâu vieät. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä
nhaát trí tueä trong heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh
baèng (voâ thöôïng, voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Baùt Nhaõ hay caùi bieát sieâu vieät
(Transcendental knowledge) hay yù thöùc hay trí naêng. Theo Phaät giaùo
Ñaïi thöøa, do trí naêng tröïc giaùc vaø tröïc tieáp, chöù khoâng phaûi laø trí naêng
tröøu töôïng vaø phuïc tuøng trí tueä phaøm phu maø con ngöôøi coù theå ñaït ñeán
ñaïi giaùc. Vieäc thöïc hieän trí naêng cuõng ñoàng nghóa vôùi thöïc hieän ñaïi
giaùc. Chính trí naêng sieâu vieät naày giuùp chuùng ta chuyeån hoùa moïi heä
phöôïc vaø giaûi thoaùt khoûi sanh töû luaân hoài, chöù khoâng ôû loøng thöông xoùt
hay thöông haïi cuûa baát cöù ai.
Kieán Thöùc laø caùi bieát coù theå ñöôïc bieåu hieän ra baèng nhieàu caùch.
Taùc duïng cuûa caùi “Bieát” nhö chuùng ta thöôøng thaáy khi nghe, thaáy, caûm
giaùc, so saùnh, nhôù, töôûng töôïng, suy tö, lo sôï, hy voïng, vaân vaân. Trong
Duy Thöùc Hoïc Phaät Giaùo, moân hoïc chuyeân veà nhaän thöùc, nhieàu taùc
duïng cuûa söï nhaän bieát ñöôïc tìm thaáy. Trong tröôøng hôïp A Laïi Da thöùc,
bieát coù nghóa laø söï haøm chöùa, duy trì vaø bieåu hieän. Cuõng theo Duy
Thöùc Hoïc, taát caû nhöõng caûm thoï, tö töôûng, vaø tri thöùc ñeàu khôûi leân töø
taøng thöùc caên baûn naøy. Trong tröôøng hôïp Maït na thöùc, moät trong nhöõng
caùi bieát caên baûn, chæ bieát coù taùc duïng baùm chaët khoâng chòu buoâng boû
vaøo moät ñoái töôïng vaø cho laø ñoù laø caùi “ngaõ.” Maït Na chính laø boä chæ
huy cuûa taát caû moïi caûm thoï, tö töôûng, vaø laøm ra söï saùng taïo, söï töôûng
töôïng cuõng nhö söï chia cheû thöïc taïi. Trong tröôøng hôïp Yeâm Ma La
thöùc, caùi bieát coù taùc duïng chieáu roïi gioáng nhö moät thöù aùnh saùng traéng
 52

tinh khieát trong taøng thöùc. Trong baát cöù hieän töôïng naøo, duø laø taâm lyù
sinh lyù hay vaät lyù, coù söï coù maët cuûa söï vaän chuyeån sinh ñoäng, ñoù laø ñôøi
soáng. Chuùng ta coù theå noùi raèng söï vaän chuyeån naøy, ñôøi soáng naøy, laø söï
phoå hieän cuûa vuõ truï, laø taùch duïng phoå bieán cuû a caùi bieát. Chuùng ta
khoâng neân cho raèng “caùi bieát” laø moät vaät beân ngoaøi ñeán ñeå laøm hôi thôû
cho ñôøi soáng trong vuõ truï. Noù chính laø söï sinh ñoäng cuûa chính vuõ truï.
Theo Phaät giaùo, trí tueä khoâng phaûi laø söï chaát ñoáng cuûa tri thöùc.
Traùi laïi, noù laø söï vuøng vaãy ñeå thoaùt khoûi caùc tri thöùc aáy. Noù ñaäp vôõ
nhöõng tri thöùc cuõ ñeå laøm phaùt sinh nhöõng tri thöùc môùi phuø hôïp vôùi thöïc
taïi hôn. Khi Copernicus phaùt hieän traùi ñaát quay xung quanh noù vaø quay
xung quanh maët trôøi, coù bieát bao nhieâu yù nieäm cuõ veà thieân vaên hoïc bò
suïp ñoå, trong ñoù coù yù nieäm treân vaø döôùi. Thuyeát Löôïng Töû hieän thôøi
ñang phaán ñaáu maõnh lieät ñeå vöôït thoaùt caùc yù nieäm ñoàng nhaát vaø nhaân
quaû voán laø nhöõng yù nieäm caên baûn xöa nay cuûa khoa hoïc. Khoa hoïc
cuõng ñang daán thaân treân con ñöôøng ruõ boû yù nieäm nhö ñaïo hoïc. Caùi
hieåu bieát nôi con ngöôøi ñöôïc dieãn dòch thaønh khaùi nieäm, tö töôûng vaø
ngoân ngöõ. Caùi bieát ôû ñaây laø tri thöùc thu löôïm ñöôïc baèng caùch chaát
chöùa. Noù laø caùi thaáy tröïc tieáp vaø mau leï. Veà maët tình caûm thì goïi laø
caûm xuùc. Veà maët tri thöùc thì goïi laø tri giaùc. Noù laø moät thöù tröïc giaùc chöù
khoâng phaûi laø keát quaû cuûa suy luaän. Coù khi noù hieän höõu traøn ñaày trong
chuùng ta, nhöng chuùng ta khoâng dieãn dòch noù thaønh khaùi nieäm ñöôïc,
khoâng duøng hình thöùc tö duy ñeå chuyeân chôû noù ñöôïc vaø do ñoù khoâng
dieãn taû ñöôïc thaønh lôøi. Khoâng theå dieãn taû neân lôøi, ñoù laø taâm traïng cuûa
chuùng ta vaøo luùc ñoù. Coù nhöõng tri thöùc ñöôïc noùi trong ñaïo Phaät laø “baát
khaû tö, baát khaû nghò, baát khaû thuyeát,” nghóa laø khoâng theå suy tö, nghò
luaän vaø laäp thaønh hoïc thuyeát ñöôïc. Ngoaøi ra, söï hieåu bieát coøn laø mieáng
chaén giuùp baûo veä haønh giaû khoûi söï taán coâng cuûa tham, saân vaø si. Con
ngöôøi thöôøng haønh ñoäng sai quaáy laø do bôûi voâ minh hoaëc khoâng thaáy roõ
ñöôïc chính mình, khoâng thaáy roõ nhöõng khaùt voïng muoán ñaït haïnh phuùc
cuõng phöông caùch naøo ñeå ñaït ñöôïc chaân haïnh phuùc. Söï hieåu bieát coøn
giuùp haønh giaû coù khaû naêng trieät tieâu nhieãm tröôïc vaø taêng cöôøng ñöùc
tính toát nôi chính mình.
Trí tueä nhaän thöùc nhöõng hieän töôïng vaø nhöõng qui luaät cuûa chuùng.
Jnana laø söï saùng suoát naém vöõng taát caû nhöõng thuyeát giaûng ñöôïc chöùa
ñöïng trong caùc kinh ñieån. Trí laø tri giaùc trong saùng vaø hoaøn haûo cuûa
taâm, nôi khoâng naém giöõ baát cöù khaùi nieäm naøo. Ñaây laø söï thöùc tænh tröïc
giaùc vaø duy trì chaân lyù cho moät vò Boà Taùt, yù nghóa vaø söï hieän höõu
 53

khoâng chæ tìm thaáy treân maët phaân giôùi giöõa nhöõng thaønh toá khoâng beàn
chaéc vaø lieân tuïc chuyeån ñeán maïng löôùi phöùc taïp cuûa caùc moái quan heä
trong ñôøi soáng haèng ngaøy, trong khi trí laø söùc maïnh cuûa trí tueä ñöa ñeán
traïng thaùi cuûa naêng löïc giaûi thoaùt, laø duïng cuï chính xaùc coù khaû naêng
uyeån chuyeån vöôït qua caùc chöôùng ngaïi cuûa hình thöùc oâ nhieãm vaø caùc
chaáp thuû thaâm caên di truyeàn trong tö töôûng vaø haønh ñoäng. Jnana laø moät
töø raát linh ñoäng vì ñoâi khi noù coù nghóa laø caùi trí theá gian taàm thöôøng,
caùi trí cuûa töông ñoái khoâng thaâm nhaäp ñöôïc vaøo chaân lyù cuûa hieän höõu,
nhöng ñoâi khi noù cuõng coù nghóa laø caùi trí sieâu vieät, trong tröôøng hôïp
naày noù ñoàng nghóa vôùi Baùt Nhaõ (Prajna).
Trí Tueä ñöôïc moâ taû laø söï hieåu bieát veà Töù Dieäu Ñeá, söï hieåu bieát veà
lyù nhaân duyeân, vaø nhöõng ñieàu töông töï nhö vaäy. Söï ñaéc thaønh trí hueä laø
söï ñaéc thaønh khaû naêng bieán ñoåi hoïc thuyeát töø nhöõng ñoái töôïng cuûa trí
tueä thaønh kinh nghieäm thöïc teá cho caù nhaân mình. Noùi caùch khaùc, trí tueä
theo Phaät giaùo laø khaû naêng bieán ñoåi nhöõng kieán thöùc veà Töù Dieäu Ñeá
vaø nhöõng ñieàu töông töï hoïc trong kinh ñieån thaønh chaân lyù hieän thöïc vaø
sinh ñoäng. Muoán ñaït ñöôïc trí tueä, tröôùc nhaát chuùng ta phaûi trau doài giôùi
haïnh vaø phaùt trieån söï ñònh tænh nôi tinh thaàn. Neân nhôù raèng, ñoïc vaø
hieåu kinh ñieån khoâng phaûi laø ñaït ñöôïc trì tueä. Trí tueä laø ñoïc, hieåu vaø
bieán ñöôïc nhöõng gì mình ñaõ ñoïc hieåu thaønh kinh nghieäm hieän thöïc cuûa
caù nhaân. Trí tueä cho chuùng ta khaû naêng “thaáy ñöôïc chaân lyù” hay “thaáy
söï theå ñuùng nhö söï theå” vì ñaït ñöôïc trí tueä khoâng phaûi laø moät baøi taäp
veà trí tueä hay hoïc thuaät, maø laø söï thaáy bieát chaân lyù moät caùch tröïc tieáp.
Trong Phaät giaùo, Trí Tueä laø ñöùc tính cao caû nhaát. Ngöôøi ta thöôøng
dòch töø ngöõ Baéc Phaïn “Prajna” (pali-Panna) laø trí tueä, vaø caùch dòch ñoù
khoâng ñöôïc chính xaùc. Tuy nhieân, khi chuùng ta baøn veà truyeàn thoáng
Phaät giaùo, chuùng ta phaûi luoân nhôù raèng Trí Tueä ôû ñaây ñöôïc duøng theo
moät yù nghóa ñaëc bieät, thaät ñaëc bieät trong lòch söû tö töôûng cuûa nhaân loaï i.
Trí Tueä ñöôïc caùc Phaät töû hieåu nhö laø söï “quaùn töôûng caùc phaùp moät
caùch coù phöông phaùp.” Ñieàu naøy ñöôïc chæ baøy roõ raøng theo ñònh nghóa
cuûa Ngaøi Phaät AÂm: “Trí Tueä coù ñaëc tính thaâm nhaäp vaøo baûn chaát cuûa
vaïn phaùp. Nhieäm vuï cuûa noù laø phaù tan boùng toái cuûa aûo töôûng che maát
töï tính cuûa vaïn phaùp. Bieåu hieän cuûa trí tueä laø khoâng bò meâ môø. Bôûi vì
“ngöôøi naøo nhaäp ñònh bieát vaø thaáy roõ thöïc töôùng, thieàn ñònh chính laø
nguyeân nhaân tröïc tieáp vaø gaàn nhaát cuûa trí tueä.”
Trí tueä bieát ñöôïc raèng taùnh khoâng laø baûn chaát toái haäu cuûa taát caû
caùc phaùp. Loaïi trí tueä ñaëc bieät naøy laø phöông tieän duy nhaát duøng ñeå
 54

loaïi tröø voâ minh vaø nhöõng traïng thaùi taâm nhieãu loaïn cuûa chuùng ta. Trí
tueä naøy cuõng laø moät khí cuï maïnh meõ nhaát duøng ñeå hoùa giaûi nhöõng daáu
aán nghieäp thöùc u aùm. Hôn nöõa, trí tueä naøy khieán cho chuùng ta coù khaû
naêng laøm lôïi laïc ngöôøi khaùc moät caùch hieäu quaû, vì nhôø noù maø chuùng ta
coù theå chæ daïy ngöôøi khaùc phöông phaùp ñeå töï hoï cuõng ñaït ñöôïc loaïi trí
tueä naøy. Loaïi trí tueä thöù nhaát laø chìa khoùa ñeå daãn ñeán giaûi thoaùt vaø
giaùc ngoä. Ñeå coù theå ñaït ñöôïc loaïi trí tueä naøy, chuùng ta phaûi ñaàu tö moïi
noã löïc vaøo tu taäp giaùo lyù nhaø Phaät vaø thöïc haønh thieàn ñònh. Trí tueä bieát
ñöôïc ngoân ngöõ, lyù luaän, khoa hoïc, ngheä thuaät, vaân vaân. Loaïi trí tueä naøy
laø loaïi baåm sanh; tuy nhieân, ngöôøi ta tin raèng ngöôøi coù loaïi trí tueä naøy
laø ngöôøi maø trong nhieàu kieáp tröôùc ñaõ tu taäp vaø thöïc haønh nhieàu haïnh
laønh roài.
Trí tueä cô baûn voán coù nôi moãi ngöôøi chuùng ta coù theå loä khi naøo böùc
maøn voâ minh bò veït boû qua tu taäp. Theo Ñöùc Phaät, trí tueä laø moät phaåm
haïnh cöïc kyø quan troïng vì noù töông ñöông vôùi chính söï giaùc ngoä. Chính
trí tueä môû cöûa cho söï töï do, vaø trí tueä xoùa boû voâ minh, nguyeân nhaân
caên baûn cuûa khoå ñau phieàn naõo. Ngöôøi ta noùi raèng chaët heát caønh caây
hay thaäm chí chaët caû thaân caây, nhöng khoâng nhoå taän goác reã cuûa noù, thì
caây aáy vaãn moïc laïi. Töông töï, duø ta coù theå loaïi boû luyeán chaáp vaèng
caùch töø boû traàn tuïc vaø saân haän vôùi taâm töø bi, nhöng chöøng naøo maø voâ
minh chöa bò trí tueä loaïi boû, thì luyeán chaáp vaø saân haän vaãn coù theå naûy
sinh trôû laïi nhö thöôøng. Veà phaàn Ñöùc Phaät, ngay hoâm Ngaøi chöùng kieán
caûnh baát haïnh xaõy ra cho con truøng vaø con chim trong buoåi leã haï ñieàn,
Ngaøi beøn ngoài quaùn töôûng döôùi goác caây hoàng taùo gaàn ñoù. Ñaây laø kinh
nghieäm thieàn ñònh sôùm nhaát cuûa Ñöùc Phaät. Veà sau naøy, khi Ngaøi ñaõ töø
boû theá tuïc ñeå ñi tìm chaân lyù toái thöôïng, moät trong nhöõng giôùi luaät ñaàu
tieân maø Ngaøi phaùt trieån cuõng laø thieàn ñònh. Nhö vaäy chuùng ta thaáy Ñöùc
Phaät ñaõ töï mình nhaán maïnh raèng trí tueä chæ coù theå ñaït ñöôïc qua thieàn
ñònh maø thoâi.
Tu taäp trí tueä laø keát quaû cuûa giôùi vaø ñònh. Duø trí hueä quan heä tôùi
nhaân quaû. Nhöõng ai ñaõ töøng tu taäp vaø vun troàng thieän caên trong nhöõng
ñôøi quaù khöù seõ coù ñöôïc trí tueä toát hôn. Tuy nhieân, ngay trong kieáp naøy,
neáu baïn muoán ñoïan tröø tam ñoäc tham lam, saân haän vaø si meâ, baïn
khoâng coù con ñöôøng naøo khaùc hôn laø phaûi tu giôùi vaø ñònh haàu ñaït ñöôïc
trí tueä ba la maät. Vôùi trí hueä ba la maät, baïn coù theå tieâu dieät nhöõng teân
troäm naày vaø chaám döùt khoå ñau phieàn naõo. Trí tueä laø moät trong ba phaùp
tu hoïc quan troïng trong Phaät giaùo. Hai phaùp kia laø Giôùi vaø ñònh. Theo
 55

Tyø Kheo Piyadassi Mahathera trong Phaät Giaùo Nhìn Toaøn Dieän thì taâm
ñònh ôû möùc ñoä cao laø phöông tieän ñeå thaønh ñaït trí tueä hay tueä minh saùt.
Tueä bao goàm chaùnh kieán vaø chaùnh tö duy, töùc laø hai chi ñaàu trong Baùt
Chaùnh Ñaïo. Trí tueä giuùp chuùng ta phaù tan lôùp maây môø si meâ bao phuû
söï vaät vaø thöïc chöùng thöïc töôùng cuûa vaïn phaùp, thaáy ñôøi soáng ñuùng nhö
thaät söï, nghóa laø thaáy roõ söï sanh dieät cuûa vaïn höõu.
Trong Kinh Phaùp Cuù, Ñöùc Phaät daïy: “Ñeâm raát daøi vôùi nhöõng keû
maát nguû, ñöôøng raát xa vôùi keû löõ haønh moûi meät. Cuõng theá, voøng luaân
hoài seõ tieáp noái voâ taän vôùi keû ngu si khoâng minh ñaït chaùnh phaùp (60).
Khoâng ñöôïc keát baïn vôùi keû hôn mình, khoâng ñöôïc keát baïn vôùi keû
ngang mình, thaø quyeát chí ôû moät mình toát hôn keát baïn vôùi ngöôøi ngu
muoäi (61). “Ñaây laø con ta, ñaây laø taøi saûn ta,” keû phaøm phu thöôøng lo
nghó nhö theá, nhöng ngöôøi trí bieát chính ta coøn khoâng thieät coù, huoáng laø
con ta hay taøi saûn ta? (62). Ngu maø töï bieát ngu, töùc laø trí, ngu maø töï
xöng raèng trí, chính ñoù môùi thaät laø ngu (63). Ngöôøi ngu suoát ñôøi gaàn
guõi ngöôøi trí vaãn chaúng hieåu gì Chaùnh phaùp, ví nhö caùi muoãng muùc
canh luoân maø chaúng bao giôø bieát ñöôïc muøi vò cuû a canh (64). Ngöôøi trí
duø chæ gaàn guûi ngöôøi trí trong khoaûnh khaéc cuõng hieåu ngay ñöôïc Chaùnh
phaùp, chaúng khaùc gì caùi löôõi duø môùi tieáp xuùc vôùi canh trong khoaûnh
khaéc, ñaõ bieát ngay ñöôïc muøi vò cuûa canh (65). Keû phaøm phu, loøng thì
muoán caàu ñöôïc trí thöùc maø haønh ñoäng laïi daãn tôùi dieät vong, neân haïnh
phuùc bò toån haïi maø trí tueä cuõng tieâu tan (72). Con thieân nga chæ bay
ñöôïc giöõa khoâng trung, ngöôøi coù thaàn thoâng chæ bay ñöôïc khoûi maët ñaát,
duy baäc ñaïi trí, tröø heát ma quaân môùi bay ñöôïc khoûi theá gian naày (175).”
Noùi toùm laïi, trong ñaïo Phaät, trí tueä laø quan troïng toái thöôïng, vì söï
thanh tònh coù ñöôïc laø nhôø trí tueä, do trí tueä, vaø trí tueä laø chìa khoùa daãn
ñeán giaùc ngoä vaø giaûi thoaùt cuoái cuøng. Nhöng Ñöùc Phaät khoâng bao giôø
taùn thaùn tri thöùc suoâng. Theo Ngaøi, trí phaûi luoân ñi ñoâi vôùi thanh tònh
nôi taâm, vôùi söï hoaøn haûo veà giôùi: Minh Haïnh Tuùc. Trí tueä ñaït ñöôïc do
söï hieåu bieát vaø phaùt trieån caùc phaåm chaát cuûa taâm laø trí, laø trí tueä sieâu
vieät, hay trí tueä do tu taäp maø thaønh. Ñoù laø trí tueä giaûi thoaùt chöù khoâng
phaûi laø söï lyù luaän hay suy luaän suoâng. Nhö vaäy Ñaïo Phaät khoâng chæ laø
yeâu meán trí tueä, khoâng xuùi duïc ñi tìm trí tueä, khoâng coù söï suøng baùi trí
tueä, maëc duø nhöõng ñieàu naøy coù yù nghóa cuûa noù vaø lieân quan ñeán söï
soáng coøn cuûa nhaân loaïi, maø ñaïo Phaät chæ khích leä vieäc aùp duïng thöïc
tieãn nhöõng lôøi daïy cuûa Ñöùc Phaät nhaèm daãn ngöôøi theo ñi ñeán söï xaû ly,
giaùc ngoä, vaø giaûi thoaùt cuoái cuøng. Trí tueä trong Phaät giaùo laø trí tueä nhaän
 56

thöùc ñöôïc taùnh khoâng. Ñaây laø phöông tieän duy nhaát ñöôïc duøng ñeå loaïi
tröø voâ minh vaø nhöõng taâm thaùi nhieãu loaïn cuûa chuùng ta. Loaïi trí tueä
naày cuõng laø phöông tieän giuùp hoùa giaûi nhöõng daáu aán nghieäp thöùc u aùm.
Chöõ Phaät töï noù theo Phaïn ngöõ coù nghóa laø trí tueä vaø giaùc ngoä. Tuy
nhieân, trí tueä naày khoâng phaûi laø phaøm trí maø chuùng ta töôûng. Noùi roäng
ra, noù laø trí tueä cuûa Phaät, loaïi trí tueä coù khaû naêng thoâng hieåu moät caùch
ñuùng ñaén vaø toaøn haûo baûn chaát thaät cuûa ñôøi soáng trong vuõ truï naày trong
quaù khöù, hieän taïi vaø töông lai. Nhieàu ngöôøi cho raèng trí tueä coù ñöôïc töø
thoâng tin hay kieán thöùc beân ngoaøi. Ñöùc Phaät laïi noùi ngöôïc laïi. Ngaøi
daïy raèng trí tueä ñaõ saün coù ngay trong töï taùnh cuûa chuùng ta, chöù noù
khoâng ñeán töø beân ngoaøi. Treân theá giôùi coù raát nhieàu ngöôøi thoâng minh
vaø khoân ngoan nhö nhöõng nhaø khoa hoïc hay nhöõng trieát gia, vaân vaân.
Tuy nhieân, Ñöùc Phaät khoâng coâng nhaän nhöõng kieán thöùc phaøm tuïc naày
laø söï giaùc ngoä ñuùng nghóa theo ñaïo Phaät, vì nhöõng ngöôøi naày chöa döùt
tröø ñöôïc phieàn naõo cuûa chính mình. Hoï vaãn coøn coøn truï vaøo thò phi cuûa
ngöôøi khaùc, hoï vaãn coøn tham, saân, si vaø söï kieâu ngaïo. Hoï vaãn coøn chöùa
chaáp nhöõng voïng töôûng phaân bieät cuõng nhö nhöõng chaáp tröôùc. Noùi caùch
khaùc, taâm cuûa hoï khoâng thanh tònh. Khoâng coù taâm thanh tònh, duø coù
chöùng ñaéc ñeán taàng cao naøo ñi nöõa, cuõng khoâng phaûi laø söï giaùc ngoä
ñuùng nghóa theo Phaät giaùo. Nhö vaäy, chöôùng ngaïi ñaàu tieân trong söï
giaùc ngoä cuûa chuùng ta chính laø töï ngaõ, söï chaáp tröôùc, vaø nhöõng voïng
töôûng cuûa chính mình. Chæ coù trí tueä döïa vaøo khaû naêng ñònh tónh môùi coù
khaû naêng loaïi tröø ñöôïc nhöõng chaáp tröôùc vaø voâ minh. Nghóa laø loaïi trí
tueä khôûi leân töø baûn taâm thanh tònh, chöù khoâng phaûi laø loaïi trí tueä ñaït
ñöôïc do hoïc hoûi töø saùch vôû, vì loaïi trí tueä naày chæ laø phaøm trí chöù
khoâng phaûi laø chaân trí tueä. Chính vì theá maø Ñöùc Phaät ñaõ noùi: “Ai coù
ñònh seõ bieát vaø thaáy ñuùng nhö thaät.” Theo Kinh Hoa Nghieâm, taát caû
chuùng sanh ñeàu coù cuøng trí tueä vaø ñöùc haïnh cuûa moät vò Phaät, nhöng hoï
khoâng theå theå hieän nhöõng phaåm chaát naày vì nhöõng voïng töôûng vaø chaáp
tröôùc. Tu taäp Phaät phaùp seõ giuùp chuùng ta loaïi boû ñöôïc nhöõng voïng
töôûng phaân bieät vaø dong ruoãi cuõng nhö nhöõng chaáp tröôùc. Töø ñoù chuùng
ta seõ tìm laïi ñöôïc baûn taâm thanh tònh saün coù, vaø cuõng töø ñoù trí tueä chaân
thöïc seõ khôûi sanh. Phaät töû chaân thuaàn neân luoân nhôù raèng chaân trí vaø
khaû naêng thaät söï cuûa chuùng ta chæ taïm thôøi bò che môø vì ñaùm maây muø
voâ minh, chaáp tröôùc vaø voïng töôûng phaân bieät, chöù khoâng phaûi thaät söï
maát ñi vónh vieãn. Muïc ñích tu taäp theo Phaät phaùp cuûa chuùng ta laø phaù
tan ñaùm maây muø naày ñeå ñaït ñöôïc giaùc ngoä.
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Wisdom & Prajna

Prajna also calls wisdom, the knowledge of things and realization

of truth. Wisdom is arosen from perception or knowing. Wisdom is
based on right understanding and right thought. Decision or judgment
as to phenomena or affairs and their principles, of things and their
fundamental laws. Prajna is often interchanged with wisdom. Wisdom
means knowledge, the science of the phenomenal, while prajna more
generally to principles or morals The difference between Buddhi and
Jnana is sometimes difficult to point out definitively, for they both
signify worldly relative knowledge as well as transcendental
knowledge. While Prajna is distinctly pointing out the transcendental
wisdom. The Prajna-paramita-sutra describes “prajna” as supreme,
highest, incomparable, unequalled, unsurpassed. Wisdom or real
wisdom. According to the Mahayana Buddhism, only an immediate
experienced intuitive wisdom, not intelligence can help man reach
enlightenment. Therefore, to achieve prajna is synonymous with to
reach enlightenment. One of the two perfections required for
Buddhahood. The wisdom which enables us to transcend disire,
attachment and anger so that we will be emancipated (not throught the
mercy of any body, but rather through our own power of will and
wisdom) and so that we will not be reborn again and again in
“samsara” or transmigration.
Knowing reveals itself in many ways. Knowing can be active
whenever there is hearing, seeing, feeling, comparing, remembering,
imagining, reflecting, worrying, hoping and so forth. In the
Vijnanavadin school of Buddhism, which specialized in the study of
“consciousnesses,” many more fields of activity were attributed to
knowing. For instance, in alayavijnana, or “storehouse of
consciousness,” the fields of activity of knowing are maintaining,
conserving, and manifesting.” Also according to the Vijnanavadins, all
sensation, perception, thought, and knowledge arise from this basic
store-house consciousness. Manyana is one of the ways of knowing
based on this consciousness and its function is to grasp onto the object
and take it as a “self.” Manovijnana serves as the headquarters for all
sensations, perceptions, and thoughts, and makes creation, imagination,
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as well as dissection of reality possible. Amala is the consciousness

that shines like a pure white light on the store-house consciousness. In
any phenomena, whether psychological, physiological, or physical,
there is dynamic movement, life. We can say that this movement, this
life, is the universal manifestation, the most commonly recognized
action of knowing. We must not regard “knowing” as something from
the outside which comes to breathe life into the universe. It is the life
of the universe itself.
According to Buddhism, understanding is not an accumulation of
knowledge. To the contrary, it is the result of the struggle to become
free of knowledge. Understanding shatters old knowledge to make
room for the new that accords better with reality. When Copernicus
discovered that the Earth goes around the sun, most of the astronomical
knowledge of the time had to be discarded, including the ideas of
above and below. Today, physics is struggling valiantly to free itself
from the ideas of identity and cause effect that underlie classical
science. Science, like the Way, urges us to get rid of all preconceived
notions. Understanding, in human, is translated into concepts, thoughts,
and words. Understanding is not an aggregate of bits of knowledge. It is
a direct and immediate penetration. In the realm of sentiment, it is
feeling. In the realm of intellect, it is perception. It is an intuition rather
than the culmination of reasoning. Every now and again it is fully
present in us, and we find we cannot express it in words, thoughts, or
concepts. “Unable to describe it,” that is our situation at such moments.
Insights like this are spoken of in Buddhism as “impossible to reason
about, to discuss, or to incorporate into doctrines or systems of
thought.” Besides, understanding also means a shield to protect
cultivator from the attack of greed, hatred and ignorance. A man often
does wrong because of his ignorance or misunderstanding about
himself, his desire of gaining happiness, and the way to obtain
happiness. Understanding will also help cultivators with the ability to
remove all defilements and strengthen their virtues.
Higher intellect or spiritual wisdom; knowledge of the ultimate
truth (reality). Jnana is the essential clarity and unerring sensibility of
a mind that no longer clings to concepts of any kind. It is direct and
sustained awareness of the truth, for a Bodhisattva, that meaning and
existence are found only in the interface between the components of an
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unstable and constantly shifting web of relationships, which is everyday

life, while prajna is the strength of intellectual discrimination elevated
to the status of a liberating power, a precision tool capable of slicing
through obstructions that take the form of afflictions and attachments to
deeply engrained hereditary patterns of thought and action. Jnana is a
very flexible term, as it means sometimes ordinary worldly knowledge,
knowledge of relativity, which does not penetrate into the truth of
existence, but also sometimes transcendental knowledge, in which case
being synonymous with Prajna or Arya-jnana.
Wisdom is described as the understanding of the Four Noble
Truths, the understanding of interdependent origination, and the like.
The attainment of wisdom is the ability of transformation of these
doctrinal items from mere objects of intellectual knowledge into real,
personal experience. In other words, according to Buddhism, wisdom is
the ability to change our knowledge of the four Noble Truths and the
like from mere sutra learning into actual, living truth. To attain wisdom,
we must first cultivate good conduct, then cultivate mental
development. It should be noted that reading and understanding the
meaning of a sutra doesn’t mean attaining wisdom. Wisdom means
reading, understanding, and transforming doctrinal items from sutras
into real, personal experience. Wisdom gives us the ability of “seeing
the truth” or “seeing things as they really are” because the attainment
of wisdom is not an intellectual or academic exercise, it is
understanding or seeing these truths directly.
In Buddhism, wisdom is the highest virtue of all. It is usual to
translate the Sanskrit term “Prajna” (pali-Panna) by “wisdom,” and that
is not positively inaccurate. When we are dealing with the Buddhist
tradition, however, we must always bear in mind that there Wisdom is
taken in a special sense that is truly unique in the history of human
thought. “Wisdom” is understood by Buddhists as the methodical
contemplation of ‘Dharmas.’ This is clearly shown by Buddhaghosa’s
formal and academic definition of the term: “Wisdom has the
characteristic of penetrating into dharmas as they are themselves. It has
the function of destroying the darkness of delusion which covers the
own-being of dharmas. It has the mmanifestation of not being deluded.
Because of the statement: ‘He who is concentrated knows, sees what
really is,’ concentration is its direct and proximate cause.”
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Wisdom understanding that emptiness of inherent existence is the

ultimate nature of all phenomena. This specific type of wisdom is the
sole means to eliminate our ignorance and other disturbing states. It is
also the most powerful tool for purifying negative karmic imprints. In
addition, it enables us to benefit others effectively, for we can then
teach them how to gain this wisdom themselves. This is also the first
key to liberation and enlightenment. In order to be able to obtain this
type of wisdom, we must invest all our efforts in cultivating Buddhist
laws and practicing Buddhist meditation. Conventional intelligence
knowing, logic, science, arts, and so forth. This type of wisdom is from
birth; however, the person who possesses this type of wisdom is
believed that in previous lives, he or she had already cultivated or
practiced so many good deeds.
Fundamental wisdom which is inherent in every man and which
can manifest itself only after the veil of ignorance, which screens it,
has been transformed by means of self-cultivation as taught by the
Buddha. According to the Buddha, wisdom is extremely important for it
can be commensurate with enlightenment itself. It is wisdom that
finally opens the door to freedom, and wisdom that removes ignorance,
the fundamental cause of suffering. It is said that while one may sever
the branches of a tree and even cut down its trunk, but if the root is not
removed, the tree will grow again. Similarily, although one may
remove attachment by means of renunciation, and aversion by means
of love and compassion, as long as ignorance is not removed by means
of wisdom, attachment and aversion will sooner or later arise again. As
for the Buddha, immediately after witnessing the unhappy incident
involving the worm and the bird at the plowing ceremony, the prince
sat under a nearby rose-apple tree and began to contemplate. This is a
very early experience of meditation of the Buddha. Later, when he
renounced the world and went forth to seek the ultimate truth, one of
the first disciplines he developed was that of meditation. Thus, the
Buddha himself always stressed that meditation is the only way to help
us to achieve wisdom.
The resulting wisdom, or training in wisdom. Even though wisdom
involves cause and effect. Those who cultivated and planted good roots
in their past lives would have a better wisdom. However, in this very
life, if you want to get rid of greed, anger, and ignorance, you have no
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choice but cultivating discipline and samadhi so that you can obtain
wisdom paramita. With wisdom paramita, you can destroy these
thieves and terminate all afflictions. Wisdom is one of the three studies
in Buddhism. The other two are precepts and meditation. According to
Bhikkhu Piyadassi Mahathera in The Spectrum of Buddhism, high
concentration is the means to the acquisition of wisdom or insight.
Wisdom consists of right understanding and right thought, the first two
factors of the path. This is called the training in wisdom or panna-
sikkha. Wisdom helps us get rid of the clouded view of things, and to
see life as it really is, that is to see life and things pertaining to life as
arising and passing.
In the Dharmapada Sutra, the Buddha taught: “Long is the night to
the wakeful; long is the road to him who is tired; long is samsara to the
foolish who do not know true Law (Dharmapada 60). If a traveler does
not meet a companion who is better or at least equal, let him firmly
pursue his solitary career, rather than being in fellowship with the
foolish (Dharmapada 61). These are my sons; this is my wealth; with
such thought a fool is tormented. Verily, he is not even the owner of
himself. Whence sons? Whence wealth? (Dharmapada 62). A foolish
man who knows that he is a fool, for that very reason a wise man; the
fool who think himself wise, he is indeed a real fool (Dharmapada
63). If a fool associates with a wise man even all his life, he will
understand the Dharma as litle as a spoon tastes the flavour of soup
(Dharmapada 64). An intelligent person associates with a wise man,
even for a moment, he will quickly understand the Dharma, as the
tongue tastes the flavour of soup (Dharmapada 65). The knowledge
and fame that the fool gains, so far from benefiting; they destroy his
bright lot and cleave his head (Dharmapada 72). Swans can only fly in
the sky, man who has supernatural powers can only go through air by
their psychic powers. The wise rise beyond the world when they have
conquered all kinds of Mara (Dharmapada 175).”
In summary, in Buddhism, wisdom is of the highest importance; for
purification comes through wisdom, through understanding; and
wisdom in Buddhism is the key to enlightenment and final liberation.
But the Buddha never praised mere intellect. According to him,
knowledge should go hand in hand with purity of heart, with moral
excellence (vijja-caranasampanna--p). Wisdom gained by
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understanding and development of the qualities of mind and heart is

wisdom par excellence (bhavanamayapanna--p). It is saving
knowledge, and not mere speculation, logic or specious reasoning.
Thus, it is clear that Buddhism is neither mere love of, nor inducing the
search after wisdom, nor devotion, though they have their significance
and bearing on mankind, but an encouragement of a practical
application of the teaching that leads the follower to dispassion,
enlightenment and final deliverance. Wisdom in Buddhism is also a
sole means to eliminate our ignorance and other disturbing attitudes. It
is also a tool for purifying negative karmic imprints. Many people say
that wisdom is gained from information or knowledge. The Buddha told
us the opposite! He taught us that wisdom is already within our self-
nature; it does not come from the outside. In the world, there are some
very intelligent and wise people, such as scientists and philosophers,
etc. However, the Buddha would not recognize their knowledge as the
proper Buddhist enlightenment, because they have not severed their
afflictions. They still dwell on the rights and wrongs of others, on
greed, anger, ignorance and arrogance. They still harbor wandering
discrimatory thoughts and attachments. In other words, their minds are
not pure. Without the pure mind, no matter how high the level of
realization one reaches, it is still not the proper Buddhist
enlightenment. Thus, our first hindrance to enlightenment and
liberation is ego, our self-attachment, our own wandering thoughts.
Only the wisdom that is based on concentration has the ability to
eliminate attachments and ignorance. That is to say the wisdom that
arises from a pure mind, not the wisdom that is attained from reading
and studying books, for this wisdom is only worldly knowledge, not true
wisdom. Thus, the Buddha said: “He who is concentrated knows and sees
what really is.” According to the Flower Adornment Sutra, all sentient beings
possess the same wisdom and virtuous capabilities as the Buddha, but these
qualities are unattainable due to wandering thoughts and attachments.
Practicing Buddhism will help us rid of wandering, discriminating thoughts and
attachments. Thus, we uncover our pure mind, in turn giving rise to true
wisdom. Sincere Buddhists should always remember that our innate wisdom
and abilities are temporarily lost due to the cloud of ignorance, attachments
and wandering discriminatory thoughts, but are not truly or permanently lost.
Our goal in Practicing Buddhism is to break through this cloud and achieve
enlightenment.
 63

Chöông Saùu
Chapter Six

Baùt Nhaõ Vaø Taùnh Khoâng

Trong Phaät giaùo, taùnh khoâng haøm yù chö phaùp khoâng coù thöïc höõu
noäi taïi, khoâng coù baûn chaát thöôøng haèng. Nhöõng gì hieän höõu ñeàu coù ñieàu
kieän, vaø coù lieân quan vôùi nhöõng yeáu toá khaùc. Trong Trung Quaùn Luaän,
Ngaøi Long Thoï noùi: “Ngöôøi naøo hoøa hôïp cuøng taùnh khoâng, hoøa hôïp
cuøng vaïn phaùp.” Chöõ “khoâng” ôû ñaây khoâng ñoàng nghóa vôùi chöõ
“khoâng” maø chuùng ta duøng thöôøng ngaøy. Chöõ “khoâng” ôû ñaây vöôït leân
khoûi yù nieäm bình thöôøng. “Khoâng” khoâng coù nghóa laø khoâng hieän höõu,
maø laø khoâng coù thöïc taùnh. Ñeå traùnh laàm laãn, caùc Phaät töû thöôøng duøng
töø “Chaân khoâng” ñeå chæ caùi khoâng khoâng coù thöïc taùnh naøy. Thaät ra, yù
nghóa chöõ “khoâng” trong Phaät giaùo raát saâu saéc, tinh teá vaø khoù hieåu bôûi
vì theo lôøi Ñöùc Phaät daïy, khoâng chæ khoâng coù saéc, thanh, höông, vò,
xuùc, phaùp maø caùc hieän töôïng hieän höõu laø tuøy duyeân. Ñöùc Phaät muoán
nhaán maïnh ñeán “khoâng” nhö söï rôøi boû nhöõng chaáp thuû vaø taø kieán. Nhö
treân ñaõ noùi, Baùt Nhaõ laø aâm cuûa thuaät ngöõ Prajna töø Phaïn ngöõ coù nghóa
laø trí tueä (yù thöùc hay trí naêng). Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù nghóa laø thöïc löïc nhaän
thöùc roõ raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng nguyeân taéc caên baûn cuûa chuùng cuõng nhö
xaùc quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ coù nghóa laø caùi bieát sieâu
vieät. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä nhaát trí tueä
trong heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh baèng (voâ
thöôïng, voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Coù ba loaïi Baùt Nhaõ: Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ,
Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ, vaø Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ. Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ laø trí
hueä ñaït ñöôïc khi ñaõ ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ laø phaàn hai cuûa
trí hueä Baùt Nhaõ. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát khi thaät söï ñaùo bæ ngaïn.
Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ hay vaên töï Baùt nhaõ. Ñaây laø loaïi trí hueä hieåu bieát
chö phaùp giaû taïm vaø luoân thay ñoåi. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát ñöa ñeán yù
höôùng “Ñaùo Bæ Ngaïn”. Chính Baùt Nhaõ ñaët nhöõng baøn tay cuûa noù leân
“Taùnh Khoâng,” hay “Chôn Nhö,” hay “Töï Taùnh.” Vaø baøn tay naøy
khoâng ñaët leân caùi maø noù hình nhö hieän höõu. Ñieàu naøy roõ raøng phaùt sinh
töø caùi maø chuùng ta ñaõ noùi quan heä ñeán nhöõng söï vieäc töông ñoái. Cho
raèng töï taùnh ôû beân kia laõnh vöïc ngöï trò cuûa theá giôùi töông ñoái, söï naém
laáy noù baèng Baùt Nhaõ khoâng theå coù nghóa theo nghóa thoâng thöôøng cuûa
thuaät ngöõ naøy. Naém laáy maø khoâng phaûi laø naém laáy, söï xaùc quyeát khoâng
 64

theå traùnh ñöôïc nghòch lyù. Theo thuaät ngöõ Phaät giaùo, söï naém laáy naøy coù
hieäu quaû baèng söï khoâng phaân bieät, nghóa laø baèng söï phaân bieät coù tính
caùch khoâng phaân bieät. Caùi quaù trình ñoät nhieân, giaùn ñoaïn, noù laø moät
haønh ñoäng cuûa taâm, nhöng haønh ñoäng naøy, duø raèng khoâng phaûi laø
khoâng coù yù thöùc, phaùt sinh töø chính töï taùnh, töùc laø Voâ Nieäm. Trong khi
ñoù, goác tieáng Phaïn cuûa “Taùnh khoâng” laø “Sunyata.” “Sunya” laáy töø goác
chöõ “svi” coù nghóa laø phoàng leân. Chö phaùp khoâng coù thöïc höõu noäi taïi,
khoâng coù baûn chaát thöôøng haèng, khoâng coù thöù gì coù thöïc taùnh cuûa chính
noù. Nhöõng gì hieän höõu ñeàu coù ñieàu kieän, vaø coù lieân quan vôùi nhöõng
yeáu toá khaùc. Theo Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng daïy: “Naày
thieän tri thöùc! Trí tueä quaùn chieáu, trong ngoaøi saùng suoát, bieát boån taâm
mình, neáu bieát boån taâm töùc laø goác cuûa söï giaûi thoaùt. Neáu ñöôïc giaûi
thoaùt töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ Tam Muoäi, töùc laø Voâ Nieäm. Sao goïi laø voâ nieäm?
Neáu thaáy taát caû phaùp maø taâm khoâng nhieãm tröôùc aáy laø voâ nieäm, duïng
töùc khaép taát caû choã, cuõng khoâng dính maéc taát caû choã, chæ thanh tònh nôi
boån taâm khieán saùu thöùc ra saùu cöûa ñoái trong saùu traàn khoâng nhieãm,
khoâng taïp, ñi laïi töï do, thoâng duïng khoâng keït, töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ Tam
Muoäi, töï taïi giaûi thoaùt goïi laø voâ nieäm haïnh. Neáu traêm vaät chaúng nghó,
chính khi ñoù khieán cho nieäm baët ñi, aáy laø phaùp phöôïc, aáy goïi laø bieân
kieán. Theo Truyeàn Ñaêng Luïc, quyeån IX: Moät ngaøy, Trieäu Chaâu ñeán
tham kieán Ñaïi Töø, Trieäu Chaâu hoûi Ñaïi Töø: "Theå cuûa Baùt Nhaõ laø gì?"
Ñaïi Töø laëp laïi caâu hoûi: "Theå cuûa Baùt Nhaõ laø gì?" Töùc thì Trieäu Chaâu
cöôøi lôùn vaø boû ñi. Moät hoâm sau, Ñaïi Töø thaáy Trieäu Chaâu ñang queùt
saân, Ñaïi Töø hoûi: "Theå cuûa Baùt Nhaõ laø gì?" Trieäu Chaâu lieäng caây choåi,
cöôøi lôùn vaø boû ñi. Ñaïi Töø lieàn trôû veà phöông tröôïng. Haønh giaû tu Thieàn
neân luoân nhôù raèng Baùt Nhaõ laø chaân lyù toái thöôïng phaûi ñöôïc kinh
nghieäm chöù khoâng phaûi daønh cho söï phaân tích suoâng cuûa trí thöùc hay töø
bieân kieán cuûa töøng caù nhaân.

Prajna and Sunyata

In Buddhism, emptiness implies the unreality of things or all things

(phenomena) lack inherent existence, having no essence or permanent
aspect whatsoever. All phenomena are empty. All phenomena exist are
conditioned and, relative to other factors. In the Madhyamaka Sastra,
Nagarjuna said: “One who is in harmony with emptiness is in harmony
with all things.” The word “emptiness” is different from everyday term.
 65

It transcends the usual concepts of emptiness and form. To be empty is

not to be non-existent. It is to be devoid of a permanent identity. To
avoid confusion, Buddhists often use the term “true emptiness” to refer
to things that devoid of a permanent identity. In fact, the meaning of
“emptiness” in Buddhism is very profound and sublime and it is rather
difficult to recognize because “emptiness” is not only neither
something, nor figure, nor sound, nor taste, nor touch, nor dharma, but
all sentient beings and phenomena come to existence by the rule of
“Causation” or “dependent co-arising.” The Buddha emphasized on
“emptiness” as an “elimination” of false thoughts and wrong beliefs.
As mentioned above, Prajna is a Sanskrit term which means wisdom.
Prajna also means the real power to discern things and their underlying
principles and to decide the doubtful. Prajna means a transcendental
knowledge. The Prajna-paramita-sutra describes “prajna” as supreme,
highest, incomparable, unequalled, unsurpassed. There are three
prajnas or perfect enlightements: The first part of the prajnaparamita.
The wisdom achieved once crossed the shore. The second part of the
prajnaparamita. The necessary wisdom for actual crossing the shore of
births and deaths. The wisdom of knowing things in their temporary and
changing condition. The necessary wisdom for vowing to cross the
shore of births and deaths. It is Prajna which lays its hands on
Emptiness, or Suchness, or self-nature. And this laying-hands-on is not
what it seems. This is self-evident from what has already been said
concerning things relative. Because the self-nature is beyond the realm
of relativity, its being grasped by Prajna cannot mean a grasping in its
ordinary sense. The grasping must be no-grasping, a paradoxical
statement which is inevitable. To use Buddhist terminology, this
grasping is accomplished by non-discrimination; that is, by discrete, an
act of the conscious; not an unconscious act but an act rising from self-
nature itself, which is the unconscious. Meanwhile, the Sanskrit root for
“Emptiness” is “sunyata”. The Sanskrit word “sunya” is derived from
the root “svi,” to swell. Sunya literally means: “relating to the
swollen.” Unreality of things or all things (phenomena) lack inherent
existence, having no essence or permanent aspect whatsoever, nothing
has a nature of its own. All phenomena are empty. All phenomena
exist are conditioned and, relative to other factors. According to the
Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma Treasure, the Sixth
 66

Patriarch, Hui-Neng, taught: “Good Knowing Advisor, when you

contemplate and illuminate with the wisdom, which brightly penetrates
within and without, you recognize your original mind. The recognition
of your original mind is the original liberation. The attainment of
liberation is the Prajna Samadhi, thus no-thought. What is meant by
‘no-thought?’ No-thought means to view all dharmas with a mind
undefiled by attachment. The function of the mind pervades all places
but is nowhere attached. Merely purify your original mind to cause the
six consciousnesses to go out the six gates, to be undefiled and
unmixed among the six objects, to come and go freely and to penetrate
without obstruction. That is the Prajna Samadhi, freedom and
liberation, and it is called the practice of no-thought. Not thinking of
the hundred things and constantly causing your thought to be cut off is
called Dharma-bondage and is an extremist view. According to the
Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Ch’uan-Teng-Lu), Volume
IX: One day, Chao-chou came and asked Ta-Tzu, "What is the body of
the Prajna?" Ta-Tzu repeated: "What is the body of the Prajna?"
Thereupon, Chao-chou gave a hearty laugh and went off. On the day
following Ta-tzu saw Chao-chou sweeping the ground. Ta-Tzu asked,
"What is the body of the Prajna?" Chao-chou threw up his broom and
with a hearty laugh went away. Ta-Tzu then returned to his quarters.
Zen practitioners should always remember that Prajna is the ultimate
truth which is to be experienced and not to be made a mere subject of
intellectual analysis or from individual's extremist view.
 67

Chöông Baûy
Chapter Seven

Baùt Nhaõ Vaø Töï Taùnh

Nhö treân ñaõ noùi, Baùt Nhaõ laø aâm cuûa thuaät ngöõ Prajna töø Phaïn ngöõ
coù nghóa laø trí tueä (yù thöùc hay trí naêng). Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù nghóa laø thöïc
löïc nhaän thöùc roõ raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng nguyeân taéc caên baûn cuûa chuùng
cuõng nhö xaùc quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ coù nghóa laø caùi
bieát sieâu vieät. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä
nhaát trí tueä trong heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh
baèng (voâ thöôïng, voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Coù ba loaïi Baùt Nhaõ: Thöïc töôùng baùt
nhaõ, Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ, vaø Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ. Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ
laø trí hueä ñaït ñöôïc khi ñaõ ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ laø phaàn hai
cuûa trí hueä Baùt Nhaõ. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát khi thaät söï ñaùo bæ ngaïn.
Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ hay vaên töï Baùt nhaõ. Ñaây laø loaïi trí hueä hieåu bieát
chö phaùp giaû taïm vaø luoân thay ñoåi. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát ñöa ñeán yù
höôùng “Ñaùo Bæ Ngaïn”. Trong khi ñoù, töï taùnh laø thöïc chaát cuûa baûn ngaõ,
ñoàng nghóa vôùi baûn tính thaät hay Phaät tính. Ñaây laø baûn tính coá höõu cuûa
moïi söï toàn taïi, vaø chæ coù theå kinh nghieäm qua thöïc chöùng maø thoâi. Töï
taùnh hay baûn taùnh, traùi laïi vôùi taùnh linh thöôïng ñaúng. Töï taùnh luoân
thanh tònh trong baûn theå cuûa noù. Baûn chaát cuûa hieän höõu hay caùi goàm
neân baûn theå cuûa söï vaät. Trong Kinh Laêng Giaø, Ñöùc Phaät baûo
Mahamati: “Naøy Mahamati, baûn chaát cuûa hieän höõu khoâng phaûi nhö
ngöôøi ngu phaân bieät noù.” Vaïn höõu trong theá giôùi hieän töôïng ñeàu khoâng
thöôøng beàn, chæ hieän höõu taïm thôøi, chöù khoâng coù töï taùnh. Theo Phaät
giaùo, töï taùnh töï noù laø troáng khoâng. Caùi khoâng veà töï tính nghóa laø gì?
Ñaáy laø vì khoâng coù söï sinh ra cuûa ngaõ theå, töùc laø söï ñaëc thuø hoùa laø caáu
truùc cuûa töï taâm chuùng ta. Neáu chuùng ta nghó raèng thöïc ra nhöõng söï vaät
ñaëc thuø nhö theá chæ laø aûo töôûng, chuùng khoâng coù töï tính, do ñoù maø baûo
raèng chuùng laø khoâng. Theo truyeàn thoáng Thieân Thai toâng, töï taùnh baát
hö laø chaân lyù chaúng phaûi laø troáng khoâng cuõng chaúng coù ñònh taùnh,
nhöng ñoàng thôøi laø Khoâng vaø Giaû. Theo quan ñieåm cuûa Boà Ñeà Ñaït Ma,
Sô Toå saùng laäp Thieàn toâng, chuùng ta coù lôøi noùi veà giôùi thöù nhì, ñöôïc ruùt
ra töø quyeån Nghieân Cöùu Phaät Giaùo cuûa ngaøi Sangharakshita: "Töï taùnh
voán trong saùng vaø hieån nhieân. Trong phaùp giôùi, khoâng naûy sinh yù töôûng
 68

tröôùc ñöôïc xem nhö ñoàng nghóa vôùi giôùi luaät khoâng troäm caép." Neáu
khoâng coù yù töôûng thuû tröôùc, seõ khoâng coù gì ñaùng thuû tröôùc.
Theo kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, phaåm thöù ba, Luïc Toå baûo raèng: “Naày ñaïi
chuùng! Ngöôøi ñôøi töï saéc thaân laø thaønh, maét tai muõi löôõi laø cöûa, ngoaøi
coù naêm cöûa, trong coù cöûa yù. Taâm laø ñaát, taùnh laø vua, vua ôû treân ñaát
taâm, taùnh coøn thì vua coøn, taùnh maát ñi thì vua cuõng maát. Taùnh ôû thì
thaân taâm coøn, taùnh ñi thì thaân taâm hoaïi. Phaät nhaèm ôû trong taùnh maø
taïo, chôù höôùng ra ngoaøi maø caàu. Töï taùnh meâ, töùc laø chuùng sanh, töï taùnh
giaùc töùc laø Phaät. Töø bi töùc laø Quaùn Theá AÂm, hyû xaû goïi laø Ñaïi Theá Chí,
hay tònh töùc laø Ñöùc Thích Ca, bình tröïc töùc laø Phaät A Di Ñaø. Nhôn ngaõ
aáy laø Tu Di, taø taâm laø bieån ñoäc, phieàn naõo laø soùng moùi, ñoäc haïi laø roàng
döõ, hö voïng laø quyû thaàn, traàn lao laø ruøa traïnh, tham saân laø ñòa nguïc,
ngu si laø suùc sanh. Naày thieän tri thöùc! Thöôøng laøm möôøi ñieàu laønh thì
thieân ñöôøng lieàn ñeán, tröø nhôn ngaõ thì nuùi Tu Di ngaõ, deïp ñöôïc tham
duïc thì bieån nöôùc ñoäc khoâ, phieàn naõo khoâng thì soùng moùi maát, ñoäc haïi
tröø thì roàng caù ñeàu döùt. ÔÛ treân taâm ñòa mình laø giaùc taùnh Nhö Lai
phoùng ñaïi quang minh, ngoaøi chieáu saùu cöûa thanh tònh hay phaù saùu coõi
trôøi duïc, töï taùnh trong chieáu ba ñoäc töùc lieàn tröø ñòa nguïc, vaân vaân., caùc
toäi moät luùc ñeàu tieâu dieät, trong ngoaøi saùng toät, chaúng khaùc vôùi coõi Taây
phöông, khoâng chòu tu nhö theá naày laøm sao ñeán ñöôïc coõi kia?” Cuõng
theo Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng trong Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, Baùt Nhaõ ñöôïc phaùt
khôûi trong töï taùnh theo caùch “baát thình lình”, chöõ baát thình lình ôû ñaây
khoâng coù nghóa laø töùc thì, theo caùch baát ngôø hay thình lình, noù cuõng coù
nghóa laø haønh vi töï phaùt, noù laø caùi thaáy, khoâng phaûi laø moät haønh ñoäng
coù yù thöùc thuoäc phaàn töï taùnh. Noùi caùch khaùc, aùnh saùng cuûa Baùt Nhaõ
phoùng ra töø voâ nieäm tuy nhieân noù khoâng bao giôø rôøi voâ nieäm; Baùt Nhaõ
ôû trong voâ thöùc veà söï vaät. Ñaây laø caùi maø ngöôøi ta aùm chæ khi noùi raèng
“thaáy laø khoâng thaáy vaø khoâng thaáy laø thaáy,” hoaëc khi noùi raèng voâ nieäm
hay töï taùnh, trôû neân yù thöùc chính noù baèng phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ, tuy
nhieân trong yù thöùc naøy noù khoâng coù söï phaân caùch naøo giöõa chuû vaø
khaùch. Do ñoù, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng noùi: “Ai hieåu ñöôïc chaân lyù naøy töùc thì
khoâng nghó, khoâng nhôù vaø khoâng dính maéc.” Nhöng chuùng ta phaûi nhôù
raèng Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng khoâng bao giôø giaûng moät giaùo phaùp naøo veà caùi
“Voâ” ñôn giaûn hay veà söï baát ñoäng ñôn giaûn vaø Ngaøi khoâng caäy ñeán
quan nieäm veà caùi voâ tri trong vaán ñeà ñôøi soáng. Ngaøy naøo ñoù Baùt Nhaõ
phaûi ñöôïc phaùt khôûi trong töï taùnh; vì chöøng naøo chuùng ta chöa coù kinh
nghieäm naøy thì khoâng bao giôø chuùng ta coù ñöôïc cô hoäi bieát Phaät, khoâng
 69

nhöõng chæ nôi baûn thaân chuùng ta maø coøn nôi nhöõng ngöôøi khaùc nöõa.
Nhöng söï phaùt khôûi naøy khoâng phaûi laø moät haønh ñoäng ñaëc thuø thaønh
töïu trong laõnh vöïc ngöï trò cuûa yù thöùc thöïc nghieäm, vaø vieäc naøy cuõng coù
theå ñem so saùnh vôùi phaûn aûnh cuûa maët traêng trong doøng suoái; noù khoâng
phaûi lieân tuïc; noù ôû beân kia sanh töû; cuõng nhö khi ngöôøi ta baûo noù cheát,
noù khoâng bieát cheát; chæ khi naøo ñaït ñöôïc traïng thaùi voâ taâm thì môùi coù
nhöõng thuyeát thoaïi chöa töøng ñöôïc noùi ra, nhöõng haønh ñoäng chöa töøng
ñöôïc thöïc hieän. Cuõng theo Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng, Baùt Nhaõ laø caùi teân ñaët
cho “Töï Taùnh,” hay chuùng ta coøn goïi noù laø “Voâ Thöùc,” khi noù töï yù
thöùc chính noù, hay chính xaùc hôn, chính haønh ñoäng trôû thaønh yù thöùc. Do
ñoù Baùt Nhaõ chæ veà hai höôùng: Voâ thöùc vaø theá giôùi cuûa yù thöùc hieän môû
ra. Hình thaùi thöù nhaát ñöôïc goïi laø Trí Voâ Phaân Bieät vaø hình thaùi kia laø
Trí Phaân Bieät. Khi chuùng ta quan heä vôùi höôùng ñi ra ngoaøi cuûa yù thöùc
vaø phaân bieät taïi ñieåm queân höôùng kia cuûa Baùt Nhaõ, höôùng quy taâm veà
Voâ thöùc, chuùng ta coù thuaät ngöõ ñöôïc bieát döôùi teân “Trí Töôûng Töôïng.”
Hay chuùng ta coù theå noùi ngöôïc laïi: khi trí töôûng töôïng töï xaùc ñònh, Baùt
Nhaõ bò che khuaát, söï phaân bieät ngöï trò laøm chuû, vaø beà maët thanh tònh,
khoâng voâ nhieãm cuûa Voâ Thöùc hay Töï Taùnh hieän thôøi bò che môø. Nhöõng
ai chuû tröông “voâ nieäm” hay “voâ taâm” ñeàu mong chuùng ta ngaên Baùt
Nhaõ khoûi laïc theo höôùng phaân bieät vaø chuùng ta cöông quyeát quay caùi
nhìn theo höôùng kia. Ñaït voâ taâm coù nghóa laø, noùi moät caùch khaùch quan,
phaùt hieän ra trí voâ phaân bieät. Khi quan nieäm naøy ñöôïc phaùt trieån theâm,
chuùng ta hieåu ñöôïc nghóa cuûa voâ taâm, trong tö töôûng Thieàn.

Prajna and Self-Nature

As mentioned above, Prajna is a Sanskrit term which means

wisdom. Prajna also means the real power to discern things and their
underlying principles and to decide the doubtful. Prajna means a
transcendental knowledge. The Prajna-paramita-sutra describes
“prajna” as supreme, highest, incomparable, unequalled, unsurpassed.
There are three prajnas or perfect enlightements: The first part of the
prajnaparamita. The wisdom achieved once crossed the shore. The
second part of the prajnaparamita. The necessary wisdom for actual
crossing the shore of births and deaths. The wisdom of knowing things
in their temporary and changing condition. The necessary wisdom for
vowing to cross the shore of births and deaths. Meanwile, self-nature;
 70

another expression for the Buddha-nature that is immanent in

everything existing and that is experienced in self-realization. Original
nature, contrasted to supreme spirit or purusha. Original nature is
always pure in its original essence. Self-nature, that which constitutes
the essential nature of a thing. In the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha
told Mahamati: “Oh Mahamati, the nature of existence is not as it is
discriminated by the ignorant.” Things in the phenomenal world are
transient, momentary, and without duration; hence they have no self-
nature. Also according to The Lankavatara Sutra, there are seven types
of self-nature. According to Buddhism, self-nature is empty in itself.
What is meant by Emptiness of Self-nature (Self-substance)? It is
because there is no birth of self-substance by itself. That is to say,
individualization is the construction of our own mind; to think that there
are in reality individual objects as such, is an illusion; they have no
self-substance, therefore, they are said to be empty. According to the
T'ien T'ai tradition, this truth refers to reality which is neither
nothingness nor substantial Being; it is simultaneously empty and
conventionally existent. According to the point of view of
Bodhidharma, the great ancestral founder of Zen, we have this
statement about the second precept, taken from 'A Survey of Buddhism'
by Sangharakshita: "Self-nature is clear and obvious. In the sphere of
the ungraspable Dharma, not having a thought of grasping is called the
item of refraining from stealing." If there is no thought of grasping,
then there is nothing to grasp.
According to the Flatform Sutra, Chapter Three, the Sixth Patriarch
said, “Great assembly, the worldly person’s own physical body is the
city, and the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body are the gates. Outside
there are five gates and inside there is a gate of the mind. The mind is
the ‘ground’ and one’s nature is the ‘king.’ The ‘king’ dwells on the
mind ‘ground.’ When the nature is present, the king is present but when
the nature is absent, there is no king. When the nature is present, the
body and mind remain, but when the nature is absent, the body and
mind are destroyed. The Buddha is made within the self-nature. Do not
seek outside the body. Confused, the self-nature is a living being:
enlightened, it is a Buddha. ‘Kindness and compassion’ are
Avalokitesvara and ‘sympathetic joy and giving’ are
Mahasthamaprapta. ‘Purification’ is Sakyamuni, and ‘equanimity and
 71

directness’ are Amitabha. ‘Others and self’ are Mount Sumeru and
‘deviant thoughts’ are the ocean water. ‘Afflictions’ are the waves.
‘Cruelty’ is an evil dragon. ‘Empty falseness’ is ghosts and spirits.
‘Defilement’ is fish and turtles, ‘greed and hatred’ are hell, and
‘delusion’ is animals. Good Knowing Advisors, always practice the ten
good practices and the heavens can easily be reached. Get rid of others
and self, and Mount Sumeru topples. Do away with deviant thought,
and the ocean waters dry up. Without defilements, the waves cease.
End cruelty and there are no fish or dragons. The Tathagata of the
enlightened nature is on your own mind-ground, emitting a great bright
light which outwardly illuminates and purifies the six gates and breaks
through the six desire-heavens. Inwardly, it illuminates the self-nature
and casts out the three poisons. The hells and all such offenses are
destroyed at once. Inwardly and outwardly, there is a bright
penetration. This is no different from the West. But if you do not
cultivate, how can you go there?" Also according to the Sixth Patriarch
Hui Neng in the Platform Sutra, Prajna is awakened in self-nature
abruptly, and the term “abrupt” not only means ‘instantaneously’,
‘unexpectedly’ or ‘suddenly’, but signifies the idea that the act of
awakening which is seeing is not a conscious deed on the part of self-
nature. In other words, Prajna flashes from the Unconscious and yet
never leaves it; it remains unconscious of it. This is the sense of saying
that “seeing is no-seeing, and no-seeing is seeing,” and that the
Unconscious or self-nature becomes conscious of itself by means of
Prajna, and yet in this consciousness there is no separation of subject
and object. Therefore, Hui-Neng says: “One who understands this truth
is without thought, without memory, and without attachment.” But we
must remember that Hui-Neng never advocated the doctrine of mere
nothingness, or mere-doing-nothing-ness, nor assumed an unknown
quantity in the solution of life. Prajna must once be awakened in self-
nature; for unless this is experienced we shall never have a chance of
knowing the Buddha not only in ourselves but in others. But this
awakening is no particular deed performed in the realm of empirical
consciousness, and for this reason it is like a lunar reflection in the
stream; it is neither continuous nor discrete; it is beyond birth and
death; even when it is said to be born, it knows no birth; even when it is
said to have passed away, it knows no passing away; it is only when
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no-mind-ness or the Unconscious is seen that there are discourses

never discoursed, that there are acts that never acted. Also according to
Hui-Neng, Prajna is the name given to self-nature, or the Unconscious,
as we call it, when it becomes conscious of itself, or rather to the act
itself of becoming conscious. Prajna therefore points in two directions
to the Unconscious and to the world of consciousness which is now
unfolded. The one is call the Prajna of non-discrimination and the other
the Prajna of discrimination. When we are so deeply involved in the
outgoing direction of consciousness and discrimination as to forget the
other direction of Prajna pointing to the Unconscious, we have what is
technically known as “Prapanca,” imagination. Or we may state this
conversely: when imagination asserts itself, Prajna is hidden, and
discrimination has its own sway, and the pure, undefiled surface of the
Unconscious or self-nature is now dimmed. The advocates of “no-
thought” or “no-mind” want us to preserve Prajna from going astray in
the direction of discrimination, and to have our eyes looking steadily in
the other direction. To attain “no-mind” means to recover, objectively
speaking, the Prajna or non-discrimination. When this idea is
developed in more detail we shall comprehend the significance of “no-
mind” in Zen thought.
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Chöông Taùm
Chapter Eight

Ma Ha Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña

Ñoâi khi khoù maø vaïch ra moät caùch roõ raøng söï khaùc bieät giöõa
“Buddhi” vaø “Jnana,” vì caû hai ñeàu chæ caùi trí töông ñoái cuûa theá tuïc
cuõng nhö trí sieâu vieät. Trong khi Prajna roõ raøng laø caùi trí sieâu vieät. Trí
hieåu roõ caùc phaùp, giöõ vöõng trung ñaïo. Söï tu taäp trí tueä vaø taâm linh cuûa
moät vò Boà Taùt ñeán giai ñoaïn ñaït ñöôïc trí ba la maät, töø ñoù caùc ngaøi
thaêng tieán töùc thôøi ñeå chuyeån thaønh moät vò Phaät toaøn giaùc. Söï kieän yù
coù nghóa nhaát cuûa trình ñoä naøy vaø bieåu töôïng cao nhaát cuûa söï thaønh töïu
toái thöôïng cuûa Boà Taùt laø böôùc vaøo traïng thaùi thieàn ñònh cuûa taâm caân
baèng ñöôïc khôûi leân töø trí tueä baát nhò cuûa taùnh khoâng. Ñaây cuõng laø böôùc
khôûi ñaàu cuûa Boà Taùt vaøo coång nhaát thieát trí cuûa moät vò Phaät, töùc laø trí
tueä tinh hoa nhaát. Trí tueä ba la maät coù moät phaåm chaát phaân tích nhö
moät ñaëc tính ñaëc thuø cuûa trí baát nhò phaùt khôûi khi Boà Taùt ñaït ñeán giai
ñoaïn trí ba la maät. Vì vaäy, trí tueä bình thöôøng nghieâng veà phaàn tri giaùc
trong khi trí tueä ba la maät laïi nghieâng veà phaàn tröïc giaùc.
Trí tueä ba la maät laø caùch nhìn ñuùng veà söï vaät vaø naêng löïc nhaän
ñònh caùc khía caïnh chaân thaân thaät cuûa vaïn höõu. Trí tueä laø khaû naêng
nhaän bieát nhöõng dò bieät giöõa caùc söï vaät, ñoàng thôøi thaáy caùi chaân lyù
chung cho caùc söï vaät aáy. Toùm laïi, trí tueä laø caùi khaû naêng nhaän ra raèng
baát cöù ai cuõng coù theå trôû thaønh moät vò Phaät. Giaùo lyù cuûa Ñöù c Phaät nhaán
maïnh raèng chuùng ta khoâng theå nhaän thöùc taát caû caùc söï vaät treân ñôøi moät
caùch ñuùng ñaén neáu chuùng ta khoâng coù khaû naêng troïn veïn hieåu bieát söï
dò bieät laãn söï töông ñoàng. Chuùng ta khoâng theå cöùu ngöôøi khaùc neáu
chuùng ta khoâng coù trí tueä, vì duø cho chuùng ta muoán laøm toát cho keû khaùc
ñeå cöùu giuùp hoï, nhöng khoâng coù ñuû trí tueä ñeå bieát neân laøm nhö theá
naøo, caùi gì neân laøm vaø caùi gì khoâng neân laøm, chuùng ta coù theå laøm haïi
ngöôøi khaùc chöù khoâng laøm ñöôïc lôïi ích gì cho hoï. Khoâng coù chöõ Anh
naøo töông ñöông vôùi töø “Prajna” trong Phaïn ngöõ. Thaät ra, khoâng coù
ngoân ngöõ AÂu chaâu naøo töông ñöông vôùi noù, vì ngöôøi AÂu khoâng coù kinh
nghieäm naøo ñaëc bieät töông ñöông vôùi chöõ “prajna.” Prajna laø caùi kinh
nghieäm moät ngöôøi coù ñöôïc khi ngöôøi aáy caûm thaáy caùi toaøn theå tính voâ
haïn cuûa söï vaät trong yù nghóa caên baûn nhaát cuûa noù, nghóa laø, noùi theo
taâm lyù hoïc, khi caùi baûn ngaõ höõu haïn ñaäp vôõ caùi voû cöùng cuûa noù, tìm
 74

ñeán vôùi caùi voâ haïn bao truøm taát caû nhöõng caùi höõu haïn do ñoù voâ thöôøng.
Chuùng ta coù theå xem kinh nghieäm naøy gioáng vôùi moät tröïc giaùc toaøn theå
veà moät caùi gì vöôït qua taát caû nhöõng kinh nghieäm ñaëc thuø rieâng leû cuûa
chuùng ta.
Baùt Nhaõ ba la maät laø loaïi trí tueä khieán chuùng sanh coù khaû naêng ñaùo
bæ ngaïn. Trí tueä giaûi thoaùt laø ba la maät cao nhaát trong luïc ba la maät, laø
phöông tieän chaùnh ñeå ñaït tôùi nieát baøn. Noù bao truøm söï thaáy bieát taát caû
nhöõng huyeãn hoaëc cuûa theá gian vaïn höõu, noù phaù tan boùng toái cuûa si
meâ, taø kieán vaø sai laïc. Trí hueä Ba la maät laø cöûa ngoõ ñi vaøo haøo quang
chö phaùp, vì nhôø ñoù maø chuùng ta ñoaïn tröø taän goác reã boùng toái cuûa si
meâ. Trong caùc phieàn naõo caên baûn thì si meâ laø thöù phieàn naõo coù goác reã
maïnh nhaát. Moät khi goác reã cuûa si meâ bò baät tung thì caùc loaïi phieàn naõo
khaùc nhö tham, saân, chaáp tröôùc, maïn, nghi, taø kieán, ñeàu deã bò baät goác.
Nhôø coù trí hueä Ba La Maät maø chuùng ta coù khaû naêng daïy doã vaø höôùng
daãn nhöõng chuùng sanh si meâ. Ñeå ñaït ñöôïc trí hueä Ba La Maät, haønh giaû
phaûi noã löïc quaùn chieáu veà caùc söï thöïc voâ thöôøng, voâ ngaõ, vaø nhaân
duyeân cuûa vaïn höõu. Moät phen ñaøo ñöôïc goác voâ minh, khoâng nhöõng
haønh giaû töï giaûi thoaùt töï thaân, maø coøn coù theå giaùo hoùa vaø höôùng daãn
cho nhöõng chuùng sanh si meâ khieán hoï thoaùt ra khoûi voøng keàm toûa cuûa
sanh töû.
Theo Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng daïy: “Naøy thieän tri
thöùc, “Ma Ha Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät” laø tieáng Phaïn, dòch laø ñaïi trí tueä
ñeán bôø kia, noù phaûi laø haønh nôi taâm, khoâng phaûi tuïng ôû mieäng. Mieäng
tuïng maø taâm chaúng haønh nhö huyeãn nhö hoùa, nhö söông, nhö ñieån.
Mieäng nieäm maø taâm haønh aét taâm vaø mieäng hôïp nhau, baûn taùnh laø Phaät,
lìa taùnh khoâng rieâng coù Phaät. Sao goïi laø Ma Ha? Ma Ha laø lôùn, taâm
löôïng roäng lôùn ví nhö hö khoâng, khoâng coù bôø meù, cuõng khoâng coù vuoâng
troøn, lôùn nhoû, cuõng khoâng phaûi xanh, vaøng, ñoû, traéng, cuõng khoâng coù
treân döôùi, daøi ngaén, cuõng khoâng saân, khoâng hyû, khoâng phaûi, khoâng
quaáy, khoâng thieän khoâng aùc, khoâng coù ñaàu, khoâng coù ñuoâi, coõi nöôùc
chö Phaät, troïn ñoàng vôùi hö khoâng, dieäu taùnh cuûa ngöôøi ñôøi voán khoâng,
khoâng coù moät phaùp coù theå ñöôïc, töï taùnh chôn khoâng cuõng laïi nhö theá.
Naøy thieän tri thöùc, chôù nghe toâi noùi “khoâng” lieàn chaáp khoâng, thöù nhaát
laø khoâng neân chaáp “khoâng,” neáu ñeå taâm “khoâng” maø ngoài tònh toïa, ñoù
töùc laø chaáp “voâ kyù khoâng.”
Naøy thieän tri thöùc, theá giôùi hö khoâng hay bao haøm vaïn vaät saéc
töôïng, maët trôøi, maët traêng, sao, nuùi, soâng, ñaát lieàn, khe suoái, coû caây,
 75

röøng raäm, ngöôøi laønh ngöôøi döõ, phaùp laønh phaùp döõ, thieân ñöôøng ñòa
nguïc, taát caû bieån lôùn, caùc nuùi Tu Di, thaûy ôû trong hö khoâng. Taùnh cuûa
ngöôøi ñôøi laïi cuõng nhö theá. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, töï taùnh hay bao haøm
muoân phaùp aáy laø ñaïi. Muoân phaùp ôû trong töï taùnh cuûa moïi ngöôøi, neáu
thaáy taát caû ngöôøi aùc cuøng vôùi laønh, troïn ñeàu khoâng coù chaáp, khoâng coù
boû, cuõng khoâng nhieãm tröôùc, taâm cuõng nhö hö khoâng, goïi ñoù laø ñaïi,
neân goïi laø Ma Ha. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, ngöôøi meâ mieäng noùi, ngöôøi trí
taâm haønh. Laïi coù ngöôøi meâ, ñeå taâm roãng khoâng, ngoài tònh toïa, traêm
vieäc khoâng cho nghó töï goïi laø ñaïi, boïn ngöôøi naày khoâng neân cuøng hoï
noùi chuyeän, vì hoï laø taø kieán. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, taâm löôïng roäng lôùn
khaép giaùp caû phaùp giôùi, duïng töùc roõ raøng phaân minh, öùng duïng lieàn bieát
taát caû, taát caû töùc moät, moät töùc taát caû, ñi laïi töï do, taâm theå khoâng bò ngaên
ngaïi töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, taát caû trí Baùt Nhaõ ñeàu töø töï
taùnh sanh, chaúng töø beân ngoaøi vaøo, chôù laàm duïng yù neân goïi laø chôn
chaùnh töï duïng. Moät chôn thì taát caû chôn, taâm löôïng roäng lôùn khoâng ñi
theo con ñöôøng nhoû, mieäng chôù troïn ngaøy noùi khoâng maø trong taâm
chaúng tu haïnh naày, gioáng nhö ngöôøi phaøm töï xöng laø quoác vöông troïn
khoâng theå ñöôïc, khoâng phaûi laø ñeä töû cuûa ta. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, sao goïi
laø Baùt Nhaõ? Baùt Nhaõ nghóa laø ‘trí tueä.’ Taát caû choã, taát caû thôøi, moãi
nieäm khoâng ngu, thöôøng haønh trí hueä töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ haïnh. Moät nieäm
ngu khôûi leân, töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ baët. Moät nieäm trí khôûi leân, töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ
sanh. Ngöôøi ñôøi ngu meâ khoâng thaáy Baùt Nhaõ, mieäng noùi Baùt Nhaõ maø
trong taâm thöôøng ngu, thöôøng töï noùi ta tu Baùt Nhaõ, nieäm nieäm noùi
khoâng nhöng khoâng bieát ñöôïc chôn khoâng. Baùt Nhaõ khoâng coù hình
töôùng, taâm trí tueä aáy vaäy. Neáu khôûi hieåu nhö theá töùc goïi laø Baùt Nhaõ trí.
Sao goïi laø Ba La Maät? Ñaây laø tieáng Phaïn, coù nghóa laø ‘ñeán bôø kia,’
giaûi nghóa laø ‘lìa sanh dieät.’ Chaáp caûnh thì sanh dieät khôûi nhö nöôùc coù
soùng moài, töùc laø bôø beân naày, lìa caûnh thì khoâng sanh dieät nhö nöôùc
thöôøng thoâng löu, aáy goïi laø bôø kia, neân goïi laø Ba La Maät. Naøy thieän tri
thöùc, ngöôøi meâ mieäng tuïng, chính khi ñang tuïng maø coù voïng, coù quaáy;
nieäm nieäm neáu haønh Baùt Nhaõ, aáy goïi laø chôn taùnh. Ngöôøi ngoä ñöôïc
phaùp naày, aáy laø phaùp Baùt Nhaõ, ngöôøi tu haïnh naày, aáy laø haïnh Baùt Nhaõ.
Khoâng tu töùc laø phaøm, moät nieäm tu haønh, töï thaân ñoàng vôùi Phaät. Naøy
thieän tri thöùc, phaøm phu töùc Phaät, phieàn naõo töùc Boà Ñeà. Nieäm tröôùc meâ
töùc phaøm phu, nieäm sau ngoä töùc Phaät; nieäm tröôùc chaáp caûnh töùc phieàn
naõo, nieäm sau lìa caûnh töùc Boà Ñeà. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, Ma Ha Baùt Nhaõ
Ba La Maät toái toân, toái thöôïng, toái ñeä nhaát, khoâng truï, khoâng qua cuõng
 76

khoâng laïi, chö Phaät ba ñôøi thaûy ñeàu töø trong ñoù maø ra. Phaûi duøng ñaïi trí
hueä naøy ñaäp phaù nguõ uaån, phieàn naõo, traàn lao, tu haønh nhö ñaây quyeát
ñònh thaønh Phaät ñaïo, bieán tam ñoäc thaønh giôùi ñònh hueä.
Naøy thieän tri thöùc, phaùp moân cuûa toâi ñaây töø moät Baùt Nhaõ phaùt sanh
ra taùm muoân boán ngaøn trí tueä. Vì côù sao? Vì ngöôøi ñôøi coù taùm muoân
boán ngaøn traàn lao, neáu khoâng coù traàn lao thì trí hueä thöôøng hieän, chaúng
lìa töï taùnh. Ngöôøi ngoä phaùp naày töùc laø voâ nieäm, voâ öùc, voâ tröôùc, chaúng
khôûi cuoáng voïng, duøng taùnh chôn nhö cuûa mình, laáy trí hueä quaùn chieáu,
ñoái vôùi taát caû phaùp khoâng thuû khoâng xaû, töùc laø thaáy taùnh thaønh Phaät
ñaïo. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, neáu muoán vaøo phaùp giôùi thaäm thaâm vaø Baùt
Nhaõ Tam Muoäi thì phaûi tu Baùt Nhaõ haïnh, phaûi trì tuïng Kinh Kim Cang
Baùt Nhaõ, töùc ñöôïc thaáy taùnh. Neân bieát kinh naày coâng ñöùc voâ löôïng voâ
bieân, trong kinh ñaõ khen ngôïi roõ raøng, khoâng theå noùi ñaày ñuû ñöôïc.
Phaùp moân naày laø toái thöôïng thöøa, vì nhöõng ngöôøi ñaïi trí maø noùi, vì
nhöõng ngöôøi thöôïng caên maø noùi. Nhöõng ngöôøi tieåu caên tieåu trí nghe
phaùp naày, taâm sanh ra khoâng tin. Vì côù sao? Ví nhö coù moät traän möa
lôùn, caû coõi nöôùc, thaønh aáp, chôï buùa ñeàu bò troâi giaït cuõng nhö troâi giaït
nhöõng laù taùo. Neáu traän möa lôùn ñoù möa nôi bieån caû thì khoâng taêng
khoâng giaûm. Nhö ngöôøi ñaïi thöøa, hoaëc ngöôøi toái thöôïng thöøa nghe Kinh
Kim Cang thì khai ngoä, theá neân bieát baûn taùnh hoï töï coù trí Baùt Nhaõ, töï
duøng trí hueä thöôøng quaùn chieáu, neân khoâng nhôø vaên töï, thí duï nhö nöôùc
möa khoâng phaûi töø trôøi maø coù, nguyeân laø töø roàng maø daáy leân, khieán
cho taát caû chuùng sanh, taát caû coû caây, höõu tình voâ tình thaûy ñeàu ñöôïc
ñöôïm nhuaàn. Traêm soâng caùc doøng ñeàu chaûy vaøo bieån caû, hôïp thaønh
moät theå, trí hueä Baùt Nhaõ nôi baûn taùnh chuùng sanh laïi cuõng nhö theá.
Naøy thieän tri thöùc, ngöôøi tieåu caên nghe phaùp moân ñoán giaùo naày ví nhö
laø coû caây, coäi goác cuûa noù voán nhoû, neáu bò möa to thì ñeàu ngaõ nghieâng
khoâng theå naøo taêng tröôûng ñöôïc, ngöôøi tieåu caên laïi cuõng nhö vaäy, voán
khoâng coù trí hueä Baùt Nhaõ cuøng vôùi ngöôøi ñaïi trí khoâng sai bieät, nhôn
sao nghe phaùp hoï khoâng theå khai ngoä? Vì do taø kieán chöôùng naëng, coäi
goác phieàn naõo saâu, ví nhö ñaùm maây lôùn che kín maët trôøi, neáu khoâng coù
gioù thoåi maïnh thì aùnh saùng maët trôøi khoâng hieän. Trí Baùt Nhaõ cuõng
khoâng coù lôùn nhoû, vì taát caû chuùng sanh töï taâm meâ ngoä khoâng ñoàng, taâm
theå beân ngoaøi thaáy coù tu haønh tìm Phaät, chöa ngoä ñöôïc töï taùnh töùc laø
tieåu caên. Neáu khai ngoä ñoán giaùo khoâng theå tu ôû beân ngoaøi, chæ nôi taâm
mình thöôøng khôûi chaùnh kieán, phieàn naõo traàn lao thöôøng khoâng bò
nhieãm töùc laø thaáy taùnh. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, trong ngoaøi khoâng truï, ñi laïi
 77

töï do, hay tröø taâm chaáp, thoâng ñaït khoâng ngaïi, hay tu haïnh naày cuøng
kinh Baùt Nhaõ voán khoâng sai bieät. Naày thieän tri thöùc, taát caû kinh ñieån vaø
caùc vaên töï, ñaïi thöøa, tieåu thöøa, 12 boä kinh ñeàu nhôn ngöôøi maø an trí,
nhôn taùnh trí tueä môùi hay döïng laäp. Neáu khoâng coù ngöôøi ñôøi thì taát caû
muoân phaùp voán töï chaúng coù, theá neân bieát muoân phaùp voán töï nhôn nôi
ngöôøi maø döïng laäp, taát caû kinh ñieån nhôn ngöôøi maø noùi coù, nhôn vì
trong ngöôøi kia coù ngu vaø coù trí, ngöôøi ngu laø tieåu nhôn, ngöôøi trí laø ñaïi
nhôn, ngöôøi ngu hoûi nôi ngöôøi trí, ngöôøi trí vì ngöôøi ngu maø noùi phaùp,
ngöôøi ngu boãng nhieân ngoä hieåu, taâm ñöôïc khai töùc cuøng vôùi ngöôøi trí
khoâng sai khaùc.”

Maha-Prajna-Paramita

The difference between Buddhi and Jnana is sometimes difficult to

point out definitively, for they both signify worldly relative knowledge
as well as transcendental knowledge. While Prajna is distinctly
pointing out the transcendental wisdom. Knowledge paramita or
knowledge of the true definition of all dharmas. The cultivation of the
Bodhisattva’s intellectual and spiritual journey comes with his ascent to
the Jnana Paramita, then immediately preceding his transformation into
a fully awakened Buddha. The most significant event in this level and
the paramount symbol of the Bodhisattva’s highest accomplishment, is
entrance into a meditative state of balanced concentration immersed in
non-dualistic knowledge of emptiness. This event is represented by his
initiation into the omniscience of a perfect Buddha, which is
quintessential perfection. Knowledge perfection or Prajna paramita has
an analysis quality which does not seem to figure as a specific
characteristic of non-dualistic knowledge developed by the Bodhisattva
at the stage of Jnana Paramita. So, whereas Jnana refers more to
intellectual knowledge, Prajna paramita has more to do with intuition.
The prajna-paramita or paramita wisdom means the right way of
seeing things and the power of discerning the true aspects of all things.
Wisdom is the ability both to discern the differences among all things
and to see the truth common to them. In short, wisdom is the ability to
realize that anybody can become a Buddha. The Buddha’s teachings
stress that we cannot discern all things in the world correctly until we
are completely endowed with the ability to know both distinction and
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equality. We cannot save others without having wisdom, because even

though we want to do good to others but we don’t have adequate
knowledge on what should be done and what should not be done, we
may end up doing some harm to others. There is no corresponding
English word for prajna, in fact, no European word, for it, for European
people have no experience specifically equivalent to prajna. Prajna is
the experience a man has when he feels in its most fundamental sense
the infinite totality of things, that is, psychologically speaking, when
the finite ego, breaking its hard crust, refers itself to the infinite which
envelops everything that is finite and limited and therefore transitory.
We may take this experience as being somewhat akin to a totalistic
intuition of something that transcends all our particularized, specified
experiences.
The prajna-paramita is the wisdom which enables one to reach the
other shore, i.e. wisdom for salvation; the highest of the six paramitas,
the virtue of wisdom as the principal means of attaining nirvana. It
connotes a knowledge of the illusory character of everything earthly,
and destroys error, ignorance, prejudice, and heresy. The prajna-
paramita is a gate of Dharma-illumination; for with it, we eradicate the
darkness of ignorance. Among the basic desires and passions,
ignorance has the deepest roots. When these roots are loosened, all
other desires and passions , greed, anger, attachment, arrogance, doubt,
and wrong views are also uprooted. In order to obtain wisdom-
paramita, practitioner must make a great effort to meditate on the
truths of impermanence, no-self, and the dependent origination of all
things. Once the roots of ignorance are severed, we can not only
liberate ourselves, but also teach and guide fooloish beings to break
through the imprisonment of birth and death.
According to the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma
Treasure, the Sixth Patriarch, Hui-Neng, taught: “Good Knowing
Advisors, Maha Prajna Paramita is a Sanskrit word which means ‘great
wisdom which has arrived at the other shore.’ It must be practiced in
the mind, and not just recited in words. When the mouth recites and the
mind does not practice, it is like an illusion, a transformation, dew
drops, or lightning. However, when the mouth recites and the mind
practices, then mind and mouth are in mutual accord. One’s own
original nature is Buddha; apart from the nature there is no other
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Buddha. What is meant by Maha? Maha means ‘great.’ The capacity of

the mind is vast and great like empty space, and has no boundaries. It is
not square or round, great or small. Neither is it blue, yellow, red,
white. It is not above or below, or long or short. It is without anger,
without joy, without right, without wrong, without good, without evil,
and it has no head or tail. All Buddha-lands are ultimately the same as
empty space. The wonderful nature of worldly people is originally
empty, and there is not a single dharma which can be obtained. The
true emptiness of the self-nature is also like this. Good Knowing
Advisors, do not listen to my explanation of emptiness and then
become attached to emptiness. The most important thing is to avoid
becoming attached to emptiness. If you sit still with an empty mind you
will become attached to undifferentiated emptiness.
Good Knowing Advisors, The emptiness of the universe is able to
contain the forms and shapes of the ten thousand things: the sun, moon,
and stars; the mountains, rivers, and the great earth; the fountains,
springs, streams, torrents, grasses, trees, thickets, and forests; good and
bad people, good and bad dharmas, the heavens and the hells, all the
great seas, Sumeru and all moutains; all are contained within
emptiness. The emptiness of the nature of worldly men is also like this.
Good Knowing Advisors, the ability of one’s own nature to contain the
ten thousand dharmas is what is meant by ‘great.’ The myriad dharmas
are within the nature of all people. If you regard all people, the bad as
well as the good, without grasping or rejecting, without producing a
defiling attachment, your mind will be like empty space. Therefore, it
is said to be ‘great,’ or ‘Maha.’ Good Knowing Advisors, the mouth of
the confused person speaks, but the mind of the wise person practices.
There are deluded men who sit still with empty minds, vainly thinking
of nothing and declaring that to be something great. One should not
speak with these people because of their deviant views. Good Knowing
Advisors, the capacity of the mind is vast and great, encompassing the
Dharma realm. Its function is to understand clearly and distinctly. Its
correct function is to know all. All is one; one is all. Coming and going
freely, the mind’s substance is unobstructed. That is Prajna. Good
Knowing Advisors, all Prajna wisdom is produced from one’s own
nature; it does not enter from outside. Using the intellect correctly is
called the natural function of one’s true nature. One truth is all truth.
 80

The mind has the capacity for great things, and is not meant for
practicing petty ways. Do not talk about emptiness with your mouth all
day and in your mind fail to cultivate the conduct that you talk of. That
would be like a common person calling himself the king of a country,
which cannot be. People like that are not my disciples. Good Knowing
Advisors, what is meant by ‘Prajna?’ Prajna in our language means
wisdom. Everywhere and at all times, in thought after thought, remain
undeluded and practice wisdom constantly; that is Prajna conduct.
Prajna is cut off by a single deluded thought. By one wise thought,
Prajna is produced. Worldly men, deluded and confused, do not see
Prajna. They speak of it with their mouths, but their minds are always
deluded. They constantly say of themselves, ‘I cultivate Prajna!’ And
though they continually speak of emptiness, they are unaware of true
emptiness. Prajna, without form or mark, is just the wisdom of the
mind. If thus explained, this is Prajna wisdom. What is meant by
Paramita? It is a Sanskrit word which in our language means ‘arrived at
the other shore,’ and is explained as ‘apart from production and
extinction.’ When one is attached to states of being, production and
extinction arise like waves. States of being, with no production or
extinction, is like free flowing water. That is what is meant by ‘the
other shore.’ Therefore, it is called ‘Paramita.’ Good Knowing
Advisors, deluded people recite with their mouths, but while they recite
they live in falsehood and in error. When there is practice in every
thought, that is the true nature. You should understand this dharma,
which is the Prajna dharma; and cultivate this conduct, which is the
Prajna conduct. Not to cultivate is to be a common person, but in a
single thought of cultivation, you are equal to the Buddhas. Good
Knowing Advisors, common people are Buddhas and affliction is
Bodhi. The deluded thoughts of the past are thoughts of a common
person. Enlightened future thoughts are the thoughts of a Buddha. Past
thoughts attached to states of being are afflictions. And, future thoughts
separate from states of being are Bodhi. Good Knowing Advisors,
Maha Prajna Paramita is the most honored, the most supreme, the
foremost. It does not stay; it does not come or go. All Buddhas of the
three periods of time emerge from it. You should use great wisdom to
destroy affliction, defilement and the five skandhic heaps. With such
cultivation as that, you will certainly realize the Buddha Way,
 81

transforming the three poisons into morality, concentration, and

wisdom.
Good Knowing Advisors, my Dharma-door produces 84,000
wisdom from the one Prajna. Why? Because worldly people have
84,000 kinds of defilement. In the absence of defilement, wisdom is
always present since it is not separate from the self-nature. Understand
this dharma is simply no-thought, no-remembrance, non-attachment
and the non-production of falsehood and error. Use your own true-
suchness nature and, by means of wisdom, contemplate and illuminate
all dharmas without grasping or rejecting them. That is to see one’s
own nature and realize the Buddha Way. Good Knowing Advisors, if
you wish to enter the extremely deep Dharma realm and the Prajna
samadhi, you must cultivate the practice of Prajna. Hold and recite the
‘Diamond Prajna Paramita Sutra’ and that way you will see your own
nature. You should know that the merit and virtue of this sutra is
immeasurable, unbounded, and indescribable, as the Sutra text itself
clearly states. This Dharma-door is the Superior Vehicle, that is taught
to the people of great wisdom and superior faculties. When people of
limited faculties and wisdom hear it, their minds give rise to doubt.
Why is that? Take this example, the rains which the heavenly dragons
shower on Jambudvipa. Cities and villages drift about in the flood like
thorns and leaves. But if the rain falls on the great sea, its water neither
increases nor decreases. If people of the Great Vehicle, the Most
Superior Vehicle, hear the Diamond Sutra, their minds open up,
awaken and understand. Then they know that their original nature itself
possesses the wisdom of Prajna. Because they themselves use this
wisdom constantly to contemplate and illuminate. And they do not rely
on written words. Take for example, the rain does not come from the
sky. The truth is that the dragons cause it to fall in order that all living
beings, all plants and trees, all those with feeling and those without
feeling may receive its moisture. In a hundred streams, it flows into the
great sea and there unites in one substance. The wisdom of the Prajna
of the original nature of living beings acts the same way. Good
Knowing Advisors, when people of limited faculties hear this Sudden
Teaching, they are like the plants and trees with shallow roots which,
washed away by the great rain, are unable to grow. But at the same
time, the Prajna wisdom which people of limited faculties possess is
 82

fundamentally no different from the Prajna that men of great wisdom

possess. Hearing this Dharma, why do they not become enlightened? It
is because the obstacle of their deviant views is a formidable one and
the root of their afflictions is deep. It is like when thick clouds cover
the sun. If the wind does not blow, the sunlight will not be visible.
‘Prajna’ wisdom is itself neither great nor small. Living beings differ
because their own minds are either confused or enlightened. Those of
confused minds look outwardly to cultivate in search of the Buddha.
Not having awakened to their self-nature yet, they have small roots.
When you become enlightened to the Sudden Teaching, you do not
grasp onto the cultivation of external things. When your own mind
constantly gives rise to right views, afflictions and defilement can
never stain you. That is what is meant by seeing your own nature.
Good Knowing Advisors, the ability to cultivate the conduct of not
dwelling inwardly or outwardly, of coming and going freely, of casting
away the grasping mind, and of unobstructed penetration, is basically
no different from the Prajna Sutra. Good Knowing Advisors, all sutras
and writings of the Great and Small Vehicles, the twelve divisions of
sutras, have been devised for people and established based on the
nature of wisdom. If there were no people, the ten thousand dharmas
would not exist. Therefore you should know that all dharmas are
originally postulated for people and all sutras are spoken for their
sake. Some people are deluded and some are wise; the deluded are
small people and the wise are great people. The deluded people
question the wise and the wise people teach Dharma to the deluded
people. When the deluded people suddenly awaken and understand,
their minds open to enlightenment and, therefore they are no longer
different from the wise.
 83

Chöông Chín
Chapter Nine

Baùt Nhaõ Vaø Caùi Duïng Cuûa

Thöùc Cuõng Nhö Voâ Thöùc

“Prajna” thöôøng ñöôïc dòch laø “tri thöùc” trong Anh ngöõ, nhöng chính
xaùc hôn phaûi dòch laø “tröïc giaùc.” Ñoâi khi töø naøy cuõng ñöôïc dòch laø “trí
tueä sieâu vieät.” Söï thöïc thì ngay caû khi chuùng ta coù moät tröïc giaùc, ñoái
töôïng vaãn cöù ôû tröôùc maët chuùng ta vaø chuùng ta caûm nhaän noù, hay thaáy
noù. ÔÛ ñaây coù söï löôõng phaân chuû theå vaø ñoái töôïng. Trong “Baùt Nhaõ” söï
löôõng phaân naøy khoâng coøn hieän höõu. Baùt Nhaõ khoâng quan taâm ñeán caùc
ñoái töôïng höõu haïn nhö theá; chính laø toaøn theå tính cuûa nhöõng söï vaät töï yù
thöùc ñöôïc nhö theá, vaø caùi toaøn theå tính naøy khoâng heà bò giôùi haïn. Moät
toaøn theå tính voâ haïn vöôït qua taàm hieåu bieát cuûa phaøm phu chuùng ta.
Nhöng tröïc giaùc Baùt Nhaõ laø thöù tröïc giaùc toång theå “khoâng theå hieåu bieát
ñöôïc baèng trí cuûa phaøm phu” veà caùi voâ haïn naøy, laø moät caùi gì khoâng
bao giôø coù theå xaûy ra trong kinh nghieäm haèng ngaøy cuûa chuùng ta trong
nhöõng ñoái töôïng hay bieán coá höõu haïn. Do ñoù, noùi caùch khaùc, Baùt Nhaõ
chæ coù theå xaûy ra khi caùc ñoái töôïng höõu haïn cuûa caûm quan vaø trí naêng
ñoàng nhaát vôùi chính caùi voâ haïn. Thay vì noùi raèng voâ haïn töï thaáy mình
trong chính mình, noùi raèng moät ñoái töôïng coøn bò coi laø höõu haïn, thuoäc
veà theá giôùi löôõng phaân cuûa chuû theå vaø ñoái töôïng, ñöôïc tri giaùc bôûi Baùt
Nhaõ töø quan ñieåm voâ haïn, nhö theá gaàn guõi vôùi kinh nghieäm con ngöôøi
cuûa chuùng ta hôn nhieàu. Noùi moät caùch töôïng tröng, höõu haïn luùc aáy töï
thaáy mình phaûn chieáu trong chieác göông cuûa voâ haïn. Trí naêng cho
chuùng ta bieát raèng ñoái töôïng höõu haïn, nhöng Baùt Nhaõ choáng laïi, tuyeân
boá noù laø caùi voâ haïn, vöôït qua phaïm vi cuûa töông ñoái. Noùi theo baûn theå
luaän, ñieàu naøy coù nghóa laø taát caû nhöõng ñoái töôïng hay höõu theå höõu haïn
coù ñöôïc laø bôûi caùi voâ haïn laøm neàn taûng cho chuùng, hay nhöõng ñoái
töôïng töông ñoái giôùi haïn trong phaïm vi cuûa voâ haïn maø khoâng coù noù
chuùng chaúng coù daây neo gì caû.
Baùt Nhaõ, söï phaùt khôûi cuûa yù thöùc trong Voâ Thöùc, vaän haønh trong
moät chieàu höôùng nhò boäi. Moät tieán ñeán voâ thöùc vaø moät höôùng ñeán yù
thöùc. Baùt Nhaõ höôùng veà voâ thöùc laø Baùt Nhaõ noùi moät caùch rieâng bieät,
trong khi aáy Baùt Nhaõ cuûa yù thöùc baây giôø ñöôïc goïi laø taâm, vôùi caùch vieát
 84

thöôøng. Töø caùi taâm naøy theá giôùi nhò nguyeân phaùt khôûi: chuû theå vaø
khaùch theå, ngaõ beân trong vaø theá giôùi beân ngoaøi, vaân vaân. Ño ñoù ngöôøi
ta cuõng coù theå phaân bieät hai hình thaùi trong taâm: taâm Baùt Nhaõ voâ phaân
bieät vaø taâm ñoái ñaõi. Taâm cuûa hình thaùi thöù nhaát thuoäc veà theá giôùi naøy,
nhöng chöøng naøo noù coøn lieân heä vôùi Baùt Nhaõ, noù coøn giao thieäp tröïc
tieáp vôùi Voâ Thöùc, thì noù laø Taâm, trong khi aáy taâm cuûa hình thaùi thöù nhì
hoaøn toaøn laø cuûa theá giôùi naøy, neáu muoán, noù hoøa laãn vôùi caùc yeáu toá taïp
ña. Caùi taâm thöù hai, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng goïi laø “Nieäm.” ÔÛ ñaây taâm laø
nieäm vaø nieäm laø taâm. Theo quan ñieåm töông ñoái, taâm cuûa hình thaùi thöù
nhaát coù theå goïi laø “voâ taâm” ñoái laïi vôùi “höõu taâm” cuûa hình thaùi thöù nhì.
Trong khi caùi sau thuoäc veà phía beân naøy cuûa kinh nghieäm thöôø ng nhaät
cuûa chuùng ta, caùi tröôùc thì sieâu vieät; theo thuaät ngöõ cuûa trieát hoïc Thieàn,
noù laø caùi “khoâng phaûi taâm,” hay “voâ taâm” hay “voâ nieäm.”

Prajna and Conscious and

Unconscious Functions

Prajna is ordinarily translated as “knowledge” in English, but to be

exact “intuition” may be better. It is sometimes translated as
“transcendental wisdom.” The fact is even when we have an intuition,
the object is still in front of us and we sense it, or perceive it, or see it.
Here is a dichotomy of subject and object. In prajna this dichotomy no
longer exists. Prajna is not concerned with finite objects as such; it is
the totality of things becoming conscious of itself as such. And this
totality is not at all limited. An infinite totality is beyond our ordinary
human comprehension. But the prajna-intuition is this
“incomprehensible” totalistic untuition of the infinite, which is
something that can never take place in our daily experience limited to
finite objects or events. The prajna, therefore, can take place, in other
words, only when finite objects of sense and intellect are identified
with the infinite itself. Instead of saying that the infinite sees itself, it is
much closer to our human experience to say that an object regarded as
finite, as belonging in the dichotomous world of subject and object, is
perceived by prajna from the point of view of infinity. Symbolically,
the finite then sees itself reflected in the mirror of infinity. The
intellect informs us that the object is finite, but prajna contradicts,
declaring it to be the infinite beyond the realm of relativity.
 85

Ontologically, this means that all finite objects or beings are possible
because of the infinite underlying them, or that the objects are
relatively and therefore limitedly laid out in the field of infinity without
which they have no moorings.
Prajna, which is the awakening of consciousness in the
Unconscious, functions in a twofold direction. The one is towards the
Unconscious and the other towards the conscious. The Prajna which is
orientated to the Unconscious is Prajna properly so called, while the
Prajna of consciousness is now called mind with the small initial letter.
From this mind a dualistic world takes its rise: subject and object, the
inner self and the external world, and so on. In the Mind, therefore, two
aspects are also distinguishable: Prajna-mind of non-discrimination and
dualistic mind. The mind of the first aspect belongs to this world, but so
long as it linked with Prajna it is in direct communication with the
Unconscious, it is the Mind; whereas the mind of the second aspect is
wholly of this world, and delighted with it, and mixes itself with all its
multiplicities. The mind of the second aspect, Hui-Neng called
“thought.” Here, mind is thought, and thought is mind. From the
relative point of view, the mind of the first aspect may be designated
“no-mind” in contradistinction to the mind of the second aspect. As the
latter belongs to this side of our ordinary experience, so called, the
former is a transcendental on in terms of Zen philosophy is “that which
is not the mind,” or “no-mind” or “no-thought.”
86
 87

Chöông Möôøi
Chapter Ten

Giaûi Thoaùt Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät

Ba La Maät coù nghóa laø ñaùo bæ ngaïn hay vöôït qua bôø sinh töû beân
naày ñeå ñeán bôø beân kia, Nieát Baøn. Trong Kinh Laêng Giaø, Ñöùc Phaät ñöa
ra ba loaïi Ba La Maät. Tieáng Phaïn “Paramita” ñöôïc chuyeån dòch sang
Haùn ngöõ laø Ba-la-maät. “Ba la” coù nghóa traùi thôm, coøn “maät” coù nghóa
laø ngoït. Trong Phaät giaùo, tieáng Phaïn “Paramita” (dòch cuõ laø Ñoä Voâ
Cöïc, dòch môùi laø Ñaùo Bæ Ngaïn) nghóa laø ñeán bôø beân kia, ñöa qua bôø
beân kia, hay cöùu ñoä khoâng coù giôùi haïn. Ñaùo bæ ngaïn (ñaït tôùi beân kia
bôø. ÔÛ beân kia beán bôø cuûa theá giôùi nhò nguyeân hay theá giôùi cuûa söï phaân
bieät vaø chaáp tröôùc) cuõng coù nghóa laø söï toaøn haûo hay hoaøn thaønh nhöõng
thöù caàn hoaøn thaønh. Ba La Maät cuõng coù nghóa laø thaønh töïu, hoaøn taát,
hay laøm xong moät caùch hoaøn toaøn caùi maø chuùng ta caàn laøm. Thí duï nhö
neáu chuùng ta quyeát chí tu haønh ñeå laøm Phaät thì vieäc ñaït ñöôïc Phaät quaû
chính laø “Ñaùo ñöôïc bæ ngaïn.” Ñaây cuõng laø nhöõng (saùu hay möôøi) ñöùc
tính ñöôïc Boà Taùt thöïc hieän trong ñôøi tu haønh cuûa mình. Ñöùc Phaät ñaõ
giaûng giaûi veà Giaûi Thoaùt Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät trong Kinh Hoa Nghieâm.
Thieän Taøi Ñoàng Töû hoûi Dieäu Nguyeät Tröôûng Giaû: “Laøm sao ñeå hieän
tieàn chöùng ñaéc moân giaûi thoaùt Ba La Maät?” Tröôûng Giaû Dieäu Nguyeät
ñaùp: “Moät ngöôøi hieän tieàn thaân chöùng moân giaûi thoaùt naày khi naøo
ngöôøi aáy phaùt khôûi taâm Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät vaø cöïc kyø töông thuaän; roài
thì ngöôøi aáy chöùng nhaäp trong taát caû nhöõng gì maø mình thaáy vaø hieåu.”
Thieän Taøi Ñoàng Töû laïi thöa: “Coù phaûi do nghe nhöõng ngoân thuyeát vaø
chöông cuù veà Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät maø ñöôïc hieän chöùng hay khoâng?”
Dieäu Nguyeät ñaùp: “Khoâng phaûi. Bôûi vì Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät thaáy suoát
theå taùnh chaân thaät cuûa caùc phaùp maø hieän chöùng vaäy.” Thieän Taøi laïi
thöa: “Haù khoâng phaûi do nghe maø coù tö duy vaø do tö duy vaø bieän luaän
maø ñöôïc thaáy Chaân Nhö laø gì? Vaø haù ñaây khoâng phaûi laø töï chöùng ngoä
hay sao?” Dieäu Nguyeät ñaùp: “Khoâng phaûi vaäy. Khoâng heà do nghe vaø tö
duy maø ñöôïc töï chöùng ngoä. Naày thieän nam töû, ñoái vôùi nghóa naày ta
phaûi laáy moât thí duï, ngöôi haõy laéng nghe! Thí duï nhö trong moät sa maïc
meânh moâng khoâng coù suoái vaø gieáng, vaøo muøa xuaân hay muøa haï khi
trôøi noùng, coù moät ngöôøi khaùch töø taây höôùng veà ñoâng maø ñi, gaëp moät
ngöôøi ñaøn oâng töø phöông ñoâng ñeán, lieàn hoûi gaõ raèng ‘toâi nay noùng vaø
 88

khaùt gheâ gôùm laém; xin chæ cho toâi nôi naøo coù suoái trong vaø boùng caây
maùt meû ñeå toâi coù theå uoáng nöôùc, taém maùt, nghæ ngôi vaø töôi tænh laïi?’
Ngöôøi ñaøn oâng beøn chæ daãn caën keõ raúng ‘cöù tieáp tuïc ñi veà höôùng ñoâng,
roài seõ coù con ñöôøng chia laøm hai neûo, neûo phaûi vaø neûo traùi. Baïn neân
haõy theo neûo beân phaûi vaø gaéng söùc maø ñi tôùi chaéc chaén baïn seõ ñeán moät
nôi coù suoái trong vaø boùng maùt.’ Naøy thieän nam töû, baây giôø ngöôi coù
nghó raèng ngöôøi khaùch bò noùng vaø khaùt töø höôùng taây ñeán kia, khi nghe
noùi ñeán suoái maùt vaø nhöõng boùng caây, lieàn tö duy veà vieäc ñi tôùi ñoù caøng
nhanh caøng toát, ngöôøi aáy coù theå tröø ñöôïc côn khaùt vaø ñöôïc maùt meû
chaêng?” Thieän Taøi ñaùp: “Daï khoâng; ngöôøi aáy khoâng theå laøm theá ñöôïc;
bôûi vì ngöôøi aáy chæ tröø ñöôïc côn noùng khaùt vaø ñöôïc maùt meû khi naøo
theo lôøi chæ daãn cuûa keû kia maø ñi ngay ñeán doøng suoái roài uoáng nöôùc vaø
taém ôû ñoù.” Dieäu Nguyeät noùi theâm: “Naøy thieän nam töû, ñoái vôùi Boà Taùt
cuõng vaäy, khoâng phaûi chæ do nghe, tö duy vaø hueä giaûi maø coù theå chöùng
nhaäp heát thaûy phaùp moân. Naøy thieän nam töû, sa maïc laø chæ cho sanh töû;
ngöôøi khaùch ñi töø taây sang ñoâng laø chæ cho caùc loaøi höõu tình; noùng böùc
laø taát caû nhöõng söï töôùng meâ hoaëc; khaùt töùc laø tham vaø aùi ngaõ; ngöôøi
ñaøn oâng töø höôùng ñoâng ñeán vaø bieát roõ ñöôøng loái laø Phaät hay Boà Taùt,
an truï trong Nhaát Thieát Trí, caùc ngaøi ñaõ thaâm nhaäp chaân taùnh cuûa caùc
phaùp vaø thaät nghóa bình ñaúng; giaûi tröø khaùt chaùy vaø thoaùt khoûi noùng
böùc nhôø uoáng doøng suoái maùt laø chæ cho söï chöùng ngoä chaân lyù bôûi chính
mình.” Dieäu Nguyeät tieáp: “Naøy thieän nam töû, caûnh giôùi töï chöùng cuûa
caùc Thaùnh giaû aáy khoâng coù saéc töôùng, khoâng coù caáu tònh, khoâng coù thuû
xaû, khoâng coù tröôïc loaïn; thanh tònh toái thaéng; taùnh thöôøng baát hoaïi; duø
chö Phaät xuaát theá hay khoâng xuaát theá, ôû nôi phaùp giôùi taùnh, theå thöôøng
nhaát. Naøy thieän nam töû, Boà Taùt vì phaùp naày maø haønh voâ soá caùi khoù
haønh vaø khi chöùng ñöôïc phaùp theå naày thì coù theå laøm lôïi ích cho heát
thaûy chuùng sanh, khieán cho caùc loaøi chuùng sanh roát raùo an truï trong
phaùp naày. Naøy thieän nam töû, ñoù laø phaùp chaân thaät, khoâng coù töôùng dò
bieät, thöïc teá, theå cuûa Nhaát thieát trí, caûnh giôùi baát tö nghì, phaùp giôùi baát
nhò ñoù laø moân giaûi thoaùt vieân maõn.” Nhö vaäy moân giaûi thoaùt Ba La Maät
phaûi ñöôïc chöùng ngoä baèng kinh nghieäm caù bieät cuûa mình; coøn nhö chæ
nghe vaø hoïc hoûi thoâi thì chuùng ta khoâng caùch gì thaâm nhaäp vaøo giöõa
loøng chaân taùnh cuûa thöïc taïi ñöôïc.
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Prajna-Paramita Emancipation

Paramita means to cross over from this shore of births and deaths to
the other shore, or nirvana. In The Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha gave
three kinds of Paramitas. The Sanskrit term “Paramita” is transliterated
into Chinese as “Po-luo-mi.” “Po-luo” is Chinese for “pineapple”, and
“mi” means “honey.” In Buddhism, “Paramita” means to arrive at the
other shore, to ferry across, or save, without limit. Paramita also means
perfection, or crossed over, or gone to the opposite shore (reaching the
other shore). Crossing from Samsara to Nirvana or crossing over from
this shore of births and deaths to the other shore. Practice which leads
to Nirvana. Paramita also means to achieve, finish, or accomplish
completely whatever we do. For instance, if we decide to cultivate to
become a Buddha, then the realization of Buddhahood is “Paramita.”
The (six) practices of the Bodhisattva who has attained the enlightened
mind. The term “Paramita” is popular for both Mahayana and
Theravada Buddhism. The Buddha expounded the Prajna-paramita
emancipation in the Avatamsaka Sutra. Sudhana asked Sucandra:
“How does one come to the Prajna-paramita emancipation face to
face? How does one get this realization?” Sucandra answered: “A man
comes to this emancipation face to face when his mind is awakened to
Prajnaparamita and stands in a most intimate relationship to it; for then
he attains self-realization in all that he perceives and understands.”
Sudhana asked: “Does one attain self-realization by listening to the
talks and discourses on Prajnaparamita?” Sucandra replied: “That is not
so. Because Prajnaparamita sees intimately into the truth and reality of
all things.” Sudhana asked: Is it not that thinking comes from hearing
and that by thinking and reasoning one comes to perceive what
Suchness is? And is this not self-realization?” Sucandra said: “That is
not so. Self-realization never comes from mere listening and thinking.
O son of a good family, I will illustrate the matter by analogy. Listen!
In a great desert there are no springs or wells; in the spring time or
summer time when it is warm, a traveller comes from the west going
eastward; he meets a man coming from the east and asks him: '‘I am
terribly thirsty, please tell mewhere I can find a spring and a cool
refreshing shade where I may drink, bathe, rest, and get revived.’ The
man from the east gives the traveller, as desired, all the information in
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detail, saying: ‘When you go further east the road divides itself into
two, right and left. You take the right one, and going steadily further on
you will surely come to a fine spring and a refreshing shade. Now, son
of a good family, do you think that the thirsty traveller from the west,
listening to the talk about the spring and the shady trees, and thinking
of going to that place as quickly as possible, can be relieved of thirst
and heat and get refreshed? Sudhana replied: “No, he cannot; because
he is relieved of thirst and heat and gets refreshed only when, as
directed by the other, he actually reaches the fountain and drinks of it
and bathes in it." Sucandra added: “Son of a good family, even so with
the Bodhisattva. By merely listening to it, thinking of it, and
intellectually understanding it, you will never come to the realization
of any truth. Son of a good family, the desert means birth and death;
the man from the west means all sentient beings; the heat means all
forms of confusion; thirst is greed and lust; the man from the east who
knows the way is the Buddha or the Bodhisattva who, abiding in all-
knowledge has penetrated into the true nature of al things and the
reality of sameness; to quench the thirst and to be relieved of the heat
by drinking of the refreshing fountain means the realization of the truth
by oneself. Sucandra added: “O son of a good family, the realm of self-
realization where all the wise ones are living is free from materiality,
fre from purities as well as from defilements, free from grasped and
grasping, free from murky confusion; it is most excellently pure and in
its nature indestructible; whether the Buddha appears on earth or not, it
retains its eternal oneness in the Dharmadhatu. O son of a good family,
the Bodhisattva because of this truth has disciplined himself in
innumerable forms od austerities, and realizing this Reality within
himself has been able to benefit all beings so that they find herein the
ultimate abode of safety. O son of a good family, truth of self-
realization is validity itself, something unique, reality-limit, the
substance of all-knowledge, the inconceivable, non-dualistic
Dharmadhatu, and the perfection of emancipation.” Thus, to
Prajnaparamita emancipation must be personally experienced by us,
and that mere hearing about it, mere learning of it, does not help us to
penetrate into the inner nature of Reality itself.
 91

ChöôngMöôøi Moät
Chapter Eleven

Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh

Thôøi kyø Baùt Nhaõ hay Lieân Hoa laø moät trong naêm thôøi giaùo thuyeát
cuûa Ñöùc Phaät. Thôøi Baùt Nhaõ chuû yeáu giaûng Vieân giaùo nhöng coøn lieân
heä Thoâng giaùo vaø Bieät giaùo. Do ñoù noù chöa hoaøn toaøn vieân maõn. Trong
22 naêm cuûa thôøi kyø naày, Ñöùc Phaät thuyeát giaûng giaùo phaùp Ñaïi Thöøa ôû
caáp cao hôn vaø baùc boû söï luyeán chaáp Tieåu Ñaïi cuûa caùc haøng ñeä töû.
Ñöùc Phaät ñaõ giaûng veà tính hö khoâng trong Kinh Baùt Nhaõ. Nhö ñaõ ñeà
caäp trong nhöõng chöông tröôùc, Baùt Nhaõ laø aâm cuûa thuaät ngöõ Prajna töø
Phaïn ngöõ coù nghóa laø trí tueä (yù thöùc hay trí naêng). Coù ba loaïi baùt nhaõ:
thaät töôùng, quaùn chieáu vaø vaên töï. Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù nghóa laø thöïc löïc
nhaän thöùc roõ raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng nguyeân taéc caên baûn cuûa chuùng cuõng
nhö xaùc quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ coù nghóa laø caùi bieát sieâu
vieät. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä nhaát trí tueä
trong heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh baèng (voâ
thöôïng, voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Coù ba loaïi Baùt Nhaõ: Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ,
Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ, vaø Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ. Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ laø trí
hueä ñaït ñöôïc khi ñaõ ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ laø phaàn hai cuûa
trí hueä Baùt Nhaõ. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát khi thaät söï ñaùo bæ ngaïn.
Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ hay vaên töï Baùt nhaõ. Ñaây laø loaïi trí hueä hieå u bieát
chö phaùp giaû taïm vaø luoân thay ñoåi. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát ñöa ñeán yù
höôùng “Ñaùo Bæ Ngaïn”. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät coù nghóa laø quaùn saùt taát caû
chö phaùp nhö thaät. Trí tueä khieán chuùng sanh coù khaû naêng ñaùo bæ ngaïn.
Trí tueä giaûi thoaùt laø ba la maät cao nhaát trong luïc ba la maät, laø phöông
tieän chaùnh ñeå ñaït tôùi nieát baøn. Noù bao truøm söï thaáy bieát taát caû nhöõng
huyeãn hoaëc cuûa theá gian vaïn höõu, noù phaù tan boùng toái cuûa si meâ, taø
kieán vaø sai laïc. Baùt Nhaõ Ba la maät hay trí tueä Ba La Maät laø cöûa ngoõ ñi
vaøo haøo quang chö phaùp, vì nhôø ñoù maø chuùng ta ñoaïn tröø taän goác reã
boùng toái cuûa si meâ. Trong caùc phieàn naõo caên baûn thì si meâ laø thöù phieân
naõo coù goác reã maïnh nhaát. Moät khi goác reã cuûa si meâ bò baät tung thì caùc
loaïi phieàn naõo khaùc nhö tham, saân, chaáp tröôùc, maïn, nghi, taø kieán, ñeàu
deã bò baät goác. Nhôø coù trí hueä Ba La Maät maø chuùng ta coù khaû naêng daïy
doã vaø höôùng daãn nhöõng chuùng sanh si meâ.
 92

Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña Taâm Kinh laø moät trong nhöõng boä kinh ngaén
nhaát trong kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña. Teân ñaày ñuû laø Baùt Nhaõ Ba La
Maät Ña Taâm Kinh. Coù leõ laø boä kinh phoå thoâng nhaát treân theá giôùi ngaøy
nay. Taâm Kinh giaûng giaûi nghóa lyù cuûa Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña, Ba La
Maät veà Trí Tueä laøm cho ngöôøi ta nhaän bieát roõ raøng veà taùnh khoâng cuûa
baûn ngaõ vaø vaïn höõu. Taâm kinh laø taâm cuûa Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät; noù laø
taâm cuûa gia ñình boä kinh “Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña Taâm Kinh.” Theo
Thieàn Sö Linh Moäc Ñaïi Chuyeát Trinh Thaùi Lang trong boä Thieàn Luaän,
Taäp III, moät caùch phieán dieän, caùi laøm cho chuùng ta ngaïc nhieân nhaát khi
theo ñuoåi yù töôûng trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh laø haàu nhö chaúng tìm thaáy
gì trong ñoù, ngoaøi moät chuoãi nhöõng phuû ñònh, vaø caùi ñöôïc hieåu nhö laø
Taùnh Khoâng chæ laø thuyeát ñoaïn dieät thuaàn tuùy chæ nhaèm laøm giaûm moïi
thöù xuoáng vaøo caùi khoâng. Keát luaän seõ laø Baùt Nhaõ hay tu taäp theo kinh
Baùt Nhaõ chæ nhaèm phuû nhaän vaïn höõu... Vaø cuoái cuøng thì taát caû nhöõng
phuû nhaän naøy chaúng ñöa ñeán tri thöùc maø cuõng khoâng ñaït ñöôïc baát cöù
thöù gì caû. Ñaït ñöôïc caùi gì coù nghóa laø yù thöùc vaø chaáp tröôùc ñoái vôùi moät
söï hieåu bieát coù ñöôïc töø keát quaû cuûa lyù luaän töông ñaõi. Do khoâng coù sôû
ñaéc naøo theo baûn chaát naøy, taâm thöùc ñöôïc hoaøn toaøn giaûi thoaùt khoûi taát
caû moïi chöôùng ngaïi, voán dó laø nhöõng sai laàm vaø laãn loän khôûi leân töø söï
hoaït ñoäng cuûa trí naêng, vaø cuõng giaûi thoaùt khoûi nhöõng chöôùng ngaïi baét
reã trong yù thöùc haønh ñoäng vaø tình caûm cuûa chuùng ta, nhö nhöõng sôï haõi
vaø lo aâu, nhöõng vui vaø buoàn, nhöõng töø boû vaø say ñaém. Khi chöùng ngoä
ñöôïc ñieàu naøy, laø ñaït ñeán Nieát Baøn. Nieát Baøn vaø giaùc ngoä laø moät. Nhö
theá töø Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña chö Phaät quaù khöù, hieän taïi, vaø vò lai khôûi
hieän. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña laø meï cuûa Phaät quaû vaø Boà Taùt quaû, ñoù laø
ñieàu luoân ñöôïc nhaéc ñi nhaéc laïi cho chuùng ta trong vaên hoïc Baùt Nhaõ
Ba La Maät.

The Sutra of the Prajnaparamita

The period of Prajnaparamita-Sutra or Lotus-Sutra is one of the

five periods of the Buddha’s teachings. The Time of Wisdom mainly
teaches the Round Doctrine and yet is linked with the Common and
Distinct Doctrines. Therefore, it is not quite perfect or complete. This
phase lasted twenty-two years, in which the Buddha expounded a
higher level of provisional Mahayana and refuted his disciples’
attachment to the distinction between Theravada and Mahayana by
 93

teaching the doctrine non-substantiality or emptiness. He taught the

teachings of shunyata in the Prajnaparamita-sutra. As mentioned in
previous chapters, Prajna is a Sanskrit term which means wisdom.
There are three kinds of prajna: real mark prajna, contemplative
prajna, and literary prajna. Prajna also means the real power to discern
things and their underlying principles and to decide the doubtful. Prajna
means a transcendental knowledge. The Prajna-paramita-sutra
describes “prajna” as supreme, highest, incomparable, unequalled,
unsurpassed. There are three prajnas or perfect enlightements: The
first part of the prajnaparamita. The wisdom achieved once crossed the
shore. The second part of the prajnaparamita. The necessary wisdom
for actual crossing the shore of births and deaths. The wisdom of
knowing things in their temporary and changing condition. The
necessary wisdom for vowing to cross the shore of births and deaths.
Enlightened wisdom or transcendental wisdom means observing all
things as they truly are. The wisdom which enables one to reach the
other shore, i.e. wisdom for salvation; the highest of the six paramitas,
the virtue of wisdom as the principal means of attaining nirvana. It
connotes a knowledge of the illusory character of everything earthly,
and destroys error, ignorance, prejudice, and heresy. The prajna-
paramita is a gate of Dharma-illumination; for with it, we eradicate the
darkness of ignorance. Among the basic desires and passions,
ignorance has the deepest roots. When these roots are loosened, all
other desires and passions, greed, anger, attachment, arrogance, doubt,
and wrong views are also uprooted. The prajna wisdom which enables
one to reach the other shore, i.e. wisdom for salvation.
The Heart Sutra is one of the smallest sutras, contained in the Vast
Prajnaparamita. The full title of this sutra is “Heart of Prajna Paramita
Sutra.” Probably the most popular sutra in the world today. The Heart
Sutra explains the meaning of “Prajna Paramita,” the perfection of
wisdom that enables one to perceive clearly the emptiness of self and
of all phenomena. The Heart Sutra is the heart of the perfection of
wisdom; it is also the heart of the entire family of “Prajna Paramita
Sutras.” According to Zen Master D. T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen
Buddhism, Volume III, what superficially strikes us most while
persuing the text of the Hridaya or Heart Sutra of the Prajnaparamita is
that it is almost nothing else but a series of negations, and that what is
 94

known as Emptiness is pure negativism which ultimately reduces all

things into nothingness. The conclusion will then be that the
Prajnaparamita or rather its practice consists in negating all things...
And at the end of all these negations, there is neither knowledge nor
attainment of any sort. Attainment means to be conscious of and be
attached to an understanding which is the result of relative reasoning.
As there is no attainment of this nature, the mind is entirely free from
all obstructions, that is, errors and confusions which arise from
intellectualization, and also from the obstruction that are rooted in our
cognitive and affective consciousness, such as fears and worries, joys
and sorrows, abandonments, and infatuations. When this is realized,
Nirvana is reached. Nirvana and enlightenment are one. Thus from the
Prajnaparamita arise all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future.
The Prajnaparamita is the mother of Buddhahood and Bodhisattvahood,
which is reiterated throughout the Prajnaparamita literature.
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Chöông Möôøi Hai

Chapter Twelve

Haønh Giaû Tu Thieàn Vaø

Trí Tueä Baùt Nhaõ

Theo Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng daïy: “Naøy thieän tri
thöùc, “Ma Ha Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät” laø tieáng Phaïn, dòch laø ñaïi trí tueä
ñeán bôø kia, noù phaûi laø haønh nôi taâm, khoâng phaûi tuïng ôû mieäng. Mieäng
tuïng maø taâm chaúng haønh nhö huyeãn nhö hoùa, nhö söông, nhö ñieån.
Mieäng nieäm maø taâm haønh aét taâm vaø mieäng hôïp nhau, baûn taùnh laø Phaät,
lìa taùnh khoâng rieâng coù Phaät. Naøy thieän tri thöùc, sao goïi laø Baùt Nhaõ?
Baùt Nhaõ nghóa laø “trí tueä.” Taát caû choã, taát caû thôøi, moãi nieäm khoâng
ngu, thöôøng haønh trí hueä töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ haïnh. Moät nieäm ngu khôûi leân,
töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ baët. Moät nieäm trí khôûi leân, töùc laø Baùt Nhaõ sanh. Ngöôøi
ñôøi ngu meâ khoâng thaáy Baùt Nhaõ, mieäng noùi Baùt Nhaõ maø trong taâm
thöôøng ngu, thöôøng töï noùi ta tu Baùt Nhaõ, nieäm nieäm noùi khoâng nhöng
khoâng bieát ñöôïc chôn khoâng. Baùt Nhaõ khoâng coù hình töôùng, taâm trí tueä
aáy vaäy. Neáu khôûi hieåu nhö theá töùc goïi laø Baùt Nhaõ trí.
“Prajna” laø töø Phaïn ngöõ coù nghóa laø trí tueä (yù thöùc hay trí naêng). Coù
ba loaïi baùt nhaõ: thaät töôùng, quaùn chieáu vaø vaên töï. Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù
nghóa laø thöïc löïc nhaän thöùc roõ raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng nguyeân taéc caên
baûn cuûa chuùng cuõng nhö xaùc quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ Ba
La Maät Kinh dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä nhaát trí tueä trong heát thaûy trí
tueä, khoâng gì cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh baèng (voâ thöôïng, voâ tyû, voâ
ñaúng). Baùt Nhaõ hay caùi bieát sieâu vieät nghóa laø yù thöùc hay trí naêng
(Transcendental knowledge). Theo Phaät giaùo Ñaïi thöøa, do trí naêng tröïc
giaùc vaø tröïc tieáp, chöù khoâng phaûi laø trí naêng tröøu töôïng vaø phuïc tuøng trí
tueä phaøm phu maø con ngöôøi coù theå ñaït ñeán ñaïi giaùc. Vieäc thöïc hieän trí
naêng cuõng ñoàng nghóa vôùi thöïc hieän ñaïi giaùc. Chính trí naêng sieâu vieät
naày giuùp chuùng ta chuyeån hoùa moïi heä phöôïc vaø giaûi thoaùt khoûi sanh töû
luaân hoài, chöù khoâng ôû loøng thöông xoùt hay thöông haïi cuûa baát cöù ai.
“Prajna” thöôøng ñöôïc dòch laø “tri thöùc” trong Anh ngöõ, nhöng chính xaùc
hôn phaûi dòch laø “tröïc giaùc.” Ñoâi khi töø naøy cuõng ñöôïc dòch laø “trí tueä
sieâu vieät.” Söï thöïc thì ngay caû khi chuùng ta coù moät tröïc giaùc, ñoái töôïng
vaãn cöù ôû tröôùc maët chuùng ta vaø chuùng ta caûm nhaän noù, hay thaáy noù. ÔÛ
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ñaây coù söï löôõng phaân chuû theå vaø ñoái töôïng. Trong “Baùt Nhaõ” söï löôõng
phaân naøy khoâng coøn hieän höõu. Baùt Nhaõ khoâng quan taâm ñeán caùc ñoái
töôïng höõu haïn nhö theá; chính laø toaøn theå tính cuûa nhöõng söï vaät töï yù
thöùc ñöôïc nhö theá. vaø caùi toaøn theå tính naøy khoâng heà bò giôùi haïn. Moät
toaøn theå tính voâ haïn vöôït qua taàm hieåu bieát cuûa phaøm phu chuùng ta.
Nhöng tröïc giaùc Baùt Nhaõ laø thöù tröïc giaùc toång theå “khoâng theå hieåu bieát
ñöôïc baèng trí cuûa phaøm phu” veà caùi voâ haïn naøy, laø moät caùi gì khoâng
bao giôø coù theå xaûy ra trong kinh nghieäm haèng ngaøy cuûa chuùng ta trong
nhöõng ñoái töôïng hay bieán coá höõu haïn. Do ñoù, noùi caùch khaùc, Baùt Nhaõ
chæ coù theå xaûy ra khi caùc ñoái töôïng höõu haïn cuûa caûm quan vaø trí naêng
ñoàng nhaát vôùi chính caùi voâ haïn. Thay vì noùi raèng voâ haïn töï thaáy mình
trong chính mình, noùi raèng moät ñoái töôïng coøn bò coi laø höõu haïn, thuoäc
veà theá giôùi löôõng phaân cuûa chuû theå vaø ñoái töôïng, ñöôïc tri giaùc bôûi Baùt
Nhaõ töø quan ñieåm voâ haïn, nhö theá gaàn guõi vôùi kinh nghieäm con ngöôøi
cuûa chuùng ta hôn nhieàu. Noùi moät caùch töôïng tröng, höõu haïn luùc aáy töï
thaáy mình phaûn chieáu trong chieác göông cuûa voâ haïn. Trí naêng cho
chuùng ta bieát raèng ñoái töôïng höõu haïn, nhöng Baùt Nhaõ choáng laïi, tuyeân
boá noù laø caùi voâ haïn, vöôït qua phaïm vi cuûa töông ñoái. Noùi theo baûn theå
luaän, ñieàu naøy coù nghóa laø taát caû nhöõng ñoái töôïng hay höõu theå höõu haïn
coù ñöôïc laø bôûi caùi voâ haïn laøm neàn taûng cho chuùng, hay nhöõng ñoái
töôïng töông ñoái giôùi haïn trong phaïm vi cuûa voâ haïn maø khoâng coù noù
chuùng chaúng coù daây neo gì caû.
Ñoái vôùi haønh giaû tu Thieàn, Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù moät soá yù nghóa khaùc
sau ñaây: Thöù nhaát laø söï hieåu bieát tröïc giaùc: Noùi chung, töø naøy chæ söï
phaùt trieån söï hieåu bieát tröïc giaùc laø yù nieäm chuû yeáu trong Phaät giaùo.
Theo Phaät giaùo Ñaïi thöøa, “baùt nhaõ ba la maät” laø ba la maät thöù saùu
trong saùu ba la maät maø moät vò Boà Taùt tu haønh treân ñöôøng ñi ñeán Phaät
quaû, vaø do trí naêng tröïc giaùc vaø tröïc tieáp, chöù khoâng phaûi laø trí naêng
tröøu töôïng vaø phuïc tuøng trí tueä phaøm phu maø con ngöôøi coù theå ñaït ñeán
ñaïi giaùc. Vieäc thöïc hieän trí naêng cuõng ñoàng nghóa vôùi thöïc hieän ñaïi
giaùc. Chính trí naêng sieâu vieät naày giuùp chuùng ta chuyeån hoùa moïi heä
phöôïc vaø giaûi thoaùt khoûi sanh töû luaân hoài, chöù khoâng ôû loøng thöông xoùt
hay thöông haïi cuûa baát cöù ai. Thöù nhì laø söï thaáy bieát baát thình lình:
Baùt Nhaõ quaû thaät laø moät thuaät ngöõ bieän chöùng chæ caùi tieán trình tri thöùc
ñaëc bieät ñöôïc bieát ñeán nhö laø “thaáy baát thình lình,” hay “boãng thaáy,”
“chôït thaáy,” khoâng theo baát cöù moät ñònh luaät hay lyù luaän naøo; vì khi
Baùt Nhaõ vaän haønh thì ngöôøi ta töï thaáy caùi khoâng cuûa vaïn höõu moät caùch
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baát ngôø vaø kyø dieäu. Ñieàu naøy xaûy ra moät caùch baát thaàn vaø khoâng do
keát quaû cuûa lyù luaän, maø vaøo luùc aáy lyù luaän nhö bò queân laõng, vaø noùi
theo caùch taâm lyù, ñoù laø vaøo luùc naêng löïc cuûa yù chí ñi ñeán choã thaønh
töïu.
Haønh giaû tu Thieàn neân luoân nhôù raèng caùi duïng cuûa Baùt Nhaõ maâu
thuaãn vôùi taát caû nhöõng gì chuùng ta coù theå nhaän thöùc veà theá giôùi naøy; noù
thuoäc veà moät traät töï hoaøn toaøn khaùc vôùi traät töï cuûa cuoäc soáng bình
thöôøng cuûa chuùng ta. Nhöng ñieàu naøy khoâng coù nghóa Baùt Nhaõ laø moät
caùi gì ñoù hoaøn toaøn caùch bieät vôùi ñôøi soáng, vôùi tö töôûng chuùng ta, moät
caùi gì ñoù phaûi ñeán vôùi chuùng ta töø caùi nguoàn naøo ñoù khoâng bieát vaø
khoâng theå bieát ñöôïc, baèng pheùp laï. Neáu vaäy, Baùt Nhaõ seõ khoâng theå coù
lôïi ích gì cho chuùng ta vaø chuùng ta khoâng theå ñaït ñöôïc giaûi thoaùt. Quaû
thaät vai troø cuûa Baùt Nhaõ laø baát lieân tuïc vaø noù laøm giaùn ñoaïn böôùc tieán
cuûa suy luaän hôïp lyù, nhöng Baùt Nhaõ khoâng ngöøng hieän dieän döôùi söï
suy luaän naøy vaø neáu khoâng coù noù chuùng ta khoâng theå suy luaän gì caû.
Cuøng moät luùc Baùt Nhaõ vöøa ôû treân vöøa ôû trong quaù trình suy luaän. Veà
hình thöùc maø noùi, ñieàu naøy maâu thuaãn, nhöng söï thaät do chính maâu
thuaãn naøy khaû höõu cuõng do Baùt Nhaõ ñem laïi.
Haàu nhö taát caû vaên hoïc toân giaùo ñeàu chöùa ñaày nhöõng maâu thuaãn,
phi lyù vaø nghòch lyù, vaø khoâng bao giôø coù theå coù ñöôïc, vaø ñoøi hoûi tin vaø
chaáp nhaän nhöõng thöù aáy nhö laø chaân lyù maëc khaûi, chính laø vì tri thöùc
toân giaùo ñaët caên baûn treân söï vaän haønh cuûa Baùt Nhaõ. Moät khi ngöôøi ta
thích quan ñieåm Baùt Nhaõ thì taát caû nhöõng phi lyù coát yeáu cuûa toân giaùo
trôû neân coù theå hieåu ñöôïc. Noù gioáng nhö moät maåu chuyeän chaâm bieám
hay caàn phaûi thöôûng thöùc. Treân maët phaûi cuûa noù phôi ra moät söï loän xoän
haàu nhö khoù tin cuûa caùi ñeïp, vaø ngöôøi nhaän thöùc seõ khoâng vöôït qua
ñöôïc nhöõng sôïi chæ roái beng. Nhöng ngay khi caâu chuyeän chaâm bieám bò
ñaûo ngöôïc thì taùnh caùch phöùc taïp vaø thaàn tình cuûa caùi ñeïp aáy hieän ra.
Baùt Nhaõ goàm trong söï ñaûo ngöôïc naøy. Cho ñeán baây giôø con maét nhaän
thöùc beà maët cuûa caùi aùo, beà maët duy nhaát maø noù thöôøng cho pheùp chuùng
ta quan saùt. Baây giôø boãng nhieân caùi aùo bò loän traùi, chieàu höôùng cuûa caùi
thaáy thình lình bò giaùn ñoaïn, khoâng coù söï lieân tuïc naøo cuûa caùi nhìn. Tuy
nhieân do söï giaùn ñoaïn naøy, toaøn boä caáu truùc cuûa cuoäc soáng boãng nhieân
ñöôïc nhaän thöùc, ñoù laø “thaáy trong töï taùnh.”
Haønh giaû tu Thieàn cuõng neân luoân nhôù raèng chính Baùt Nhaõ ñaët
nhöõng baøn tay cuûa noù leân “Taùnh Khoâng,” hay “Chôn Nhö,” hay “Töï
Taùnh.” Vaø baøn tay naøy khoâng ñaët leân caùi maø noù hình nhö hieän höõu.
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Ñieàu naøy roõ raøng phaùt sinh töø caùi maø chuùng ta ñaõ noùi quan heä ñeán
nhöõng söï vieäc töông ñoái. Cho raèng töï taùnh ôû beân kia laõnh vöïc ngöï trò
cuûa theá giôùi töông ñoái, söï naém laáy noù baèng Baùt Nhaõ khoâng theå coù
nghóa theo nghóa thoâng thöôøng cuûa thuaät ngöõ naøy. Naém laáy maø khoâng
phaûi laø naém laáy, söï xaùc quyeát khoâng theå traùnh ñöôïc nghòch lyù. Theo
thuaät ngöõ Phaät giaùo, söï naém laáy naøy coù hieäu quaû baèng söï khoâng phaân
bieät, nghóa laø baèng söï phaân bieät coù tính caùch khoâng phaân bieät. Caùi quaù
trình ñoät nhieân, giaùn ñoaïn, noù laø moät haønh ñoäng cuûa taâm, nhöng haønh
ñoäng naøy, duø raèng khoâng phaûi laø khoâng coù yù thöùc, phaùt sinh töø chính töï
taùnh, töùc laø voâ nieäm. Theo Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng trong Kinh Phaùp Baûo
Ñaøn, Baùt Nhaõ ñöôïc phaùt khôûi trong töï taùnh theo caùch “baát thình lình”,
chöõ baát thình lình ôû ñaây khoâng coù nghóa laø töùc thì, theo caùch baát ngôø
hay thình lình, noù cuõng coù nghóa laø haønh vi töï phaùt, noù laø caùi thaáy,
khoâng phaûi laø moät haønh ñoäng coù yù thöùc thuoäc phaàn töï taùnh. Noùi caùch
khaùc, aùnh saùng cuûa Baùt Nhaõ phoùng ra töø voâ nieäm tuy nhieân noù khoâng
bao giôø rôøi voâ nieäm; Baùt Nhaõ ôû trong voâ thöùc veà söï vaät. Ñaây laø caùi maø
ngöôøi ta aùm chæ khi noùi raèng “thaáy laø khoâng thaáy vaø khoâng thaáy laø
thaáy,” hoaëc khi noùi raèng voâ nieäm hay töï taùnh, trôû neân yù thöùc chính noù
baèng phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ, tuy nhieân trong yù thöùc naøy noù khoâng coù söï
phaân caùch naøo giöõa chuû vaø khaùch. Do ñoù, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng noùi: “Ai
hieåu ñöôïc chaân lyù naøy töùc thì khoâng nghó, khoâng nhôù vaø khoâng dính
maéc.” Nhöng chuùng ta phaûi nhôù raèng Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng khoâng bao giôø
giaûng moät giaùo phaùp naøo veà caùi “Voâ” ñôn giaûn hay veà söï baát ñoäng ñôn
giaûn vaø Ngaøi khoâng caäy ñeán quan nieäm veà caùi voâ tri trong vaán ñeà ñôøi
soáng. Ngaøy naøo ñoù Baùt Nhaõ phaûi ñöôïc phaùt khôûi trong töï taùnh; vì
chöøng naøo chuùng ta chöa coù kinh nghieäm naøy thì khoâng bao giôø chuùng
ta coù ñöôïc cô hoäi bieát Phaät, khoâng nhöõng chæ nôi baûn thaân chuùng ta maø
coøn nôi nhöõng ngöôøi khaùc nöõa. Nhöng söï phaùt khôûi naøy khoâng phaûi laø
moät haønh ñoäng ñaëc thuø thaønh töïu trong laõnh vöïc ngöï trò cuûa yù thöùc thöïc
nghieäm, vaø vieäc naøy cuõng coù theå ñem so saùnh vôùi phaûn aûnh cuûa maët
traêng trong doøng suoái; noù khoâng phaûi lieân tuïc; noù ôû beân kia sanh töû;
cuõng nhö khi ngöôøi ta baûo noù cheát, noù khoâng bieát cheát; chæ khi naøo ñaït
ñöôïc traïng thaùi voâ taâm thì môùi coù nhöõng thuyeát thoaïi chöa töøng ñöôïc
noùi ra, nhöõng haønh ñoäng chöa töøng ñöôïc thöïc hieän.
Cuõng theo Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng, Baùt Nhaõ laø caùi teân ñaët cho “Töï
Taùnh,” hay chuùng ta coøn goïi noù laø “Voâ Thöùc,” khi noù töï yù thöùc chính
noù, hay chính xaùc hôn, chính haønh ñoäng trôû thaønh yù thöùc. Do ñoù Baùt
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Nhaõ chæ veà hai höôùng: Voâ thöùc vaø theá giôùi cuûa yù thöùc hieän môû ra. Hình
thaùi thöù nhaát ñöôïc goïi laø Trí Voâ Phaân Bieät vaø hình thaùi kia laø Trí Phaân
Bieät. Khi chuùng ta quan heä vôùi höôùng ñi ra ngoaøi cuûa yù thöùc vaø phaân
bieät taïi ñieåm queân höôùng kia cuûa Baùt Nhaõ, höôùng quy taâm veà Voâ thöùc,
chuùng ta coù thuaät ngöõ ñöôïc bieát döôùi teân “Trí Töôûng Töôïng.” Hay
chuùng ta coù theå noùi ngöôïc laïi: khi trí töôûng töôïng töï xaùc ñònh, Baùt Nhaõ
bò che khuaát, söï phaân bieät ngöï trò laøm chuû, vaø beà maët thanh tònh, khoâng
voâ nhieãm cuûa Voâ Thöùc hay Töï Taùnh hieän thôøi bò che môø. Nhöõng ai chuû
tröông “voâ nieäm” hay “voâ taâm” ñeàu mong chuùng ta ngaên Baùt Nhaõ khoûi
laïc theo höôùng phaân bieät vaø chuùng ta cöông quyeát quay caùi nhìn theo
höôùng kia. Ñaït voâ taâm coù nghóa laø, noùi moät caùch khaùch quan, phaùt hieän
ra trí voâ phaân bieät. Khi quan nieäm naøy ñöôïc phaùt trieån theâm, chuùng ta
hieåu ñöôïc nghóa cuûa voâ taâm, trong tö töôûng Thieàn.
Baùt Nhaõ coøn laø söï phaùt khôûi cuûa yù thöùc trong Voâ Thöùc, vaän haønh
trong moät chieàu höôùng nhò boäi. Moät tieán ñeán voâ thöùc vaø moät höôùng ñeán
yù thöùc. Baùt Nhaõ höôùng veà voâ thöùc laø Baùt Nhaõ noùi moät caùch rieâng bieät,
trong khi aáy Baùt Nhaõ cuûa yù thöùc baây giôø ñöôïc goïi laø taâm, vôùi caùch vieát
thöôøng. Töø caùi taâm naøy theá giôùi nhò nguyeân phaùt khôûi: chuû theå vaø
khaùch theå, ngaõ beân trong vaø theá giôùi beân ngoaøi, vaân vaân. Ño ñoù ngöôøi
ta cuõng coù theå phaân bieät hai hình thaùi trong taâm: taâm Baùt Nhaõ voâ phaân
bieät vaø taâm ñoái ñaõi. Taâm cuûa hình thaùi thöù nhaát thuoäc veà theá giôùi naøy,
nhöng chöøng naøo noù coøn lieân heä vôùi Baùt Nhaõ, noù coøn giao thieäp tröïc
tieáp vôùi Voâ Thöùc, thì noù laø Taâm, trong khi aáy taâm cuûa hình thaùi thöù nhì
hoaøn toaøn laø cuûa theá giôùi naøy, neáu muoán, noù hoøa laãn vôùi caùc yeáu toá taïp
ña. Caùi taâm thöù hai, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng goïi laø “Nieäm.” ÔÛ ñaây taâm laø
nieäm vaø nieäm laø taâm. Theo quan ñieåm töông ñoái, taâm cuûa hình thaùi thöù
nhaát coù theå goïi laø “voâ taâm” ñoái laïi vôùi “höõu taâm” cuûa hình thaùi thöù nhì.
Trong khi caùi sau thuoäc veà phía beân naøy cuûa kinh nghieäm thöôøng nhaät
cuûa chuùng ta, caùi tröôùc thì sieâu vieät; theo thuaät ngöõ cuûa trieát hoïc Thieàn,
noù laø caùi “khoâng phaûi taâm,” hay “voâ taâm” hay “voâ nieäm.”

Zen Practitioners and Prajna Wisdom

According to the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma

Treasure, the Sixth Patriarch, Hui-Neng, taught: “Good Knowing
Advisors, Maha Prajna Paramita is a Sanskrit word which means ‘great
wisdom which has arrived at the other shore.’ It must be practiced in
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the mind, and not just recited in words. When the mouth recites and the
mind does not practice, it is like an illusion, a transformation, dew
drops, or lightning. However, when the mouth recites and the mind
practices, then mind and mouth are in mutual accord. One’s own
original nature is Buddha; apart from the nature there is no other
Buddha. Good Knowing Advisors, what is meant by ‘Prajna?’ Prajna in
our language means wisdom. Everywhere and at all times, in thought
after thought, remain undeluded and practice wisdom constantly; that is
Prajna conduct. Prajna is cut off by a single deluded thought. By one
wise thought, Prajna is produced. Worldly men, deluded and confused,
do not see Prajna. They speak of it with their mouths, but their minds
are always deluded. They constantly say of themselves, ‘I cultivate
Prajna!’ And though they continually speak of emptiness, they are
unaware of true emptiness. Prajna, without form or mark, is just the
wisdom of the mind. If thus explained, this is Prajna wisdom.
Prajna is a Sanskrit term which means wisdom. There are three
kinds of prajna: real mark prajna, contemplative prajna, and literary
prajna. Prajna also means the real power to discern things and their
underlying principles and to decide the doubtful. The Prajna-paramita-
sutra describes “prajna” as supreme, highest, incomparable,
unequalled, unsurpassed. According to the Mahayana Buddhism, only
an immediate experienced intuitive wisdom, not intelligence can help
man reach enlightenment. Therefore, to achieve prajna is synonymous
with to reach enlightenment. One of the two perfections required for
Buddhahood. The wisdom which enables us to transcend disire,
attachment and anger so that we will be emancipated (not throught the
mercy of any body, but rather through our own power of will and
wisdom) and so that we will not be reborn again and again in
“samsara” or transmigration. Prajna is ordinarily translated as
“knowledge” in English, but to be exact “intuition” may be better. It is
sometimes translated as “transcendental wisdom.” The fact is even
when we have an intuition, the object is still in front of us and we sense
it, or perceive it, or see it. Here is a dichotomy of subject and object. In
prajna this dichotomy no longer exists. Prajna is not concerned with
finite objects as such; it is the totality of things becoming conscious of
itself as such. And this totality is not at all limited. An infinite totality is
beyond our ordinary human comprehension. But the prajna-intuition is
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this “incomprehensible” totalistic untuition of the infinite, which is

something that can never take place in our daily experience limited to
finite objects or events. The prajna, therefore, can take place, in other
words, only when finite objects of sense and intellect are identified
with the infinite itself. Instead of saying that the infinite sees itself, it is
much closer to our human experience to say that an object regarded as
finite, as belonging in the dichotomous world of subject and object, is
perceived by prajna from the point of view of infinity. Symbolically,
the finite then sees itself reflected in the mirror of infinity. The
intellect informs us that the object is finite, but prajna contradicts,
declaring it to be the infinite beyond the realm of relativity.
Ontologically, this means that all finite objects or beings are possible
because of the infinite underlying them, or that the objects are
relatively and therefore limitedly laid out in the field of infinity without
which they have no moorings.
For Zen practitioners, prajna also has some following meanings:
First, the intuitive understanding: In general, this refers to the
development of intuitive understanding of key Buddhist concepts.
According to the Mahayana Buddhism, the “prajna paramita” or the
“perfection of wisdom” is the sixth of the perfections that a Bodhisattva
cultivates on the path to Buddhahood, and only an immediate
experienced intuitive wisdom, not intelligence can help man reach
enlightenment. Therefore, to achieve prajna is synonymous with to
reach enlightenment. One of the two perfections required for
Buddhahood. The wisdom which enables us to transcend disire,
attachment and anger so that we will be emancipated (not throught the
mercy of any body, but rather through our own power of will and
wisdom) and so that we will not be reborn again and again in
“samsara” or transmigration. Second, the abruptly seeing: Prajna is
really a dialectical term denoting that this special process of knowing,
known as “abruptly seeing,” or “seeing at once,” does not follow
general laws of logic; for when prajna functions one finds oneself all of
a sudden, as if by a miracle, facing Sunyata, the emptiness of all things.
This does not take place as the result of reasoning, but when reasoning
has been abandoned as futile, and psychologically when the will-power
is brought to a finish.
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Zen practitioners should always remember that the use of prajna

contradicts everything that we may conceive of things worldly; it is
altogether of another order than our usual life. But this does not mean
that Prajna is something altogether disconnected with our life and
thought, something that is to be given to us by a miracle from some
unknown and unknowable source. If this were the case, prajna would
be no possible use to us. It is true that the functioning of Prajna is
discrete, and interrupting to the progress of logical reasoning, but all
the time it underlies it, and without Prajna we cannot have any
reasoning whatever. Prajna is at once above and in the process of
reasoning. This is a contradiction, formally considered, but in truth this
contradiction itself is made possible because of Prajna.
That most of religious literature is filled with contradictions,
absurdities, paradoxes, and impossibilities, and demands to believe
them, to accept them, as revealed truths, is due to the fact that religious
knowledge is based on the working of Prajna. Once this viewpoint of
Prajna is gained, all the essential irrationalities found in religion
become intelligible. It is like appreciating a fine piece of brocade. On
the surface there is an almost bewildering confusion of beauty, and the
professional fails to trace the intricacies of the threads. But as soon as it
is turned over all the intricate beauty and skill is revealed. Prajna
consists in this turning-over. The eye has hitherto followed the surface
of the cloth, which is indeed the only side ordinarily allows us to
survey. Now the cloth is abruptly turned over; the course of the
eyesight is suddenly interrupted; no continuous gazing is possible. Yet
by this interruption, or rather disruption, the whole scheme of life is
suddenly grasped; there is the “seeing into one’s self-nature.”
Zen practitioners should also remember that it is Prajna which lays
its hands on Emptiness, or Suchness, or self-nature. And this laying-
hands-on is not what it seems. This is self-evident from what has
already been said concerning things relative. Because the self-nature is
beyond the realm of relativity, its being grasped by Prajna cannot mean
a grasping in its ordinary sense. The grasping must be no-grasping, a
paradoxical statement which is inevitable. To use Buddhist
terminology, this grasping is accomplished by non-discrimination; that
is, by discrete, an act of the conscious; not an unconscious act but an act
rising from self-nature itself, which is the unconscious. According to the
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Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng in the Platform Sutra, Prajna is awakened in

self-nature abruptly, and the term “abrupt” not only means
‘instantaneously’, ‘unexpectedly’ or ‘suddenly’, but signifies the idea
that the act of awakening which is seeing is not a conscious deed on the
part of self-nature. In other words, Prajna flashes from the Unconscious
and yet never leaves it; it remains unconscious of it. This is the sense
of saying that “seeing is no-seeing, and no-seeing is seeing,” and that
the Unconscious or self-nature becomes conscious of itself by means of
Prajna, and yet in this consciousness there is no separation of subject
and object. Therefore, Hui-Neng says: “One who understands this truth
is without thought, without memory, and without attachment.” But we
must remember that Hui-Neng never advocated the doctrine of mere
nothingness, or mere-doing-nothing-ness, nor assumed an unknown
quantity in the solution of life. Prajna must once be awakened in self-
nature; for unless this is experienced we shall never have a chance of
knowing the Buddha not only in ourselves but in others. But this
awakening is no particular deed performed in the realm of empirical
consciousness, and for this reason it is like a lunar reflection in the
stream; it is neither continuous nor discrete; it is beyond birth and
death; even when it is said to be born, it knows no birth; even when it is
said to have passed away, it knows no passing away; it is only when
no-mind-ness or the Unconscious is seen that there are discourses
never discoursed, that there are acts that never acted.
Also according to Hui-Neng, Prajna is the name given to self-
nature, or the Unconscious, as we call it, when it becomes conscious of
itself, or rather to the act itself of becoming conscious. Prajna therefore
points in two directions to the Unconscious and to the world of
consciousness which is now unfolded. The one is call the Prajna of non-
discrimination and the other the Prajna of discrimination. When we are
so deeply involved in the outgoing direction of consciousness and
discrimination as to forget the other direction of Prajna pointing to the
Unconscious, we have what is technically known as “Prapanca,”
imagination. Or we may state this conversely: when imagination
asserts itself, Prajna is hidden, and discrimination has its own sway, and
the pure, undefiled surface of the Unconscious or self-nature is now
dimmed. The advocates of “no-thought” or “no-mind” want us to
preserve Prajna from going astray in the direction of discrimination,
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and to have our eyes looking steadily in the other direction. To attain
“no-mind” means to recover, objectively speaking, the Prajna or non-
discrimination. When this idea is developed in more detail we shall
comprehend the significance of “no-mind” in Zen thought.
Prajna is also the awakening of consciousness in the Unconscious,
functions in a twofold direction. The one is towards the Unconscious
and the other towards the conscious. The Prajna which is orientated to
the Unconscious is Prajna properly so called, while the Prajna of
consciousness is now called mind with the small initial letter. From this
mind a dualistic world takes its rise: subject and object, the inner self
and the external world, and so on. In the Mind, therefore, two aspects
are also distinguishable: Prajna-mind of non-discrimination and
dualistic mind. The mind of the first aspect belongs to this world, but so
long as it linked with Prajna it is in direct communication with the
Unconscious, it is the Mind; whereas the mind of the second aspect is
wholly of this world, and delighted with it, and mixes itself with all its
multiplicities. The mind of the second aspect, Hui-Neng called
“thought.” Here, mind is thought, and thought is mind. From the
relative point of view, the mind of the first aspect may be designated
“no-mind” in contradistinction to the mind of the second aspect. As the
latter belongs to this side of our ordinary experience, so called, the
former is a transcendental on in terms of Zen philosophy is “that which
is not the mind,” or “no-mind” or “no-thought.”
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Chöông Möôøi Ba
Chapter Thirteen

Haønh Giaû Tu Thieàn

Quaùn Chieáu Baùt Nhaõ

Sau khi quaùn trieät Phaät phaùp trong kinh ñieån, ngöôøi ta quaùn chieáu
thöïc nghóa cuûa noù qua thöïc haønh. Phaàn thöù nhì cuûa Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät
hay trí tueä ñaït ñöôïc qua tu taäp. Ñaây laø moät trong nhöõng loaïi quaùn chieáu
Baùt Nhaõ, laáy trí tueä quaùn chieáu caùi lyù thöï c töôùng hay nhôø thieàn quaùn
maø giaùc ngoä ñöôïc chaân lyù. Thöù nhaát laø Quaùn Chieáu “Khoå”: Quaùn
chieáu “khoå” laø moät trong nhöõng cöûa ngoõ quan troïng ñi vaøo ñaïi giaùc, vì
nhôø ñoù maø chuùng ta môùi coù khaû naêng chaám döùt moïi chaáp tröôù c, ham
muoán vaø duïc voïng. Ngöôøi tu Phaät caàn neân hieåu raèng khi Ñöùc Phaät baûo
cuoäc soáng cuûa chuùng ta laø khoå, yù Ngaøi muoán noùi ñeán moïi traïng thaùi
khoâng thoûa maõn cuûa chuùng ta vôùi moät phaïm vi raát roäng, töø nhöõng böïc
doïc nho nhoû ñeán nhöõng vaán ñeà khoù khaên trong ñôøi soáng, töø nhöõng noãi
khoå ñau naùt loøng chí ñeán nhöõng tang thöông cuûa kieáp soáng. Vì vaäy chöõ
“Dukkha” neân ñöôïc duøng ñeå dieãn taû nhöõng vieäc khoâng hoaøn haûo xaûy
ra trong ñôøi soáng cuûa chuùng ta vaø chuùng ta coù theå caûi hoùa chuùng cho toát
hôn. Traïng thaùi khoå naõo böùc baùch thaân taâm (taâm duyeân vaøo ñoái töôïng
vöøa yù thì caûm thaáy vui, duyeân vaøo ñoái töôïng khoâng vöøa yù thì caûm thaáy
khoå). Ñaây laø ñeá thöù nhaát trong Töù Dieäu Ñeá cuûa Phaät giaùo, cho raèng
voøng luaân hoài sanh töû ñöôïc ñaët tính hoùa bôûi nhöõng baát toaïi vaø ñau khoå.
Ñieàu naøy lieân heä tôùi yù töôûng cho raèng vaïn höõu voâ thöôøng, chuùng sanh
khoâng theå naøo traùnh ñöôïc phaân ly vôùi caùi maø hoï mong moûi vaø baét buoäc
phaûi chòu ñöïng nhöõng thöù khoâng vui. Muïc ñích chính ñöôïc keå ra trong
Phaät giaùo laø khaéc phuïc “khoå ñau.” Coù ba loaïi khoå ñau: 1) khoå khoå, bao
goàm nhöõng noãi khoå veà theå chaát vaø tinh thaàn; 2) hoaïi khoå, bao goàm
nhöõng caûm thoï khoâng ñuùng ñaén veà haïnh phuùc. Goïi laø hoaïi khoå vì vaïn
höõu ñeàu hö hoaïi theo thôøi gian vaø ñieàu naøy ñöa ñeán khoå ñau khoâng
haïnh phuùc; 3) Haønh khoå, noãi khoå ñau trong voøng sanh töû, trong ñoù
chuùng sanh phaûi höùng chòu nhöõng baát toaïi vì aûnh höôûng cuûa nhöõng
haønh ñoäng vaø phieàn naõo ueá nhieãm. Ñöùc Phaät daïy khoå naèm trong nhaân,
khoå naèm trong quaû, khoå bao truøm caû thôøi gian, khoå bao truøm caû khoâng
gian, vaø khoå chi phoái caû phaøm laãn Thaùnh, nghóa laø khoå ôû khaép nôi nôi.
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Thöù nhì laø Quaùn Chieáu “Tænh Laëng”: Quaùn chieáu “Tænh Laëng”
laø moät trong nhöõng cöûa ngoõ quan troïng ñi vaøo ñaïi giaùc, vì nhôø ñoù maø
chuùng ta khoâng khuaáy roái taâm mình. Ngöôøi ta vì ñaõ quaù quen vôùi tieáng
ñoäng vaø chuyeän troø neân luùc naøo khoâng coù noùi chuyeän laø ngöôøi ta caûm
thaáy coâ ñôn quaïnh queõ. Nhöng neáu chuùng ta töï reøn luyeän ngheä thuaät
trau doài söï im laëng” thì töø töø chuùng ta seõ thaáy thích thuù vôùi söï im laëng.
Tænh laëng laø trôû veà tìm söï yeân laëng beân trong. Haõy laëng leõ tieán böôùc
giöõa caûnh oàn aøo nhoän nhòp vaø nhôù raèng coù söï an laïc trong im laëng.
Chuùng ta phaûi coù luùc xa rôøi cuoäc soáng oàn aøo ñeå ruùt vaøo aån daät ñeå tìm
söï im laëng, duø raèng chæ laø moät giai ñoaïn taïm thôøi. Ñoù laø moät hình thöùc
nhaøn laïc cuûa kieáp nhaân sinh. Trong neáp soáng aån daät ñôn ñoäc, chuùng ta
seõ chöùng nghieäm giaù trò cuûa nhöõng phuùt traàm laëng. Chuùng ta haønh trình
trôû vaøo beân trong cuûa chính chuùng ta. Khi chuùng ta ruùt lui vaøo im laëng,
chuùng ta seõ tuyeät ñoái ñôn ñoäc ñeå nhìn vaøo thöïc chaát cuûa chính chuùng
ta, thaáy chuùng ta ñuùng nhö söï thaät maø chuùng ta laø, vaø chöøng ñoù chuùng
ta coù theå hoïc hoûi ñöôïc phöông caùch vöôït qua nhöõng khuyeát ñieåm vaø
giôùi haïn cuûa cuoäc soáng bình thöôøng. Haønh giaû tu Phaät neân luoân nhôù
raèng chæ coù Thieàn Quaùn môùi coù theå giuùp chuùng ta haønh trình vaøo noäi
taâm. Thôøi gian maø chuùng ta traûi qua trong luùc thieàn quaùn khoâng phaûi laø
voâ ích. Veà laâu veà daøi thì coâng trình tu taäp thieàn quaùn seõ taïo cho chuùng
ta moät taùnh chaát maïnh meû. Thaät laø lôïi laïc cho vieäc laøm haèng ngaøy vaø
söï tieán boä neáu chuùng ta coù theå tìm ñöôïc thì giôø ñeå töï taùch mình ra khoûi
nhöõng coâng vieäc maø töø laâu haèng ngaøy chuùng ta vaãn laøm vaø boû ra moät
hay hai ngaøy ñeå yeân tænh haønh thieàn. Ñaây chaéc chaén khoâng phaûi laø söï
troán chaïy hay soáng trong nhaøn roãi, maø laø phöông caùch toát ñeïp nhaát ñeå
taêng cöôøng taâm trí vaø phaùt trieån tinh thaàn. Ñoù laø caùi nhìn trôû vaøo beân
trong chính mình, vaø caùi nhìn naøy mang laïi nhieàu lôïi laïc. Chính nhôø
quan saùt nhöõng tö töôûng vaø nhöõng caûm thoï cuûa mình maø chuùng ta coù
theå thaáy saâu vaøo yù nghóa cuûa söï vaät beân trong chuùng ta vaø khaùm phaù ra
nhöõng naêng löïc huøng maïnh cuûa chính mình.
Thöù ba laø Quaùn Chieáu “Voâ Ngaõ”: Quaùn chieáu “Voâ Ngaõ” laø moät
trong nhöõng cöûa ngoõ quan troïng ñi vaøo ñaïi giaùc, vì nhôø ñoù maø chuùng ta
khoâng laàm chaáp vaøo caùi ngaõ aûo huyeàn. Chuùng sanh tuy heát thaûy ñeàu coù
caùi taâm thaân do nguõ uaån hoøa hôïp giaû taïm maø thaønh, nhöng khoâng coù
caùi thöïc theå thöôøng nhaát cuûa mình, neân goïi laø ngaõ khoâng. Ñaïo Phaät
daïy raèng con ngöôøi ñöôïc naêm yeáu toá keát hôïp neân, goïi laø nguõ uaån: vaät
chaát, caûm giaùc, tö töôûng, haønh nghieäp vaø nhaän thöùc. Neáu vaät chaát laø do
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töù ñaïi caáu thaønh, troáng roãng, khoâng coù thöïc chaát thì con ngöôøi, do nguõ
uaån keát hôïp, cuõng khoâng coù töï ngaõ vónh cöõu, hay moät chuû theå baát bieán.
Con ngöôøi thay ñoåi töøng giaây töøng phuùt, cuõng traûi qua saùt na voâ thöôøng
vaø nhaát kyø voâ thöôøng. Nhôø nhìn saâu vaøo nguõ uaån cho neân thaáy “Nguõ
aám voâ ngaõ, sinh dieät bieán ñoåi, hö nguïy khoâng chuû” vaø ñaùnh tan ñöôïc
aûo giaùc cho raèng thaân naày laø moät baûn ngaõ vónh cöõu. Voâ Ngaõ Quaùn laø
moät ñeà taøi thieàn quaùn quan troïng vaøo baäc nhaát cuûa ñaïo Phaät. Nhôø Voâ
Ngaõ Quaùn maø haønh giaû thaùo tung ñöôïc bieân giôùi giöõa ngaõ vaø phi ngaõ,
thaáy ñöôïc hoøa ñieäu ñaïi ñoàng cuûa vuõ truï, thaáy ta trong ngöôøi vaø ngöôøi
trong ta, thaáy quaù khöù vaø vò lai trong hieän taïi, vaø sieâu vieät ñöôïc sinh töû.
Voâ Ngaõ laø moät trong taùm ñaëc taùnh cuûa giaùc ngoä trong Thieàn. Coù leõ
khía caïnh ñaùng chuù yù nhaát cuûa kinh nghieäm Thieàn laø ôû choã noù khoâng
coù daáu veát nhaân ngaõ. Trong söï chöùng ngoä cuûa Phaät giaùo, khoâng heà coù
chuùt dính daùng vôùi nhöõng quan heä vaø xuùc caûm caù nhaân baèng nhöõng töø
ngöõ thoâng dieãn döïa treân moät heä thoáng höõu haïn cuûa tö töôûng; thöïc tình,
chaúng lieân quan gì vôùi chính kinh nghieäm. Duø ôû ñaâu ñi nöõa, thì söï
chöùng ngoä hoaøn toaøn mang tính caùch voâ ngaõ, hay ñuùng hôn, trí naêng toái
thöôïng. Khoâng nhöõng söïï chöùng ngoä chæ laø moät bieán coá bình thöôøng,
nhaït nheõo, maø caùi cô duyeân kích phaùt nhö cuõng voâ vò vaø thieáu haún caûm
giaùc sieâu nhieân. Söï chöùng ngoä ñöôïc kinh nghieäm ngay trong moïi bieán
coá bình sinh. Noù khoâng xuaát hieän nhö moät hieän töôïng phi thöôøng maø
ngöôøi ta thaáy ghi cheùp trong caùc taùc phaåm thaàn bí cuûa Thieân Chuùa
giaùo. Khi söï buøng vôõ cuûa taâm trí baïn ñaõ ñeán luùc chín muøi, ngöôøi ta naém
tay baïn, voå vai baïn, mang cho moät cheùn traø, gaây moät chuù yù taàm thöôøng
nhaát, hay ñoïc moät ñoaïn kinh, moät baøi thô, baïn chöùng ngoä töùc khaéc. ÔÛ
ñaây chaúng coù tieáng goïi cuûa Thaùnh linh, chaúng coù söï sung maõn cuûa
Thaùnh suûng, chaúng coù aùnh saùng vinh danh naøo heát. Vaø ôû ñaây chaún g
chuùt saéc maøu loäng laãy; taát caû ñeàu xaùm xòt, khoâng moät chuùt aán töôïng,
khoâng moät chuùt quyeán ruõ.
Thöù tö laø Quaùn Chieáu “Voâ Thöôøng”: Quaùn chieáu voâ thöôøng laø
moät trong nhöõng cöûa ngoõ ñi vaøo ñaïi giaùc, vì nhôø ñoù maø chuùng ta môùi
coù khaû naêng thaáy ñöôïc boä maët thaät cuûa nhöõng duïc voïng trong nhaø löûa
tam giôùi. Voâ thöôøng nghóa laø khoâng thöôøng, khoâng maõi maõi ôû yeân trong
moät traïng thaùi nhaát ñònh maø luoân thay hình ñoåi daïng. Ñi töø traïng thaùi
hình thaønh, cao to, thaáp nhoû, tan raõ, vaân vaân, ñaïo Phaät goïi ñaây laø
nhöõng giai ñoaïn thay ñoåi ñoù laø thaønh truï hoaïi khoâng. Taát caû söï vaät
trong vuõ truï, töø nhoû nhö haït caùt, thaân con ngöôøi, ñeán lôùn nhö traùi ñaát,
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maët traêng, maët trôøi ñeàu naèm trong ñònh luaät voâ thöôøng. Voâ thöôøng laø
neùt caên baûn trong giaùo lyù nhaø Phaät: Soáng, thay ñoåi vaø cheát (thay ñoåi
lieân tuïc trong töøng phuùt giaây). Theo Jisho Warner trong quyeån 'Thaïch
Tuyeàn Thieàn Ñöôøng', chuùng ta thöôøng nghó raèng moïi vaät thay ñoåi
quanh mình, troâi ñi vun vuùt vaø gaây cho chuùng ta caûm giaùc baát oån, vì
vaäy chuùng ta coá laøm cho chuùng chaäm laïi. Chuùng ta coá gaéng ñaët vöõng
chaân leân moät maûnh ñaát luoân thay ñoåi, chæ laøm cho chuùng ta caøng caûm
thaáy khoù chòu hôn. Chuùng ta soáng cöù nhö laø nhöõng vaät theå kieân coá vónh
cöûu ñang phaûi ñöông ñaàu vôùi nhöõng ñoåi thay, nhöng ñoù laø ñieàu khoâng
theå ñöôïc. Neáu chuùng ta mang yù töôûng raèng moïi vieäc ñeàu ñang thay ñoåi,
thì chuùng ta cuõng ñang thay ñoåi, vaø baûn chaát cuûa vaïn höõu laø thay ñoåi.
Ñöùc Phaät noùi raèng chuùng ta ñau khoå vì chuùng ta khoâng thaáy ñöôïc chaân
lyù cuûa baûn chaát cuûa vaïn vaät. Chuùng ta caûm thaáy nhö mình ñang ôû treân
maët bieån, vaø ñang say soùng vì chuùng ta cöù töôûng laø moïi vaät ñeàu khoâng
xao ñoäng. Toa thuoác cuûa ñöùc Phaät coù theå seõ noùi nhö vaày: "Haõy taäp bôi
ñi." Voâ thöôøng laø moät doøng soâng lôùn cuûa caùc hieän töôïng, chuùng sinh,
vaïn höõu, vaø söï kieän, ñeán vaø ñi tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhau. Caùi traät töï töï nhieân
naøy bao goàm luoân caû chuùng ta, vaø luaät cuûa caùi traät töï naøy laø luaät cuûa
chuùng ta. Chuùng ta laø moät doøng chaûy khoâng ngöøng trong moät doøng
chaûy khoâng ngöøng.
Thöù naêm laø Quaùn Chuùng Sanh: Thuaät ngöõ “Chuùng sanh” noùi ñeán
taát caû nhöõng vaät coù ñôøi soáng. Moãi sinh vaät ñeán vôùi coõi ñôøi naøy laø keát
quaû cuûa nhieàu nguyeân nhaân vaø ñieàu kieän khaùc nhau. Nhöõng sinh vaät
nhoû nhaát nhö con kieán hay con muoãi, hay ngay caû nhöõng kyù sinh truøng
thaät nhoû, ñeàu laø nhöõng chuùng sanh. Moãi chuùng sanh laø söï keát hôïp cuûa
nhöõng thaønh toá, coù theå phaân bieät thaønh naêm phaàn: saéc, thoï, töôûng,
haønh, thöùc. Do ñoù, chuùng sanh naày khoâng khaùc vôùi chuùng sanh khaùc,
vaø con ngöôøi bình thöôøng khoâng khaùc vôùi caùc baäc Thaùnh nhaân. Nhöng
do baûn chaát vaø hình theå cuûa naêm yeáu toá toàn taïi trong töøng caù theå ñöôïc
thaønh laäp, neân chuùng sanh naày coù khaùc vôùi chuùng sanh khaùc, con ngöôøi
bình thöôøng coù khaùc vôùi caùc baäc Thaùnh. Söï keát hôïp naêm uaån naày laø keát
quaû cuûa nghieäp vaø thay ñoåi töøng saùt na, nghóa laø chuyeån hoùa, thaønh toá
môùi thay cho thaønh toá cuõ ñaõ tan raõ hoaëc bieán maát. Naêm uaån ñöôïc keát
hôïp seõ thaønh moät höõu tình töø voâ thuûy, höõu tình aáy ñaõ taïo nghieäp vôùi söï
chaáp thuû ñònh kieán cuûa caùi ngaõ vaø ngaõ sôû. Söï hieåu bieát cuûa vò aáy bò boùp
meùo hoaëc che môø bôûi voâ minh, neân khoâng thaáy ñöôïc chaân lyù cuûa töøng
saùt na keát hôïp vaø tan raõ cuûa töøng thaønh phaàn trong naêm uaån. Maët khaùc,
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vò aáy bò chi phoái bôûi baûn chaát voâ thöôøng cuûa chuùng. Moät ngöôøi thöùc
tænh vôùi söï hieåu bieát vôùi phöông phaùp tu taäp cuûa Ñöùc Phaät seõ giaùc ngoä
ñöôïc baûn chaát cuûa chö phaùp, nghóa laø moät höõu tình chæ do naêm uaån keát
hôïp laïi vaø khoâng coù moät thöïc theå thöôøng haèng hoaëc baát bieán naøo goïi laø
linh hoàn caû. Theo Kinh Duy Ma Caät, khi ngaøi Vaên Thuø Sö Lôïi Boà Taùt
vaâng meänh Phaät ñeán thaêm beänh cö só Duy Ma Caät. Ngaøi Vaên Thuø Sö
Lôïi hoûi oâng Duy Ma Caät: “Boà Taùt quaùn saùt chuùng sanh phaûi nhö theá
naøo?” OÂng Duy Ma Caät ñaùp: “Ví nhaø huyeãn thuaät thaáy ngöôøi huyeãn
cuûa mình hoùa ra, Boà Taùt quaùn saùt chuùng sanh cuõng nhö theá. Nhö ngöôøi
trí thaáy traêng döôùi nöôùc, thaáy maët trong göông, nhö aùnh naéng dôïn, nhö
aâm vang cuûa tieáng, nhö maây giöõa hö khoâng, nhö boït nöôùc, nhö boùng
noåi, nhö loõi caây chuoái, nhö aùnh ñieån chôùp, nhö ñaïi thöù naêm, nhö aám thöù
saùu, nhö caên thöù baûy, nhö nhaäp thöù möôøi ba, nhö giôùi thöù möôøi chín.
Boà Taùt quaùn saùt chuùng sanh cuõng nhö theá. Nhö saéc chaát coõi voâ saéc, nhö
moäng luùa hö, nhö thaân kieán cuûa Tu Ñaø Hoaøn, nhö söï nhaäp thai cuûa A
Na Haøm, nhö tam ñoäc cuûa A la haùn, nhö tham giaän phaù giôùi cuûa Boà Taùt
chöùng voâ sanh phaùp nhaãn, nhö taäp khí phieàn naõo cuûa Phaät, nhö muø thaáy
saéc töôïng, nhö hôi thôû ra vaøo cuûa ngöôøi nhaäp dieät taän ñònh, nhö daáu
chim giöõa hö khoâng, nhö con cuûa thaïch nöõ (ñaøn baø khoâng sanh ñeû), nhö
phieàn naõo cuûa ngöôøi huyeãn hoùa, nhö caûnh chieâm bao khi ñaõ thöùc, nhö
ngöôøi dieät ñoä thoï laáy thaân, nhö löûa khoâng khoùi. Boà Taùt quaùn saùt chuùng
sanh cuõng nhö theá ñoù.”

Zen Practitioners and the

Contemplation on the Prajna

After reading and understanding the Buddhadharma in sutras, one

then contemplates and illuminates their meanings through actual
practice. Wisdom acquired from cultivation or contemplation, the
second part of the Prajnaparamita. This type of contemplation will lead
to the real mark prajna. This is one of several kinds of Contemplation
of the Prajna, the prajna or wisdom of meditative enlightenment on
reality. First, to Reflect on Ssuffering: Reflection on suffering is one of
the most important entrances to the great enlightenment; for with it, we
are able to end all attachments, aspirations and desires. Buddhist
cultivators should understand that when the Buddha described our lives
as “Dukkha”, he was referring to any and all unsatisfactory conditions.
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These range from minor disappointments, problems and difficulties to

intense pain and misery. Therefore, Dukkha should be used to describe
the fact that things are not completely right in our lives and could be
better. “Suffering” means “unsatisfactoriness.” This is the first of the
four noble truths of Buddhism, which holds that cyclic existence is
characterized by unsatisfactoriness or suffering. This is related to the
idea that since the things of the world are transitory, beings are
inevitably separated from what they desire and forced to endure what
is unpleasant. The main stated goal of Buddhism from its inception is
overcoming “duhkha.” There are three main types of duhkha: 1) the
suffering of misery (duhkha-duhkhata), which includes physical and
mental sufferings; 2) the suffering of change (viparinama-duhkhata),
which includes all contaminated feelings of happiness. These are
called sufferings because they are subject to change at any time, which
leads to unhappiness; and 3) compositional suffering (samskara-
duhkhata), the suffering endemic to cyclic existence, in which sentient
beings are prone to the dissatisfaction due to being under the influence
of contaminated actions and afflictions. The Buddha teaches that
suffering is everywhere, suffering is already enclosed in the cause,
suffering from the effect, suffering throughout time, suffering pervades
space, and suffering governs both philistine and saint.
Second, reflection on calmness or tranquility: Reflection on
calmness is one of the most important entrances to the great
enlightenment; for with it, we do not disturb our mind. People are so
used to noise and talk, that they feel lonely and out of place if they do
not speak. But if we train ourselves in the art of cultivating silence, we
will learn to enjoy it. Tranquility means retreating in search of the
inner silence. Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember that
there is peace in silence. We must take time off to go into retreat in
search of silence. We must, now and then, break away from motion to
remain motionless, even though this is only a temporary period. It is a
peaceful form of existence. In lonely retreat, we experience the value
of silent contemplation. We make an inward journey. When we
withdraw into silence, we are absolutely alone to see ourselves as we
really are, and then we can learn to overcome the weaknesses and
limitations in ordinary experience. Buddhist practitioners should
always remember that only meditation and contemplation can help us
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make an inward journey. Time spent in secluded contemplation is not

wasted; it goes a long way to strengthen a man’s character. It is an
asset to our daily work and progress if we can find the time to cut
ourselves off from routine and spend a day or two in quiet
contemplation. This is surely not escapism or living in idleness, but the
best way to strengthen our mind and mental qualities. It is a beneficial
introspection; it is by examining one’s thoughts and feelings that one
can probe into the inner meaning of things, and discover the power
within.
Third, Reflection on No-Self: Reflection on “No-self” is one of the
most important entrances to the great enlightenment; for with it, we do
not mistakenly attach to an illusive self. No-self is the nature of our
bodies. Buddhism teaches that human beings’ bodies are composed of
five aggregates, called skandhas in Sanskrit. If the form created by the
four elements is empty and without self, then human beings' bodies,
created by the unification of the five skandhas, must also be empty and
without self. Human beings’ bodies are involved in a transformation
process from second to second, minute to minute, continually
experiencing impermanence in each moment. By looking very deeply
into the five skandhas, we can experience the selfless nature of our
bodies, our passage through birth and death, and emptiness, thereby
destroying the illusion that our bodies are permanent. In Buddhism, no-
self is the most important subject for meditation. By meditating no-self,
we can break through the barrier between self and other. When we no
longer are separate from the universe, a completely harmonious
existence with the universe is created. We see that all other human
beings exist in us and that we exist in all other human beings. We see
that the past and the future are contained in the present moment, and
we can penetrate and be completely liberated from the cycle of birth
and death. Impersonal Tone is one of the eight chief characteristics of
‘satori.’ In Zen. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Zen
experience is that it has no personal note in it as is observable in
Christian mystic experiences. There is no reference whatever in
Buddhist satori to such personal feelings. We may say that all the terms
are interpretations based on a definite system of thought and really
have nothing to do with the experience itself. In anywhere satori has
remained thoroughly impersonal, or rather highly intellectual. Not only
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satori itself is such a prosaic and non-glorious event, but the occasion
that inspires it also seems to be unromantic and altogether lacking in
super-sensuality. Satori is experienced in connection with any ordinary
occurrence in one’s daily life. It does not appear to be an extraordinary
phenomenon as is recorded in Christian books of mysticism. Sometimes
takes hold of you, or slaps you, or brings you a cup of tea, or makes
some most commonplace remark, or recites some passage from a sutra
or from a book of poetry, and when your mind is ripe for its outburst,
you come at once to satori. There is no voice of the Holy Ghost, no
plentitude of Divine Grace, no glorification of any sort. Here is nothing
painted in high colors, all is grey and extremely unobstrusive and
unattractive.
Fourth, to Reflect on Impermanence: Reflection on impermanence
is one of the most important entrances to the great enlightenment; for
with it, we are able to reflect and see the real face of all the desires of
the triple world burning house. Anitya is the state of not being
permanent, of lasting or existing only for a short time, of changing
continually. Physical changes operating from the state of formation, to
that of development, decay and disintegration are exact manifestations
of the law of transformation. All things in the universe, from the small
grain of sand, the human body, to the big one such as the earth, moon
and sun are governed by the aove law, and as such, must come through
these four periods. This process of changes characterizes
impermanence. Anitya is one of the three fundamental of everything
existing: Impermanence (Anitya), Suffering (Duhkha) and Non-ego
(Anatman). According to Jisho Warner in Stone Creek Zendo, we
usually think that things are changing around us, rushing by at a mad
pace and making us feel unstable, so we try to slow them down. We try
to establish a firm footing on what is really shifting ground, which only
makes us more uneasy. We act as though we are solid unchanging
things that changes happen to, but that is impossible. If we carry the
idea through that things are changing, we see for ourselves that we are
changing, that what is at the heart of things is changingness. What the
Buddha said is that it is because we don't see that truth of the nature of
things that we suffer. We feel at sea, and we're seasick because we
think things should hold still. The Buddha's prescription could be said to
be: learn to swim. Impermanence is a great river of phenomena, of
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beings, things, and events, coming to be and passing away in

dependence on each other. This natural order of things includes us, and
its laws are our laws. We are an endless moving stream in an endless
moving stream.
Fifth, to Contemplate on Living Beings: The term “Living beings”
refer to all creatures that possess life-force. Each individual living
being comes into being as the result of a variety of different causes and
conditions. The smallest living beings as ants, mosquitoes, or even the
most tiniest parasites are living beings. Every being is a combination of
five elements: rupa, vedana, sanna, sankhara, and vinnana. Hence, one
being is not essentially different from another, an ordinary man is not
different from a perfect saint. But is the nature and proportion of each
of the five constituents existing in an individual be taken into account,
then one being is different from another, an ordinary man is different
from a perfect saint. The combination of elements is the outcome of
Karma and is happening every moment, implying that the
disintegration of elements always precedes it. The elements in a
combined state pass as an individual, and from time immemorial he
works under misconception of a self and of things relating to a self. His
vision being distorted or obscured by ignorance of the truth he can not
perceive the momentary combination and disintegration of elements.
On the other hand, he is subject to an inclination for them. A perfect
man with his vision cleared by the Buddhist practices and culture
realizes the real state of empirical things that an individual consists of
the five elements and does not possess a permanent and unchanging
entity called soul. According to the Vimalakiriti Sutra, Manjusri
Bodhisattva obeyed the Buddha’s command to call on Vimalakirti to
enquire after his health. Manjusri asked Vimalakirti: “How should a
Bodhisattva look at living beings?” Vimalakirti replied: “ A
Bodhisattva should look at living beings like an illusionist does at the
illusory men (he has created); and like a wise man looking at the
moon’s reflection in water; at his own face in a mirror; at the flame of a
burning fire; at the echo of a calling voice; at flying clouds in the sky;
at foam in a liquid; at bubbles on water; at the (empty) core of a
banana tree; at a flash of lightning; at the (non-existent) fifth element
(beside the four that make the human body); at the sixth aggregate
(beside the five that make a sentient being); at the seventh sense
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datum (beside the six objects of sense); at the thirteenth entrance

(ayatana-beside the twelve involving the six organs and six sense
date); at the nineteenth realm of sense (beside the eighteen dhatus or
fields of sense); at form in the formless world; at the (non-existent)
sprout of a charred grain of rice; at a body seen by a srota-apanna (who
has wiped out the illusory body to enter the holy stream); at the entry
of an anagamin (or a non-returning sravaka) into the womb of a woman
(for rebirth); at an arhat still preserving the three poisons (of desire,
anger and stupidity which he has eliminated for wever); at a
Bodhisattva realizing the patient endurance of the uncreate who is still
greedy, resentful and breaking the prohibitions; at a Buddha still
suffering from klesa (troubles); at a blind man seeing things; at an
adept who still breathes air in and out while in the state of nirvanic
imperturbability; at the tracks of birds flying in the air; at the progeny
of a barren woman; at the suffering of an illusory man; at a sleeping
man seeing he is awake in a dream; at a devout man realizing nirvana
who takes a bodily form for (another) reincarnation; and at a smokeless
fire. This is how a Bodhisattva should look at living beings.”
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Chöông Möôøi Boán

Chapter Fourteen

Nhaäp Phaùp Giôùi Thaäm Thaâm

Vaø Baùt Nhaõ Tam Muoäi

Trong phaùp giôùi hay theá giôùi hieän töôïng, coù ba theá giôùi laø duïc, saéc
vaø taâm. Heát thaûy caùc loaøi taïo vaät, caû Thaùnh laãn phaøm, nhaân vaø quaû,
ñeàu ôû trong phaùp giôùi ñoù. Chæ coù Phaät laø ôû ngoaøi phaùp giôùi. Phaùp Giôùi
coù ñeán hai nghóa: Thöù nhaát laø vuõ truï hieän thöïc. Thöù nhì laø theá giôùi
khoâng haïn ñònh hay Nieát Baøn. Noù chính laø Chaân Nhö cuûa Phaät. Nieát
Baøn tòch dieät vöøa coù nghóa laø söï dieät voïng cuûa theå xaùc con ngöôøi (theo
nghóa tieâu cöïc), vaø vöøa laø söï dieät taän cuûa caùc ñieàu kieän sinh töû (theo
nghóa tích cöïc). Theo Giaùo Sö Junjiro Takakusu trong Cöông Yeáu Trieát
Hoïc Phaät Giaùo, phaùp giôùi trong yù nghóa laø caûnh giôùi cuûa lyù taéc vaø vöøa
laø söï töôùng cuûa taát caû söï töôùng, ñoàng nghóa vôùi Nhö Lai Taïng vaø cuõng
ñoàng nghóa vôùi vuõ truï hay theá giôùi hieän thöïc, nghóa laø caûnh giôùi cuûa taát
caû söï töôùng. Theo trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn, Phaùp Giôùi cuõng coù nghóa laø
Chaân Nhö hoaëc Thöïc Taïi hay Nieát Baøn. ÔÛ ñaây chöõ ‘Giôùi’ coù nghóa laø
baûn chaát thaâm saâu nhaát, hay baûn chaát toái haäu. Phaùp Giôùi vaø Chaân Nhö
ñeàu laø sieâu vieät vaø noäi toàn. Noù laø sieâu vieät nhö Thöïc Taïi toái haäu,
nhöng noù hieän höõu trong moãi ngöôøi nhö laø cô sôû vaø baûn chaát thaâm saâu
nhaát cuûa hoï.
Baùt Nhaõ coù nghóa laø thöïc löïc nhaän thöùc roõ raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng
nguyeân taéc caên baûn cuûa chuùng cuõng nhö xaùc quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi
ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ coù nghóa laø caùi bieát sieâu vieät. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh
dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä nhaát trí tueä trong heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì
cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh baèng (voâ thöôïng, voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Coù ba loaïi
Baùt Nhaõ: Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ, Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ, vaø Phöông tieän Baùt
Nhaõ. Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ laø trí hueä ñaït ñöôïc khi ñaõ ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Quaùn
chieáu baùt nhaõ laø phaàn hai cuûa trí hueä Baùt Nhaõ. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát
khi thaät söï ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ hay vaên töï Baùt nhaõ. Ñaây
laø loaïi trí hueä hieåu bieát chö phaùp giaû taïm vaø luoân thay ñoåi. Ñaây laø trí
hueä caàn thieát ñöa ñeán yù höôùng “Ñaùo Bæ Ngaïn”. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät coù
nghóa laø quaùn saùt taát caû chö phaùp nhö thaät. Trí tueä khieán chuùng sanh coù
khaû naêng ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Trí tueä giaûi thoaùt laø ba la maät cao nhaát trong luïc
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ba la maät, laø phöông tieän chaùnh ñeå ñaït tôùi nieát baøn. Noù bao truøm söï
thaáy bieát taát caû nhöõng huyeãn hoaëc cuûa theá gian vaïn höõu, noù phaù tan
boùng toái cuûa si meâ, taø kieán vaø sai laïc. Tam muoäi laø traïng thaùi taâm
khoâng bò loaïn ñoäng. Tam muoäi cuõng coù nghóa laø Ñònh, taäp trung tinh
thaàn vaøo moät ñoái töôïng duy nhaát, ñaït ñöôïc do thöïc taäp thieàn ñònh hay
söï phoái hôïp giöõa thieàn ñònh vaø trí tueä Baùt nhaõ. Ñònh laø traïng thaùi taäp
trung tinh thaàn, keát quaû tröïc tieáp cuûa thieàn vaø quaùn töôûng. Ñònh laø coân g
cuï chính daãn tôùi ñaïi giaùc. Ñònh laø traïng thaùi yù thöùc phi nhò nguyeân, keát
hôïp caû chuû theå vaø ñoái töôïng. Ñònh chaúng phaûi laø keàm giöõ taâm taïi moät
ñieåm, maø cuõng khoâng laø dôøi taâm töø choã naày ñeán choã khaùc, vì laøm nhö
vaäy laø theo tieán trình cuûa nhò nguyeân. Böôùc vaøo ñònh laø böôùc vaøo traïng
thaùi tónh taâm. Coù ba loaïi ñònh sieâu nhieân. Trong Phaät giaùo Ñaïi Thöøa,
“samadhi” chæ söï thaêng baèng beân trong, söï yeân tónh vaø taäp trung tinh
thaàn, hay traïng thaùi tónh taâm hoaøn toaøn cuûa tinh thaàn, nhöng khoâng maát
ñi yù thöùc veà hieän thöïc. Ñaây laø moät traïng thaùi phi nhò nguyeân, maø ñaëc
tröng cuûa noù laø moïi söï phaân bieät giöõa chuû theå vaø ñoái töôïng, beân trong
vaø beân ngoaøi, ñeàu bieán maát. Chuû theå vaø ñoái töôïng chæ laø moät.
Theo Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng daïy: “Naøy thieän tri thöùc,
neáu muoán vaøo phaùp giôùi thaäm thaâm vaø Baùt Nhaõ Tam Muoäi thì phaûi tu Baùt
Nhaõ haïnh, phaûi trì tuïng Kinh Kim Cang Baùt Nhaõ, töùc ñöôïc thaáy taùnh. Neân bieát
kinh naày coâng ñöùc voâ löôïng voâ bieân, trong kinh ñaõ khen ngôïi roõ raøng, khoâng
theå noùi ñaày ñuû ñöôïc. Phaùp moân naày laø toái thöôïng thöøa, vì nhöõng ngöôøi ñaïi trí
maø noùi, vì nhöõng ngöôøi thöôïng caên maø noùi. Nhöõng ngöôøi tieåu caên tieåu trí nghe
phaùp naày, taâm sanh ra khoâng tin. Vì côù sao? Ví nhö coù moät traän möa lôùn, caû
coõi nöôùc, thaønh aáp, chôï buùa ñeàu bò troâi giaït cuõng nhö troâi giaït nhöõng laù taùo.
Neáu traän möa lôùn ñoù möa nôi bieån caû thì khoâng taêng khoâng giaûm. Nhö ngöôøi
ñaïi thöøa, hoaëc ngöôøi toái thöôïng thöøa nghe Kinh Kim Cang thì khai ngoä, theá
neân bieát baûn taùnh hoï töï coù trí Baùt Nhaõ, töï duøng trí hueä thöôøng quaùn chieáu, neân
khoâng nhôø vaên töï, thí duï nhö nöôùc möa khoâng phaûi töø trôøi maø coù, nguyeân laø töø
roàng maø daáy leân, khieán cho taát caû chuùng sanh, taát caû coû caây, höõu tình voâ tình
thaûy ñeàu ñöôïc ñöôïm nhuaàn. Traêm soâng caùc doøng ñeàu chaûy vaøo bieån caû, hôïp
thaønh moät theå, trí hueä Baùt Nhaõ nôi baûn taùnh chuùng sanh laïi cuõng nhö theá.”

Enter the Extremely Deep Dharma Realm

and the Prajna Samadhi

In the phenomenal world (dharmadhatu), there are three worlds of

desire, form and mind. All created things or beings, both noble and
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ignoble, both cause and effect, are within the dharmadhatu. The idea in
this text is practically identical with the diagram given above. The
Realm of Principle (Dharma-dhatu) has a double meaning: First, the
actual universe. Second, the indeterminate world or Nirvana. It is
identical with the Thusness of the Buddha. Nirvana or flamelessness
means, on the one hand, the death of a human body and, on the other
hand, the total extinction of life conditions (negatively) or the perfect
freedom of will and action (positively). According to Prof. Junjiro
Takakusu in the Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, Dharmadhatu, in its
double meaning as Realm of Principle and Element of all Elements, is
a synonym with Matrix of the Thus-come (Tathagata-garbha) and also
with the universe or the actual world, i.e., the realm of all elements.
According to the Madhyamaka philosophy, the word ‘Dharmadhatu’ is
also called ‘Tathata’ or Reality, or Nirvana. Here the word ‘Dhatu’
means the inmost nature, the ultimate essence. Dharmadhatu or
Tathata is both transcendent and immanent. It is transcendent as
ultimate Reality, but it is present in every one as his inmost ground and
essence.
Prajna means the real power to discern things and their underlying
principles and to decide the doubtful. Prajna means a transcendental
knowledge. The Prajna-paramita-sutra describes “prajna” as supreme,
highest, incomparable, unequalled, unsurpassed. There are three
prajnas or perfect enlightements: The first part of the prajnaparamita.
The wisdom achieved once crossed the shore. The second part of the
prajnaparamita. The necessary wisdom for actual crossing the shore of
births and deaths. The wisdom of knowing things in their temporary and
changing condition. The necessary wisdom for vowing to cross the
shore of births and deaths. Transcendental wisdom means observing all
things as they truly are. The wisdom which enables one to reach the
other shore, i.e. wisdom for salvation; the highest of the six paramitas,
the virtue of wisdom as the principal means of attaining nirvana. It
connotes a knowledge of the illusory character of everything earthly,
and destroys error, ignorance, prejudice, and heresy. Samadhi means a
state of mind in which the mind is free from distraction and absorbed in
intense, purposeless concentration, thereby, entering a state of inner
serenity. Samadhi also means one-pointedness of the mind. One-
pointedness of mind, obtained from the practices of meditation or the
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combination of meditation (Dhyana) and Prajna (Transcendental

wisdom). The state of mental concentration resulting from the practice
of meditation and contemplation on Reality (the state of even-
mindedness). Samadhi is the key tool that leads to enlightenment.
Samadhi is a non-dualistic state of consciousness in which the
consciousness of the experiencing “subject” becomes one with the
experienced “object.” Samadhi is neither a straining concentration on
one point, nor the mind is directed from here (subject) to there (object),
which would be dualistic mode of experience. To enter samadhi means
to attain the state of absorption of dhyana. In Mahayana Buddhism,
samadhi designates equilibrium, tranquility, and collectedness of mind.
It also designates a completely wakeful total absorption of the mind in
itself. It is a nondualistic state of mind in which there is no distinction
between subject and object, either inner and outer. There is no mind of
the meditator (subject) that is directed toward an object of meditation
or concentrated on a point (so-called one-pointedness of mind). In Zen,
the subject and object are one.
According to the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma Treasure,
the Sixth Patriarch, Hui-Neng, taught: “Good Knowing Advisors, if you wish to
enter the extremely deep Dharma realm and the Prajna samadhi, you must
cultivate the practice of Prajna. Hold and recite the ‘Diamond Prajna Paramita
Sutra’ and that way you will see your own nature. You should know that the
merit and virtue of this sutra is immeasurable, unbounded, and indescribable,
as the Sutra text itself clearly states. This Dharma-door is the Superior
Vehicle, that is taught to the people of great wisdom and superior faculties.
When people of limited faculties and wisdom hear it, their minds give rise to
doubt. Why is that? Take this example, the rains which the heavenly dragons
shower on Jambudvipa. Cities and villages drift about in the flood like thorns
and leaves. But if the rain falls on the great sea, its water neither increases nor
decreases. If people of the Great Vehicle, the Most Superior Vehicle, hear the
Diamond Sutra, their minds open up, awaken and understand. Then they know
that their original nature itself possesses the wisdom of Prajna. Because they
themselves use this wisdom constantly to contemplate and illuminate. And
they do not rely on written words. Take for example, the rain does not come
from the sky. The truth is that the dragons cause it to fall in order that all living
beings, all plants and trees, all those with feeling and those without feeling
may receive its moisture. In a hundred streams, it flows into the great sea and
there unites in one substance. The wisdom of the Prajna of the original nature
of living beings acts the same way.”
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Phaàn Hai
Taùnh Khoâng Theo
Quan Ñieåm Phaät Giaùo

Part Two
Sunyata in Buddhist Point of View
120
 121

Chöông Möôøi Laêm

Chapter Fifteen

Chaân Lyù Veà Caùi Khoâng

Trong Ñaïo Phaät

Theo Phaät giaùo, Khoâng Taùnh laø baûn taùnh laø caùi laøm cho löûa noùng
vaø nöôùc laïnh, noù laø baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa moãi vaät theå caù bieät. Khi
noùi raèng noù Khoâng, coù nghóa laø khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ (Atman) beân trong noù
ñeå taïo ra baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa noù, vaø yù nieäm ñích thöïc veà baûn chaát
nguyeân sô laø moät yù nieäm Khoâng. Chuùng ta ñaõ ghi nhaän raèng khoâng coù
töï ngaõ caù bieät nôi haäu cöù cuûa caùi chuùng ta coi nhö vaät theå caù bieät, bôûi
vì vaïn höõu laø nhöõng saûn phaåm cuûa voâ soá nhaân vaø duyeân, vaø chaúng coù
gì ñaùng goïi laø moät baûn chaát nguyeân sô ñoäc laäp, ñôn ñoäc, töï höõu. Taát caû
laø Khoâng trieät ñeå, vaø neáu coù thöù baûn chaát nguyeân sô naøo ñoù, thì coù
caùch naøo cuõng vaãn laø Khoâng. Trong Phaïn ngöõ, thuaät ngöõ “Sunyata” laø
söï keát hôïp cuûa “Sunya” coù nghóa laø khoâng, troáng roãng, roãng tueách, vôùi
haäu tieáp töø “ta” coù nghóa laø “söï” (duøng cho danh töø). Thuaät ngöõ raát khoù
maø dòch ñöôïc sang Hoa ngöõ; tuy nhieân, chuùng ta coù theå dòch sang Anh
ngöõ nhö laø söï troáng khoâng, söï troáng roãng, hoaëc chaân khoân g. Khaùi nieäm
cuûa töø “Sunyata” caên baûn thuoäc veà caû hôïp lyù vaø bieän chöùng. Thaät khoù
ñeå hieåu ñöôïc khaùi nieäm “Taùnh khoâng” vì yù nieäm chaân ñeá cuûa noù
(thaéng nghóa khoâng, lìa caùc phaùp thì khoâng coù töï taùnh) lieân quan ñeán yù
nghóa ngoân ngöõ hoïc, ñaëc bieät vì töø nguyeân hoïc (taùnh khoâng coù nghóa laø
troáng roãng hoaëc khoâng coù gì trong hình daùng cuûa chö phaùp) khoâng cung
caáp theâm ñöôïc gì vaøo yù thöïc tieãn hay lyù thuyeát cuûa khaùi nieäm naøy.
Khoâng ñeá coøn ñöôïc goïi laø chaân lyù veà caùi khoâng. Theo Phaät giaùo,
chö phaùp laø khoâng hay laø hö khoâng, troáng roãng (söï khoâng coù tính chaát
caù bieät hay ñoäc laäp), voâ thöôøng, vaø khoâng coù töï ngaõ. Nghóa laø vaïn phaùp
khoâng coù töï tính, maø tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân, vaø thieáu haún töï taùnh.
Vì vaäy moät con ngöôøi noùi laø khoâng coù “töï taùnh” vì con ngöôøi aáy ñöôïc
keát hôïp bôûi nhieàu thöù khaùc nhau, nhöõng thöù aáy luoân thay ñoåi vaø hoaøn
toaøn tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân. Tuy nhieân, Phaät töû nhìn yù nieäm veà
“khoâng” trong ñaïo Phaät moät caùch tích cöïc treân söï hieän höõu, vì noù aùm
chæ moïi vaät ñeàu luoân bieán chuyeån, nhôø vaäy môùi môû roäng ñeå höôùng veà
töông lai. Neáu vaïn höõu coù taùnh chaát khoâng bieán chuyeån, thì taát caû ñeàu
 122

bò keït ôû nhöõng hoaøn caûnh hieän taïi maõi maõi khoâng thay ñoåi, moät ñieàu
khoâng theå naøo xaûy ra ñöôïc. Phaät töû thuaàn thaønh phaûi coá gaéng thaáy cho
ñöôïc taùnh khoâng ñeå khoâng vöôùng víu, thay vaøo ñoù duøng taát caû thôøi giôø
coù ñöôïc cho vieäc tu taäp, vì caøng tu taäp chuùng ta caøng coù theå tieán gaàn
ñeán vieäc thaønh ñaït “trí hueä” nghóa laø caøng tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc tröïc
nghieäm “khoâng taùnh,” vaø caøng chöùng nghieäm “khoâng taùnh” chuùng ta
caøng coù khaû naêng phaùt trieån “trí hueä ba la maät.”
Theo Giaùo Sö Junjiro Takakusu trong Cöông Yeáu Trieát Hoïc Phaät
Giaùo, ñaây laø moät trong tam ñeá cuûa toâng Thieân Thai, hai chaân lyù kia laø
Giaû ñeá vaø Trung ñeá. Theo toâng naày thì caû ba chaân lyù aáy laø ba trong
moät, moät trong ba. Nguyeân lyù thì laø moät, nhöng phöông phaùp dieãn nhaäp
laïi laø ba. Moãi moät trong ba ñeàu coù giaù trò toaøn dieän. Moïi söï theå ñeàu
khoâng coù hieän thöïc tính vaø do ñoù, taát caû ñeàu khoâng. Vì vaäy, khi luaän
chöùng cuûa chuùng ta y cöù treân “Khoâng,” chuùng ta coi “Khoâng” nhö laø
sieâu vieät taát caû ba. Nhö vaäy, caû thaûy ñeàu laø “Khoâng.” Vaø khi moät laø
khoâng thì caû thaûy ñeàu laø “Khoâng.” (Nhaát khoâng nhaát thieát khoâng, nhaát
giaû nhaát thieát giaû, nhaát trung nhaát thieát trung). Chuùng coøn ñöôïc goïi laø
“Töùc khoâng, töùc giaû, vaø töùc trung,” hay Vieân Dung Tam Ñeá, ba chaân lyù
ñuùng hôïp troøn ñaày, hay laø tuyeät ñoái tam ñeá, ba chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái.
Chuùng ta khoâng neân coi ba chaân lyù naày nhö laø caùch bieät nhau, bôûi vì caû
ba thaâm nhaäp laãn nhau vaø cuõng tìm thaáy söï dung hoøa vaø hôïp nhaát hoaøn
toaøn. Moät söï theå laø khoâng nhöng cuõng laø giaû höõu. Noù laø giaû bôûi vi noù
khoâng, vaø roài, moät söï laø khoâng, ñoàng thôøi laø giaû cho neân cuõng laø trung.

The Truth of Emptiness

In Buddhism

According to Buddhism, Emptiness of primary nature or state of

emptiness (Prakriti) is what makes fire hot and water cold, it is the
primary nature of each individual object. When it is declared to be
empty, it means that there is no Atman in it, which constitutes its
primary nature, and that the very idea of primary nature is an empty
one. That there is no individual selfhood at the back of what we
consider a particular object has already been noted, because all things
are products of various causes and conditions, and there is nothing that
can be called an independent, solitary, self-originating primary nature.
All is ultimately empty, and if there is such a thing as primary nature, it
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cannot be otherwise than empty. In Sanskrit, the term “Sunyata”

terminologically compounded of “Sunya” meaning empty, void, or
hollow, and an abstract suffix “ta” meaning “ness”. The term was
extremely difficult to be translated into Chinese; however, we can
translate into English as “Emptiness,” “Voidness,” or “Vacuity.” The
concept of this term was essentially both logical and dialectical. The
difficulty in understanding this concept is due to its transcendental
meaning in relation to the logico-linguistic meaning, especially
because the etymological tracing of its meaning (sunyata meaning
vacuous or hollow within a shape of thing) provides no theoretical or
practical addition to one’s understanding of the concept.
Emptiness or void is a central notion of Buddhism recognized that
all composite things are empty (samskrita), impermanent (anitya) and
void of an essence (anatamn). That is to say all phenomena lack an
essence or self, are dependent upon causes and conditions, and so, lack
inherent existence. Thus, a person is said to be empty of being a “self”
because he is composed of parts that are constantly changing and
entirely dependent upon causes and conditions. However, the concept
of emptiness is viewed by Buddhists as a positive perspective on
reality, because it implies that everything is constantly changing, and is
thus open toward the future. If things possessed an unchanging essence,
all beings would be stuck in their present situations, and real change
would be impossible. Devout Buddhists should try to attain the
realization of emptiness in order to develop the ability to detach on
everything, and utilize all the available time to practice the Buddha-
teachings. The more we practice the Buddha’s teachings, the more we
approach the attainment of wisdom, that is to say the more we are able
to reach the “direct realization of emptiness,” and we realize the
“emptiness of all things,” the more we can reach the “perfection of
wisdom.”
The Truth of Emptiness is also called the Truth of Void. According
to Prof. Junjiro Takakusu in The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, this
is one of the three truths of the T’ien-T’ai School, the other two are the
truth of temporariness and the truth of mean. According to this school
the three truths are three in one, one in three. The principle is one but
the method of explanation is threefold. Each one of the three has the
value of all. All things have no reality and, therefore, are void.
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Therefore, when our argument is based on the void, we deny the

existence of both the temporary and the middle, since we consider the
void as transcending all. Thus, the three will all be void. And, when
one is void, all will be void (When one is void, all will be void; when
one is temporary, all is temporary; when one is middle, all will be
middle). They are also called the identical void, identical temporary
and identical middle. It is also said to be the perfectly harmonious
triple truth or the absolute triple truth. We should not consider the
three truths as separate because the three penetrate one another and
are found perfectly harmonized and united together. A thing is void but
is also temporarily existent. It is temporary because it is void, and the
fact that everything is void and at the same time temporary is the
middle truth.
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Chöông Möôøi Saùu

Chapter Sixteen

Toång Quan Vaø YÙ Nghóa Cuûa

“Khoâng” Theo Phaät Giaùo

Chuùng ta coù theå dieãn giaûi chöõ “Khoâng” trong Phaät giaùo nhö laø moät
lôùp hö khoâng coù hai taùnh chaát saùng vaø chaát toái. Hö khoâng naày laø
khoaûng hö khoâng ñang hieän ra tröôùc maét baïn. Tuy nhieân, coøn coù moät
thöù hö khoâng khaùc voán chæ laø tónh laëng, khoâng coù ngaên ngaïi khi tieáp
xuùc. Trong chöông naày, chuùng ta chæ baøn luaän veà caùi “Hö Khoâng” vôùi
nghóa “Tónh Laëng” hay “Troáng roãng” maø thoâi. Khoâng ñöôïc duøng trong
nghóa phuû ñònh hay phuû nhaän: khoâng, ñöøng. Khoâng coù nghóa laø “Baát”
hay “Phi,” thí duï nhö Baát nhò, Phi khoâng, vaân vaân. Trong Trung Quaùn
Luaän, Ngaøi Long Thoï noùi: “Ngöôøi naøo hoøa hôïp cuøng taùnh khoâng, hoøa
hôïp cuøng vaïn phaùp.” Theo chaân lyù töông ñoái thì taát caû caùc söï vaät ñeàu
hieän höõu, nhöng trong chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái thì khoâng coù gì hieän höõu caû;
trong chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái, ngöôøi ta thaáy raèng taát caû caùc söï vaät ñeàu khoâng
coù töï tính, nhöng trong chaân lyù töông ñoái coù moät söï nhaän thöùc choã naøo
khoâng coù töï tính. Laáy thí duï nhö caùi baøn chaúng haïn, neáu baïn muoán tìm
kieám caùi vaät theå maø baïn ñang ñeå tay treân ñoù ñeå khaùm phaù xem noù thaät
söï laø caùi gì trong caùc phaàn, hoaëc phaàn naày laø caùi baøn, hay phaàn kia laø
caùi baøn, thì seõ khoâng coù baát cöù ñieàu gì coù theå tìm thaáy ñöôïc laø caùi baøn
caû vì caùi baøn laø moät caùi gì ñoù maø neáu tìm kieám baèng phaân tích seõ
khoâng theå thaáy ñöôïc. Neáu chuùng ta döïa vaøo thöïc taïi tuyeät ñoái hoaëc
taùnh khoâng cuûa moät “caùi baøn” chaúng haïn laø neàn taûng vaø tìm kieám xem
noù coù theå tìm ñöôïc khoâng, thì noù seõ trôû thaønh chaân lyù quy öôùc theo
nghóa chính noù laø neàn taûng ñoù. Trong moái töông quan vôùi “caùi baøn”,
taùnh khoâng cuûa noù laø moät chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái, nhöng trong töông quan
vôùi thöïc taïi cuûa chính noù, coù nghóa laø thöïc taïi cuûa thöïc taïi, thì ñoù laø
chaân lyù quy öôùc. Theo chaân lyù töông ñoái thì taát caû caùc söï vaät ñeàu hieän
höõu, nhöng trong chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái thì khoâng coù gì hieän höõu caû; trong
chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái, ngöôøi ta thaáy raèng taát caû caùc söï vaät ñeàu khoâng coù töï
tính, nhöng trong chaân lyù töông ñoái coù moät söï nhaän thöùc choã naøo khoâng
coù töï tính. Laáy thí duï nhö caùi baøn chaúng haïn, neáu baïn muoán tìm kieám
caùi vaät theå maø baïn ñang ñeå tay treân ñoù ñeå khaùm phaù xem noù thaät söï laø
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caùi gì trong caùc phaàn, hoaëc phaàn naày laø caùi baøn, hay phaàn kia laø caùi
baøn, thì seõ khoâng coù baát cöù ñieàu gì coù theå tìm thaáy ñöôïc laø caùi baøn caû
vì caùi baøn laø moät caùi gì ñoù maø neáu tìm kieám baèng phaân tích seõ khoâng
theå thaáy ñöôïc. Neáu chuùng ta döïa vaøo thöïc taïi tuyeät ñoái hoaëc taùnh
khoâng cuûa moät “caùi baøn” chaúng haïn laø neàn taûng vaø tìm kieám xem noù
coù theå tìm ñöôïc khoâng, thì noù seõ trôû thaønh chaân lyù quy öôùc theo nghóa
chính noù laø neàn taûng ñoù. Trong moái töông quan vôùi “caùi baøn”, taùnh
khoâng cuûa noù laø moät chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái, nhöng trong töông quan vôùi
thöïc taïi cuûa chính noù, coù nghóa laø thöïc taïi cuûa thöïc taïi, thì ñoù laø chaân lyù
quy öôùc. Neáu baïn tieáp tuïc duy trì vaø phaùt huy yù töôûng tính phi hieän höõu
cuûa caùi baøn, thì daàn daàn baïn seõ coù khaû naêng khaúng ñònh ñöôïc taùnh
khoâng cuûa noù. Duø luùc ban ñaàu ñoái töôïng caùi baøn vaãn tieáp tuïc xuaát hieän
trong taâm baïn, nhöng vôùi söï taäp trung vaøo taùnh khoâng, ñoái töôïng seõ
bieán maát. Roài nhôø vaøo söï quaùn saùt taùnh khoâng cuûa ñoái töôïng, khi ñoái
töôïng taùi trình hieän, baïn seõ coù khaû naêng duy trì yù töôûng laø ñoái töôïng
khoâng toàn taïi theo nhö veû beân ngoaøi cuûa noù.
Haønh giaû tu Phaät neân luoân nhôù raèng chöõ “khoâng” ôû ñaây khoâng
ñoàng nghóa vôùi chöõ “khoâng” maø chuùng ta duøng thöôøng ngaøy. Chöõ
“khoâng” ôû ñaây vöôït leân khoûi yù nieäm bình thöôøng. “Khoâng” khoâng coù
nghóa laø khoâng hieän höõu, maø laø khoâng coù thöïc taùnh. Ñeå traùnh laàm laãn,
caùc Phaät töû thöôøng duøng töø “Chaân khoâng” ñeå chæ caùi khoâng khoâng coù
thöïc taùnh naøy. Thaät ra, yù nghóa chöõ “khoâng” trong Phaät giaùo raát saâu
saéc, tinh teá vaø khoù hieåu bôûi vì theo lôøi Ñöùc Phaät daïy, khoâng chæ khoâng
coù saéc, thanh, höông, vò, xuùc, phaùp maø caùc hieän töôïng hieän höõu laø tuøy
duyeân. Ñöùc Phaät muoán nhaán maïnh ñeán “khoâng” nhö söï rôøi boû nhöõng
chaáp thuû vaø taø kieán. Theo Phaät giaùo, “khoâng” coøn phaûi ñöôïc hieåu nhö
laø “voâ ngaõ.” Tuy nhieân, trong haàu heát kinh ñieån, Ñöùc Phaät luoân giaûng
veà “voâ ngaõ” hôn laø “taùnh khoâng” bôûi vì nghóa cuûa “taùnh khoâng” raát
tröøu töôïng vaø khoù hieåu. Theo kinh Tieåu Khoâng vaø Ñaïi Khoâng, Ñöùc
Phaät baûo A Nan laø Ngaøi thöôøng an truù trong caûnh giôùi an tònh cuûa
“khoâng.” Khi ngaøi A Nan thænh caàu Phaät laøm roõ nghóa cuûa söï an tònh
nôi taùnh khoâng thì Ñöùc Phaät giaûi thích: “Söï giaûi thoaùt nôi taùnh khoâng
coù nghóa laø söï giaûi thoaùt qua trí tueä veà voâ ngaõ.” Thaät vaäy, ngaøi Phaät
AÂm ñaõ khaúng ñònh: “Ngay trong tu taäp thieàn ñònh, ‘khoâng’ vaø ‘voâ ngaõ’
laø hai khaùi nieäm khoâng theå taùch rôøi. Quaùn chieáu veà ‘taùnh khoâng’ khoâng
gì khaùc hôn laø quaùn chieáu veà ‘voâ ngaõ.’”
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Chöõ Khoâng trong Phaät giaùo coù nghóa laø phaùp khoâng coù thöïc höõu
noäi taïi, khoâng coù baûn chaát thöôøng haèng. Nhöõng gì hieän höõu ñeàu coù ñieàu
kieän, vaø coù lieân quan vôùi nhöõng yeáu toá khaùc. Thöù nhaát laø Nhaân
khoâng: Moät ngöôøi khoâng coù coù thöïc höõu noäi taïi, kyø thaät ngöôøi aáy laø söï
duyeân hôïp cuûa nguõ uaån. Thöù nhì laø Phaùp khoâng: Vaïn höõu khoâng coù
thöïc höõu noäi taïi, maø chuùng laø söï phoái hôïp cuûa nhieàu yeáu toá nhaân
duyeân. Khoâng coøn coù nghóa laø “Hö” hay “Voâ,” thí duï nhö Hö vaân, Voâ
uùy, vaân vaân. Khoâng laø khoâng coù thaät. Khoâng laø troáng khoâng. Khoâng
coøn coù nghóa laø khoâng coù theå taùnh. Taát caû caùc söï vaät trong tam giôùi ñeàu
khoâng phaûi laø thaät. Khoâng laø söï troáng roãng khoâng coù gì. Phaät Giaùo Ñaïi
Thöøa thöôøng ñöôïc ñoàng nhaát hoùa vôùi trieát hoïc “Khoâng Taùnh,” ñieàu naày
ñuùng veà maët noù phuû nhaän caùi lyù thuyeát veà baûn theå maø caùc tröôøng phaùi
duy thöïc cuûa Phaät giaùo chuû tröông, nhöng chuùng ta phaûi nhôù raèng Ñaïi
Thöøa coù caùi khía caïnh tích cöïc cuûa noù luoân luoân keøm theo vôùi hoïc
thuyeát Khoâng Taùnh cuûa noù. Khía caïnh tích cöïc naày goïi laø hoïc thuyeát
nhö nhö hay nhö thò. Kinh Laêng Giaø luoân caån thaän laøm caân baèng Taùnh
Khoâng vôùi Nhö Nhö, hay caån thaän nhaán maïnh raèng khi theá giôùi ñöôïc
nhìn nhö laø “khoâng,” thì noù ñöôïc ngöôøi ta naém baét veà caùi nhö nhö cuûa
noù. Dó nhieân moät hoïc thuyeát nhö theá naày vöôït qua caùi nhìn luaän lyù
ñöôïc ñaët caên baûn treân söï nhaän bieát suy dieãn vì noù thuoäc phaïm vi cuûa
tröïc giaùc maø theo thuaät ngöõ cuûa Kinh Laêng Giaø, noù laø söï theå chöùng caùi
trí tueä toái thöôïng trong taâm thöùc.
Theo Tam Luaän Toâng trong Cöông Yeáu Trieát Hoïc Phaät Giaùo cuûa
Giaùo Sö Junjiro Takakusu, “Khoâng” hieåu theo Tam Luaän Toâng veà maët
tieâu cöïc, ‘Sunya’ coù nghóa laø ‘Khoâng,’ nhöng veà maët tích cöïc noù coù
nghóa laø ‘Duyeân Sinh,’ hay vieãn ly thöïc taïi töï höõu, hay vieãn ly töï taùnh
nhö theá “Sunyata” laø voâ theå ñoàng thôøi laø duyeân sinh, nghóa laø phaùp chæ
coù duyeân khôûi. Hình nhö quan nieäm veà duyeân khôûi naày ñöôïc truyeàn baù
raát maïnh ôû Trung Quaùn AÁn Ñoä. Veà phía Trung Hoa, Tam Luaän Toâng
cuõng vaäy, chöõ ‘Duyeân hoäi’ laø ñoàng nghóa vôùi ‘Trung ñaïo,’ ‘voâ töï taùnh’
‘phaùp töï taùnh’ vaø ‘Khoâng.’ Duyeân khôûi cuõng ñöôïc goïi laø ‘taùnh khoâng.’
Danh töø ‘Khoâng’ khoâng hoaøn toaøn thích hôïp vaø thöôøng bò laàm laãn,
nhöng neáu chuùng ta tìm moät danh töø khaùc, thì laïi khoâng coù chöõ naøo
ñuùng hôn. Roát cuoäc, khoâng moät yù nieäm naøo ñöôïc thieát laäp baèng bieän
chöùng phaùp. Noù voâ danh vaø voâ töôùng. Ñoù chæ laø söï phuû ñònh moät thöïc
taïi töï höõu hay phuû ñònh caù tính ñaëc höõu. Ngoaøi söï phuû ñònh, khoâng coù
gì khaùc. Heä thoáng Tam Luaän Toâng do ñoù laø moät phuû ñònh luaän, lyù
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thuyeát veà söï tieâu cöïc. Vaïn höõu ñeàu khoâng coù thöïc taïi tính töï höõu, nghóa
laø chuùng chæ hieän höõu töông quan, hay töông quan tính theo nghóa baát
thöïc treân cöùu caùnh, nhöng laïi thöïc ôû hieän töôïng.
Theo Höõu Boä, hoïc thuyeát Khoâng khoâng phaûi khoâng taùn thaønh lyù
duyeân khôûi vì hieän höõu ôû tuïc ñeá thuoäc toå hôïp nhaân quaû, vaø noù cuõng
khoâng loaïi boû nguyeân lyù luaân hoài, vì caàn phaûi coù noù ñeå giaûi thích traïng
thaùi bieán haønh sinh ñoäng. Chuùng ta thaáy raèng Höõu Boä coâng nhaän caû ba
giôùi heä cuûa thôøi gian ñeàu thöïc höõu vaø taát caû caùc phaùp cuõng thöïc höõu
trong moïi khoaûnh khaéc. Thaønh Thaät Toâng choáng laïi chuû tröông naày,
Thaønh Thaät luaän chuû tröông hö voâ, thöøa nhaän chæ coù hieän taïi laø thöïc
höõu coøn quaù khöù vaø vò lai thì voâ theå. Nhö taát caû caùc toâng phaùi Ñaïi Thöøa
khaùc, toâng naày thöøa nhaän caùi Khoâng cuûa taát caû caùc phaùp (sarva-
dharma-sunyata), keå caû ngaõ khoâng (pudgala-sunyata). Theâm nöõa, noù
thöøa nhaän coù hai chaân lyù: chaân ñeá vaø tuïc ñeá. Ñaây laø lyù do chính yeáu
khieán Thaønh Thaät toâng trong moät thôøi gian daøi ñöôïc xem laø thuoäc Ñaïi
Thöøa ôû Trung Hoa. Theo Haùn vaên, ‘Sunyata’ coù nghóa laø ‘Khoâng,’ noù
bao haøm taát caû nhöõng giai ñoaïn thieát yeáu cuû a yù nghóa: Ñaûn khoâng hay
thieân khoâng; Voâ töï taùnh, töï taùnh khoâng, hay voâ töï töôùng; khoâng trong yù
nghóa cao nhöùt hay ‘khoâng’ sieâu vieät; vaø Thaéng nghóa ‘Khoâng’ hay ñeä
nhöùt nghóa ñeá ‘khoâng’. Goác tieáng Phaïn cuûa “Taùnh khoâng” laø
“Sunyata.” “Sunya” laáy töø goác chöõ “svi” coù nghóa laø phoàng leân. Theo
Edward Conze trong Tinh Hoa vaø Söï Phaùt Trieån cuûa Ñaïo Phaät, trong
quaù khöù xa xöa, toå tieân chuùng ta vôùi moät baûn naêng tinh teá veà baûn chaát
bieän chöùng cuûa thöïc taïi, thöôøng ñöôïc duøng cuøng moät ñoäng töø goác ñeå
ñònh nghóa hai phöông dieän ñoái nghòch cuûa moät cuïc dieän. Hoï ñaëc bieät yù
thöùc veà taùnh ñoàng nhaát cuûa nhöõng ñoái nghòch, cuõng nhö veà ñoái tính cuûa
chuùng.

An Overview and Meanings of

“Sunya” in Buddhism

We can inpterpret “Sunyata” in Buddhism as a kind of space that

has the nature of lightness and darkness. This space is the area that
appears to our eyes. However, there is another space which is just like
a mere negative; an absence of obstructive contact or emptiness. In this
chapter, we will only discuss about “Sunyata” with the meaning of
“Mere Negative” or “Emptiness”. Emptiness In negative meanings: Do
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not or not. Emptiness also means non, i.e., non-duality, non-empty, etc.
In the Madhyamaka Sastra, Nagarjuna said: “One who is in harmony
with emptiness is in harmony with all things.” According to relative
truth all things exist, but in absolute truth nothing is; in absolute truth
one sees that all things are devoid of self-nature; however, in relative
truth, a perception where there is no self-nature. A table, for example,
if you take the table as the object which you put your hand on but
search to discover what is actuallyis among the parts, whether this is it
or that is it, then there is not anything that can be found to be it because
the table is something that cannot be analytically sought and it cannot
be found. If we take the ultimate reality or emptiness of the table as
the substratum and search to see if it can be found; then it becomes a
conventional truth in terms of itself as the substratum. In relation to the
table, its emptiness is an ultimate truth, but in relation to its own
reality, i.e., the reality of the reality, it’s a conventional truth. If you
continue to develop and maintain the thought of the non-existence of
the table, you will gradually be able to ascertain its emptiness. Even if
at the beginning the table keeps appearing in your mind, but with the
concentration on emptiness, it will disappear. The owing to the
observation of the emptiness of the object, when the object reappears,
you can be able to maintain the thought that it does not exist in the way
that it seems to.
Buddhist practitioners should always remember that the word
“emptiness” is different from everyday term. It transcends the usual
concepts of emptiness and form. To be empty is not to be non-existent.
It is to be devoid of a permanent identity. To avoid confusion,
Buddhists often use the term “true emptiness” to refer to things that
devoid of a permanent identity. In fact, the meaning of “emptiness” in
Buddhism is very profound and sublime and it is rather difficult to
recognize because “emptiness” is not only neither something, nor
figure, nor sound, nor taste, nor touch, nor dharma, but all sentient
beings and phenomena come to existence by the rule of “Causation” or
“dependent co-arising.” The Buddha emphasized on “emptiness” as an
“elimination” of false thoughts and wrong beliefs. According to
Buddhism, “emptiness” should also be known as “no-self” or “anatta.”
However, in most of the Buddha’s teachings, He always expounds the
doctrine of “no-self” rather than the theory of “emptiness” because the
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meaning of “emptiness” is very abstract and difficult to comprehend.

According to Culla Sunnata and Mala Sunnata, the Buddha told
Ananda that He often dwelt in the liberation of the void. When Ananda
requested a clarification, the Buddha explained: “Liberation of the void
means liberation through insight that discerns voidness of self.” Indeed,
Buddhaghosa confirmed: “In meditation, ‘emptiness’ and ‘no-self’ are
inseparable. Contemplation of ‘emptiness’ is nothing but contemplation
of ‘no-self’.
The term Emptiness in Buddhism means the unreality of things or
all things (phenomena) lack inherent existence, having no essence or
permanent aspect whatsoever. All phenomena are empty. All
phenomena exist are conditioned and, relative to other factors.” First,
Emptiness of persons: A person lacks of inherent existence. He or she
is a combination of the five aggregates. Second, Emptiness of
phenomena: Emptiness of phenomena means all phenomena lack of
inherent existence, but a combinations of elements, causes and
conditions. The term emptiness also means nis, nih, nir, ni, or im, i.e.,
cloudless, fearless, etc. Emptiness also means non-existent or void
(absolute non-existence). Emptiness also means devoid of physical
substance. The empty state (the state in which reality is as it is). The
immaterial which is empty, or devoid of physical substance (opposed to
matter). Emptiness, void. Mahayana Buddhism is popularly identified
with Sunyata philosophy: that is right as far as it concerns the denial of
substance theory as held by the realistic schools of Buddhism, but we
must remember that the Mahayana has its positive side which always
goes along with its doctrine of Emptiness. The positive side is known as
the doctrine of Suchness or Thusness (Tathata). The Lankavatara Sutra
is always careful to balance Sunyata and Tathata, or to insist that when
the world is viewed as “sunya,” or empty, it is grasped in its suchness.
Naturally, such a doctrine as this goes beyond the logical survey based
on our discursive understanding as it belongs to the realm of intuition,
which is, to use the Lanka terminology, the realization of supreme
wisdom in the inmost consciousness.
According to Prof. Junjiro Takakusu in the Essentials of Buddhist
Philosophy, ‘Sunya’ negatively means ‘Void,’ but positively means
‘Relative,’ i.e., ‘devoid of independent reality,’ or ‘devoid of specific
character.’ Thus ‘Sunyata’ is non-entity and at the same time
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‘relativity,’ i.e., the entity only as in causal relation. The idea of

relativity seems to be strongly presented in the Indian Madhyamika
School. In the Chinese Madhyamika School, too, they have the term
'causal union’ as a synonym of the Middle Path, absence of nature
(svabhava-abhava), dharma nature (dharma-svabhava) and void. It is
well known that the causal origination is called ‘Sunyata.’ The word
‘void’ is not entirely fitting and is often misleading, yet, if we look for
another word, there will be none better. It is, after all, an idea
dialectically established. It is nameless (akhyati) and characterless
(alaksana). It is simply the negation of an independent reality or
negation of specific character. Besides the negation there is nothing
else. The Madhyamika system is on that account a negativism, the
theory of negation. All things are devoid of independent reality, that is,
they are only of relative existence, or relativity in the sense of what is
ultimately unreal but phenomenally real.
According to the Sarvastivadins, the doctrine of Void does not
disavow the theory of the Chain of Causation, for our worldly existence
is of causal combination, nor does it reject the principle of the stream
of life (samsara), for it is necessary to explain the state of dynamic
becoming. We have seen already that the Realistic School assumes
that the three worlds of time are real and so are all dharmas at any
instant. The Satyasiddhi School is against this assertion, the nihilisctic
Satyasiddhi School contends that the present only is real while the past
and the future have no entity. The school asserts, as all the other
Mahayanistic schools do, the Void of all elements (sarva-dharma-
sunyata) as well as the Void of self (pudgala-sunyata). In addition, it
recognizes the two-fold truth, the supreme truth and worldly truth.
These are chiefly the reasons for which this school had long been
treated as Mahayana in China. According to the Chinese, equivalent of
‘Sunyata’ is ‘K’ung,’ which connotes all the necessary phases of
meaning. Void in the sense of antithesis of being. Svabhava-sunyata
means void in the state of beign devoid of specific character.
Paramartha-sunyata means void in the highest sense, or transcendental
void, i.e., all oppositions synthesized. Atyanta-sunyata means the
absolute void. A Sanskrit root for “Emptiness” is “sunyata”. The
Sanskrit word “sunya” is derived from the root “svi,” to swell. Sunya
literally means: “relating to the swollen.” According to Edward Conze
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in Buddhism: Its Essence and Development, in the remote past, our

ancestors, with a fine instinct for the dialectical nature of reality,
frequently used the same verbal root to denote the two opposite
aspects of a situation. They were as distinctly aware of the unity of
opposites, as of their opposition.
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Chöông Möôøi Baûy

Chapter Seventeen

Ñaëc Taùnh Cuûa Taùnh Khoâng

Theo caùc kinh ñieån Ñaïi Thöøa khaùc, taùnh khoâng coù nghóa laø baûn
chaát ñích thöïc cuûa thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm. Taùnh khoâng vöôït khoûi söï phuû
ñònh vaø khoâng theå dieãn taû ñöôïc. Ñöùc Phaät cuõng duøng voâ soá nhöõng hình
aûnh so saùnh trong kinh ñieån Pali ñeå chæ ra söï khoâng thaät cuûa moãi loaïi
phaùp vaø chính nhöõng hình aûnh naøy, sau naøy ñöôïc duøng moät caùch hieäu
quaû trong caùc tröôøng phaùi trieát hoïc Ñaïi Thöøa, ñaëc bieät laø nhöõng nhaø tö
töôûng Phaät giaùo Trung Hoa ñaõ so saùnh taùnh khoâng vôùi nhieàu hình aûnh
vaø maøu saéc linh ñoäng. Thöù nhaát laø “Taùnh khoâng” khoâng chöôùng ngaïi...
gioáng nhö hö khoâng troáng khoâng, hieän höõu trong moïi hieän töôïng nhöng
chöa bao giôø caûn trôû hoaëc chöôùng ngaïi baát cöù töôùng traïng naøo. Thöù nhì
laø “Taùnh khoâng” nhö nhaát thieát trí... gioáng nhö troáng khoâng, ôû khaép nôi,
naém giöõ vaø bieát heát moïi ñieàu, moïi nôi. Thöù ba laø “Taùnh khoâng” nhö söï
bình ñaúng... gioáng nhö Khoâng, bình ñaúng vôùi taát caû, khoâng phaân bieät
thieân leäch baát cöù nôi naøo. Thöù tö laø “Taùnh khoâng” bieåu thò taùnh chaát
meânh moâng... gioáng nhö khoâng, voâ bieân, roäng lôùn vaø voâ taän. Thöù naêm
laø “Taùnh khoâng” khoâng coù hình saéc vaø boùng daùng... gioáng nhö khoâng,
khoâng mang daùng daáp hoaëc hình töôùng naøo. Thöù saùu laø “Taùnh khoâng”
bieåu thò söï thanh tònh... gioáng nhö khoâng, luoân luoân trong saùng khoâng
gôïn phieàn naõo oâ ueá. Thöù baûy laø “Taùnh khoâng” bieåu thò söï baát ñoäng...
gioáng nhö khoâng, luoân luoân ôû traïng thaùi döøng chæ, naêng ñoäng nhöng
vöôït leân nhöõng tieán trình sanh vaø dieät. Thöù taùm laø “Taùnh khoâng” aùm
chæ söï phuû ñònh tích cöïc... phuû ñònh taát caû nhöõng gì coù giôùi haïn vaø keát
thuùc. Thöù chín laø “Taùnh khoâng” aùm chæ söï phuû ñònh cuûa phuû ñònh... phuû
ñònh taát caû Ngaõ chaáp vaø ñoaïn dieät nhöõng chaáp thuû vaøo taùnh khoâng.
Thöù möôøi laø “Taùnh khoâng” aùm chæ söï khoâng ñaït ñöôïc hoaëc khoâng naém
giöõ ñöôïc... gioáng nhö khoâng gian hay hö khoâng, khoâng löu daáu hoaëc
naém giöõ phaùp naøo.
Baét ñaàu Trung Quaùn Luaän, ngaøi Long Thoï ñaõ ñöa ra neàn taûng trieát
lyù cuûa mình baèng taùm söï phuû ñònh. Khoâng coù sanh dieät, moät, khaùc,
ñoaïn, thöôøng, ñi ñeán trong ñònh thöùc duyeân khôûi. Hay noùi moät caùch
khaùc veà caên baûn thì nôi ñaây chæ coù duy nhaát “khoâng sanh” ñöôïc coi
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ngang haøng vôùi taùnh khoâng. Trong vaøi choã khaùc ngaøi Long Thoï cuõng
cho raèng Duyeân khôûi laø taùnh khoâng. ÔÛ ñaây taùnh khoâng naèm trong thöïc
taïi cuûa lyù Trung Ñaïo naøy vöôït khoûi hai quan ñieåm caên baûn ñoái ñaõi laø
hieän höõu vaø khoâng hieän höõu. Taùnh khoâng laø söï hieän höõu töông ñoái cuûa
chö phaùp hoaëc laø söï töông ñoái. Nhö vaäy theo Trung Quaùn Luaän thì taùnh
khoâng khoâng coù nghóa laø khoâng hieän höõu tuyeät ñoái maø laø söï hieän höõu
töông ñoái. Taùnh khoâng aùm chæ baûn chaát ñích thöïc cuûa thöïc taïi kinh
nghieäm hoaëc ñieàu gì ñoù gioáng nhö vaäy, hình thöùc cuûa baûn chaát thaät cuûa
caùc hieän töôïng. Taùnh khoâng bao goàm taát caû nhöõng vaán ñeà lieân quan
ñeán quan ñieåm cuûa Phaät giaùo veà cuoäc ñôøi vaø theá giôùi. Ngaøi Long Thoï
ñaõ tuyeân boá raèng Taùnh khoâng nhö moät baûn chaát ñích thöïc cuûa thöïc taïi
kinh nghieäm: “Vôùi taùnh khoâng, taát caû ñeàu coù theå; khoâng coù taùnh khoâng,
taát caû ñeàu khoâng theå.” Trong kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät, taùnh khoâng chæ
cho theá giôùi tueä giaùc laø khoâng theå taùch rôøi ra khoûi theá giôùi voïng töôûng:
“Theá giôùi voïng töôûng laø ñoàng vôùi theá giôùi tueä giaùc (saéc laø ñoàng nhaát
vôùi khoâng), theá giôùi tueä giaùc laø ñoàng vôùi theá giôùi voïng töôûng (khoâng thì
ñoàng vôùi saéc).” Muïc ñích cuûa Taùnh khoâng chæ ra söï ñoaïn dieät veà ngoân
ngöõ vaø nhöõng noã löïc nhaèm ñöa ñeán söï ñoaïn dieät naøy: “Taùnh khoâng
töông öùng vôùi chaân lyù toái haäu, ñöôïc goïi laø traïng thaùi trong ñoù ngoân ngöõ
cuõng bò ñoaïn taän vaø ‘Taùnh khoâng’ nghóa laø taát caû nhöõng phaùp hieän höõu
lieân quan tôùi ñôøi soáng haèng ngaøy chuùng ta laø moät yeáu toá ñöôïc xaùc laäp
thaät söï.” Thuaät ngöõ ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ ñöôïc xöû duïng ñôn giaûn nhö moät
phöông tieän ñeå ñi ñeán Nieát Baøn hay Giaûi thoaùt. Veà maët taâm lyù hoïc,
‘Taùnh Khoâng’ laø söï buoâng boû chaáp thuû. Phaùp thoaïi veà ‘Taùnh Khoâng’
nhaèm ñeå buoâng xaû taát caû khaùt aùi cuûa taâm. Veà maët ñaïo ñöùc hoïc, söï phuû
ñònh cuûa ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ laø moät hieäu quaû tích cöïc, ngaên chaën Boà Taùt
khoâng laøm caùc ñieàu aùc maø noã löïc giuùp ngöôøi khaùc nhö chính baûn thaân
mình. Ñöùc haïnh naày khieán nuoâi döôõng vaø taêng tröôûng loøng töø bi. Veà
maët nhaän thöùc luaän, ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ nhö aùnh saùng chaân trí tueä raèng chaân
lyù khoâng phaûi laø thöïc theå tuyeät ñoái. Tri thöùc chæ cung caáp kieán thöùc,
khoâng cung caáp trí tueä chaân thaät vaø tueä giaùc laø vöôït qua taát caû ngoân töø.
Veà maët sieâu hình, ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ nghóa laø taát caû caùc phaùp khoâng coù baûn
chaát, taùnh caùch vaø chöùc naêng coá ñònh. Veà maët tinh thaàn, ‘Taùnh Khoâng’
laø söï töï do, Nieát Baøn hoaëc giaûi thoaùt khoûi khoå ñau phieàn naõo. Nhö vaäy,
‘Taùnh Khoâng’ khoâng phaûi laø lyù thuyeát suoâng, maø laø naác thang ñeå böôùc
leân giaûi thoaùt. Naác thang maø nôi ñoù khoâng caàn phaûi baøn luaän, maø chæ
caàn caát chaân böôùc leân. Neáu haønh giaû khoâng böôùc, duø chæ moät baäc, thì
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naác thang trôû neân voâ duïng. Nhö vaäy, ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ töôïng tröng cho
moät phöông phaùp tu taäp hôn chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm ñeå baøn luaän. Coâng
duïng duy nhaát cuûa ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ laø giuùp cho chuùng ta loaò boû phieàn
naõo vaø voâ minh ñang bao boïc chuùng ta ñeå môû ra nhöõng tieán trình taâm
linh sieâu vöôït theá giôùi naày ngang qua tueä giaùc.

Characteristics of “Sunyata”

According to other Mahayana sutras, “Sunyata” means the true

nature of emperical Reality. It is considered as beyond the Negation or
Indescribable. The Buddha used a number of similes in the Nikayas to
point out the unreality of dharmas of every kind and it is these similes
that have been later used with great effectiveness in Mahayana
philosophical schools, especially of Chinese Buddhist thinkers. First,
Emptiness implies non-obstruction... like space or the Void, it exists
within many things but never hinders or obstructs anything. Second,
Emptiness implies omnipresence... like the Void, it is ubiquitous; it
embraces everything everywhere. Third, Emptiness implies equality...
like the Void, it is equal to all; it makes no discrimination anywhere.
Fourth, Emptiness implies vastness... like the Void, it is vast, broad and
infinite. Fifth, Emptiness implies formlessness or shapelessness... like
the Void, it is without form or mark. Sixth, Emptiness implies purity...
like the Void, it is always pure without defilement. Seventh, Emptiness
implies motionlessness... like the Void, it is always at rest, rising above
the processes of construction and destruction. Eighth, Emptiness
impliesthe positive negation... it negates all that which has limits or
ends. Ninth, Emptiness implies the negation of negation... it negates all
Selfhood and destroys the clinging of Emptiness. Tenth, Emptiness
implies unobtainability or ungraspability... space or the Void, it is not
obtainable or graspable.
At the beginning of Madhyamika Sastra, Nagarjuna gives the
fundamentals of his philosophy by means of eight negations. There is
neither origination, nor cessation, neither permanence nor
impermanence, neither unity nor diversity, neither coming-in nor
going-out, in the law of Pratityasamutpada (Dependent Origination).
Essentially, there is only non-origination which is equated with
Sunyata. Elsewhere he also states that Pratityasamutpada is called
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Sunyata. Here Sunyata referring as it does to non-origination, is in

reality the Middle path which avoids the two basic views of existence
and non-existence. Sunyata is the relative existence of things, or a kind
of relativity. So, according to the Madhyamika, sunyata does not means
absolute non-being, but relative being. Emptiness implies the true
nature of empirical Reality or what is the same, the form of true nature
of all phenomena. This subject matter of sunyata will cover all the
questions concerning the Buddhist outlooks on life and world.
Nagarjuna claimed Sunyata as the true nature of empirical Reality:
“With sunyata, all is possible; without it, all is impossible”. In the
Prajna-Paramita Sutra, Sunyata refers to the world of enlightenment,
but it also stated that this world of enlightenment is not separate from
the world of delusion: “The world of illusion is identical with the world
of enlightenment (form is identical with void), and the world of
enlightenment is identical with the world of illusion (void is identical
with form).” The purpose of Sunyata refers to the objective of
extinguishing linguistic proliferation and the efforts leading towards
this objective: “Sunyata corresponds to ultimate truth, namely, the state
in which linguistic proliferation has been extinguished; and the
meaning of Sunyata signifies all existent relating to our everyday life
in which Sunyata is an actual established fact.” The term ‘Emptiness’
or ‘Sunyata’ is mainly used as a means to achieve Nirvana or
Salvation. Psychologically, ‘Sunyata’ is detachment. The teaching of
Sunyata is to empty the mind of cravings. Morally, this negation has a positive
effect, namely, preventing one from doing evils and making one love oneself
and others. It is to foster the virtue of compassion. Epistemologically, Sunyata
is an unattached insight that truth is not absolutely true. It teaches that
discursive knowledge does not provide true wisdom and that enlightenment is
the abandonment of conceptual thinking. Metaphysically, Sunyata means that
all things are devoid of definite nature, characteristic and function, and that
metaphysical views are unintelligible and should be discarded. Spiritually,
Sunyata is freedom, Nirvana or liberation from suffering of the world.
Emptiness is not a theory, but a ladder that reaches out into the infinite. A
ladder is not there to be discussed, but to be climbed. If one does not even
take the first steps on it, it is no use to have the ladder. Thus, Emptiness is a
practical concept for cultivation, not a view for discussion. The only use of the
Emptiness is to help us get rid of this world and of the ignorance which binds
us to it. It has only one meaning which is to help us transcend the world
through wisdom.
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Chöông Möôøi Taùm

Chapter Eighteen

Taùnh Khoâng Theo Quan Ñieåm Phaät Giaùo

Thuaät ngöõ “Sunyata” laø söï keát hôïp cuûa “Sunya” coù nghóa laø khoâng,
troáng roãng, roãng tueách, vôùi haäu tieáp töø “ta” coù nghóa laø “söï” (duøng cho
danh töø). Thuaät ngöõ raát khoù maø dòch ñöôïc sang Hoa ngöõ; tuy nhieân,
chuùng ta coù theå dòch sang Anh ngöõ nhö laø söï troáng khoâng, söï troáng
roãng, hoaëc chaân khoâng. Khaùi nieäm cuûa töø “Sunyata” caên baûn thuoäc veà
caû hôïp lyù vaø bieän chöùng. Thaät khoù ñeå hieåu ñöôïc khaùi nieäm “Taùnh
khoâng” vì yù nieäm chaân ñeá cuûa noù (thaéng nghóa khoâng, lìa caùc phaùp thì
khoâng coù töï taùnh) lieân quan ñeán yù nghóa ngoân ngöõ hoïc, ñaëc bieät vì töø
nguyeân hoïc (taùnh khoâng coù nghóa laø troáng roãng hoaëc khoâng coù gì trong
hình daùng cuûa chö phaùp) khoâng cung caáp theâm ñöôïc gì vaøo yù thöïc tieãn
hay lyù thuyeát cuûa khaùi nieäm naøy. Theo Tieán só Harsh Narayan, taùnh
khoâng laø thuyeát hö voâ thanh tònh hoaøn toaøn, laø thuyeát phuû ñònh, söï
troáng roãng khoâng trieät ñeå cuûa chö phaùp hieän höõu cho ñeán nhöõng heä quaû
cuoái cuøng cuûa söï phuû ñònh. Nhöõng nhaø tö töôûng cuûa tröôøng phaùi Du Giaø
ñaõ moâ taû taùnh khoâng nhö laø hoaøn toaøn hö voâ. Tieán só Radhakrishnan
noùi raèng söï tuyeät ñoái döôøng nhö laø baát ñoäng trong tính tuyeät ñoái. Tieán
só Murti noùi raèng trí tueä Ba la maät laø moät söï tuyeät ñoái hoaøn toaøn. Theo
Trung Anh Phaät hoïc Töø Ñieån, baûn chaát khoâng laø taùnh khoâng vaät theå
cuûa baûn chaát caùc hieän töôïng laø yù nghóa caên baûn cuûa taùnh khoâng.
Theo caùc kinh ñieån Ñaïi Thöøa khaùc, taùnh khoâng coù nghóa laø baûn
chaát ñích thöïc cuûa thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm. Taùnh khoâng vöôït khoûi söï phuû
ñònh vaø khoâng theå dieãn taû ñöôïc. Ñöùc Phaät cuõng duøng voâ soá nhöõng hình
aûnh so saùnh trong kinh ñieån Pali ñeå chæ ra söï khoâng thaät cuûa moãi loaïi
phaùp vaø chính nhöõng hình aûnh naøy, sau naøy ñöôïc duøng moät caùch hieäu
quaû trong caùc tröôøng phaùi trieát hoïc Ñaïi Thöøa, ñaëc bieät laø nhöõng nhaø tö
töôûng Phaät giaùo Trung Hoa ñaõ so saùnh taùnh khoâng vôùi nhieàu hình aûnh
vaø maøu saéc linh ñoäng. “Taùnh khoâng” khoâng chöôùng ngaïi... gioáng nhö
hö khoâng troáng khoâng, hieän höõu trong moïi hieän töôïng nhöng chöa bao
giôø caûn trôû hoaëc chöôùng ngaïi baát cöù töôùng traïng naøo. “Taùnh khoâng”
nhö nhaát thieát trí... gioáng nhö troáng khoâng, ôû khaép nôi, naém giöõ vaø bieát
heát moïi ñieàu, moïi nôi. “Taùnh khoâng” nhö söï bình ñaúng... gioáng nhö
Khoâng, bình ñaúng vôùi taát caû, khoâng phaân bieät thieân leäch baát cöù nôi naøo.
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“Taùnh khoâng” bieåu thò taùnh chaát meânh moâng... gioáng nhö khoâng, voâ
bieân, roäng lôùn vaø voâ taän. “Taùnh khoâng” khoâng coù hình saéc vaø boùng
daùng... gioáng nhö khoâng, khoâng mang daùng daáp hoaëc hình töôùng naøo.
“Taùnh khoâng” bieåu thò söï thanh tònh... gioáng nhö khoâng, luoân luoân trong
saùng khoâng gôïn phieàn naõo oâ ueá. “Taùnh khoâng” bieåu thò söï baát ñoäng...
gioáng nhö khoâng, luoân luoân ôû traïng thaùi döøng chæ, naêng ñoäng nhöng
vöôït leân nhöõng tieán trình sanh vaø dieät. “Taùnh khoâng” aùm chæ söï phuû
ñònh tích cöïc... phuû ñònh taát caû nhöõng gì coù giôùi haïn vaø keát thuùc. “Taùnh
khoâng” aùm chæ söï phuû ñònh cuûa phuû ñònh... phuû ñònh taát caû Ngaõ chaáp vaø
ñoaïn dieät nhöõng chaáp thuû vaøo taùnh khoâng. “Taùnh khoâng” aùm chæ söï
khoâng ñaït ñöôïc hoaëc khoâng naém giöõ ñöôïc... gioáng nhö khoâng gian hay
hö khoâng, khoâng löu daáu hoaëc naém giöõ phaùp naøo.
Baét ñaàu Trung Quaùn Luaän, ngaøi Long Thoï ñaõ ñöa ra neàn taûng trieát
lyù cuûa mình baèng taùm söï phuû ñònh. Khoâng coù sanh dieät, moät, khaùc,
ñoaïn, thöôøng, ñi ñeán trong ñònh thöùc duyeân khôûi. Hay noùi moät caùch
khaùc veà caên baûn thì nôi ñaây chæ coù duy nhaát “khoâng sanh” ñöôïc coi
ngang haøng vôùi taùnh khoâng. Trong vaøi choã khaùc ngaøi Long Thoï cuõng
cho raèng Duyeân khôûi laø taùnh khoâng. ÔÛ ñaây taùnh khoâng naèm trong thöïc
taïi cuûa lyù Trung Ñaïo naøy vöôït khoûi hai quan ñieåm caên baûn ñoái ñaõi laø
hieän höõu vaø khoâng hieän höõu. Taùnh khoâng laø söï hieän höõu töông ñoái cuûa
chö phaùp hoaëc laø söï töông ñoái. Nhö vaäy theo Trung Quaùn Luaän thì taùnh
khoâng khoâng coù nghóa laø khoâng hieän höõu tuyeät ñoái maø laø söï hieän höõu
töông ñoái. Taùnh khoâng aùm chæ baûn chaát ñích thöïc cuûa thöïc taïi kinh
nghieäm hoaëc ñieàu gì ñoù gioáng nhö vaäy, hình thöùc cuûa baûn chaát thaät cuûa
caùc hieän töôïng. Taùnh khoâng bao goàm taát caû nhöõng vaán ñeà lieân quan
ñeán quan ñieåm cuûa Phaät giaùo veà cuoäc ñôøi vaø theá giôùi. Ngaøi Long Thoï
ñaõ tuyeân boá raèng Taùnh khoâng nhö moät baûn chaát ñích thöïc cuûa thöïc taïi
kinh nghieäm: “Vôùi taùnh khoâng, taát caû ñeàu coù theå; khoâng coù taùnh khoâng,
taát caû ñeàu khoâng theå.” Trong kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät, taùnh khoâng chæ
cho theá giôùi tueä giaùc laø khoâng theå taùch rôøi ra khoûi theá giôùi voïng töôûng:
“Theá giôùi voïng töôûng laø ñoàng vôùi theá giôùi tueä giaùc (saéc laø ñoàng nhaát
vôùi khoâng), theá giôùi tueä giaùc laø ñoàng vôùi theá giôùi voïng töôûng (khoâng thì
ñoàng vôùi saéc).”
Theo Kinh Tieåu Khoâng, Ñöùc Phaät baûo A Nan: “Naøy A Nan, nhôø an
truù vaøo ‘khoâng taùnh’ maø baây giôø ta ñöôïc an truù vieân maõn nhaát.” Vaäy
thì nghóa cuûa traïng thaùi ‘khoâng’ laø gì maø töø ñoù Ñöùc Phaät ñöôïc an truù
vaøo söï vieân maõn nhaát? Chính noù laø ‘Nieát Baøn’ chöù khoâng laø thöù gì
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khaùc. Noù chính laø söï troáng vaéng taát caû nhöõng duïc laäu, höõu laäu vaø voâ
minh. Chính vì theá maø trong thieàn ñònh, haønh giaû coá gaéng chuyeån hoùa
söï voïng ñoäng cuûa thöùc cho tôùi khi naøo taâm hoaøn toaøn laø khoâng vaø
khoâng coù voïng töôûng. Möùc ñoä cao nhaát cuûa thieàn ñònh, dieät taän thoï-
töôûng ñònh, khi moïi yù töôûng vaø caûm thoï ñaõ döøng thì ñöôïc xem nhö laø
neàn taûng vöõng chaéc ñeå ñaït ñeán Nieát Baøn. Ñöùc Phaät baûo Xaù Lôïi Phaát
veà khoâng nhö sau: “Trong ‘Khoâng’ khoâng coù hình theå, khoâng coù caûm
xuùc, khoâng coù nieäm löï, khoâng coù tö duy, khoâng coù yù thöùc, khoâng coù
maét, tai, muõi, löôõi, thaân vaø yù; khoâng coù hình theå, aâm thanh, höông
thôm, muøi vò, xuùc chaïm vaø hieän höõu; khoâng coù ñoái töôïng cuûa maét cho
ñeán khoâng coù ñoái töôïng cuûa yù thöùc; khoâng coù minh, khoâng coù voâ minh,
khoâng coù söï chaám döùt cuûa minh, cuõng khoâng coù söï chaám döùt cuûa voâ
minh; cho ñeán khoâng coù tuoåi giaø vaø söï cheát, cuõng khoâng coù söï chaám
döùt cuûa tuoåi giaø vaø söï cheát; khoâng coù khoå ñau, khoâng coù nguyeân nhaân
cuûa khoå ñau, khoâng coù söï chaám döùt khoå ñau vaø khoâng coù con ñöôøng
ñöa ñeán söï chaám döùt khoå ñau; khoâng coù trí giaùc cuõng khoâng coù söï
thaønh töïu trí giaùc; vì chaúng coù quaû vò trí giaùc naøo ñeå thaønh töïu. Ngöôøi
naøo tænh thöùc bình yeân do soáng an laønh trong tueä giaùc voâ thöôïng thì
thoaùt ly taát caû. Vaø raèng, vì khoâng coù nhöõng chöôùng ngaïi trong taâm neân
khoâng coù sôï haõi vaø xa rôøi nhöõng cuoàng si moäng töôûng, ñoù laø cöù u caùnh
Nieát Baøn vaäy!”
Treân quan ñieåm Tuyeät Ñoái, Sunyata coù nghóa laø “hoaøn toaøn khoâng
coù caáu taùc cuûa tö töôûng, khoâng coù ña nguyeân taùnh.” Noùi caùch khaùc,
khoâng taùnh ñöôïc söû duïng nôi nguyeân lyù coù haøm yù: ngoân ngöõ cuûa nhaân
loaïi khoâng theå dieãn taû ñöôïc; noù vöøa “laø” maø cuõng vöøa laø “khoâng laø,”
“vöøa laø vöøa khoâng laø,” “chaúng phaûi laø cuõng khoâng phaûi laø khoâng laø,”
phaïm truø tö töôûng hoaëc thuaät ngöõ ñeàu khoâng theå aùp duïng vaøo nhöõng
thöù vöøa keå treân ñöôïc. Noù sieâu vieät treân tö töôûng; noù voâ ña nguyeân
taùnh, noù laø moät toång theå, khoâng theå phaân chia thaønh nhöõng boä phaän
ñöôïc. Ñaëc ñieåm noåi baät nhaát cuûa trieát lyù Trung Quaùn laø söï söû duïng
nhieàu laàn hai chöõ “khoâng” vaø “khoâng taùnh.” Vì ñaây laø khaùi nieäm chính
yeáu cuûa heä thoáng trieát lyù naøy, cho neân, heä thoáng trieát lyù naøy thöôøng
ñöôïc goïi laø “heä thoáng trieát lyù khoâng taùnh,” xaùc ñònh “khoâng” nhö laø
ñaëc taùnh cuûa Thöïc taïi. Chöõ “khoâng” ñaõ khieán cho ngöôøi ta caûm thaáy
boái roái nhaát trong trieát lyù Phaät giaùo. Nhöõng ngöôøi khoâng phaûi laø Phaät töû
ñaõ giaûi thích noù nhö laø thuyeát “hö voâ.” Nhöng ñoù khoâng phaûi laø yù nghóa
cuûa chöõ naøy. Treân phöông dieän ngöõ nguyeân thì chöõ goác cuûa noù laø “svì,”
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coù nghóa laø “nôû lôùn ra” hay “baønh tröôùng ra.” Coù ñieàu ñaùng toø moø laø
chöõ “Brhaman” (Baø la moân) coù goác laø “brh” hoaëc “brhm,” cuõng coù
nghóa laø nôû lôùn hay baønh tröôùng. Theo lôøi Ñöùc Phaät veà “Khoâng lyù” vaø
veà nguyeân taéc cuûa khoâng, chöõ khoâng döôøng nhö ñöôïc söû duïng theo
nghóa cuûa “toàn höõu hoïc” trong haàu heát caùc kinh vaên Phaät giaùo. Söï nguï
yù veà yù nghóa ngöõ nguyeân cuûa chöõ naøy döôøng nhö khoâng ñöôïc dieãn taû
moät caùch ñaày ñuû vaø troïn veïn. Theo moät soá caùc hoïc giaû cho raèng chöõ
“khoâng” khoâng mang yù nghóa treân phöông dieän toàn höõu hoïc. Noù chæ laø
moät loaïi aùm thò treân maët “cöùu caùnh hoïc” maø thoâi. Nhöng roõ raøng chöõ
“sunya” ñöôïc duøng theo yù nghóa “toàn höõu hoïc,” keøm theo nguï yù cuûa
giaù trò luaän vaø boái caûnh cuûa cöùu theá hoïc. Theo nghóa toàn höõu hoïc thì
“sunya” laø moät loaïi “khoâng” maø ñoàng thôøi cuõng “chöùa ñaày.” Bôûi vì noù
khoâng phaûi laø moät thöù ñaëc bieät naøo ñoù, cho neân noù coù khaû naêng trôû
thaønh moïi thöù. Noù ñöôïc xem laø ñoàng nhaát vôùi Nieát Baøn, vôùi Tuyeät Ñoái,
vôùi Thöïc Taïi.
Töø “khoâng taùnh” laø danh töø tröøu töôïng baét nguoàn töø chöõ “sunya”.
Noù coù nghóa laø söï töôùc ñoaït chöù khoâng phaûi laø vieân maõn. Hai chöõ
“sunya” vaø “sunyata” neân ñöôïc hieåu theo töông quan vôùi chöõ
“svabhava” hay “töï taùnh.” Nghóa ñen cuûa chöõ “svabhava” laø “töï kyû.”
Nguyeät Xöùng cho raèng trong trieát lyù Phaät giaùo, chöõ naøy ñöôïc duøng
baèng hai caùch: baûn chaát hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa moät söï vaät, thí duï nhö noùng
laø töï taùnh hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa löûa. ÔÛ trong theá giôùi naøy, moät thuoäc taùnh
luoân luoân ñi theo moät vaät, tuyeät ñoái, baát khaû phaân, nhöng khoâng lieân
heä moät caùch beàn vöõng vôùi baát cöù söï vaät naøo khaùc, ñaây ñöôïc bieát nhö laø
töï taùnh hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa vaät aáy. Chöõ “svabhava” hay töï taùnh laø phaûn
nghóa cuûa “tha taùnh” (parabhava). nguyeät Xöùng noùi raèng “svabhava laø
töï taùnh, caùi baûn chaát coát yeáu cuûa söï vaät.” Trong khi ngaøi Long Thoï baûo
raèng “Kyø thöïc töï taùnh khoâng do baát cöù moät vaät naøo khaùc ñem laïi, noù laø
voâ taùc, noù khoâng leä thuoäc vaøo baát cöù caùi gì, noù khoâng lieân heä vôùi baát
cöù thöù gì khaùc hôn laø chính noù, noù khoâng tuøy thuoäc vaø voâ ñieàu kieän.”
Chöõ “sunya” caàn phaûi ñöôïc hieåu theo hai quan ñieåm. Thöù nhaát laø töø
quan ñieåm cuûa hieän töôïng hoaëc thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm, noù coù nghóa laø
“svabhava-sunya,” töùc laø “töï taùnh khoâng,” hoaëc khoâng coù thöïc taïi taùnh
cuûa thöïc theå töï kyû ñoäc laäp cuûa chính noù. Thöù nhì laø töø quan ñieåm cuûa
Tuyeät Ñoái, noù coù nghóa laø “prapanca-sunya,” nghóa laø “hyù luaän khoâng,”
hay khoâng coù söï dieãn ñaït baèng ngoân ngöõ khoâng coù hyù luaän, khoâng do
tö töôûng taïo thaønh, vaø khoâng coù ña nguyeân taùnh.
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Ñoái vôùi tuïc ñeá hoaëc thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm thì khoâng taùnh coù nghóa
laø “voâ töï taùnh,” nghóa laø khoâng coù töï ngaõ, khoâng coù baûn chaát, voâ ñieàu
kieän. Noùi caùch khaùc, khoâng taùnh laø chöõ bao haøm “duyeân khôûi” hoaëc söï
hoaøn toaøn töông ñoái, hoã töông laãn nhau cuûa söï vaät. YÙ töôûng naøy cuõng
ñöôïc chuyeân chôû baèng caùch khaùc vôùi thuaät ngöõ “giaû danh sôû taùc,” söï
coù maët cuûa moät caùi teân khoâng coù nghóa laø thöïc taïi taùnh cuûa söï vaät ñöôïc
goïi teân. Nguyeät Xöùng ñaõ noùi: “Moät caùi xe ñöôïc goïi nhö vaäy khi xeùt tôùi
caùc boä phaän caáu thaønh cuûa noù nhö baùnh xe, vaân vaân; ñieàu ñoù khoâng coù
nghóa raèng chính caùi xe coù theå laø vaät gì khaùc ngoaøi nhöõng thaønh phaàn
cuûa noù. Ñaây laø moät thí duï khaùc veà taùnh töông ñoái hoaëc söï hoã töông laãn
nhau cuûa söï vaät. Treân phöông dieän hoã töông nöông nhau maø toàn taïi thì
‘khoâng taùnh’ cuõng bao haøm tính chaát töông ñoái vaø phi tuyeät ñoái cuûa
nhöõng quan ñieåm ñaëc thuø. Khoâng taùnh ñaõ vaïch roõ ra söï ñieân roà cuûa
vieäc tieáp nhaän baát cöù söï khôûi ñaàu tuyeät ñoái naøo hoaëc söï keát thuùc hoaøn
toaøn naøo; vì vaäy ‘khoâng taùnh’ bao haøm ‘trung ñaïo’, ñoái xöû vôùi söï vaät
theo baûn chaát cuûa chuùng, traùnh nhöõng khaúng ñònh hoaëc phuû ñònh cöïc
ñoan nhö “laø” vaø “khoâng laø.” Ngoaøi nhöõng ñieåm treân, trong trieát hoïc
Trung Quaùn, ‘khoâng taùnh’ coøn coù nhöõng yù nghóa khaùc. Ñoái vôùi thöïc taïi
toái thöôïng hay thaéng nghóa ñeá, khoâng taùnh coøn bao haøm baûn chaát phi
khaùi nieäm cuûa tuyeät ñoái. Ñoái vôùi haønh giaû, khoâng taùnh coù nghóa laø thaùi
ñoä cuûa “voâ sôû ñaéc,” khoâng baùm víu vaøo söï töông ñoái nhö laø tuyeät ñoái,
cuõng khoâng baùm víu vaøo söï tuyeät ñoái nhö laø moät caùi gì ñaëc bieät. Ñaïi
Trí Ñoä Luaän ñaõ ñöa ra moät haøm yù khaùc veà nguyeân lyù ‘khoâng taùnh,’ ñoù
chính laø “söï tìm kieám thöïc taïi” khoâng theå cöôõng caàu ñöôïc, noù sieâu vieät
treân ñôøi soáng bieán ñoåi haèng ngaøy naøy.
Chöõ ‘khoâng taùnh’ khoâng phaûi chæ haøm yù toàn höõu hoïc, maø noù coøn
haøm yù treân phöông dieän giaù trò luaän. Do bôûi taát caû moïi söï vaät kinh
nghieäm ñeàu khoâng coù thöïc theå, vì theá chuùng ñeàu khoâng coù giaù trò. Sôû dó
chuùng ta gaén cho nhöõng söï vaät cuûa traàn theá nhieàu giaù trò nhö vaäy laø vì
söï ngu muoäi cuûa chuùng ta. Moät khi chuùng ta laõnh hoäi ñöôïc khoâng taùnh
moät caùch chính xaùc thì nhöõng baøm víu aáy seõ töï ñoäng bieán maát. Khoâng
taùnh khoâng phaûi chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm treân maët tri thöùc. Maø söï chöùng
nghieäm khoâng taùnh laø phöông tieän cöùu ñoä. Neáu chuùng ta naém vöõng
moät caùch ñuùng ñaén veà khoâng taùnh, thì noù coù theå daãn chuùng ta ñeán söï
phuû ñònh taùnh “ña taïp” cuûa caùc phaùp, coù theå giaûi thoaùt khoûi söï “thoaùng
hieän” cuûa nhöõng caùm doã trong ñôøi soáng. Thieàn quaùn veà ‘khoâng taùnh’
coù theå daãn ñeán tueä giaùc Baùt Nhaõ hay trí tueä sieâu vieät, laø thöù ñem laïi
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giaûi thoaùt cho haønh giaû. Ngaøi Long Thoï ñaõ dieãn ñaït ñöôïc söï tinh tuùy
trong lôøi daïy cuûa ngaøi veà ‘khoâng taùnh qua baøi keä döôùi ñaây: “Giaûi thoaùt
ñaït ñöôïc baèng caùch tieâu tröø caùc haønh vi vaø aùi duïc ích kyû. Taát caû caùc
haønh vi vaø aùi duïc ích kyû ñeàu baét nguoàn töø nhöõng caáu truùc töôûng töôïng,
chöùng coi nhöõng söï vaät voâ giaù trò nhö laø nhöõng söï vaät ñaày giaù trò. Söï
caáu taùc cuûa töôûng töôïng phaùt sanh töø taùc ñoäng cuûa taâm trí seõ chaám döùt
khi ñaõ nhaän thöùc ñöôïc khoâng taùnh, söï troáng roãng cuûa söï vaät. Khoâng
taùnh ñöôïc söû duïng trong trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn nhö laø moät bieåu töôïng
cuûa nhöõng thöù khoâng theå dieãn taû ñöôïc. Khi goïi Thöïc Taïi laø ‘khoâng’,
trieát hoïc trung Quaùn chæ coù yù noùi raèng noù laø ‘khoâng theå dieãn taû ñöôïc
baèng ngoân ngöõ.’ Ngay trong caâu thöù nhaát cuûa Trung Quaùn Tuïng, ngaøi
Long Thoï ñaõ laøm noåi baät laäp ñieåm veà ‘khoâng luaän’ moät caùch ngôøi
saùng. Laäp ñieåm naøy ñöôïc caáu thaønh bôûi “taùm ñieàu khoâng”: khoâng dieät,
khoâng sanh, khoâng ñoaïn, khoâng thöôøng, khoâng nhaát nguyeân, khoâng ña
nguyeân, khoâng tôùi, khoâng ñi.
“Traïng thaùi hö khoâng bò hieåu sai laïc” laø caùch lyù giaûi sai laïc khôûi
leân töø vieäc xem söï am hieåu veà hö khoâng coù ñöôïc töø söï hoïc chöù khoâng
nhaát thieát töø söï theå nghieäm ñaïi giaùc. Trong caùi hieåu sai laïc naøy, hö
khoâng ôû ñaây laø ñoái töôïng cuûa moät söï lyù giaûi veà hö voâ, noù ñöôïc ñoàng
nhaát vôùi hö voâ, hay vôùi söï phuû ñònh veà moïi toàn taïi. Ngöôïc laïi, hö
khoâng maø nhaø Thieàn noùi tôùi khoâng coù lieân quan gì ñeán khaùi nieäm
thuaàn tuùy trieát hoïc “hö voâ” caû. Ñaây laø chaân khoâng, khoâng nhöõng traùi
ngöôïc vôùi söï toàn taïi cuûa caùc söï vaät vaø nhöõng phaåm chaát cuûa chuùng, maø
noù chính laø neàn taûng cuûa söï toàn taïi ñoù. Chính noù laøm cho caùc söï vaät
hieän roõ leân, chính noù mang caùc söï vaät ñoù vaø töø quan ñieåm vieân giaùc, noù
tuyeät ñoái ñoàng nhaát vôùi caùc söï vaät. Vì theá maø Kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät
Ña nhaán maïnh, “Saéc töùc thò khoâng, khoâng töùc thò saéc” (hình thöùc chæ laø
hö khoâng, hö khoâng chæ laø hình thöùc maø thoâi).

Emptiness in Buddhist Point of View

The term “Sunyata” terminologically compounded of “Sunya”

meaning empty, void, or hollow, and an abstract suffix “ta” meaning
“ness”. The term was extremely difficult to be translated into Chinese;
however, we can translate into English as “Emptiness,” “Voidness,” or
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“Vacuity.” The concept of this term was essentially both logical and
dialectical. The difficulty in understanding this concept is due to its
transcendental meaning in relation to the logico-linguistic meaning,
especially because the etymological tracing of its meaning (sunyata
meaning vacuous or hollow within a shape of thing) provides no
theoretical or practical addition to one’s understanding of the concept.
According to Dr. Harsh Narayan, Sunyavada is complete and pure
Nihilism. Sunyata is a negativism which radically empties existence up
to the last consequences of Negation. The thinkers of Yogacara school
describe “Sunyata” as total Nihilism. Dr. Radhakrishnan says that
absolute seems to be immobile in its absoluteness. Dr. Murti views
Prajna-paramita as absolute itself and said: “The absolute is very often
termed sunya, as it is devoid of all predicates.” According to Chinese-
English Buddhist Dictionary, “the nature void, i.e., the immaterialityof
the nature of all things” is the basic meaning of “Sunyata”.
According to other Mahayana sutras, “Sunyata” means the true
nature of emperical Reality. It is considered as beyond the Negation or
Indescribable. The Buddha used a number of similes in the Nikayas to
point out the unreality of dharmas of every kind and it is these similes
that have been later used with great effectiveness in Mahayana
philosophical schools, especially of Chinese Buddhist thinkers.
Emptiness implies non-obstruction... like space or the Void, it exists
within many things but never hinders or obstructs anything. Emptiness
implies omnipresence... like the Void, it is ubiquitous; it embraces
everything everywhere. Emptiness implies equality... like the Void, it
is equal to all; it makes no discrimination anywhere. Emptiness implies
vastness... like the Void, it is vast, broad and infinite. Emptiness
implies formlessness or shapelessness... like the Void, it is without
form or mark. Emptiness implies purity... like the Void, it is always
pure without defilement. Emptiness implies motionlessness... like the
Void, it is always at rest, rising above the processes of construction and
destruction. Emptiness impliesthe positive negation... it negates all that
which has limits or ends. Emptiness implies the negation of negation...
it negates all Selfhood and destroys the clinging of Emptiness.
Emptiness implies unobtainability or ungraspability... space or the
Void, it is not obtainable or graspable.
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At the beginning of Madhyamika Sastra, Nagarjuna gives the

fundamentals of his philosophy by means of eight negations. There is
neither origination, nor cessation, neither permanence nor
impermanence, neither unity nor diversity, neither coming-in nor
going-out, in the law of Pratityasamutpada (Dependent Origination).
Essentially, there is only non-origination which is equated with
Sunyata. Elsewhere he also states that Pratityasamutpada is called
Sunyata. Here Sunyata referring as it does to non-origination, is in
reality the Middle path which avoids the two basic views of existence
and non-existence. Sunyata is the relative existence of things, or a kind
of relativity. So, according to the Madhyamika, sunyata does not means
absolute non-being, but relative being. Emptiness implies the true
nature of empirical Reality or what is the same, the form of true nature
of all phenomena. This subject matter of sunyata will cover all the
questions concerning the Buddhist outlooks on life and world.
Nagarjuna claimed Sunyata as the true nature of empirical Reality:
“With sunyata, all is possible; without it, all is impossible”. In the
Prajna-Paramita Sutra, Sunyata refers to the world of enlightenment,
but it also stated that this world of enlightenment is not separate from
the world of delusion: “The world of illusion is identical with the world
of enlightenment (form is identical with void), and the world of
enlightenment is identical with the world of illusion (void is identical
with form).”
According to the Culla Sunnata Sutta, the Buddha affirmed
Ananda: “Ananda, through abiding in the ‘emptiness’, I am now
abiding in the complete abode or the fullness of transcendence.” So,
what is the emptiness from that the Buddha abides in the fullness of
transcendence? It is nothing else but “Nirvana”. It is empty of cankers
of sense-pleasure, becoming and ignorance. Therefore, in meditation,
practitioners try to reduce or eliminate the amount of conscious
contents until the mind is completely motionless and empty. The
highest level of meditation, the ceasing of ideation and feeling, is often
used as a stepping stone to realization of Nirvana. The Buddha told
Sariputra about Emptiness as follows: “In Emptiness there are no form,
no feelings, no perceptions, no actions, no consciousnesses; no eye, no
ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, and no mind; no form, sound, odour,
taste, touch or mind object; no eye-elements until we come to no
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elements of consciousnesses; no ignorance and no extinction of

ignorance; no old age and death, and no extinction of old age and
death; no truth of sufferings, no truth of cause of sufferings, of the
cessation of sufferings or of the path. There is no knowledge and no
attainment whatsoever. By reason of non-attachment, the Bodhisattva
dwelling in Prajnaparamita has no obstacles in his mind. Because there
is no obstacle in his mind, he has no fear, and going far beyond all
perverted view, all confusions and imaginations... This is a real
Nirvana!”
From the standpoint of the Absolute, Sunyata means “Devoid of, or
completely free of thought construct, devoid of plurality.” In other
words, sunyata as applied to tattva signifies that: it is inexpressible in
human language; that ‘is’, ‘not is’, ‘both is’, and ‘not is’, ‘neither is’ nor
‘not is’, no thought, category or predicative can be applied to it. It is
transcendental to thought; it is free of plurality, that it is a Whole which
can not be sundered into parts. The most striking feature of
Madhyamaka philosophy is its ever, recurring use of “sunya” and
“sunyata.” So central is this idea to the system that it is generally
known as “Sunyavada,” i.e., the philosophy that asserts “Sunya” as the
characterization of Reality. Sunya is a most perplexing word in
Buddhist philosophy. Non-Buddhists have interpreted it only as
nihilism. But that is not what it means. Etymonogically it is derived
from the root “svi” which means “to swell” or “to expand.” Curiously
enough, the word Brahman is derived from the root “brh” or “brhm”
which also means “to swell” or “to expand.” According to the Buddha’s
teaching on Sunya tattva and the ‘sunya principle’, the word sunya
seems to have been used in an ontological sense in most of Buddhist
contexts. The implication of the etymological signification of the word
does not seem to have been fully worked out. According to some
scholars the word “sunya” has no ontological signification. It has only a
soteriological suggestion. But the word “sunya” has obviously been
used also in an ontological sense with an axiological overtone and
soteriological background. In the ontological sense, “sunya” is the void
which is also fullness. Because it is nothing in particular, it has the
possibility of everything. It has been identified with Nirvana, with the
Absolute, with Supreme Reality or Paramartha, with Reality or Tattva.
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Sunyata is an abstract noun derived from “sunya.” It means

deprivation and suggests fulfillment. The word “sunya” and “sunyata”
will best be understood in connexion with “svabhava.” Svabhava
literally means ‘own being.’ Candrakirti says that this word has been
used in Buddhist philosophy in two ways: the essence or special
property of a thing, e.g., ‘heat is the svabhava or special property of
fire.’ In this world an attribute which always accompanies an object,
never parts from it, that, not being indissolubly connected with any
thing else, is known as the svabhava, i.e., special property of that
object; svabhava (own-being) as the contrary of parabhava (other-
being). Candrakirti says, “Svabhava is the own being, the very nature
of a thing.” While Nagarjuna says: “That is really svabhava which is
not brought about by anything else, unproduced (akrtrimah), that which
is not dependent on, not relative to anything other than itself, non-
contingent, unconditioned.” The word “sunya” has to be understood
from two points of view. First, from the point of view of phenomena or
empirical reality, it means “svabhava-sunya,” i.e. devoid of svabhava
or independent, substantial reality of its own. Second, from the point of
view of the Absolute, it means “prapanca-sunya,” i.e. devoid of
prapanca or verbalization , thought construct and plurality. According to
Buddhism, there is not a thing in the world which is unconditionally,
absolutely real. Everything is related to, contingent upon, conditioned
by something else.
In reference to “vyavahara” or empirical reality, sunyata means
devoidness of self-being, of unconditioned nature (naihsvabhava). In
other words, it connotes conditioned co-production or thorough going
relativity (pratiyasamutpada). This idea is conveyed in another way by
the term, “derived name” (upadayaprajnapti) which means that the
presence of a name does not mean the reality of the named.
Candrakirti says “A chariot is so named by taking into account its parts
like wheel, etc; it does not mean that the chariot is something different
in its own right apart from its constituent parts.” This is another instant
of relativity. As relativity, sunyata also connotes the relative, non-
absolute nature of specific views. Sunyata exposes the folly of
accepting any absolute beginning or total cessation and thus connotes
taking things as they are and avoiding the extremes ‘is’ and ‘is not’
(madhyamapratipat). Over and above these views, there are other
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senses in which the word sunyata has been used in Madhyamaka

philosophy. In reference to “ultimate reality” (paramartha), sunyata
connotes the non-conceptual nature of the absolute. In reference to the
practitioner, sunyata implies his attitude of skillfulness of non-clinging
to the relative as the absolute or to the absolute as something specific
(aunpalambha). The Mahaprajna-paramita Sastra brings out another
implication of the sunyata principle, the irrepressible longing for the
Real, beyond the passing show of mundane life.
Sunyata is not merely a word of ontological signification. It has
also an axiological implication. Since all empirical things are devoid of
substantial reality, therefore they are ‘worthless’. It is because of our
ignorance that we attach so much value to worldly things. Once sunyata
is properly understood, the inordinate craving for such things will
automatically disappear. Sunyata is not merely an intellectual concept.
Its realization is a means in salvation. When rightly grasped, it leads to
the negation of the multiplicity of the dharmas and of detachment from
the ‘passing show’ of the tempting things of life. Meditation on sunyata
leads to transcendental wisdom (prajna) which brings about the
emancipation of the practitioner from spiritual darkness. Nagarjuna
puts the quintessence of his teachings about sunyata in the following
verse: “Emancipation is obtained by the dissolution of selfish deeds
and passions. All selfish deeds and passions are by imaginative
constructs which value worthless things as full of worth. The
imaginative constructs (vikalpas) are born of activity of the mind
ceases when Sunyata, emptiness or hollowness of things is realized.”
Sunyata is used in Madhayamka philosophy as a symbol of the
inexpressible. In calling Reality sunya, the Madhyamika only means to
say that it is inexpressible (avacya, anabhilapya). In the very first verse
of Madhyamaka Karida, Nagarjuna makes the standpoint of Sunyavada
luminously Prominent. The standpoint consists of the eight notions:
Beyond destruction, beyond production, beyond dissolution, beyond
eternity, beyond oneness, beyond plurality, beyond ingress, beyond
egress.
Falsely understood Emptiness is the misunderstanding of the
teaching of emptiness arises from the concept that understanding of
emptiness can be acquired from learning, not neccesarily from the
experience of enlightenment. In this misunderstanding, emptiness is
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understood as mere nothingness, as a negation of all existence. In the

contrary, emptiness, as it is spoken of in Zen, had nothing to do with
this purely philosophical concept of nothingness. It is an emptiness that
is not the opposite of the existence of all things and their properties but
rather the basis of this existence, and bears it and, from the standpoint
of complete enlightenment, is absolutely identical with it. Thus, the
Mahaprajnaparamita-hridaya-sutra emphasizes, “Form is no other than
emptiness, emptiness is no other than form.”
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Chöông Möôøi Chín

Chapter Nineteen

Nhöõng Quan Ñieåm Khaùc Veà “Taùnh Khoâng”

Trong caùc tröôøng phaùi Phaät giaùo, coù nhieàu quan ñieåm khaùc nhau veà
Taùnh Khoâng. Thöù nhaát laø treân quan ñieåm Tuyeät Ñoái, Sunyata coù nghóa
laø “hoaøn toaøn khoâng coù caáu taùc cuûa tö töôûng, khoâng coù ña nguyeân
taùnh.” Noùi caùch khaùc, khoâng taùnh ñöôïc söû duïng nôi nguyeân lyù coù haøm
yù. Ngoân ngöõ cuûa nhaân loaïi khoâng theå dieãn taû ñöôïc. Noù vöøa “laø” maø
cuõng vöøa laø “khoâng laø,” “vöøa laø vöøa khoâng laø,” “chaúng phaûi laø cuõng
khoâng phaûi laø khoâng laø,” phaïm truø tö töôûng hoaëc thuaät ngöõ ñeàu khoâng
theå aùp duïng vaøo nhöõng thöù vöøa keå treân ñöôïc. Noù sieâu vieät treân tö
töôûng. Noù voâ ña nguyeân taùnh, noù laø moät toång theå, khoâng theå phaân chia
thaønh nhöõng boä phaän ñöôïc. Thöù nhì laø ñaëc ñieåm noåi baät nhaát cuûa trieát
lyù Trung Quaùn laø söï söû duïng nhieàu laàn hai chöõ “khoâng” vaø “khoâng
taùnh.” Vì ñaây laø khaùi nieäm chính yeáu cuûa heä thoáng trieát lyù naøy, cho
neân, heä thoáng trieát lyù naøy thöôøng ñöôïc goïi laø “heä thoáng trieát lyù khoâng
taùnh,” xaùc ñònh “khoâng” nhö laø ñaëc taùnh cuûa Thöïc taïi. Chöõ “khoâng” ñaõ
khieán cho ngöôøi ta caûm thaáy boái roái nhaát trong trieát lyù Phaät giaùo.
Nhöõng ngöôøi khoâng phaûi laø Phaät töû ñaõ giaûi thích noù nhö laø thuyeát “hö
voâ.” Nhöng ñoù khoâng phaûi laø yù nghóa cuûa chöõ naøy. Treân phöông dieän
ngöõ nguyeân thì chöõ goác cuûa noù laø “svì,” coù nghóa laø “nôû lôùn ra” hay
“baønh tröôùng ra.” Coù ñieàu ñaùng toø moø laø chöõ “Brhaman” (Baø la moân)
coù goác laø “brh” hoaëc “brhm,” cuõng coù nghóa laø nôû lôùn hay baønh tröôùng.
Theo lôøi Ñöùc Phaät veà “Khoâng lyù” vaø veà nguyeân taéc cuûa khoâng, chöõ
khoâng döôøng nhö ñöôïc söû duïng theo nghóa cuûa “toàn höõu hoïc” trong haàu
heát caùc kinh vaên Phaät giaùo. Söï nguï yù veà yù nghóa ngöõ nguyeân cuûa chöõ
naøy döôøng nhö khoâng ñöôïc dieãn taû moät caùch ñaày ñuû vaø troïn veïn. Theo
moät soá caùc hoïc giaû cho raèng chöõ “khoâng” khoâng mang yù nghóa treân
phöông dieän toàn höõu hoïc. Noù chæ laø moät loaïi aùm thò treân maët “cöùu caùnh
hoïc” maø thoâi. Nhöng roõ raøng chöõ “sunya” ñöôïc duøng theo yù nghóa “toàn
höõu hoïc,” keøm theo nguï yù cuûa giaù trò luaän vaø boái caûnh cuûa cöùu theá hoïc.
Theo nghóa toàn höõu hoïc thì “sunya” laø moät loaïi “khoâng” maø ñoàng thôøi
cuõng “chöùa ñaày.” Bôûi vì noù khoâng phaûi laø moät thöù ñaëc bieät naøo ñoù, cho
neân noù coù khaû naêng trôû thaønh moïi thöù. Noù ñöôïc xem laø ñoàng nhaát vôùi
Nieát Baøn, vôùi Tuyeät Ñoái, vôùi Thöïc Taïi. Thöù ba laø thuaät ngöõ “khoâng
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taùnh” laø danh töø tröøu töôïng baét nguoàn töø chöõ “sunya”. Noù coù nghóa laø
söï töôùc ñoaït chöù khoâng phaûi laø vieân maõn. Hai chöõ “sunya” vaø
“sunyata” neân ñöôïc hieåu theo töông quan vôùi chöõ “svabhava” hay “töï
taùnh.” Nghóa ñen cuûa chöõ “svabhava” laø “töï kyû.” Thöù tö laø Nguyeät
Xöùng cho raèng trong trieát lyù Phaät giaùo, chöõ naøy ñöôïc duøng baèng hai
caùch: a) Baûn chaát hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa moät söï vaät, thí duï nhö noùng laø töï
taùnh hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa löûa. ÔÛ trong theá giôùi naøy, moät thuoäc taùnh luoân
luoân ñi theo moät vaät, tuyeät ñoái, baát khaû phaân, nhöng khoâng lieân heä moät
caùch beàn vöõng vôùi baát cöù söï vaät naøo khaùc, ñaây ñöôïc bieát nhö laø töï taùnh
hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa vaät aáy. b) Chöõ “svabhava” hay töï taùnh laø phaûn nghóa
cuûa “tha taùnh” (parabhava). nguyeät Xöùng noùi raèng “svabhava laø töï
taùnh, caùi baûn chaát coát yeáu cuûa söï vaät.” Trong khi ngaøi Long Thoï baûo
raèng “Kyø thöïc töï taùnh khoâng do baát cöù moät vaät naøo khaùc ñem laïi, noù laø
voâ taùc, noù khoâng leä thuoäc vaøo baát cöù caùi gì, noù khoâng lieân heä vôùi baát
cöù thöù gì khaùc hôn laø chính noù, noù khoâng tuøy thuoäc vaø voâ ñieàu kieän.”
Thöù naêm laø thuaät ngöõ “sunya” caàn phaûi ñöôïc hieåu theo hai quan ñieåm:
a) Töø quan ñieåm cuûa hieän töôïng hoaëc thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm, noù coù
nghóa laø “svabhava-sunya,” töùc laø “töï taùnh khoâng,” hoaëc khoâng coù thöïc
taïi taùnh cuûa thöïc theå töï kyû ñoäc laäp cuûa chính noù. b) Töø quan ñieåm cuûa
Tuyeät Ñoái, noù coù nghóa laø “prapanca-sunya,” nghóa laø “hyù luaän khoâng,”
hay khoâng coù söï dieãn ñaït baèng ngoân ngöõ khoâng coù hyù luaän, khoâng do
tö töôûng taïo thaønh, vaø khoâng coù ña nguyeân taùnh. Thöù saùu laø ñoái vôùi tuïc
ñeá hoaëc thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm thì khoâng taùnh coù nghóa laø “voâ töï taùnh,”
nghóa laø khoâng coù töï ngaõ, khoâng coù baûn chaát, voâ ñieàu kieän. Noùi caùch
khaùc, khoâng taùnh laø chöõ bao haøm “duyeân khôûi” hoaëc söï hoaøn toaøn
töông ñoái, hoã töông laãn nhau cuûa söï vaät. YÙ töôûng naøy cuõng ñöôïc
chuyeân chôû baèng caùch khaùc vôùi thuaät ngöõ “giaû danh sôû taùc,” söï coù maët
cuûa moät caùi teân khoâng coù nghóa laø thöïc taïi taùnh cuûa söï vaät ñöôïc goïi
teân. Nguyeät Xöùng ñaõ noùi: “Moät caùi xe ñöôïc goïi nhö vaäy khi xeùt tôùi caùc
boä phaän caáu thaønh cuûa noù nhö baùnh xe, vaân vaân; ñieàu ñoù khoâng coù
nghóa raèng chính caùi xe coù theå laø vaät gì khaùc ngoaøi nhöõng thaønh phaàn
cuûa noù. Ñaây laø moät thí duï khaùc veà taùnh töông ñoái hoaëc söï hoã töông laãn
nhau cuûa söï vaät. Treân phöông dieän hoã töông nöông nhau maø toàn taïi thì
‘khoâng taùnh’ cuõng bao haøm tính chaát töông ñoái vaø phi tuyeät ñoái cuûa
nhöõng quan ñieåm ñaëc thuø. Khoâng taùnh ñaõ vaïch roõ ra söï ñieân roà cuûa
vieäc tieáp nhaän baát cöù söï khôûi ñaàu tuyeät ñoái naøo hoaëc söï keát thuùc hoaøn
toaøn naøo; vì vaäy ‘khoâng taùnh’ bao haøm ‘trung ñaïo’, ñoái xöû vôùi söï vaät
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theo baûn chaát cuûa chuùng, traùnh nhöõng khaúng ñònh hoaëc phuû ñònh cöïc
ñoan nhö “laø” vaø “khoâng laø.” Ngoaøi nhöõng ñieåm treân, trong trieát hoïc
Trung Quaùn, ‘khoâng taùnh’ coøn coù nhöõng yù nghóa khaùc. Ñoái vôùi thöïc taïi
toái thöôïng hay thaéng nghóa ñeá, khoâng taùnh coøn bao haøm baûn chaát phi
khaùi nieäm cuûa tuyeät ñoái. Ñoái vôùi haønh giaû, khoâng taùnh coù nghóa laø thaùi
ñoä cuûa “voâ sôû ñaéc,” khoâng baùm víu vaøo söï töông ñoái nhö laø tuyeät ñoái,
cuõng khoâng baùm víu vaøo söï tuyeät ñoái nhö laø moät caùi gì ñaëc bieät. Ñaïi
Trí Ñoä Luaän ñaõ ñöa ra moät haøm yù khaùc veà nguyeân lyù ‘khoâng taùnh,’ ñoù
chính laø “söï tìm kieám thöïc taïi” khoâng theå cöôõng caàu ñöôïc, noù sieâu vieät
treân ñôøi soáng bieán ñoåi haèng ngaøy naøy. Thöù baûy laø thuaät ngöõ ‘khoâng
taùnh’ khoâng phaûi chæ haøm yù toàn höõu hoïc, maø noù coøn haøm yù treân phöông
dieän giaù trò luaän. Do bôûi taát caû moïi söï vaät kinh nghieäm ñeàu khoâng coù
thöïc theå, vì theá chuùng ñeàu khoâng coù giaù trò. Sôû dó chuùng ta gaén cho
nhöõng söï vaät cuûa traàn theá nhieàu giaù trò nhö vaäy laø vì söï ngu muoäi cuûa
chuùng ta. Moät khi chuùng ta laõnh hoäi ñöôïc khoâng taùnh moät caùch chính
xaùc thì nhöõng baøm víu aáy seõ töï ñoäng bieán maát. Khoâng taùnh khoâng phaûi
chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm treân maët tri thöùc. Maø söï chöùng nghieäm khoâng
taùnh laø phöông tieän cöùu ñoä. Neáu chuùng ta naém vöõng moät caùch ñuùng
ñaén veà khoâng taùnh, thì noù coù theå daãn chuùng ta ñeán söï phuû ñònh taùnh
“ña taïp” cuûa caùc phaùp, coù theå giaûi thoaùt khoûi söï “thoaùng hieän” cuûa
nhöõng caùm doã trong ñôøi soáng. Thieàn quaùn veà ‘khoâng taùnh’ coù theå daãn
ñeán tueä giaùc Baùt Nhaõ hay trí tueä sieâu vieät, laø thöù ñem laïi giaûi thoaùt cho
haønh giaû. Ngaøi Long Thoï ñaõ dieãn ñaït ñöôïc söï tinh tuùy trong lôøi daïy cuûa
ngaøi veà ‘khoâng taùnh qua baøi keä döôùi ñaây: “Giaûi thoaùt ñaït ñöôïc baèng
caùch tieâu tröø caùc haønh vi vaø aùi duïc ích kyû. Taát caû caùc haønh vi vaø aùi duïc
ích kyû ñeàu baét nguoàn töø nhöõng caáu truùc töôûng töôïng, chöùng coi nhöõng
söï vaät voâ giaù trò nhö laø nhöõng söï vaät ñaày giaù trò. Söï caáu taùc cuûa töôûng
töôïng phaùt sanh töø taùc ñoäng cuûa taâm trí seõ chaám döùt khi ñaõ nhaän thöùc
ñöôïc khoâng taùnh, söï troáng roãng cuûa söï vaät. Khoâng taùnh ñöôïc söû duïng
trong trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn nhö laø moät bieåu töôïng cuûa nhöõng thöù khoâng
theå dieãn taû ñöôïc. Khi goïi Thöïc Taïi laø ‘khoâng’, trieát hoïc trung Quaùn chæ
coù yù noùi raèng noù laø ‘khoâng theå dieãn taû ñöôïc baèng ngoân ngöõ.’ Ngay
trong caâu thöù nhaát cuûa Trung Quaùn Tuïng, ngaøi Long Thoï ñaõ laøm noåi
baät laäp ñieåm veà ‘khoâng luaän’ moät caùch ngôøi saùng. Laäp ñieåm naøy ñöôïc
caáu thaønh bôûi “taùm ñieàu khoâng”: khoâng dieät, khoâng sanh, khoâng ñoaïn,
khoâng thöôøng, Khoâng nhaát nguyeân, Khoâng ña nguyeân, khoâng ñeán,
khoâng ñi.
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Different Views on Emptiness

In Buddhist schools, there are many different different points of

views on the Sunyata. First, from the standpoint of the Absolute,
Sunyata means “Devoid of, or completely free of thought construct,
devoid of plurality.” In other words, sunyata as applied to tattva
signifies that it is inexpressible in human language. That ‘is’, ‘not is’,
‘both is’, and ‘not is’, ‘neither is’ nor ‘not is’, no thought, category or
predicative can be applied to it. It is transcendental to thought. It is free
of plurality, that it is a Whole which can not be sundered into parts.
Second, the most striking feature of Madhyamaka philosophy is its
ever, recurring use of “sunya” and “sunyata.” So central is this idea to
the system that it is generally known as “Sunyavada,” i.e., the
philosophy that asserts “Sunya” as the characterization of Reality.
Sunya is a most perplexing word in Buddhist philosophy. Non-
Buddhists have interpreted it only as nihilism. But that is not what it
means. Etymonogically it is derived from the root “svi” which means
“to swell” or “to expand.” Curiously enough, the word Brahman is
derived from the root “brh” or “brhm” which also means “to swell” or
“to expand.” According to the Buddha’s teaching on Sunya tattva and
the ‘sunya principle’, the word sunya seems to have been used in an
ontological sense in most of Buddhist contexts. The implication of the
etymological signification of the word does not seem to have been fully
worked out. According to some scholars the word “sunya” has no
ontological signification. It has only a soteriological suggestion. But the
word “sunya” has obviously been used also in an ontological sense
with an axiological overtone and soteriological background. In the
ontological sense, “sunya” is the void which is also fullness. Because it
is nothing in particular, it has the possibility of everything. It has been
identified with Nirvana, with the Absolute, with Supreme Reality or
Paramartha, with Reality or Tattva. Third, the term Sunyata is an
abstract noun derived from “sunya.” It means deprivation and suggests
fulfillment. The word “sunya” and “sunyata” will best be understood in
connexion with “svabhava.” Svabhava literally means ‘own being.’
Fourth, Candrakirti says that this word has been used in Buddhist
philosophy in two ways: a) The essence or special property of a thing,
e.g., ‘heat is the svabhava or special property of fire.’ In this world an
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attribute which always accompanies an object, never parts from it, that,
not being indissolubly connected with any thing else, is known as the
svabhava, i.e., special property of that object. b) Svabhava (own-being)
as the contrary of parabhava (other-being). Candrakirti says,
“Svabhava is the own being, the very nature of a thing.” While
Nagarjuna says: “That is really svabhava which is not brought about by
anything else, unproduced (akrtrimah), that which is not dependent on,
not relative to anything other than itself, non-contingent,
unconditioned.” Fifth, the term “sunya” has to be understood from two
points of view: a) From the point of view of phenomena or empirical
reality, it means “svabhava-sunya,” i.e. devoid of svabhava or
independent, substantial reality of its own. b) From the point of view of
the Absolute, it means “prapanca-sunya,” i.e. devoid of prapanca or
verbalization , thought construct and plurality. According to Buddhism,
there is not a thing in the world which is unconditionally, absolutely
real. Everything is related to, contingent upon, conditioned by
something else. Sixth, in reference to “vyavahara” or empirical reality,
sunyata means devoidness of self-being, of unconditioned nature
(naihsvabhava). In other words, it connotes conditioned co-production
or thorough going relativity (pratiyasamutpada). This idea is conveyed
in another way by the term, “derived name” (upadayaprajnapti) which
means that the presence of a name does not mean the reality of the
named. Candrakirti says “A chariot is so named by taking into account
its parts like wheel, etc; it does not mean that the chariot is something
different in its own right apart from its constituent parts.” This is
another instant of relativity. As relativity, sunyata also connotes the
relative, non-absolute nature of specific views. Sunyata exposes the
folly of accepting any absolute beginning or total cessation and thus
connotes taking things as they are and avoiding the extremes ‘is’ and
‘is not’ (madhyamapratipat). Over and above these views, there are
other senses in which the word sunyata has been used in Madhyamaka
philosophy. In reference to “ultimate reality” (paramartha), sunyata
connotes the non-conceptual nature of the absolute. In reference to the
practitioner, sunyata implies his attitude of skillfulness of non-clinging
to the relative as the absolute or to the absolute as something specific
(aunpalambha). The Mahaprajna-paramita Sastra brings out another
implication of the sunyata principle, the irrepressible longing for the
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Real, beyond the passing show of mundane life. Seventh, the term
Sunyata is not merely a word of ontological signification. It has also an
axiological implication. Since all empirical things are devoid of
substantial reality, therefore they are ‘worthless’. It is because of our
ignorance that we attach so much value to worldly things. Once sunyata
is properly understood, the inordinate craving for such things will
automatically disappear. Sunyata is not merely an intellectual concept.
Its realization is a means in salvation. When rightly grasped, it leads to
the negation of the multiplicity of the dharmas and of detachment from
the ‘passing show’ of the tempting things of life. Meditation on sunyata
leads to transcendental wisdom (prajna) which brings about the
emancipation of the practitioner from spiritual darkness. Nagarjuna
puts the quintessence of his teachings about sunyata in the following
verse: “Emancipation is obtained by the dissolution of selfish deeds
and passions. All selfish deeds and passions are by imaginative
constructs which value worthless things as full of worth. The
imaginative constructs (vikalpas) are born of activity of the mind
ceases when Sunyata, emptiness or hollowness of things is realized.”
Sunyata is used in Madhayamka philosophy as a symbol of the
inexpressible. In calling Reality sunya, the Madhyamika only means to
say that it is inexpressible (avacya, anabhilapya). In the very first verse
of Madhyamaka Karida, Nagarjuna makes the standpoint of Sunyavada
luminously Prominent. The standpoint consists of the eight notions:
Beyond destruction, beyond production, beyond dissolution, beyond
eternity, beyond oneness, beyond plurality, beyond ingress, beyond
egress.
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Chöông Hai Möôi

Chapter Twenty

Nhöõng Phaùp Khoâng

Trong Phaät Giaùo

Coù raát nhieàu phaùp lieân quan ñeán taùnh khoâng maø haønh giaû tu Phaät
caàn neân bieát. Thöù nhaát laø Baûn Taùnh Khoâng: Baûn taùnh khoâng coù nghóa
laø caùi Khoâng cuûa baûn taùnh. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn
Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây
laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Baûn taùnh laø caùi laøm cho löûa
noùng vaø nöôùc laïnh, noù laø baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa moãi vaät theå caù bieät.
Khi noùi raèng noù Khoâng, coù nghóa laø khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ (Atman) beân
trong noù ñeå taïo ra baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa noù, vaø yù nieäm ñích thöïc veà
baûn chaát nguyeân sô laø moät yù nieäm Khoâng. Chuùng ta ñaõ ghi nhaän raèng
khoâng coù töï ngaõ caù bieät nôi haäu cöù cuûa caùi chuùng ta coi nhö vaät theå caù
bieät, bôûi vì vaïn höõu laø nhöõng saûn phaåm cuûa voâ soá nhaân vaø duyeân, vaø
chaúng coù gì ñaùng goïi laø moät baûn chaát nguyeân sô ñoäc laäp, ñôn ñoäc, töï
höõu. Taát caû laø Khoâng trieät ñeå, vaø neáu coù thöù baûn chaát nguyeân sô naøo
ñoù, thì coù caùch naøo cuõng vaãn laø Khoâng. Thöù nhì laø Baát Khaû Ñaéc
Khoâng: Khoâng cuûa caùi baát khaû ñaéc. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong
Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn
Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Ñaây laø loaïi Khoâng
baát khaû ñaéc (anupalambha). Khoâng phaûi vì taâm khoâng baét ñöôïc caùi ôû
ngoaøi taàm tay, nhöng ñích thöïc chaúng coù gì ñaùng goïi laø sôû tri. Khoâng
gôïi yù khoâng coù, nhöng khi ñöôïc khoaùc cho ñaëc tính baát khaû ñaéc, noù
khoâng coøn laø phuû ñònh suoâng. Baát khaû ñaéc, chính bôûi khoâng theå laøm
ñoái töôïng cho tö nieäm ñoái ñaõi qua taùc duïng cuûa Thöùc (Vijnana). Cho
tôùi luùc Thöùc ñöôïc naâng cao leân bình dieän Trí Baùt Nhaõ, baáy giôø môùi
nhaän ra “khoâng baát khaû ñaéc.” Kinh Baùt Nhaõ e raèng ngöôøi nghe phaûi
kinh haõi khi nghe kinh ñöa ra khaúng quyeát taùo baïo raèng taát caû ñeàu
khoâng, do ñoù môùi noùi theâm raèng söï vaéng maët cuûa taát caû nhöõng yù töôûng
sinh ra töø choã ñoái ñaõi khoâng chæ cho caùi ngoan khoâng, caùi khoâng troáng
trôn; nhöng ñôn giaûn, ñoù laø caùi Khoâng khoâng theå baét naém ñöôïc. Vôùi
ngöôøi trí, Khoâng naày laø moät thöïc taïi. Luùc sö töû caát tieáng roáng, nhöõng
thuù vaät khaùc hoaûng sôï, töôûng tieáng roáng aáy laø caùi raát phi phaøm, gaàn
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nhö moät thöù maø chuùa teå sôn laâm ‘ñaït ñöôïc’ raát hy höõu. Nhöng ñoái vôùi
sö töû, tieáng roáng ñoù chaúng laï gì, chaúng coù gì hy höõu ñaït ñöôïc hay theâm
vaøo. Vôùi keû trí cuõng vaäy, khoâng coù ‘caùi Khoâng’ trong hoï ñaùng coi nhö
rieâng hoï baét ñöôïc laøm ñoái töôïng cho tö töôûng. Choã sôû ñaéc cuûa hoï laø voâ
sôû ñaéc. Thöù ba laø Bæ Bæ Khoâng: Bæ bæ khoâng laø caùi khoâng veà söï hoã
töông. Caùi khoâng veà söï hoã töông nghóa laø gì? Khi baát cöù moät tính chaát
naøo maø moät söï vaät coù, nhöng tính chaát naày laïi khoâng coù trong moät söï
vaät khaùc, thì söï thieáu vaéng naày ñöôïc goïi laø khoâng. Chaúng haïn nhö
trong nhaø cuûa Loäc Maãu khoâng coù voi, traâu, boø, cöøu, vaân vaân, ta baûo caùi
nhaø naày troáng khoâng. Ñieàu naày khoâng coù nghóa laø khoâng coù caùc Tyø
Kheo ôû ñaây. Caùc Tyø Kheo laø caùc Tyø Kheo, nhaø laø nhaø, moãi thöù ñeàu coù
ñaëc tính rieâng cuûa noù. Coøn veà voi, ngöïa, traâu, boø, vaân vaân chuùng seõ
ñöôïc tìm thaáy ôû nôi rieâng daønh cho chuùng, chuùng chæ khoâng coù maët ôû
nôi ñöôïc daønh cho moïi ngöôøi ôû ñaây. Theo caùch nhö theá thì moãi söï vaät
coù nhöõng ñaëc tröng rieâng cuûa noù maø nhôø ñoù noù ñöôïc phaân bieät vôùi söï
vaät khaùc, vì nhöõng ñaëc tröng aáy khoâng coù trong caùc söï vaät khaùc. Söï
thieáu vaéng aáy ñöôïc goïi laø caùi khoâng hoã töông. Thöù tö laø Khoâng Caûnh:
Khoâng caûnh coù nghóa laø caûnh giôùi troáng roãng. Trong Kinh Phaät Ñaûnh
Toân Thaéng Ñaø La Ni, Ñöùc Phaät ñaõ daïy raèng nhöõng ai ñem chuù naày ñi
vaøo nhöõng caûnh giôùi ñòa nguïc vaø ngaï quyû maø tuyeân löu thì laäp töùc
nhöõng nôi aáy seõ bieán thaønh nhöõng caûnh giôùi khoâng coøn toäi nhôn, khoâng
coøn ngöôøi ñeå thoï khoå. Thöù naêm laø Chaân Khoâng: Chaân khoâng laøm khôûi
leân dieäu höõu. Wonderful existence: Chaân khoâng khoâng coù nghóa laø
troáng roãng, maø coù nghóa laø caùi khoâng maø khoâng phaûi laø khoâng; chaân
khoâng laøm khôûi leân dieäu höõu. Taùnh coù nghóa laø tinh thaàn hay tinh yeáu;
daáu hieäu coù nghóa laø töôùng. Taùnh vaø töôùng ñoái nghòch nhau, gioáng nhö
tinh thaàn ñoái choïi vôùi hieän töôïng. Tuy nhieân, thaät töôùng thaät taùnh hay
Phaät taùnh thöôøng haèng khoâng thay ñoåi. Thaät taùnh cuûa theá giôùi hieän
töôïng laø chaân khoâng, thöôøng höõu maø hö voâ; tuy hö voâ nhöng thöôøng
höõu (caùi khoâng chaúng phaûi laø khoâng, caùi höõu chaúng phaûi laø höõu maø
phaøm phu suy nghó). Ngöôøi ta noùi chaân khoâng laø Nieát Baøn cuûa Tieåu
Thöøa (chaân khoâng töùc nieát baøn dieät ñeá, chaúng phaûi giaû neân goïi laø chaân,
lìa boû haønh töôùng neân goïi laø khoâng). Thöù saùu laø Ñaïi Khoâng: Caùi
khoâng cuûa caáp ñoä toái thöôïng, nghóa laø thöïc tính toái haäu hay Thaùnh trí.
Caùi khoâng veà thöïc tính toái haäu nghóa laø gì? Khi trí tueä toái thöôïng ñöôïc
theå chöùng trong taâm thöùc noäi taïi cuûa chuùng ta, baáy giôø chuùng ta seõ thaáy
raèng taát caû moïi lyù thuyeát, yù nieäm sai laàm, vaø taát caû nhöõng daáu veát cuûa
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taäp khí töø voâ thæ ñeàu bò taåy saïch vaø hoaøn toaøn troáng khoâng. Theo Thieàn
Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ
cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”.
“Khoâng Lôùn” chæ cho tính baát thöïc cuûa khoâng gian. Thôøi tröôùc coi
khoâng gian laø caùi coù thöïc moät caùch khaùch quan, nhöng ñeán caùc nhaø Ñaïi
Thöøa thì noù laø Khoâng. Caùc vaät trong khoâng gian leä thuoäc caùc ñònh luaät
cuûa sinh töû, töùc bò ñieàu ñoäng bôûi luaät nhaân quaû; taát caû Phaät töû ñeàu thöøa
nhaän ñieàu ñoù, nhöng hoï laïi nghó khoâng gian trong töï theå laø thöôøng truï.
Caùc nhaø Ñaïi Thöøa daïy raèng khoaûng caùch chaân khoâng bao la naày cuõng
khoâng coù thöïc taïi khaùch quan neân yù töôûng veà khoâng gian hay tröông ñoä
(ñoä keùo daøi voâ taän) chæ laø aûo töôûng. Thöù baûy laø Ñeä Nhöùt Nghóa
Khoâng: Ñeä nhaát nghóa khoâng laø caùi Khoâng cuûa chaân lyù cöùu caùnh, caùi
khoâng tuyeät ñoái hay Nieát Baøn cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa, duø töø naày cuõng duøng cho
Nieát Baøn Tieåu Thöøa, nhö caùi khoâng cuûa Tieåu thöøa chæ thieân veà caùi
“ñaõn khoâng” maø thoâi. Caùi “khoâng” maø chö Phaät vaø chö Boà Taùt chöùng
ñöôïc laø caùi “khoâng” ñaõ döùt haún Höõu Voâ, vöôït ngoaøi voøng vaät chaát.
Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch
Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc
cuûa “Khoâng”. “Chaân lyù cöùu caùnh” chæ coù chaân theå cuûa vaïn höõu, traïng
thaùi toàn taïi chaân thöïc cuûa chuùng, ngoaøi taát caû hình thaùi cuûa chuû quan
tính. Ñaây laø caùi Khoâng bò huûy dieät, khoâng bò gaùn cho laø theá naày hay theá
kia, cuõng khoâng thöù gì coù theå gaùn vaøo ñoù. Vì vaäy chaân lyù cöùu caùnh hay
ñeä nhaát nghóa laø Khoâng. Neáu laø coù thöïc, noù laø moät trong nhöõng ñoái
töôïng bò chi phoái vaø raøng buoäc vaøo ñònh luaät nhaân quaû. Nieát Baøn chæ laø
moät danh töï noùi khaùc. Khi Nieát Baøn coù choã ñeå baùm ñöôïc, noù seõ khoâng
laø Nieát Baøn nöõa. Khoâng duøng ôû ñaây khaùc vôùi “Khoâng lôùn,” khi nhöõng
ñoái töôïng noäi hay ngoaïi ñöôïc tuyeân boá laø Khoâng. Thöù taùm laø Haønh
Khoâng (caùi Khoâng veà Haønh): Caùi khoâng veà haønh nghóa laø gì? Taát caû
caùc uaån thoaùt khoûi caùi ngaõ tính vaø taát caû nhöõng gì thuoäc veà ngaõ tính,
vaø raèng moïi hoaït ñoäng maø chuùng bieåu hieän ñeàu do bôûi söï taäp hôïp cuûa
caùc nguyeân nhaân vaø ñieàu kieän hay nhaân duyeân, nghóa laø töï chuùng
khoâng phaûi laø nhöõng nhaân toá saùng taïo ñoäc laäp, chuùng khoâng coù caùi gì
ñeå coù theå tuyeân boá laø thuoäc caùi “ngaõ” cuûa chuùng, vaø hoaït ñoäng taïo
nghieäp cuûa chuùng ñöôïc sinh ra bôûi söï noái keát cuûa nhieàu nguyeân nhaân
hay söï kieän. Vì lyù do aáy neân coù caùi maø ta neâu ñònh laø Khoâng veà Haønh.
Thöù chín laø Hö khoâng: Khoâng ôû ñaây coù nghóa laø söï vaät khoâng coù thöïc
chaát. Khoâng dó phaùp nhaát thieát phaùp (khoâng ñeå phaù caùi hoaëc kieán tö,
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nghóa laø phaù taát caû caùc phaùp quaùn saùt caùi taâm chaúng ôû trong, chaúng ôû
ngoaøi, chaúng ôû giöõa, töùc laø khoâng coù thaät). ‘Khoâng’ coøn laø söï phaù boû
aûo töôûng cuûa caûm quan vaø söï kieán taïo tri thöùc toái thöôïng (prajna). Thöù
möôøi laø Höõu Vi Khoâng: Höõu vi khoâng laø caùi Khoâng cuûa caùc phaùp höõu
vi. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn
dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình
thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Höõu vi (Samskrita) chæ cho nhöõng phaùp xuaát hieän do
caùc ñieàu kieän cuûa taùc thaønh. Noùi höõu vi Khoâng laø moät caùch noùi khaùc
chæ cho theá giôùi ngoaïi taïi cuõng nhö theá giôùi noäi taïi ñeàu khoâng. Thöù
möôøi moät laø Khoâng Khoâng: Khoâng khoâng laø caùi Khoâng cuûa Khoâng.
Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch
Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc
cuûa “Khoâng”. Khi caùc phaùp ngoaïi vaø noäi ñöôïc tuyeân boá taát caû laø
khoâng, chuùng ta taát nghó raèng “Khoâng” vaãn laø moät yù töôûng coù thöïc, hay
chæ coù caùi ñoù môùi laø caùi khaû ñaéc khaùch quan. Khoâng cuûa Khoâng coát
huûy dieät chaáp tröôùc aáy. Coøn giöõ moät yù töôûng Khoâng töùc laø coøn löu laïi
moät haït buïi khi ñaõ queùt ñi taát caû. Thöù möôøi hai laø Ngaõ Khoâng: Ngaõ
khoâng coù nghóa laø Chuùng Sanh Khoâng. Chuùng sanh tuy heát thaûy ñeàu coù
caùi taâm thaân do nguõ uaån hoøa hôïp giaû taïm maø thaønh, nhöng khoâng coù
caùi thöïc theå thöôøng nhaát cuûa mình, neân goïi laø ngaõ khoâng. Thöù möôøi ba
laø Ngoaïi Khoâng: Khoâng cuûa caùc phaùp ngoaïi taïi. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T.
Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa
Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”.
“Ngoaïi” laø caùc ñoái töôïng cuûa saùu thöùc, caùi “Khoâng” cuûa chuùng coù
nghóa laø khoâng coù nhöõng baûn truï hay baûn theå cuûa caùi ngaõ chuû teå naèm ôû
sau. Cuõng nhö khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ (atman) nôi haäu tröôøng cuûa caùc hieän
töôïng taâm lyù; cuõng vaäy, khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ (ataman) nôi haäu tröôøng cuûa
ngoaïi giôùi. Thuaät ngöõ ñoù goïi laø “Phaùp Voâ Ngaõ.” Phaät giaùo Nguyeân
Thuûy daïy cho chuùng ta thuyeát “Voâ Ngaõ” (Anatman), nhöng ngöôøi ta
noùi chính caùc nhaø Ñaïi Thöøa môùi luoân luoân aùp duïng thuyeát ñoù cho caùc
ñoái töôïng ngoaïi giôùi. Thöù möôøi boán laø Nhaát thieát phaùp Baát Khaû
Thuyeát Khoâng: Nhaát thieát phaùp baát khaû thuyeát khoâng (caùi Khoâng vôùi yù
nghóa laø khoâng theå goïi teân cuûa Hieän Höõu). Caùi khoâng veà söï baát khaû
thuyeát cuûa taát caû caùc söï vaät nghóa laø gì? Vì söï hieän höõu naày phuï thuoäc
vaøo saùng kieán töôûng töôïng hay bieán keá sôû chaáp cuûa chuùng ta neân
khoâng coù töï tính naøo trong noù coù theå ñöôïc goïi teân vaø ñöôïc mieâu taû bôûi
cuù phaùp cuûa trí töông ñoái cuûa chuùng ta. Thöù möôøi laêm laø Nhöùt Thieát
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Phaùp Khoâng: Caùi Khoâng cuûa vaïn höõu. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki
trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi
Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Thöøa nhaän
taát caû caùc phaùp laø Khoâng, caùi ñoù heát söùc haøm nguï, vì chöõ Dharma
khoâng chæ rieâng cho moät ñoái töôïng cuûa quan naêng maø coøn chæ cho caû
ñoái töôïng cuûa tö töôûng. Khi tuyeân boá taát caû nhöõng thöù ñoù laø Khoâng,
khoûi caàn baøn luaän chi tieát nöõa. Nhöng Kinh Baùt Nhaõ hieån nhieân coá yù
khoâng ñeå nguyeân traïng taûng ñaù ñeå ñeø naëng nhöõng ngöôøi hoïc Baùt Nhaõ
moät caùch trieät ñeå baèng hoïc thuyeát Taùnh Khoâng. Theo Long Thoï, taát caû
caùc phaùp ñeàu mang caùc ñaëc saéc naày: höõu töôùng, tri töôùng, thöùc töôùng,
duyeân töôùng, taêng thöôïng töôùng, nhaân töôùng, quaû töôùng, toång töôùng,
bieät töôùng, y töôùng. Nhöng heát thaûy nhöõng töôùng ñoù khoâng coù thöôøng
truï baát bieán; taát caû ñeàu laø ñoái ñaõi vaø giaû höõu. Phaøm phu khoâng theå soi
toû vaøo baûn chaát chaân thöïc cuûa caùc phaùp, do ñoù trôû neân chaáp thuû yù nieäm
veà moät thöïc taïi thöôøng, laïc, ngaõ, vaø tònh. Khoân ngoan chæ coù nghóa laø
thoaùt khoûi nhöõng quan ñieåm taø vaïy ñoù, vì chaúng coù gì trong chuù ng heát,
neân phaûi coi laø Khoâng. Thöù möôøi saùu laø Noäi Khoâng: Khoâng cuûa caùc
phaùp noäi taïi—Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III,
trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong
18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Chöõ “Noäi” chæ cho saùu thöùc. Khi chuùng
ñöôïc goïi laø “Khoâng,” nghóa laø taát caû moïi hoaït ñoäng cuûa chuùng khoâng
coù thaàn ngaõ hay linh hoàn naèm ôû sau, nhö chuùng ta töôûng. Ñaây laø moät
loái giaûi thích khaùc cuûa thuyeát “Voâ Ngaõ.” Thöù möôøi baûy laø Noäi Ngoaïi
Khoâng: Khoâng cuûa caùc phaùp noäi ngoaïi taïi. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki
trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi
Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Thoâng
thöôøng chuùng ta phaân bieät ngoaïi vôùi noäi, nhöng vì khoâng coù thöïc taïi
cho söï phaân bieät naày neân ôû ñaây noù bò phuû nhaän; söï phaân bieät chæ laø moät
hình thaùi cuûa voïng taâm, moái quan heä coù theå bò ñaûo loän baát cöù luùc naøo,
ôû ñaây khoâng coù thöôøng truï baát bieán. Thöû thay ñoåi vò trí, caùi noäi thaønh ra
ngoaïi vaø caùi ngoaïi thaønh ra noäi. Quan heä naày goïi laø khoâng. Thöù möôøi
taùm laø Khoâng Quaû: Quaû giaûi thoaùt khoûi taát caû phieàn naõo vì chaáp vaøo
phaùp vaø ngaõ. Thöù möôøi chín laø Taùn Khoâng: Taùn khoâng laø caùi Khoâng
cuûa söï phaân taùn. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III,
trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong
18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Taùn Khoâng (Anavakara-sunyata) coù nghóa
laø khoâng coù thöù gì hoaøn toaøn ñôn nhaát trong theá gian naày. Moïi vaät bò
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cöôõng böùc phaûi phaân taùn kyø cuøng. Noù hieän höõu coi chöøng nhö moät ñôn
toá, nguyeân daïng, nguyeân theå, nhöng ôû ñaây khoâng thöù gì laïi khoâ ng theå
phaân chieát thaønh nhöõng boä phaän thaønh toá. Chaéc chaén noù bò phaân taùn.
Caùc thöù naèm trong theá giôùi cuûa tö töôûng hình nhö coù theå khoâng bò tieâu
giaûi. Nhöng ôû ñaây söï bieán ñoåi hieän ra döôùi moät hình thöùc khaùc. Coâng
trình cuûa thôøi gian, thöôøng truï khoâng thöôøng maõi. Boán uaån: Thoï,
Töôûng, Haønh vaø Thöùc, cuõng chæ cho söï phaân taùn vaø hoaïi dieät taän cuøng.
Noùi gì ñi nöõa thì chuùng cuõng laø Khoâng. Thöù hai möôi laø Taát Caùnh
Khoâng: Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong
baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18
hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Taát caùnh khoâng nhaán maïnh taát caû caùc phaùp
ñeàu khoâng moät caùch tuyeät ñoái. “Cöùu Caùnh” töùc tuyeät ñoái. Phuû nhaän
thöïc taïi tính khaùch quan nôi chö phaùp ôû ñaây ñöôïc chuû tröông moät caùch
ñöông nhieân, khoâng ñieàu kieän thaéc maéc. “Khoâng cuûa Khoâng,” treân thöïc
teá, cuõng chæ cho moät caùi nhö nhau. Phoøng ñöôïc queùt saïch laø nhôø choåi,
nhöng neáu coøn choåi thì khoâng phaûi laø Khoâng tuyeät ñoái. Thöïc vaäy, phaûi
gaït sang moät beân caùi choåi, cuøng vôùi ngöôøi queùt, môùi mong ñaït tôùi yù
nieäm veà “Taát Caùnh Khoâng.” Coøn giöõ laïi duø chæ moät phaùp, moät vaät hay
moät ngöôøi, laø coøn coù ñieåm chaáp ñeå töø ñoù saûn xuaát moät theá giôùi cuûa
nhöõng sai bieät, roài keùo theo nhöõng öôùc muoán vaø ñau khoå. Taùnh Khoâng
vöôït ngoaøi moïi quyeát ñònh tính coù theå coù, vöôït ngoaøi chuoãi quan heä baát
taän; ñoù laø Nieát Baøn. Thöù hai möôi moát laø Theå Khoâng: Theo Duy Thöùc
Hoïc hay giaùo thuyeát Ñaïi Thöøa, vaïn höõu vi khoâng, nghóa laø taát caû caùc
phaùp höõu vi töï noù laø khoâng chöù khoâng caàn phaûi lyù luaän phaân taùch môùi
laøm cho chuùng thaønh khoâng. Moïi phaùp ñeàu do nhaân duyeân sanh dieät,
chöù khoâng coù thöïc theå (tröïc tieáp caên cöù vaøo theå cuûa phaùp maø quaùn nhö
huyeãn nhö moäng laø khoâng; ngöôïc laïi, Tieåu Thöøa giaùo phaân taùch con
ngöôøi ra laøm nguõ uaån, 12 xöù, 18 giôùi, v.v., phaân taùch saéc ra nhöõng phaàn
cöïc kyø nhoû, taâm ra thaønh moät nieäm, roài töø keát quaû cuûa söï phaân taùch ñoù
môùi thaáy vaïn höõu vi khoâng thì goïi laø “tính khoâng”). Thöù hai möôi hai
laø Töï Taùnh Khoâng: Töï Taùnh Khoâng (töï taùnh troáng khoâng). Caùi khoâng
veà töï tính nghóa laø gì? Ñaáy laø vì khoâng coù söï sinh ra cuûa ngaõ theå, töùc laø
söï ñaëc thuø hoùa laø caáu truùc cuûa töï taâm chuùng ta. Neáu chuùng ta nghó raèng
thöïc ra nhöõng söï vaät ñaëc thuø nhö theá chæ laø aûo töôûng, chuùng khoâng coù
töï tính, do ñoù maø baûo raèng chuùng laø khoâng. Caùi khoâng cuûa töï taùnh, moät
trong baûy loaïi khoâng. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän
Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø
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moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Töï Taùnh Khoâng. Töï Taùnh coù
nghóa laø ‘noù laø noù,’ nhöng khoâng coù caùi noù naøo nhö theá. Cho neân
Khoâng. Vaäy thì ñoái nghòch cuûa höõu vaø voâ laø thöïc ? Khoâng, noù cuõng
khoâng luoân, vì moãi phaàn töû trong ñoái laäp voán laø Khoâng. Thöù hai möôi
ba laø Töï Töôùng Khoâng: Khoâng cuûa töï töôùng. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T.
Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa
Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Trong
Töï Töôùng Khoâng, töôùng laø phöông dieän khaû tri cuûa moãi vaät theå caù bieät.
Trong vaøi tröôøng hôïp, töôùng khoâng khaùc vôùi baûn chaát nguyeân sô, chuùng
lieân heä baát phaân. Baûn chaát cuûa löûa coù theå bieát qua caùi noùng cuûa noù, vaø
baûn chaát cuûa nöôùc qua caùi laïnh cuûa noù. Moät nhaø sö thì hieän baûn chaát coá
höõu cuûa oâng ta qua vieäc tu trì caùc giôùi caám, coøn caùi ñaàu caïo vaø chieác
aùo baù naïp laø töôùng daïng rieâng cuûa oâng ta. Kinh Baùt Nhaõ noùi vôùi chuùng
ta raèng, nhöõng khía caïnh ngoaïi hieän, khaû tri, cuûa heát thaûy moïi vaät laø
khoâng vì chuùng laø nhöõng giaû töôùng, keát quaû do nhieàu taäp hôïp cuûa caùc
nhaân vaø duyeân; vì töông ñoái neân chuùng khoâng coù thöïc. Do ñoù, töï töôùng
khoâng, coù nghóa raèng moãi vaät theå rieâng bieät khoâng coù nhöõng baûn saéc
thöôøng haèng vaø baát hoaïi naøo ñaùng goïi laø cuûa rieâng. Thöù hai möôi boán
laø Töôùng Khoâng (caùi Khoâng veà Töôùng): Caùi khoâng veà töôùng nghóa laø
gì? Söï hieän höõu ñöôïc ñònh tính baèng söï tuøy thuoäc laãn nhau; tính ñaëc thuø
vaø tính phoå quaùt ñeàu khoâng coù khi caùi naày ñöôïc xem laø taùch bieät vôùi
caùi kia, khi caùc söï vaät ñöôïc phaân tích cho ñeán möùc ñoä cuoái cuøng thì
ngöôøi ta seõ hieåu raèng chuùng khoâng hieän höõu; cuoái cuøng, khoâng coù
nhöõng khía caïnh cuûa ñaëc thuø nhö ‘caùi naày,’ ‘caùi kia’ hay ‘caû hai;’
khoâng coù nhöõng daáu hieäu sai bieät cöïc vi toái haäu. Vì lyù do naày neân baûo
raèng töï töôùng laø khoâng, nghóa laø töôùng khoâng phaûi laø moät söï kieän toái
haäu. Thöù hai möôi laêm laø Voâ Bieân Xöù Khoâng: Khoâng voâ bieân xöù coøn
ñöôïc goïi laø Hö Khoâng Xöù. Khoâng xöù ñaàu tieân trong Töù Khoâng Xöù.
Thieàn ñònh lieân heä tôùi coõi khoâng voâ bieân xöù. Khi phaùt ñònh trong coõi
naày thì haønh giaû chæ coøn caûnh giôùi laø khoâng voâ bieân xöù, chöù khoâng coøn
bieát cuõng khoâng coøn hieåu. Khi caùi taâm ñöôïc taùch khoûi caûnh giôùi hình
vaø chaát, ñöôïc ñaëc bieät ñöa thaúng ñeán khoâng gian voâ bieân thì noù ñöôïc
goïi laø ñang truù trong khoâng voâ bieân xöù. Ñeå ñaït ñeán coõi naày, haønh giaû
ñaõ ñaït tôùi taàng thieàn thöù naêm trong saéc giôùi coù theå trau doài thieàn voâ
saéc, baét ñaàu gom taâm vaøo ñieåm saùng phaùt ra töø ñeà muïc hay ñoái töôïng
(kasina), cho ñeán khi naøo ñieåm saùng aáy lôùn daàn ñeán bao truøm toaøn theå
khoâng gian. Ñeán ñaây haønh giaû khoâng coøn thaáy gì khaùc ngoaøi aùnh saùng
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naày, cuøng khaép moïi nôi. Töø ngöõ Khoâng Voâ Bieân Xöù hay khoâng gian
ñaày aùnh saùng naày khoâng coù thöïc, khoâng phaûi laø moät thöïc taïi, maø chæ laø
moät khaùi nieäm (khoâng gian phaùt huy töø ñoái töôïng). Ñaây laø coõi trôøi voâ
bieân nôi maø taâm trôû neân vaéng laëng vaø voâ taän nhö hö khoâng. Thoï meänh
trong coõi trôøi naày coù theå daøi ñeán 20.000 ñaïi kieáp. Thöù hai möôi saùu laø
Voâ Haønh Khoâng: Caùi Khoâng veà Voâ Haønh. Caùi khoâng veà voâ haønh
nghóa laø gì? Töø luùc ñaàu tieân, coù Nieát baøn ñöôïc chöùa trong taát caû caùc
uaån maø khoâng ñeå loä ra daáu hieäu gì veà hoaït tính caû, töùc laø nhöõng hoaït
ñoäng cuûa uaån nhö caùc giaùc quan cuûa chuùng ta nhaän thöùc ñeàu khoâng
thaät trong töï baûn chaát, chuùng laø im laëng vaø khoâng haønh taùc. Do ñoù
chuùng ta noùi ñeán söï voâ haønh cuûa caùc uaån laø caùi ñöôïc ñònh tính laø
khoâng. Thöù hai möôi baûy laø Voâ Taùnh Khoâng: Voâ taùnh khoâng laø caùi
Khoâng cuûa voâ theå. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp
III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät
trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Voâ Taùnh laø phuû ñònh cuûa höõu, cuøng
moät nghóa vôùi Khoâng. Thöù hai möôi taùm laø Voâ Taùnh Töï Taùnh Khoâng:
Khoâng cuûa voâ theå cuûa töï taùnh. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn
Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây
laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Thöù hai möôi chín laø Voâ Teá
Khoâng: Voâ teá khoâng laø caùi Khoâng khoâng bieân teá. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T.
Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa
Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Voâ teá
khoâng coù nghóa laø khi noùi hieän höõu laø voâ thuûy, ngöôøi ta nghó raèng coù
moät caùi nhö laø voâ thuûy, vaø baùm vaøo yù nieäm naày. Ñeå loaïi boû chaáp tröôùc
kieåu naày, môùi neâu leân taùnh khoâng cuûa noù. Tri kieán cuûa con ngöôøi laéc lö
giöõa hai ñoái cöïc. Khi yù nieäm veà höõu thuûy bò deïp boû thì yù nieäm veà voâ
thuûy laïi ñeán thay, maø söï thöïc chuùng chæ laø töông ñoái. Chaân lyù cuûa
Khoâng phaûi ôû treân taát caû nhöõng ñoái nghòch naày, nhöng khoâng phaûi ôû
ngoaøi chuùng. Vì vaäy kinh Baùt Nhaõ doác söùc khai thoâng con ñöôøng “trung
ñaïo” duø vaäy vaãn khoâng ñöùng y ôû ñoù; vì neáu theá, heát coøn laø con ñöôøng
giöõa. Thuyeát Taùnh Khoâng nhö vaäy phaûi ñöôïc minh giaûi töø quan ñieåm
raát thaän troïng. Thöù ba möôi laø Voâ Vi Khoâng: Khoâng cuûa caùc phaùp voâ
vi. Phaùp khoâng chöôùng ngaïi vaø thaâm nhaäp qua taát caû moïi chöôùng ngaïi
moät caùch töï do khoâng bieán chuyeån. Moät trong nhöõng phaùp voâ vi, hö
khoâng voâ vi hay khoâng gian khoâng haïn löôïng, khoâng bieân teá, khoâng
tòch dieät, khoâng chöôùng ngaïi. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn
Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây
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laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Voâ vi (Asamskrita) laø nhöõng
phaùp khoâng leä thuoäc taùc thaønh, nhö khoâng gian chaúng haïn. Hieän höõu
ñoâi khi ñöôïc chia thaønh höõu vi vaø voâ vi, ñoâi khi ñöôïc chia thaønh noäi vaø
ngoaïi, ñoâi khi ñöôïc chia thaønh naêm uaån, vaân vaân, theo caùc quan ñieåm
caàn thieát cho quaù trình suy luaän. Tuy nhieân, taát caû nhöõng phaân bieät naày
chæ laø töông ñoái vaø khoâng coù khaùch theå tính töông ñöông, vaø do ñoù laø
Khoâng. Voâ vi hieän höõu ñoái laïi vôùi höõu vi. Neáu höõu vi khoâng thöïc coù thì
voâ vi cuõng khoâng luoân. Caû hai ñeàu laø giaû danh, laø Khoâng.

Dharmas of Sunyata
In Buddhism

Buddhist practitioners need to know different dharmas that relate to

Sunyata. First, Emptiness of Primary Nature: According to Zen Master
D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s
version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of
emptiness. Prakriti is what makes fire hot and water cold, it is the
primary nature of each individual object. When it is declared to be
empty, it means that there is no Atman in it, which constitutes its
primary nature, and that the very idea of primary nature is an empty
one. That there is no individual selfhood at the back of what we
consider a particular object has already been noted, because all things
are products of various causes and conditions, and there is nothing that
can be called an independent, solitary, self-originating primary nature.
All is ultimately empty, and if there is such a thing as primary nature, it
cannot be otherwise than empty. Second, Emptiness of Unattainability:
According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book
III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one
of the eighteen forms of emptiness. This kind of emptiness is known as
unattainable (anupamabha). It is not that the mind is incapable of
laying its hand on it, but that there is really nothing to be objectively
comprehensible. Emptiness suggests nothingness, but when it is
qualified as unattainable, it ceases to be merely negative. It is
unattainable just because it cannot be an object of relative thought
cherished by the Vijnana. When the latter is elevated to the higher
plans of the Prajna, the ‘emptiness unattainable’ is understood. The
Prajnaparamita is afraid of frightening away its followers when it
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makes its bold assertion that all is empty, and therefore it proceeds to
add that the absence of all these ideas born of relativity does not mean
bald emptiness, but simply an emptiness unattainable. With the wise
this emptiness is a reality. When the lion roars, the other animals are
terrified, imagining this roaring to be something altogether
extraordinary, something in a most specific sense ‘attained’ by the king
of beasts. But to the lion the roaring is nothing, nothing specifically
acquired by or added to them. So with the wise, there is no ‘emptiness’
in them which is to be regarded as specifically attained as an object of
thought. Their attainment is really no-attainment. Third, Emptiness of
Reciprocity: What is meant by Emptiness of Reciprocity? When
whatever quality possessed by one thing is lacking in another, this
absence is designated as emptiness. For instance, in the house of
Srigalamatri there are no elephants, no cattle, no sheep, etc., and I call
this house empty. This does not mean that there are no Bhiksus here.
The Bhiksus are Bhiksus, the house is the house, each retaining its own
characteristics. As to elephants, horses, cattle, etc., they will be found
where they properly belong, only they are absent in a place which is
properly occupied by somebody else. In this manner, each object has
its special features by which it is distinguished from another, as they
are not found in the latter. This absence is called Emptiness of
Reciprocity. Fourth, Empty Space: In The Unisha-Vijaja- Dharani-
Sutra, the Buddha reminded that those who recite this dharani, when
entering the realms of hell and hungry ghost, read or chant it, the result
is all the dwellers of such places will be liberated, and the place will
immediately become completely empty. Fifth, Absolute Sunya:
Absolute void or true emptiness which means nothingness. True
emptiness is not empty; it gives rise to wonderful existence. Wonderful
existence does not exists; it does not obstruct True Emptiness. From the
void which seemingly contains nothing, absolutely everything
descends. Nature means noumenon or essence; mark mean
characteristics, forms or physiognomy. Marks and nature are
contrasted, in the same way noumenon is contrasted with phenomenon.
However, true mark stands for true form, true nature, Buddha nature
always unchanging. True mark of all phenomena is like space; always
existing but really empty; although empty, really existing. The absolute
void or completely vacuity, said to be the nirvana of the Hinayana.
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Sixth, Emptiness of Highest Degree: Emptiness of the highest degree

by which is meant Supreme Wisdom. What is meant by Great
Emptiness of Ultimate Reality, which is Supreme Wisdom. When the
supreme wisdom is realized in our inner consciousness, it will then be
found that all the theories, wrong ideas, and all the traces of
beginningless memory are altogether wiped out and perfectly empty.
This is another form of emptiness. According to Zen Master D.T.
Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s
version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of
emptiness. The “great emptiness” means the unreality of space. Space
was conceived in old days to be something objectively real, but this is
regarded by the Mahayana as empty. Things in space are subject to the
laws of birth and death, that is, governed by causation, as this all
Buddhists recognize; but space itself is thought by them to be eternally
there. The Mahayanists teach that this vast vacuity also has no
objective reality that the idea of space or extension is mere fiction.
Seventh, Emptiness of the Ultimate Truth: Highest void, supreme void,
or the void beyond thought or discussion. The highest Void or reality,
the Mahayana nirvana, though it is also applied to Hinayana nirvana. A
conception of the void, or that which is beyond the material, only
attained by Buddhas and bodhisattvas. According to Zen Master D.T.
Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s
version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of
emptiness. The “ultimate truth” means the true being of all things, the
state in which they truly are, apart from all forms of subjectivity. This is
something not subject to destruction, not to be held up as this or that, to
which nothing can be affixed. Therefore, this ultimate truth is empty. If
real, it is one of those objects that are conditioned and chained to the
law of causation. Nirvana is but another name. When Nirvana has
something attachable to it, it will no more be Nirvana. It will be seen
that ‘emptiness’ is here used in somewhat different sense from the
‘great emptiness,’ when objects inner or outer are declared ‘empty.’
Eighth, Emptiness of Action: What is meant by the Emptiness of
Action? It means that the Skandhas are free of selfhood and all that
belongs to selfhood, and that whatever activities are manifested by
them are due to the combination of causes and conditions. That is, they
are not by themselves independent creating agencies, they have
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nothing which they can claim as belonging to their “self,” and their
karmic activities are generated by the conjunction of many causes or
accidents. For which reason there is what we designate the Emptiness
of Action. Ninth, Emptiness of Unreality: Unreality means things do
not exist in reality. Unreality, that things do not exist in reality. Sunya
(universality) annihilates all relatives. The ‘Empty’ mode destroys the
illusion of sensuous perception and constructs supreme knowledge
(prajna). Tenth, Emptiness of Things Created: According to Zen
Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-
Chuang’s version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the
eighteen forms of emptiness. Samskrita means things that have come to
existence owing to conditions of causation. In this sense they are
created. To say that the Samskrita are empty is another way of saying
that the world external as well as internal is empty. Eleventh,
Emptiness of Emptiness: According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in
Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of emptiness.
When things outside and inside are all declared empty, we are led to
think that the idea of emptiness remains real or that this alone is
something objectively attainable. The emptiness of emptiness is
designed to destroy this attachment. To maintain the idea of emptiness
means to leave a speck of dust when all has been swept clean. Twelfth,
Emptiness of a Self: The emptiness of a self or egolessness (Nhaân
Khoâng). Illusion of the concept of the reality of the ego, man being
composed of elements and disintegrated when these are dissolved.
Thirteenth, Emptiness of the Outer Things: According to Zen Master
D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s
version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of
emptiness. “The outer things” are objects of the six consciousnesses,
and their emptiness means that there are no self-governing substances
behind them. As there is no Atman at the back of the psychological
phenomena, so there is no Atman at the back of the external world.
This is technically known as the “egolessness of things.” Primitive
Buddhism taught the theory Anatman in us, but it was by the
Mahayanists, it is said, that the theory was applied to external objects
also. Fourteenth, Emptiness of the Unnamability of Existence: What is
meant by the Emptiness of the Unnamability (khoâng theå ñöôïc goïi teân)
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of All Things? As this existence is dependent upon our imaginative

contrivance, there is no self-substance in it which can be named and
described by the phraseology of our relative knowledge. This
unnamability is designated here as a form of emptiness. Fifteenth,
Emptiness of Things: According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays
in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of emptiness.
The assertion that all things (sarvadharma) are empty is the most
comprehensive one, for the term ‘dharma’ denotes not only an object
of sense, but also an object of thought. When all these are declared
empty, no further detailed commentaries are needed. But the
Prajnaparamita evidently designs to leave no stone unturned in order to
impress its students in a most thoroughgoing manner with the doctrine
of Emptiness. According to Nagarjuna, all dharmas are endowed with
these characters: existentiality, intelligibility, perceptibility, objectivity,
efficiency, causality, dependence, mutuality, duality, multiplicity,
generality, individuality, etc. But all these characterizations have no
permanence, no stability; they are all relative and phenomenal. The
ignorant fail to see into the true nature of things, and become attached
thereby to the idea of a reality which is eternal, blissful, self-governing,
and devoid of defilements. To be wise simply means to be free from
these false views, for there is nothing in them to be taken hold of as not
empty. Sixteenth, Emptiness of the Inner Things: According to Zen
Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-
Chuang’s version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the
eighteen forms of emptiness. “The inner things” mean the six
consciousnesses (vijnana). When they are said to be empty, our
psychological activities have no ego-soul behind them, as is commonly
imagined by us. This is another way of upholding the doctrine of
Anatman or Anatta. Seventeenth, Emptiness of Inner-and-Outer
Things: According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen
Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of emptiness.
Emptiness of the inner-and-outer things. We generally distinguish
between the inner and the outer, but since there is no reality in this
distinction it is here negated; the distinction is no more than a form of
thought construction, the relation can be reversed at any moment, there
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is no permanent stability here. Change the position, and what is inner is

outer, and what is outer is inner. This relativity is called here
“emptiness.” Eighteenth, Empty Fruit: Fruit of freedom from all
illusions that things and the ego are real. Nineteenth, Emptiness of
Dispersion: According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen
Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of emptiness.
Anavakara-sunyata means there is nothing perfectly simple in this
world. Everything is doomed to final decomposition. It seems to exist
as a unit, to retain its form, to be itself, but there is nothing here that
cannot be reduced to its component parts. It is sure to be dispersed.
Things belonging to the world of thought may seem not to be subject to
dissolution. But here change takes place in another form. Time works,
no permanency prevails. The four skandhas, Vedana, Samjna,
Samskara, and Vijnana, are also meant for ultimate dispersion and
annihilation. They are in any way empty. Twentieth, Ultimate
Emptiness: According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen
Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of emptiness.
Atyanta-sunyata emphasizes the idea of all ‘things’ being absolutely
empty. ‘Ultimate’ means ‘absolute.’ The denial of objective reality to
all things is here unconditionally upheld. The ‘emptiness’ means
practically the same thing. The room is swept clean by the aid of a
broom; but when the broom is retained it is not absolute emptiness.
Neither the broom, nor the sweeper should be retained in order to
reach the idea of Atyanta-sunyata. As long as there is even on dharma
left, a thing or a person or a thought, there is a point of attachment from
which a world of pluralities, and, therefore, of woes and sorrows, can
be fabricated. Emptiness beyond every possible qualification, beyond
an infinite chain of dependence, this is Nirvana. Twenty-first,
Emptiness of Substance: The unreality, or immateriality of substance,
the “mind-only” theory, that all is mind or mental, a Mahayana
doctrine. Corporeal entities are unreal, for they disintegrate. Twenty-
second, Emptiness of Self-Nature: What is meant by Emptiness of Self-
nature (Self-substance)? It is because there is no birth of self-substance
by itself. That is to say, individualization is the construction of our own
mind; to think that there are in reality individual objects as such, is an
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illusion; they have no self-substance, therefore, they are said to be

empty. According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen
Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of
emptiness.Svabhava means ‘to be by itself,’ but there is no such being
it is also empty. Is then opposition of being and non-being real? No, it
is also empty, because each term of the opposition is empty. Twenty-
third, Emptiness of Selfhood: According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in
Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of emptiness.
Lakshana is the intelligible aspect of each individual object. In some
cases Lakshana is not distinguishable from primary nature, they are
inseparably related. The nature of fire is intelligible through its heat,
that of water through its coolness. The Buddhist monk finds his primary
nature in his observance of the rules of morality, while the shaven
head and patched robe are his characteristic appearance. The
Prajnaparamita tells us that these outside, perceptible aspects of things
are empty, because they are mere appearances resulting from various
combinations of causes and conditions; being relative they have no
reality. By the emptiness of self-aspect or self-character (Svalakshana),
therefore, is meant that each particular object has no permanent and
irreducible characteristics to be known as its own. Twenty-fourth,
Emptiness of Appearance: What is meant by Emptiness of
Appearance? Existence is characterized by mutual dependence;
individuality and generality are empty when one is regarded apart from
the other; when things are analyzed to the last degree, they are to be
comprehended as not existent; there are, after all, no aspects of
individuation such as “this,” “that,” or “both;” there are no ultimate
irreducible marks of differentiation. For this reason, it is said that self-
appearance is empty. By this is meant that appearance is not a final
fact. Twenty-fifth, the Land of Infinite Space: The first of the four
immaterial jhanas. The dhyana, or meditation connected with the
abode of the infinite space (the formless or immaterial), in which all
thought of form is suppressed. When the mind, separated from the
realm of form and matter, is exclusively directed towards infinite
space, it is said to be abiding in the Akasanantya-yatanam. To reach
this, a meditator who has mastered the fifth fine-material jhana based
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on a “kasina” object spreads out the counterpart sign of the “kasina”

until it becomes immeasurable in extent. The he removes the “kasina”
by attending only to the space it pervaded, contemplating it as “infinite
space.” The expression “base of infinite space,” strictly speaking,
refers to the concept of infinite space which serves as the object of the
first immaterial-sphere consciousness. This is the state or heaven of
boundless space, where the mind becomes void and vast like space.
Existence in this stage may last 20,000 great kalpas. Twenty-sixth,
Emptiness of Non-Action: What is meant by Emptiness of Non-action?
It means that harboured in all the Skandhas there is, from the first,
Nirvana which betrays no sign of activity. That is, their activities as
perceived by our senses are not real, they are in their nature quiet and
not doing. Therefore, we speak of non-acting of the Skandhas, which is
characterized as emptiness. Twenty-seventh, Emptiness of Non-Being:
According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book
III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one
of the eighteen forms of emptiness. Abhava is the negation of being,
which is one sense of emptiness. Twenty-eighth, Emptiness of the Non-
Being of Self-Nature: According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays
in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of emptiness.
Emptiness of the non-being of self-nature. Twenty-ninth, Emptiness of
Limitlessness: According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen
Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of emptiness.
Anavaragra-sunyata means when existence is said to be beginningless,
people think that there is such a thing as beginninglessness, and cling to
the idea. In order to do away with this attachment, its emptiness is
pronounced. The human intellect oscillates between opposites. When
the idea of a beginning is exploded, the idea of beginninglessness
replaces it, while in truth these are merely relative. The great truth of
Sunyata must be above those opposites, and yet not outside of them.
Therefore, the Prajnaparamita takes pains to strike the ‘middle way’
and yet not to stand by it; for when this is done it ceases to be the
middle way. The theory of Emptiness is thus to be elucidated from
every possible point of view. Thirtieth, Emptiness of Things
Uncreated: Space is that which gives no hindrance and itself penetrates
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through any hindrance freely and manifests no change. One of the

assamskrta dharmas, passive void or space. According to Zen Master
D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s
version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of
emptiness. Asamskrita are things not subject to causation, such as
space. Existence is sometimes divided into Samskrita and Asamskrita,
sometimes into inner and outer, sometimes into the five skandhas, etc.,
according to points of view necessitated by course of reasoning. All
these disctinctions are, however, only relative and have no
corresponding objectivity, and are, therefore, all empty. The
Asamskrita exist because of their being contrasted to the Samskrita.
When the latter have no reality, the former are also no more. They
both are mere names, and empty.
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Chöông Hai Möôi Moát

Chapter Twenty-One

Khaùi Nieäm Veà Taùnh Khoâng

Trong Kinh Ñieån Ñaïi Thöøa

Theo truyeàn thoáng Ñaïi Thöøa, taùnh khoâng coù nhöõng yù nghóa sau
ñaây: Thöù nhaát laø trong caùc kinh ñieån Ñaïi Thöøa, Taùnh Khoâng sieâu vieät
theá giôùi naày nhö moät ‘taäp hôïp lôùn’ cuûa voâ soá caùc phaùp. Taát caû caùc phaùp
toàn taïi, hôïp taùc vaø aûnh höôûng laãn nhau ñeå taïo ra voâ soá hieän töôïng. Ñaây
goïi laø nguyeân nhaân. Nguyeân nhaân döôùi nhöõng ñieàu kieän khaùc nhau taïo
neân nhöõng hieäu quaû khaùc nhau, coù theå daãn ñeán keát quaû toát, xaáu, hoaëc
khoâng toát khoâng xaáu. Ñaây laø nguyeân lyù chung, nguyeân nhaân cuûa toàn taïi
hoaëc hình thöùc cuûa toàn taïi nhö vaäy. Noùi caùch khaùc, bôûi vì taùnh khoâng,
taát caû caùc phaùp coù theå toàn taïi, khoâng coù taùnh khoâng, khoâng coù thöù gì coù
theå toàn taïi. Theo Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh, “Khoâng khoâng khaùc vôùi saéc.” Vì
vaäy, taùnh khoâng nhö baûn chaát thaät cuûa thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm. Thöù nhì laø
taùnh khoâng nhö nguyeân lyù Duyeân Khôûi, bôûi vì phaùp khoâng coù baûn chaát
cuûa chính noù, noù do nhaân duyeân taïo neân, do theá maø Taâm Kinh ñaõ daïy:
“Maét laø voâ ngaõ vaø voâ ngaõ sôû, saéc laø voâ ngaõ vaø voâ ngaõ sôû, nhaõn thöùc laø
voâ ngaõ, vaân vaân...” Thöù ba laø Taùnh Khoâng nghóa laø Trung Ñaïo. Nhö
chuùng ta bieát, caùc phaùp döôøng nhö thaät, taïm goïi laø thaät, chöù khoâng phaûi
thaät. Nhöng Taùnh Khoâng trong yù nghóa naày coù theå bò hieåu sai nhö laø
khoâng coù gì, ngoan khoâng, hay hö voâ. Theá neân, chuùng ta neân phaân bieät
giöõa sanh vaø baát sanh, hieän höõu vaø khoâng hieän höõu, thöôøng vaø voâ
thöôøng, Ta Baø vaø Nieát Baøn, vaân vaân. Taát caû nhöõng ñieàu naày ñeàu ñöôïc
xem nhö laø cöïc ñoan. Vì vaäy, Trung Ñaïo ñöôïc duøng ñeå ñaùnh tan tö duy
nhò bieân vaø bieåu thò ñieàu gì ñoù töùc khaéc nhöng sieâu vieät hai beân nhö
sanh vaø khoâng sanh, thuoäc tính vaø thöïc theå, nguyeân nhaân vaø keát quaû,
vaân vaân. Töø Taùnh Khoâng nghóa laø phuû ñònh caû hai thöù chuû nghóa: hö voâ
vaø hieän thöïc, cuõng nhö nhöõng moâ taû cuûa chuùng veà theá giôùi naày bò loaïi
boû. Thöù tö laø Taùnh Khoâng nhö Nieát Baøn, nhöng khoâng phaûi tìm caàu
moät Nieát Baøn kieåu nhö trong kinh ñieån Pali, maø laø vöôït qua Nieát Baøn
nhö ñoàng vôùi Nhö Lai, hoaëc Phaùp Taùnh, nghóa laø caùc phaùp trong theá
giôùi naày veà cô baûn laø baûn chaát gioáng nhau, khoâng coù danh hieäu hoaëc
baát cöù thöïc theå naøo. Caùc nhaø Ñaïi Thöøa tuyeân boá maïnh meõ raèng khoâng
 174

coù söï khaùc bieät nhoû nhoi naøo giöõa Nieát Baøn vaø Ta Baø. Moät khi caùc
chaáp thuû caùc phaùp ñoái ñaõi hoaøn toaøn bieán maát thì ñoù laø traïng thaùi Nieát
Baøn cuûa chaân khoâng. Thöù naêm laø Taùnh Khoâng nghóa laø vöôït qua caùc
phuû ñònh vaø khoâng theå moâ taû ñöôïc, thuyeát nhaát nguyeân hay nhò nguyeân
vaø caùc phaùp theá giôùi laø khoâng theå coù. Chính söï phuû ñònh cuûa khaùi nieäm
hoùa naày ñaõ trình baøy moät söï phuû nhaän nhò bieân vaø khoâng nhò bieân. Ñoù
laø thöïc theå sieâu vieät, vöôït qua toàn taïi, khoâng toàn taïi, khoâng toàn taïi vaø
khoâng khoâng toàn taïi. Noù vöôït khoûi boán loaïi phaïm truø bieän luaän veà
“khoâng khaúng ñònh, khoâng phuû ñònh, khoâng khaúng ñònh maø cuõng khoâng
phuû nhaän, khoâng khoâng khaúng ñònh maø cuõng khoâng phuû ñònh.” Ñeán giai
ñoaïn naày vò aáy vöôït khoûi caùc chaáp thuû töø thoâ thieån ñeán vi teá. Ngay caû
neáu ôû ñoù coù traïng thaùi gì cao hôn Nieát Baøn, hay ñeä nhaát nghóa khoâng,
thaéng nghóa khoâng, thì cuõng laø giaác mô hay voïng töôûng maø thoâi. Do ñoù,
Taùnh Khoâng nghóa laø hoaøn toaøn khoâng chaáp thuû.

Concept of Sunyata in Mahayana Canon

According to the Mahayana tradition, Sunyata has the following

characteristics: First, in Mahayana sutras, it is said that, the world or
universe is ‘a great set’ of myriad of things. All things co-exist, co-
operate and interact upon one another to create innumerable
phenomena. This is called the cause. The cause under different
conditions produces the different effects, which lead to either good or
bad or neutral retributions. It is the very universal principle, the reason
of existence or the norm of existence as such. In other words, because
of Sunyata, all things can exist; without Sunyata, nothing could possibly
exist. The Hrdaya teaches, “The Sunya does not differ from rupa.”
Sunyata is, therefore, as the true nature of empirical reality. Second,
Sunyata as the Principle of Pratityasamutyada, because a thing must
have no nature of its own, it is produced by causes or depends on
anything else, so it is Sunyata as the Hrdaya Text expresses “Eyes is
void of self and anything belonging to self, form is void..., visual
consciousness is void...” Third, Sunyata means Middle Way. As we
know, common things, which appear to be real, are not really real. But
Sunyata in this sense may be misinterpreted as non-being, existence
and non-existence, permanence and impermanence, Samsara and
Nirvana. All these should be regarded as extremes. Hence, the term
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‘middle way’ is employed to revoke dualistic thinking and refers to

something intermediary but it has transcended any dichotomy into
‘being’ and ‘non-being’, ‘attribute’ and ‘substance’ or ‘cause’ and
‘effect’. The term Sunyata means that both naive realism and nihilism
are unintelligible and their descriptions of the world should be
discarded. Fourth, Sunyta as Nirvana and come beyond Nirvana which
is truly equated with Tathagata or Dharmata implicating that all things
of this world are essentially of the same nature, void of any name or
substratum. Mahayanists declared the forcible statement that there is
not the slightest difference between Nirvana and Samsara because
when the complete disappearance of all things is really, there is
Nirvana. Fifth, Sunyata means beyond all Negation Indescribable
which implies that monastic as well as dualistic and pluralistic views of
the world are untenable. It is the negation of conceptualization, stated
as a denial of both duality and non-duality. It is Reality which
ultimately transcends existence, non-existence, both and neither. It is
beyond the Four categories of Intellect “neither affirmation nor
negation, nor both, nor neither.” At this stage, one is supposed to be
free from all attachments from the rule to the subtle in mind. If there
were something more superior even than Nirvana, it is like a dream
and a magical delusion. If this occurs, Sunyata means total non-
attachment.
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Chöông Hai Möôi Hai

Chapter Twenty-Two

Khaùi Nieäm Veà “Khoâng Taùnh”

Theo Phaät Giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy

Söï khaùc bieät cuûa taùnh khoâng trong Ñaïi Thöøa vaø Nguyeân Thuûy laø
do söï khaùc bieät khi tieáp caän vôùi nhöõng söï kieän cuûa baûn chaát. Söï kieän
naày seõ roõ hôn khi chuùng ta quan saùt laïi khaùi nieäm veà ‘khoâng’ cuûa Phaät
giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy seõ thaáy haàu nhö trong moãi yù nghóa ñeàu lieân quan
ñeán yù nghóa ñaïo ñöùc. Döôùi ñaây laø nhöõng Khaùi nieäm veà Khoâng theo
Phaät giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy: Thöù nhaát laø Khoâng laø toaøn vuõ truï ñeàu khoâng.
Thöù nhì laø Khoâng laø hai khi noù bieåu thò khoâng thöïc theå vaø khoâng chaéc
chaén. Thöù ba laø Khoâng laø boán khi noù bieåu thò: khoâng thaáy thöïc theå
trong töï ngaõ, khoâng quy thöïc theå cho ngaõ khaùc, khoâng coù söï chuyeån
thöïc theå töø töï ngaõ ñeán caùi ngaõ khaùc, vaø khoâng coù söï chuyeån thöïc theå töø
caùi ngaõ khaùc ñeán töï ngaõ. Thöù tö laø Khoâng laø saùu khi öùng duïng cho saùu
caên, saùu traàn, saùu thöùc, töø ñoù noù coù saùu ñaëc taùnh laø khoâng ngaõ, khoâng
töï ngaõ, khoâng thöôøng, khoâng vónh cöûu, khoâng baát dieät, vaø khoâng tieán
hoùa. Thöù naêm laø Khoâng laø taùm khi noù bieåu thò khoâng sanh, khoâng vónh
cöûu, khoâng an laïc, khoâng thöôøng haèng, khoâng vöõng, khoâng laâu daøi, vaø
khoâng tieán hoùa. Thöù saùu laø Khoâng laø möôøi khi noù bieåu thò troáng roãng,
troáng khoâng, vaéng, voâ ngaõ, voâ thaàn, khoâng töï do, khoâng thoûa öôùc voïng,
vaø khoâng tònh tòch. Thöù baûy laø Khoâng laø möôøi hai khi noù bieåu thò:
khoâng chuùng sanh, khoâng suùc sanh, khoâng ngöôøi, khoâng thieáu nieân,
khoâng phuï nöõ, khoâng ñaøn oâng, khoâng ngaõ, khoâng töï ngaõ, khoâng ngaõ
maïn, khoâng cuûa toâi, khoâng cuûa ngöôøi, vaø khoâng baát cöù cuûa ai. Thöù taùm
laø Khoâng coù 40 maãu: voâ thöôøng, khoå, beänh, bò ung nhoït, tai öôn, ñau
ñôùn, oám ñau, khoâng toái cao, hoaïi dieät, lo laéng, aùp böùc, sôï haõi, phieàn
nhieãu, run raåy, suy nhöôïc, khoâng chaéc, khoâng töï veä, khoâng nôi truù aån,
khoâng coù söï giuùp ñôõ, khoâng nôi nöông naùo, troáng roãng, vaéng laëng,
khoâng, voâ ngaõ, buoàn, baát lôïi, thay ñoåi, khoâng baûn chaát, ñau ñôùn, haønh
haï, ñoaïn dieät, truî laïc, toài teä, naûn loøng, höôùng ñeán sanh, höôùng ñeán
hoaïi, höôùng ñeán beänh, höôùng ñeán cheát, höôùng ñeán saàu, bi, khoå, öu,
naõo, nhaân, buoâng boû.
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Concept of Sunnata (Sunyata)

In the Theravada Buddhism

The difference between the Sunyata of Mahayana and the Sunyata

of Theravada is not fundamental. All the differences are due only to a
difference in approach to the facts of nature. This fact emerges when
we go further in considering the Sunnata of the Theravada. The
Sunnata of things has been considered in the Theravada books from a
variety of standpoinds, with the ethical interest foremost in every case.
The followings are details of Concept of Sunnata (Sunyata) in the
Theravada Buddhism: First, Sunnata without divisions comprehends
the whole universe. Second, Sunnata is twofold when it refers to
substance and substantial. Third, Sunnata is fourfold when it refers to
the following modes: not seeing substance in oneself, not attributing
substance to another (person or thing), not transferring one’s self to
another, not bringing in another’s self into oneself. Fourth, Sunnata is
sixfold when it is applied to each of the sense organs, the six kinds of
objects corresponding to them and the six kinds of consciousness
arising from them, from the point of view of the following six
characteristics: substance, substantial, permanent, stable, eternal and
non-evolutionary. Fifth, Sunnata is eightfold when it is considered from the
point of view of the following: non-essential, essentially unstable, essentially
unhappy or disharmonious, essentially non-substantial, non-permanent, non-
stable, non-eternal, evolutionary or fluxional. Sixth, Sunnata is tenfold from
the point of view of the following modes: devoid, empty, void, non-substantial,
godless, unfree, disappointing, powerless, non-self, spearated. Seventh,
Sunnata is twelvefold from the point of view of these other modes thus taking
rupa as an instance one can regard it as being: no animal, no human, no youth,
no woman, no man, no substance, nothing substantial, not myself, not mine,
not another’s, not anybody’s. Eighth, Sunnata is forty-twofold when
considered from the point of view of these modes: impermanent, inconsistent,
disease, abscessed, evil, painful, ailing, alien, decaying, distressing,
oppressing, fearful, harassing, unsteady, breaking, unstable, unprotected,
unsheltered, helpless, refugeless, empty, devoid, void, substanceless,
unpleasant, disadvantageous, changing, essenceless, originating, pain,
torturing, annihilating, depraved, compounded, frustrating, tending to birth,
tending to decay, tending to disease, tending to death, tending to grief, sorrow
and lamentation, originating, cesant, dissolving.
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Chöông Hai Möôi Ba

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Taùnh Khoâng” Theo Kinh Baùt Nhaõ

Baùt Nhaõ laø aâm cuûa thuaät ngöõ Prajna töø Phaïn ngöõ coù nghóa laø trí tueä
(yù thöùc hay trí naêng). Coù ba loaïi baùt nhaõ: thaät töôùng, quaùn chieáu vaø vaên
töï. Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù nghóa laø thöïc löïc nhaän thöùc roõ raøng söï vaät vaø nhöõng
nguyeân taéc caên baûn cuûa chuùng cuõng nhö xaùc quyeát nhöõng gì coøn nghi
ngôø. Baùt Nhaõ coù nghóa laø caùi bieát sieâu vieät. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh
dieãn taû chöõ “Baùt Nhaõ” laø ñeä nhaát trí tueä trong heát thaûy trí tueä, khoâng gì
cao hôn, khoâng gì so saùnh baèng (voâ thöôïng, voâ tyû, voâ ñaúng). Coù ba loaïi
Baùt Nhaõ: Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ, Quaùn chieáu baùt nhaõ, vaø Phöông tieän Baùt
Nhaõ. Thöïc töôùng baùt nhaõ laø trí hueä ñaït ñöôïc khi ñaõ ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Quaùn
chieáu baùt nhaõ laø phaàn hai cuûa trí hueä Baùt Nhaõ. Ñaây laø trí hueä caàn thieát
khi thaät söï ñaùo bæ ngaïn. Phöông tieän Baùt Nhaõ hay vaên töï Baùt nhaõ. Ñaây
laø loaïi trí hueä hieåu bieát chö phaùp giaû taïm vaø luoân thay ñoåi. Ñaây laø trí
hueä caàn thieát ñöa ñeán yù höôùng “Ñaùo Bæ Ngaïn” Trong kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba
La Maät Ña, ñöùc Phaät baûo Xaù Lôïi Phaát veà Khoâng nhö sau: “Trong
‘Khoâng’ khoâng coù hình theå, khoâng coù caûm xuùc, khoâng coù nieäm löï,
khoâng coù tö duy, khoâng coù yù thöùc, khoâng coù maét, tai, muõi, löôõi, thaân vaø
yù; khoâng coù hình theå, aâm thanh, höông thôm, muøi vò, xuùc chaïm vaø hieän
höõu; khoâng coù ñoái töôïng cuûa maét cho ñeán khoâng coù ñoái töôï ng cuûa yù
thöùc; khoâng coù minh, khoâng coù voâ minh, khoâng coù söï chaám döùt cuûa
minh, cuõng khoâng coù söï chaám döùt cuûa voâ minh; cho ñeán khoâng coù tuoåi
giaø vaø söï cheát, cuõng khoâng coù söï chaám döùt cuûa tuoåi giaø vaø söï cheát;
khoâng coù khoå ñau, khoâng coù nguyeân nhaân cuûa khoå ñau, khoâng coù söï
chaám döùt khoå ñau vaø khoâng coù con ñöôøng ñöa ñeán söï chaám döùt khoå
ñau; khoâng coù trí giaùc cuõng khoâng coù söï thaønh töïu trí giaùc; vì chaúng coù
quaû vò trí giaùc naøo ñeå thaønh töïu. Ngöôøi naøo tænh thöùc bình yeân do soáng
an laønh trong tueä giaùc voâ thöôïng thì thoaùt ly taát caû. Vaø raèng, vì khoâng
coù nhöõng chöôùng ngaïi trong taâm neân khoâng coù sôï haõi vaø xa rôøi nhöõng
cuoàng si moäng töôûng, ñoù laø cöùu caùnh Nieát Baøn vaäy!”
Neáu taùnh khoâng laø hoaøn toaøn khoâng thì thaät laø voâ nghóa. Do ñoù,
giai ñoaïn cuoái cuøng, Taùnh Khoâng nghóa laø phöông tieän cuûa cuûa tuïc ñeá
vaø chaân ñeá. Noùi caùch khaùc, maëc duø tuïc ñeá laø höõu vi nhöng laïi caàn thieát
cho vieäc ñaït ñeán chaân ñeá vaø Nieát Baøn. Taát caû caùc phaùp hieän töôïng laø
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khoâng, nhöng vaãn töø caùc phaùp aáy maø giaùc ngoä. Theo Baùt Nhaõ Taâm
Kinh, trung taâm coát loõi cuûa vaên hoïc kinh ñieån Baùt Nhaõ ñaõ giaûi thích
xuaát saéc yù nghóa naày vôùi caâu: “Saéc chaúng khaùc khoâng, khoâng chaúng
khaùc saéc.” Tuïc ñeá khoâng phaûi laø voâ duïng trong vieäc ñaït ñeán giaùc ngoä,
cuõng khoâng phaûi laø khoâng coù moái quan heä giöõa tuïc ñeá vaø chaân ñeá. Vì
theá, Baùt Nhaõ laø baûn chaát cuûa chaân trí, thaáy caùc phaùp nhö thaät, töø ñoù
‘Boà Taùt töï taïi, khoâng chöôùng ngaïi, khoâng sôï haõi, vöôït qua caùc voïng
töôûng ñieân ñaûo’ ñeå ngaøi ung dung töï taïi böôùc vaøo theá gian ban phaùp
thoaïi veà ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ cho taát caû chuùng sanh. Khaùi nieäm Taùnh Khoâng
trong kinh ñieån Baùt Nhaõ ñaõ môû cho chuùng ta thaáy trong kinh ñieån Pali,
khaùi nieäm ‘Khoâng’ ñöôïc moâ taû ñôn giaûn vôùi yù nghóa thöïc taïi hieän
töôïng laø khoâng, chôù khoâng noùi veà baûn theå nhö Taùnh Khoâng trong vaên
hoïc Baùt Nhaõ. Noùi caùch khaùc, khaùi nieäm ‘Khoâng’ trong kinh ñieån Pali
nghieâng veà laõnh vöïc khoâng laø voâ ngaõ, cho tôùi khi coù söï xuaát hieän vaø
phaùt trieån cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa, ñaëc bieät vaên hoïc Baùt Nhaõ, laõnh vöïc voâ ngaõ
ñöôïc chia laøm hai phaàn: ngaõ khoâng vaø phaùp khoâng, nghóa laø töø chuû theå
ñeán khaùch theå, töø saùu caên ñeán saùu traàn, töø söï khaúng ñònh cuûa sanh hoaëc
khoâng sanh ñeán söï phuû ñònh cuûa sanh hoaëc khoâng sanh... ñeàu troáng
khoâng. Cuõng coù theå noùi raèng, khaùi nieäm khoâng trong kinh ñieån nguyeân
thuûy laø neàn taûng cho söï phaùt trieån Taùnh Khoâng trong vaên hoïc Baùt Nhaõ.

Emptiness in the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra

Prajna is a Sanskrit term which means wisdom. There are three

kinds of prajna: real mark prajna, contemplative prajna, and literary
prajna. Prajna also means the real power to discern things and their
underlying principles and to decide the doubtful. Prajna means a
transcendental knowledge. The Prajna-paramita-sutra describes
“prajna” as supreme, highest, incomparable, unequalled, unsurpassed.
There are three prajnas or perfect enlightements: The first part of the
prajnaparamita. The wisdom achieved once crossed the shore. The
second part of the prajnaparamita. The necessary wisdom for actual
crossing the shore of births and deaths. The wisdom of knowing things
in their temporary and changing condition. The necessary wisdom for
vowing to cross the shore of births and deaths. In the Prajnaparamita
Heart Sutra, the Buddha told Sariputra about Emptiness as follows:
“In Emptiness there are no form, no feelings, no perceptions, no
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actions, no consciousnesses; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no

body, and no mind; no form, sound, odour, taste, touch or mind object;
no eye-elements until we come to no elements of consciousnesses; no
ignorance and no extinction of ignorance; no old age and death, and no
extinction of old age and death; no truth of sufferings, no truth of cause
of sufferings, of the cessation of sufferings or of the path. There is no
knowledge and no attainment whatsoever. By reason of non-
attachment, the Bodhisattva dwelling in Prajnaparamita has no
obstacles in his mind. Because there is no obstacle in his mind, he has
no fear, and going far beyond all perverted view, all confusions and
imaginations... This is a real Nirvana!”
If Sunyata is the total Sunyta, then it is meaningless. According to
the Mahayana tradition, Sunyata is the Means of the Relative Truth
and the Ultimate truth. That is to say, worldly truth, though not
unconditional, is essential for the attainment of the ultimate Truth and
Nirvana. The Hrdaya Sutra, the central of the Prajna-paramita
scriptures, has expanded this significance by the emphasis words that
‘Rupa does not differ from Sunya’ or Rupa is identical with Sunya.
Relative truth is not useless in achieving enlightenment, nor can it be
said that there is no relation between worldly and ultimate truths. Thus,
Prajna-paramita is of the nature of knowledge; it is a seeing of things, it
arises from the combination of casual factors. From that, Bodhisattvas
have no hindrance in their hearts, and since they have no hindrance,
they have no fear, are free from contrary and delusive ideas in order
that he can content himself with entering the world to spread the Truth
of Sunyata to all walks of life without any obstacles. The concept of
Sunyata in Prajna-paramita Sutra opens our knowledge that in Pali
Nikaya, the concept of Sunnata is displayed very simple with the idea
of the reality and that sunnata in Panca Nikaya is also the form of real
nature, i.e., Sunyata in Prajna-paramita texts. In other words, Sunnata
in Pali scriptures attached special importance to non-self and until the
appearance and development of Mahayana, specially Prajna-paramita
literature, the the field of non-self is represented in two parts: the non-
substantiality of the self and the non-substantiality of the dharmas, i.e.,
from subjective to objective, from six internal sense-bases to six
external sense bases, from affirmation of either being or non-being to
denial of either being or non-being, etc, are empty. The negation of all
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things gives us to insight into the reality. That is also to say, Sunnata in
Pali Nikayas is the foundation for the development of Prajna-paramita
literature.
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Chöông Hai Möôi Boán

Chapter Twenty-Four

Khoâng Taùnh Theo Quan Ñieåm Thieàn Toâng

Theo Thieàn Sö Linh Moäc Ñaïi Chuyeát Trinh Thaùi Lang trong boä
Thieàn Luaän, Taäp III, Töù Toå Thieàn toâng Ñaïo Tín giaûi thích yù nghóa cuûa
söï tónh laëng trong thieàn ñònh vaø taùnh khoâng nhö sau: "Haõy suy gaãm veà
saéc thaân cuûa mình, xem thöû noù laø gì. Noù troáng roãng, khoâng coù thöïc
töôùng, nhö moät caùi boùng. Noù ñöôïc töôûng nhö coù thaät, nhöng nôi noù,
chaúng coù thöù gì ñeå naém giöõ ñöôïc... Töø giöõa Taùnh Khoâng khôûi leân luïc
caên, vaø luïc caên thuoâc veà Taùnh Khoâng, trong khi luïc traàn ñöôïc nhaän
thöùc nhö giaác moäng hay nhö moät huyeãn töôïng. Ñieàu naøy cuõng gioáng
nhö con maét nhìn caùc vaät; caùc vaät khoâng naèm trong con maét. Hay gioáng
nhö taám göông phaûn chieáu hình aûnh cuûa baïn: baïn thaáy hình aûnh moät
caùch roõ raøng; taát caû nhöõng phaûn aûnh aáy chæ laø taùnh khoâng, vì taám göông
khoâng löu giöõ vaät phaûn chieáu trong göông. Maët ngöôøi khoâng ñi vaøo
trong thaân taám göông, vaø taám göông khoâng ñi ra khoûi mình ñeå nhaäp
vaøo maët ngöôøi. Khi thaáu hieåu taám göông vaø khuoân maët töông quan nhö
theá naøo vôùi nhau, khi hieåu raèng ngay töø luùc baét ñaàu, ñaõ khoâng coù vaøo,
khoâng coù ra, khoâng coù qua laïi, khoâng coù thieát laäp töông quan giöõa hai
beân, ngöôøi ta hieåu ñöôïc yù nghóa cuûa Chaân Nhö vaø Taùnh Khoâng."
Baûn taùnh laø caùi laøm cho löûa noùng vaø nöôùc laïnh, noù laø baûn chaát
nguyeân sô cuûa moãi vaät theå caù bieät. Khi noùi raèng noù Khoâng, coù nghóa laø
khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ (Atman) beân trong noù ñeå taïo ra baûn chaát nguyeân sô
cuûa noù, vaø yù nieäm ñích thöïc veà baûn chaát nguyeân sô laø moät yù nieäm
Khoâng. Chuùng ta ñaõ ghi nhaän raèng khoâng coù töï ngaõ caù bieät nôi haäu cöù
cuûa caùi chuùng ta coi nhö vaät theå caù bieät, bôûi vì vaïn höõu laø nhöõng saûn
phaåm cuûa voâ soá nhaân vaø duyeân, vaø chaúng coù gì ñaùng goïi laø moät baûn
chaát nguyeân sô ñoäc laäp, ñôn ñoäc, töï höõu. Taát caû laø Khoâng trieät ñeå, vaø
neáu coù thöù baûn chaát nguyeân sô naøo ñoù, thì coù caùch naøo cuõng vaãn laø
Khoâng. Trong Phaïn ngöõ, thuaät ngöõ “Sunyata” laø söï keát hôïp cuûa
“Sunya” coù nghóa laø khoâng, troáng roãng, roãng tueách, vôùi haäu tieáp töø “ta”
coù nghóa laø “söï” (duøng cho danh töø). Thuaät ngöõ raát khoù maø dòch ñöôïc
sang Hoa ngöõ; tuy nhieân, chuùng ta coù theå dòch sang Anh ngöõ nhö laø söï
troáng khoâng, söï troáng roãng, hoaëc chaân khoâng. Khaùi nieäm cuûa töø
“Sunyata” caên baûn thuoäc veà caû hôïp lyù vaø bieän chöùng. Thaät khoù ñeå hieåu
 184

ñöôïc khaùi nieäm “Taùnh khoâng” vì yù nieäm chaân ñeá cuûa noù (thaéng nghóa
khoâng, lìa caùc phaùp thì khoâng coù töï taùnh) lieân quan ñeán yù nghóa ngoân
ngöõ hoïc, ñaëc bieät vì töø nguyeân hoïc (taùnh khoâng coù nghóa laø troáng roãng
hoaëc khoâng coù gì trong hình daùng cuûa chö phaùp) khoâng cung caáp theâm
ñöôïc gì vaøo yù thöïc tieãn hay lyù thuyeát cuûa khaùi nieäm naøy. Haønh giaû tu
Thieàn neân luoân nhôù raèng chö phaùp khoâng hay laø hö khoâng, troáng roãng
(söï khoâng coù tính chaát caù bieät hay ñoäc laäp), voâ thöôøng, vaø khoâng coù töï
ngaõ. Nghóa laø vaïn phaùp khoâng coù töï tính, maø tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân
duyeân, vaø thieáu haún töï taùnh. Vì vaäy moät con ngöôøi noùi laø khoâng coù “töï
taùnh” vì con ngöôøi aáy ñöôïc keát hôïp bôûi nhieàu thöù khaùc nhau, nhöõng thöù
aáy luoân thay ñoåi vaø hoaøn toaøn tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân. Tuy nhieân,
Phaät töû nhìn yù nieäm veà “khoâng” trong ñaïo Phaät moät caùch tích cöïc treân
söï hieän höõu, vì noù aùm chæ moïi vaät ñeàu luoân bieán chuyeån, nhôø vaäy môùi
môû roäng ñeå höôùng veà töông lai. Neáu vaïn höõu coù taùnh chaát khoâng bieán
chuyeån, thì taát caû ñeàu bò keït ôû nhöõng hoaøn caûnh hieän taïi maõi maõi
khoâng thay ñoåi, moät ñieàu khoâng theå naøo xaûy ra ñöôïc. Phaät töû thuaàn
thaønh phaûi coá gaéng thaáy cho ñöôïc taùnh khoâng ñeå khoâng vöôùng víu,
thay vaøo ñoù duøng taát caû thôøi giôø coù ñöôïc cho vieäc tu taäp, vì caøng tu taäp
chuùng ta caøng coù theå tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc thaønh ñaït “trí hueä” nghóa laø
caøng tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc tröïc nghieäm “khoâng taùnh,” vaø caøng chöùng
nghieäm “khoâng taùnh” chuùng ta caøng coù khaû naêng phaùt trieån “trí hueä ba
la maät.” Moät Thieàn sinh ñeán thaêm Thieàn sö Baøn Khueâ Vónh Traùc vaø
than vaõn: "Thöa Thaày, tính caùch cuûa con quaû laø khoâng keàm cheá ñöôïc,
laøm sao con söûa ñöôïc?" "OÂng coù moät thöù raát laï ñoù," Baøn Khueâ traû lôøi.
"OÂng cho ta xem thöû ñi." "Ngay baây giôø thì con khoâng theå cho Thaày
xem ñieàu aáy ñöôïc." "Khi naøo thì oâng coù theå cho ta xem?" Baøn Khueâ
hoûi. "Noù xaûy ñeán moät caùch baát chôït" Thieàn sinh traû lôøi. "Nhö theá," Baøn
Khueâ keát luaän, "ñoù khoâng phaûi laø baûn taùnh thaät cuûa oâng. Neáu quaû thaät
ñoù laø baûn taùnh cuûa oâng, oâng coù theå cho ta xem baát kyø luùc naøo. Vaøo luùc
sanh ra, oâng ñaõ khoâng coù, cha meï oâng cuõng khoâng truyeàn laïi cho oâng.
OÂng haõy suy gaãm veà ñieàu ñoù."
Ñeán cuoái ñôøi, Thieàn sö Voâ Moân Hueä Khai (1183-1260) lui veà moät
ngoâi chuøa nhoû treân nuùi. Tuy ñöôïc vinh quang vaø troïng voïng, ñeán khi thò
tòch, oâng vaãn laø moät baàn taêng bình thöôøng vaø heát söùc khieâm nhöôøng,
luoân maëc moät chieác aùo vaûi thoâ, vaø theo tinh thaàn cuûa Baùch Tröôïng, oâng
saün saøng laøm nhöõng coâng vieäc tay chaân trong chuøa. Sau ñaây laø baøi thô
veà Khoâng tröôùc khi oâng thò tòch:
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Khoâng laø khoâng sinh

Khoâng laø khoâng theå qua ñi
Khi ngöôi bieát ñöôïc khoâng
Laø ngöôi gioáng vôùi noù.
Moät hoâm, Thieàn Sö Thieân Ñoàng Toâng Giaùc thöôïng ñöôøng thò
chuùng: "Xuyeân qua khoâng kieáp, chæ moät thaân traûi roäng khaép theá giôùi.
Ngöôøi ta tìm thaáy noù trong söï tónh laëng troáng khoâng vaø khoâng heà bò
khuaáy ñoäng; maây traéng xuyeân qua nuùi laïnh; aùnh saùng thanh khieát
xuyeân thaáu boùng toái; aùnh traêng röïc rôõ khi ñeâm veà. Khi noù laø nhö vaäy,
laøm sao ngöôøi ta ñi treân ñöôøng? Thò phi chöa töøng taùch khoûi quan ñieåm
cô baûn. Xuyeân qua tung hoaønh cuûa vuõ truï, taïi sao caàn ai noùi ñeán nhaân
duyeân?"
Moät hoâm, thaày boån sö ñang ngoài xem kinh beân khung cöûa, vì trôøi
laïnh neân oâng laáy giaáy daùn kín cöûa laïi. Thaàn Taùn ñi ngang thaáy moät con
ong cöù bay ñaäp vaøo tôø giaáy ñeå tìm loái ra, nhöng chui ra khoâng ñöôïc.
Thaàn Taùn ñöùng ngoaøi cöûa soå ngaâm moät baøi keä:
“Khoâng moân baát khaúng xuaát
Ñaàu song daõ thaùi si
Baùch nieân taùng coá chæ
Haø nhaät xuaát ñaàu thì?”
(Cöûa khoâng chaúng chòu ra. Laïi meâ muoäi vuøi ñaàu vaøo song cöûa.
Traêm naêm vuøi ñaàu vaøo tôø giaáy cuõ aáy. Cuõng khoâng coù ngaøy naøo ra
ñöôïc?). Nghe baøi keä naøy thaày cuûa oâng ñaët kinh xuoáng, hoûi Sö: "OÂng ñi
haønh cöôùc gaëp ngöôøi theá naøo, maø tröôùc sau ta thaáy oâng noùi nhöõng lôøi dò
thöôøng?" Thaàn Taùn ñaùp: "Con may nhôø ñöôïc Hoøa Thöôïng Baùch
Tröôïng chæ choã bình yeân. Nay muoán baùo ñaùp töø ñöùc cuûa Thaày." Thaày
nghe vaäy, beøn baûo chuùng thieát trai, môøi Sö thuyeát phaùp. Sö leân buït
giaûng, cöû xöôùng Baùch Tröôïng moân phong, giaûng raèng:
"Linh quang ñoäc dieäu
Thoaùt xa caên caûnh
Theå loä chaân thöôøng
Chaúng vöôùng chöõ nghóa
Taâm tính khoâng nhieãm
Voán töï vieân thaønh
Chæ lìa voïng duyeân
Töùc nhö nhö Phaät."
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Thaày cuûa Sö nghe xong lôøi ñoù lieàn hoaùt nhieân caûm ngoä. ÔÛ ñaây
Thaàn Taùn chæ muoán dieãn taû moät haønh ñoäng muø quaùng vaø ngu si cuûa con
ong, tìm ñöôøng ra ngoaøi qua cöûa soå maø khoâng nghó raèng noù coù theå ra
baèng cöûa chaùnh ñang môû roäng moät caùch ñôn giaûn vaäy thoâi. Vôùi moät
con ngöôøi, cöù tieáp tuïc choân vuøi mình trong choàng giaáy cuõ haøng traêm
naêm, thì bieát tôùi bao giôø môùi coù theå tìm ñöôïc ñöôøng ra theá giôùi cuûa trí
tueä? Haønh giaû tu Thieàn neân nhìn thaáy roõ yù nghóa cuûa hai chöõ "Khoâng
Moân." Khoâng moân trong nhaø Thieàn laø phaùp moân lìa töôùng maø tu, hay
laø cheá phuïc ñöôïc saùu caên Nhaõn, Nhó, Tyû, Thieät, Thaân, yù vaø khoâng coøn
bò saùu traàn laø Saéc, Thanh, Höông, Vò, Xuùc, Phaùp sai xöû nöõa. Thieàn toâng
töø nôi “Khoâng Moân” ñi vaøo, khi phaùt taâm tu lieàn queùt saïch taát caû töôùng,
cho ñeán töôùng Phaät, töôùng phaùp ñeàu bò phaù tröø.

Emptiness in the Point of View of the Zen Sect

According to Zen Master D. T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism,

Volume III, Tao-hsin, the Fourth Ch'an Ancestor, explains what is
meant by quietude in meditation and Emptiness in the following
manner: "Reflect on your own body and see what it is. It is empty and
devoid of reality like a shadow. It is perceived as if it actually exists,
but there nothing there to take hold of... Out of the midst of Emptiness
there rise the six senses and the six senses too are of Emptiness, while
the six sense-objects are perceived as like a dream or a vision. It is like
the eye perceiving its objects; they are not located in it. Like the mirror
on which your features are reflected, they are perfectly perceived
there in all clearness; the reflections are all there in the emptiness, yet
the mirror itself retains not one of the objects which are reflected there.
The human face has not come to enter into the body of the mirror, nor
has the mirror gone out to enter into the human face. When one
realizes how the mirror and the face stand to each other and that there
is from the beginning no entering, not going-out, no passing, no coming
into relation with each other, one comprehends the signification of
Suchness and Emptiness."
Prakriti is what makes fire hot and water cold, it is the primary
nature of each individual object. When it is declared to be empty, it
means that there is no Atman in it, which constitutes its primary nature,
and that the very idea of primary nature is an empty one. That there is
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no individual selfhood at the back of what we consider a particular

object has already been noted, because all things are products of
various causes and conditions, and there is nothing that can be called
an independent, solitary, self-originating primary nature. All is
ultimately empty, and if there is such a thing as primary nature, it
cannot be otherwise than empty. In Sanskrit, the term “Sunyata”
terminologically compounded of “Sunya” meaning empty, void, or
hollow, and an abstract suffix “ta” meaning “ness”. The term was
extremely difficult to be translated into Chinese; however, we can
translate into English as “Emptiness,” “Voidness,” or “Vacuity.” The
concept of this term was essentially both logical and dialectical. The
difficulty in understanding this concept is due to its transcendental
meaning in relation to the logico-linguistic meaning, especially
because the etymological tracing of its meaning (sunyata meaning
vacuous or hollow within a shape of thing) provides no theoretical or
practical addition to one’s understanding of the concept. Zen
practitioners should always remember that emptiness or void, a central
notion of Buddhism recognized that all composite things are empty
(samskrita), impermanent (anitya) and void of an essence (anatamn).
That is to say all phenomena lack an essence or self, are dependent
upon causes and conditions, and so, lack inherent existence. Thus, a
person is said to be empty of being a “self” because he is composed of
parts that are constantly changing and entirely dependent upon causes
and conditions. However, the concept of emptiness is viewed by
Buddhists as a positive perspective on reality, because it implies that
everything is constantly changing, and is thus open toward the future. If
things possessed an unchanging essence, all beings would be stuck in
their present situations, and real change would be impossible. Devout
Buddhists should try to attain the realization of emptiness in order to
develop the ability to detach on everything, and utilize all the available
time to practice the Buddha-teachings. The more we practice the
Buddha’s teachings, the more we approach the attainment of wisdom,
that is to say the more we are able to reach the “direct realization of
emptiness,” and we realize the “emptiness of all things,” the more we
can reach the “perfection of wisdom.” A Zen student came to Zen
master Bankei and complained: "Master, I have an ungovernable
temper. How can I cure it?" "You have something very strange,"
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replied Bankei. "Let me see what you have." "Just now I cannot show
it to you," replied the other. "When can you show it to me?" asked
Bankei. "It arises unexpectedly, replied the student. "Then," concluded
Bankei, "It must not be your own true nature. If it were, you could
show it to me at any time. When you were born you did not have it, and
your parents did not give it to you. Think that over."
Toward the end of his life, he withdrew to a small monastery in the
mountains. Despite his fame and honor, he remained until his death an
extremely humble poor monk, who continued to wear only a simple,
coarse robe, and in the spirit of Pai-chang Huai-hai, he always
participated in the normal labor of the monastery. The below is his
death poem on Emptiness:
Emptiness is unborn
Emptiness does not pass away.
When you know emptiness
You are not different from it.
One day, Zen master Tsung-chueh entered the hall and addressed
the monks, saying, "Across the empty aeon, the single body extends
beyond the world. It is found in unperturbed empty stillness; the white
clouds breaking across cold mountains; the ethereal light penetrating
the darkness; the lustrous moon that follows the arrival of night. When
it is thus, how does one walk the path? Right and wrong have never
departed from the fundamental standpoint. Through the length and
breadth of the universe, why need one speak of causation?"
One day, his old teacher was reading the sutra by the window.
Because it was too cold outside, he sealed the window with paper. This
incidentally entrapped a bee inside the room. When Shen-Tsan passed
by the abbot’s room and notice the bee banging itself against the taped
window, trying to find its way out, he composed the following verses:
“The gateless gate is there,
Why don’t you get out,
how stupid of you!
Even though you poke your nose into
The old paper for hundreds of years,
When can you expect to set free?”
Hearing this remark, the old teacher laid down his book and said to
Shen-tsan, "For quite a few times now, you have made unusual
 189

remarks. From whom did you gain your knowledge while you were
away from home?" Shen-tsan replied, "I have reached the state of
peaceful rest through the grace of Master Pai-chang. Now I have come
back home to pay my debt of gratitude to you." His old teacher then
prepared a great festival in his young disciple's honour, summoned the
monks in the monastery to the assebly hall, and besought Shen-tsan to
preach the Dharma to all. Whereupon Shen-tsan ascended to the high
seat and, following the tradition of Pai-chang, preached as follows:
"Singularly radiating is the wondrous Light
Free from bondage of matter and the senses.
Not binding by words and letters,
The essence is nakedly exposed in its pure eternity.
Never defiled is the Mind-nature;
It exists in pefection from the very beginning.
By merely casting away yoör delusions
The Suchness of Buddhahood is realized."
Here, Shen-Tsan just wants to describe the blind and foolish action
of the bee, looking for a way out through the window without thinking
that it can simply exit through the open door. With a human being, for
hundreds of years, if one continues to bury oneself in old paper, when
can one find the exit to the world of wisdom? Zen practitioners should
look at the meaning of the words "The gate of emptiness." In Zen, this
Dharma Door abandon the attchments to Form in order to cultivate. It is
the ability to tame and master over the six faculties of Eyes, Ears,
Nose, Tongue, Body, and Mind and is no longer enslaved and ordered
around by the six elements of Form, Sound, Fragrance, Flavor, Touch
and Dharma. Only Arhats and Bodhisattvas who have attained the state
of “No Learning.” In the Zen School, the practitioner enters the Way
throught the Dharma Door of Emptiness. Right from the beginning of
his cultivation he wipes out all makrs, even the marks of the Buddhas
or the Dharma are destroyed.
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 191

Chöông Hai Möôi Laêm

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ñöùc Phaät Daïy Veà Taùnh Khoâng

Theo Phaät giaùo, “khoâng” coøn phaûi ñöôïc hieåu nhö laø “voâ ngaõ.” Tuy
nhieân, trong haàu heát kinh ñieån, Ñöùc Phaät luoân giaûng veà “voâ ngaõ” hôn
laø “taùnh khoâng” bôûi vì nghóa cuûa “taùnh khoâng” raát tröøu töôïng vaø khoù
hieåu. Theo kinh Tieåu Khoâng vaø Ñaïi Khoâng, Ñöùc Phaät baûo A Nan laø
Ngaøi thöôøng an truù trong caûnh giôùi an tònh cuûa “khoâng.” Khi ngaøi A
Nan thænh caàu Phaät laøm roõ nghóa cuûa söï an tònh nôi taùnh khoâng thì Ñöùc
Phaät giaûi thích: “Söï giaûi thoaùt nôi taùnh khoâg coù nghóa laø söï giaûi thoaùt
qua trí tueä veà voâ ngaõ.” Thaät vaäy, ngaøi Phaät AÂm ñaõ khaúng ñònh: “Ngay
trong tu taäp thieàn ñònh, ‘khoâng’ vaø ‘voâ ngaõ’ laø hai khaùi nieäm khoâng theå
taùch rôøi. Quaùn chieáu veà ‘taùnh khoâng’ khoâng gì khaùc hôn laø quaùn chieáu
veà ‘voâ ngaõ.’” Cuõng theo Kinh Tieåu Khoâng, Ñöùc Phaät baûo A Nan: “Naøy
A Nan, nhôø an truù vaøo ‘khoâng taùnh’ maø baây giôø ta ñöôïc an truù vieân
maõn nhaát.” Vaäy thì nghóa cuûa traïng thaùi ‘khoâng’ laø gì maø töø ñoù Ñöùc
Phaät ñöôïc an truù vaøo söï vieân maõn nhaát? Chính noù laø ‘Nieát Baøn’ chöù
khoâng laø thöù gì khaùc. Noù chính laø söï troáng vaéng taát caû nhöõng duïc laäu,
höõu laäu vaø voâ minh. Chính vì theá maø trong thieàn ñònh, haønh giaû coá
gaéng chuyeån hoùa söï voïng ñoäng cuûa thöùc cho tôùi khi naøo taâm hoaøn toaøn
laø khoâng vaø khoâng coù voïng töôûng. Möùc ñoä cao nhaát cuûa thieàn ñònh,
dieät taän thoï-töôûng ñònh, khi moïi yù töôûng vaø caûm thoï ñaõ döøng thì ñöôïc
xem nhö laø neàn taûng vöõng chaéc ñeå ñaït ñeán Nieát Baøn. Ñoàng thôøi, trong
kinh Baùt Nhaõ, ñöùc Phaät cuõng daïy ngaøi Xaù Lôïi Phaát nhö sau: “Trong
‘Khoâng’ khoâng coù hình theå, khoâng coù caûm xuùc, khoâng coù nieäm löï,
khoâng coù tö duy, khoâng coù yù thöùc, khoâng coù maét, tai, muõi, löôõi, thaân vaø
yù; khoâng coù hình theå, aâm thanh, höông thôm, muøi vò, xuùc chaïm vaø hieän
höõu; khoâng coù ñoái töôïng cuûa maét cho ñeán khoâng coù ñoái töôïng cuûa yù
thöùc; khoâng coù minh, khoâng coù voâ minh, khoâng coù söï chaám döùt cuûa
minh, cuõng khoâng coù söï chaám döùt cuûa voâ minh; cho ñeán khoâng coù tuoåi
giaø vaø söï cheát, cuõng khoâng coù söï chaám döùt cuûa tuoåi giaø vaø söï cheát;
khoâng coù khoå ñau, khoâng coù nguyeân nhaân cuûa khoå ñau, khoâng coù söï
chaám döùt khoå ñau vaø khoâng coù con ñöôøng ñöa ñeán söï chaám döùt khoå
ñau; khoâng coù trí giaùc cuõng khoâng coù söï thaønh töïu trí giaùc; vì chaúng coù
quaû vò trí giaùc naøo ñeå thaønh töïu. Ngöôøi naøo tænh thöùc bình yeân do soáng
 192

an laønh trong tueä giaùc voâ thöôïng thì thoaùt ly taát caû. Vaø raèng, vì khoâng
coù nhöõng chöôùng ngaïi trong taâm neân khoâng coù sôï haõi vaø xa rôøi nhöõng
cuoàng si moäng töôûng, ñoù laø cöùu caùnh Nieát Baøn vaäy!”

The Buddha Taught About the Emptiness

According to Buddhism, “emptiness” should also be known as “no-

self” or “anatta.” However, in most of the Buddha’s teachings, He
always expounds the doctrine of “no-self” rather than the theory of
“emptiness” because the meaning of “emptiness” is very abstract and
difficult to comprehend. According to Culla Sunnata and Mala Sunnata,
the Buddha told Ananda that He often dwelt in the liberation of the
void. When Ananda requested a clarification, the Buddha explained:
“Liberation of the void means liberation through insight that discerns
voidness of self.” Indeed, Buddhaghosa confirmed: “In meditation,
‘emptiness’ and ‘no-self’ are inseparable. Contemplation of
‘emptiness’ is nothing but contemplation of ‘no-self’. Also according to
the Culla Sunnata Sutta, the Buddha affirmed Ananda: “Ananda,
through abiding in the ‘emptiness’, I am now abiding in the complete
abode or the fulness of transcendence.” So, what is the emptiness from
that the Buddha abides in the fulness of transcendence? It is nothing
else but “Nirvana”. It is empty of cankers of sense-pleasure, becoming
and ignorance. Therefore, in meditation, practitioners try to reduce or
eliminate the amount of conscious contents until the mind is completely
motionless and empty. The highest level of meditation, the ceasing of
ideation and feeling, is often used as a stepping stone to realization of
Nirvana. At the same time, in the Heart Sutra, the Buddha taught
Sariputra: “In Emptiness there are no form, no feelings, no perceptions, no
actions, no consciousnesses; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, and
no mind; no form, sound, odour, taste, touch or mind object; no eye-elements
until we come to no elements of consciousnesses; no ignorance and no
extinction of ignorance; no old age and death, and no extinction of old age and
death; no truth of sufferings, no truth of cause of sufferings, of the cessation of
sufferings or of the path. There is no knowledge and no attainment
whatsoever. By reason of non-attachment, the Bodhisattva dwelling in
Prajnaparamita has no obstacles in his mind. Because there is no obstacle in
his mind, he has no fear, and going far beyond all perverted view, all
confusions and imaginations... This is a real Nirvana!”
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Chöông Hai Möôi Saùu

Chapter Twenty-Six

Baûn Chaát Khoâng Cuûa Vaïn Höõu

Chö phaùp hay vaïn höõu khoâng coù thöïc höõu noäi taïi, khoâng coù baûn
chaát thöôøng haèng. Nhöõng gì hieän höõu ñeàu coù ñieàu kieän, vaø coù lieân quan
vôùi nhöõng yeáu toá khaùc. Noùi veà caùi khoâng cuûa con ngöôøi laø nhaân khoâng;
moät ngöôøi khoâng coù coù thöïc höõu noäi taïi, kyø thaät ngöôøi aáy laø söï duyeân
hôïp cuûa nguõ uaån. Noùi veà caùi khoâng cuûa vaïn höõu laø phaùp khoâng; vaïn
höõu khoâng coù thöïc höõu noäi taïi, maø chuùng laø söï phoái hôïp cuûa nhieàu yeáu
toá nhaân duyeân. Chö phaùp khoâng hay laø hö khoâng, troáng roãng (söï khoâng
coù tính chaát caù bieät hay ñoäc laäp), voâ thöôøng, vaø khoâng coù töï ngaõ. Nghóa
laø vaïn phaùp khoâng coù töï tính, maø tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân, vaø thieáu
haún töï taùnh. Vì vaäy moät con ngöôøi noùi laø khoâng coù “töï taùnh” vì con
ngöôøi aáy ñöôïc keát hôïp bôûi nhieàu thöù khaùc nhau, nhöõng thöù aáy luoân
thay ñoåi vaø hoaøn toaøn tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân. Tuy nhieân, Phaät töû
nhìn yù nieäm veà “khoâng” trong ñaïo Phaät moät caùch tích cöïc treân söï hieän
höõu, vì noù aùm chæ moïi vaät ñeàu luoân bieán chuyeån, nhôø vaäy môùi môû roäng
ñeå höôùng veà töông lai. Neáu vaïn höõu coù taùnh chaát khoâng bieán chuyeån,
thì taát caû ñeàu bò keït ôû nhöõng hoaøn caûnh hieän taïi maõi maõi khoâng thay
ñoåi, moät ñieàu khoâng theå naøo xaûy ra ñöôïc. Phaät töû thuaàn thaønh phaûi coá
gaéng thaáy cho ñöôïc taùnh khoâng ñeå khoâng vöôùng víu, thay vaøo ñoù duøng
taát caû thôøi giôø coù ñöôïc cho vieäc tu taäp, vì caøng tu taäp chuùng ta caøng coù
theå tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc thaønh ñaït “trí hueä” nghóa laø caøng tieán gaàn ñeán
vieäc tröïc nghieäm “khoâng taùnh,” vaø caøng chöùng nghieäm “khoâng taùnh”
chuùng ta caøng coù khaû naêng phaùt trieån “trí hueä ba la maät.”
Baûn chaát khoâng cuõng laø baûn chaát voâ ngaõ vaø voâ thöôøng cuûa vaïn
höõu. Ñeå thoâng trieät baûn chaát voâ ngaõ cuûa vaïn höõu, haønh giaû caàn phaûi
quaùn chieáu moïi vaät treân theá gian naày bieán ñoåi trong töøng giaây töøng
phuùt, ñoù goïi laø saùt na voâ thöôøng. Moïi vaät treân theá gian, keå caû nhaân
maïng, nuùi soâng vaø cheá ñoä chính trò, vaân vaân, ñeàu phaûi traûi qua nhöõng
giai ñoaïn sinh, truï, dò, dieät. Söï tieâu dieät naày ñöôïc goïi laø “Nhaát kyø voâ
thöôøng.” Phaûi quaùn saùt ñeå thöôøng xuyeân nhìn thaáy tính caùch voâ thöôøng
cuûa moïi söï vaät, töø ñoù traùnh khoûi caùi aûo töôûng veà söï mieân vieãn cuûa söï
vaät vaø khoâng bò söï vaät loâi keùo raøng buoäc. Ñaïo Phaät daïy raèng con ngöôøi
ñöôïc naêm yeáu toá keát hôïp neân, goïi laø nguõ uaå n: vaät chaát, caûm giaùc, tö
 194

töôûng, haønh nghieäp vaø nhaän thöùc. Neáu vaät chaát laø do töù ñaïi caáu thaønh,
troáng roãng, khoâng coù thöïc chaát thì con ngöôøi, do nguõ uaån keát hôïp, cuõng
khoâng coù töï ngaõ vónh cöõu, hay moät chuû theå baát bieán. Con ngöôøi thay
ñoåi töøng giaây töøng phuùt, cuõng traûi qua saùt na voâ thöôøng vaø nhaát kyø voâ
thöôøng. Nhôø nhìn saâu vaøo nguõ uaån cho neân thaáy “Nguõ aám voâ ngaõ, sinh
dieät bieán ñoåi, hö nguïy khoâng chuû” vaø ñaùnh tan ñöôïc aûo giaùc cho raèng
thaân naày laø moät baûn ngaõ vónh cöõu. Voâ Ngaõ Quaùn laø moät ñeà taøi thieàn
quaùn quan troïng vaøo baäc nhaát cuûa ñaïo Phaät. Nhôø Voâ Ngaõ Quaùn maø
haønh giaû thaùo tung ñöôïc bieân giôùi giöõa ngaõ vaø phi ngaõ, thaáy ñöôïc hoøa
ñieäu ñaïi ñoàng cuûa vuõ truï, thaáy ta trong ngöôøi vaø ngöôøi trong ta, thaáy
quaù khöù vaø vò lai trong hieän taïi, vaø sieâu vieät ñöôïc sinh töû.

The Unreality of All Things

Unreality of all dharmas or all things (phenomena) lack inherent

existence, having no essence or permanent aspect whatsoever. All
phenomena are empty. All phenomena exist are conditioned and,
relative to other factors. There are two kinds of “Emptiness”. Talking
about the emptiness in humans, we talked about the emptiness of
persons; a person lacks of inherent existence. He or she is a
combination of the five aggregates. Talking about the emptiness of all
things, we talked about the emptiness of phenomena; emptiness of
phenomena means all phenomena lack of inherent existence, but a
combinations of elements, causes and conditions. Emptiness or void,
central notion of Buddhism recognized that all composite things are
empty (samskrita), impermanent (anitya) and void of an essence
(anatamn). That is to say all phenomena lack an essence or self, are
dependent upon causes and conditions, and so, lack inherent existence.
Thus, a person is said to be empty of being a “self” because he is
composed of parts that are constantly changing and entirely dependent
upon causes and conditions. However, the concept of emptiness is
viewed by Buddhists as a positive perspective on reality, because it
implies that everything is constantly changing, and is thus open toward
the future. If things possessed an unchanging essence, all beings would
be stuck in their present situations, and real change would be
impossible. Devout Buddhists should try to attain the realization of
emptiness in order to develop the ability to detach on everything, and
 195

utilize all the available time to practice the Buddha-teachings. The

more we practice the Buddha’s teachings, the more we approach the
attainment of wisdom, that is to say the more we are able to reach the
“direct realization of emptiness,” and we realize the “emptiness of all
things,” the more we can reach the “perfection of wisdom.”
The enptiness in all things is also called the selflessness and
impermanence of all things. To understand thoroughly the
impermacence of all things, Zen practitioners should contemplate that
all things in this world, including human life, mountains, rivers, and
political systems, are constantly changing from moment to moment.
This is called impermanence in each moment. Everything passes
through a period of birth, maturity, transformation, and destruction.
This destruction is called impermanence in each cycle. To see the
impermanent nature of all things, we must examine this closely. Doing
so will prevent us from being imprisoned by the things of this world.
Buddhism teaches that human beings’ bodies are composed of five
aggregates, called skandhas in Sanskrit. If the form created by the four
elements is empty and without self, then human beings' bodies, created
by the unification of the five skandhas, must also be empty and without
self. Human beings’ bodies are involved in a transformation process
from second to second, minute to minute, continually experiencing
impermanence in each moment. By looking very deeply into the five
skandhas, we can experience the selfless nature of our bodies, our
passage through birth and death, and emptiness, thereby destroying the
illusion that our bodies are permanent. In Buddhism, no-self is the most
important subject for meditation. By meditating no-self, we can break
through the barrier between self and other. When we no longer are
separate from the universe, a completely harmonious existence with
the universe is created. We see that all other human beings exist in us
and that we exist in all other human beings. We see that the past and
the future are contained in the present moment, and we can penetrate
and be completely liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
196
 197

Chöông Hai Möôi Baûy

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Hai Loaïi Khoâng

Chöõ “khoâng” ôû ñaây vöôït leân khoûi yù nieäm bình thöôøng. “Khoâng”
khoâng coù nghóa laø khoâng hieän höõu, maø laø khoâng coù thöïc taùnh. Ñeå traùnh
laàm laãn, caùc Phaät töû thöôøng duøng töø “Chaân khoâng” ñeå chæ caùi khoâng
khoâng coù thöïc taùnh naøy. Thaät ra, yù nghóa chöõ “khoâng” trong Phaät giaùo
raát saâu saéc, tinh teá vaø khoù hieåu bôûi vì theo lôøi Ñöùc Phaät daïy, khoâng chæ
khoâng coù saéc, thanh, höông, vò, xuùc, phaùp maø caùc hieän töôïng hieän höõu
laø tuøy duyeân. Ñöùc Phaät muoán nhaán maïnh ñeán “khoâng” nhö söï rôøi boû
nhöõng chaáp thuû vaø taø kieán. Goác tieáng Phaïn cuûa “Taùnh khoâng” laø
“Sunyata.” “Sunya” laáy töø goác chöõ “svi” coù nghóa laø phoàng leân. Theo
Edward Conze trong Tinh Hoa vaø Söï Phaùt Trieån cuûa Ñaïo Phaät, trong
quaù khöù xa xöa, toå tieân chuùng ta vôùi moät baûn naêng tinh teá veà baûn chaát
bieän chöùng cuûa thöïc taïi, thöôøng ñöôïc duøng cuøng moät ñoäng töø goác ñeå
ñònh nghóa hai phöông dieän ñoái nghòch cuûa moät cuïc dieän. Hoï ñaëc bieät yù
thöùc veà taùnh ñoàng nhaát cuûa nhöõng ñoái nghòch, cuõng nhö veà ñoái tính cuûa
chuùng. Theo ñaïo Phaät, coù hai loaïi khoâng: Ngaõ khoâng (Nhaân khoâng) vaø
Phaùp khoâng. Laïi coù hai loaïi khoâng khaùc: Thöù nhaát laø Taùnh khoâng hay
khoâng coù thöù gì coù thöïc taùnh cuûa chính noù. Thöù nhì laø Töôùng khoâng hay
vì phaùp khoâng coù thöïc taùnh cuûa chính noù neân hình töôùng cuûa noù cuõng laø
khoâng thaät. Laïi coù theâm hai loaïi khoâng trong Phaät giaùo: Thöù nhaát laø
Voâ sinh quaùn hay thieàn quaùn chö phaùp khoâng sinh, khoâng coù caù taùnh
cuûa rieâng noù. Thöù nhì laø Voâ töôùng quaùn hay quaùn chö phaùp khoâng thaät
neân chuùng khoâng coù hình töôùng. Theo tröôøng phaùi Thieân Thai, coù hai
loaïi khoâng: Thöù nhaát laø Nhö thöïc khoâng hay trong theå chaân nhö khoâng
voïng nhieãm. Thöù nhì laø Nhö thöïc baát khoâng hay trong theå chaân nhö ñaõ
coù ñuû taát caû coâng ñöùc voâ laäu.

Two Kinds of Void

It transcends the usual concepts of emptiness and form. To be

empty is not to be non-existent. It is to be devoid of a permanent
identity. To avoid confusion, Buddhists often use the term “true
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emptiness” to refer to things that devoid of a permanent identity. In

fact, the meaning of “emptiness” in Buddhism is very profound and
sublime and it is rather difficult to recognize because “emptiness” is
not only neither something, nor figure, nor sound, nor taste, nor touch,
nor dharma, but all sentient beings and phenomena come to existence
by the rule of “Causation” or “dependent co-arising.” The Buddha
emphasized on “emptiness” as an “elimination” of false thoughts and
wrong beliefs. A Sanskrit root for “Emptiness” is “sunyata”. The
Sanskrit word “sunya” is derived from the root “svi,” to swell. Sunya
literally means: “relating to the swollen.” According to Edward Conze
in Buddhism: Its Essence and Development, in the remote past, our
ancestors, with a fine instinct for the dialectical nature of reality,
frequently used the same verbal root to denote the two opposite
aspects of a situation. They were as distinctly aware of the unity of
opposites, as of their opposition. According to Buddhism, there are two
kinds of void (Unrealities or Immaterialities): First, the non-reality of
the atman, the soul, the person; and second, the non-reality of things.
There are also other two kinds of void: First, nothing has a nature of its
own. Second, nothing has a nature of its own; therefore, its form is
unreal (forms are only temporary names). There are two other kinds of
void in Buddhism: First, the meditation that things are unproduced ,
having no individual or separate nature (all things are void and unreal).
Second, because things are void and unreal; therefore, they are
formless. According to the T’ien-T’ai, there are two kinds of void:
First, the bhutatathata is devoid of all impurity. Second, the
bhutatathata is full of merit or achievement.
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Chöông Hai Möôi Taùm

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Baûy Loaïi Khoâng

Theo giaùo thuyeát Phaät giaùo, Khoâng taùnh laø caùi laøm cho löûa coù tính
noùng vaø nöôùc coù tính laïnh, noù laø baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa moãi vaät theå
caù bieät. Khi noùi raèng noù Khoâng, coù nghóa laø khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ (Atman)
beân trong noù ñeå taïo ra baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa noù, vaø yù nieäm ñích thöïc
veà baûn chaát nguyeân sô laø moät yù nieäm Khoâng. Chuùng ta ñaõ ghi nhaän
raèng khoâng coù töï ngaõ caù bieät nôi haäu cöù cuûa caùi chuùng ta coi nhö vaät
theå caù bieät, bôûi vì vaïn höõu laø nhöõng saûn phaåm cuûa voâ soá nhaân vaø
duyeân, vaø chaúng coù gì ñaùng goïi laø moät baûn chaát nguyeân sô ñoäc laäp, ñôn
ñoäc, töï höõu. Taát caû laø Khoâng trieät ñeå, vaø neáu coù thöù baûn chaát nguyeân
sô naøo ñoù, thì coù caùch naøo cuõng vaãn laø Khoâng. Trong Kinh Laêng Giaø,
Ñöùc Theá Toân ñaõ nhaéc toân giaû Mahamati veà baûy loaïi khoâng: “Naøy
Mahamati, haõy laéng nghe nhöõng gì ta saép noùi cho oâng bieát. Caùi yù nieäm
veà ‘khoâng’ thuoäc phaïm vi cuûa söï saùng kieán töôûng töôïng hay bieán keá
sôû chaáp, vaø vì ngöôøi ta coù theå chaáp vaøo thuaät ngöõ cuûa phaïm vi naày neân
chuùng ta coù caùc hoïc thuyeát veà ‘khoâng,’ ‘baát sinh, ‘baát nhò,’ voâ töï tính,’
vôùi quan ñieåm giaûi thoaùt chuùng ta khoûi söï chaáp thuû.” Moät caùch vaén taét
coù baûy loaïi khoâng. Thöù nhaát laø Töôùng Khoâng (caùi Khoâng veà Töôùng):
Caùi khoâng veà töôùng nghóa laø gì? Söï hieän höõu ñöôïc ñònh tính baèng söï
tuøy thuoäc laãn nhau; tính ñaëc thuø vaø tính phoå quaùt ñeàu khoâng coù khi caùi
naày ñöôïc xem laø taùch bieät vôùi caùi kia, khi caùc söï vaät ñöôïc phaân tích
cho ñeán möùc ñoä cuoái cuøng thì ngöôøi ta seõ hieåu raèng chuùng khoâng hieän
höõu; cuoái cuøng, khoâng coù nhöõng khía caïnh cuûa ñaëc thuø nhö ‘caùi naày,’
‘caùi kia’ hay ‘caû hai;’ khoâng coù nhöõng daáu hieäu sai bieät cöïc vi toái haäu.
Vì lyù do naày neân baûo raèng töï töôùng laø khoâng, nghóa laø töôùng khoâng
phaûi laø moät söï kieän toái haäu. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn
Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây
laø moät trong 18 hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Trong Töï Töôùng Khoâng, töôùng
laø phöông dieän khaû tri cuûa moãi vaät theå caù bieät. Trong vaøi tröôøng hôïp,
töôùng khoâng khaùc vôùi baûn chaát nguyeân sô, chuùng lieân heä baát phaân. Baûn
chaát cuûa löûa coù theå bieát qua caùi noùng cuûa noù, vaø baûn chaát cuûa nöôùc qua
caùi laïnh cuûa noù. Moät nhaø sö thì hieän baûn chaát coá höõu cuûa oâng ta qua
vieäc tu trì caùc giôùi caám, coøn caùi ñaàu caïo vaø chieác aùo baù naïp laø töôùng
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daïng rieâng cuûa oâng ta. Kinh Baùt Nhaõ noùi vôùi chuùng ta raèng, nhöõng khía
caïnh ngoaïi hieän, khaû tri, cuûa heát thaûy moïi vaät laø khoâng vì chuùng laø
nhöõng giaû töôùng, keát quaû do nhieàu taäp hôïp cuûa caùc nhaân vaø duyeân; vì
töông ñoái neân chuùng khoâng coù thöïc. Do ñoù, töï töôùng khoâng, coù nghóa
raèng moãi vaät theå rieâng bieät khoâng coù nhöõng baûn saéc thöôøng haèng vaø
baát hoaïi naøo ñaùng goïi laø cuûa rieâng. Thöù nhì laø Töï Tính Khoâng (caùi
Khoâng veà Töï Tính) hay Theå Khoâng: Caùi khoâng veà töï tính nghóa laø gì?
Ñaáy laø vì khoâng coù söï sinh ra cuûa ngaõ theå, töùc laø söï ñaëc thuø hoùa laø caáu
truùc cuûa töï taâm chuùng ta. Neáu chuùng ta nghó raè ng thöïc ra nhöõng söï vaät
ñaëc thuø nhö theá chæ laø aûo töôûng, chuùng khoâng coù töï tính, do ñoù maø baûo
raèng chuùng laø khoâng. Theo Duy Thöùc Hoïc hay giaùo thuyeát Ñaïi Thöøa,
vaïn höõu vi khoâng, nghóa laø taát caû caùc phaùp höõu vi töï noù laø khoâng chöù
khoâng caàn phaûi lyù luaän phaân taùch môùi laøm cho chuùng thaønh khoâng.
Moïi phaùp ñeàu do nhaân duyeân sanh dieät, chöù khoâng coù thöïc theå (tröïc
tieáp caên cöù vaøo theå cuûa phaùp maø quaùn nhö huyeãn nhö moäng laø khoâng;
ngöôïc laïi, Tieåu Thöøa giaùo phaân taùch con ngöôøi ra laøm nguõ uaån, 12 xöù,
18 giôùi, v.v., phaân taùch saéc ra nhöõng phaàn cöïc kyø nhoû, taâm ra thaønh
moät nieäm, roài töø keát quaû cuûa söï phaân taùch ñoù môùi thaáy vaïn höõu vi
khoâng thì goïi laø “tính khoâng”). Caùi khoâng cuûa töï taùnh, moät trong baûy
loaïi khoâng. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong
baûn dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, ñaây laø moät trong 18
hình thöùc cuûa “Khoâng”. Töï Taùnh Khoâng. Töï Taùnh coù nghóa laø ‘noù laø
noù,’ nhöng khoâng coù caùi noù naøo nhö theá. Cho neân Khoâng. Vaäy thì ñoái
nghòch cuûa höõu vaø voâ laø thöïc ? Khoâng, noù cuõng khoâng luoân, vì moãi
phaàn töû trong ñoái laäp voán laø Khoâng. Thöù ba laø Voâ Haønh Khoâng (caùi
Khoâng veà Voâ Haønh): Caùi khoâng veà voâ haønh nghóa laø gì? Töø luùc ñaàu
tieân, coù Nieát baøn ñöôïc chöùa trong taát caû caùc uaån maø khoâng ñeå loä ra daáu
hieäu gì veà hoaït tính caû, töùc laø nhöõng hoaït ñoäng cuûa uaån nhö caùc giaùc
quan cuûa chuùng ta nhaän thöùc ñeàu khoâng thaät trong töï baûn chaát, chuùng
laø im laëng vaø khoâng haønh taùc. Do ñoù chuùng ta noùi ñeán söï voâ haønh cuûa
caùc uaån laø caùi ñöôïc ñònh tính laø khoâng. Thöù tö laø Haønh Khoâng (caùi
Khoâng veà Haønh): Caùi khoâng veà haønh nghóa laø gì? Taát caû caùc uaån thoaùt
khoûi caùi ngaõ tính vaø taát caû nhöõng gì thuoäc veà ngaõ tính, vaø raèng moïi
hoaït ñoäng maø chuùng bieåu hieän ñeàu do bôûi söï taäp hôïp cuûa caùc nguyeân
nhaân vaø ñieàu kieän hay nhaân duyeân, nghóa laø töï chuùng khoâng phaûi laø
nhöõng nhaân toá saùng taïo ñoäc laäp, chuùng khoâng coù caùi gì ñeå coù theå tuyeân
boá laø thuoäc caùi “ngaõ” cuûa chuùng, vaø hoaït ñoäng taïo nghieäp cuûa chuùng
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ñöôïc sinh ra bôûi söï noái keát cuûa nhieàu nguyeân nhaân hay söï kieän. Vì lyù
do aáy neân coù caùi maø ta neâu ñònh laø Khoâng veà Haønh. Thöù naêm laø Nhaát
thieát phaùp baát khaû thuyeát khoâng: Caùi Khoâng vôùi yù nghóa laø khoâng theå
goïi teân cuûa Hieän Höõu. Nhaát thieát phaùp baát khaû thuyeát khoâng (caùi
Khoâng vôùi yù nghóa laø khoâng theå goïi teân cuûa Hieän Höõu). Caùi khoâng veà
söï baát khaû thuyeát cuûa taát caû caùc söï vaät nghóa laø gì? Vì söï hieän höõu naày
phuï thuoäc vaøo saùng kieán töôûng töôïng hay bieán keá sôû chaáp cuûa chuùng ta
neân khoâng coù töï tính naøo trong noù coù theå ñöôïc goïi teân vaø ñöôïc mieâu taû
bôûi cuù phaùp cuûa trí töông ñoái cuûa chuùng ta. Thöù saùu laø Ñeä nhaát nghóa
ñeá Khoâng: Caùi khoâng cuûa caáp ñoä toái thöôïng, nghóa laø thöïc tính toái haäu
hay Thaùnh trí hay Ñaïi Khoâng. Caùi khoâng veà thöïc tính toái haäu nghóa laø
gì? Khi trí tueä toái thöôïng ñöôïc theå chöùng trong taâm thöùc noäi taïi cuûa
chuùng ta, baáy giôø chuùng ta seõ thaáy raèng taát caû moïi lyù thuyeát, yù nieäm sai
laàm, vaø taát caû nhöõng daáu veát cuûa taäp khí töø voâ thæ ñeàu bò taåy saïch vaø
hoaøn toaøn troáng khoâng. Thöù baûy laø Bæ Bæ Khoâng: Caùi khoâng veà söï hoã
töông. Caùi khoâng veà söï hoã töông nghóa laø gì? Khi baát cöù moät tính chaát
naøo maø moät söï vaät coù, nhöng tính chaát naày laïi khoâng coù trong moät söï
vaät khaùc, thì söï thieáu vaéng naày ñöôïc goïi laø khoâng. Chaúng haïn nhö
trong nhaø cuûa Loäc Maãu khoâng coù voi, traâu, boø, cöøu, vaân vaân, ta baûo caùi
nhaø naày troáng khoâng. Ñieàu naày khoâng coù nghóa laø khoâng coù caùc Tyø
Kheo ôû ñaây. Caùc Tyø Kheo laø caùc Tyø Kheo, nhaø laø nhaø, moãi thöù ñeàu coù
ñaëc tính rieâng cuûa noù. Coøn veà voi, ngöïa, traâu, boø, vaân vaân chuùng seõ
ñöôïc tìm thaáy ôû nôi rieâng daønh cho chuùng, chuùng chæ khoâng coù maët ôû
nôi ñöôïc daønh cho moïi ngöôøi ôû ñaây. Theo caùch nhö theá thì moãi söï vaät
coù nhöõng ñaëc tröng rieâng cuûa noù maø nhôø ñoù noù ñöôïc phaân bieät vôùi söï
vaät khaùc, vì nhöõng ñaëc tröng aáy khoâng coù trong caùc söï vaät khaùc. Söï
thieáu vaéng aáy ñöôïc goïi laø caùi khoâng hoã töông.

Seven Kinds of Emptiness

According to Buddhist teachings, Prakriti or the nature of the void is

what makes fire hot and water cold, it is the primary nature of each
individual object. When it is declared to be empty, it means that there
is no Atman in it, which constitutes its primary nature, and that the very
idea of primary nature is an empty one. That there is no individual
selfhood at the back of what we consider a particular object has
already been noted, because all things are products of various causes
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and conditions, and there is nothing that can be called an independent,

solitary, self-originating primary nature. All is ultimately empty, and if
there is such a thing as primary nature, it cannot be otherwise than
empty. In The Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha reminded Mahamati
about ‘Emptiness’ as thus: “Listen, Mahamati, to what I tell you. The
idea of Sunyata belongs to the domain of imaginative contrivance, and
as people are apt to cling to the terminology of this domain, we have
the doctrines of Sunyata, Anutpada, Advaya, and Nihsvabhava, i.e.,
with the view of freeing from the clinging.” Briefly, there are seven
kinds of Emptiness. First, the Emptiness of Appearance (Lakshana):
What is meant by Emptiness of Appearance? Existence is
characterized by mutual dependence; individuality and generality are
empty when one is regarded apart from the other; when things are
analyzed to the last degree, they are to be comprehended as not
existent; there are, after all, no aspects of individuation such as “this,”
“that,” or “both;” there are no ultimate irreducible marks of
differentiation. For this reason, it is said that self-appearance is empty.
By this is meant that appearance is not a final fact. According to Zen
Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-
Chuang’s version of the Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the
eighteen forms of emptiness. Lakshana is the intelligible aspect of each
individual object. In some cases Lakshana is not distinguishable from
primary nature, they are inseparably related. The nature of fire is
intelligible through its heat, that of water through its coolness. The
Buddhist monk finds his primary nature in his observance of the rules
of morality, while the shaven head and patched robe are his
characteristic appearance. The Prajnaparamita tells us that these
outside, perceptible aspects of things are empty, because they are mere
appearances resulting from various combinations of causes and
conditions; being relative they have no reality. By the emptiness of
self-aspect or self-character (Svalakshana), therefore, is meant that
each particular object has no permanent and irreducible characteristics
to be known as its own. Second, the Emptiness of self-substance
(Bhavasbhava): What is meant by Emptiness of Self-substance? It is
because there is no birth of self-substance by itself. That is to say,
individualization is the construction of our own mind; to think that there
are in reality individual objects as such, is an illusion; they have no
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self-substance, therefore, they are said to be empty. The unreality, or

immateriality of substance, the “mind-only” theory, that all is mind or
mental, a Mahayana doctrine. Corporeal entities are unreal, for they
disintegrate. According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen
Buddhism, Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the
Mahaprajnaparamita, this is one of the eighteen forms of
emptiness.Svabhava means ‘to be by itself,’ but there is no such being
it is also empty. Is then opposition of being and non-being real? No, it
is also empty, because each term of the opposition is empty. Third, the
Emptiness of Non-action (Apracarita): What is meant by Emptiness of
Non-action? It means that harboured in all the Skandhas there is, from
the first, Nirvana which betrays no sign of activity. That is, their
activities as perceived by our senses are not real, they are in their
nature quiet and not doing. Therefore, we speak of non-acting of the
Skandhas, which is characterized as emptiness. Fourth, the Emptiness
of action (Pracarita): What is meant by the Emptiness of Action? It
means that the Skandhas are free of selfhood and all that belongs to
selfhood, and that whatever activities are manifested by them are due
to the combination of causes and conditions. That is, they are not by
themselves independent creating agencies, they have nothing which
they can claim as belonging to their “self,” and their karmic activities
are generated by the conjunction of many causes or accidents. For
which reason there is what we designate the Emptiness of Action.
Fifth, the Emptiness of the Unnamability (Sarvadharma): What is
meant by the Emptiness of the Unnamability (khoâng theå ñöôïc goïi teân)
of All Things? As this existence is dependent upon our imaginative
contrivance, there is no self-substance in it which can be named and
described by the phraseology of our relative knowledge. This
unnamability is designated here as a form of emptiness. Sixth, the
Emptiness of the highest degree by which is meant Ultimate Reality or
Supreme Wisdom (Paramartra): What is meant by Great Emptiness of
Ultimate Reality, which is Supreme Wisdom. When the supreme
wisdom is realized in our inner consciousness, it will then be found that
all the theories, wrong ideas, and all the traces of beginningless
memory are altogether wiped out and perfectly empty. This is another
form of emptiness. Seventh, the Emptiness of Reciprocity (Itaretara):
What is meant by Emptiness of Reciprocity? When whatever quality
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possessed by one thing is lacking in another, this absence is designated

as emptiness. For instance, in the house of Srigalamatri there are no
elephants, no cattle, no sheep, etc., and I call this house empty. This
does not mean that there are no Bhiksus here. The Bhiksus are
Bhiksus, the house is the house, each retaining its own characteristics.
As to elephants, horses, cattle, etc., they will be found where they
properly belong, only they are absent in a place which is properly
occupied by somebody else. In this manner, each object has its special
features by which it is distinguished from another, as they are not found
in the latter. This absence is called Emptiness of Reciprocity.
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Chöông Hai Möôi Chín

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Möôøi Taùm Hình Thöùc Cuûa Khoâng

Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn
dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, coù 18 hình thöùc cuûa
“Khoâng”. Thöù nhaát laø Noäi Khoâng: Noäi Khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa caùc
phaùp noäi taïi. Chöõ “Noäi” chæ cho saùu thöùc. Khi chuùng ñöôïc goïi laø
“Khoâng,” nghóa laø taát caû moïi hoaït ñoäng cuûa chuùng khoâng coù thaàn ngaõ
hay linh hoàn naèm ôû sau, nhö chuùng ta töôûng. Ñaây laø moät loái giaûi thích
khaùc cuûa thuyeát “Voâ Ngaõ.” Thöù nhì laø Ngoaïi Khoâng: Ngoaïi khoâng laø
caùi khoâng cuûa caùc phaùp ngoaïi taïi. “Ngoaïi” laø caùc ñoái töôïng cuûa saùu
thöùc, caùi “Khoâng” cuûa chuùng coù nghóa laø khoâng coù nhöõng baûn truï hay
baûn theå cuûa caùi ngaõ chuû teå naèm ôû sau. Cuõng nhö khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ
(atman) nôi haäu tröôøng cuûa caùc hieän töôïng taâm lyù; cuõng vaäy, khoâng coù
Töï Ngaõ (ataman) nôi haäu tröôøng cuûa ngoaïi giôùi. Thuaät ngöõ ñoù goïi laø
“Phaùp Voâ Ngaõ.” Phaät giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy daïy cho chuùng ta thuyeát “Voâ
Ngaõ” (Anatman), nhöng ngöôøi ta noùi chính caùc nhaø Ñaïi Thöøa môùi luoân
luoân aùp duïng thuyeát ñoù cho caùc ñoái töôïng ngoaïi giôùi. Thöù ba laø Noäi
Ngoaïi Khoâng: Noäi Ngoaïi khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa caùc phaùp noäi ngoaïi
taïi. Theo Thieàn Sö D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän Taäp III, trong baûn
dòch Kinh Baùt Nhaõ cuûa Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang, thoâng thöôøng chuùng ta phaân
bieät ngoaïi vôùi noäi, nhöng vì khoâng coù thöïc taïi cho söï phaân bieät naày neân
ôû ñaây noù bò phuû nhaän; söï phaân bieät chæ laø moät hình thaùi cuûa voïng taâm,
moái quan heä coù theå bò ñaûo loän baát cöù luùc naøo, ôû ñaây khoâng coù thöôøng
truï baát bieán. Thöû thay ñoåi vò trí, caùi noäi thaønh ra ngoaïi vaø caùi ngoaïi
thaønh ra noäi. Quan heä naày goïi laø khoâng. Thöù tö laø Khoâng Khoâng:
Khoâng khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa khoâng. Khi caùc phaùp ngoaïi vaø noäi ñöôïc
tuyeân boá taát caû laø khoâng, chuùng ta taát nghó raèng “Khoâng” vaãn laø moät yù
töôûng coù thöïc, hay chæ coù caùi ñoù môùi laø caùi khaû ñaéc khaùch quan. Khoâng
cuûa Khoâng coát huûy dieät chaáp tröôùc aáy. Coøn giöõ moät yù töôûng Khoâng töùc
laø coøn löu laïi moät haït buïi khi ñaõ queùt ñi taát caû. Thöù naêm laø Ñaïi
Khoâng: Ñaïi khoâng laø ñeä nhaát nghóa ñeá Khoâng (caùi khoâng cuûa caáp ñoä
toái thöôïng, nghóa laø thöïc tính toái haäu hay Thaùnh trí). Caùi khoâng veà thöïc
tính toái haäu nghóa laø gì? Khi trí tueä toái thöôïng ñöôïc theå chöùng trong
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taâm thöùc noäi taïi cuûa chuùng ta, baáy giôø chuùng ta seõ thaáy raèng taát caû moïi
lyù thuyeát, yù nieäm sai laàm, vaø taát caû nhöõng daáu veát cuûa taäp khí töø voâ thæ
ñeàu bò taåy saïch vaø hoaøn toaøn troáng khoâng. “Khoâng Lôùn” chæ cho tính
baát thöïc cuûa khoâng gian. Thôøi tröôùc coi khoâng gian laø caùi coù thöïc moät
caùch khaùch quan, nhöng ñeán caùc nhaø Ñaïi Thöøa thì noù laø Khoâng. Caùc
vaät trong khoâng gian leä thuoäc caùc ñònh luaät cuûa sinh töû, töùc bò ñieàu
ñoäng bôûi luaät nhaân quaû; taát caû Phaät töû ñeàu thöøa nhaän ñieàu ñoù, nhöng hoï
laïi nghó khoâng gian trong töï theå laø thöôøng truï. Caùc nhaø Ñaïi Thöøa daïy
raèng khoaûng caùch chaân khoâng bao la naày cuõng khoâng coù thöïc taïi khaùch
quan neân yù töôûng veà khoâng gian hay tröông ñoä (ñoä keùo daøi voâ taän) chæ
laø aûo töôûng. Thöù saùu laø Ñeä Nhaát Nghóa Khoâng: Ñeä nhöùt nghóa khoâng
laø caùi khoâng cuûa chaân lyù cöùu caùnh. Caùi khoâng tuyeät ñoái hay Nieát Baøn
cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa, duø töø naày cuõng duøng cho Nieát Baøn Tieåu Thöøa, nhö caùi
khoâng cuûa Tieåu thöøa chæ thieân veà caùi “ñaõn khoâng” maø thoâi. Caùi
“khoâng” maø chö Phaät vaø chö Boà Taùt chöùng ñöôïc laø caùi “khoâng” ñaõ döùt
haún Höõu Voâ, vöôït ngoaøi voøng vaät chaát. “Chaân lyù cöùu caùnh” chæ coù chaân
theå cuûa vaïn höõu, traïng thaùi toàn taïi chaân thöïc cuûa chuùng, ngoaøi taát caû
hình thaùi cuûa chuû quan tính. Ñaây laø caùi Khoâng bò huûy dieät, khoâng bò
gaùn cho laø theá naày hay theá kia, cuõng khoâng thöù gì coù theå gaùn vaøo ñoù.
Vì vaäy chaân lyù cöùu caùnh hay ñeä nhaát nghóa laø Khoâng. Neáu laø coù thöïc,
noù laø moät trong nhöõng ñoái töôïng bò chi phoái vaø raøng buoäc vaøo ñònh luaät
nhaân quaû. Nieát Baøn chæ laø moät danh töï noùi khaùc. Khi Nieát Baøn coù choã
ñeå baùm ñöôïc, noù seõ khoâng laø Nieát Baøn nöõa. Khoâng duøng ôû ñaây khaùc
vôùi “Khoâng lôùn,” khi nhöõng ñoái töôïng noäi hay ngoaïi ñöôïc tuyeân boá laø
Khoâng. Thöù baûy laø Höõu Vi Khoâng: Höõu vi khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa caùc
phaùp höõu vi. Höõu vi (Samskrita) chæ cho nhöõng phaùp xuaát hieän do caùc
ñieàu kieän cuûa taùc thaønh. Noùi höõu vi Khoâng laø moät caùch noùi khaùc chæ
cho theá giôùi ngoaïi taïi cuõng nhö theá giôùi noäi taïi ñeàu khoâng. Thöù taùm laø
Voâ Vi Khoâng: Voâ vi khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa caùc phaùp voâ vi. Phaùp
khoâng chöôùng ngaïi vaø thaâm nhaäp qua taát caû moïi chöôùng ngaïi moät caùch
töï do khoâng bieán chuyeån. Moät trong nhöõng phaùp voâ vi, hö khoâng voâ vi
hay khoâng gian khoâng haïn löôïng, khoâng bieân teá, khoâng tòch dieät, khoâng
chöôùng ngaïi. Voâ vi (Asamskrita) laø nhöõng phaùp khoâng leä thuoäc taùc
thaønh, nhö khoâng gian chaúng haïn. Hieän höõu ñoâi khi ñöôïc chia thaønh
höõu vi vaø voâ vi, ñoâi khi ñöôïc chia thaønh noäi vaø ngoaïi, ñoâi khi ñöôïc
chia thaønh naêm uaån, vaân vaân, theo caùc quan ñieåm caàn thieát cho quaù
trình suy luaän. Tuy nhieân, taát caû nhöõng phaân bieät naày chæ laø töông ñoái
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vaø khoâng coù khaùch theå tính töông ñöông, vaø do ñoù laø Khoâng. Voâ vi
hieän höõu ñoái laïi vôùi höõu vi. Neáu höõu vi khoâng thöïc coù thì voâ vi cuõng
khoâng luoân. Caû hai ñeàu laø giaû danh, laø Khoâng. Thöù chín laø Taát Caùnh
Khoâng: Taát caùnh khoâng nhaán maïnh taát caû caùc phaùp ñeàu khoâng moät
caùch tuyeät ñoái. “Cöùu Caùnh” töùc tuyeät ñoái. Phuû nhaän thöïc taïi tính khaùch
quan nôi chö phaùp ôû ñaây ñöôïc chuû tröông moät caùch ñöông nhieân, khoâng
ñieàu kieän thaéc maéc. “Khoâng cuûa Khoâng,” treân thöïc teá, cuõng chæ cho
moät caùi nhö nhau. Phoøng ñöôïc queùt saïch laø nhôø choåi, nhöng neáu coøn
choåi thì khoâng phaûi laø Khoâng tuyeät ñoái. Thöïc vaäy, phaûi gaït sang moät
beân caùi choåi, cuøng vôùi ngöôøi queùt, môùi mong ñaït tôùi yù nieäm veà “Taát
Caùnh Khoâng.” Coøn giöõ laïi duø chæ moät phaùp, moät vaät hay moät ngöôøi, laø
coøn coù ñieåm chaáp ñeå töø ñoù saûn xuaát moät theá giôùi cuûa nhöõng sai bieät,
roài keùo theo nhöõng öôùc muoán vaø ñau khoå. Taùnh Khoâng vöôït ngoaøi moïi
quyeát ñònh tính coù theå coù, vöôït ngoaøi chuoãi quan heä baát taän; ñoù laø Nieát
Baøn. Thöù möôøi laø Voâ Teá Khoâng: Voâ teá khoâng laø caùi khoâng khoâng coù
bieân teá. Voâ teá khoâng coù nghóa laø khi noùi hieän höõu laø voâ thuûy, ngöôøi ta
nghó raèng coù moät caùi nhö laø voâ thuûy, vaø baùm vaøo yù nieäm naày. Ñeå loaïi
boû chaáp tröôùc kieåu naày, môùi neâu leân taùnh khoâng cuûa noù. Tri kieán cuûa
con ngöôøi laéc lö giöõa hai ñoái cöïc. Khi yù nieäm veà höõu thuûy bò deïp boû thì
yù nieäm veà voâ thuûy laïi ñeán thay, maø söï thöïc chuùng chæ laø töông ñoái.
Chaân lyù cuûa Khoâng phaûi ôû treân taát caû nhöõng ñoái nghòch naày, nhöng
khoâng phaûi ôû ngoaøi chuùng. Vì vaäy kinh Baùt Nhaõ doác söùc khai thoâng con
ñöôøng “trung ñaïo” duø vaäy vaãn khoâng ñöùng y ôû ñoù; vì neáu theá, heát coøn
laø con ñöôøng giöõa. Thuyeát Taùnh Khoâng nhö vaäy phaûi ñöôïc minh giaûi töø
quan ñieåm raát thaän troïng. Thöù möôøi moät laø Taùn Khoâng: Taùn khoâng laø
caùi khoâng cuûa söï phaân taùn. Taùn Khoâng (Anavakara-sunyata) coù nghóa
laø khoâng coù thöù gì hoaøn toaøn ñôn nhaát trong theá gian naày. Moïi vaät bò
cöôõng böùc phaûi phaân taùn kyø cuøng. Noù hieän höõu coi chöøng nhö moät ñôn
toá, nguyeân daïng, nguyeân theå, nhöng ôû ñaây khoâng thöù gì laïi khoâng theå
phaân chieát thaønh nhöõng boä phaän thaønh toá. Chaéc chaén noù bò phaân taùn.
Caùc thöù naèm trong theá giôùi cuûa tö töôûng hình nhö coù theå khoâng bò tieâu
giaûi. Nhöng ôû ñaây söï bieán ñoåi hieän ra döôùi moät hình thöùc khaùc. Coâng
trình cuûa thôøi gian, thöôøng truï khoâng thöôøng maõi. Boán uaån: Thoï,
Töôûng, Haønh vaø Thöùc, cuõng chæ cho söï phaân taùn vaø hoaïi dieät taän cuøng.
Noùi gì ñi nöõa thì chuùng cuõng laø Khoâng. Thöù möôøi hai laø Baûn Taùnh
Khoâng: Baûn taùnh khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa baûn taùnh. Baûn taùnh laø caùi
laøm cho löûa noùng vaø nöôùc laïnh, noù laø baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa moãi vaät
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theå caù bieät. Khi noùi raèng noù Khoâng, coù nghóa laø khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ
(Atman) beân trong noù ñeå taïo ra baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa noù, vaø yù nieäm
ñích thöïc veà baûn chaát nguyeân sô laø moät yù nieäm Khoâng. Chuùng ta ñaõ ghi
nhaän raèng khoâng coù töï ngaõ caù bieät nôi haäu cöù cuûa caùi chuùng ta coi nhö
vaät theå caù bieät, bôûi vì vaïn höõu laø nhöõng saûn phaåm cuûa voâ soá nhaân vaø
duyeân, vaø chaúng coù gì ñaùng goïi laø moät baûn chaát nguyeân sô ñoäc laäp, ñôn
ñoäc, töï höõu. Taát caû laø Khoâng trieät ñeå, vaø neáu coù thöù baûn chaát nguyeân
sô naøo ñoù, thì coù caùch naøo cuõng vaãn laø Khoâng. Thöù möôøi ba laø Töï
Töôùng Khoâng: Töï Töôùng khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa töï töôùng. Caùi khoâng
veà töôùng nghóa laø gì? Söï hieän höõu ñöôïc ñònh tính baèng söï tuøy thuoäc laãn
nhau; tính ñaëc thuø vaø tính phoå quaùt ñeàu khoâng coù khi caùi naày ñöôïc xem
laø taùch bieät vôùi caùi kia, khi caùc söï vaät ñöôïc phaân tích cho ñeán möùc ñoä
cuoái cuøng thì ngöôøi ta seõ hieåu raèng chuùng khoâng hieän höõu; cuoái cuøng,
khoâng coù nhöõng khía caïnh cuûa ñaëc thuø nhö ‘caùi naày,’ ‘caùi kia’ hay ‘caû
hai;’ khoâng coù nhöõng daáu hieäu sai bieät cöïc vi toái haäu. Vì lyù do naày
neân baûo raèng töï töôùng laø khoâng, nghóa laø töôùng khoâng phaûi laø moät söï
kieän toái haäu. Trong Töï Töôùng Khoâng, töôùng laø phöông dieän khaû tri cuûa
moãi vaät theå caù bieät. Trong vaøi tröôøng hôïp, töôùng khoâng khaùc vôùi baûn
chaát nguyeân sô, chuùng lieân heä baát phaân. Baûn chaát cuûa löûa coù theå bieát
qua caùi noùng cuûa noù, vaø baûn chaát cuûa nöôùc qua caùi laïnh cuûa noù. Moät
nhaø sö thì hieän baûn chaát coá höõu cuûa oâng ta qua vieäc tu trì caùc giôùi caám,
coøn caùi ñaàu caïo vaø chieác aùo baù naïp laø töôùng daïng rieâng cuûa oâng ta.
Kinh Baùt Nhaõ noùi vôùi chuùng ta raèng, nhöõng khía caïnh ngoaïi hieän, khaû
tri, cuûa heát thaûy moïi vaät laø khoâng vì chuùng laø nhöõng giaû töôùng, keát quaû
do nhieàu taäp hôïp cuûa caùc nhaân vaø duyeân; vì töông ñoái neân chuùng
khoâng coù thöïc. Do ñoù, töï töôùng khoâng, coù nghóa raèng moãi vaät theå rieâ ng
bieät khoâng coù nhöõng baûn saéc thöôøng haèng vaø baát hoaïi naøo ñaùng goïi laø
cuûa rieâng. Thöù möôøi boán laø Nhöùt Thieát Phaùp Khoâng: Nhöùt thieát phaùp
khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa vaïn höõu. Thöøa nhaän taát caû caùc phaùp laø Khoâng,
caùi ñoù heát söùc haøm nguï, vì chöõ Dharma khoâng chæ rieâng cho moät ñoái
töôïng cuûa quan naêng maø coøn chæ cho caû ñoái töôïng cuûa tö töôûng. Khi
tuyeân boá taát caû nhöõng thöù ñoù laø Khoâng, khoûi caàn baøn luaän chi tieát nöõa.
Nhöng Kinh Baùt Nhaõ hieån nhieân coá yù khoâng ñeå nguyeân traïng taûng ñaù
ñeå ñeø naëng nhöõng ngöôøi hoïc Baùt Nhaõ moät caùch trieät ñeå baèng hoïc
thuyeát Taùnh Khoâng. Theo Long Thoï, taát caû caùc phaùp ñeàu mang caùc ñaëc
saéc naày: höõu töôùng, tri töôùng, thöùc töôùng, duyeân töôùng, taêng thöôïng
töôùng, nhaân töôùng, quaû töôùng, toång töôùng, bieät töôùng, y töôùng. Nhöng
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heát thaûy nhöõng töôùng ñoù khoâng coù thöôøng truï baát bieán; taát caû ñeàu laø
ñoái ñaõi vaø giaû höõu. Phaøm phu khoâng theå soi toû vaøo baûn chaát chaân thöïc
cuûa caùc phaùp, do ñoù trôû neân chaáp thuû yù nieäm veà moät thöïc taïi thöôøng,
laïc, ngaõ, vaø tònh. Khoân ngoan chæ coù nghóa laø thoaùt khoûi nhöõng quan
ñieåm taø vaïy ñoù, vì chaúng coù gì trong chuùng heát, neân phaûi coi laø Khoâng.
Thöù möôøi laêm laø Baát Khaû Ñaéc Khoâng: Baát khaû ñaéc khoâng laø caùi
khoâng cuûa caùi baát khaû ñaéc. Ñaây laø loaïi Khoâng baát khaû ñaéc
(anupalambha). Khoâng phaûi vì taâm khoâng baét ñöôïc caùi ôû ngoaøi taàm
tay, nhöng ñích thöïc chaúng coù gì ñaùng goïi laø sôû tri. Khoâng gôïi yù khoâng
coù, nhöng khi ñöôïc khoaùc cho ñaëc tính baát khaû ñaéc, noù khoâng coøn laø
phuû ñònh suoâng. Baát khaû ñaéc, chính bôûi khoâng theå laøm ñoái töôïng cho tö
nieäm ñoái ñaõi qua taùc duïng cuûa Thöùc (Vijnana). Cho tôùi luùc Thöùc ñöôïc
naâng cao leân bình dieän Trí Baùt Nhaõ, baáy giôø môùi nhaän ra “khoâng baát
khaû ñaéc.” Kinh Baùt Nhaõ e raèng ngöôøi nghe phaûi kinh haõi khi nghe kinh
ñöa ra khaúng quyeát taùo baïo raèng taát caû ñeàu khoâng, do ñoù môùi noùi theâm
raèng söï vaéng maët cuûa taát caû nhöõng yù töôûng sinh ra töø choã ñoái ñaõi khoâng
chæ cho caùi ngoan khoâng, caùi khoâng troáng trôn; nhöng ñôn giaûn, ñoù laø
caùi Khoâng khoâng theå baét naém ñöôïc. Vôùi ngöôøi trí, Khoâng naày laø moät
thöïc taïi. Luùc sö töû caát tieáng roáng, nhöõng thuù vaät khaùc hoaûng sôï, töôûng
tieáng roáng aáy laø caùi raát phi phaøm, gaàn nhö moät thöù maø chuùa teå sôn laâm
‘ñaït ñöôïc’ raát hy höõu. Nhöng ñoái vôùi sö töû, tieáng roáng ñoù chaúng laï gì,
chaúng coù gì hy höõu ñaït ñöôïc hay theâm vaøo. Vôùi keû trí cuõng vaäy, khoâng
coù ‘caùi Khoâng’ trong hoï ñaùng coi nhö rieâng hoï baét ñöôïc laøm ñoái töôïng
cho tö töôûng. Choã sôû ñaéc cuûa hoï laø voâ sôû ñaéc. Thöù möôøi saùu laø Voâ
Taùnh Khoâng: Voâ taùnh khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa voâ theå. Voâ Taùnh laø phuû
ñònh cuûa höõu, cuøng moät nghóa vôùi Khoâng. Thöù möôøi baûy laø Töï Taùnh
Khoâng (töï taùnh troáng khoâng): Caùi khoâng veà töï tính nghóa laø gì? Ñaáy laø
vì khoâng coù söï sinh ra cuûa ngaõ theå, töùc laø söï ñaëc thuø hoùa laø caáu truùc
cuûa töï taâm chuùng ta. Neáu chuùng ta nghó raèng thöïc ra nhöõng söï vaät ñaëc
thuø nhö theá chæ laø aûo töôûng, chuùng khoâng coù töï tính, do ñoù maø baûo raèng
chuùng laø khoâng. Töï Taùnh Khoâng Töï Taùnh coù nghóa laø ‘noù laø noù,’ nhöng
khoâng coù caùi noù naøo nhö theá. Cho neân Khoâng. Vaäy thì ñoái nghòch cuûa
höõu vaø voâ laø thöïc ? Khoâng, noù cuõng khoâng luoân, vì moãi phaàn töû trong
ñoái laäp voán laø Khoâng. Thöù möôøi taùm laø Voâ töï taùnh khoâng: Voâ töï taùnh
khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa voâ theå cuûa töï taùnh.
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Eighteen Forms of Emptiness

According to Zen Master D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism,

Book III, in Hsuan-Chuang’s version of the Mahaprajnaparamita,
eighteen forms of emptiness are enumerated. First, the Emptiness of
the Inner Things (Adhyatma-sunyata): “The inner things” mean the six
consciousnesses (vijnana). When they are said to be empty, our
psychological activities have no ego-soul behind them, as is commonly
imagined by us. This is another way of upholding the doctrine of
Anatman or Anatta. Second, the Emptiness of the Outer Things
(bahirdha-sunyata): “The outer things” are objects of the six
consciousnesses, and their emptiness means that there are no self-
governing substances behind them. As there is no Atman at the back of
the psychological phenomena, so there is no Atman at the back of the
external world. This is technically known as the “egolessness of
things.” Primitive Buddhism taught the theory Anatman in us, but it was
by the Mahayanists, it is said, that the theory was applied to external
objects also. Third, the Emptiness of Inner-and-Outer Things
(adhyatma-bahirdha-sunyata): We generally distinguish between the
inner and the outer, but since there is no reality in this distinction it is
here negated; the distinction is no more than a form of thought
construction, the relation can be reversed at any moment, there is no
permanent stability here. Change the position, and what is inner is
outer, and what is outer is inner. This relativity is called here
“emptiness.” Fourth, the Emptiness of Emptiness (sunyata-sunyata):
When things outside and inside are all declared empty, we are led to
think that the idea of emptiness remains real or that this alone is
something objectively attainable. The emptiness of emptiness is
designed to destroy this attachment. To maintain the idea of emptiness
means to leave a speck of dust when all has been swept clean. Fifth,
the Emptiness of Highest Degree (paramartra): Emptiness of the
highest degree by which is meant Ultimate Reality or Supreme
Wisdom. What is meant by Great Emptiness of Ultimate Reality, which
is Supreme Wisdom. When the supreme wisdom is realized in our
inner consciousness, it will then be found that all the theories, wrong
ideas, and all the traces of beginningless memory are altogether wiped
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out and perfectly empty. This is another form of emptiness. The “great
emptiness” means the unreality of space. Space was conceived in old
days to be something objectively real, but this is regarded by the
Mahayana as empty. Things in space are subject to the laws of birth
and death, that is, governed by causation, as this all Buddhists
recognize; but space itself is thought by them to be eternally there. The
Mahayanists teach that this vast vacuity also has no objective reality
that the idea of space or extension is mere fiction. Sixth, the Emptiness
of the Ultimate Truth: The highest Void or reality ((paramartha-
sunyata) (highest void, supreme void, the void beyond thought or
discussion)), the Mahayana nirvana, though it is also applied to
Hinayana nirvana. A conception of the void, or that which is beyond
the material, only attained by Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The “ultimate
truth” means the true being of all things, the state in which they truly
are, apart from all forms of subjectivity. This is something not subject
to destruction, not to be held up as this or that, to which nothing can be
affixed. Therefore, this ultimate truth is empty. If real, it is one of those
objects that are conditioned and chained to the law of causation.
Nirvana is but another name. When Nirvana has something attachable
to it, it will no more be Nirvana. It will be seen that ‘emptiness’ is here
used in somewhat different sense from the ‘great emptiness,’ when
objects inner or outer are declared ‘empty.’ Seventh, the Emptiness of
Things Created (samskrita-sunyata): Samskrita means things that have
come to existence owing to conditions of causation. In this sense they
are created. To say that the Samskrita are empty is another way of
saying that the world external as well as internal is empty. Eighth, the
Emptiness of Things Uncreated (asamskrita-sunyata): Space is that
which gives no hindrance and itself penetrates through any hindrance
freely and manifests no change. One of the assamskrta dharmas,
passive void or space. Asamskrita are things not subject to causation,
such as space. Existence is sometimes divided into Samskrita and
Asamskrita, sometimes into inner and outer, sometimes into the five
skandhas, etc., according to points of view necessitated by course of
reasoning. All these disctinctions are, however, only relative and have
no corresponding objectivity, and are, therefore, all empty. The
Asamskrita exist because of their being contrasted to the Samskrita.
When the latter have no reality, the former are also no more. They
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both are mere names, and empty. Ninth, the Ultimate Emptiness:
Atyanta-sunyata emphasizes the idea of all ‘things’ being absolutely
empty. ‘Ultimate’ means ‘absolute.’ The denial of objective reality to
all things is here unconditionally upheld. The ‘emptiness’ means
practically the same thing. The room is swept clean by the aid of a
broom; but when the broom is retained it is not absolute emptiness.
Neither the broom, nor the sweeper should be retained in order to
reach the idea of Atyanta-sunyata. As long as there is even on dharma
left, a thing or a person or a thought, there is a point of attachment from
which a world of pluralities, and, therefore, of woes and sorrows, can
be fabricated. Emptiness beyond every possible qualification, beyond
an infinite chain of dependence, this is Nirvana. Tenth, the Emptiness
of Limitlessness (anavaragra-sunyata): Anavaragra-sunyata means
when existence is said to be beginningless, people think that there is
such a thing as beginninglessness, and cling to the idea. In order to do
away with this attachment, its emptiness is pronounced. The human
intellect oscillates between opposites. When the idea of a beginning is
exploded, the idea of beginninglessness replaces it, while in truth these
are merely relative. The great truth of Sunyata must be above those
opposites, and yet not outside of them. Therefore, the Prajnaparamita
takes pains to strike the ‘middle way’ and yet not to stand by it; for
when this is done it ceases to be the middle way. The theory of
Emptiness is thus to be elucidated from every possible point of view.
Eleventh, the Emptiness of Dispersion (anavakara-sunyata):
Anavakara-sunyata means there is nothing perfectly simple in this
world. Everything is doomed to final decomposition. It seems to exist
as a unit, to retain its form, to be itself, but there is nothing here that
cannot be reduced to its component parts. It is sure to be dispersed.
Things belonging to the world of thought may seem not to be subject to
dissolution. But here change takes place in another form. Time works,
no permanency prevails. The four skandhas, Vedana, Samjna,
Samskara, and Vijnana, are also meant for ultimate dispersion and
annihilation. They are in any way empty. Twelfth, the Emptiness of
Primary Nature (prakriti-sunyata): Prakriti is what makes fire hot and
water cold, it is the primary nature of each individual object. When it is
declared to be empty, it means that there is no Atman in it, which
constitutes its primary nature, and that the very idea of primary nature
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is an empty one. That there is no individual selfhood at the back of

what we consider a particular object has already been noted, because
all things are products of various causes and conditions, and there is
nothing that can be called an independent, solitary, self-originating
primary nature. All is ultimately empty, and if there is such a thing as
primary nature, it cannot be otherwise than empty. Thirteenth, the
Emptiness of Selfhood (svalakshana-sunyata): What is meant by
Emptiness of Appearance? Existence is characterized by mutual
dependence; individuality and generality are empty when one is
regarded apart from the other; when things are analyzed to the last
degree, they are to be comprehended as not existent; there are, after
all, no aspects of individuation such as “this,” “that,” or “both;” there
are no ultimate irreducible marks of differentiation. For this reason, it
is said that self-appearance is empty. By this is meant that appearance
is not a final fact. Lakshana is the intelligible aspect of each individual
object. In some cases Lakshana is not distinguishable from primary
nature, they are inseparably related. The nature of fire is intelligible
through its heat, that of water through its coolness. The Buddhist monk
finds his primary nature in his observance of the rules of morality,
while the shaven head and patched robe are his characteristic
appearance. The Prajnaparamita tells us that these outside, perceptible
aspects of things are empty, because they are mere appearances
resulting from various combinations of causes and conditions; being
relative they have no reality. By the emptiness of self-aspect or self-
character (Svalakshana), therefore, is meant that each particular object
has no permanent and irreducible characteristics to be known as its
own. Fourteenth, the Emptiness of Things (sarvadharma-sunyata):
The assertion that all things (sarvadharma) are empty is the most
comprehensive one, for the term ‘dharma’ denotes not only an object
of sense, but also an object of thought. When all these are declared
empty, no further detailed commentaries are needed. But the
Prajnaparamita evidently designs to leave no stone unturned in order to
impress its students in a most thoroughgoing manner with the doctrine
of Emptiness. According to Nagarjuna, all dharmas are endowed with
these characters: existentiality, intelligibility, perceptibility, objectivity,
efficiency, causality, dependence, mutuality, duality, multiplicity,
generality, individuality, etc. But all these characterizations have no
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permanence, no stability; they are all relative and phenomenal. The

ignorant fail to see into the true nature of things, and become attached
thereby to the idea of a reality which is eternal, blissful, self-governing,
and devoid of defilements. To be wise simply means to be free from
these false views, for there is nothing in them to be taken hold of as not
empty. Fifteenth, the Emptiness of Unattainability (anupalambha-
sunyata): This kind of emptiness is known as unattainable
(anupamabha). It is not that the mind is incapable of laying its hand on
it, but that there is really nothing to be objectively comprehensible.
Emptiness suggests nothingness, but when it is qualified as
unattainable, it ceases to be merely negative. It is unattainable just
because it cannot be an object of relative thought cherished by the
Vijnana. When the latter is elevated to the higher plans of the Prajna,
the ‘emptiness unattainable’ is understood. The Prajnaparamita is
afraid of frightening away its followers when it makes its bold assertion
that all is empty, and therefore it proceeds to add that the absence of
all these ideas born of relativity does not mean bald emptiness, but
simply an emptiness unattainable. With the wise this emptiness is a
reality. When the lion roars, the other animals are terrified, imagining
this roaring to be something altogether extraordinary, something in a
most specific sense ‘attained’ by the king of beasts. But to the lion the
roaring is nothing, nothing specifically acquired by or added to them.
So with the wise, there is no ‘emptiness’ in them which is to be
regarded as specifically attained as an object of thought. Their
attainment is really no-attainment. Sixteenth, the Emptiness of Non-
being (abhava-sunyata): Abhava is the negation of being, which is one
sense of emptiness. Seventeenth, the Emptiness of Self-nature
(svabhava-sunyata): What is meant by Emptiness of Self-nature (Self-
substance)? It is because there is no birth of self-substance by itself.
That is to say, individualization is the construction of our own mind; to
think that there are in reality individual objects as such, is an illusion;
they have no self-substance, therefore, they are said to be empty.
Svabhava means ‘to be by itself,’ but there is no such being it is also
empty. Is then opposition of being and non-being real? No, it is also
empty, because each term of the opposition is empty. Eighteenth, the
Abhava-Svabhava-Sunyata: The emptiness of the non-being of self-
nature.
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Chöông Ba Möôi
Chapter Thirty

Hai Möôi Baûn Chaát Cuûa Taùnh Khoâng

Theo Luaän Trang Nghieâm Chöùng Ñaïo Ca, coù hai möôi loaïi taùnh
khoâng. Thöù nhaát laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa noäi khoâng. Taùnh khoâng
ñaàu tieân öùng duïng trong nhöõng söï kieän vaät lyù hoaëc caùc traïng thaùi nhö
thoï, töôûng, vaân vaân. Baûn chaát naày khoâng theå moâ taû hoaëc thay ñoåi, hoaëc
phaù huûy; cuõng khoâng phaûi thaät, hoaëc khoâng phaûi khoâng thaät. Ñieàu naày
taïo thaønh taùnh khoâng töông ñoái. Thöù nhì laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa
ngoaïi khoâng. Ñieàu naày lieân quan ñeán nhöõng hình töôùng beân ngoaøi bôûi
vì caùc hình töôùng naày hieän ra caùc töôùng nôi thaân nhö maét, muõi, vaân
vaân. Chuùng khoâng coù baûn chaát thaät. Thöù ba laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa
noäi khoâng vaø ngoaïi khoâng. Khi caùc phaùp khoâng thaät thì caên baûn cuûa
caùc phaùp cuõng khoâng thaät, nhaän thöùc caùc phaùp cuõng khoâng thaät. Thöù tö
laø baûn chaát Taùnh khoâng phuû ñònh luoân caû taùnh khoâng. Baûn chaát khoâng
thaät cuûa nhaän thöùc veà taùnh khoâng hoaëc phuû ñònh caû taùnh khoâng. Ñaây laø
phöông caùch nhaän ñònh quan troïng veà taùnh khoâng. Söï phaùn xeùt caùc
phaùp laø töông ñoái, khoâng thaät coù theå nhö moät quan ñieåm; khi caùc phaùp
bò phuû nhaän, baûn thaân söï phuû nhaän khoâng theå bò phuû nhaän. Phuû nhaän
chính töï thaân noù laø moät töông ñoái, khoâng thaät nhö söï phuû nhaän. Thöù
naêm laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa Ñaïi Khoâng. Chuùng ta coù theå noùi raèng
khoâng chæ laø söï moâ phoûng, khaùi nieäm cuûa chuùng ta veà khoâng laø töông
ñoái ñoái vôùi söï phaân bieät caùc höôùng ñoâng, taây, vaân vaân, vaø taát caû caùc
phaùp trong caùc höôùng ñoù. Taùnh khoâng laø troáng khoâng nhö ñaïi khoâng
bôûi vì noù troáng roãng voâ taän. Thöù saùu laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa Chaân
khoâng, hoaëc taùnh khoâng cuûa Chaân ñeá. Bôûi baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa
Chaân khoâng nghóa laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa Nieát Baøn, vì khoâng coù
thöïc theå cuûa moät thöïc taïi rieâng bieät naøo. Thöù baûy laø baûn chaát khoâng
thaät cuûa phaùp höõu vi hoaëc taùnh khoâng cuûa tuïc ñeá. Caùc phaùp höõu vi laø
khoâng thaät vaø khoâng coù gì beân trong, khoâng phaûi thöôøng haèng, cuõng
khoâng phaûi ngaén nguûi. Thöù taùm laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa caùc phaùp
voâ vi. Caùc phaùp voâ vi chæ coù theå nhaän ñöôïc trong söï ngöôïc laïi vôùi caùc
phaùp höõu vi; noù khoâng ñöôïc sanh ra cuõng khoâng bò huûy dieät bôûi baát cöù
hoaït ñoäng naøo cuûa chuùng ta. Thöù chín laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa söï
 216

Voâ Haïn. Loaïi taùnh khoâng naày lieân quan ñeán nhaän thöùc cuûa chuùng ta veà
söï giôùi haïn vaø voâ haïn. T.R.V Murti noùi raèng thaáy roõ hai cöïc ñoan naày
hoaëc chaám döùt thuyeát sinh toàn vaø huûy dieät laø chuùng ta ñang ñi treân con
ñöôøng Trung Ñaïo vaø do ñoù Trung ñaïo hoaëc Voâ haïn coù theå chöùng minh
baûn chaát cuûa chính noù. Söï Voâ haïn nghóa laø khoâng coù gì trong chính noù.
Trung ñaïo cuõng khoâng coù vò trí maø chæ laø söï giaû danh. Thöù möôøi laø baûn
chaát khoâng thaät cuûa Voâ thuûy vaø Voâ chung. Loaïi taùnh khoâng naày gioáng
nhau trong taùnh caùch. Noù öùng duïng söï phaân bieät cuûa thôøi gian chaúng
haïn, khôûi thuûy, chính giöõa, vaø chung cuoäc. Nhöõng taùnh caùch naày laø
khaùch theå. Chuùng ta coù theå noùi raèng khoâng coù gì coá ñònh vaøo luùc khôûi
thuûy, chính giöõa vaø chung cuoäc caû. Thôøi gian nhö troâi chaûy laãn vaøo
nhau. Vì vaäy, phuû nhaän khôûi thuûy thì chung cuoäc cuõng thaønh voïng
töôûng vaø chuùng ñöôïc nhaän bieát nhö laø töông ñoái hoaëc khoâng thaät. Thöù
möôøi moät laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa söï Khoâng Phuû Nhaän: Khi chuùng
ta phuû nhaän baát cöù phaùp naøo nhö khoâng bieän hoä ñöôïc, phaùp khaùc ñöôïc
giöõ laïi tieáp theo nhö khoâng theå phuû nhaän, khoâng theå töø choái, ñoù laø tö
töôûng. Thöù möôøi hai laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa Töï Taùnh. Taát caû caùc
phaùp toàn taïi trong chính noù. Khoâng ai taïo chuùng hoaëc tình côø hoaëc laøm
haïi chuùng. Taát caû caùc phaùp baûn thaân chuùng laø troáng roãng, khoâng coù töï
tính. Thöù möôøi ba laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa taát caû caùc Phaùp. Loaïi
taùnh khoâng naày dieãn taû laïi baûn chaát cuûa caùc phaùp laø khoâng coù thöïc taïi,
vì khoâng coù thöïc taïi neân hieän töôïng caùc phaùp khoâng thaät. Thöù möôøi
boán laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa caùc Töôùng. Phaät giaùo nguyeân thuûy ñaõ
noã löïc ñöa ra moät ñònh nghóa chính xaùc veà thöïc theå nhö laø Taùnh khoâng
theå laõnh hoäi ñöôïc cuûa saéc phaùp vaø thöùc. Nhö vaäy saéc vaø caùc thöïc theå
khaùc khoâng coù thuoäc taùnh taát yeáu cuûa chuùng. Taát caû nhöõng ñònh nghóa
coù tính chaát cuûa moät danh hieäu trong söï phaân loaïi noùi chung vaø vì vaäy
chæ laø khaùi nieäm trong chöõ nghóa. Thöù möôøi laêm laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät
cuûa Quaù khöù, Hieän taïi vaø Vò lai. Baûn chaát khoâng thaät hoaëc taùnh caùch
thuaàn danh töï cuûa quaù khöù, hieän taïi vaø vò lai coù theå chöùng minh ñöôïc
baèng caùch quan saùt töï thaân quaù khöù khoâng coù hieän taïi cuõng nhö töông
lai vaø ngöôïc laïi; vaø khoâng coù nhöõng lieân quan ñeán nhöõng nhaän thöùc
cuûa quaù khöù... khoâng coù khôûi leân. Thöù möôøi saùu laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät
cuûa Voâ Phaùp Höõu Phaùp. Taát caû nhöõng yeáu toá cuûa hieän höõu hieän töôïng
laø tuøy thuoäc duyeân khôûi laãn nahu vaø chuùng khoâng coù baûn chaát cuûa
chính chuùng. Thöù möôøi baûy laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa Höõu Khoâng.
Naêm chaáp thuû: khoå, nhaân, giôùi, nieäm, vaø sanh khoâng töôïng tröng cho
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baát cöù thöïc taïi khaùch theå naøo, söï keát hôïp cuûa chuùng laø khoâng coù thöïc
theå, chuùng chæ nhö moät nhoùm taïm sanh khôûi do nhaân duyeân. Ñieàu naày
cho thaáy söï töông öùng vôùi nhöõng töø vaø khaùi nieäm maø khoâng coù thöïc
theå. Thöù möôøi taùm laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa Phi Voâ Höõu. Nhaän bieát
tuyeät ñoái nhö söï vaéng maët cuûa naêm chaáp thuû cuõng khoâng thaät. Khoâng
laø moät trong caùc phaùp voâ vi ñöôïc ñònh nghóa nhö khoâng chöôùng ngaïi.
Ñieàu naày ñöôïc xaùc ñònh chaéc chaén do söï vaéng maët cuûa caùc tính caùch
tích cöïc. Cuõng gioáng nhö vaäy, Nieát Baøn laø moät phaùp voâ vi. Thöù möôøi
chín laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa Höõu Phaùp Khoâng. Loaïi taùnh khoâng
naày khoâng nhaán maïnh baûn chaát thöïc taïi nhö caùi gì ñoù hieän dieän trong
phaùp laø khoâng. “Svabhava” laø bieän chöùng cuûa Höõu Phaùp Khoâng. Thöù
hai möôi laø baûn chaát khoâng thaät cuûa Ñeä Nhaát Höõu Khoâng. Loaïi taùnh
khoâng naày coù nhöõng yeáu toá beân ngoaøi nhö nhaân toá hoaëc ñieàu kieän ñeå
ñoùng baát cöù vai troø naøo trong vieäc taïo thaønh thöïc theå.

Twenty Characteristics of Sunyata

According to the Commentary of Abhisa-mayala-makara-loka,

there are twenty kinds of Sunyata. First, the unreality of internal
elements of existence. The first mode applies to physical facts, states
such as feeling, volition, etc. Their nature is not described either as
changing (akutastha) or totally undestroyable (avinasi); that is neither
real nor unreal. This constitutes their Sunyata relatively or
unrelatively. Second, the unreality of external objects. This relates to
external forms because all forms can be external only. The external
form is taken in shape of sense organs such as eye, nose, etc. This is
known as the Unreality of External Objects. Third, the Unreality of
both together as in the sense organs or the body. Since all the dharmas
are unreal and the basis of all the dharmas is also unreal, their
knowledge of dharmas and bases is also unreal. Fourth, the Unreality
of the knowledge of Unreality. This is an important mode of Sunyata.
The criticism that everything is relative, unreal may be thought to stand
out as a view; when all things are rejected, the rejection itself could not
be rejected. This rejection itself is as relative, unreal as the rejected.
Fifth, the Unreality of the Great Space. Hence we can say that space is
notional, our conception of it is relative to this distinction of directions
east, west, etc, and also to the things resident in them. The Sunyata of
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space is termed as Great Space because it has infinite expanse. Sixth,

the Unreality of the Ultimate Reality. By the Unreality of the Ultimate
Reality is meant the unreality of Nirvana as a separate reality. Seventh,
the Unreality of the Conditioned. This unreal and it is nothing in itself,
it is neither permanent nor nonemergent. Eighth, the Unreality of the
Unconditioned. The Unconditioned can only be conceived in
contradiction to the conditioned; it is neither brought out into being nor
destroyed by any activity of ours. Ninth, the Unreality of Limitless.
This mode of Sunyata is with reference to our consciousness of the
Limit and the Limitless. With regard to this unreality, T.R.V Murti says
that it ight be thought that steering clear of the two extremes or ends of
Existentialism and Nihilism, we are relying on a middle line of
demarcation and that thereby the Middle or the Limitless is nothing in
itself; the Middle position is no position at all, but a review of positions.
Tenth, the Unreality of that which is Beginningless and Endless. This
mode of Sunyata is similar in character. It applies to distinctions in time
such as beginning, the middle and the end. These distinctions are
subjective. We can say that nothing stands out rigidly on the beginning,
the middle and the end, the times flow into each other. Consequent on
the rejection of the beginning, etc, the beginningless too turns out to be
notional; and it should be recognized as relative or unreal on the
account. Eleventh, the Unreality of Undeniable. When we reject
anything as untenable, something else is kept aside as unrejectable, the
undeniable, it might be thought. Twelfth, the Unreality of the Ultimate
Essence. All the things exist in themselves. Nobody causes them either
to happen or to destroy them. The things are in themselves void, lack
essential character of their own. Their is no change in our notions not in
real. Thirteenth, the Unreality of All Elements. This mode of Sunyata
only reiterates that all modes of being, phenomenal and noumenal lack
essential reality and so are unreal. Fourteenth, the Unreality of All
Definitions. In early Buddhism an attempt had been made to give a
precise definition of entities, e.g., the impenetrability of matter, and
apprehension of object of consciousness. This brings home to us that
matter and other entities lack the essence attributed to them. All
definition is of the nature of a distinction within general class and is
therefore nominal in character. Fifteenth, the Unreality of the Past, the
Present and the Future. The unreality or the purely nominal character
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of the past, the present and the future is demonstrable by the

consideration that in the past itself there is no present and the future
and the vice versa; and yet without such relating the consciousness of
the past, etc, does not arise. Sixteenth, the Unreality of Relation or
Combination conceived as non-ens (non-empirical). All the elements of
the phenomenal existence are dependent on each other and they are
dependent, and they have no nature of their own. Seventeenth, the
Unreality of the Positive Constituents of Empirical Existence. The five
upadana skandhas, i.e., duhkha, samudaya, loka, drsti and bhava do not
stand for any objective reality, their collection is a non-entity, as it is a
grouping subjectively imposed upon them. This shows that
corresponding to words and concepts there is no entity. Eighteenth, the
Unreality of the Non-empirical. The Unconditioned conceived as the
absence of the five groups is also unreal. Space, one of the
unconditioned is defined as non-obstruction. This is determined solely
by the absence of the positive characters. The same is the case with
Nirvana, another uncondtioned. Nineteenth, the Unreality of the Self-
being. This mode of Sunyata emphasizes the nature of reality as
something existing in itself. It may be stated that “svabhava” is here
dialectically justaposed to Sunyata. Twentieth, the Unreality of
Dependent Being. In this case also no external factor like the agent or
his instruments play any part in making up its reality.
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 221

Chöông Ba Möôi Moát

Chapter Thirty-One

Hai Möôi Laêm Hình Thöùc Cuûa Khoâng

Trong kinh ñieån Pali, khaùi nieäm ‘Khoâng’ khoâng mang yù nghóa trieát
hoïc nhö laø ‘khoâng baûn theå’. Thaät ra, yù nghóa khaùi nieäm ‘khoâng’ maø
chuùng ta quan saùt chính xaùc theo thöïc taïi hieän höõu cuûa noù ‘nhö chuùng
ñang laø’ maø thaønh phuû ñònh hay khaúng ñònh, nghóa laø coù maët hay vaéng
maët cuûa khoâng. ‘Khoâng’ ñöôïc ñònh nghóa nhö voâ ngaõ, bôûi vì khoâng coù
ngaõ vaø ngaõ sôû, nhöng vaïn phaùp toàn taïi do 12 nhaân duyeân. Cuoái cuøng,
‘khoâng’ coøn ñöôïc ñònh nghóa laø Nieát Baøn, laø traïng thaùi cuoái cuøng cuûa
giaûi thoaùt. Coù hai möôi laêm caùch giaûi thích veà taùnh khoâng trong kinh
taïng Pali: khoâng, höõu vi khoâng, hoaïi khoâng, thöôïng khoâng, töôùng
khoâng, trieät khoâng, loaïi khoâng, dieät khoâng, khinh an khoâng, xaû khoâng,
noäi khoâng, ngoaïi khoâng, giaû khoâng, ñoàng phaàn khoâng, phaân bieät ñoàng
phaàn khoâng, duïc khoâng, trì khoâng, laïc khoâng, ngoä khoâng, duy khoâng,
tueä khoâng, nhaãn khoâng, nguyeän khoâng, nhaäp khoâng, vaø thaéng nghóa ñeá
khoâng. Kyø thaät, söï khaùc bieät cuûa taùnh khoâng trong Ñaïi Thöøa vaø
Nguyeân Thuûy laø do söï khaùc bieät khi tieáp caän vôùi nhöõng söï kieän cuûa
baûn chaát. Söï kieän naày seõ roõ hôn khi chuùng ta quan saùt laïi khaùi nieäm veà
‘khoâng’ cuûa Phaät giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy seõ thaáy haàu nhö trong moãi yù nghóa
ñeàu lieân quan ñeán yù nghóa ñaïo ñöùc. Chi tieát veà hai möôi laêm hình thöùc
cuûa Khoâng trong kinh ñieån Nam Phaïn ñöôïc lieät keâ nhö sau ñaây: Thöù
nhaát laø Khoâng: Chö phaùp khoâng hay laø hö khoâng, troáng roãng (söï khoâng
coù tính chaát caù bieät hay ñoäc laäp), voâ thöôøng, vaø khoâng coù töï ngaõ. Nghóa
laø vaïn phaùp khoâng coù töï tính, maø tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân, vaø thieáu
haún töï taùnh. Vì vaäy moät con ngöôøi noùi laø khoâng coù “töï taùnh” vì con
ngöôøi aáy ñöôïc keát hôïp bôûi nhieàu thöù khaùc nhau, nhöõng thöù aáy luoân
thay ñoåi vaø hoaøn toaøn tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân. Tuy nhieân, Phaät töû
nhìn yù nieäm veà “khoâng” trong ñaïo Phaät moät caùch tích cöïc treân söï hieän
höõu, vì noù aùm chæ moïi vaät ñeàu luoân bieán chuyeån, nhôø vaäy môùi môû roäng
ñeå höôùng veà töông lai. Neáu vaïn höõu coù taùnh chaát khoâng bieán chuyeån,
thì taát caû ñeàu bò keït ôû nhöõng hoaøn caûnh hieän taïi maõi maõi khoâng thay
ñoåi, moät ñieàu khoâng theå naøo xaûy ra ñöôïc. Phaät töû thuaàn thaønh phaûi coá
gaéng thaáy cho ñöôïc taùnh khoâng ñeå khoâng vöôùng víu, thay vaøo ñoù duøng
taát caû thôøi giôø coù ñöôïc cho vieäc tu taäp, vì caøng tu taäp chuùng ta caøng coù
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theå tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc thaønh ñaït “trí hueä” nghóa laø caøng tieán gaàn ñeán
vieäc tröïc nghieäm “khoâng taùnh,” vaø caøng chöùng nghieäm “khoâng taùnh”
chuùng ta caøng coù khaû naêng phaùt trieån “trí hueä ba la maät.” Thöù nhì laø
Höõu Vi Khoâng: Höõu vi khoâng laø söï giaû hôïp khoâng thöïc hay khoâng coù
töï tính cuûa chö phaùp höõu vi. Höõu vi (Samskrita) chæ cho nhöõng phaùp
xuaát hieän do caùc ñieàu kieän cuûa taùc thaønh. Noùi höõu vi Khoâng laø moät
caùch noùi khaùc chæ cho theá giôùi ngoaïi taïi cuõng nhö theá giôùi noäi taïi ñeàu
khoâng. Thöù ba laø Hoaïi Khoâng: Hoaïi Khoâng laø söï hoaïi dieät cuûa söï vaät,
moät trong saùu töôùng cuûa vaïn höõu. Hoaïi khoâng coù nghóa laø söï bieán theå
veà daïng khoâng cuûa vaïn höõu. Thöù tö laø Thöôïng Khoâng: Thöôïng khoâng
caùi khoâng toái thöôïng. Roát roài moïi thöù ñeàu troáng roãng. Thöù naêm laø
Töôùng Khoâng: Yeáu toá khoâng cuûa töôùng, vì phaùp khoâng coù thöïc taùnh
cuûa chính noù neân hình töôùng cuûa noù cuõng laø khoâng thaät . Giaùo thuyeát
cho raèng vaïn höõu giai khoâng, ñoái laïi vôùi Tieåu Thöøa cho raèng chæ coù caùi
“ngaõ” môùi laø khoâng. Caùi khoâng veà töôùng nghóa laø gì? Söï hieän höõu ñöôïc
ñònh tính baèng söï tuøy thuoäc laãn nhau; tính ñaëc thuø vaø tính phoå quaùt ñeàu
khoâng coù khi caùi naày ñöôïc xem laø taùch bieät vôùi caùi kia, khi caùc söï vaät
ñöôïc phaân tích cho ñeán möùc ñoä cuoái cuøng thì ngöôøi ta seõ hieåu raèng
chuùng khoâng hieän höõu; cuoái cuøng, khoâng coù nhöõng khía caïnh cuûa ñaëc
thuø nhö ‘caùi naày,’ ‘caùi kia’ hay ‘caû hai;’ khoâng coù nhöõng daáu hieäu sai
bieät cöïc vi toái haäu. Vì lyù do naày neân baûo raèng töï töôùng laø khoâng, nghóa
laø töôùng khoâng phaûi laø moät söï kieän toái haäu. Thöù saùu laø Trieät Khoâng:
Trieät khoâng coù nghóa laø ngay caû söï aùp cheá cuõng troáng roãng. Thöù baûy laø
Loaïi Khoâng: Theå loaïi khoâng coù nghóa laø ngay caû chuyeän cuøng moät theå
loaïi cuõng troáng khoâng. Thöù taùm laø Dieät Khoâng: Caùi khoâng cuûa söï hoaïi
dieät coù nghóa laø ngay caû söï hoaïi dieät cuõng laø troáng khoâ ng. Thöù chín laø
Khinh An Khoâng: Caùi khoâng cuûa söï khinh an. Ngöôøi tu thieàn thöôøng
traûi qua giai ñoaïn “khinh an” tröôùc khi tieán vaøo “ñònh”. Khinh an laø
moät trong nhöõng cöûa ngoõ quan troïng ñi vaøo ñaïi giaùc, vì nhôø ñoù maø
haønh vi cuûa chuùng ta deã daøng ñöôïc kieåm soaùt. Haønh giaû tu Thieàn neân
luoân nhôù raèng neáu, trong khi tu taäp Thieàn ñònh hoaëc ñöôïc khinh an,
hoaëc thaáy taâm trí môû mang, khoâng ñöôïc cho ñoù laø thöïc chöùng. Theo
Baùc Sôn Ngöõ Luïc, khi Thieàn sö Baùc Sôn ñang tham thoaïi ñaàu "Voâ Löu
Tích" cuûa Thuyeàn Töû Hoøa Thöôïng, moät hoâm nhaân luùc ñang xem quyeån
"Truyeàn Ñaêng Luïc," tôùi choã caâu truyeän Trieäu Chaâu baûo moät vò Taêng,
"OÂng phaûi ñi ba ngaøn daëm ñeå gaëp ngöôøi daïy môùi ñöôïc Ñaïo." Thình
lình Baùc Sôn caûm thaáy nhö vöøa truùt boû gaùnh naëng ngaøn caân, vaø töï cho
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mình laø ñaïi ngoä. Nhöng ñeán khi gaëp Hoøa Thöôïng Baûo Phöông thì Baùc
Sôn môùi bieát laø mình voâ minh nhö theá naøo. Vì vaäy, haønh giaû tu Thieàn
neân bieát raèng daàu ñaõ ñaït ngoä cuõng phaûi tham vaán vôùi moät baäc thaày lôùn
tröôùc ñaõ, neáu khoâng cuõng chöa goïi laø ngoä. Thöù möôøi laø Xaû Khoâng: Caùi
Khoâng cuûa söï buoâng xaû coù nghóa laø ngay caû söï buoâng xaû cuõng laø troáng
khoâng. Trong Phaät giaùo, trì giöõ taâm bình ñaúng, baát thieân nhaát phöông
(khoâng nghieâng veà beân naøo). Xaû töôùng (côûi boû nhöõng ñieàu raøng buoäc
trong taâm thöùc). Tính thaûn nhieân, moät trong nhöõng ñöùc tính chuû yeáu
trong Phaät giaùo. Trong Phaät giaùo, xaû töôùng coù nghóa laø traïng thaùi khoâng
coù nieàm vui cuõng nhö söï ñau khoå, moät tinh thaàn soáng hoaøn toaøn caân
baèng vöôït leân taát caû moïi phaân bieät ñoái xöû. Coøn goïi laø Moät Xa, noäi taâm
bình ñaúng vaø khoâng coù chaáp tröôùc, moät trong nhöõng ñöùc tính chính cuûa
Phaät giaùo, xaû boû seõ ñöa ñeán traïng thaùi höûng hôø tröôùc nhöõng vui khoå
hay ñoäc laäp vôùi caû hai thöù naày. Xaû ñöôïc ñònh nghóa laø taâm bình ñaúng,
nhö khoâng phaân bieät tröôùc ngöôøi vaät, kyû bæ; xaû boû theá giôùi vaïn höõu,
khoâng coøn bò phieàn naõo vaø duïc voïng troùi buoäc. Xaû laø moät trong thaát
giaùc phaàn hay thaát boà ñeà phaàn. Ñöùc Phaät daïy: “Muoán ñöôïc vaøo trong
caûnh giôùi giaûi thoaùt thaäm thaâm cuûa caùc baäc Boà Taùt, Phaät töû tröôùc heát
caàn phaûi xaû boû taát caû duïc laïc cuûa nguõ duïc cuûa phaøm phu. Theo Kinh
Duy Ma Caät, khi ngaøi Vaên Thuø Sö Lôïi Boà Taùt ñeán thaêm beänh cö só
Duy Ma Caät, oâng coù hoûi veà loøng “xaû” nhö sau: Vaên Thuø Sö Lôïi hoûi
Duy Ma Caät: “Sao goïi laø loøng xaû?” Duy Ma Caät ñaùp: “Nhöõng phöôùc
baùo maø vò Boà Taùt ñaõ laøm, khoâng coù loøng hy voïng.” Thöù möôøi moät laø
Noäi Khoâng: Noäi khoâng laø caùi khoâng beân trong, caùi Khoâng cuûa caùc
phaùp noäi taïi. Chöõ “Noäi” chæ cho saùu thöùc. Khi chuùng ñöôïc goïi laø
“Khoâng,” nghóa laø taát caû moïi hoaït ñoäng cuûa chuùng khoâng coù thaàn ngaõ
hay linh hoàn naèm ôû sau, nhö chuùng ta töôûng. Ñaây laø moät loái giaûi thích
khaùc cuûa thuyeát “Voâ Ngaõ.” Thoâng thöôøng chuùng ta phaân bieät ngoaïi vôùi
noäi, nhöng vì khoâng coù thöïc taïi cho söï phaân bieät naày neân ôû ñaây noù bò
phuû nhaän; söï phaân bieät chæ laø moät hình thaùi cuûa voïng taâm, moái quan heä
coù theå bò ñaûo loän baát cöù luùc naøo, ôû ñaây khoâng coù thöôøng truï baát bieán.
Thöû thay ñoåi vò trí, caùi noäi thaønh ra ngoaïi vaø caùi ngoaïi thaønh ra noäi.
Quan heä naày goïi laø khoâng. Thöù möôøi hai laø Ngoaïi Khoâng: Ngoaïi
Khoâng laø caùi Khoâng cuûa caùc phaùp ngoaïi taïi. “Ngoaïi” laø caùc ñoái töôïng
cuûa saùu thöùc, caùi “Khoâng” cuûa chuùng coù nghóa laø khoâng coù nhöõng baûn
truï hay baûn theå cuûa caùi ngaõ chuû teå naèm ôû sau. Cuõng nhö khoâng coù Töï
Ngaõ (atman) nôi haäu tröôøng cuûa caùc hieän töôïng taâm lyù; cuõng vaäy,
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khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ (ataman) nôi haäu tröôøng cuûa ngoaïi giôùi. Thuaät ngöõ
ñoù goïi laø “Phaùp Voâ Ngaõ.” Phaät giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy daïy cho chuùng ta
thuyeát “Voâ Ngaõ” (Anatman), nhöng ngöôøi ta noùi chính caùc nhaø Ñaïi
Thöøa môùi luoân luoân aùp duïng thuyeát ñoù cho caùc ñoái töôïng ngoaïi giôùi.
Thöù möôøi ba laø Giaû Khoâng: Giaû khoâng coù nghóa laø ngay caû caùi Khoâng
giaû laäp cuõng laø troáng khoâng. Giaû Dó Laäp Nhaát Thieát Phaùp: Giaû duøng ñeå
phaù caùc hoaëc traàn sa vaø ñeå laäp taát caû caùc phaùp quaùn saùt thaáy caùi taâm
ñoù coù ñuû caùc phaùp, caùc phaùp ñeàu do taâm maø coù, töùc laø giaû taïm, khoâng
beàn, voâ thöôøng. ‘Giaû’ laø söï chaám döùt nhöõng laäu hoaëc cuûa traàn theá vaø
giaûi thoaùt khoûi caùc ñieàu xaáu. Theo trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn, Thöïc Taïi laø
baát nhò. Neáu giaûi lyù moät caùch thích ñaùng thì baûn chaát höõu haïn cuûa caùc
thöïc theå bieåu loä voâ haïn ñònh khoâng nhöõng nhö laø cô sôû cuûa chuùng maø
coøn laø Thöïc Taïi Toái Haäu cuûa chính nhöõng thöïc theå höõu haïn. Thaät ra,
vaät bò nhaân duyeân haïn ñònh vaø vaät phi nhaân duyeân haïn ñònh khoâng
phaân bieät thaønh hai thöù, vì taát caû moïi thöù neáu ñöôïc phaân tích vaø tìm veà
nguoàn coäi ñeàu phaûi ñi vaøo phaùp giôùi. Söï phaân bieät ôû ñaây, neáu coù, chæ laø
töông ñoái chöù khoâng phaûi laø tuyeät ñoái. Chính vì theá maø Ngaøi Long Thoï
ñaõ noùi: “Caùi ñöôïc xem laø coõi traàn theá hay theá gian töø moät quan ñieåm,
thì cuõng chính laø coõi Nieát Baøn khi ñöôïc nhìn töø moät quan ñieåm khaùc.”
Theo Giaùo Sö Junjiro Takakusu trong Cöông Yeáu Trieát Hoïc Phaät Giaùo,
ñaây laø moät trong tam ñeá cuûa toâng Thieân Thai, hai chaân lyù kia laø Khoâng
ñeá vaø Trung ñeá. Theo toâng naày thì caû ba chaân lyù aáy laø ba trong moät,
moät trong ba. Nguyeân lyù thì laø moät, nhöng phöông phaùp dieãn nhaäp laïi
laø ba. Moãi moät trong ba ñeàu coù giaù trò toaøn dieän. Duø söï theå coù hieän höõu
thì cuõng chæ laø giaû taïm. Gioáng nhö khi bieän luaän veà Khoâng Ñeá, khi moät
laø Giaû thì taát caû laø Giaû. Thöù möôøi boán laø Ñoàng Phaàn Khoâng: Ñoàng
Phaàn Khoâng coù nghóa laø ngay caû caùi khoâng cuûa cuøng moät phaàn cuõng laø
troáng khoâng. Thöù möôøi laêm laø Phaân Bieät Ñoàng Phaàn Khoâng: Phaân
Bieät Ñoàng Phaàn Khoâng coù nghóa laø ngay caû caùi khoâng cuûa söï Phaân
Bieät Ñoàng Phaàn cuõng laø troáng khoâng. Thöù möôøi saùu laø Duïc Khoâng:
Duïc khoâng coù nghóa laø caùi khoâng cuûa duïc laïc. Trong Phaät giaùo, “söï
ham muoán” ñaëc bieät chæ veà söï ham muoán xaùc thòt. Trong nhieàu ñoaïn
vaên kinh, kama ñöôïc duøng vôùi haøm nghóa “ham muoán” noùi chung.
Kama laø khao khaùt thoûa maõn tính duïc cuõng nhö nieàm vui ñöôïc caûm
thaáy trong söï khoaùi laïc aáy. Ñaây laø moät trong nhöõng trôû ngaïi chính treân
böôùc ñöôøng tu taäp. Duïc voïng, nhuïc duïc, hay tham duïc laø khao khaùt
thoûa maõn tính duïc cuõng nhö nieàm vui ñöôïc caûm thaáy trong söï khoaùi laïc
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aáy. Coù naêm loaïi duïc voïng: saéc, thanh, höông, vò, vaø xuùc. Thöù möôøi baûy
laø Trì Khoâng: Söï trì giöõ roát roài cuõng laø troáng khoâng. Thöù möôøi taùm laø
Laïc Khoâng: Duïc laïc traàn theá roát roài cuõng laø troáng khoâng. Laïc laø moät
yeáu toá thieàn na coù nghóa laø an laïc hay haïnh phuùc yeân tónh. “Sukha”
ñoàng nghóa vôùi “Somanassa.” Ñaây laø traïng thaùi thích thuù khoâng lieân
quan ñeán laïc thuù vaät chaát. “Sukha” naày chính laø haäu quaû cuûa söï töø boû
thuù vui vaät chaát. Thöù möôøi chín laø Ngoä Khoâng: Caùi goïi laø giaùc ngoä roát
roài cuõng laø troáng khoâng. Khaùi nieäm veà töø Bodhi trong phaïn ngöõ khoâng
coù töông ñöông trong Vieät vaø Anh ngöõ, chæ coù danh töø “Loùe saùng” hay
Enlightenment laø thích hôïp. Moät ngöôøi baûn taùnh thaät söï cuûa vaïn höõu laø
giaùc ngoä caùi hö khoâng hieän taïi. Caùi hö khoâng maø ngöôøi ta thaáy ñöôïc
trong khoaûnh khaéc aáy khoâng phaûi laø hö voâ, maø laø caùi khoâng theå naém
baét ñöôïc, khoâng theå hieåu ñöôïc baèng caûm giaùc hay tö duy vì noù voâ haïn
vaø vöôït ra ngoaøi söï toàn taïi vaø khoâng toàn taïi. Caùi hö khoâng ñöôïc giaùc
ngoä khoâng phaûi laø moät ñoái töôïng cho chuû theå suy gaãm, maø chuû theå phaûi
hoøa tan trong ñoù môùi hieåu ñöôïc noù. Trong Phaät giaùo thaät, ngoaøi theå
nghieäm ñaïi giaùc ra, khoâng coù Phaät giaùo. Thöù hai möôi laø Duy Khoâng:
Caùi goïi laø phöông höôùng roát roài cuõng laø troáng khoâng. Thöù hai möôi
moát laø Tueä Khoâng: Söï troáng khoâng cuûa trí tueä. Trí vaø tueä thöôøng coù
chung nghóa; tuy nhieân thoâng ñaït söï töôùng höõu vi thì goïi laø “trí.” Thoâng
ñaït khoâng lyù voâ vi thì goïi laø “tueä.” Trong söï chöùng nghieäm ñöôïc khoâng
taùnh, laø söï chöùng nghieäm raèng chaúng nhöõng chuùng sanh vaø Ñöùc Phaät,
luaân hoài vaø Nieát Baøn, vaân vaân, ñeàu khoâng coù chuû theå vaø ñeàu laø khoâng.
Söï chöùng ngoä taùnh khoâng laø söï chöùng ngoä raèng caùc phaùp khoâng coù chuû
theå vaø khoâng vöôït ra ngoaøi lyù duyeân khôûi. Phaøm phu chuùng ta ñaõ laâu
ñôøi laâu kieáp thöïc theå hoùa caùc phaùp cuõng nhö töï ngaõ. Söï thöïc theå hoùa
naøy cuøng vôùi söï chaáp thuû laø nguoàn goác taïo ra khoå ñau cho con ngöôøi.
Phaät giaùo nhaán maïnh ñeán söï tænh thöùc veà ‘taùnh khoâng’, nghóa laø söï
khoâng coù baûn theå cuûa taát caû caùc phaùp bao goàm baûn ngaõ vaø ngay caû baûn
thaân cuûa Ñöùc Phaät haàu giuùp chuùng sanh coù cô may giaûi thoaùt khoå ñau.
Chæ khi naøo hieåu ñöôïc caùc phaùp theá gian khoâng coù thöïc theå coá ñònh vaø
caùc phaùp naøy töông quan laãn nhau thì môùi goïi laø giaùc ngoä ñöôïc lyù
duyeân khôûi vaø chöøng ñoù môùi chaám döùt ñöôïc khoå ñau phieàn naõo. Thöù
hai möôi hai laø Nhaãn Khoâng: Caùi nhaãn roát roài cuõng laø khoâng. Nhaãn
naïi chòu ñöïng. Nhaãn laø moät ñöùc taùnh quan troïng ñaëc bieät trong Phaät
giaùo. Ñöùc Phaät thöôøng daïy töù chuùng raèng: “Neáu caùc oâng chaø xaùt hai
maûnh caây vaøo nhau ñeå laáy löûa, nhöng tröôùc khi coù löûa, caùc oâng ñaõ
 226

ngöøng ñeå laøm vieäc khaùc, sau ñoù duø coù coï tieáp roài laïi ngöøng giöõa chöøng
thì cuõng hoaøi coâng phí söùc. Ngöôøi tu cuõng vaäy, neáu chæ tu vaøo nhöõng
ngaøy an cö kieát haï hay nhöõng ngaøy cuoái tuaàn, coøn nhöõng ngaøy khaùc thì
khoâng tu, chaúng bao giôø coù theå ñaït ñöôïc keát quaû laâu daøi. Thöù hai möôi
ba laø Nguyeän Khoâng: Nguyeän laø phaùt khôûi töø trong taâm töôûng moät lôøi
theà, hay lôøi höùa kieân coá, vöõng beàn, nhaát quyeát theo ñuoåi yù ñònh, muïc
ñích, hoaëc coâng vieäc toát laønh naøo ñoù cho ñeán luùc ñaït thaønh, khoâng vì
baát cöù lyù do gì maø thoái chuyeån lui suït. Nhöng vôùi khoâng taùnh trong
Phaät giaùo, ngay caû nguyeän cuõng laø troáng khoâng. Thöù hai möôi boán laø
Nhaäp Khoâng: Ngay caû vieäc nhaäp ñaïo cuõng troáng khoâng. Nhò Toå hoûi Toå
Boà Ñeà Ñaït Ma: "Laøm theá naøo nhaäp Ñaïo ñöôïc?" Toå Boà Ñeà Ñaït Ma ñaùp
baèng moät baøi keä:
"Ngoaøi döùt chö duyeân;
Trong baët nghó töôûng.
Taâm nhö töôøng ñaù;
Môùi vaøo ñöôïc ñaïo."
(Ngoaïi töùc hö duyeân;
Noäi taâm voâ ñoan.
Taâm nhö töôøng bích,
Khaû dó nhaäp ñaïo)
Baøi keä yù nghóa cao sieâu naøy laø moät trong caùc loaïi coâng aùn bí
truyeàn maø caùc Thieàn sö khoâng thích baøn luaän hay giaûi thích tæ mæ. Baát
chaáp caùi phong vò "thaàn bí" roõ reät vaø yù nghóa saâu xa cuûa noù, baøi keä naøy
raát minh baïch vaø tröïc chæ. Noù moâ taû phaân minh caùi kinh nghieäm hieän
thöïc cuûa traïng thaùi tieàn ngoä. Thöù hai möôi laêm laø Thaéng Nghóa Ñeá
Khoâng: Theo Phaät giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy, thaéng nghóa ñeá khoâng laø tính
sieâu vieät hay tính khoâng cuûa Nieát Baøn (caùc phaùp khoâng coù töï taùnh).
“Chaân lyù cöùu caùnh” chæ coù chaân theå cuûa vaïn höõu, traïng thaùi toàn taïi
chaân thöïc cuûa chuùng, ngoaøi taát caû hình thaùi cuûa chuû quan tính. Ñaây laø
caùi Khoâng bò huûy dieät, khoâng bò gaùn cho laø theá naày hay theá kia, cuõng
khoâng thöù gì coù theå gaùn vaøo ñoù. Vì vaäy chaân lyù cöùu caùnh hay ñeä nhaát
nghóa laø Khoâng. Neáu laø coù thöïc, noù laø moät trong nhöõng ñoái töôïng bò
chi phoái vaø raøng buoäc vaøo ñònh luaät nhaân quaû. Nieát Baøn chæ laø moät
danh töï noùi khaùc. Khi Nieát Baøn coù choã ñeå baùm ñöôïc, noù seõ khoâng laø
Nieát Baøn nöõa. Khoâng duøng ôû ñaây khaùc vôùi “Khoâng lôùn,” khi nhöõng ñoái
töôïng noäi hay ngoaïi ñöôïc tuyeân boá laø Khoâng.
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Twenty-Five Forms of Emptiness

In Pali Nikaya, first, the Sunnata, in non-philosophic meaning, is as

non-substantiality and the ideal of Sunnata that we should contemplate
exactly what is negative or affirmative followings its reality. Sunnata is
also defined as ‘anatta’ because of void of a self and nothing belonging
to a self, and it comes to exist by the cause of 12 nidanas. Finally,
Sunnata is considered as Nibbana because Nibbana is the state of final
release. There are twenty-five modes of Sunnata in Pali Nikaya:
sunnasunnam, samkharasunnam, viparinamasunnam, aggasunnam,
lakkhhnasunnam, vikkhambhanasunnam, tadangasunnam,
samucchedasunnam, patippassadhisunnam, nissaranasunnam.
ajjhattasunnam, bahiddhasunnam, dubhatosunnam, sabhagasunnam,
visabhagasunnam, esanasunnam, pariggahasunnam, patilabhasunnam,
pativedhasunnam, ekattasunnam, nanattasunnam, khantisunnam,
adhitthanasunnam, pariyogahanasunnam, and paramatthasunnam. As a
matter of fact, the difference between the Sunyata of Mahayana and
the Sunyata of Theravada is not fundamental. All the differences are
due only to a difference in approach to the facts of nature. This fact
emerges when we go further in considering the Sunnata of the
Theravada. The Sunnata of things has been considered in the
Theravada books from a variety of standpoinds, with the ethical
interest foremost in every case. Details of twenty-five forms of
Emptiness in the Pali Scriptures are listed as follows: First, Emptiness
or Void: Emptiness or Void is the central notion of Buddhism
recognized that all composite things are empty (samskrita),
impermanent (anitya) and void of an essence (anatamn). That is to say
all phenomena lack an essence or self, are dependent upon causes and
conditions, and so, lack inherent existence. Thus, a person is said to be
empty of being a “self” because he is composed of parts that are
constantly changing and entirely dependent upon causes and
conditions. However, the concept of emptiness is viewed by Buddhists
as a positive perspective on reality, because it implies that everything
is constantly changing, and is thus open toward the future. If things
possessed an unchanging essence, all beings would be stuck in their
present situations, and real change would be impossible. Devout
Buddhists should try to attain the realization of emptiness in order to
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develop the ability to detach on everything, and utilize all the available
time to practice the Buddha-teachings. The more we practice the
Buddha’s teachings, the more we approach the attainment of wisdom,
that is to say the more we are able to reach the “direct realization of
emptiness,” and we realize the “emptiness of all things,” the more we
can reach the “perfection of wisdom.” Second, the unreality of
Samskrita: Also called the Unreality of the phenomena. Samskrita
means things that have come to existence owing to conditions of
causation. In this sense they are created. To say that the Samskrita are
empty is another way of saying that the world external as well as
internal is empty. Third, the aspect, or state of destruction: The aspecy
of decay is one of the six characteristics found in everything.
Viparinamasunnam means dissolution or disintegration of void. Fourth,
the Aggasunnam: Aggasunnam means superior emptiness. Eventually,
everything is empty. Fifth, the Lakkhhnasunnam: Emptiness of
Appearance or forms of things are unreal, or forms are temporary
names (the unreality of form). Nothing has a nature of its own;
therefore, its form is unreal (forms are only temporary names). The
doctrine that phenomena have no reality in themselves, in contrast with
that of Hinayana which only held that the ego had no reality. What is
meant by Emptiness of Appearance? Existence is characterized by
mutual dependence; individuality and generality are empty when one
is regarded apart from the other; when things are analyzed to the last
degree, they are to be comprehended as not existent; there are, after
all, no aspects of individuation such as “this,” “that,” or “both;” there
are no ultimate irreducible marks of differentiation. For this reason, it
is said that self-appearance is empty. By this is meant that appearance
is not a final fact. Sixth, the Vikkhambhanasunnam:
Vikkhambhanasunnam or the emptiness of suppression means even the
suppression is empty. Seventh, the Tadangasunnam: Tadangasunnam
or the emptiness of resemblance means even the resemblance is
empty. Eighth, the Samucchedasunnam: Samucchedasunnam or the
Emptiness of Extinction means even the extinction is empty. Ninth, the
Patippassadhisunnam: Patippassadhisunnam means Emptiness of
calmness. Light ease, an initial expedient in the cultivation of Zen.
Before samadhi is actually achieved, one experiences “light-ease.”
Entrustment is one of the most important entrances to the great
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enlightenment; for with it, conduct is at ease already managed. Zen

practitioners should always remember that if, during your work, you
experience comfort ot lightness, or come to some understanding or
discovery, you must not assume that these things constitute true
"realization". According to "Po-shan yu-lu", when Zen master Po-shan
worked on the Ferry Monk's koan, "Leaving no Trace", one day, while
reading "The Transmission of the Lamp," he came upon the story in
which Chao-chou told a monk, "You have to meet someone three
thousand miles away to get the Tao." Suddenly he felt as if he had
dropped the thousand-pound burden and believed that he had attained
the great "realization". But when he met Master Pao Fang he soon saw
how ignorant he was. Thus, Zen practitioners should know that even
after you have attained Enlightenment and feel safe and comfortable,
you still cannot consider the work done until you have consulted a
great master. Tenth, the Nissaranasunnam: Nissaranasunnam or the
emptiness of equanimity means even the equanimity is empty. In
Buddhism, the state of mental equilibrium in which the mind has no
bent or attachment, and neither meditates nor acts, a state of
indifference. Equanimity, one of the most important Buddhist virues.
Upeksa refers to a state that is neither joy nor suffering but rather
independent of both, the mind that is in equilibrium and elevated above
all distinctions. Neutral feeling. One of the chief Buddhist virtues, that
of renunciation, leading to a state of iddifference without pleasure or
pain, or independence of both. It is defined as the mind in equilibrium,
i.e. above the distinction of things or persons, of self or others;
indifferent, having abandoned the world and all things, and having no
affections or desires. Upeksa is one of the seven Bodhyangas. The
Buddha taught: “If any Buddhist wishes to penetrate into the profound
realm of liberation of the Maha-Bodhisattvas, must first be able to let
go of all of the five desires of ordinary people.” According to the
Vimalakirti Sutra, when Manjusri Bodhisattva called on to enquire
after Upasaka Vimalakirti’s health, Manjusri asked Vimalakirti about
“Upeksa” as follows: Manjusri asked Vimalakirti: “What should be
relinquish (upeksa) of a Bodhisattva?” Vimalakirti replied: “In his work
of salvation, a Bodhisattva should expect nothing (i.e. no gratitude or
reward) in return.” Eleventh, the Adhyatma-sunyata: Emptiness of the
inner things. empty within (no soul or self within), or internal
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emptiness. “The inner things” mean the six consciousnesses (vijnana).

When they are said to be empty, our psychological activities have no
ego-soul behind them, as is commonly imagined by us. This is another
way of upholding the doctrine of Anatman or Anatta. We generally
distinguish between the inner and the outer, but since there is no reality
in this distinction it is here negated; the distinction is no more than a
form of thought construction, the relation can be reversed at any
moment, there is no permanent stability here. Change the position, and
what is inner is outer, and what is outer is inner. This relativity is called
here “emptiness.” Twelfth, the Bahirdha-sunyata: Emptiness of the
outer things or external space. “The outer things” are objects of the six
consciousnesses, and their emptiness means that there are no self-
governing substances behind them. As there is no Atman at the back of
the psychological phenomena, so there is no Atman at the back of the
external world. This is technically known as the “egolessness of
things.” Primitive Buddhism taught the theory Anatman in us, but it was
by the Mahayanists, it is said, that the theory was applied to external
objects also. Thirteenth, the Dubhatosunnam: Dubhatosunnam means
even the emptiness of no reality is empty. Reality, things exist though
in “derived” or “borrowed” form, consisting of elements which are
permanent. Particularity establishes all relativities. The ‘Hypothetical’
mode does away with the defilement of the world and establishes
salvation from all evils. According to the Madhayamaka philosophy,
Reality is non-dual. The essential conditionedness of entities, when
properly understood, reveals the unconditioned as not only as their
ground but also as the ultimate reality of the conditioned entities
themselves. In fact, the conditioned and the unconditioned are not two,
not separate, for all things mentally analyzed and tracked to their
source are seen to enter the Dharmadhatu or Anutpadadharma. This is
only a relative distinction, not an absolute division. That is why
Nagarjuna says: “What from one point of view is samsara is from
another point of view Nirvana itself.” According to Prof. Junjiro
Takakusu in The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, this is one of the
three truths of the T’ien-T’ai School, the other two are the truth of void
and the truth of means. According to this school the three truths are
three in one, one in three. The principle is one but the method of
explanation is threefold. Each one of the three has the value of all.
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Although things are present at the moment, they have temporary

existence. The same will be the case when we argue by means of the
temporary truth. Fourteenth, the Sabhagasunnam: Sabhagasunnam
means even the emptiness of the same division is empty. Fifteenth, the
Visabhagasunnam: Visabhagasunnam means even the emptiness of
distinguishing of the same division is empty. Sixteenth, the
Esanasunnam: Esanasunnam means Emptiness of sense-pleasures. In
Buddhism, the term “desire,” is specifically referred to sexual desire.
In many scriptural contexts it is used to encompass desire in general.
Kama refers to desire toward sensually satisfying objects and to the joy
taken in these things. It is seen as one of the primary obstacles on the
spiritual path (considered to be one of the major hindrances to the
Buddhist path). Sense-pleasures, desire for sense-pleasures, desire
(sexual) or sensual desire, or mental defilement, refers to desire
toward sensually satisfying objects and to the joy taken in these things.
There are types of sensual desire: form, sound, smell, taste, and bodily
feeling. Seventeenth, the Pariggahasunnam: Pariggahasunnam or
Emptiness of Observance is eventually empty. Eighteenth, the
Patilabhasunnam: Patilabhasunnam means Emptiness of Worldly
Pleasures. “Sukha” is a jhana factor meaning pleasant mental feeling.
It is identical with “joy” or “bliss.” Sukha is identical with Somanassa,
joy, and not with the sukha of pleasant bodily feeling that accompanies
wholesome-resultant body-consciousness. This “Sukha” rendered as
bliss, is born detachment from sensual pleausres; it is therefore
explained as unworldly or spiritual happiness (niramisasukha).
Nineteenth, the Pativedha-sunnam: Pativedha-sunnam Emptiness of a
so-called. The term Bodhi in Sanskrit has no equivalent in Vietnamese
nor in English, only the word “Loùe saùng” or “Enlightenment is the most
appropriate term for it. A person awakens the true nature of the all
things means he awakens to a nowness of emptiness. The emptiness
experienced here here is no nihilistic emptiness; rather it is something
unperceivable, unthinkable, unfeelable for it is endless and beyond
existence and nonexistence. Emptiness is no object that could be
experienced by a subject, a subject itself must dissolve in it (the
emptiness) to attain a true enlightenment. In real Buddhism, without
this experience, there would be no Buddhism. Twentieth, the
Ekattasunnam: Ekattasunnam means Emptiness of so-called Cardinal
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points means cardinal points are eventually empty. Twenty-first, the

Nanattasunnam: Nanattasunnam Emptiness of Wisdom. Prajna is often
interchanged with wisdom. Wisdom means knowledge, the science of
the phenomenal, while prajna more generally to principles or morals.
In the realization of emptiness, not only sentient beings but also the
Buddha, not only the samsara but also Nirvana, are without substance
and are empty. This realization of the non-substantial emptiness of
everything is inseparably related with the law of dependent co-
origination. Lives after lives, we, ordinary human beings, have a strong
disposition to substantialize objects as well as our own self as if they
were permanent and unchangeable substance. This substantialization
along with attachment to all kinds of objects cause human suffering.
Buddhism emphasizes awakening to the ‘emptiness’, to the non-
substantiality of everything, including self and Buddha, in order to be
emancipated from suffering. Dependent co-origination as the truth is
possible only when everything in the universe is without enduring
substance. At that time, one can say that one has already emancipated
from suffering. Twenty-second, the Khantisunnam: Khantisunnam or
Emptiness of Patience means patience is eventually empty. Endurance
is an especially important quality in Buddhism. The Buddha always
teaches his disciples: “If you try to rub two pieces of wood together to
get fire, but before fire is produced, you stop to do something else, only
to resume later, you would never obtain fire. Likewise, a person who
cultivates sporadically, e.g., during retreats or on weekends, but
neglects daily practice, can never achieve lasting results. Twenty-third,
the Adhitthanasunnam: Adhitthanasunnam means Emptiness of Vow.
Vow is something that comes from the heart and soul, a deep rooted
promise, swearing to be unrelenting in seeking to attain a goal. This is
having a certain mind-set or something one wishes to achieve and
never give up until the objective is realized. But for the Sunyata in
Buddhism, even to the vow is empty. Twenty-fourth, the
Pariyogahanasunnam: Pariyogahanasunnam means Penetrative
Emptiness. Even to get into the Way is empty. Second Patriarch asked
Bodhidharma, "How can one get into the Way?" Bodhidharma replied
with a verse:
"Outwardly, all activities cease;
Inwardly, the mind stops its panting.
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When one's mind has become a wall,

Then he may begin to enter into the Way."
This highly significant stanza is one of the esoteric type of koans
that the Zen masters are disinclined to discuss or elaborate. Despite its
apparent "mystic" flavor and profound significance, it is very explicit
and straightforward. It describes plainly the actual experience of the
pre-enlightenment state. Twenty-fifth, the Emptiness of the Ultimate
Truth: According to the Theravada Buddhism, the “ultimate truth” of
the void means Nirvana as surpassingly real or transcendental. The
“ultimate truth” means the true being of all things, the state in which
they truly are, apart from all forms of subjectivity. This is something
not subject to destruction, not to be held up as this or that, to which
nothing can be affixed. Therefore, this ultimate truth is empty. If real, it
is one of those objects that are conditioned and chained to the law of
causation. Nirvana is but another name. When Nirvana has something
attachable to it, it will no more be Nirvana. It will be seen that
‘emptiness’ is here used in somewhat different sense from the ‘great
emptiness,’ when objects inner or outer are declared ‘empty.’
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 235

Chöông Ba Möôi Hai

Chapter Thirty-Two

Tam Ñeá Khoâng Giaû Trung

Hueä Vaên ñöôïc xem laø Thuûy Toå cuûa toâng Thieân Thai ôû Trung Quoác
vaøo theá kyû thöù VI, oâng töøng laø moät hoïc giaû vó ñaïi vaø laø moät laõnh tuï cuûa
haøng traêm hoïc chuùng. Chuùng ta khoâng coù nhieàu chi tieát veà cuoäc ñôøi vaø
giaùo phaùp cuûa Toå Hueä Vaên. Phaàn tham khaûo tìm thaáy sôùm nhaát veà Hueä
Vaên ñöôïc Sö Quaùn Ñaûnh ghi trong phaàn giôùi thieäu taùc phaåm Ma Ha
Chæ Quaùn moät caùch ñôn giaûn nhö sau: "Nam Nhaïc Hueä Tö theo hoïc vôùi
Thieàn sö Hueä Vaên. Trong suoát thôøi gian Cao Toå Baéc Trieàu taïi vò, Toå
Hueä Vaên moät mình ñi qua vuøng ñaát giöõa hai con soâng Hoaøng Haø vaø
Hoaøi Haø, thôøi cuûa ngaøi khoâng ai hieåu ñöôïc giaùo phaùp cuûa ngaøi, khi maø
haèng ngaøy ngöôøi ta daãm chaân treân ñaát vaø ngöôùc maét nhìn leân trôøi,
nhöng khoâng bieát ñöôïc trôøi cao ñaát roäng bao nhieâu. Trí hueä cuûa ngaøi
Hueä Vaên ñaëc bieät döïa vaøo Ñaïi Trí Ñoä Luaän cuûa ngaøi Long Thoï..."
Ngöôøi ñôøi sau coù theå cho raèng Hueä Vaên laø moät trong nhöõng vò ñeà
xöôùng Ñaïi trí Ñoä Luaän, nhöng noäi dung giaùo thuyeát vaø theå taùnh chöùng
ngoä cuûa Toå Hueä Vaên thì khoâng thaáy ñöôïc ghi laïi roõ raøng. Moät soá chi
tieát veà cuoäc ñôøi cuûa Toå Hueä Vaên coù theå tìm thaáy trong quyeån "Phaät Toå
Thoáng Kyû", moät taùc phaåm ghi laïi tieåu söû xuaát hieän vaøo theá kyû thöù XIII.
ÔÛ ñaây ghi raèng Toå Hueä Vaên "töùc thôøi tieáp nhaän giaùo phaùp vieân ñoán ñaïi
thöøa vaø töï chöùng ngoä". Toå Hueä Vaên thaâm cöùu phaàn Ñaïi trí Ñoä Luaän
noùi veà phaùp vieân ñoán cuûa ba loaïi trí tueä: ñaïo trí, nhaát thieát trí vaø nhaát
thieát chuûng trí. Tö töôûng vaø giaùo thuyeát cuûa Toå Hueä Vaên thöôøng ñöôïc
nhaéc laïi nhö "Nhaát taâm tam trí". Khi Toå Hueä Vaên ñoïc ñeán baøi keä trong
Trung Luaän thì ñaïi ngoä. Nhö vaäy, truyeàn thoáng ñöa ñeán söï ñaïi ngoä cuûa
Toå Hueä Vaên cuõng laø baøi keä laøm neàn taûng cho thuyeát tam ñeá cuûa Thieân
Thai Trí Khaûi. Nhöõng chi tieát trong phaàn tieåu söû naøy daàu coù chính xaùc
hay khoâng cuõng cho thaáy söï quan troïng cuûa baøi keä trong Trung Luaän
ñoái vôùi trieát lyù toâng Thieân Thai. Khoâng phaûi ngaã u nhieân maø Sö Quaùn
Ñaûnh laïi noùi veà Hueä Vaên trong phaàn giôùi thieäu taùc phaåm Ma Ha Chæ
Quaùn. Noùi moät caùch thöïc teá, vaøo thôøi ñoù, vaøo khoaûng theá kyû thöù saùu,
Thieân Thai Toâng laø moät bieán theå cuûa Thieàn Toâng, vaø nhöõng vò toå khai
saùng toâng aáy coù theå ñöôïc lieät keâ nhö laø nhöõng vò Thieàn sö moät caùch
 236

chính ñaùng, maëc daàu hoï khoâng thuoäc baát cöù moät doøng Thieàn chính
thoáng naøo.
Theo Phaät giaùo, quaùn chieáu coù nghóa laø laáy trí tueä maø soi saùng hay
chieáu kieán söï lyù. Sau khi quaùn trieät Phaät phaùp trong kinh ñieån, ngöôøi ta
quaùn chieáu thöïc nghóa cuûa noù qua thöïc haønh. Trí tueä ñaït ñöôïc qua tu
taäp seõ daãn ñeán trí Chaân Baùt Nhaõ. Ñaây laø moät trong ba loaïi Baùt Nhaõ,
laáy trí tueä quaùn chieáu caùi lyù thöïc töôùng hay nhôø thieàn quaùn maø giaùc
ngoä ñöôïc chaân lyù. Haønh giaû tu Phaät neân luoân quaùn taùnh khoâng cuûa vaïn
phaùp. Ñaây laø pheùp quaùn nhaân duyeân sanh theo thuyeát taùnh khoâng (moät
trong ba pheùp quaùn cuûa Nam Sôn Tieåu Thöøa Giaùo). Haønh giaû tu Phaät
neân luoân nhôù raèng moät khi chuùng ta thoaùt ly chaáp ngaõ vaø chaáp phaùp thì
thöïc theå cuûa chaân nhö töï nhieân hieån hieän. Toâng Thieân Thai ñaõ döïng
leân Heä thoáng ‘Tam Quaùn’ döïa treân trieát lyù cuûa ngaøi Long Thoï, ngöôøi
ñaõ soáng ôû Ñoâng Nam AÁn Ñoä vaøo theá kyû thöù hai. Thöù nhaát laø Khoâng:
Khoâng dó phaùp nhaát thieát phaùp (khoâng ñeå phaù caùi hoaëc kieán tö, nghóa laø
phaù taát caû caùc phaùp quaùn saùt caùi taâm chaúng ôû trong, chaúng ôû ngoaøi,
chaúng ôû giöõa, töùc laø khoâng coù thaät). ‘Khoâng’ coøn laø söï phaù boû aûo töôûng
cuûa caûm quan vaø söï kieán taïo tri thöùc toái thöôïng (prajna). ÔÛ möùc ñoä
quaùn chieáu thöù nhaát naøy (Tuøng giaû nhaäp Khoâng), "giaû höõu" chæ cho tri
kieán sai laàm veà theá giôùi hieän töôïng nhö thöïc höõu cuûa phaøm nhaân, vaø
"nhaäp khoâng" coù nghóa laø phuû nhaän moät chuû teå ñoäc laäp trong hieän
töôïng. Vì vaäy, Trí Khaûi noùi: "Khi haønh giaû thaáy ñöôïc Khoâng, haønh giaû
khoâng nhöõng chæ nhaän bieát Khoâng maø coøn bieát ñöôïc thöïc taùnh cuûa giaû
höõu nöõa." Thöù nhì laø Giaû: Giaû dó laäp nhaát thieát phaùp (Giaû duøng ñeå phaù
caùc hoaëc traàn sa vaø ñeå laäp taát caû caùc phaùp quaùn saùt thaáy caùi taâm ñoù coù
ñuû caùc phaùp, caùc phaùp ñeàu do taâm maø coù, töùc laø giaû taïm, khoâng beàn,
voâ thöôøng). ‘Giaû’ laø söï chaám döùt nhöõng laäu hoaëc cuûa traàn theá vaø giaûi
thoaùt khoûi caùc ñieàu xaáu. ÔÛ möùc ñoä quaùn chieáu thöù nhì naøy (Tuøng
khoâng nhaäp Giaû), "giaû höõu" chæ cho moät loái hieåu ñuùng vaø söï chaáp nhaän
hieän töôïng khaùch quan töø nhaân duyeân töông nhaäp sinh khôûi. Khoâng ôû
ñaây chæ cho moät söï troùi buoäc sai laàm vaøo chính khaùi nieäm veà Khoâng,
hoaëc hieåu laàm Khoâng laø caùi khoâng cuûa chuû nghóa ñoaïn dieät. Trí Khaûi
noùi: "Neáu haønh giaû hieåu vaøo Khoâng, haønh giaû hieåu raèng chaúng coù
'khoâng'. Vì vaäy neân haønh giaû phaûi 'nhaäp vaøo' trong giaû höõu. Haønh giaû
neân bieát raèng ñöôøng loái quaùn chieáu naøy ñöôïc thuyeát ra laø ñeå cöùu chuùng
sinh, vaø neân bieát raèng chaân khoâng phaûi chæ laø chaân, maø laø moät phöông
tieän xuaát hieän moät caùch giaû taïm. Vì vaäy maø noùi laø 'töø khoâng'. Haønh giaû
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phaân bieät thuoác tuøy theo beänh, khoâng coù söï phaân bieät thuoäc khaùi nieäm.
Vì vaäy maø goïi laø 'vaøo giaû'." Thöù ba laø Trung: Trung dó dieäu nhaát thieát
phaùp (Trung ñeå phaù caùi hoaëc voâ minh vaø thaáy ñöôïc söï huyeàn dieäu taát
caû caùc phaùp, quaùn saùt thaáy caùi taâm chaúng phaûi khoâng khoâng, cuõng
chaúng phaûi giaû taïm, vöøa laø khoâng vöøa laø giaû, töùc laø trung Ñaïo). ‘Trung’
laø söï phaù boû aûo giaùc do voâ minh maø ra vaø coù ñöôïc moät ñaàu oùc giaùc
ngoä. Ñaây laø Trung Ñaïo Ñeä Nhaát Nghóa Quaùn, möùc ñoä quaùn chieáu cao
nhaát maø haønh giaû coù theå tieáp nhaän moät caùch ñuùng ñaén vaø ñoàng thôøi giaù
trò cuûa caû hai Khoâng vaø Giaû. Trí Khaûi Ñaïi Sö noùi: "Tröôùc heát, quaùn
chieáu vaø ñaït trí hueä lieân quan ñeán Khoâng vaø Giaû laø khoâng luaân hoài töï
taùnh. Keá tieáp, quaùn chieáu vaø ñaït trí hueä lieân quan ñeán khoâng khoâng laø
khoâng caû Nieát Baøn. Nhö vaäy, caû hai cöïc ñoan ñeàu phuû nhaän. Ñaây goïi
laø quaùn hai maët Khoâng nhö phöông tieän nhaèm muïc ñích thaáy ñöôïc
Trung Ñaïo... Phaùp quaùn thöù nhaát duøng Khoâng, vaø phaùp quaùn thöù hai
duøng Giaû. Ñaây laø phöông tieän tieáp nhaän chaân lyù trong caû hai cöïc ñoan,
nhöng khi haønh giaû vaøo ñöôïc Trung Ñaïo, caû hai chaân lyù soi saùng cuøng
luùc gioáng nhau." Töôûng cuõng neân ghi nhaän raèng heä thoáng ‘Tam Quaùn’
naày döïa treân trieát lyù cuûa ngaøi Long Thoï, ngöôøi ñaõ soáng ôû Ñoâng Nam
AÁn Ñoä vaøo theá kyû thöù hai. Theo Giaùo Sö Junjiro Takakusu trong Cöông
Yeáu Trieát Hoïc Phaät Giaùo, neáu baïn giaû thuyeát thaät theå laø moät baûn theå
tröôøng toàn laø baïn hoaøn toaøn meâ hoaëc, theá neân toâng Thieân Thai ñeà ra ba
chaân lyù hay tam ñeá. Theo toâng naày thì caû ba chaân lyù aáy laø ba trong
moät, moät trong ba. Nguyeân lyù thì laø moät, nhöng phöông phaùp dieãn nhaäp
laïi laø ba. Moãi moät trong ba ñeàu coù giaù trò toaøn dieän.

Three Prongs of Empty-Borrowed-Middle

The founder of the T’ien-T’ai School in China is Hui-Wen in the

sixth century, who seems to have been a great scholar and a leader of
many hundreds of students. Very little is known of Hui-wen, his life,
and his teachings. The earliest reference to Hui-wen, in Kuang-ting's
introduction to the Mo Ho Chih Kuan, simply states: "Nan-yo (Hui-Ssu)
followed the meditation master Hui-wen, who was without equal in the
area of the Yellow River and Huai River during the reign of Kao Tsu
of the Northern Ch'i dynasty (550-589). His teachings were not
understood by the people of his day, as people who tread the earth and
gaze at the sky do not know the earth's depth nor the sky's height. Hui-
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wen relied exclusively on the Ta Chih Tu Lun for his mental discipline.
This treatise was taught by Nagarjuna..." People in later generations
may assume that Hui-wen was a proponent of the Ta Chih Tu Lun, but
the exact content of his teachings and the nature of his enlightenment
are not clear. Further details on Hui-wen's life are available only in the
Fo Tsu T'ung Chi, a thirteenth century T'ien T'ai biographical work.
Here it is said that Hui-wen was quick to accept the Perfect Vehicle
(Mahayana) and attained awakening spontaneously and by himself. He
studied the section of the Ta Chih Tu Lun which discusses the
simultaneous and instantaneous attainment of the three wisdoms:
wisdom of the path (margajnata), omniscience (sarvajnata), and
wisdom concerning all aspects (sarvakarajnata). When Hui-wen came
to the section of the Ta Chih Tu Lun which quotes the
Mulamadhyamakakarika verse, it is said that he spontaneously attained
a great awakening. Thus tradition has it that Hui-wen's awakening is
based on the same verse which was the basis for Chih-I's threefold
truth formulation. These biographical details may or may not be
authentic, but they illustrate the central importance of this
Mulamadhyamakakarika verse for T'ien T'ai philosophy. It was not
accidental that Master Kuang-ting recorded about Master Hui-wen in
his introduction to the Mo Ho Chih Kuan. Practically speaking, at that
time, during the sixth century, the T'ien-T'ai Sect was a variation of
Zen School and its first founding patriarchs may justly be classed as
Zen masters, though not of any orthodox lines.
According to Buddhism, to contemplate or to reflect means to be
enlightened or to enlighten as a result of insight (intelligent)
contemplation. After reading and understanding the Buddhadharma in
sutras, one then contemplates and illuminates their meanings through
actual practice. Wisdom acquired from cultivation or contemplation
will lead to the real mark prajna. This is one of the three kinds of
Prajna, the prajna or wisdom of meditative enlightenment on reality.
Buddhist practitioners should always contemplate on the unreality. This
is the contemplation on the unreality of ego and phenomena (the
meditation on the unreality or immateriality, of the nature of things).
Buddhist practitioners should always remember that once we escape
the attachments of ego and things, the Bhutatathata naturally appears.
The T’ien-T’ai sect established a system of the three prongs of
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contemplation. The system of threefold observation is based on the

philosophy of Nagarjuna, who lived in south-eastern India about the
second century A.D. First, the contemplation on the Unreality:
Unreality that things do not exist in reality. Sunya (universality)
annihilates all relatives. The ‘Empty’ mode destroys the illusion of
sensuous perception and constructs supreme knowledge (prajna). At
this first level of contemplation (Entering emptiness from conventional
existence), "conventional existence" refers to the ordinary, mistaken
perception of phenomena as existing substantially and "entering
emptiness" means to negate the existence of independent substantial
Being in these phenomena. Thus, as Chih-I says, "When one
encounters emptiness, one perceives not only emptiness but also knows
the true nature of conventional existence." Second, the contemplation
on the Reality: Reality that things exist though in “derived” or
“borrowed” form, consisting of elements which are permanent.
Particularity establishes all relativities. The ‘Hypothetical’ mode does
away with the defilement of the world and establishes salvation from
all evils. At this second level of contemplation (Entering conventional
existence from emptiness), "conventional existence" refers to correct
understanding and positive acceptance of objective phenomena as
interdependently and conditionallyco-arisen. Emptiness here refers to a
mistaken attachment to the concept of emptiness, or a
misunderstanding of emptiness as merely a nihilistic nothingness. As
Chih-I says, "If one understands (enters) emptiness, one understands
that there is no 'emptiness'. Thus one must 're-enter' conventional
existence. One should know that this contemplation is done for the sake
of saving sentient beings, and know that true reality is not substantial
(true) reality but an expedient means which appears conventionally.
Therefore it is called 'from emptiness'. One differentiates the medicine
according to the disease without making conceptual discriminations.
Therefore it is called 'entering conventional existence'." Third, the
contemplation on the Middle: The “middle” doctrine of the
Madhyamaka School, which denies both positions in the interests of he
transcendental, or absolute. The middle path transcends and unites all
relativities. The ‘Medial’ mode destroys hallucination arising from
ignorance (avidya) and establishes the enlightened mind. This is the
contemplation of the Middle Path of supreme meaning, which refers to
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the highest level of contemplation wherein one simultaneously and

correctly perceives the validity of both emptiness and conventional
existence. As Chih-I says: "First, to contemplate and attain insight
concerning the emptiness of conventional existence is to empty
samsara of substantial Being. Next, to contemplate and attain insight
concerning the emptiness of emptiness is to empty nirvana. Thus both
extremes are negated. This is called the contemplation of two sides of
emptiness as a way of expedient means in order to attain encounter
with the Middle Path... The first contemplation utilizes emptiness, and
the later contemplation utilizes conventional existence. This is an
expedient means recognizing the reality of both in an extreme way, but
when one enters the Middle Path, both of the two truths are illuminated
simultaneously and as identical and synonymous." It should be noted
that the system of threefold observation is based on the philosophy of
Nagarjuna, who lived in south-eastern India about the second century
A.D. According to Prof. Junjiro Takakusu in The Essentials of Buddhist
Philosophy, if you suppose noumenon to be such an abiding substance,
you will be misled altogether; therefore, the T’ien-T’ai School sets
forth the threefold truth. According to this school the three truths are
three in one, one in three. The principle is one but the method of
explanation is threefold. Each one of the three has the value of all.
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Chöông Ba Möôi Ba
Chapter Thirty-Three

Töï Taùnh Khoâng

Theo Phaät giaùo, caùi khoâng cuûa töï taùnh, töï taùnh khoâng hay taùnh
khoâng tuyeät ñoái cuõng coù nghóa laø töï taùnh, laø baûn chaát cuûa hieän höõu hay
caùi goàm neân baûn theå cuûa söï vaät. Caùi khoâng veà töï tính nghóa laø gì? Ñaáy
laø vì khoâng coù söï sinh ra cuûa ngaõ theå, töùc laø söï ñaëc thuø hoùa laø caáu truùc
cuûa töï taâm chuùng ta. Neáu chuùng ta nghó raèng thöïc ra nhöõng söï vaät ñaëc
thuø nhö theá chæ laø aûo töôûng, chuùng khoâng coù töï tính, do ñoù maø baûo raèng
chuùng laø khoâng. Trong Kinh Laêng Giaø, Ñöùc Phaät baûo Mahamati: “Naøy
Mahamati, baûn chaát cuûa hieän höõu khoâng phaûi nhö ngöôøi ngu phaân bieät
noù.” Vaïn höõu trong theá giôùi hieän töôïng ñeàu khoâng thöôøng beàn, chæ hieän
höõu taïm thôøi, chöù khoâng coù töï taùnh. Cuõng theo Kinh Laêng Giaø, coù baûy
loaïi töï taùnh. Töï taùnh laø taùnh nguyeân lai cuûa vaïn höõu. Töï taùnh hay baûn
taùnh, traùi laïi vôùi taùnh linh thöôïng ñaúng. Töï taùnh luoân thanh tònh trong
baûn theå cuûa noù. Töï taùnh coøn coù nghóa laø baûn lai laø ñieàu kieän hay hình
thaùi goác, hay baûn theå ñaàu tieân cuûa baát cöù thöù gì. Töï taùnh hay Phaät taùnh
xöa nay laø baûn taùnh thaät cuûa chö phaùp. Beân caïnh ñoù, töï taùnh coøn coù
nghóa laø baûn theå ñaàu tieân, baûn theå goác, hình thaùi cô baûn, hay nguoàn coäi.
Trong thuaät ngöõ truyeàn thoáng cuûa Phaät giaùo, töï taùnh coù nghóa laø Phaät
taùnh, noù taïo neân Phaät quaû; noù laø Taùnh Khoâng tuyeät ñoái , noù laø Chôn
Nhö tuyeät ñoái. Ngöôøi ta coù theå goïi noù laø töï theå thanh tònh, töø maø trieát
hoïc Taây Phöông hay duøng hay khoâng? Trong khi noù chaúng coù quan heä
gì ñeán theá giôùi nhò nguyeân giöõa chuû theå vaø khaùch theå, maø noù ñöôïc goïi
moät caùch ñôn giaûn laø “Taâm” (vôùi chöõ ñaàu vieát hoa), vaø cuõng laø Voâ
Thöùc. Ngoân töø Phaät giaùo coù quaù nhieàu vôùi nhöõng thuaät ngöõ taâm lyù hoïc
vaø bôûi vì toân giaùo naøy ñaëc bieät quan taâm ñeán trieát lyù veà söï soáng, nhöõng
thuaät ngöõ nhö Taâm, Voâ Thöùc, ñöôïc duøng nhö ñoàng nghóa vôùi Töï Taùnh,
nhöng phaûi thaän troïng ñeå khoâng laàm laãn chuùng vôùi nhöõng thuaät ngöõ
taâm lyù hoïc thöïc nghieäm hay duøng, vì chuùng ta khoâng noùi ñeán taâm lyù
hoïc thöïc nghieäm maø noùi ñeán moät theá giôùi sieâu vieät nôi ñoù khoâng coøn
phaân bieät veà caùc ngoaïi hieän nhö vaäy nöõa. Trong töï taùnh naøy, coù moät söï
vaän haønh, moät söï giaùc ngoä vaø Voâ Thöùc trôû neân yù thöùc veà chính noù. ÔÛ
ñaây khoâng ñaët ra nhöõng caâu hoûi “Taïi sao?” hay “Theá naøo?” Söï phaùt
khôûi hay söï vaän haønh naøy hay laø baát cöù thöù gì phaûi ñöôïc xem nhö laø
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moät söï kieän vöôït leân treân taát caû chöùng cöù bieän luaän. Caùi chuoâng ngaân
nga vaø toâi nghe söï rung ñoäng cuûa noù truyeàn qua khoâng khí. Ñaây laø moät
söï kieän ñôn giaûn cuûa nhaän thöùc. Theo cuøng caùch thöùc, söï phoùng roïi cuûa
yù thöùc vaøo Voâ Thöùc laø moät vaán ñeà cuûa kinh nghieäm, chaúng coù söï
huyeàn bí naøo caû, nhöng theo quan ñieåm lyù luaän hoïc, moät söï maâu thuaãn
beà ngoaøi, moät söï maâu thuaãn maø noù phaùt khôûi, tieáp tuïc söï maâu thuaãn
vónh vieãn. Daàu gì ñi nöõa, hieän giôø chuùng ta vaãn coù moät caùi Voâ thöùc töï yù
thöùc chính noù, hay moät caùi taâm töï phaûn chieáu chính noù. Söï chuyeån hoùa
nhö vaäy, töï taùnh ñöôïc bieát laø Baùt Nhaõ.
Trong Vi Dieäu Phaùp, “svabhava” ñöôïc ñònh nghóa nhö laø baûn chaát
cuûa chö phaùp. Vì vaäy thí duï nhö ‘nhu nhuyeãn’ ñöôïc duøng ñeå ñònh nghóa
baûn chaát cuûa nöôùc, vaø ‘cöùng raén’ ñöôïc duøng ñeå ñònh nghóa baûn chaát
cuûa ñaát. Moïi loaïi thöïc chaát, duø laø moät nguyeân töû ñôn giaûn hay moät
toång theå phöùc taïp, ñeàu bò tröôøng phaùi Trung Quaùn choái boû thöïc chaát,
ñieàu naày môû roäng tôùi lyù luaän “voâ ngaõ” cuûa vaïn höõu. Vaïn höõu khoâng coù
töï taùnh vaø khoâng coù ngoaïi leä. Bôûi vì chuùng chæ laø söï keát hôïp cuûa nhieàu
phaàn vaø ñöôïc sanh ra do bôûi nhaân duyeân, chuùng khoâng hieän höõu baèng
töï taùnh cuûa chuùng, maø chæ hieän höõu moät caùch öôùc leä. Vì vaäy baûn chaát
cuoái cuøng cuûa chuùng laø “khoâng.” Tuy nhieân, ñieàu naøy khoâng coù nghóa
laø chuùng khoâng hieän höõu, maø chuùng hieän höõu theo caùch chuùng hieän ra
trong taâm meâ môø cuûa phaøm nhaân. Thuaät ngöõ naày ñöôïc duøng trong Kinh
Laêng Giaø, ít ra theo hai nghóa. Khi noù coù nghóa laø caùi “töï taùnh” taïo
thaønh theå taùnh cuûa moät höõu theå caù bieät thì noù ñoàng nghóa vôùi “ngaõ” vaø
“nhaân.” Noù cuõng coù nghóa laø lyù do hay söï nhö nhö cuûa hieän höõu, trong
tröôøng hôïp naày noù ñoàng nhaát vôùi “tathata.” Phaät giaùo Ñaïi thöøa coi taát
caû söï vaät ñeàu khoâng coù baûn chaát rieâng (baûn chaát beàn vöõng), khoâng coù
söï toàn taïi ñoäc laäp. Tuy nhieân, ñieàu naày khoâng coù nghóa laø khoâng coù söï
hieän höõu, söï hieän höõu chæ thuaàn laø beà ngoaøi vaø khoâng keát thaønh chaân
taùnh cuûa hieän höõu. Nghóa ñen cuûa “svabhava” laø “töï kyû.” Nguyeät Xöùng
cho raèng trong trieát lyù Phaät giaùo, chöõ naøy ñöôïc duøng baèng hai caùch:
1)Baûn chaát hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa moät söï vaät, thí duï nhö noùng laø töï taùnh hay
ñaëc taùnh cuûa löûa. ÔÛ trong theá giôùi naøy, moät thuoäc taùnh luoân luoân ñi
theo moät vaät, tuyeät ñoái, baát khaû phaân, nhöng khoâng lieân heä moät caùch
beàn vöõng vôùi baát cöù söï vaät naøo khaùc, ñaây ñöôïc bieát nhö laø töï taùnh hay
ñaëc taùnh cuûa vaät aáy; 2) chöõ “svabhava” hay töï taùnh laø phaûn nghóa cuûa
“tha taùnh” (parabhava). Nguyeät Xöùng noùi raèng “svabhava laø töï taùnh,
caùi baûn chaát coát yeáu cuûa söï vaät.” Trong khi ngaøi Long Thoï baûo raèng
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“Kyø thöïc töï taùnh khoâng do baát cöù moät vaät naøo khaùc ñem laïi, noù laø voâ
taùc, noù khoâng leä thuoäc vaøo baát cöù caùi gì, noù khoâng lieân heä vôùi baát cöù
thöù gì khaùc hôn laø chính noù, noù khoâng tuøy thuoäc vaø voâ ñieàu kieän.”
Coù theå noùi töï taùnh laø caùi bieát cuûa chính mình, noù khoâng chæ laø hieän
höõu maø coøn laø thoâng hieåu nöõa. Chuùng ta coù theå noùi noù hieän höõu vì noù
bieát, bieát laø hieän höõu vaø hieän höõu laø bieát. Ñoù laø ñieàu Hueä Naêng muoán
noùi khi Ngaøi tuyeân boá: “Chính trong boån taùnh coù caùi trí Baùt Nhaõ vaø do
ñoù laø caùi trí cuûa mình. Baûn taùnh töï phaûn chieáu trong chính noù vaø söï töï
chieáu naøy khoâng theå dieãn ñaït baèng ngoân töø. Khi Hueä Naêng noùi veà trí
Baùt Nhaõ ñeán ñoä nhö laø noù sinh ra töø töï taùnh, ñieàu naøy do caùch suy nghó
chieám öu theá, tình traïng naøy quan heä vaø aûnh höôûng vôùi chuùng ta,
chuùng ta thaáy xuaát hieän moät chuû thuyeát nhò nguyeân giöõa töï taùnh vaø Baùt
Nhaõ, ñieàu naøy hoaøn toaøn ñoái nghòch vôùi tinh thaàn tö töôûng cuûa Thieàn
Hueä Naêng. Duø sao ñi nöõa, chuùng ta cuõng phaûi ñeán vôùi trí Baùt Nhaõ, vaø
trí Baùt Nhaõ phaûi ñöôïc giaûi thích döôùi aùnh saùng cuûa thieàn ñònh theo yù
nghóa cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa. Trong trieát hoïc Ñaïi Thöøa, coù 3 khaùi nieäm veà hieän
höõu maø caùc trieát gia caàn phaûi giaûi thích moái quan heä giöõa baûn theå vaø
coâng naêng. Ñoù laø theå, töôùng vaø duïng, laàn ñaàu tieân xuaát hieän trong Ñaïi
Thöøa Khôûi Tín Luaän, maø ngöôøi ta thöôøng cho raèng Boà Taùt Maõ Minh laø
taùc giaû. Theå töông öùng vôùi baûn chaát, Töôùng vôùi hình daïng vaø Duïng vôùi
coâng naêng. Quaû taùo laø moät vaät maøu hôi ñoû vaø coù hình caàu: ñoù laø töôùng
cuûa noù, noù xuaát hieän vôùi caùc giaùc quan cuûa chuùng ta nhö vaäy. Töôùng
thuoäc veà theá giôùi cuûa caùc giaùc quan, töùc laø ngoaïi hình. Caùi duïng cuûa noù
bao goàm toaøn boä nhöõng gì noù taïo taùc, noù coù yù nghóa, giaù trò, vaø söï söû
duïng chöùc naêng cuûa noù. Cuoái cuøng, Theå cuûa quaû taùo laø caùi taïo thaønh
baûn taùnh cuûa quaû taùo, khoâng coù caùi goïi laø Theå aáy, quaû taùo maát ñi söï
hieän höõu cuûa noù, cuõng nhö Töôùng vaø Duïng cuûa noù, noù khoâng coøn laø
quaû taùo nöõa. Moät söï vaät ñeå coù thöïc höõu, noù phaûi ñaùp öùng ba khaùi nieäm
naøy: Theå, Töôùng vaø Duïng. Ñeå aùp duïng taát caû caùc ñieàu naøy vaøo ñeà taøi
thöïc teá cuûa chuùng ta, töï taùnh laø Theå vaø Baùt Nhaõ laø Duïng, trong khi ôû
ñaây khoâng coù caùi gì töông öùng vôùi Töôùng bôûi vì ñeà taøi khoâng thuoäc veà
theá giôùi hình töôùng. Ñaây laø taùnh Phaät, noù hieän dieän nôi taát caû vaïn höõu
vaø taïo thaønh töï taùnh cuûa chuùng ta. Ngaøi Hueä Naêng ñaõ bieän luaän veà
muïc ñích tu thieàn cuûa chuùng ta laø nhaän ra Phaät taùnh aáy vaø giaûi thoaùt
khoûi nhöõng sai laàm, nghóa laø thoaùt ra khoûi moïi tham duïc. Ngöôøi ta coù
theå hoûi, vaäy thì laøm caùch naøo ñeå coù ñöôïc söï nhaän ra aáy? Ñieàu naøy coù
theå ñöôïc bôûi vì töï taùnh laø caùi taùnh bieát cuûa mình. Theå laø voâ theå neáu
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khoâng coù caùi Duïng, vaø Theå laø Duïng. Töï höõu laø töï bieát. Töï theå cuûa
chuùng ta ñöôïc trình baøy bôûi caùi Duïng cuûa chính chuùng ta, vaø vôùi caùi
Duïng naøy theo thuaät ngöõ cuûa Hueä Naêng laø ‘thaáy trong töï taùnh.’ Baøn
tay chaúng phaûi laø baøn tay, noù khoâng hieän höõu cho tôùi luùc noù haùi hoa
cuùng Phaät; cuõng vaäy, baøn chaân khoâng phaûi laø baøn chaân cho ñeán khi naøo
caùi Duïng cuûa noù ñöôïc saép ñaët, vaø khi noù ñöôïc ñaët trong caùi Duïng qua
caàu, loäi suoái hay leo nuùi. Sau thôøi Hueä Naêng, lòch söû nhaø Thieàn ñöôïc
phaùt trieån toái ña veà caùi Duïng : nhöõng keû tham vaán ñaùng toäi nghieäp chæ
nhaän ñöôïc caùi taùt tai, caùi ñaù, caùi ñaám, hay lôøi maéng chöôûi ñeán ñoä kinh
hoaøng töïa nhö moät khaùn giaû ngaây ngoâ. Caùch ñoái xöû thoâ baïo ban ñaàu
naøy vôùi nhöõng thieàn sinh ñöôïc Hueä Naêng môû ñaàu, duø döôøng nhö Ngaøi
kieâng kî thöïc hieän moät aùp duïng thöïc tieãn veà trieát lyù cuûa Duïng. Khi
chuùng ta noùi: “OÂng haõy thaáy töï taùnh mình,” caùi thaáy naøy coù theå xem
nhö moät nhaän thöùc ñôn giaûn, moät caùi bieát ñôn giaûn, moät phaûn aûnh töï
taùnh ñôn giaûn, thanh tònh khoâng oâ nhieãm, noù giöõ gìn phaåm tính naøy nôi
taát caû chuùng sanh cuõng nhö nôi taát caû chö Phaät. Thaàn Tuù vaø nhöõng
ngöôøi theo Ngaøi hieån nhieân ñaõ chaáp nhaän caùi thaáy nhö vaäy. Nhöng kyø
thaät thaáy laø moät haønh ñoäng, moät haønh ñoäng caùch maïng cuûa phaàn tri
thöùc cuûa con ngöôøi maø söï vaän haønh theo quan nieäm ngöï trò töø bao ñôøi ,
baùm vaøo söï phaân tích caùc yù nieäm, nhöõng yù nieäm xaùc ñònh baèng yù nghóa
naêng ñoäng cuûa chuùng. Caùi thaáy, ñaéc bieät theo yù nghóa cuûa Hueä Naêng,
coøn hôn moät caùi nhìn thuï ñoäng, moät caùi bieát ñôn giaûn thaønh töïu trong
chieâm nghieäm caùi tính thanh tònh cuûa töï taùnh raát nhieàu, vôùi Hueä Naêng,
caùi thaáy laø töï taùnh, thò hieän tröôùc maët ngaøi khoâng che daáu, caùi Duïng
khoâng caàn phaûi baûo toàn. ÔÛ ñaây chuùng ta thaáy roõ caùi hoá ngaên caùch lôùn
lao giöõa hai toâng phaùi Baéc toâng thieàn ñònh vaø Nam toâng Baùt Nhaõ.
Trong Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn Kinh, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng baét ñaàu baøi thuyeát giaûng
thaáy taùnh baèng caùch nhaán maïnh ñeán taàm quan troïng cuûa Baùt Nhaõ, maø
moãi ngöôøi trong chuùng ta, ngu cuõng nhö trí, ñeàu ñöôïc phuù cho. Ngaøi
chaáp nhaän caùch thoâng thöôøng ñeå töï dieãn ñaït vì ngaøi khoâng phaûi laø moät
trieát gia. Theo luaän cöù cuûa chính chuùng ta, töï taùnh nhìn thaáy theå cuûa noù
khi noù töï nhìn thaáy chính noù, vì caùi thaáy naøy laø haønh ñoäng cuûa Baùt
Nhaõ. Nhöng vì Baùt Nhaõ laø teân khaùc cuûa töï taùnh khi noù töï thaáy chính noù,
khoâng coù Baùt Nhaõ naøo ngoaøi töï taùnh. Caùi thaáy cuõng ñöôïc goïi laø nhaän
bieát hay laõnh hoäi, hoaëc hôn nöõa, laø kinh nghieäm.
Khi hieåu töï taùnh laø Baùt Nhaõ, vaø cuõng laø Thieàn ñònh, laø noùi veà maët
tónh hay baûn theå hoïc. Baùt Nhaõ coøn coù yù nghóa nhieàu hôn laø nhaän thöùc
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luaän. Baây giôø Hueä Naêng tuyeân boá tính ñoàng nhaát cuûa Baùt Nhaõ vaø
Thieàn ñònh. “Naøy caùc thieän tri thöùc, caùi caên baûn nhaát trong phaùp cuûa toâi
laø Ñònh vaø Hueä. Caùc oâng chôù ñeå bò meâ hoaëc maø tin raèng coù theå taùch rôøi
Ñònh vôùi Hueä. Chuùng chæ laø moät, khoâng phaûi hai. Ñònh laø Theå cuûa Hueä,
vaø Hueä laø Duïng cuûa Ñònh. Khi caùc oâng quaùn Hueä thì thaáy Ñònh ôû trong
Hueä, khi caùc oâng quaùn Ñònh thì thaáy Hueä ôû trong Ñònh. Neáu hieåu ñöôïc
nhö theá, thì Ñònh vaø Hueä luoân ñi ñoâi trong tu taäp. Naøy nhöõng ngöôøi hoïc
ñaïo, chôù noùi tröôùc phaûi coù Ñònh roài Hueä môùi phaùt, vì noùi nhö theá laø
taùch ñoâi noù roài. Nhöõng ngöôøi coù kieán giaûi nhö theá khieán chö phaùp
thaønh nhò nguyeân (coù hai töôùng), nhöõng ngöôøi naøy mieäng noùi maø taâm
khoâng laøm. Hoï xem Ñònh phaân bieät vôùi Hueä. Nhöng nhöõng ngöôøi maø
mieäng vaø taâm hoøa hôïp vôùi nhau, trong ngoaøi nhö moät, thì Ñònh vaø Hueä
ñoàng nhau nhö moät. Caùi quan troïng ñaàu tieân trong trieát hoïc cuûa Ngaøi
Hueä Naêng laø khaùi nieäm veà töï taùnh. Nhöng töï taùnh khoâng phaûi laø thöù
ñöôïc nhaän bieát laø caùi gì ñoù thuoäc veà baûn chaát. Noù khoâng phaûi laø caùi maø
noù toàn taïi khi taát caû caùc söï vaät töông ñoái vaø coù ñieàu kieän ñaõ bò giôùi haïn
trong khaùi nieäm cuûa moät höõu theå caù nhaân. Ñaây khoâng phaûi laø caùi
“ngaõ”, caùi linh hoàn, hay tinh thaàn nhö ngöôøi ta nghó noù theo caùch bình
thöôøng. Noù khoâng thuoäc veà phaïm truø cuûa theá giôùi töông ñoái. Noù cuõng
khoâng phaûi laø thöïc taïi toái thöôïng maø ngöôøi ta thöôøng ñònh danh nhö laø
thöôïng ñeá, tieåu ngaõ hay ñaïi ngaõ (phaïm thieân). Noù khoâng theå ñöôïc ñònh
nghóa theo baát cöù caùch naøo, tuy nhieân, neáu khoâng coù noù, chính caùi theá
giôùi nhö theá giôùi maø chuùng ta thaáy vaø duøng noù trong cuoäc soáng haèng
ngaøy seõ bieán maát. Noùi raèng noù coù töùc laø phuû nhaän noù. Ñaây laø moät söï
vaät kyø laï.

The Emptiness of Self-Nature

According to Buddhism, absolute emptiness (the sbsolute sunyata)

means original nature or self-nature (Buddha nature, self-entity, or
one’s own Buddha-nature), that which constitutes the essential nature
of a thing. What is meant by Emptiness of Self-nature (Self-substance)?
It is because there is no birth of self-substance by itself. That is to say,
individualization is the construction of our own mind; to think that there
are in reality individual objects as such, is an illusion; they have no
self-substance, therefore, they are said to be empty. In the Lankavatara
Sutra, the Buddha told Mahamati: “Oh Mahamati, the nature of
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existence is not as it is discriminated by the ignorant.” Things in the

phenomenal world are transient, momentary, and without duration;
hence they have no self-nature. Also according to The Lankavatara
Sutra, there are seven types of self-nature. Self-entity means original
or natural form of something, or original or primary substance.
Original nature, contrasted to supreme spirit or purusha. Original nature
is always pure in its original essence. Self-entity also means original or
primary substance is an original or natural form or condition of
anything. Self-entity or Buddha nature, coming from the root, the
original or Buddha-nature, which is the real nature of all things.
Besides, self-entity also means original nature, original essence,
fundamental form, or original sources. In the traditional terminology of
Buddhism, self-nature is Buddha-nature, that which makes up
Buddhahood; it is absolute Emptiness, Sunyata, it is absolute Suchness,
Tathata. May it be called Pure Being, the term used in Western
philosophy? While it has nothing to do yet with a dualistic world of
subject and object, it is called “Mind” (with the capital initial letter),
and also the Unconscious. A Buddhist phraseology is saturated with
psychological terms, and as religion is principally concerned with the
philosophy of life. These terms, Mind and Unconscious, are here used
as synonymous with Self-nature, but the utmost care is to be taken not
to confuse them with those of empirical psychology; for we have not
yet come to this; we are speaking of a transcendental world where no
such shadows are yet traceable. In this self-nature there is a movement,
an awakening and the Unconscious of itself. This is not the region
where the question “Why” or “How” can be asked. The awakening or
movement or whatever it may be called is to be taken as a fact which
goes beyond refutation. The bell rings, and I hear its vibrations as
transmitted through the air. This is a plain fact of perception. In the
same way, the rise of consciousness in the Unconscious is a matter of
experience; no mystery is connected with it, but, logically stated, there
is an apparent contradiction, which once started goes on contradicting
itself eternally. Whatever this is, we have now a self-conscious
Unconscious or a self-reflecting Mind. Thus, transformed, Self-nature
is known as Prajna.
In Abhidharma, “svabhava” is said to be defining character of a
dharma. Thus, softness, for example, is the defining charatceristic of
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water, and hardness of earth. Any sort of essence, either for simple
atomic elements or complex wholes, is denied in Madhyamaka, which
extends the logic of selflessness (anatman) to all phenomena. All
things without exception are said to lack any enduring essence or self.
Because things are collections of parts and are produced in dependence
upon causes and conditions, they do not exist by way of their own
nature, but rather only exist conventionally. Thus their final nature is
emptiness (sunyata). This does not mean, however, that things do not
exist; rather, they do exist in the way that they appear to the cognition
of deluded beings. The term “svabhava” is used in the Lankavatara
Sutra at least in two senses. When it means “self-substance” making up
the substratum of the individual being, it is synonymous with “atman”
and “pudgala.” It also means the reason or suchness of existence, in
which case it is identical with “tathata.” Mahayana Buddhism sees all
things as empty of self-nature, devoid of self sufficient, idependent
existence or lasting substance. This, however, does not mean that they
do not exist, the existence is purely outside appearance and do not
constitute the true reality. Svabhava literally means ‘own being.’
Candrakirti says that this word has been used in Buddhist philosophy in
two ways: 1) the essence or special property of a thing, e.g., ‘heat is the
svabhava or special property of fire.’ In this world an attribute which
always accompanies an object, never parts from it, that, not being
indissolubly connected with any thing else, is known as the svabhava,
i.e., special property of that object; 2) svabhava (own-being) as the
contrary of parabhava (other-being). Candrakirti says, “Svabhava is the
own being, the very nature of a thing.” Nagarjuna says: “That is really
svabhava which is not brought about by anything else, unproduced
(akrtrimah), that which is not dependent on, not relative to anything
other than itself, non-contingent, unconditioned.”
Self-nature is self-knowledge; it is not mere being but knowing.
We can say that because of knowing itself, it is; knowing as being, and
being is knowing. This is the meaning of the statement made by Hui-
Neng that: “In original nature itself, there is Prajna knowledge, and
because of this self-knowledge. Nature reflects itself in itself, which is
self-illumination not to be expressed in words. When Hui-Neng speaks
of Prajna knowledge as if it is born of self-nature, this is due to the way
of thinking which then prevailed, and often involves us in a
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complicated situation, resulting in the dualism of self-nature and

Prajna, which is altogether against the spirit of Hui Neng’s Zen thought.
However this may be, we have now come to Prajna, which must be
explained in the light of Dhyana, in accordance with Mahayanist
signification. In Mahayana philosophy, there are three concepts which
have been resorted to by scholars to explain between substance and its
function. They are body, form, and use, which first appeared in “The
Awakening of Faith” in the Mahayana, usually ascribed to Asvaghosa.
Body corresponds to substance, Form to appearance, and Use to
function. The apple is a reddish, round-shaped object: this is its Form,
in which it appeals to our senses. Form belongs to the world of senses,
i.e. appearance. Its Use includes all that it does and stands for, its
values, its utility, its function, and so on. Lastly, the Body of the apple
is what constitutes its appleship, without which it loses its being, and no
apple, even with all the appearances and functions ascribed to it, is an
apple without it. To be a real object these three concepts, Body, Form,
and Use, must be accounted for. To apply these concepts to our object
of discourse here, self-nature is the Body and Prajna its Use, whereas
there is nothing here corresponding to Form because the subject does
not belong to the world of form. There is the Buddha-nature, Hui-Neng
would argue, which makes up the reason of Buddhahood; and this is
present in all beings, constituting their self-nature. The object of Zen
discipline is to recognize it, and to be released from error, which are
the passions. How is the recognition possible, one may inquire? It is
possible because self-nature is self-knowledge. The Body is nobody
without its Use, and the Body is the Use. To be itself is to know itself.
By using itself, its being is demonstrated, and this using is, in Hui-
Neng’s terminology ‘seeing into one’s own Nature.’ Hands are no
hands, have no existence, until they pick up flowers and offer them to
the Buddha; so with legs, they are no legs, non-entities, unless their
Use is set to work, and they walk over the bridge, ford the stream, and
climb the mountain. Hence the history of Zen after Hui-Neng
developed this philosophy of Use to its fullest extent: the poor
questioner was slapped, kicked, beaten, or called names to his utter
bewilderment, and also to that of the innocent spectators. The initiative
to this ‘rough’ treatment of the Zen students was given by Hui-Neng,
though he seems to have refrained from making any practical
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application of his philosophy of Use. When we say, ‘see into your self-
nature’, the seeing is apt to be regarded as mere perceiving, mere
knowing, mere statically reflecting on self-nature, which is pure and
undefiled, and which retains this quality in all beings as well as in all
the Buddhas. Shen-Hsiu and his followers undoubtedly took this view
of seeing. But as a matter of fact, the seeing is an act, a revolutionary
deed on the part of the human understanding whose function have
been supposed all the time to be logically analyzing ideas, ideas
sensed from their dynamic signification. The ‘seeing, especially in Hui-
Neng’s sense, was far more than a passive deed of looking at, a mere
knowledge obtained from contemplating the purity of self-nature; the
seeing with him was self-nature itself, which exposes itself before him
in all nakedness, and functions without any reservation. Herein we
observe the great gap between the Northern School of Dhyana and the
Southern School of Prajna.’ In the Platform Sutra, the Sixth Patriarch,
Hui-Neng opens his sermon with the seeing into one’s self-nature by
means of Prajna, with which everyone of us, whether wise or ignorant,
is endowed. He adopts the conventional way of expressing himself, as
he is no original philosopher. In our own reasoning, self-nature finds its
own being when it sees itself, and this seeing takes place by Prajna.
But as Prajna is another name given to self-nature when the latter sees
itself, there is no Prajna outside self-nature. The seeing is also called
recognizing or understanding, or, better, experiencing.
Self-nature is Prajna, and also Dhyana when it is viewed, as it
were, statically or ontologically. Prajna is more of epistemological
significance. Now Hui-Neng declares the oneness of Prajna and
Dhyana. “Oh good friends, in my teaching what is most fundamental is
Dhyana and Prajna. And friends, do not be deceived and led to thinking
that Dhyana and Prajna are separable. They are one, and not two.
Dhyana is the Body of Prajna, and Prajna is the Use of Dhyana. When
Prajna is taken up, Dhyana is in Prajna; when Dhyana is taken up,
Prajna is in it. When this understood, Dhyana and Prajna go hand in
hand in the practice of meditation. Oh, followers of the truth, do not say
that Dhyana is first attained and then Prajna is awakened; for they are
separate. Those who advocate this view make a duality of the Dharma;
they are those who affirm with the mouth and negate in the heart. They
regard Dhyana as distinct from Prajna. But with those whose mouth and
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heart are in agreement, the inner and outer are one, and Dhyana and
Prajna are regarded as equal. What comes first in importance in the
philosophy of Hui-Neng is the idea of self-nature. But self-nature is not
to be conceived as something of substance. It is not the last residue left
behind after all things relative and conditional have been extracted
from the notion of an individual being. It is not the self, or the soul, or
the spirit, as ordinarily regarded. It is not something belonging to any
categories of the understanding. It does not belong to this world of
relativities. Nor is it the highest reality which is generally ascribed to
God or to Atman or to Brahma. It cannot be described or defined in any
possible way, but without it the world even as we see it and use it in
our everyday life collapses. To say it is is to deny it. It is a strange
thing.
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Chöông Ba Möôi Boán

Chapter Thirty-Four

Boán Khoâng Xöù

Boán Khoâng Xöù hay Töù Khoâng Xöù coøn goïi laø Töù Voâ Saéc, Töù Voâ
Saéc Giôùi, Töù Khoâng Ñònh, hay Töù Khoâng Thieân theo quan ñieåm Phaät
Giaùo Ñaïi Thöøa. Töù khoâng xöù hay boán caûnh trôøi voâ saéc, laø quaû cho
nhöõng haønh giaû ñaéc ñöôïc boán baäc thieàn voâ saéc. Khoâng Voâ Bieân Thieân:
Taâm thieän ñeo níu trong traïng thaùi “khoâng voâ bieân thieân”. Thöùc Voâ
Bieân Thieân: Taâm thieän ñeo níu trong traïng thaùi “thöùc voâ bieân thieân”.
Voâ Sôû Höõu Thieân: Taâm thieän ñeo níu trong traïng thaùi “voâ sôû höõu
thieân”. Phi Töôûng Phi Phi Töôûng Thieân: Taâm thieän ñeo níu trong traïng
thaùi “phi töôûng phi phi töôûng thieân”. Thöù nhaát laø Khoâng Voâ Bieân Xöù:
Coøn goïi laø Hö Khoâng Xöù, khoâng xöù ñaàu tieân trong Töù Khoâng Xöù. Khi
caùi taâm ñöôïc taùch khoûi caûnh giôùi hình vaø chaát, ñöôïc ñaëc bieät ñöa thaúng
ñeán khoâng gian voâ bieân thì noù ñöôïc goïi laø ñang truù trong khoâng voâ
bieân xöù. Ñeå ñaït ñeán coõi naày, haønh giaû ñaõ ñaït tôùi taàng thieàn thöù naêm
trong saéc giôùi coù theå trau doài thieàn voâ saéc, baét ñaàu gom taâm vaøo ñieåm
saùng phaùt ra töø ñeà muïc hay ñoái töôïng (kasina), cho ñeán khi naøo ñieåm
saùng aáy lôùn daàn ñeán bao truøm toaøn theå khoâng gian. Ñeán ñaây haønh giaû
khoâng coøn thaáy gì khaùc ngoaøi aùnh saùng naày, cuøng khaép moïi nôi. Töø
ngöõ Khoâng Voâ Bieân Xöù hay khoâng gian ñaày aùnh saùng naày khoâng coù
thöïc, khoâng phaûi laø moät thöïc taïi, maø chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm (khoâng gian
phaùt huy töø ñoái töôïng). Ñaây laø coõi trôøi voâ bieân nôi maø taâm trôû neân
vaéng laëng vaø voâ taän nhö hö khoâng. Thoï meänh trong coõi trôøi naày coù theå
daøi ñeán 20.000 ñaïi kieáp. Thöù nhì laø Thöùc Voâ Bieân Xöù: Sau khi ñaït
ñöôïc traïng thaùi “Khoâng Voâ Bieân Xöù,” haønh giaû tieáp tuïc gom taâm vaøo
sô thieàn voâ saéc cho ñeán luùc phaùt trieån nhò thieàn voâ saéc, hay khi caùi taâm
vöôït khoûi caùi khoâng gian voâ bieân maø taäp trung vaøo söï voâ bieân cuûa thöùc.
Ñaây laø coõi trôøi voâ taän trí nôi maø khaû naêng hieåu bieát vaø thaåm thaáu laø voâ
taän. Thoï meänh trong coõi trôøi naày coù theå keùo daøi ñeán 40.000 ñaïi kieáp.
Thöù ba laø Voâ Sôû Höõu Xöù: Ñeà muïc cuûa taàng thieàn voâ saéc thöù ba laø
“khoâng coù gì heát,” nôi ñaây haønh giaû phaûi chuù yù vaøo söï vaéng maët cuûa
“thöùc” trong nhò thieàn voâ saéc. Khi maø taâm cuûa haønh giaû vöôït khoûi caû
caùi caûnh giôùi cuûa thöùc maø thaáy khoâng coù choã naøo rieâng ñeå truù, thì noù
ñaït ñöôïc caùi ñònh goïi laø “Khoâng bieát choã naøo ñeå hieän höõu.” Ñaây laø coõi
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trôøi voâ höõu nôi khoâng coøn söï phaân bieät. Thoï meänh trong coõi trôøi naày coù
theå keùo daøi ñeán 60.000 ñaïi kieáp. Thöù tö laø Phi Töôûng Phi Phi Töôûng
Xöù: Goïi laø “Phi Töôûng Phi Phi Töôûng Xöù” vì ôû traïng thaùi naày, “töôûng”
khoâng theå ñöôïc bao goàm maø cuõng khoâng theå bò loaïi tröø. maø cuõng
khoâng coù “khoâng töôûng.” Baûn chaát cuûa caùi ñònh naày laø khoâng ôû trong
caûnh giôùi hoaït ñoäng cuûa taâm thöùc maø cuõng khoâng ôû ngoaøi caûnh giôùi aáy.
Ñaây laø coõi trôøi voâ töôûng, nôi chæ coøn trí tröïc giaùc chöù khoâng coøn suy
töôûng nöõa. Thoï meänh trong coõi trôøi naày coù theå keùo daøi ñeán 80.000 ñaïi
kieáp.

The Four Immaterial or Formless Realms

The four Immaterial or Formless Heavens, arupa-dhatu, above the

eighteen brahmalokas, according to the point of views of Mahayana
Buddhism. The four formlesss realms are four formless heaven which
are the fruits of practitioners who have reached the four arupa jhanas.
The Akasanancayatana or the infinity of space: Moral or wholesome
consciousness dwells in the infinity of space. The Vinnanancayatana or
the infinity of consciousness: Moral or wholesome consciousness
dwells on the infinity of consciousness. The Akincannayatana or the
Nothingness: Moral or wholesome consciousness dwells on
nothingness. The N’eva sanna n’asannayatana or the Neither
perception, nor non-perception: Moral or wholesome consciousness
dwells in the neither perception nor non-perception. The first Formless
Heaven is the Akasanantya-yatanam: The first of the four immaterial
jhanas. When the mind, separated from the realm of form and matter, is
exclusively directed towards infinite space, it is said to be abiding in
the Akasanantya-yatanam. To reach this, a meditator who has mastered
the fifth fine-material jhana based on a “kasina” object spreads out the
counterpart sign of the “kasina” until it becomes immeasurable in
extent. The he removes the “kasina” by attending only to the space it
pervaded, contemplating it as “infinite space.” The expression “base of
infinite space,” strictly speaking, refers to the concept of infinite space
which serves as the object of the first immaterial-sphere consciousness.
This is the state or heaven of boundless space, where the mind
becomes void and vast like space. Existence in this stage may last
20,000 great kalpas. The second Formless Heaven is the
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Vijnananantyayatanam: After attaining the state of the base of infinite

space, meditator continues to concentrate on this state of “infinite
space” until he takes as object the consciousness of the base of infinite
space, and contemplates it as “infinite consciousness” until the second
immaterial absorption arises, or when the mind going beyond infinite
space is concentrated on the infinitude of consciousness it is said to be
abiding in the Vijnananantya. This is the state or heaven of boundless
knowledge. Where the powers of perception and understanding are
unlimited. Existence in this stage may last 40,000 great kalpas. The
third Formless Heaven is the Akincanyatanam: The third immaterial
attainment has its object the present non-existence or voidness.
Meditators must give attention to the absence of that consciousness in
the second immaterial-sphere consciousness. When the mind going
even beyond the realm of consciousness finds no special resting abode,
it acquires the concentration called “knowing nowhere to be.” This is
the state or heaven of nothing or non-existence. Where the
discriminative powers of mind are subdued. Existence in this stage may
last 60,000 great kalpas. The fourth Formless Heaven is the Naivasam-
jnanasanjnayatanam: This fourth and final immaterial attainment is so
called because it cannot be said either to include perception or to
exclude perception. The nature of this concentration is neither in the
sphere of mental activities nor out of it. This is the state or heaven of
neither thinking nor not thinking which may resemble a state of
intuition. The realm of consciousness or knowledge without thought is
reached (intuitive wisdom). Existence in this stage may last to 80,000
great kalpas.
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Chöông Ba Möôi Laêm

Chapter Thirty-Five

Khoâng Luaän

Theo Giaùo Sö Junjiro Takakusu trong Cöông Yeáu Trieát Hoïc Phaät
Giaùo, “Khoâng” laø moät trong tam ñeá cuûa toâng Thieân Thai, hai chaân lyù
kia laø Giaû ñeá vaø Trung ñeá. Theo toâng naày thì caû ba chaân lyù aáy laø ba
trong moät, moät trong ba. Nguyeân lyù thì laø moät, nhöng phöông phaùp dieãn
nhaäp laïi laø ba. Moãi moät trong ba ñeàu coù giaù trò toaøn dieän. Moïi söï theå
ñeàu khoâng coù hieän thöïc tính vaø do ñoù, taát caû ñeàu khoâng. Vì vaäy, khi
luaän chöùng cuûa chuùng ta y cöù treân “Khoâng,” chuùng ta coi “Khoâng” nhö
laø sieâu vieät taát caû ba. Nhö vaäy, caû thaûy ñeàu laø “Khoâng.” Vaø khi moät laø
khoâng thì caû thaûy ñeàu laø “Khoâng.” (Nhaát khoâng nhaát thieát khoâng, nhaát
giaû nhaát thieát giaû, nhaát trung nhaát thieát trung). Chuùng coøn ñöôïc goïi laø
“Töùc khoâng, töùc giaû, vaø töùc trung,” hay Vieân Dung Tam Ñeá, ba chaân lyù
ñuùng hôïp troøn ñaày, hay laø tuyeät ñoái tam ñeá, ba chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái.
Chuùng ta khoâng neân coi ba chaân lyù naày nhö laø caùch bieät nhau, bôûi vì caû
ba thaâm nhaäp laãn nhau vaø cuõng tìm thaáy söï dung hoøa vaø hôïp nhaát hoaøn
toaøn. Moät söï theå laø khoâng nhöng cuõng laø giaû höõu. Noù laø giaû bôûi vi noù
khoâng, vaø roài, moät söï laø khoâng, ñoàng thôøi laø giaû cho neân cuõng laø trung.
Khoâng Luaän coøn ñöôïc goïi laø Baát Chaân Khoâng Luaän. Baøi luaän veà
Khoâng cuûa Sö Taêng Trieäu (374-414). Moät trong nhöõng taùc phaåm chính
lieân quan ñeán nhò ñeá cuûa Sö Taêng Trieäu laø baøi luaän veà Khoâng, moät baøi
chuù giaûi ngaén khoaûng treân moät trang. Baøi vieát naøy duøng khaùi nieäm veà
nhò ñeá ñeå luaän veà yù nghóa cuûa Khoâng. Sau phaàn giôùi thieäu ngaén Sö
Taêng Trieäu chæ thaúng vaøo nhöõng chuù giaûi veà Khoâng maø Sö chia laøm ba
khuynh höôùng. Thöù nhaát laø Taâm Khoâng: Taâm roäng lôùn nhö hö khoâng
chöùa ñöïng chö phaùp. Moät trong nhöõng khuynh höôùng trong Phaät giaùo
giaûi thích thuaät ngöõ "Sunyata" laø "Taâm Khoâng." "Sunyata" chæ cho caùi
"khoâng" cuûa taâm khi noù khoâng khaùi nieäm hoùa hoaëc phaûn aûnh veà söï vaät,
nhöng khoâng coù nghóa raèng söï vaät töï noù khoâng hieän höõu. Sö Taêng
Trieäu chæ trích quan ñieåm naøy vaø noùi raèng maëc daàu söï tónh laëng cuûa
taâm laø quan troïng, nhöng khoâng ñuùng khi rôi vaøo söï chaáp khoâng, hoaëc
chaáp vaøo söï vaéng maët cuûa söï töôùng. Thöù nhì laø Töùc Saéc hay Ñoàng vôùi
saéc: Theo Sö Taêng Trieäu, saéc hoaëc hieän töôïng laø khoâng vì chính noù
khoâng coù hình töôùng. Taêng Trieäu noùi raèng quan ñieåm naøy ñuùng neáu
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hình töôùng khoâng hieän höõu ñoäc laäp, nhöng tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhöõng yeáu toá
khaùc ñeå coù maët. Sau ñoù Sö pheâ bình quan ñieåm naøy khoâng böôùc moät
böôùc xa hôn ñeå noùi raèng "töôùng laø voâ töôùng," vaø "khoâng" cuõng khoâ ng
coù maët moät caùch ñoäc laäp. Thöù ba laø Boån Voâ: Vaïn phaùp coù söï hieän höõu
töø hö voâ. Quan ñieåm naøy gioáng nhö truyeàn thoáng Laõo giaùo veà söï thaønh
hình cuûa theá giôùi töø choã voâ cöïc, nhöng Sö Taêng Trieäu noùi raèng khi kinh
Phaät thuyeát veà vaïn phaùp khoâng, vôùi yù nghóa raèng vaïn phaùp khoâng coù
moät ñònh taùnh vaø thieáu chuû teå. Kinh Phaät khoâng phuû nhaän toaøn trieät taát
caû hieän höõu, cuõng khoâng xaùc ñònh veà hö voâ. Caùch trình baøy naøy cuûa Sö
Taêng Trieäu veà caùch giaûi thích veà "Sunyata" quaù mô hoà neân haønh giaû tu
Phaät veà sau naøy khoù bieát ñöôïc noäi dung cuûa noù. Chuùng ta coù theå keát
luaän baèng caùch ñöa ra nhöõng söï nhaän xeùt ñoái vôùi söï hieåu bieát cuûa Sö
Taêng Trieäu veà nhò ñeá. Thöù nhaát, chaân ñeá vöôït treân ngoân ngöõ thoâng
thöôøng vaø khoâng theå ñöôïc dieãn taû moät caùch ñaày ñuû baèng lôøi. Thöù hai,
noäi dung cuûa chaân ñeá, tuy nhieân, coù theå ñöôïc dieãn taû moät caùch phuû
ñònh raèng khoâng coù moät chuû teå, nhöng cuõng chaúng phaûi laø khoâng coù gì,
vì taát caû caùc phaùp laø söï taäp hôïp cuûa nhieàu nhaân duyeân phöùc taïp. Sau
cuøng, Sö Taêng Trieäu ñöôïc cho laø ngöôøi ñaõ ñöa ra söï ñoàng nhaát cuûa nhò
ñeá, vaø laøm saùng toû söï khaùc bieät cuûa truyeàn thoáng Trung Hoa trong loái
giaûi thích veà chöõ "Voâ" nhö hö voâ, vaø chöõ "Khoâng" trong truyeàn thoáng
Baùt Nhaõ.
Ngoaøi ra, Thieàn sö Taêng Trieäu coøn vieát boä Trieäu Luaän bao goàm
boán baøi luaän: "Vaïn Vaät Khoâng Thay Ñoåi," "Khoâng Taùnh Cuûa Caùi
Khoâng Thaät," "Baùt Nhaõ Khoâng Caàn Ñeán Trí Thöùc," vaø "Nieát Baøn Voâ
Danh." Nhöõng baøi luaän naøy coù leõ ñöôïc soaïn töø khoaûng naên 404 ñeán
naêm 414, maëc daàu ngöôøi ta khoâng bieát laø laàn ñaàu tieân boä luaän ñöôïc
hoaøn taát hoài naøo. Trieäu Luaän laø moät trong nhöõng vaên baûn neàn taûng cuûa
tröôøng phaùi Tam Luaän Toâng ôû Trung Hoa. Boä luaän cuõng ñöôïc caùc
tröôøng phaùi Hoa Nghieâm vaø Thieàn ñaùnh giaù cao. Vì lyù do naøy maø toaøn
boä vaên baûn ñaõ xuaát hieän nhö laø moät phaàn cuûa boä Caûnh Ñöùc Truyeàn
Ñaêng Luïc. Boä luaän ñöôïc Haùm Sôn troâng coi vieäc kieåm soaùt vaø saép xeáp
aán loaùt, vaø vò Tröôûng quan cuûa Haø Ñoâng, Trung Hoa aán haønh vaøo naêm
1574. Moät baûn ñaày ñuû ñöôïc phieân dòch sang Anh ngöõ bôûi Walter
Liebenthal trong boä "Saùch Cuûa Trieäu". Theo Haùm Sôn Töï Truyeän, ban
ñaàu Haùm Sôn gaëp nhieàu khoù khaên vì khoâng hieåu noåi luaän "Vaät Baát
Thieân" cuûa Trieäu, nhaát laø veà phaàn Toaøn Lam vaø Yeån Nhaïc laø Haùm
Sôn ñaõ thaéc maéc töø baáy laâu nay. Nhöng laàn naøy khi xem ñeán choã vò
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Phaïm Chí giaø trôû veà nhaø sau khi laøm Taêng só caû ñôøi vaø nghe haøng xoùm
keâu leân: "OÀ, xem kia caùi ngöôøi ngaøy xöa vaãn coøn!" vaø vò Phaïm Chí traû
lôøi: "Khoâng ñaâu, troâng toâi coù theå gioáng ngöôøi ngaøy xöa aáy, nhöng thaät
ra toâi khoâng phaûi laø haén." Ñoïc qua nhöõng lôøi naøy, Haùm Sôn hoaùt nhieân
ngoä. Sau ñoù, oâng töï nhuû: "Thaät ra, vaïn phaùp naøo coù lai khöù! OÂi, chaân lyù
naøy ñuùng bieát döôøng naøo!"
Noùi toùm laïi, theo phaùi Trung Quaùn Luaän, nhaø khoâng luaän khoâng
phaûi laø ngöôøi hay hoaøi nghi trieät ñeå cuõng khoâng phaûi laø ngöôøi theo
thuyeát hö voâ reõ tieàn, phuû ñònh söï hieän höõu cuûa chö phaùp vì lôïi ích cuûa
chính noù hoaëc ngöôøi thích thuù trong vieäc tuyeân boá raèng chính ngöôøi aáy
cuõng khoâng coù hieän höõu. Muïc tieâu cuûa ngöôøi aáy chæ ñôn giaûn cho thaáy
raèng taát caû caùc phaùp hieän töôïng treân theá giôùi naøy cuoái cuøng ñöôïc xem
laø chaân thöôøng, chaân ngaõ vaø chaân laïc, ñoù laø yù nghóa cuûa taùnh khoâng.
Do ñoù söï töï maâu thuaãn vaø töông ñoái chæ laø söï taïm xuaát hieän theo nhaân
duyeân vaø chöõ nghóa maø thoâi. Kyø thaät, nhaø khoâng luaän thích thuù tuyeân
boá caùc phaùp hieän töôïng laø moäng aûo, laø giaác mô, aûo töôûng, hoa ñoám, laø
con trai cuûa ngöôøi ñaøn baø voâ sanh, laø phaùp thuaät, vaân vaân, ñaõ tuyeân boá
raèng taát caû chuùng laø tuyeät ñoái khoâng thaät. Nhöng ñaây khoâng phaûi laø
muïc tieâu thaät söï cuûa ngöôøi aáy. Ngöôøi aáy muoán moâ taû ñôn giaûn nhöng
nhaán maïnh ñeán thöïc taïi toái haäu khoâng thaät cuûa chö phaùp. Ngöôøi aáy
khaúng ñònh nhieàu laàn moät caùch döùt khoaùt raèng ngöôøi aáy khoâng phaûi laø
ngöôøi theo thuyeát hö voâ, hay laø ngöôøi theo chuû tröông phuû ñònh tuyeät
ñoái, maø thaät ra ngöôøi aáy vaãn duy trì Thöïc taïi thöïc nghieäm cuûa chö
phaùp. Nhaø khoâng luaän bieát raèng söï phuû ñònh tuyeät ñoái laø khoâng theå bôûi
vì söï caàn thieát cuûa söï khaúng ñònh tröôùc. Ngöôøi aáy chæ phuû nhaän thöïc taïi
toái haäu cuûa caû hai söï phuû ñònh vaø khaúng ñònh maø thoâi. Ngöôøi aáy chæ
trích khaû naêng tri thöùc töø laäp tröôøng toái haäu chæ bôûi bieát raèng quyeàn löïc
cuûa noù laø khoâng theå baùc boû trong theá giôùi thöïc nghieäm. Ngöôøi aáy muoán
raèng chuùng ta neân phaùt khôûi nhöõng phaïm truø ôû treân vaø nhöõng maâu
thuaãn cuûa trí naêng vaø chaáp thuû thöïc taïi. Ngöôøi aáy khaúng ñònh thöïc taïi
nhö noù ñaõ xuaát hieän vaø cho raèng thöïc taïi laø noäi taïi trong söï xuaát hieän
vaø roài chuyeån hoùa taát caû chuùng, thöïc taïi laø moät thöïc theå khoâng ñoái ñaõi,
haïnh phuùc vaø vöôït leân khoûi laäp luaän, nôi maø taát caû ña nguyeân khôûi leân.
Ñaây laø moät söï thaønh laäp bieän chöùng trong Taùnh khoâng maø chuùng ta
neân quan saùt. ÔÛ ñaây, trí thöùc ñöôïc chuyeån thaønh nhöõng Chöùng nghieäm
Thuaàn tònh.
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Commentaries on Sunyata

According to Prof. Junjiro Takakusu in The Essentials of Buddhist

Philosophy, this is one of the three truths of the T’ien-T’ai School, the
other two are the truth of temporariness and the truth of mean.
According to this school the three truths are three in one, one in three.
The principle is one but the method of explanation is threefold. Each
one of the three has the value of all. All things have no reality and,
therefore, are void. Therefore, when our argument is based on the void,
we deny the existence of both the temporary and the middle, since we
consider the void as transcending all. Thus, the three will all be void.
And, when one is void, all will be void (When one is void, all will be
void; when one is temporary, all is temporary; when one is middle, all
will be middle). They are also called the identical void, identical
temporary and identical middle. It is also said to be the perfectly
harmonious triple truth or the absolute triple truth. We should not
consider the three truths as separate because the three penetrate one
another and are found perfectly harmonized and united together. A
thing is void but is also temporarily existent. It is temporary because it
is void, and the fact that everything is void and at the same time
temporary is the middle truth.
Seng Chao's Treatise on state of emptiness or Essay on Sunyata.
One of the major works of Seng Chao which deals with the topic of the
two truths is an essay on Sunyata, a short composition which takes up a
little more than one page. It discusses the meaning of Sunyata utilizing
the concept of the two truths. After a short introduction Seng Chao
refers straight to his interpretations of Sunyata which he divides into
three trends. First, Mind-space, or mind spaciousness: Mind holding
all things like space. One of the Buddhist trends is to explain "Sunyata"
as "mental negation": "Sunyata" refers to the "emptiness" of the mind
when it does not conceptualize or reflect about things, but does not
mean that things themselves do not exist. Master Seng Chao (374-414)
criticizes this position by pointing out that, though it is correct
concerning the importance of a calm mind, it is incorrect in failing to
perceive the emptiness, or lack of Being, of phenomenal things.
Second, Identical with form (rupa): According to Master Seng Chao
(374-414), form, or phenomenal matter, is empty because it is not form
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in itself. Seng Chao points out that this is correct insofar as form is not
independentlyexistent but depends on other things for its existence. He
then criticizes this position for not going one step further to point out
that "form is no form," and that "emptiness" has no independent
existence either. Third, Original non-Being: All things derive their
existence from an original state of nothingness. This view was
compatible with traditional Taosit ideas of the primordial nothingness
out of which the world emerged, but Master Seng Chao (374-414)
points out that when the Buddhist Sutras speak of things not existing, it
is meant that they do not have ultimate existence and lack substantial
Being. The Buddhist texts are not nihilistically denying all existence
nor affirming the idea of a primordial nothingness. Seng Chao's
presentation of this interpretation of "Sunyata" is so ambiguous that it
is difficult for Buddhist practitioners to know for sure the content. We
can conclude by making the following observations concerning Seng
Chao's understanding of the two truths. First, the real truth is beyond
common language and cannot be adequately verbalized. Second, the
content of the real truth can nevertheless be described negatively as
neither substantial being nor complete nothingness because all dharmas
are a complex of causes and conditions. Finally, Seng Chao can be
credited with pointing out the ultimate unity of the two truths and for
clarifying the difference between traditional Chinese interpretations of
non-existence as prinordial nothingness and the interpretation of
Sunyata in the traditional Buddhist prajna tradition.
Besides, Zen master Seng Chao also composed Seng Chao's
Treatise. The Chao-lun comprises four essays, "Things are Without
Change," "The Emptiness of the Unreal," "Prajna is Without
Knowledge," and "The Namelessness of Nirvana." The essays were
probably composed between 404 and 414, although it is unknown when
the compilation was first completed. The Chao-lun served as one of the
foundation texts of the San-lun school of Chinese Buddhism. It was
also highly valued by the Hua-yen and Zen schools. For this reason, the
entire text appears as one section of the Transmission of the Lamp. The
Treatise edited and checked by Han Shan, and published by the
Magistrate of Ho-Tung in 1574. A complete English translation was
prepared by Walter Liebenthal in his Book of Chao. According to Han
Shan's Authobiography, first, Han Shan had had difficult understanding
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the thesis, "On Immutability", by Shao, especially the part about the
Whirlwind and the Resting Mountain, on which Han Shan had had
doubts for some years. But this time when he reached the point where
the aged Brahmin returned home after his lifetime of priesthood and
heard his neighbors exclaim, "Oh, look, the man of old days still
exists!" to which he replied, "Oh no, I may look that old man, but
actually I am not he," Han Shan suddenly was awakened. Then he said
to himself, "In reality, all dharmas have no coming and no going! Oh,
how true, how true this is!"
In short, according to the Madhyamikas, the Sunyavadin is neither
a thorough-going sceptic nor a cheap nihilist who doubts and denies the
existence of everything for its own sake or who relishes in shouting
that he does not exist. His object is simply to show that all world-
objects when taken to be ultimately real, will be found self-
contraditctory and relative and hence mere appearances. In fact, the
Sunyavadin indulges in condemning all phenomena to be like illusion,
dream, mirage, sky-flower, son of a barren woman, magic, etc., which
suggest that they are something absolutely unreal. But this is not his
real object. He indulges in such descriptions simply to emphasize the
ultimate unreality of all phenomena. He emphatically asserts again and
again that he is not a nihilist who advocates absolute negation, that he,
on the other hand, maintains the empirical Reality of all phenomena.
He knows that absolute negation is impossible because it necessarily
presupposes affirmation. He only denies the ultimate reality of both
affirmation and negation. He condemns intellect from the ultimate
standpoint only for he knows that its authority is unquestionable in the
empirical world. He wants that we should rise above the categories and
the the contradictions of the intellect and embrace Reality. He asserts
that it is the Real itself which appears. He maintains that Reality is the
non-dual Absolute, Blissful and beyond intellect, where all plurality is
merged. This is the constructive side of the dialectic in Sunyata which
we propose to consider now. Here intellect is transformed into Pure
Experience.
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Chöông Ba Möôi Saùu

Chapter Thirty-Six

Hieåu Veà Khoâng Theo Quan Ñieåm Cuûa

Moät Soá Toâng Phaùi Phaät Giaùo

Nhö treân ñaõ ñeà caäp, chö phaùp khoâng hay laø hö khoâng, troáng roãng
(söï khoâng coù tính chaát caù bieät hay ñoäc laäp), voâ thöôøng, vaø khoâng coù töï
ngaõ. Nghóa laø vaïn phaùp khoâng coù töï tính, maø tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân
duyeân, vaø thieáu haún töï taùnh. Vì vaäy moät con ngöôøi noùi laø khoâng coù “töï
taùnh” vì con ngöôøi aáy ñöôïc keát hôïp bôûi nhieàu thöù khaùc nhau, nhöõng thöù
aáy luoân thay ñoåi vaø hoaøn toaøn tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân. Tuy nhieân,
Phaät töû nhìn yù nieäm veà “khoâng” trong ñaïo Phaät moät caùch tích cöïc treân
söï hieän höõu, vì noù aùm chæ moïi vaät ñeàu luoân bieán chuyeån, nhôø vaäy môùi
môû roäng ñeå höôùng veà töông lai. Neáu vaïn höõu coù taùnh chaát khoâng bieán
chuyeån, thì taát caû ñeàu bò keït ôû nhöõng hoaøn caûnh hieän taïi maõi maõi
khoâng thay ñoåi, moät ñieàu khoâng theå naøo xaûy ra ñöôïc. Phaät töû thuaàn
thaønh phaûi coá gaéng thaáy cho ñöôïc taùnh khoâng ñeå khoâng vöôùng víu,
thay vaøo ñoù duøng taát caû thôøi giôø coù ñöôïc cho vieäc tu taäp, vì caøng tu taäp
chuùng ta caøng coù theå tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc thaønh ñaït “trí hueä” nghóa laø
caøng tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc tröïc nghieäm “khoâng taùnh,” vaø caøng chöùng
nghieäm “khoâng taùnh” chuùng ta caøng coù khaû naêng phaùt trieån “trí hueä ba
la maät.” Ñoù laø noùi veà yù nghóa toång quaùt veà Khoâng, trong khi trong Phaät
giaùo nhieàu tröôøng phaùi khaùc nhau coù caùch hieåu cuõng khaùc nhau veà
Khoâng.
Khoâng hieåu theo Tam Luaän Toâng: Theo Tam Luaän Toâng trong
Cöông Yeáu Trieát Hoïc Phaät Giaùo cuûa Giaùo Sö Junjiro Takakusu, veà maët
tieâu cöïc, ‘Sunya’ coù nghóa laø ‘Khoâng,’ nhöng veà maët tích cöïc noù coù
nghóa laø ‘Duyeân Sinh,’ hay vieãn ly thöïc taïi töï höõu, hay vieãn ly töï taùnh
nhö theá “Sunyata” laø voâ theå ñoàng thôøi laø duyeân sinh, nghóa laø phaùp chæ
coù duyeân khôûi. Hình nhö quan nieäm veà duyeân khôûi naày ñöôïc truyeàn baù
raát maïnh ôû Trung Quaùn AÁn Ñoä. Veà phía Trung Hoa, Tam Luaän Toâng
cuõng vaäy, chöõ ‘Duyeân hoäi’ laø ñoàng nghóa vôùi ‘Trung ñaïo,’ ‘voâ töï taùnh’
‘phaùp töï taùnh’ vaø ‘Khoâng.’ Duyeân khôûi cuõng ñöôïc goïi laø ‘taùnh khoâng.’
Danh töø ‘Khoâng’ khoâng hoaøn toaøn thích hôïp vaø thöôøng bò laàm laãn,
nhöng neáu chuùng ta tìm moät danh töø khaùc, thì laïi khoâng coù chöõ naøo
 262

ñuùng hôn. Roát cuoäc, khoâng moät yù nieäm naøo ñöôïc thieát laäp baèng bieän
chöùng phaùp. Noù voâ danh vaø voâ töôùng. Ñoù chæ laø söï phuû ñònh moät thöïc
taïi töï höõu hay phuû ñònh caù tính ñaëc höõu. Ngoaøi söï phuû ñònh, khoâng coù
gì khaùc. Heä thoáng Tam Luaän Toâng do ñoù laø moät phuû ñònh luaän, lyù
thuyeát veà söï tieâu cöïc. Vaïn höõu ñeàu khoâng coù thöïc taïi tính töï höõu, nghóa
laø chuùng chæ hieän höõu töông quan, hay töông quan tính theo nghóa baát
thöïc treân cöùu caùnh, nhöng laïi thöïc ôû hieän töôïng. Khoâng hieåu theo Höõu
Boä: Hoïc thuyeát Khoâng khoâng phaûi khoâng taùn thaønh lyù duyeân khôûi vì
hieän höõu ôû tuïc ñeá thuoäc toå hôïp nhaân quaû, vaø noù cuõng khoâng loaïi boû
nguyeân lyù luaân hoài, vì caàn phaûi coù noù ñeå giaûi thích traïng thaùi bieán haønh
sinh ñoäng. Chuùng ta thaáy raèng Höõu Boä coâng nhaän caû ba giôùi heä cuûa
thôøi gian ñeàu thöïc höõu vaø taát caû caùc phaùp cuõng thöïc höõu trong moïi
khoaûnh khaéc. Khoâng hieåu theo Thaønh Thaät Toâng: Choáng laïi chuû
tröông naày, Thaønh Thaät luaän chuû tröông hö voâ, thöøa nhaän chæ coù hieän
taïi laø thöïc höõu coøn quaù khöù vaø vò lai thì voâ theå. Nhö taát caû caùc toâng
phaùi Ñaïi Thöøa khaùc, toâng naày thöøa nhaän caùi Khoâng cuûa taát caû caùc phaùp
(sarva-dharma-sunyata), keå caû ngaõ khoâng (pudgala-sunyata). Theâm
nöõa, noù thöøa nhaän coù hai chaân lyù: chaân ñeá vaø tuïc ñeá. Ñaây laø lyù do
chính yeáu khieán Thaønh Thaät toâng trong moät thôøi gian daøi ñöôïc xem laø
thuoäc Ñaïi Thöøa ôû Trung Hoa. Chöõ “Khoâng” theo Kinh Tieåu Khoâng:
Theo kinh Tieåu Khoâng, ñaây laø moät trong ba cöûa vaøo Nieát Baøn. Theo
Kinh Tieåu Khoâng, Ñöùc Phaät baûo A Nan: “Naøy A Nan, nhôø an truù vaøo
‘khoâng taùnh’ maø baây giôø ta ñöôïc an truù vieân maõn nhaát.” Vaäy thì nghóa
cuûa traïng thaùi ‘khoâng’ laø gì maø töø ñoù Ñöùc Phaät ñöôïc an truù vaøo söï vieân
maõn nhaát? Chính noù laø ‘Nieát Baøn’ chöù khoâng laø thöù gì khaùc. Noù chính
laø söï troáng vaéng taát caû nhöõng duïc laäu, höõu laäu vaø voâ minh. Chính vì theá
maø trong thieàn ñònh, haønh giaû coá gaéng chuyeån hoùa söï voïng ñoäng cuûa
thöùc cho tôùi khi naøo taâm hoaøn toaøn laø khoâng vaø khoâng coù voïng töôûng.
Möùc ñoä cao nhaát cuûa thieàn ñònh, dieät taän thoï-töôûng ñònh, khi moïi yù
töôûng vaø caûm thoï ñaõ döøng thì ñöôïc xem nhö laø neàn taûng vöõng chaéc ñeå
ñaït ñeán Nieát Baøn.

Understanding of Sunyata
According to Some Buddhist Schools

As mentioned above, emptiness or void, central notion of

Buddhism recognized that all composite things are empty (samskrita),
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impermanent (anitya) and void of an essence (anatamn). That is to say

all phenomena lack an essence or self, are dependent upon causes and
conditions, and so, lack inherent existence. Thus, a person is said to be
empty of being a “self” because he is composed of parts that are
constantly changing and entirely dependent upon causes and
conditions. However, the concept of emptiness is viewed by Buddhists
as a positive perspective on reality, because it implies that everything
is constantly changing, and is thus open toward the future. If things
possessed an unchanging essence, all beings would be stuck in their
present situations, and real change would be impossible. Devout
Buddhists should try to attain the realization of emptiness in order to
develop the ability to detach on everything, and utilize all the available
time to practice the Buddha-teachings. The more we practice the
Buddha’s teachings, the more we approach the attainment of wisdom,
that is to say the more we are able to reach the “direct realization of
emptiness,” and we realize the “emptiness of all things,” the more we
can reach the “perfection of wisdom.” That is a general meaning of
Emptiness, while in Buddhism many different schools have different
understandings on Emptiness.
Sunyata in San-Lun Tsung: According to Prof. Junjiro Takakusu in
the Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, ‘sunya’ negatively means
‘Void,’ but positively means ‘Relative,’ i.e., ‘devoid of independent
reality,’ or ‘devoid of specific character.’ Thus ‘Sunyata’ is non-entity
and at the same time ‘relativity,’ i.e., the entity only as in causal
relation. The idea of relativity seems to be strongly presented in the
Indian Madhyamika School. In the Chinese Madhyamika School, too,
they have the term 'causal union’ as a synonym of the Middle Path,
absence of nature (svabhava-abhava), dharma nature (dharma-
svabhava) and void. It is well known that the causal origination is
called ‘Sunyata.’ The word ‘void’ is not entirely fitting and is often
misleading, yet, if we look for another word, there will be none better.
It is, after all, an idea dialectically established. It is nameless (akhyati)
and characterless (alaksana). It is simply the negation of an
independent reality or negation of specific character. Besides the
negation there is nothing else. The Madhyamika system is on that
account a negativism, the theory of negation. All things are devoid of
independent reality, that is, they are only of relative existence, or
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relativity in the sense of what is ultimately unreal but phenomenally

real. Sunyata in Sarvastivadins: The doctrine of Void does not disavow
the theory of the Chain of Causation, for our worldly existence is of
causal combination, nor does it reject the principle of the stream of life
(samsara), for it is necessary to explain the state of dynamic becoming.
We have seen already that the Realistic School assumes that the three
worlds of time are real and so are all dharmas at any instant. Sunyata
in Satyasiddhi school: Against this assertion, the nihilisctic Satyasiddhi
School contends that the present only is real while the past and the
future have no entity. The school asserts, as all the other Mahayanistic
schools do, the Void of all elements (sarva-dharma-sunyata) as well as
the Void of self (pudgala-sunyata). In addition, it recognizes the two-
fold truth, the supreme truth and worldly truth. These are chiefly the
reasons for which this school had long been treated as Mahayana in
China. “Emptiness” according to the Culla Sunnata Sutta: According
to the Culla Sunnata Sutta, this is one of the three gates to the city of
Nirvana. The Buddha affirmed Ananda: “Ananda, through abiding in
the ‘emptiness’, I am now abiding in the complete abode or the fullness
of transcendence.” So, what is the emptiness from that the Buddha
abides in the fullness of transcendence? It is nothing else but
“Nirvana”. It is empty of cankers of sense-pleasure, becoming and
ignorance. Therefore, in meditation, practitioners try to reduce or
eliminate the amount of conscious contents until the mind is completely
motionless and empty. The highest level of meditation, the ceasing of
ideation and feeling, is often used as a stepping stone to realization of
Nirvana.
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Chöông Ba Möôi Baûy

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Khoâng Khoâng Phaùp Giôùi

Khoâng khoâng coù nghóa laø caùi khoâng cuûa khoâng. Khi taát caû ñöôïc
xem nhö aûo töôûng hay khoâng thaät, yù töôûng tröøu töôïng cuûa khoâng thaät töï
noù bò trieät tieâu. Khi caùc phaùp ngoaïi vaø noäi ñöôïc tuyeân boá taát caû laø
khoâng, chuùng ta taát nghó raèng “Khoâng” vaãn laø moät yù töôûng coù thöïc, hay
chæ coù caùi ñoù môùi laø caùi khaû ñaéc khaùch quan. Khoâng cuûa Khoâng coát
huûy dieät chaáp tröôùc aáy. Coøn giöõ moät yù töôûng Khoâng töùc laø coøn löu laïi
moät haït buïi khi ñaõ queùt ñi taát caû. Phaùp giôùi laø teân cuûa söï vaät khi noùi
chung caû lyù laãn söï. Trong phaùp giôùi hay theá giôùi hieän töôïng, coù ba theá
giôùi laø duïc, saéc vaø taâm. Heát thaûy caùc loaøi taïo vaät, caû Thaùnh laãn phaøm,
nhaân vaø quaû, ñeàu ôû trong phaùp giôùi ñoù. Chæ coù Phaät laø ôû ngoaøi phaùp
giôùi. Phaùp Giôùi coù ñeán hai nghóa: Thöù nhaát laø vuõ truï hieän thöïc. Thöù nhì
laø theá giôùi khoâng haïn ñònh hay Nieát Baøn. Noù chính laø Chaân Nhö cuûa
Phaät. Nieát Baøn tòch dieät vöøa coù nghóa laø söï dieät voïng cuûa theå xaùc con
ngöôøi (theo nghóa tieâu cöïc), vaø vöøa laø söï dieät taän cuûa caùc ñieàu kieän
sinh töû (theo nghóa tích cöïc). Theo Giaùo Sö Junjiro Takakusu trong
Cöông Yeáu Trieát Hoïc Phaät Giaùo, phaùp giôùi trong yù nghóa laø caûnh giôùi
cuûa lyù taéc vaø vöøa laø söï töôùng cuûa taát caû söï töôùng, ñoàng nghóa vôùi Nhö
Lai Taïng vaø cuõng ñoàng nghóa vôùi vuõ truï hay theá giôùi hieän thöïc, nghóa
laø caûnh giôùi cuûa taát caû söï töôùng. Theo trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn, Phaùp Giôùi
cuõng coù nghóa laø Chaân Nhö hoaëc Thöïc Taïi hay Nieát Baøn. ÔÛ ñaây chöõ
‘Giôùi’ coù nghóa laø baûn chaát thaâm saâu nhaát, hay baûn chaát toái haäu. Phaùp
Giôùi vaø Chaân Nhö ñeàu laø sieâu vieät vaø noäi toàn. Noù laø sieâu vieät nhö Thöïc
Taïi toái haäu, nhöng noù hieän höõu trong moãi ngöôøi nhö laø cô sôû vaø baûn
chaát thaâm saâu nhaát cuûa hoï. Khoâng khoâng phaùp giôùi laø phaùp giôùi vôùi caùi
khoâng cuûa khoâng. Khi taát caû ñöôïc xem nhö aûo töôûng hay khoâng thaät, yù
töôûng tröøu töôïng cuûa khoâng thaät töï noù bò trieät tieâu. Khi caùc phaùp ngoaïi
vaø noäi ñöôïc tuyeân boá taát caû laø khoâng, chuùng ta taát nghó raèng “Khoâng”
vaãn laø moät yù töôûng coù thöïc, hay chæ coù caùi ñoù môùi laø caùi khaû ñaéc khaùch
quan. Khoâng cuûa Khoâng coát huûy dieät chaáp tröôùc aáy. Coøn giöõ moät yù
töôûng Khoâng töùc laø coøn löu laïi moät haït buïi khi ñaõ queùt ñi taát caû. Khoâng
khoâng phaùp giôùi laø phaùp giôùi khoâng coù söï coá gaéng ngay töø luùc ban ñaàu,
tuy vaäy noù hieån hieän phuø hôïp theo chö duyeân maø laïi khoâng coù thöù gì bò
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boû dôõ. Ñaïi Khoâng, voâ soá söï vaät, boán muøa, aâm döông, löu thoâng vaø öù
ñoïng, taùm thôøi phaân trong naêm (laäp xuaân, xuaân phaân, laäp haï, haï chí,
laäp thu, thu phaân, laäp ñoâng, vaø ñoâng chí) , ñôøi soáng thaûo moäc, con
ngöôøi, chö thieân, thaát thuù (ñòa nguïc, ngaï quyû, suùc sanh, a tu la, ngöôøi,
trôøi, thaàn, tieân), thaùnh Phaät, nguõ thôøi giaùo (Hoa Nghieâm, A Haøm,
Phöông Ñaúng, Baùt Nhaõ, Phaùp Hoa vaø Nieát Baøn), tam thöøa, nhöõng baøi
vieát thieâng lieâng cuûa ngoaïi giaùo, phaøm vaø sieâu phaøm, taát caû nhöõng thöù
naøy ñeàu phaùt ra töø “Khoâng khoâng phaùp giôùi” naøy. Vì vaäy maø ngöôøi ta
noùi raèng khoâng coù thöù gì rôøi boû “Khoâng khoâng phaùp giôùi” vaø taát caû moïi
thöù cuoái cuøng roài cuõng trôû veà vôùi caùi phaùp giôùi naøy.

The Dharma Realm of the Emptiness of Emptiness

Emptiness of emptiness means Unreality of unreality. When all has

been regarded as illusion, or unreal, the abstract idea of unreality itself
must be destroyed. When things outside and inside are all declared
empty, we are led to think that the idea of emptiness remains real or
that this alone is something objectively attainable. The emptiness of
emptiness is designed to destroy this attachment. To maintain the idea
of emptiness means to leave a speck of dust when all has been swept
clean. Dharma realm is a name for “things” in general, noumenal or
phenomenal; for physical universe, or any portion or phase of it. In the
phenomenal world (dharmadhatu), there are three worlds of desire,
form and mind. All created things or beings, both noble and ignoble,
both cause and effect, are within the dharmadhatu. The idea in this text
is practically identical with the diagram given above. The Realm of
Principle (Dharma-dhatu) has a double meaning: First, the actual
universe. Second, the indeterminate world or Nirvana. It is identical
with the Thusness of the Buddha. Nirvana or flamelessness means, on
the one hand, the death of a human body and, on the other hand, the
total extinction of life conditions (negatively) or the perfect freedom of
will and action (positively). According to Prof. Junjiro Takakusu in the
Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, Dharmadhatu, in its double meaning
as Realm of Principle and Element of all Elements, is a synonym with
Matrix of the Thus-come (Tathagata-garbha) and also with the universe
or the actual world, i.e., the realm of all elements. According to the
Madhyamaka philosophy, the word ‘Dharmadhatu’ is also called
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‘Tathata’ or Reality, or Nirvana. Here the word ‘Dhatu’ means the

inmost nature, the ultimate essence. Dharmadhatu or Tathata is both
transcendent and immanent. It is transcendent as ultimate Reality, but
it is present in every one as his inmost ground and essence. Sunyata-
sunyata means Emptiness of emptiness or Unreality of unreality. When
all has been regarded as illusion, or unreal, the abstract idea of
unreality itself must be destroyed. When things outside and inside are
all declared empty, we are led to think that the idea of emptiness
remains real or that this alone is something objectively attainable. The
emptiness of emptiness is designed to destroy this attachment. To
maintain the idea of emptiness means to leave a speck of dust when all
has been swept clean. The Dharma realm of the emptiness of
emptiness is free of striving from the very start, yet as it manifests
according to conditions nothing is left undone. The Great Void, the
myriad things, the four seasons, yin and yang, overflow and stagnation,
the eight divisions of the year (start of spring, spring equinox, start of
summer, summer soltice, start of fall, fall equinox, start of winter,
winter soltice), the life of plants, humans, and devas, the seven
destinations (hell-dweller, preta, animal, asura, human, deity, spirit,
and fairies), the sages and the Buddhas, the five periods (Avatamsaka,
agama, Vaipulya, Prajna, Saddharma-pundarika and Nirvana), the
three vehicles, the sacred writings of non-Buddhists, the mundane and
supramundane, all of these issue from this realm. Thus it is said that
nothing departs from this realm, and that it is to this that all ultimately
returns.
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 269

Chöông Ba Möôi Taùm

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Taùnh Khoâng Baát Sanh Baát Dieät

Theo Phaät giaùo, Taùnh Khoâng coù baûn chaát cuûa söï baát sanh baát dieät
vì taùnh khoâng töï noù laø Phaät taùnh, laø taùnh theå cuûa taâm thöùc, laø chaân
nhö... Vaïn vaät bò chi phoái bôûi taùnh khoâng coù theå phaûi theo tieán trình:
sanh, truï, dò, dieät; nhöng taùnh khoâng töï noù vónh vieãn khoâng sanh khoâng
dieät. “Baát Sanh Baát Dieät” coù nghóa laø “khoâng sanh cuõng khoâng dieät,”
hoaëc “khoâng ñi khoâng ñeán”, khoâng coù khôûi cuõng khoâng coù dieät; phaù
huûy yù nieäm khôûi baèng yù nieäm dieät. Töø “ñi” dieãn taû yù nieäm veà caùc söï
vaät bieán maát ñi trong khi “ñeán” chæ yù nieäm veà caùc söï vaät xuaát hieän.
Toaøn theå töø ngöõ naøy coù nghóa laø “Taát caû caùc söï vaät coù veû nhö ñang
thay ñoåi, nhöng chuùng xuaát hieän deã mang veû nhö theá theo quan ñieåm
hieän töôïng vaø töông ñoái. Sanh töùc laø khoâng sanh, khoâng sanh töùc laø
sanh. Ñaây laø thuyeát cuûa caùc kinh Baùt Nhaõ vaø laø tuyeät yù cuûa Tam Luaä n
toâng. Sanh chæ laø moät töø ngöõ giaû taïm. Tuïc Ñeá goïi laø “sanh,” nhöng
Chaân Ñeá laïi laø “voâ sanh,” töông ñoái laø “sanh” trong khi tuyeät ñoái laø
“voâ sanh.” Khi Ñöùc Nhö Lai nhìn thaáy thöïc töôùng cuûa taát caû caùc söï vaät,
thì chuùng khoâng bieán maát cuõng khoâng xuaát hieän, chuùng laø baát dieät, vónh
haèng.” Khi yù nieäm naøy ñöôïc aùp duïng vaøo thaân theå con ngöôøi, “ñeán”
nghóa laø sinh ra, “ñi” nghóa laø cheát ñi. Maëc duø con ngöôøi coù veû nhö
ñöôïc sinh ra, giaø ñi, khoå vì beänh, roài cuoái cuøng cheát ñi, nhöõng hieän
töôïng naøy chæ do nhöõng thay ñoåi beân ngoaøi cuûa nhöõng theå chaát thaønh
hình thaân theå con ngöôøi vaãn töông tuïc maõi. Chuùng ta coù theå laáy ñònh
luaät veà tính baát hoaïi cuûa vaät chaát laøm moät thí duï ñôn giaûn, theo ñoù
khoa hoïc xaùc nhaän raèng vaät chaát khoâng giaûm ñi cuõng khoâng bieán maát.
Tuyeát treân maët ñaát hình nhö tan ñi sau nhieàu ngaøy, nhöng thöïc ra, noù
chæ bieán ñoåi thaønh nöôùc vaø thaám vaøo ñaát roài boác hôi leân khoâng khí.
Tuyeát chæ thay ñoåi hình thaùi, soá löôïng caùc phaàn töû cô baûn taïo thaønh noù
khoâng giaûm ñi huoáng chi laø bieán maát. Khi hôi nöôùc trong khoâng khí
tieáp xuùc vôùi khoâng khí laïnh nhö laø moät ñieàu kieän hay duyeân, thì noù trôû
thaønh nhöõng gioït nöôùc nhoû. Nhöõng gioït naøy tích tuï thaønh moät ñaùm
maây. Khi nhöõng gioït nöôùc nhoû naøy keát hôïp laïi thaønh nhöõng gioït nöôùc
lôùn thaønh möa rôi xuoáng ñaát. Chuùng seõ khoâng rôi thaønh möa maø thaønh
tuyeát khi nhieät ñoä giaûm xuoáng ñeán moät möùc ñoä naøo ñoù. Nhö theá, duø
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vaät chaát coù veû nhö bieán maát, treân thöïc teá noù khoâng bieán maát, maø chæ
thay ñoåi hình thaùi maø thoâi. Cuõng coù theå noùi nhö theá veà con ngöôøi. Theo
söï thaáy cuûa Ñöùc Nhö Lai thì söï sinh ra vaø cheát ñi cuûa con ngöôøi chæ laø
nhöõng thay ñoåi hình thaùi; söï soáng cuûa con ngöôøi töï noù vaãn vónh haèng.
Khi ñöôïc nhìn thaáy baèng Phaät nhaõn, söï hieän höõu cuûa con ngöôøi “khoâng
soáng cuõng khoâng cheát.”
Phaät Taùnh laø baûn theå toaøn haûo, hoaøn bò voán coù nôi söï soáng höõu tình
vaø voâ tình. Phaät taùnh trong moãi chuùng sanh ñoàng ñaúng vôùi chö Phaät.
Chuûng töû tænh thöùc vaø giaùc ngoä nôi moïi ngöôøi tieâu bieåu cho khaû naêng
tænh thöùc vaø thaønh Phaät. Baûn theå toaøn haûo vaø hoaøn bò saún coù moãi chuùng
sanh. Phaät taùnh aáy saún coù trong moãi chuùng sanh, taát caû ñeàu coù khaû
naêng giaùc ngoä; tuy nhieân, noù ñoøi hoûi söï tu taäp tinh chuyeân ñeå gaët ñöôïc
quaû Phaät. Trong thieàn, vieäc ñaït tôùi Phaät tính laø leõ toàn taïi vaø muïc ñích
cao nhaát cuûa moïi chuùng sanh. Bôûi leõ moïi chuùng sanh ñeàu coù Phaät tính,
vaán ñeà ôû ñaây khoâng phaûi laø chuyeän ñaït ñöôïc baát cöù thöù gì, maø laø chuùng
ta coù theå thaáy vaø soáng vôùi baûn tính toaøn thieän ban ñaàu cuûa chuùng ta
trong cuoäc soáng haèng ngaøy cuõng ñoàng nghóa vôùi vieäc thaønh Phaät vaäy.
Trong Hoaøng Baù Ngöõ Luïc, Thieàn sö Hoaøng Baù daïy: "Phaät taùnh baûn lai
cuûa chuùng ta khoâng moät maûy may mang tính khaùch theå. Noù troáng roãng,
hieän dieän khaép nôi, tónh laëng vaø thanh tònh; ñoù laø moät nieàm vui an bình,
raïng rôõ vaø huyeàn bí, vaø chæ coù vaäy thoâi. Haõy nhaäp saâu vaøo noù baèng
caùch töï thöùc tænh laáy mình. Noù ôû ngay tröôùc maët baïn ñoù, troïn veïn vaø
vieân maõn. Ngoaøi noù ra, taát caû chæ laø soá khoâng. Ngay caû khi baïn ñaõ laàn
löôït vöôït qua töøng chaëng coâng phu ñuû ñeå ñöa moät vò Boà Taùt thaønh
Phaät, cuoái cuøng, baát chôït, baïn ñaït ñeán toaøn giaùc, baïn cuõng chæ chöùng
ngoä ñöôïc Phaät taùnh voán ñaõ luoân coù trong baïn; vaø trong nhöõng giai ñoaïn
sau ñoù, baïn cuõng seõ khoâng theâm ñöôïc moät chuùt gì vaøo ñoù." Theo Baïch
AÅn, moät Thieàn sö Nhaät Baûn noåi tieáng, Baûn taùnh cuûa Phaät laø ñoàng nhaát
vôùi ñieàu maø ngöôøi ta goïi laø “Hö Khoâng.” Maëc duø Phaät taùnh naèm ngoaøi
moïi quan nieäm vaø töôûng töôïng, chuùng ta coù theå ñaùnh thöùc noù trong
chuùng ta vì chính baûn thaân cuûa chuùng ta cuõng laø moät phaàn coá höõu cuûa
Phaät taùnh. Charlotte Joko Beck vieát laïi moät caâu chuyeän lyù thuù trong
quyeån 'Thieàn Trong Ñôøi Soáng Haèng Ngaøy': Ñaây laø caâu chuyeän veà ba
ngöôøi ngaém nhìn moät vò Taêng ñöùng treân ñænh ñoài. Sau khi nhìn moät hoài
laâu, moät ngöôøi noùi: "Ñaây chaéc haún laø moät ngöôøi chaên cöøu ñang ñi tìm
moät con cöøu bò laïc." Ngöôøi thöù hai noùi: "Khoâng, anh ta chaúng heà nhìn
quanh, toâi nghó raèng anh ta ñang ñôïi moät ngöôøi baïn." Ngöôøi thöù ba noùi:
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"Coù leõ ñoù laø moät vò Taêng. Toâi daùm caù oâng ta ñang thieàn ñònh." Ba
ngöôøi tieáp tuïc tranh caõi veà chuyeän vò Taêng ñang laøm gì, vaø sau roát, hoï
quyeát giaûi quyeát cho ra leõ, neân hoï leo leân ñænh ñoài, ñeán gaàn vò Taêng vaø
hoûi: "Coù phaûi oâng ñang tìm kieám moät con cöøu hay khoâng?" "Khoâng, toâi
khoâng ñi tìm cöøu." "Vaäy chaéc oâng ñang chôø moät ngöôøi baïn?" "Khoâng,
toâi chaúng chôø ai." "Vaäy chaéc oâng ñang thieàn quaùn?" "Khoâng, khoâng
phaûi theá. Toâi ñöùng ñaây vaø toâi ñöùng ñaây. Toâi chaúng laøm gì caû." Thaáy
ñöôïc Phaät taùnh ñoøi hoûi chuùng ta phaûi hoaøn toaøn hieän höõu trong moïi luùc,
cho daàu chuùng ta ñang laøm gì, ñi tìm con cöøu, ñang chôø ngöôøi baïn hay
ñang thieàn quaùn, chuùng ta vaãn ñöùng nôi ñaây, vaøo luùc naøy ñaây, vaø
khoâng laøm gì caû.
Taùnh theå laø söï khoâng thay ñoåi cuûa thöïc chaát cuûa vaïn höõu. Thieàn sö
Baït Ñoäi Ñaéc Thaéng vieát cho moät ngöôøi hoïc troø ñang naèm chôø cheát:
"Taùnh theå cuûa taâm thöùc cuûa con khoâng sinh ra, vaäy noù seõ khoâng bao
giôø cheát. Noù khoâng phaûi laø moät thöù thöïc höõu ñeå coù theå suy taøn. Noù
khoâng phaûi laø taùnh khoâng maø chæ laø söï troáng roãng. Noù khoâng saéc,
khoâng töôùng. Noù khoâng vui khoaùi laïc, khoâng chòu ñöïng ñau khoå. Thaày
bieát raèng con ñang beänh naëng. Laø ñeä töû toát cuûa Thieàn, con ñöông ñaàu
vôùi caên beänh moät caùch cöông quyeát. Coù leõ con khoâng bieát ñích xaùc 'ai'
ñang ñau ñôùn, nhöng con haõy töï hoûi: 'Taùnh theå cuûa Taâm thöùc laø gì?'
Haõy chæ nghó ñeán ñieàu ñoù. Con khoâng caàn ñeán moät thöù gì khaùc nöõa.
Ñöøng khao khaùt baát cöù thöù gì. Caùi keát thuùc voán voâ taän cuûa con cuõng
gioáng nhö moät boâng hoa tuyeát tan giöõa laøn khoâng khí trong laønh."
Trong khi chaân nhö laø chaân taùnh hay thöïc töôùng cuûa vaïn höõu. Phaïn
ngöõ Bhutatathata or Tathata chæ “thöïc taùnh” vaø thöôøng ñöôïc xem nhö
töông ñöông vôùi chöõ “taùnh khoâng” (sunyata), “phaùp thaân” (dharma-
kaya). Noù khoâng thay ñoåi, khoâng lay chuyeån, vaø vöôït ra ngoaøi nhaän
thöùc suy nghó. Chaân nhö laø chaân taùnh hay thöïc töôùng, hay hieän thöïc
ngöôïc vôùi neùt beân ngoaøi cuûa theá giôùi hieän töôïng. Chaân nhö
(Bhutatathata) laø baát bieán vaø vónh haèng, coøn hình thöùc vaø nhöõng neùt
beân ngoaøi thì luùc naøo cuõng sinh ra, thay ñoåi vaø bieán maát. Chaân lyù töï
nhieân, khoâng phaûi do con ngöôøi taïo ra; chaân nhö hay baûn taùnh thaät
thöôøng haèng nôi vaïn höõu, thanh tònh vaø khoâng thay ñoåi, nhö bieån ñoái
nghòch laïi vôùi soùng (baûn chaát coá höõu cuûa nöôùc laø phaúng laëng vaø thanh
tònh chöù khoâng daäp doàn nhö soùng). Theo Trung Quaùn Luaän, chaân nhö
laø chaân lyù, nhöng noù phi nhaân caùch. Ñeå hieån hieän, noù caàn coù moät moâi
giôùi. Nhö Lai chính laø moâi giôùi cuûa noù. Nhö Lai laø tröïc ngoä veà thöïc taïi.
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Ngaøi laø Thöïc Taïi ñöôïc nhaân caùch hoùa. Ñoàng thôøi Ngaøi coøn coù caû hai
loaïi tính chaát cuûa Tuyeät Ñoái vaø hieän töôïng. Ngaøi ñoàng nhaát vôùi Chaân
Nhö, nhöng ñöôïc theå hieän trong hình daïng cuûa moät con ngöôøi. Ñaây laø
lyù do taïi sao Chaân Nhö cuõng coøn ñöôïc goïi laø Nhö Lai Taïng. Theo Phaät
giaùo, chaân lyù laø chaân nhö töø caùi nhìn cuûa khoâng; trong khi thaät töôùng laø
chaân nhö töø caùi nhìn cuûa hieän töôïng. Chaân nhö vaø thöïc töôùng laø ñoàng
theå, nhöng teân goïi khaùc nhau. Ñoái vôùi nghóa nhaát nhö cuûa khoâng ñeá thì
goïi laø chaân nhö; coøn ñoái vôùi nghóa dieäu höõu cuûa giaû ñeá thì goïi laø thöïc
töôùng. Theo Thieàn Sö Linh Moäc Ñaïi Chuyeát Trinh Thaùi Lang trong boä
Thieàn Luaän, Taäp III, Töù Toå Thieàn toâng Ñaïo Tín giaûi thích yù nghóa cuûa
söï tónh laëng vaø taùnh khoâng nhö sau: "Haõy suy gaãm veà saéc thaân cuûa
mình, xem thöû noù laø gì. Noù troáng roãng, khoâng coù thöïc töôùng, nhö moät
caùi boùng. Noù ñöôïc töôûng nhö coù thaät, nhöng nôi noù, chaúng coù thöù gì ñeå
naém giöõ ñöôïc... Töø giöõa Taùnh Khoâng khôûi leân luïc caên, vaø luïc caên
thuoâc veà Taùnh Khoâng, trong khi luïc traàn ñöôïc nhaän thöùc nhö giaác moäng
hay nhö moät huyeãn töôïng. Ñieàu naøy cuõng gioáng nhö con maét nhìn caùc
vaät; caùc vaät khoâng naèm trong con maét. Hay gioáng nhö taám göông phaûn
chieáu hình aûnh cuûa baïn: baïn thaáy hình aûnh moät caùch roõ raøng; taát caû
nhöõng phaûn aûnh aáy chæ laø taùnh khoâng, vì taám göông khoâng löu giöõ vaät
phaûn chieáu trong göông. Maët ngöôøi khoâng ñi vaøo trong thaân taám göông,
vaø taám göông khoâng ñi ra khoûi mình ñeå nhaäp vaøo maët ngöôøi. Khi thaáu
hieåu taám göông vaø khuoân maët töông quan nhö theá naøo vôùi nhau, khi
hieåu raèng ngay töø luùc baét ñaàu, ñaõ khoâng coù vaøo, khoâng coù ra, khoâng coù
qua laïi, khoâng coù thieát laäp töông quan giöõa hai beân, ngöôøi ta hieåu ñöôïc
yù nghóa cuûa Chaân Nhö vaø Taùnh Khoâng."

The Emptiness Is Neither Birth Nor Death

According to Buddhism, the Emptiness is neither birth nor death for

the Emptiness is the Buddha-nature, the essence of your mind, the
Bhutatathata or Tathata, and so on. All things that are controlled by the
Emptiness must follow the process of formation, stability or
development, dissolution or disintegration, and void; but the Emptiness
itself will never be birth nor death. This phrase means not changing in
‘going away or coming forth’, there is neither origination nor cessation.
The phrase ‘going away’ expresses the idea of things disappearing,
while the phrase ‘coming forth’ indicates that things appearing. The
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whole phrase “Neither birth nor death” means all things seem to be
changing, but they appear to be doing so from a phenomenal and
relative point of view. It is an accepted doctrine of the Prajna teaching
and the ultimate doctrine of the Madhyamika school. Birth, creation,
life, each is but a temporary term, in common statement it is called
birth, in truth it is not birth; in the relative it is birth, in the absolute
non-birth. When the Tathagata sees the real state of all things, they
neither disappear, and they are immortal and eternal. When this idea
applied to the human body, ‘coming forth’ means birth and ‘going
away’ means death. Although man seems to be born, grow old, suffer
from disease, and finally die, these phenomena are only produced by
superficial changes in the substances that form the human body; true
human life continues eternally. This confirms the Law of
indestructibility of matter, through which science confirms that matter
neither decreases nor disappears. The snow on the ground seems to
melt away as the days go by, but in reality, it merely changes into
water and sinks into the ground or evaporates into the air. The snow
only changes its form; the quantity of fundamental elements that
constitute it do not decrease, much less disappear. When water vapor in
the air comes into contact with cold air as a condition or secondary
cause, it becomes a tiny drop of water. These drops accumulate to form
a cloud. When these tiny drops of water join to form large drops of
water, they become rain and fall on the earth. They will fall not as rain
but as snow when the temperature falls below a certain point. Thus
though matter seems to disappear, in actual fact it does not disappear
but only changes in form. The same can be said of man. In the sight of
the Tathagata the birth and death of man are merely changes in form;
man’s life itself remains eternally. Seen with the eye of the Buddha,
man’s existence is “neither living nor dead.”
Buddha-Nature, True Nature, or Wisdom Faculty (the substratum
of perfection, of completeness, intrinsic to both sentient and insentient
life). The Buddha-nature within (oneself) all beings which is the same
as in all Buddhas. Potential bodhi remains in every gati, all have the
capacity for enlightenment; however, it requires to be cultivated in
order to produce its ripe fruit. The seed of mindfulness and
enlightenment in every person, representing our potential to become
fully awakened and eventually a Buddha. The substratum of
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perfection, of completeness, intrinsic to both sentient and insentient

life. In Zen, the attainment of enlightenment or becoming a Buddha is
the highest aim of all beings. Since all beings possess this Buddha-
nature, the question here is not to attain anything, but to be able to see
and live with our originally perfect nature in our daily activities means
th same thing with becoming a Buddha. Zen Master Huang-Po taught in
The Zen Teaching of Huang-Po: "Our original Buddha-Nature is, in
highest truth, devoid of any atom of objectivity. It is void, omnipresent,
silent, pure; it is glorious and mysterious peaceful joy; and that is all.
Enter deeply into it by awaking to it yourself. That which is before you
is it, in all its fullness, utterly complete. There is naught beside. Even if
you go through all the stages of a Bodhisattva's progress towards
Buddhahood, one by one; when at last, in a single flash, you attain to
full realization, you will only be realizing the Buddha-Nature which
has been with you all the time; and by all the foregoing stages you will
have added to it nothing at all." According to Hakuin, a famous
Japanese Zen master, Buddha-nature is identical with that which is
called emptiness. Although the Buddha-nature is beyond all conception
and imagination, it is possible for us to awaken to it because we
ourselves are intrinsically Buddha-nature. Charlotte Joko Beck wrote
an interesting story in Everyday Zen: "There's a story of three people
who are watching a monk standing on top of a hill. After they watch
him for a while, one of the three says, 'He must be a shepherd looking
for a sheep he's lost.' The second person says, 'No, he's not looking
around. I think he must be waiting for a friend.' And the third person
says, 'He's probably a monk. I'll bet he's meditating.' They begin
arguing over what this monk is doing, and eventually, to settle the
squabble, they climb up the hill and approach him. 'Are you looking for
a sheep?' 'No, I don't have any sheep to look for.' 'Oh, then you must be
waiting for a friend.' 'No, I'm not waiting for anyone.' 'Well, then you
must be meditating.' 'Well, no. I'm just standing here. I'm not doing
anything at all... Seeing Buddha-nature requires that we... completely
be each moment, so that whatever activity we are engaged in, whether
we're looking for a lost sheep, or waiting for a friend, or meditating, we
are standing right here, right now, doing nothing at all.'"
The essential or substantial nature of all things. Zen master Bassui
(1327-1387) wrote the following letter to one of his disciples who was
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about to die: 'The essence of your mind is not born, so it will never die.
It is not an existence, which is persihable. It is not an emptiness, which
is a mere void. It has neither color nor form. It enjoys no pleasures and
suffers no pains. I know you are very ill. Like a good Zen student, you
are facing that sickness squarely. You may not know exactly who is
suffering, but question yourself: What is the essence of this mind?
Think only of this. You will need no more. Covet nothing. Your end
which is endless is as a snowflake dissolving in the pure air.'"
Meanwhile, Bhutatathata is the absolute, or the true nature of all
things. Bhutatathata or Tathata is a Sanskrit term that refers to the
“final nature of reality,” and is commonly equated with such terms as
“emptiness” (sunyata), and “truth body” (dharma-kaya). Suchness;
central notion in the Mahayana Buddhism, referring to the Absolute,
the true nature of all things. Tathata is also explained as “Immutable”
or “Immovable” or “Permanent.” It is beyond all concepts and
distinctions. Bhutatathata, the suchness of existence, the reality as
opposed to the appearance of the phenomenal world. Bhutatathata is
immutable and eternal, whereas forms and appearances arise, change
and pass away. Bhutatathata means permanent reality underlying all
phenomena, pure and unchanged, such as the sea in contrast with the
waves. According to Madhyamaka Philosophy, Tathata is the Truth, but
it is impersonal. In order to reveal itself, it requires a medium.
Tathagata is that medium. Tathagata is the epiphany of Reality. He is
Reality personalized. Tathagata is an amphibious being partaking both
of the Absolute and phenomena. He is identical with Tathata, but
embodied in a human form. That is why Tathata is also called the
womb of Tathagata (Tathagatagarbha). According to Buddhism, reality
is bhutatathata from the point of view of the void; while essential
characteristic is bhutatathata from the point of view of phenomena. The
essential characteristic or mark (laksana) of the Bhutatathata, i.e.
reality. The bhutatathata from the point of view of the void,
attributeless absolute; the real-nature is bhutatathata from the point of
view of phenomena. According to Zen Master D. T. Suzuki in Essays in
Zen Buddhism, Volume III, Tao-hsin, the Fourth Ch'an Ancestor,
explains what is meant by quietude and Emptiness in the following
manner: "Reflect on your own body and see what it is. It is empty and
devoid of reality like a shadow. It is perceived as if it actually exists,
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but there nothing there to take hold of... Out of the midst of Emptiness
there rise the six senses and the six senses too are of Emptiness, while
the six sense-objects are perceived as like a dream or a vision. It is like
the eye perceiving its objects; they are not located in it. Like the mirror
on which your features are reflected, they are perfectly perceived
there in all clearness; the reflections are all there in the emptiness, yet
the mirror itself retains not one of the objects which are reflected there.
The human face has not come to enter into the body of the mirror, nor
has the mirror gone out to enter into the human face. When one
realizes how the mirror and the face stand to each other and that there
is from the beginning no entering, not going-out, no passing, no coming
into relation with each other, one comprehends the signification of
Suchness and Emptiness."
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Chöông Ba Möôi Chín

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Haønh Giaû Tu Thieàn &

Söï Quaùn Chieáu Veà Taùnh Khoâng

Haønh giaû tu thieàn neân luoân quaùn nieäm veà taùnh Khoâng cuûa vaïn höõu.
Quaùn nieäm veà taùnh voâ thöôøng cuûa hôïp theå nguõ uaån: saéc, thoï, töôûng,
haønh, thöùc. Xeùt töøng uaån moät, töø uaån naøy sang uaån khaùc. Thaáy ñöôïc taát
caû ñeàu chuyeån bieán, voâ thöôøng vaø khoâng coù töï ngaõ. Söï tuï hôïp cuûa nguõ
uaån cuõng nhö söï tuï hôïp cuûa moãi hieän töôïng, ñeàu theo luaät duyeân khôûi.
Söï hôïp tan cuõng gioáng nhö söï hôïp tan cuûa nhöõng ñaùm maây treân ñænh
nuùi. Quaùn nieäm ñeå ñöøng baùm víu vaøo hôïp theå nguõ uaån. Tuy vaäy khoâng
khôûi taâm chaùn gheùt hôïp theå nguõ uaån. Quaùn nieäm ñeå bieát raèng öa thích
vaø chaùn gheùt cuõng laø nhöõng hieän töôïng thuoäc hôïp theå nguõ uaån. Quaùn
nieäm ñeå thaáy roõ tuy nguõ uaån laø voâ thöôøng, voâ ngaõ vaø khoâng, nhöng nguõ
uaån cuõng raát maàu nhieäm, maàu nhieäm nhö baát cöù hieän töôïng naøo trong
vuõ truï, maàu nhieäm nhö söï soáng coù maët khaép moïi nôi. Quaùn Khoâng ñeå
thaáy ñöôïc nguõ uaån khoâng thöïc söï sinh dieät, coøn maát vì nguõ uaån laø chaân
nhö. Quaùn Khoâng ñeå thaáy voâ thöôøng chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm, voâ ngaõ cuõng
laø moät khaùi nieäm, vaø ngay caû Khoâng cuõng chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm, ñeå
khoâng coøn bò raøng buoäc vaøo voâ thöôøng, voâ ngaõ vaø khoâng, ñeå thaáy ñöôïc
Khoâng cuõng chæ laø Khoâng, ñeå thaáy ñöôïc chaân nhö cuûa Khoâng cuõng
khoâng khaùc vôùi chaân nhö cuûa nguõ uaån.
Thöù nhaát laø Buoâng boû nhöõng taäp quaùn suy nghó: Muïc ñích cuûa
thieàn laø thöïc chöùng ‘taùnh khoâng’ cuûa vaïn höõu. Nhöng söï thöïc chöùng
naày phaûi do thöïc nghieäm, chöù khoâng do tri thöùc. Chæ khaúng ñònh baèng
tri thöùc raèng moïi vaät ñeàu roãng khoâng thì chöa ñuû, maø chuùng ta coøn phaûi
thaáy ñöôïc söï roãng khoâng trong moïi haønh ñoäng haèng ngaøy cuûa mình.
Trong thieàn quaùn “chaân khoâng,” haønh giaû buoâng boû nhöõng taäp quaùn
suy nghó cuûa mình veà “coù vaø khoâng” baèng caùch chöùng nghieäm raèng
nhöõng khaùi nieäm ñöôïc thaønh hình sai laàm veà taùnh ñoäc laäp vaø thöôøng
coøn cuûa vaät theå. Cuoái cuøng, thöïc chöùng thieàn ñöa chuùng ta töø caùi khoâng
trôû veà vôùi theá giôùi hieän thöïc. Maëc daàu chuùng ta thöïc chöùng moïi vaät
ñeàu roãng khoâng, nhöng moïi vaät vaãn laø moïi vaät. Trong traïng thaùi naày,
taâm khoâng vöôùng maéc vaøo ‘khoâng’ maø cuõng khoâng vöôùng maéc vaøo
‘coù’. Noù laø söï thaät naèm beân ngoaøi caùi voøm töông ñoái, khoâng theå dieãn taû
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ñöôïc, khoâng phaùt bieåu ñöôïc, noù vöôït leân treân moïi phaân chia giaû ñònh
cuûa caùi taâm höõu vi. Ñaây laø con ñöôøng ‘Trung Ñaïo’ thaâm saâu, vì noù
khoâng phaûi chæ laø nhöõng khaùi nieäm trieát lyù cuûa nhaø Thieàn, maø coøn laø
moät khaùi nieäm thöïc tieãn nöõa. Veà maët thöïc tieãn, trung ñaïo daïy chuùng ta
traùnh moïi cöïc ñoan veà yù töôûng cuõng nhö haønh ñoäng, giöõ vöõng phöông
tieän quí baùu giöõa thaùi quaù vaø baát caäp.
Thöù nhì laø Thaáy söï lieân heä duyeân khôûi vôùi caùc hieän töôïng khaùc
trong vuõ truï: Khi chuùng ta nhìn vaøo moät caùi gheá chuùng ta chæ thaáy söï
coù maët cuûa goã, maø khoâng thaáy ñöôïc söï coù maët cuûa röøng, cuûa caây, cuûa
laù, cuûa baøn tay ngöôøi thôï moäc, cuûa taâm ta... Haønh giaû khi nhìn vaøo caùi
gheá phaûi thaáy ñöôïc caû vaïn höõu trong lieân heä nhaân duyeân chaèng chòt: söï
coù maët cuûa goã keùo theo söï coù maët cuûa caây, söï coù maët cuûa laù keùo theo
söï coù maët cuûa maët trôøi, vaân vaân. Haønh giaû thaáy ñöôïc moät trong taát caû
vaø duø khoâng nhìn vaøo chieác gheá tröôùc maët, cuõng thaáy ñöôïc söï coù maët
cuûa noù trong loøng vaïn höõu. Caùi gheá khoâng coù töï taùnh rieâng bieät, maø noù
coù trong lieân heä duyeân khôûi vôùi caùc hieän töôïng khaùc trong vuõ truï; noù coù
vì taát caû caùc caùi khaùc coù, noù khoâng thì caùc caùi khaùc ñeàu khoâng. Moãi laàn
môû mieäng noùi “gheá”, hoaëc moãi laàn khaùi nieäm “gheá” ñöôïc thaønh hình
trong nhaän thöùc chuùng ta laø moãi laàn löôõi göôm khaùi nieäm vung leân vaø
cheùm xuoáng, phaân thöïc taïi ra laøm hai maûnh: moät maûnh laø gheá, moät
maûnh laø taát caû nhöõng gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá. Ñoái vôùi thöïc taïi thì söï chia
caét aáy taøn baïo voâ cuøng. Chuùng ta khoâng thaáy ñöôïc raèng töï thaân caùi gheá
laø taát caû nhöõng gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá phoái hôïp maø thaønh. Taát caû nhöõng
gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá naèm ngay trong caùi gheá. Laøm sao chia caét cho
ñöôïc? Ngöôøi trí nhìn caùi gheá thì thaáy söï coù maët cuûa taát caû nhöõng gì
khoâng phaûi laø gheá, vì vaäy thaáy ñöôïc tính caùch baát sinh baát dieät cuûa
gheá.
Thöù ba laø Phuû nhaän söï hieän höõu cuûa söï vaät laø phuû nhaän söï hieän
höõu cuûa toaøn theå vuõ truï: Moät chieác xe ñaïp chaúng haïn, baét ñaàu coù töø
luùc naøo? Neáu noùi raèng caùi xe ñaïp baét ñaàu coù töø luùc boä phaän cuoái cuøng
ñöôïc raùp vaøo, taïi sao tröôùc ñoù mình laïi noùi chieác xe ñaïp naøy coøn thieáu
moät boä phaän? Khi chieác xe ñaïp hö hoaïi, khoâng duøng ñöôïc nöõa, taïi sao
mình laïi goïi laø chieác xe ñaïp hö? Haõy thöû quaùn nieäm veà giôø sinh vaø giôø
töû cuûa caùi xe ñaïp ñeå coù theå thaáy ñöôïc caùi xe ñaïp khoâng theå naøo ñöôïc
ñaët ra ngoaøi boán phaïm truø “coù, khoâng, sinh, dieät.” Phuû nhaän söï coù maët
cuûa caùi gheá töùc laø phuû nhaän söï coù maët cuûa toaøn theå vuõ truï. Caùi gheá kia
maø khoâng coù thì vaïn höõu cuõng khoâng. Söï hieän höõu cuûa caùi gheá khoâng
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ai coù theå laøm cho noù trôû neân khoâng hieän höõu, ngay caû vieäc chaët cheõ noù
ra, hay ñoát noù ñi. Neáu chuùng ta thaønh coâng trong vieäc huûy hoaïi caùi gheá,
laø chuùng ta coù theå huûy hoaïi toaøn theå vuõ truï. Khaùi nieäm “baét ñaàu vaø
chaám döùt” (sanh dieät) gaén lieàn vôùi khaùi nieäm “coù vaø khoâng.” Khi
chuùng ta nhìn vaøo moät caùi gheá chuùng ta chæ thaáy söï coù maët cuûa goã, maø
khoâng thaáy ñöôïc söï coù maët cuûa röøng, cuûa caây, cuûa laù, cuûa baøn tay
ngöôøi thôï moäc, cuûa taâm ta... Haønh giaû khi nhìn vaøo caùi gheá phaûi thaáy
ñöôïc caû vaïn höõu trong lieân heä nhaân duyeân chaèng chòt: söï coù maët cuûa
goã keùo theo söï coù maët cuûa caây, söï coù maët cuûa laù keùo theo söï coù maët
cuûa maët trôøi, vaân vaân. Haønh giaû thaáy ñöôïc moät trong taát caû vaø duø
khoâng nhìn vaøo chieác gheá tröôùc maët, cuõng thaáy ñöôïc söï coù maët cuûa noù
trong loøng vaïn höõu. Caùi gheá khoâng coù töï taùnh rieâng bieät, maø noù coù
trong lieân heä duyeân khôûi vôùi caùc hieän töôïng khaùc trong vuõ truï; noù coù vì
taát caû caùc caùi khaùc coù, noù khoâng thì caùc caùi khaùc ñeàu khoâng. Moãi laàn
môû mieäng noùi “gheá”, hoaëc moãi laàn khaùi nieäm “gheá” ñöôïc thaønh hình
trong nhaän thöùc chuùng ta laø moãi laàn löôõi göôm khaùi nieäm vung leân vaø
cheùm xuoáng, phaân thöïc taïi ra laøm hai maûnh: moät maûnh laø gheá, moät
maûnh laø taát caû nhöõng gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá. Ñoái vôùi thöïc taïi thì söï chia
caét aáy taøn baïo voâ cuøng. Chuùng ta khoâng thaáy ñöôïc raèng töï thaân caùi gheá
laø taát caû nhöõng gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá phoái hôïp maø thaønh. Taát caû nhöõng
gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá naèm ngay trong caùi gheá. Laøm sao chia caét cho
ñöôïc? Ngöôøi trí nhìn caùi gheá thì thaáy söï coù maët cuûa taát caû nhöõng gì
khoâng phaûi laø gheá, vì vaäy thaáy ñöôïc tính caùch baát sinh baát dieät cuûa
gheá. Hôn nöõa, haønh giaû neân quaùn chieáu thöôøng xuyeân ñeå thaáy ñöôïc caû
vaïn höõu trong lieân heä nhaân duyeân chaèng chòt.

Zen Practitioners and Meditation on Emptiness

Zen practitioner should always practice meditation on the

emptiness of all things. Contemplation the nature of emptiness in the
assembly of the five aggregates: bodily form, feeling, perception, mind
functionings, and consciousnesses. Pass from considering one
aggregate to another. See that all transform, are impermanent and
without self. The assembly of the five aggregates is like the assembly
of all phenomena: all obey the law of interdependence. Their coming
together and disbanding from one another resembles the gathering and
vanishing of clouds around the peaks of mountains. We should practice
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the contemplation on Emptiness so that we will have the ability to

neither cling to nor reject the five aggregates. To contemplate on
emptiness to know that like and dislike are only phenomena which
belong the assemblage of the five aggregates. To contemplate on
emptiness so that we are able to see clearly that the five aggregates
are without self and are empty, but that they are also wondrous,
wondrous as is each phenomenon in the universe, wondrous as the life
which is present everywhere. To contemplate on emptiness so that we
are able to see that the five aggregates do not really undergo creation
and destruction for they themselves are ultimate reality. By this
contemplation we can see that impermanence is a concept, non-self is a
concept, and emptiness is also a concept, so that we will not become
imprisoned in the concepts of impermanence, non-self, and emptines.
We will see that emptiness is also empty, and that the ultimate reality
of emptiness is no different from the ultimate reality of the five
aggregates.
First, let go habitual ways of thinking: The goal of meditation is to
realize that everything is ‘empty’. But this realization must be
experimential, not merely intellectual. It is not enough to assert that
everything is empty; one must see into the fact of emptiness in all
one’s daily activities. In meditation on true emptiness, practitioners let
go habitual ways of thinking about being and non-being by realizing
that these concepts were formed by incorrectly perceiving things as
independent and permanent. Eventually, Zen realization brings us from
the void back into the world of actuality. Even though we realize that
everything is empty, still things are what they are. In this state, the
mind clings neither to nothingness nor to actuality. It is the truth which
lies beyond, and yet within, the realm of relativity, the unutterable,
inexpressible truth transcendent over all dichotomies posited by the
conditioned mind. This is the profound ‘Middle Way’, for this not a
philosophical concept, but a practical one as well. In terms of practices
the Middle Way teaches us to avoid all extremes of thought and action,
to hold fast to the golden mean between excess and deficiency.
Second, see the entire universe in interwoven and interdependent
relations in all things: When we look at a chair, we see the wood, but
we fail to observe the tree, the forest, the carpenter, or our own mind.
When we meditate on it, we can see the entire universe in all its inter-
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woven and interdependent relations in the chair. The presence of the

wood reveals the presence of the tree. The presence of the leaf reveals
the presence of the sun. Meditator can see the one in the many, and the
many in the one. Even before they see the chair, they can see its
presence in the heart of living reality. The chair is not separate. It
exists only in its interdependent relations with everything else in the
universe. It is because all other things are. If it is not, then all other
things are not either. Every time we use the word “chair” or the
concept “chair” forms in our mind, reality severed in half. There is
“chair” and there is everything which is “not chair.” This kind of
separation is both violent and absurd. The sword of conceptualization
functions this way because we do not realize that the chair is made
entirely from non-chair elements. Since all non-chair elements are
present in the chair, how can we separate them? An awakened
individual vividly sees the non-chair elements when looking at the
chair, and realizes that the chair has no boundaries, no beginning, and
no end.
Third, to deny existence of anything is to deny the presence of the
whole universe: For example, from what moment in time can we say
that a particular bicycle has come into existence and from what
moment is it no longer existent? If we say that it begins to exist the
moment the last part is assembled, does that mean we cannot say,
“This bicycle needs just one more part,” the prior moment? And when
it is broken and cannot be ridden, why do we call it “a broken bicycle?”
If we meditate on the moment the bicycle is and the moment it is no
longer, we will notice that the bicycle cannot be placed in the
categories “being and non-being” or “beginning and end.” To deny the
existence of a chair is to deny the presence of the whole universe. A
chair which exists cannot become non-existent, even if we chop it up
into small pieces or burn it. If we could succeed in destroying one
chair, we could destroy the entire universe. The concept of “beginning
and end” is closely linked with the concept of “being and non-being.”
When we look at a chair, we see the wood, but we fail to observe the
tree, the forest, the carpenter, or our own mind. When we meditate on
it, we can see the entire universe in all its inter-woven and
interdependent relations in the chair. The presence of the wood reveals
the presence of the tree. The presence of the leaf reveals the presence
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of the sun. Meditator can see the one in the many, and the many in the
one. Even before they see the chair, they can see its presence in the
heart of living reality. The chair is not separate. It exists only in its
interdependent relations with everything else in the universe. It is
because all other things are. If it is not, then all other things are not
either. Every time we use the word “chair” or the concept “chair”
forms in our mind, reality severed in half. There is “chair” and there is
everything which is “not chair.” This kind of separation is both violent
and absurd. The sword of conceptualization functions this way because
we do not realize that the chair is made entirely from non-chair
elements. Since all non-chair elements are present in the chair, how
can we separate them? An awakened individual vividly sees the non-
chair elements when looking at the chair, and realizes that the chair has
no boundaries, no beginning, and no end. Furthermore, Zen
practitioners should always contemplate to see the entire universe in
interwoven and interdependent relations in all things.
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Chöông Boán Möôi

Chapter Forty

Coâng AÙn Veà “Khoâng” Trong Nhaø Thieàn

Töø “Khoâng” hay “Hö khoâng” ñaõ trôû neân noåi tieáng laø moät coâng aùn
cuûa Thieàn phaùi Laâm Teá, caùi “Khoâng” cuûa Trieäu Chaâu Toøng Thaåm, vaø
chuùng ta coù theå noùi toaøn boä muïc ñích cuûa caùc tröôøng phaùi Thieàn laø
nhaän thöùc cho ñöôïc caùi “Khoâng.” Tuy nhieân, nguoàn goác cuûa khaùi nieäm
naøy khôûi söï ngay töø giaùo lyù caên baûn cuûa Ñöùc Phaät. Ñöùc Phaät ñaõ daïy
raèng moïi hieän töôïng ñeàu bò ñoùng bôûi boán daáu aán: voâ thöôøng, khoå, voâ
ngaõ vaø khoâng. Taïi sao Ñöùc Phaät laïi noùi veà söï troáng roãng cuûa taát caû caùc
hieän töôïng? Theo ñaïo Phaät, moïi hieän töôïng noåi leân vaø toàn taïi qua söï
taäp hôïp cuûa nhieàu thaønh phaàn khaùc bieät. Moïi vaät toàn taïi ñöôïc cuõng nhôø
caùc vaät khaùc cho söï toàn taïi cuûa noù, maø khoâng coù ñöôïc coát tuûy baát bieán
hieän thöïc ñoäc laäp, vaø do ñoù, töï noù voán laø “khoâng”. Caùc hieän töôïng ñeàu
coù moät veû beà ngoaøi toàn taïi, nghóa laø chuùng coù theå thaáy ñöôïc, nghe
ñöôïc, sôø ñöôïc, song ngoaøi caùi veû beà ngoaøi naøy chuùng khoâng coù moät
thöïc chaát beàn vöõng. Caùi thieáu thöïc chaát beàn vöõng naøy laø yù nghóa cuûa
“Khoâng.” Theo Thieàn Sö Thích Thieân AÂn trong “Trieát Lyù Thieàn-Thöïc
Taäp Thieàn,” coù leõ khaùi nieäm khoù hieåu veà “Khoâng” khoâng theå ñöôïc laøm
saùng toû baèng moät hay hai thí duï. Trong moät caên phoøng toái, neáu moät que
nhang chaùy ñoû ñöôïc quay voøng thaät nhanh, chuùng ta seõ thaáy moät voøng
saùng. Nhöng khi que nhang vöøa ngöøng quay thì voøng troøn löûa bieán maát.
Daàu voøng troøn coù hieån hieän vaø moïi ngöôøi ñeàu thaáy roõ nhö vaäy, noù thaät
ra chæ laø moät aûo giaùc do taâm taïo ra, Cuõng vì noù khoâng heà hieän höõu thaät
söï, neân ngay khi voøng troøn löûa aáy coù maët, noù vaãn laø troáng roãng, noù vaãn
laø “khoâng.” Cuõng nhö vaäy, moïi hieän töôïng ñeàu laø “troáng roãng” vì
chuùng noåi leân ñöôïc nhôø nhöõng nguyeân nhaân vaø ñieàu kieän. Töï chuùng,
chuùng voán troáng roãng vaø khoâng coù thöïc chaát, gioáng nhö voøng troøn löûa
do que nhang quay nhanh taïo neân. Maët khaùc, caùc hieän töôïng laø troáng
roãng vì chuùng phuø du. Caùc vaät ñeàu hoaïi dieät khi chuùng môùi thaønh, vaø vì
theá khoâng coù moät thöïc theå coá ñònh ñaèng sau nhöõng veû beà ngoaøi caûm
xuùc ñöôïc nhö chuùng ta thaáy chuùng. Vuõ truï hieän töôïng nhö laø moät cuoán
phim chieáu treân maøn aûnh traéng. Cuoán phim laø moät chuoãi lieân tuïc caùc
böùc aûnh luoân thay ñoåi. Vì voâ minh chuùng ta coù theå chaáp vaøo nhöõng
nhaân vaät treân maøn aûnh. Chuùng ta coù theå hoaëc khoùc theo hoï, töï haøo hay
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caêng thaúng böùc xuùc theo hoaøn caûnh, nhöng nhö theá cuõng khoâng laøm
cho hoï coù thaät ñöôïc, vaø moät khi maùy chieáu phim ngöng chieáu, thì taát caû
nhöõng nhaân vaät maø chuùng ta ñaõ quyeán luyeán seõ tan bieán vaøo hö khoâng,
ñem theo taát caû nhöõng vui buoàn, thöông, gheùt, nhöõng phieâu löu, uaån
khuùc. Theá giôùi maø chuùng ta ñang soáng cuõng gioáng nhö moät cuoán phim
ñang chieáu treân maøn aûnh: phuø du, khoâng thöïc chaát vaø troáng roãng. Ngay
caû ñeán caùi sinh vaät maø chuùng ta goïi laø “ta” khi ñöôïc phaân tích cuõng tan
bieán thaønh moät hình töôùng thieáu vaéng thöïc taïi toái haäu. Muïc ñích ñaàu
tieân vaø cuoái cuøng cuûa Thieàn laø nhaän thöùc ñöôïc raèng moïi vaät laø “troáng
roãng,” Nhöng söï nhaän thöùc naøy phaûi do thöïc nghieäm, chöù khoâng phaûi
do tri thöùc. Chæ khaúng ñònh raèng moïi vaät ñeàu troáng roãng vaãn chöa ñuû,
chuùng ta coøn phaûi thaáy ñöôïc söï troáng roãng trong haønh ñoäng haèng ngaøy
cuûa chuùng ta. Söï troáng roãng phaûi ñöôïc naém vöõng trong töøng luùc, khoâng
moät thoaùng chaàn chöø. Ngaøy xöa coù moät thieàn sinh ñöôïc Thaày trao cho
coâng aùn “Khoâng” ñeå tham cöùu. Suoát nhieàu naêm trôøi oâng cöù nghieàn
ngaãm coâng aùn cho ñeán moät buoåi chieàu ngoài thieàn oâng nghó laø mình ñaõ
ngoä ñöôïc. OÂng lieàn chaïy ñi tìm thaày ñeå baùo caùo kinh nghieäm cuû a oâng,
nhöng oâng thaày laïi khoâng voäi khen taëng. Ngay khi vò thieàn sinh vöøa
böôùc chaân vaøo phoøng thaày vaø gaàm leân moät tieáng “Khoâng” thaät lôùn, oâng
thaày beøn caàm caây quaït ñaäp cho y moät caùi. Laäp töùc, vò thieàn sinh ñoû maët
tía tai vì giaän. Thaáy theá vò thaày lieàn baûo: “Neáu quaû thaät con hieåu raèng
moïi söï ñeàu laø khoâng, taïi sao con coøn giaän?” Vò thieàn sinh ngoä ngay
trong caâu noùi cuûa thaày. “Khoâng” phaûi ñöôïc soáng trong doøng ñôøi cuûa
chuùng ta töøng giaây töøng phuùt, chöù khoâng phaûi chæ saép xeáp thaønh moät
khaùi nieäm tröøu töôïng baèng kieán thöùc. Khi “Khoâng” ñöôïc xem nhö moät
khaùi nieäm chöù khoâng phaûi laø moät thöïc theå soáng ñoäng, thì noù ñaõ maát.
Chæ chôùp maét moät caùi laø chuùng ta ñaõ khoâng thaáy ñöôïc. Moät ngöôøi coù
theå hieåu thaáu ñaùo kieán thöùc giaùo lyù veà “Khoâng,” nhöng neáu ngöôøi aáy
noåi giaän khi bò thoùa maï, lôùn tieáng khoe khoang khi ñöôïc ca tuïng hay
danh voïng, vaø thaáy böïc boäi khi khoâng ñöôïc vöøa yù, thì khoâng theå noùi
ngöôøi aáy ñaõ nhaän thöùc ñöôïc caùi “Khoâng”. “Khoâng” laø moät loái soáng
nhieàu hôn laø moät yù nghó. Moät ngöôøi soáng vôùi caùi “Khoâng” coù theå khoâng
giaûi thích ñöôïc noù, nhöng neáu ngöôì aáy thaät söï chöùng toû ñöôïc caùi
“Khoâng” naøy trong moïi luùc cuûa ñôøi soáng haèng ngaøy thì ngöôøi aáy ñaõ
thaønh töïu con ñöôøng tu ñaïo. "Voâ" laø moät tieáp ñaàu ngöõ coù nghóa phuû
ñònh, töông ñöông vôùi 'khoâng' maø thieàn sö Trieäu Chaâu ñaõ duøng ñeå traû
lôøi cho coâng aùn 'con choù coù Phaät taùnh hay khoâng?' 'Mu' cuõng ñöôïc duøng
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vôùi nghóa laø khoâng coù gì heát. Sau ñaây laø coâng aùn trong thí duï thöù nhaát
cuûa Voâ Moân Quan: "Moät vò Taêng hoûi Trieäu Chaâu: 'Con choù thaät coù
Phaät tính hay khoâng?' Trieäu Chaâu noùi: 'Khoâng!'" Nhieäm vuï cuûa moät
thieàn sinh laø tröïc tieáp ñi saâu vaøo yù nghóa saâu saéc cuûa coâng aùn naày, maø
khoâng caàn tôùi söï can döï cuûa trí tueä, baèng caùch toïa thieàn töø tieáng 'Voâ'
aáy. Coâng aùn naày hoaøn toaøn ñaùp öùng vôùi chöùc naêng cuûa moät coâng aùn
phaùp thaân, vaø thöôøng ñöôïc vò thaày ñöa ra cho hoïc troø tröôùc. Khi hoïc troø
giaûi ñöôïc, ngöôøi ta noùi ngöôøi ñoù hieåu ñöôïc 'Theá giôùi Voâ'. Trong suoát
thôøi gian ñaøo taïo thieàn, ñieàu quan troïng laø khaùm phaù vaø bieåu hieän
nhöõng möùc ñoä theå nghieäm ngaøy caøng saâu. Thöôøng thì ñaây laø coâng aùn
ñöôïc trao cho moät thieàn sinh môùi trong Phaät giaùo. “Khoâng!” Khoâng coù
nghóa laø “khoâng coù gì heát,” nhöng trong baøi naøy noù chæ söï töø choái cung
caáp moät caâu traû lôøi baèng tö töôûng khaùi nieäm hay ngoân ngöõ phaøm phu.
Vaán ñeà coâng aùn, theo Thieàn toâng, taát caû chuùng sanh ñeàu coù Phaät taùnh,
vaø vì vaäy con choù cuõng phaûi coù Phaät taùnh. Nhöng neáu Trieäu Chaâu traû
lôøi caâu hoûi laø “coù,” thì hoùa ra oâng ta bò maéc keït vaøo nhò nguyeân. Ngöôïc
laïi, neáu oâng traû lôøi “khoâng,” hoùa ra oâng töï ñaët mình taùch rôøi khoûi trí tueä
cuûa caùc vò toå trong truyeàn thoáng. Vì vaäy maø caâu traû lôøi cuûa oâng chæ
raèng traû lôøi caâu hoûi naøy vöôït ra ngoaøi ngoân ngöõ vaø giaùo phaùp vaø phaûi
ñöôïc naém baét baèng tröïc giaùc. Khi thieàn sinh hieåu ñöôïc yù ñònh cuûa caâu
traû lôøi cuûa Trieäu Chaâu, ngöôøi ta noùi ñoù laø moät tia loeù töùc thôøi cuûa trí
tueä.

Koans of Emptiness in Zen

The term “Emptiness” or “Nothingness” has become best known as

a koan in Lin-Chi Zen, Zhao-Chou-T’sung-Shen’s “Emptiness” (Mu),
and it can indeed be said that the whole aim of all school of Zen is to
bring about the realization of “Emptiness.” However, the origin of this
concept goes back to the basic teaching of the Buddha. The Buddha
taught that all phenomena are branded with four marks: impermanence,
suffering, selflessness, and emptiness. Why does the Buddha say about
the ‘emptiness’ of all phenomena? According to Buddhism, all
phenomena arise and exist through the combination of many different
elements. Since whatever exists depends upon other things for its
existence, it lacks an immutable core of independent actuality and is
therefore, considered in itself, void. Phenomena possess a kind of
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apparent existence, in that they can be seen, heard, touched, etc., but
beyond their status as appearances they have no substantial reality.
This lack of substantial reality is what signified by the word
“Emptiness.” According to Zen Master Thich Thien An in “Zen
Philosophy-Zen Practice,” perhaps the concept of “emptiness” is
difficult to be clarified by one or two illustrations. If in a dark room, a
stick of burning incense is twirled very rapidly, a circle of light is seen.
But as soon as we stop the stick of burning incense, the circle of light
disappears. Though the circle was visible and everybody saw it as such,
it was actually an illusion created by the mind. Since it has no real
existence, the circle even when present and visible is empty. In the
same way, all phenomena are empty because they arise in dependence
upon causes and conditions. In themselves they are vacuous and
insubstantial as the circle created by the twirling stick of burning
incense. Again, phenomena are empty because they are evanescent.
Things perish the moment they arise, and thus there is no abiding entity
behind the sensible appearances that present themselves to us. The
phenomenal universe is like a film projected upon a blank screen. The
film is a continuous series of ever changing pictures. Through our
ignorance we may become attached to the figures on the screen. We
may laugh with them or cry with them, swell with pride or grow tense
with excitement, but this does not make them real, and once the
projector stops, all these figures with whom we have been so deeply
involved will vanish into nothingness, together with all their loves and
hates, their joys and sorrows, and their ventures and intrigues. The
world we are living in is just like a movie on the screen: evanescent,
insubstantial and void. Even this very being we call our “self” dissolves
upon analysis into a mere appearance destitute of final actuality. The
first and final goal of Zen is to realize that everything is emptiness. But
this realization must be experiential, not merely intellectual. It is not
enough to assert that everything is empty; one must see into the fact of
emptiness in all one’s daily activities. Emptiness is to be grasped from
the inside at each moment, without hesitation. Once there was a Zen
student who was studying the koan of “Emptiness” under a master. He
worked very hard on the koan for several years until, one evening in
meditation, he believed that he had realized “Satori”. He ran to the
master to report his experience, but the master was not in a hurry to
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offer his congratulations. As soon as the student entered the master’s

room and burst out with a loud bellowing “Emptiness”, the master
swatted him with his fan. Immediately the student’s face turned red
with anger. Seeing this, the master added with a gentle smile: “If you
really understand that everything is empty, why are you angry?” The
student suddenly attained “satori” after hearing this. Emptiness must be
lived in the stream of daily life flowing by us all the time and not
forming into an abstract concept by understanding. When “emptiness”
is grasped as a concept and not a living reality, it has been lost. With a
blink of the eyes we have missed seeing. A man may have a thorough
intellectual understanding of the doctrine of emptiness, but if he gets
angry when insulted, clamors for praise and fame, and feels upset
when he does not get his way, he cannot be said to have realized
emptiness. Emptiness is not so much an idea as it is a state of being.
The man who lives in “emptiness” may not be able to explain it, but if
he can really demonstrate “Empiness” in every phase of his day to day
life, he is an accomplished man of the Way. "Mu" ia a negative prefix,
somewhat equivalent to 'non' which Zen master Chao-Chou used to
response to the koan 'does the dog have Buddha nature?' 'Mu' is also
used with the meaning of 'nothing'. The first example in the Wu-Men-
Kuan is as follows: "A monk asked master Chao-chou respectfully,
'Does a dog really have Buddha-nature or not?' Chao-chou said, 'Mu!'"
The task of the student, while practicing sitting meditation (zazen) with
this 'Mu', is to come to an immediate experience, beyond any
intellectual signification, of its very profound content. Since this koan is
extraordinarily apt as a 'dharmakaya or dharma-body' (hosshin koan), it
is often the first koan received by a Zen student from his master. When
the student has mastered it, it is said that he has become acquainted
with 'the world of mu'. In the course of Zen training this 'mu' is to be
experienced and demonstrated on ever deeper levels. Often the first
Koan presented to a new student of Zen Buddhism. Here "Wu" literally
means “nothing” or “not,” but in this context indicates a refusal to
provide an answer that is based on conceptual thought or ordinary
language. The problem of the koan is that according to Ch’an tradition
all beings have the buddha-nature, and so dogs would naturally be
included. But if Chao-Chou responds to the question affirmatively, he
falls to the trap of duality. On the other hand, if he responds negatively,
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he puts himself at odds with the received wisdom of the patriarchs of

tradition. Thus his response indicates that the answer to the question
lies beyond words and doctrines and must be grasped directly and
intuitively. When a student understands the purport of Chao-Chou’s
answer, it is said that a spontaneous flash of insight dawns.
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Chöông Boán Möôi Moát

Chapter Forty-One

Taùnh Khoâng Chieáu Dieäu

Trong Thieàn, khi moät Thieàn gia ñaõ ngoä khoâng nhöõng chæ bieát caùi
phöông dieän chieáu dieäu cuûa yù thöùc, maø quan troïng hôn heát coøn bieát caû
caùi phöông dieän khoâng cuûa taâm. Chieáu dieäu maø coøn chaáp tröôùc bò
Thieàn khinh thò laø "töû thuûy", coøn chieáu dieäu maø khoâng chaáp tröôùc, hoaëc
caùi Tính Khoâng Chieáu Dieäu thì ñöôïc Thieàn ca ngôïi laø "ñaïi nhaân sinh".
Thaàn Tuù laø moät trong nhöõng ñeä töû noåi tieáng cuõa Nguõ Toå Hoaèng Nhaãn,
vò kia laø Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng. Sau khi nguõ toå thò tòch, hai tröôø ng phaùi
ñöôïc hai vò thaønh laäp, doøng thieàn phöông baéc vaø doøng thieàn phöông
nam. Thaàn Tuù ñaõ truyeàn baù thieàn veà phöông baéc vaø ñöôïc bieát ñeán nhö
Tieäm Giaùo vaø chuû yeáu döïa vaøo hoïc thuyeát cuûa kinh Laêng Giaø; duø ñöôïc
Hoaøng Trieàu nöùc loøng baûo trôï vaãn khoâng toàn taïi ñöôïc bao laâu, chaúng
bao laâu sau thì doøng thieàn phöông baéc taøn ruïi, vaø ñöôïc thay theá bôûi
doøng thieàn cuûa Luïc toå Hueä Naêng ñöôïc bieát vôùi teân doøng Thieàn Trung
Hoa. Sôû dó thôøi ñoù Thaàn Tuù ñöôïc bieát ñeán nhö laø ngöôøi keá vò chính
thöùc cuûa Nguõ Toå Hoaèng Nhaãn cho ñeán giöõa theá kyû thöù VIII vì oâng coù
nhöõng lieân heä tuyeät vôøi vôùi trieàu ñình. Laø moät thieàn sö tuyeät vôøi vaø ñaõ
ñöôïc hoaøng haäu Voõ Taéc Thieân ñöa leân laøm Phaùp Sö ôû Tröôøng An vaø
Laïc Döông. Tuy nhieân, veà sau naày chæ coù doøng thieàn cuûa Luïc Toå Hueä
Naêng coøn toàn taïi vaø ñaõ naåy sanh ra caùc doøng Laâm Teá, Thieân Thai, vaân
vaân. Thaàn Tuù laø taùc giaû cuûa baøi keä naøy:
Thaân thò Boà ñeà thoï,
Taâm nhö minh caûnh ñaøi
Thôøi thôøi thöôøng phaát thöùc,
Vaät xöû nhaï traàn ai.
(Thaân laø caây Boà Ñeà,
Taâm nhö ñaøi göông saùng
Luoân luoân sieâng lau chuøi
Chôù ñeå dính buïi baëm).
Baøi keä maø Thaàn Tuù vieát ñeå baøy toû kieán thöùc veà Thieàn cuûa mình
leân cho Nguõ Toå chöùng toû Thaàn Tuù chæ bieát caùi phöông dieän chieáu dieäu,
chöù khoâng bieát caùi khoâng cuûa taâm.
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Nhö treân ñaõ noùi, moät Thieàn gia moät khi ñaõ ngoä khoâng nhöõng chæ
bieát caùi phöông dieän chieáu dieäu cuûa yù thöùc, maø quan troïng hôn heát coøn
bieát caû caùi phöông dieän khoâng cuûa taâm. Chieáu dieäu maø coøn chaáp tröôùc
bò Thieàn khinh thò laø "töû thuûy", coøn chieáu dieäu maø khoâng chaáp tröôùc,
hoaëc caùi Tính Khoâng Chieáu Dieäu thì ñöôïc Thieàn ca ngôïi laø "ñaïi nhaân
sinh". Vaø Baøi keä maø Thaàn Tuù vieát ñeå baøy toû kieán thöùc veà Thieàn cuûa
mình leân cho Nguõ Toå chöùng toû Thaàn Tuù chæ bieát caùi phöông dieän chieáu
dieäu, chöù khoâng bieát caùi khoâng cuûa taâm. Khi caùi "taâm nhö ñaøi göông
saùng" cuûa Thaàn Tuù ñöùng ñoái laïi vôùi caùi "xöa nay khoâng moät vaät" cuûa
Hueä Naêng, noù trôû neân voâ vò moät caùch thaûm thöông ñeán noãi noù laøm oâng
thua trong cuoäc tranh chöùc "Luïc Toå Thieàn." Caâu "xöa nay khoâng moät
vaät" cuûa Hueä Naêng bieåu thò hieån nhieân caùi "Theå cuûa Taâm" cuõng nhö
caùi coát tuûy thaâm saâu nhaát cuûa Thieàn. Chính nhôø caùi kieán thöùc saâu xa
naøy maø Hueä Naêng ñaõ trôû thaønh Luïc Toå Thieàn Toâng. Baøi keä cuûa Hueä
Naêng vieát nhö sau:
Boà ñeà boån voâ thoï,
Minh caûnh dieät phi ñaøi,
Baûn lai voâ nhaát vaät,
Haø xöù nhaï traàn ai ?
(Boà ñeà voán khoâng caây,
Göông saùng cuõng chaúng ñaøi,
Xöa nay khoâng moät vaät,
Choã naøo dính buïi baëm?).
Theo lòch söû thuyeàn toâng, taùc giaû cuûa baøi keä naày chính laø cö só Hueä
Naêng chuyeân lo taïp dòch döôùi beáp, suoát ngaøy chæ bieát böõa cuûi, giaõ gaïo
cho chuøa. Dieän maïo ngöôøi quaù taàm thöôøng ñeán noãi khoâng maáy ai ñeå yù,
neân luùc baáy giôø toaøn theå ñoà chuùng raát ñoãi söûng soát. Nhöng Toå thì thaáy
ôû vò Taêng khoâng tham voïng aáy moät phaùp khí coù theå thoáng laõnh ñoà
chuùng sau naày, vaø nhaát ñònh truyeàn y phaùp cho ngöôøi. Nhöng Toå laïi coù
yù lo, vì haàu heát moân ñoà cuûa Toå ñeàu chöa ñuû hueä nhaõn ñeå nhaän ra aùnh
tröïc giaùc thaâm dieäu trong nhöõng haøng chöõ treân cuûa ngöôøi giaõ gaïo Hueä
Naêng. Neáu Toå coâng boá vinh döï ñaéc phaùp aáy leân e nguy hieåm ñeán taùnh
maïng ngöôøi thoï phaùp. Neân Toå ngaàm baûo Hueä Naêng ñuùng canh ba, khi
ñoà chuùng nguû yeân, vaøo tònh thaát Toå daïy vieäc. Theá roài Toå trao y phaùp
cho Hueä Naêng laøm tín vaät chöùng toû baèng côù ñaéc phaùp voâ thöôïng, vaø
baùo tröôùc haäu vaän cuûa ñaïo Thieàn seõ röïc rôõ hôn bao giôø heát. Toå coøn daën
Hueä Naêng chôù voäi noùi phaùp, maø haõy taïm mai danh aån tích nôi röøng nuùi,
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chôø ñeán thôøi cô seõ coâng khai xuaát hieän vaø hoaèng döông chaùnh phaùp. Toå
coøn noùi y phaùp truyeàn laïi töø Toå Boà Ñeà Ñaït Ma laøm tín vaät sau naày
ñöøng truyeàn xuoáng nöõa, vì töø ñoù Thieàn ñaõ ñöôïc theá gian coâng nhaän,
khoâng caàn phaûi duøng y aùo tieâu bieåu cho tín taâm nöõa.
Haønh giaû tu Phaät, nhaát laø haønh giaû tu Thieàn, phaûi neân luoân nhôù
nhöõng giaùo thuyeát veà Theå Töôùng Duïng laø ba thöù lôùn trong Khôûi Tín
Luaän. Theo Boån Theå Hoïc Phaät giaùo, ngöôøi ta phaân bieät ba khaùi nieäm:
theå hay boån theå, töôùng hay hình daùng, vaø duïng hay taùc ñoäng. Theå töông
ñöông vôùi khaùi nieäm veà theå chaát cuûa hieän höõu, töôùng chæ veà hình
töôùng, vaø duïng chæ veà naêng löïc hoaït ñoäng. Caùc trieát gia Phaät giaùo cho
raèng moïi thöïc taïi coù theå phaân taùch thaønh ba khaùi nieäm nhö treân. Nhöng
ñoâi khi khaùi nieäm töôùng bò huùt maát trong khaùi nieäm theå. Khoâng coù
duïng thì khoâng coù vaät naøo heát, nhöng duïng khoâng theå ñoäng duïng ñöôïc
neáu khoâng coù gì chuyeån duïng. Neân theo caùc trieát gia Phaät giaùo, theå vaø
duïng laø hai khaùi nieäm khoâng theå taùch rôøi nhau trong vieäc nhaän thöùc vuõ
truï. Phaät giaùo vaø taâm lyù hoïc hieän ñaïi ñeàu cho chuùng ta bieát raèng "Taâm"
cuûa chuùng ta coù nhieàu giai taàng, moät soá ñöôïc löu yù ñaëc bieät trong phaïm
vi taâm lyù hoïc, vaø moät soá thì ñöôïc löu yù ñaëc bieät trong caùc phaïm vi cuûa
trieát hoïc vaø toân giaùo. Tuy nhieân, Thieàn khoâng löu taâm ñeán nhöõng phaïm
vi dò bieät naøy, maø Thieàn chæ löu yù ñeán vieäc thaâm nhaäp vaøo Theå, hoaëc
caùi taâm ñieåm taän cuøng cuûa Taâm, vì Thieàn chuû tröông raèng moä t khi naém
ñöôïc caùi taâm ñieåm naøy, taát caû nhöõng thöù khaùc trôû neân khoâng quan
troïng. Trong Thieàn, duïng cuûa Taâm laø caùi beà maët theå hieän vaø hoaït
ñoäng. Duïng Taâm bao haøm nhöõng taùc naêng tinh thaàn hoaït ñoäng cuûa caû
taùm thöùc, caû nhöõng chöùc vuï trí naêng laãn tình caûm, tröøu töôïng vaø töôïng
tröng nhö laø yeâu, gheùt, duïc voïng, lyù trí, töôûng töôïng, kyù öùc, vaân vaân.
Duïng Taâm laø caùi phöông dieän hieån nhieân maø ai trong chuùng ta cuõng ñaõ
töøng tröïc tieáp theå nghieäm. Töôùng Taâm hay baûn chaát cuûa Taâm laø
phöông dieän beân trong cuûa Taâm, hay taàng trong cuûa Taâm. Baûn chaát cuûa
Taâm naøy laø gì? Trong Thieàn, baûn chaát cuûa Taâm laø "Töï Thöùc". Töï thöùc
coù nghóa laø yù thöùc ñöôïc nhöõng söï bieán hieän cuûa yù thöùc, hoaëc yù thöùc
ñöôïc nhöõng aán töôïng nhaän ñöôïc hay nhöõng hình aûnh do yù thöùc naém baét
ñöôïc. YÙ thöùc ñöôïc söï bieán hieän naøy laø moät kinh nghieäm tuyeät ñoái,
thuaàn tuùy trong ñoù khoâng coù chuû theå "naêng tri" hoaëc khaùch theå "sôû tri",
naêng tri vaø sôû tri ñaõ hôïp nhaát vaøo moät thöïc theå cuûa caûm thöùc thuaàn tuùy.
Trong caùi "caûm thöùc thuaàn tuùy" naøy khoâng coù choã cho söï löôõng phaân
cuûa nhò nguyeân luaän. Töï thöùc thuaàn tuùy thì thaät söï vaø thöïc nghieäm coù
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tính chaát baát nhò, nhö caùc hieàn trieát Phaät giaùo ñaõ chöùng thöïc caùch ñaây
nhieàu theá kyû. Töï thöùc hay baûn chaát cuûa Taâm khoâng phaûi laø taùc naêng
cuûa tri thöùc, maø laø chính tri thöùc trong hình thöùc chaân thaät nhaát cuûa noù.
Khi moät ngöôøi khaùm phaù ra caùi töï thöùc naøy, ngöôøi aáy thaáy caû con ngöôøi
cuûa mình thay ñoåi. Trong khi daán thaân vaøo moät haønh ñoäng naøo ñoù,
ngöôøi aáy caûm thaáy nhö theå mình ñang vöôït qua chính haønh ñoäng ñoù,
ngöôøi aáy vaãn noùi chuyeän vaø ñi laïi, nhöng caûm thaáy caùi noùi vaø caùi ñi laïi
cuûa mình khoâng gioáng nhö tröôùc, baây giôø ngöôøi aáy ñi vôùi moät taâm thöùc
môû roäng. Ngöôøi aáy thöïc söï bieát raèng chính laø mình ñang laøm caùi coâng
vieäc ñi; ngöôøi daãn ñaïo caùi ñi chính laø mình, mình ñang ngoài giöõa taâm
kieåm soaùt taát caû haønh ñoäng cuûa mình moät caùch töï nhieân. Ngöôøi aáy ñi
trong yù thöùc saùng suûa vaø vôùi taâm linh chieáu dieäu. Noùi caùch khaùc, ngöôøi
ñaõ thöïc hieän töï thöùc, caûm thaáy mình khoâng coøn laø teân ñaày tôù ngoan
ngoaõn cuûa xung löïc muø quaùng, maø laø chuû cuûa chính mình. Luùc aáy,
ngöôøi ñoù caûm thaáy raèng nhöõng ngöôøi bình thöôøng, meâ môø khoâng bieát gì
ñeán caùi yù thöùc chieáu dieäu, baåm sinh cuûa hoï, böôùc treân ñöôøng nhö
nhöõng thaây ma bieát ñi khoâng hôn khoâng keùm! Cuoái cuøng, "Theå Taâm"
hay caùi taâm ñieåm noäi taïi nhaát cuûa taâm. Trong Thieàn, theå cuûa Taâm laø
caùi khoâng nhö chieáu dieäu.

The Illuminating-Void Suchness

In Zen, when an enlightened Zen Buddhist not only knows the

illuminating aspect of the consciousness but, most important of all, he
also knows the void aspect of the mind. Illumination with attachment is
decried by Zen as "dead water", but illumination without attachment, or
the Illuminating-Voidness, is praised as "the great life." Shen-Hsiu was
one of the most famous disciples of the Fifth Patriarch Hung-Jen, the
other being Hui-Neng. After Hung-Jen passed away, the rival schools
founded by the two men, the North and the South. Shen-Hsiu spread
Zen Buddhism in northern China. His lineage called the Northern
School and became known as the Gradual Teaching and relied on the
Lankavatara Sutra as its basic scripture; although patronized by the
reigning Emperor, did not last very long, soon later it died out and was
replaced by the Hui-Neng School which became known as the Chinese
Ch’an School. The reason Shen-hsiu was officially recognized as the
spiritual heir of the fifth patriarch until the middle of the 8th century
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can be attributed to his connection to the imperial court of the time. He

was known as an outstanding Zen master and an advocate of strict
'zazen' when Empress Wu summoned him to the imperial court to be
the Dharma Master of Ch'ang-an and Loyang. However, later only the
Sudden School of Hui Neng survived and sprang the present Lin-Chi,
Soto, and T’ien-T’ai schools of Zen. Shen-Hsiu is the author of this
Poem:
The body is like the bodhi tree,
The mind is like a mirror bright,
Take heed to keep it always clean,
And let no dust accumulate on it.
The stanza which Shen-hsiu wrote to demonstrate his
understanding of Zen to the Fifth Patriarch showed that he knew only
the illuminating, not the void, aspect of the mind.
As mentioned above, an enlightened Zen Buddhist not only knows
the illuminating aspect of the consciousness but, most important of all,
he also knows the void aspect of the mind. Illumination with
attachment is decried by Zen as "dead water", but illumination without
attachment, or the Illuminating-Voidness, is praised as "the great life."
And the stanza which Shen-hsiu wrote to demonstrate his
understanding of Zen to the Fifth Patriarch showed that he knew only
the illuminating, not the void, aspect of the mind. When his mirror-like
bright consciousness came up against Hui-neng's "From the beginning
not a thing exists!" it became so pitifully insignificant that it made him
lose the race for the title of the "Sixth Patriarch of Zen". Hui-neng's
"From the beginning not a thing exists!" expresses unmistakably the
Essence of Mind as well as the innermost core of Zen. It was because
of this deep understanding that Hui-neng became the Sixth Patriarch of
Zen. The gatha read:
The Bodhi is not like the tree,
(Bodhi tree has been no tree)
The mirror bright is nowhere shinning,
(The shining mirror was actually none)
As there is nothing from the first,
(From the beginning, nothing has existed)
Where can the dust itself accumulate?
(How would anything be dusty?).
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According to the history of Zen, the writer of these lines was an

insignificant layman in the service of the monastery, who spent most of
his time inpounding rice and splitting wood for the temple. He has such
an unassuming air that nobody ever thought much of him, and therefore
the entire community was now set astir to see this challenge made
upon its recognized authority. But the fifth patriarch saw in this
unpretentious monk a future leader of mankind, and decided to transfer
to him the robe of his office. He had, however, some misgivings
concerning the matter; for the majority of his disciples were not
enlightened enough to see anything of deep religious intuition in the
lines by the rice-pounder, Hui-Neng. If he were publicly awarded the
honour they might do him harm. So the fifth patriarch gave a secret
sign to Hui-Neng to come to his room at midnight, when the rest of the
monks were still asleep. Then he gave him the robe as insignia of his
authority and in acknowledgement of his unsurpassed spiritual
attainment, and with the assurance that the future of their faith would
be brighter than ever. The patriarch then advised him that it would be
wise for him to hide his own light under a bushel until the proper time
arrived for the public appearance and active propaganda, and also that
the robe which was handed down from Bodhi-Dharma as a sign of faith
should no more be given up to Hui-Neng'’ successors, beause Zen was
now fully recognized by the outside world in general and there was no
more necessity to symbolize the faith by the transference of the robe.
Buddhist practitioners, especially Zen practitioners, should always
remember on these teachings of Substance, characteristics, function,
the three great fundamentals in the Awakening of Faith. In Buddhist
ontology three conceptions are distinguished: substance of body,
appearance, and function or activity. Body corresponds to the idea of
mass or being, appearance to that of form, and function to that of force.
Every reality is regarded by Buddhist philosophers as analysable into
these three notions. Sometimes, however, the second conception,
'appearance', is absorbed in that of 'being' or 'body'. Without
functioning no objects exist, but functioning cannot take place without
something functions. The two ideas, according to Buddhist
philosophers, are thus inseparable for our understanding of the
universe. Buddhism and modern psychology both tell us that the mind
has many aspects, of which some are of special interest to the field of
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psychology, and some to the fields of philosophy and religion. Zen,

however, is interested not in these different fields, but only in
penetrating to the Essence, or the innermost core of the mind, for it
holds that once this core is grasped, all else will become relatively
insignificant, and crystal clear. In Zen, the function of the mind is the
outer layer, is the manifesting and active facet. The function of the
mind includes the active mental functions of all the eight
consciousnesses, both notice and emotional, abstract and symbolic,
such as love, hate, desire, reason, fantasy, memory, and so forth. The
function of the mind is the obvious aspect, of which every human being
has had direct experience. The inner layer (aspect) of the mind means
the "form" or "nature". What is the nature of the mind? In Zen, the
nature of the mind is self-awareness. To be self-awareness means to be
aware of the results of the play of consciousness, or to be conscious of
the impression received or the images captured by the consciousnesses.
To be conscious of this play is an absolute, pure experience, in which
there is no subject "knower" or object "known", the knower and the
known having coalesced into one entity of "pure feeling". In this "pure
feeling" there is no room for the dichotomy of dualism. Pure self-
awareness is intrinsically and experientially nondualistic, as the
Buddhist sages have testified over many centuries. Self-awareness or
the nature of the mind is not the function of knowing, but the knowing
itself in its most intrinsic form. He who discovers this self-awareness,
finds his whole being changed. While engaged in any activity, he feels
as though he were transcending the activity; he talks and walks, but he
feels that his talking and walking is not the same as before; he now
walks with an opened mind. He actually knows that it is he who is
doing the walking; the director, himself, is sitting right in the centre of
his mind, controlling all his actions with spontaneity. He walks in bright
awareness and with illumined spirit. In other words, the man who
realizes self-awareness feels that he is no more the obedient servant of
blind impulse, but is his own master. He then senses that ordinary
people, blind to their innate, bright awareness, tread the streets like
walking corpses! Finally, the "Essence" or the innermost core of the
mind. In Zen, the Essence of mind is the Illuminating-Void Suchness.
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Chöông Boán Möôi Hai

Chapter Forty-Two

Kinh Kim Cang: Chæ Thaúng Vaøo Taùnh Khoâng

Trong Phaät giaùo, Kim Cang laø moät bieåu töôïng naêng löïc taâm linh voâ
thöôïng ñöôïc so saùnh vôùi vieân ngoïc quyù nhaát, kim cöông vôùi söï trong
suoát vaø saùng ngôøi cuûa noù, caùc maøu khaùc ñöôïc phaûn chieáu trong aáy, maø
noù vaãn giöõ ñöôïc tính khoâng maøu saéc cuûa noù. Noù coù theå caét ñöùt ñöôïc
moïi vaät raén khaùc, trong khi moät moät thöù gì coù theå caét ñöùt ñöôïc noù. Kinh
Kim Cang Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña, coøn goïi laø Naêng Ñoaïn Kim Cang
Kinh. Taát caû caùc phaùp höõu vi ñeàu gioáng nhö moäng, nhö huyeãn, nhö baøo
aûnh. Kinh Kim Cang, toùm löôïc cuûa Kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña Kinh,
ñöôïc ngaøi Huyeàn Trang dòch sang Hoa ngöõ. Kim cang Naêng Ñoaïn Baùt
Nhaõ Ba La Maät Kinh, toùm löôïc coâ ñoïng cuûa Kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät
Ña Kinh, tröôùc tieân ñöôïc dòch sang Hoa ngöõ bôûi ngaøi Cöu Ma La Thaäp,
sau ñoù coù nhieàu baûn dòch khaùc. Kinh Kim Cang, coøn goïi laø Naêng Ñoaïn
Kim Cang Kinh. Taát caû caùc phaùp höõu vi ñeàu gioáng nhö moäng, nhö
huyeãn, nhö baøo aûnhKinh Kim Cang, toùm löôïc cuûa Kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La
Maät Ña Kinh, ñöôïc ngaøi Huyeàn Trang dòch sang Hoa ngöõ. Kinh Kim
Cang, moät trong nhöõng kinh thaâm aùo nhöùt cuûa kinh ñieån Ñaïi Thöøa.
Kinh naày laø moät phaàn ñoäc laäp cuûa Kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña. Kinh
Kim Cang giaûi thích hieän töôïng khoâng phaûi laø hieän thöïc, maø chæ laø
nhöõng aûo giaùc hay phoùng chieáu tinh thaàn rieâng cuûa chuùng ta (Baát cöù
hieän töôïng vaø söï vaät naøo toàn höõu trong theá gian naày ñeàu khoâng coù thöïc
theå, do ñoù khoâng heà coù caùi goïi laø “ngaõ”). Chính vì theá maø ngöôøi tu taäp
phaûi xem xeùt nhöõng hoaït ñoäng tinh thaàn cuûa hieän töôïng sao cho tinh
thaàn ñöôïc troáng roãng, côûi boû vaø laéng ñoïng. Noù coù teân Kim cöông vì
nhôø noù maø chuùng sanh coù theå caét boû moïi phieàn naõo ueá tröôïc ñeå ñaùo bæ
ngaïn. Kinh ñöôïc keát thuùc baèng nhöõng lôøi sau: “Söï giaûi baøy thaâm maät
naøy seõ goïi laø Kinh Kim Cang Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña. Vì noù cöùng vaø
saét beùn nhö Kim Cöông, caét ñöùt moïi tö nieäm tuøy tieän vaø daãn ñeán bôø
Giaùc beân kia.” Kinh ñaõ ñöôïc Ngaøi Cöu Ma La Thaäp dòch ra Haùn töï:
Nhöùt thieát höõu vi phaùp,
Nhö moäng huyeãn baøo aûnh,
Nhö loä, dieäc nhö ñieän,
Öng taùc nhö thò quaùn.
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Qua baøi keä treân, chuùng ta thaáy roõ raèng kinh Kim Cang giaûi thích
hieän töôïng khoâng phaûi laø hieän thöïc, maø chæ laø nhöõng aûo giaùc hay phoùng
chieáu tinh thaàn rieâng cuûa chuùng ta (Baát cöù hieän töôïng vaø söï vaät naøo
toàn höõu trong theá gian naày ñeàu khoâng coù thöïc theå, do ñoù khoâng heà coù
caùi goïi laø “ngaõ”). Baøi keä treân ñaây cuûa kinh Kim Cang cuõng chæ thaúng
vaøo Taùnh Khoâng, raèng chö phaùp khoâng coù thöïc höõu noäi taïi, khoâng coù
baûn chaát thöôøng haèng, khoâng coù thöù gì coù thöïc taùnh cuûa chính noù.
Nhöõng gì hieän höõu ñeàu coù ñieàu kieän, vaø coù lieân quan vôùi nhöõng yeáu toá
khaùc.

The Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra:

Pointing Directly to the Emptiness

In Buddhism, Vajra is a symbol of the highest spiritual power,

which is compared with the gem of supreme value, the diamond, in
whose purity and radiance other hues are reflected while it remains
colorless, and which can cut every other material, itself is being cut by
nothing. The Diamond Sutra, a condensation of the Prajnaparamita;
first translated into Chinese Kumarjiva, later by others. Also called the
perfection of Wisdom which cuts like a Diamond. All mundane
(conditioned) dharmas are like dreams, illusions, shadow and bubbles.
The Sutra was an extract from the Prajnaparamita-sutra, and translated
into Chinese by Hsuan-Tsang. The Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra
is also called the perfection of Wisdom which cuts like a Diamond or
the Sutra of the Diamond-Cutter of Supreme Wisdom. All mundane
(conditioned) dharmas are like dreams, illusions, shadow and bubbles.
The Sutra was an extract from the Prajnaparamita-sutra, and translated
into Chinese by Hsuan-Tsang. Sutra of the Diamond-Cutter of Supreme
Wisdom, one of the most profound sutras in the Mahayana, an
independent part of The Vairacchedika Prajanparamita Sutra. The
Diamond Sutra shows that all phenomenal appearances are not
ultimate reality but rather illusions or projections of one’s mind (all
mundane conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, shadow and
bubbles). Every cultivator should regard all phenomena and actions in
this way, seeing them as empty, devoid of self, and tranquil. The work
is called Diamond Sutra because it is sharp like a diamond that cuts
away all necessary conceptualization and brings one to the further
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shore of enlightenment. The perfection of wisdom which cuts like a

diamond. The sutra ends with the following statement: “This profound
explanation is called Vajracchedika-Prajna-Sutra, for the diamond is
the gem of supreme value, it can cut every other material (thought) and
lead to the other Shore.” The sutra was translated into Chinese by
Kumarajiva. A gatha of the Diamond Sutra states.
All phenomena in this world are
Like a dream, fantasy, bubbles, shadows;
They are also like dew, thunder, and lightening;
One must understand life like that.
Through the above stanza, we obviously see that the Diamond
Sutra shows that all phenomenal appearances are not ultimate reality
but rather illusions or projections of one’s mind (all mundane
conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, shadow and bubbles).
The above stanza from the the Sutra of the Diamond-Cutter of
Supreme Wisdom points directly to the Emptiness that unreality of
things or all things (phenomena) lack inherent existence, having no
essence or permanent aspect whatsoever, nothing has a nature of its
own. All phenomena are empty. All phenomena exist are conditioned
and, relative to other factors.
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Chöông Boán Möôi Ba

Chapter Forty-Three

Kinh Kim Cang: Thöïc Haønh Bình Ñaúng

Laø Theå Hieän Taùnh Khoâng

Taâm bình ñaúng trong Phaät giaùo coù nghóa laø baûn chaát tinh thaàn
gioáng nhau nôi taâm cuûa moïi chuùng sanh. Moät ngöôøi coù taâm bình ñaúng
khoâng thieân vò caù nhaân. Ngöôøi aáy khoâng thöông maø cuõng khoâng gheùt
ai. Ñöùc Phaät coù daïy: “Taát caû chuùng sanh ñeàu cuøng coù chung moät Phaät
taùnh, laø cha meï laãn nhau trong ñôøi quaù khöù vaø cuõng seõ laø chö Phaät ôû
thuôû vò lai.” Vì vaäy cho neân ñoái vôùi caùc chuùng sanh khaùc chuùng ta phaûi
sanh taâm bình ñaúng vaø toân troïng, xem hoï nhö laø nhöõng vò Phaät töông
lai. Trong kheá kinh, Ñöùc Phaät khuyeân daïy: “Taát caû chuùng sanh ñeàu coù
Phaät taùnh, ñeàu laø cha meï ñôøi quaù khöù vaø chö Phaät ñôøi vò lai.” Chö Phaät
thaáy chuùng sanh laø Phaät, neân duøng taâm bình ñaúng ñaïi bi maø teá ñoä.
Chuùng sanh thaáy chö Phaät laø chuùng sanh, neân khôûi loøng phieàn naõo
phaân bieät gheùt khinh. Cuõng ñoàng moät caùi nhìn, nhöng laïi khaùc nhau bôûi
meâ vaø ngoä. Laø ñeä töû Phaät, ta neân tuaân lôøi Ñöùc Theá Toân chæ daïy, ñoái
vôùi chuùng sanh phaûi coù taâm bình ñaúng vaø toân troïng, bôûi vì ñoù laø chö
Phaät vò lai, ñoàng moät Phaät taùnh. Khi duøng loøng bình ñaúng toân kính tu
nieäm, seõ döùt ñöôïc nghieäp chöôùng phaân bieät khinh maïn, naûy sanh caùc
ñöùc laønh. Duøng loøng bình ñaúng nhö theá maø haønh ñaïo, môùi goïi laø phaùt
Boà Ñeà taâm. Goác tieáng Phaïn cuûa “Taùnh khoâng” laø “Sunyata.” “Sunya”
laáy töø goác chöõ “svi” coù nghóa laø phoàng leân. Chö phaùp khoâng coù thöïc
höõu noäi taïi, khoâng coù baûn chaát thöôøng haèng, khoâng coù thöù gì coù thöïc
taùnh cuûa chính noù. Nhöõng gì hieän höõu ñeàu coù ñieàu kieän, vaø coù lieân
quan vôùi nhöõng yeáu toá khaùc. Khoâng Taùnh laø baûn taùnh laø caùi laøm cho
löûa noùng vaø nöôùc laïnh, noù laø baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa moãi vaät theå caù
bieät. Khi noùi raèng noù Khoâng, coù nghóa laø khoâng coù Töï Ngaõ (Atman)
beân trong noù ñeå taïo ra baûn chaát nguyeân sô cuûa noù, vaø yù nieäm ñích thöïc
veà baûn chaát nguyeân sô laø moät yù nieäm Khoâng. Chuùng ta ñaõ ghi nhaän
raèng khoâng coù töï ngaõ caù bieät nôi haäu cöù cuûa caùi chuùng ta coi nhö vaät
theå caù bieät, bôûi vì vaïn höõu laø nhöõng saûn phaåm cuûa voâ soá nhaân vaø
duyeân, vaø chaúng coù gì ñaùng goïi laø moät baûn chaát nguyeân sô ñoäc laäp, ñôn
ñoäc, töï höõu. Taát caû laø Khoâng trieät ñeå, vaø neáu coù thöù baûn chaát nguyeân
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sô naøo ñoù, thì coù caùch naøo cuõng vaãn laø Khoâng. Ñaây chính laø taùnh bình
ñaúng cuûa vaïn höõu theo giaùo thuyeát Phaät giaùo: Taát caû laø Khoâng trieät ñeå.
Trong Phaïn ngöõ, thuaät ngöõ “Sunyata” laø söï keát hôïp cuûa “Sunya” coù
nghóa laø khoâng, troáng roãng, roãng tueách, vôùi haäu tieáp töø “ta” coù nghóa laø
“söï” (duøng cho danh töø). Thuaät ngöõ raát khoù maø dòch ñöôïc sang Hoa
ngöõ; tuy nhieân, chuùng ta coù theå dòch sang Anh ngöõ nhö laø söï troáng
khoâng, söï troáng roãng, hoaëc chaân khoâng. Khaùi nieäm cuûa töø “Sunyata”
caên baûn thuoäc veà caû hôïp lyù vaø bieän chöùng. Thaät khoù ñeå hieåu ñöôïc khaùi
nieäm “Taùnh khoâng” vì yù nieäm chaân ñeá cuûa noù (thaéng nghóa khoâng, lìa
caùc phaùp thì khoâng coù töï taùnh) lieân quan ñeán yù nghóa ngoân ngöõ hoïc,
ñaëc bieät vì töø nguyeân hoïc (taùnh khoâng coù nghóa laø troáng roãng hoaëc
khoâng coù gì trong hình daùng cuûa chö phaùp) khoâng cung caáp theâm ñöôïc
gì vaøo yù thöïc tieãn hay lyù thuyeát cuûa khaùi nieäm naøy. Haønh giaû tu Thieàn
neân luoân nhôù raèng chö phaùp khoâng hay laø hö khoâng, troáng roãng (söï
khoâng coù tính chaát caù bieät hay ñoäc laäp), voâ thöôøng, vaø khoâng coù töï ngaõ.
Nghóa laø vaïn phaùp khoâng coù töï tính, maø tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân, vaø
thieáu haún töï taùnh. Vì vaäy moät con ngöôøi noùi laø khoâng coù “töï taùnh” vì
con ngöôøi aáy ñöôïc keát hôïp bôûi nhieàu thöù khaùc nhau, nhöõng thöù aáy luoân
thay ñoåi vaø hoaøn toaøn tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân. Tuy nhieân, Phaät töû
nhìn yù nieäm veà “khoâng” trong ñaïo Phaät moät caùch tích cöïc treân söï hieän
höõu, vì noù aùm chæ moïi vaät ñeàu luoân bieán chuyeån, nhôø vaäy môùi môû roäng
ñeå höôùng veà töông lai. Neáu vaïn höõu coù taùnh chaát khoâng bieán chuyeån,
thì taát caû ñeàu bò keït ôû nhöõng hoaøn caûnh hieän taïi maõi maõi khoâng thay
ñoåi, moät ñieàu khoâng theå naøo xaûy ra ñöôïc. Phaät töû thuaàn thaønh phaûi coá
gaéng thaáy cho ñöôïc taùnh khoâng ñeå khoâng vöôùng víu, thay vaøo ñoù duøng
taát caû thôøi giôø coù ñöôïc cho vieäc tu taäp, vì caøng tu taäp chuùng ta caøng coù
theå tieán gaàn ñeán vieäc thaønh ñaït “trí hueä” nghóa laø caøng tieán gaàn ñeán
vieäc tröïc nghieäm “khoâng taùnh,” vaø caøng chöùng nghieäm “khoâng taùnh”
chuùng ta caøng coù khaû naêng phaùt trieån “trí hueä ba la maät.” Moät Thieàn
sinh ñeán thaêm Thieàn sö Baøn Khueâ Vónh Traùc vaø than vaõn: "Thöa Thaày,
tính caùch cuûa con quaû laø khoâng keàm cheá ñöôïc, laøm sao con söûa ñöôïc?"
"OÂng coù moät thöù raát laï ñoù," Baøn Khueâ traû lôøi. "OÂng cho ta xem thöû ñi."
"Ngay baây giôø thì con khoâng theå cho Thaày xem ñieàu aáy ñöôïc." "Khi
naøo thì oâng coù theå cho ta xem?" Baøn Khueâ hoûi. "Noù xaûy ñeán moät caùch
baát chôït" Thieàn sinh traû lôøi. "Nhö theá," Baøn Khueâ keát luaän, "ñoù khoâng
phaûi laø baûn taùnh thaät cuûa oâng. Neáu quaû thaät ñoù laø baûn taùnh cuûa oâng,
oâng coù theå cho ta xem baát kyø luùc naøo. Vaøo luùc sanh ra, oâng ñaõ khoâng
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coù, cha meï oâng cuõng khoâng truyeàn laïi cho oâng. OÂng haõy suy gaãm veà
ñieàu ñoù."

The Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra:

To Practice the Evenness Means to Show the Emptiness

The Mind of Equanimity in Buddhism means mind of the same

mental characteristics, the universal mind common to all. A person with
an impartial mind has no respecter of persons. He does not love one
nor hate another. The Buddha taught about the equality mind as
follows: “The Buddha Nature is common to all sentient beings; they
are the fathers and mothers of each other in the past and are the
Buddhas of the future." Therefore, while associating with other sentient
beings, we must develop an equal and respectful mind to look upon
them as the Buddhas of the future. In the sutras, Sakyamuni Buddha
stated: “All sentient beings possess the Buddha Nature; they are our
fathers and mothers of the past and the Buddhas of the future.” The
Buddhas view sentient beings as Buddhas and therefore attempt, with
equanimity and great compassion, to rescue them. Sentient beings view
Buddhas as sentient beings, engendering afflictions, discrimination,
hatred and scorn. The faculty of vision is the same; the difference lies
in whether we are enlightened or not. As disciples of the Buddhas, we
should follow their teachings and develop a mind of equanimity and
respect towards sentient beings; they are the Buddhas of the future and
are all endowed with the same Buddha Nature. When we cultivate with
a mind of equanimity and respect, we rid ourselves of the afflictions of
discrimination and scorn, and engender virtues. To cultivate with such a
mind is called “developing the Bodhi Mind.” A Sanskrit root for
“Emptiness” is “sunyata”. The Sanskrit word “sunya” is derived from
the root “svi,” to swell. Sunya literally means: “relating to the
swollen.” Unreality of things or all things (phenomena) lack inherent
existence, having no essence or permanent aspect whatsoever, nothing
has a nature of its own. All phenomena are empty. All phenomena
exist are conditioned and, relative to other factors. The nature of
Emptiness (Prakriti) is what makes fire hot and water cold, it is the
primary nature of each individual object. When it is declared to be
empty, it means that there is no Atman in it, which constitutes its
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primary nature, and that the very idea of primary nature is an empty
one. That there is no individual selfhood at the back of what we
consider a particular object has already been noted, because all things
are products of various causes and conditions, and there is nothing that
can be called an independent, solitary, self-originating primary nature.
All is ultimately empty, and if there is such a thing as primary nature, it
cannot be otherwise than empty. This is the very evenness of all things
in Buddhist teachings: All is ultimately empty.
In Sanskrit, the term “Sunyata” terminologically compounded of
“Sunya” meaning empty, void, or hollow, and an abstract suffix “ta”
meaning “ness”. The term was extremely difficult to be translated into
Chinese; however, we can translate into English as “Emptiness,”
“Voidness,” or “Vacuity.” The concept of this term was essentially both
logical and dialectical. The difficulty in understanding this concept is
due to its transcendental meaning in relation to the logico-linguistic
meaning, especially because the etymological tracing of its meaning
(sunyata meaning vacuous or hollow within a shape of thing) provides
no theoretical or practical addition to one’s understanding of the
concept. Zen practitioners should always remember that emptiness or
void, a central notion of Buddhism recognized that all composite things
are empty (samskrita), impermanent (anitya) and void of an essence
(anatamn). That is to say all phenomena lack an essence or self, are
dependent upon causes and conditions, and so, lack inherent existence.
Thus, a person is said to be empty of being a “self” because he is
composed of parts that are constantly changing and entirely dependent
upon causes and conditions. However, the concept of emptiness is
viewed by Buddhists as a positive perspective on reality, because it
implies that everything is constantly changing, and is thus open toward
the future. If things possessed an unchanging essence, all beings would
be stuck in their present situations, and real change would be
impossible. Devout Buddhists should try to attain the realization of
emptiness in order to develop the ability to detach on everything, and
utilize all the available time to practice the Buddha-teachings. The
more we practice the Buddha’s teachings, the more we approach the
attainment of wisdom, that is to say the more we are able to reach the
“direct realization of emptiness,” and we realize the “emptiness of all
things,” the more we can reach the “perfection of wisdom.” A Zen
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student came to Zen master Bankei and complained: "Master, I have

an ungovernable temper. How can I cure it?" "You have something
very strange," replied Bankei. "Let me see what you have." "Just now I
cannot show it to you," replied the other. "When can you show it to
me?" asked Bankei. "It arises unexpectedly, replied the student.
"Then," concluded Bankei, "It must not be your own true nature. If it
were, you could show it to me at any time. When you were born you
did not have it, and your parents did not give it to you. Think that over."
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Chöông Boán Möôi Boán

Chapter Forty-Four

Lyù Duyeân Sanh Vaø Taùnh Khoâng

Duyeân sanh laø söï chuyeån bieán theo duyeân hay hoaøn caûnh beân
ngoaøi. Trong lyù thuyeát Duy Thöùc, duyeân töï noù ñöôïc goïi laø bieán. Taát caû
caùc phaùp höõu vi ñeàu do duyeân hay ñieàu kieän maø sanh ra. Vì vaäy, khoâng
coù caùc duyeân caàn thieát thì phaùp khoâng theå sinh ñöôïc. YÙ nghóa chính
cuûa Lyù Duyeân Sanh laø söï vaät chôø duyeân maø naåy sinh, ñoái laïi vôùi taùnh
giaùc hay chaân nhö. Vaïn söï vaïn vaät hay caùc phaùp höõu vi ñeàu töø duyeân
maø khôûi leân, chöù khoâng coù töï taùnh. Phaät giaùo khoâng coi troïng yù nieäm
veà nguyeân lyù caên nhaân hay nguyeân nhaân ñeä nhaát nhö ta thöôøng thaáy
trong caùc heä thoáng trieát hoïc khaùc; vaø cuõng khoâng baøn ñeán yù nieäm veà
vuõ truï luaän. Taát nhieân, trieát hoïc veà Thaàn hoïc khoâng theå naøo phaùt trieån
trong Phaät giaùo. Ñöøng ai mong coù cuoäc thaûo luaän veà Thaàn hoïc nôi moät
trieát gia Phaät giaùo. Ñoái vôùi vaán ñeà saùng theá, ñaïo Phaät coù theå chaáp nhaän
baát cöù hoïc thuyeát naøo maø khoa hoïc coù theå tieán haønh, vì ñaïo Phaät khoâng
thöøa nhaän coù moät xung ñoät naøo giöõa toân giaùo vaø khoa hoïc. Theo ñaïo
Phaät, nhaân loaïi vaø caùc loaøi höõu tình ñeàu töï taïo, hoaëc chuû ñoäng hoaëc thuï
ñoäng. Vuõ truï khoâng phaûi laø quy taâm ñoäc nhaát; noù laø moâi tröôøng coïng
sinh cuûa vaïn höõu. Phaät giaùo khoâng tin raèng vaïn höõu ñeán töø moät nguyeân
nhaân ñoäc nhaát, nhöng cho raèng moïi vaät nhaát ñònh phaûi ñöôïc taïo thaønh ít
nhaát laø hai nguyeân nhaân. Nhöõng saùng hoùa hay bieán thaønh cuûa caùc
nguyeân nhaân ñi tröôùc noái tieáp trong lieân tuïc thôøi gian, quaù khöù, hieän taïi
vaø vò lai, nhö moät chuoãi daây xích. Chuoãi xích naày ñöôïc chia thaønh 12
boä phaän, goïi laø 12 khoen nhaân duyeân vì moãi boä phaän lieân quan nhau
vôùi coâng thöùc nhö sau “Caùi naày coù neân caùi kia coù; caùi naày sinh neân caùi
kia sinh. Caùi naày khoâng neân caùi kia khoâng; caùi naày dieät neân caùi kia
dieät.” Theo Trieát Hoïc Trung Quaùn, thuyeát Duyeân Sanh hay Duyeân
Khôûi laø moät hoïc thuyeát voâ cuøng troïng yeáu trong Phaät Giaùo. Noù laø luaät
nhaân quaû cuûa vuõ truï vaø moãi moät sinh maïng cuûa caù nhaân. Noù quan troïng
vì hai ñieåm. Thöù nhaát, noù ñöa ra moät khaùi nieäm raát roõ raøng veà baûn chaát
voâ thöôøng vaø höõu haïn cuûa moïi hieän töôïng. Thöù hai, noù cho thaáy sanh,
laõo, beänh, töû vaø taát caû nhöõng thoáng khoå cuûa hieän töôïng sinh toàn tuøy
thuoäc vaøo nhöõng ñieàu kieän nhö theá naøo vaø taát caû nhöõng thoáng khoå naày
seõ chaám döùt nhö theá naøo khi vaéng maët caùc ñieàu kieän ñoù. Trung Quaùn
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laáy söï sanh vaø dieät cuûa caùc thaønh toá cuûa söï toàn taïi ñeå giaûi thích duyeân
khôûi laø ñieàu kieän khoâng chính xaùc. Theo Trung Quaùn, duyeân khôûi
khoâng coù nghóa laø nguyeân lyù cuûa moät tieán trình ngaén nguûi, maø laø
nguyeân lyù veà söï leä thuoäc vaøo nhau moät caùch thieát yeáu cuûa caùc söï vaät.
Noùi goïn, duyeân khôûi laø nguyeân lyù cuûa töông ñoái taùnh. Töông ñoái taùnh
laø moät khaùm phaù voâ cuøng quan troïng cuûa khoa hoïc hieän ñaïi. Nhöõng gì
maø ngaøy nay khoa hoïc khaùm phaù thì Ñöùc Phaät ñaõ phaùt hieän töø hôn hai
ngaøn naêm traêm naêm veà tröôùc. Khi giaûi thích duyeân khôûi nhö laø söï leä
thuoäc laãn nhau moät caùch thieát yeáu hoaëc laø taùnh töông ñoái cuûa moïi söï
vaät, phaùi Trung Quaùn ñaõ baùc boû moät tín ñieàu khaùc cuûa Phaät giaùo
Nguyeân Thuûy. Phaät giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy ñaõ phaân tích moïi hieän töôïng
thaønh nhöõng thaønh toá, vaø cho raèng nhöõng thaønh toá naày ñeàu coù moät
thöïc taïi rieâng bieät. Trung Quaùn cho raèng chính thuyeát Duyeân Khôûi ñaõ
tuyeân boá roõ laø taát caû caùc phaùp ñeàu töông ñoái, chuùng khoâng coù caùi goïi
laø ‘thöïc taùnh’ rieâng bieät cuûa chính mình. Voâ töï taùnh hay töông ñoái taùnh
ñoàng nghóa vôùi ‘Khoâng Taùnh,’ nghóa laø khoâng coù söï toàn taïi ñích thöïc
vaø ñoäc laäp. Caùc hieän töôïng khoâng coù thöïc taïi ñoäc laäp. Söï quan troïng
haøng ñaàu cuûa Duyeân Khôûi laø vaïch ra raèng söï toàn taïi cuûa taát caû moïi
hieän töôïng vaø cuûa taát caû thöïc theå treân theá gian naày ñeàu höõu haïn,
chuùng khoâng coù söï toàn taïi ñích thöïc ñoäc laäp. Taát caû ñeàu tuøy thuoäc vaøo
taùc ñoäng hoã töông cuûa voâ soá duyeân hay ñieàu kieän haïn ñònh. Ngaøi Long
Thoï ñaõ sô löôïc veà Duyeân Khôûi nhö sau: “Bôûi vì khoâng coù yeáu toá naøo
cuûa söï sinh toàn ñöôïc theå hieän maø khoâng coù caùc ñieàu kieän, cho neân
khoâng coù phaùp naøo laø chaúng ‘Khoâng,’ nghóa laø khoâng coù söï toàn taïi ñoäc
laäp ñích thöïc.”
Trong khi ñoù, chö phaùp khoâng hay laø hö khoâng, troáng roãng (söï
khoâng coù tính chaát caù bieät hay ñoäc laäp), voâ thöôøng, vaø khoâng coù töï ngaõ.
Nghóa laø vaïn phaùp khoâng coù töï tính, maø tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân, vaø
thieáu haún töï taùnh. Vì vaäy moät con ngöôøi noùi laø khoâng coù “töï taùnh” vì
con ngöôøi aáy ñöôïc keát hôïp bôûi nhieàu thöù khaùc nhau, nhöõng thöù aáy luoân
thay ñoåi vaø hoaøn toaøn tuøy thuoäc vaøo nhaân duyeân. Tuy nhieân, Phaät töû
nhìn yù nieäm veà “khoâng” trong ñaïo Phaät moät caùch tích cöïc treân söï hieän
höõu, vì noù aùm chæ moïi vaät ñeàu luoân bieán chuyeån, nhôø vaäy môùi môû roäng
ñeå höôùng veà töông lai. Neáu vaïn höõu coù taùnh chaát khoâng bieán chuyeån,
thì taát caû ñeàu bò keït ôû nhöõng hoaøn caûnh hieän taïi maõi maõi khoâng thay
ñoåi, moät ñieàu khoâng theå naøo xaûy ra ñöôïc. “Taùnh khoâng” khoâng chöôùng
ngaïi... gioáng nhö hö khoâng troáng khoâng, hieän höõu trong moïi hieän töôïng
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nhöng chöa bao giôø caûn trôû hoaëc chöôùng ngaïi baát cöù töôùng traïng naøo.
“Taùnh khoâng” nhö nhaát thieát trí... gioáng nhö troáng khoâng, ôû khaép nôi,
naém giöõ vaø bieát heát moïi ñieàu, moïi nôi. “Taùnh khoâng” nhö söï bình
ñaúng... gioáng nhö Khoâng, bình ñaúng vôùi taát caû, khoâng phaân bieät thieân
leäch baát cöù nôi naøo. “Taùnh khoâng” bieåu thò taùnh chaát meânh moâng...
gioáng nhö khoâng, voâ bieân, roäng lôùn vaø voâ taän. “Taùnh khoâng” khoâng coù
hình saéc vaø boùng daùng... gioáng nhö khoâng, khoâng mang daùng daáp hoaëc
hình töôùng naøo. “Taùnh khoâng” bieåu thò söï thanh tònh... gioáng nhö
khoâng, luoân luoân trong saùng khoâng gôïn phieàn naõo oâ ueá. “Taùnh khoâng”
bieåu thò söï baát ñoäng... gioáng nhö khoâng, luoân luoân ôû traïng thaùi döøng
chæ, naêng ñoäng nhöng vöôït leân nhöõng tieán trình sanh vaø dieät. “Taùnh
khoâng” aùm chæ söï phuû ñònh tích cöïc... phuû ñònh taát caû nhöõng gì coù giôùi
haïn vaø keát thuùc. “Taùnh khoâng” aùm chæ söï phuû ñònh cuûa phuû ñònh... phuû
ñònh taát caû Ngaõ chaáp vaø ñoaïn dieät nhöõng chaáp thuû vaøo taùnh khoâng.
“Taùnh khoâng” aùm chæ söï khoâng ñaït ñöôïc hoaëc khoâng naém giöõ ñöôïc...
gioáng nhö khoâng gian hay hö khoâng, khoâng löu daáu hoaëc naém giöõ phaùp
naøo. Baét ñaàu Trung Quaùn Luaän, ngaøi Long Thoï ñaõ ñöa ra neàn taûng trieát
lyù cuûa mình baèng taùm söï phuû ñònh. Khoâng coù sanh dieät, moät, khaùc,
ñoaïn, thöôøng, ñi ñeán trong ñònh thöùc duyeân khôûi. Hay noùi moät caùch
khaùc veà caên baûn thì nôi ñaây chæ coù duy nhaát “khoâng sanh” ñöôïc coi
ngang haøng vôùi taùnh khoâng. Trong vaøi choã khaùc ngaøi Long Thoï cuõng
cho raèng Duyeân sanh hay duyeân khôûi laø taùnh khoâng. ÔÛ ñaây taùnh khoâng
naèm trong thöïc taïi cuûa lyù Trung Ñaïo naøy vöôït khoûi hai quan ñieåm caên
baûn ñoái ñaõi laø hieän höõu vaø khoâng hieän höõu. Taùnh khoâng laø söï hieän höõu
töông ñoái cuûa chö phaùp hoaëc laø söï töông ñoái. Nhö vaäy theo Trung
Quaùn Luaän thì taùnh khoâng khoâng coù nghóa laø khoâng hieän höõu tuyeät ñoái
maø laø söï hieän höõu töông ñoái. Taùnh khoâng aùm chæ baûn chaát ñích thöïc
cuûa thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm hoaëc ñieàu gì ñoù gioáng nhö vaäy, hình thöùc cuûa
baûn chaát thaät cuûa caùc hieän töôïng. Taùnh khoâng bao goàm taát caû nhöõng
vaán ñeà lieân quan ñeán quan ñieåm cuûa Phaät giaùo veà cuoäc ñôøi vaø theá giôùi.
Ngaøi Long Thoï ñaõ tuyeân boá raèng Taùnh khoâng nhö moät baûn chaát ñích
thöïc cuûa thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm: “Vôùi taùnh khoâng, taát caû ñeàu coù theå;
khoâng coù taùnh khoâng, taát caû ñeàu khoâng theå, ngay caû nguyeân lyù duyeân
sinh.” Trong kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät, taùnh khoâng chæ cho theá giôùi tueä
giaùc laø khoâng theå taùch rôøi ra khoûi theá giôùi voïng töôûng: “Theá giôùi voïng
töôûng laø ñoàng vôùi theá giôùi tueä giaùc (saéc laø ñoàng nhaát vôùi khoâng), theá
giôùi tueä giaùc laø ñoàng vôùi theá giôùi voïng töôûng (khoâng thì ñoàng vôùi saéc).”
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The Theory of Causation and the Emptiness

Change due to conditions means change because of outside

conditions. In the Mind-Only Theories, condition itself is also called
change. All things are produced by causal conditions. Therefore,
nothing can be produced without necessary conditions. The main
meaning of the theory of causation (Pratityasamutpada) is conditioned
arising, arising from the secondary causes, in contrast with arising from
the primal nature or bhutatatha (Taùnh giaùc). Everything arises from
conditions and not being spontaneous and self-contained has no
separate and independent nature. Buddhism does not give importance
to the idea of the Root-Principle or the First Cause as other systems of
philosophy often do; nor does it discuss the idea of cosmology .
Naturally such a branch of philosophy as theology did not have
grounds to develop in Buddhism. One should not expect any discussion
of theology from a Buddhist philosopher. As for the problem of
creation, Budhism is ready to accept any theory that science may
advance, for Buddhism does not recognize any conflict between
religion and science. According to Buddhism, human beings and all
living things are self-created or self-creating. The universe is not
homocentric; it is a co-creation of all beings. Buddhism does not
believe that all things came from one cause, but holds that everything
is inevitably created out of more than two causes. The creations or
becomings of the antecedent causes continue in time-series, past,
present and future, like a chain. This chain is divided into twelve
divisions and is called the Twelve Divisioned Cycle of Causation and
Becomings. Since these divisions are interdependent, the process is
called Dependent Production or Chain of causation. The formula of this
theory is as follows: From the existence of this, that becomes; from the
happening of this, that happens. From the non-existence of this, that
does not become; from the non-happening of this, that does not happen.
According to the Madhyamaka philosophy, the doctrine of causal law
(Pratityasamutpada) is exceedingly important in Buddhism. It is the
causal law both of the universe and the lives of individuals. It is
important from two points of view. Firstly, it gives a very clear idea of
the impermanent and conditioned nature of all phenomena. Secondly, it
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shows how birth, old age, death and all the miseries of phenomenal
existence arise in dependence upon conditions, and how all the
miseries cease in the absence of these conditions. The rise and
subsidence of the elements of existence is not the correct interpretation
of the causal law. According to the Madhyamaka philosophy, the
causal law (pratityasamutpada) does not mean the principle of
temporal sequence, but the principle of essential dependence of things
on each other. In one word, it is the principle of relativity. Relativity is
the most important discovery of modern science. What science has
discovered today, the Buddha had discovered more than two thousand
five hundred years before. In interpreting the causal law as essential
dependence of things on each other or relativity of things, the
Madhyamaka means to controvert another doctrine of the Hinayanists.
The Hinayanists had analyzed all phenomena into elements (dharmas)
and believed that these elements had a separate reality of their own.
The Madhyamika says that the very doctrine of the causal law declares
that all the dharmas are relative, they have no separate reality of their
own. Without a separate reality is synonymous with devoid of real
(sunyata), or independent existence. Phenomena are devoid of
independent reality. The most importance of the causal law lies in its
teaching that all phenomenal existence, all entities in the world are
conditioned, are devoid of real (sunya), independent existence
(svabhava). There is no real, dependent existence of entities. All the
concrete content belongs to the interplay of countless conditions.
Nagarjuna sums up his teaching about the causal law in the following
words: “Since there is no elements of existence (dharma) which comes
into manifestation without conditions, therefore there is no dharma
which is not ‘sunya,’ or devoid of real independent existence.”
Meanwhile, emptiness or void, central notion of Buddhism
recognized that all composite things are empty (samskrita),
impermanent (anitya) and void of an essence (anatamn). That is to say
all phenomena lack an essence or self, are dependent upon causes and
conditions, and so, lack inherent existence. Thus, a person is said to be
empty of being a “self” because he is composed of parts that are
constantly changing and entirely dependent upon causes and
conditions. However, the concept of emptiness is viewed by Buddhists
as a positive perspective on reality, because it implies that everything
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is constantly changing, and is thus open toward the future. If things

possessed an unchanging essence, all beings would be stuck in their
present situations, and real change would be impossible. Emptiness
implies non-obstruction... like space or the Void, it exists within many
things but never hinders or obstructs anything. Emptiness implies
omnipresence... like the Void, it is ubiquitous; it embraces everything
everywhere. Emptiness implies equality... like the Void, it is equal to
all; it makes no discrimination anywhere. Emptiness implies vastness...
like the Void, it is vast, broad and infinite. Emptiness implies
formlessness or shapelessness... like the Void, it is without form or
mark. Emptiness implies purity... like the Void, it is always pure
without defilement. Emptiness implies motionlessness... like the Void,
it is always at rest, rising above the processes of construction and
destruction. Emptiness impliesthe positive negation... it negates all that
which has limits or ends. Emptiness implies the negation of negation...
it negates all Selfhood and destroys the clinging of Emptiness.
Emptiness implies unobtainability or ungraspability... space or the
Void, it is not obtainable or graspable. At the beginning of
Madhyamika Sastra, Nagarjuna gives the fundamentals of his
philosophy by means of eight negations. There is neither origination,
nor cessation, neither permanence nor impermanence, neither unity nor
diversity, neither coming-in nor going-out, in the law of
Pratityasamutpada (Dependent Origination). Essentially, there is only
non-origination which is equated with Sunyata. Elsewhere he also states that
Pratityasamutpada is called Sunyata. Here Sunyata referring as it does to non-
origination, is in reality the Middle path which avoids the two basic views of
existence and non-existence. Sunyata is the relative existence of things, or a
kind of relativity. So, according to the Madhyamika, sunyata does not means
absolute non-being, but relative being. Emptiness implies the true nature of
empirical Reality or what is the same, the form of true nature of all
phenomena. This subject matter of sunyata will cover all the questions
concerning the Buddhist outlooks on life and world. Nagarjuna claimed
Sunyata as the true nature of empirical Reality: “With sunyata, all is possible;
without it, all is impossible”. In the Prajna-Paramita Sutra, Sunyata refers to
the world of enlightenment, but it also stated that this world of enlightenment
is not separate from the world of delusion: “The world of illusion is identical
with the world of enlightenment (form is identical with void), and the world of
enlightenment is identical with the world of illusion (void is identical with
form).”
 313

Chöông Boán Möôi Laêm

Chapter Forty-Five

Trung Ñaïo Voâ Töï Tính

Hoïc thuyeát veà Trung Ñaïo khôûi thuûy coù nghóa laø con ñöôøng giöõa
cuûa hai thaùi cöïc laïc quan vaø bi quan. Ñòa vò chính giöõa nhö vaäy laïi laø
thaùi cöïc thöù ba, khoâng nghieâng theo beân ñöôøng naày hay beân ñöôøng kia
laø yù chæ cuûa Phaät. Chaéc chaén nhö vaäy, vì Ñöùc Phaät baét ñaàu baèng con
ñöôøng giöõa naày coi nhö moät böôùc tieán duy nhaát cao hôn nhöõng cöïc
ñoan thoâng thöôøng kia. Tuy nhieân, töøng caáp höôùng thöôïng cuûa naác
thang bieän chöùng seõ naâng daàn chuùng ta leân cao maõi cho ñeán luùc ñaït tôùi
giai ñoaïn loaïi haún thieân kieán cuûa phaûn ñeà veà ‘höõu’ vaø ‘voâ,’ vaø sieâu
vieät chuùng baèng moät toång ñeà veà duy taâm luaän. Trung Ñaïo cuõng coù yù vò
nhö laø Chaân Lyù Toái Cao. Thieàn sö Thaùi Tieân Ñeä Töû Hoaøn vieát trong
quyeån 'Tham Vaán Moät Thieàn Sö': "Trong Phaät giaùo, Trung Ñaïo coù
nghóa laø khoâng taïo neân söï ñoái laäp giöõa chuû theå vaø khaùch theå . Ñaëc tröng
cuûa neàn vaên minh AÂu chaâu laø chuû nghóa nhò nguyeân. Ngöôøi ta ñem vaät
chaát ñoái laäp vôùi tinh thaàn, chaúng haïn. Tinh thaàn hay taâm vaø thaân chæ laø
moät thöù duy nhaát, gioáng nhö hai maët cuûa moät tôø giaáy. Trong cuoäc soáng
haèng ngaøy, chuùng ta khoâng theå taùch rôøi chuùng ñöôïc." Trong baøi thuyeát
phaùp ñaàu tieân trong vöôøn Loäc Uyeån, Ñöùc Phaät ñaõ giaûng veà Trung ñaïo,
voán laø con ñöôøng tu taäp khoâng phaûi qua söï haønh xaùc maø cuõng khoâng
phaûi buoâng xuoâi theo duïc laïc. Trung ñaïo khoâng chaáp nhaän caû hai quan
ñieåm lieân quan ñeán söï toàn taïi vaø khoâng toàn taïi, tröôøng cöûu vaø khoâng
tröôøng cöûu, ngaõ vaø voâ ngaõ, vaân vaân. Noùi toùm laïi, toâng phaùi naày khoâng
chaáp nhaän thuyeát thöïc taïi maø cuõng khoâng chaáp nhaän thuyeát khoâng coù
thöïc taïi, phaùi naày chæ chaáp nhaän söï töông ñoái. Tuy nhieân, caàn neân thaáy
raèng Trung Ñaïo ñöôïc ñeà xöôùng ôû Ba La Naïi coù moät yù nghóa veà ñaïo
ñöùc soáng, coøn Trung Ñaïo cuûa Trung Luaän toâng laø moät khaùi nieäm sieâu
hình. Tröôøng phaùi Trung Quaùn cuûa ngaøi Long Thoï baùc boû quan ñieåm
'höõu' vaø 'khoâng' vaø cho raèng chaân lyù naèm ôû trung ñaïo. Tröôøng phaùi maø
chuû thuyeát döïa vaøo ba boä luaän chính cuûa Ngaøi Long Thoï. Ñaëc ñieåm
noåi baäc nhaát cuûa toâng phaùi naày laø nhaán maïnh ñeán chöõ ‘Khoâng’ vaø
‘Khoâng Taùnh’ nhieàu laàn, cho neân noù cuõng coøn ñöôïc goïi laø toâng phaùi coù
‘heä thoáng trieát hoïc xaùc ñònh raèng ‘khoâng’ laø ñaëc taùnh cuûa Thöïc Taïi.
Ngoaøi ra, ñaõ coù raát nhieàu nhaø tö töôûng Trung Luaän ñi theo ngaøi Long
 314

Thoï nhö Thaùnh Thieân (Aryadeva) vaøo theá kyû thöù ba, Buddhapatila vaøo
theá kyû thöù naêm, Chandrakirti vaøo theá kyû thöù saùu, vaø Santideva vaøo theá
kyû thöù baûy. Ngöôøi bình thöôøng khi thaáy moät ñoái töôïng, hoï chæ thaáy caùi
phöông dieän "höõu", chöù khoâng thaáy caùi phöông dieän "khoâng" cuûa noù.
Nhöng moät baäc giaùc ngoä thì thaáy caû hai phöông dieän moät caùch ñoàng
thôøi. Ñaây laø söï voâ phaân bieät hay "hôïp nhaát" giöõa khoâng vaø höõu, ñöôïc
goïi laø Giaùo lyù Trung Ñaïo Voâ Töï Taùnh cuûa Phaät giaùo Ñaïi Thöøa. Vì theá,
"Khoâng" hieåu theo Phaät giaùo khoâng phaûi laø moät caùi gì phuû nhaän, noù
cuõng khoâng coù nghóa laø khuyeát tòch hay tuyeät dieät. "Khoâng" chæ laø moät
thuaät ngöõ ñöôïc duøng ñeå bieåu thò caùi baûn taùnh voâ töï tính vaø voâ ngaõ cuûa
chö phaùp, vaø laø moät kyù hieäu chæ ra tình traïng voâ tröôùc vaø töï do tuyeät
ñoái. Kyø thaät, khoâng deã gì giaûi thích ñöôïc thuaät ngöõ "Khoâng", cuõng
khoâng theå ñònh nghóa hay moâ taû noù ñöôïc. Thieàn sö Nam Nhaïc Hoaøi
Nhöôïng ñaõ noùi: "Toâi coù noùi gì ñi nöõa cuõng traät." Thuaät ngöõ "Khoâng"
khoâng theå moâ taû ñöôïc baèng ngoân ngöõ cuûa loaøi ngöôøi voán ñöôïc ñaët ra
ñeå goïi teân caùc söï theå vaø nhöõng caûm giaùc hieän höõu; duøng noù ñeå bieåu thò
nhöõng söï theå vaø nhöõng caûm giaùc phi höõu thì khoâng thích hôïp. Mong
muoán baøn luaän veà taùnh "Khoâng" trong nhöõng giôùi haïn cuûa moät thöù
ngoân ngöõ bò haïn heïp trong khuoân maãu cuûa "höõu" thì vöøa phí thì giôø maø
cuõng vöøa sai laàm. Chính vì theá maø nhöõng Thieàn sö phaæ la heùt, ñaù, vaø
ñaùnh. Vì hoï coøn bieát laøm caùch naøo khaùc hôn nöõa ñeå phoâ dieãn tröïc tieáp
caùi taùnh "Khoâng" baát khaû tö nghì naøy maø khoâng ñöôïc vieän ñeán ngoân
ngöõ? Khi nghe noùi caùi toâi khoâng thöïc vaø moïi hieän töôïng ñeàu huyeãn
hoùa, chuùng ta coù theå voäi keát luaän raèng baûn thaân ta, moïi ngöôøi, vaø theá
giôùi giaùc ngoä... cuõng ñeàu khoâng thöïc. Keát luaän nhö vaäy laø coá chaáp, quaù
cöïc ñoan. Theo Ñöùc Phaät, caùc hieän töôïng coù hieän höõu, nhöng caùi caùch
chuùng ta nhìn chuùng ñoäc laäp vaø töï toàn, môùi laø sai laàm, ñaùng töø boû.
Chuùng ta neân luoân nhôù raèng moïi hieän höõu chæ laø nhöõng töôùng taïo ra do
taùc ñoäng cuûa nhieàu nhaân vaø duyeân. Chuùng sinh khôûi, toàn taïi, roài hoaïi
dieät vaø bieán maát. Chuùng luoân luoân thay ñoåi. Ngay chuùng ta ñaây cuõng
vaäy. Duø baûn naêng chaáp ngaõ cuûa ta tin laø coù, chuùng ta vaãn khoâng theå
naøo tìm thaáy ñöôïc moät caùi “Toâi” coá ñònh naøo ôû trong hay ôû ngoaøi hôïp
theå thaân taâm luoân bieán ñoåi naøy. Chuùng ta vaø moïi hieän töôïng khaùc ñeàu
troáng roãng, khoâng coù ñöôïc maûy may tính thöïc höõu vaø töï toàn. Chính caùi
“chaân khoâng” naøy môùi laø baûn tính toái haäu cuûa moïi hieän höõu.
 315

The Nonabiding Middle Way

The doctrine of the Middle Path means in the first instance the
middle path between the two extremes of optimism and pessimism.
Such a middle position is a third extreme, tending neither one way nor
the other is what the Buddha wanted to say. The Buddha certainly
began with this middle as only one step higher than the ordinary
extremes. A gradual ascent of the dialectical ladder, however, will
bring us higher and higher until a stage is attained wherein the
antithetic onesidedness of ens and non-ens is denied and transcended
by an idealistic synthesis. In this case the Middle Path has a similar
purport as the Highest Truth. Zen Master Taisen Deshimaru wrote in
the 'Questions to a Zen Master': "In Buddhism the middle way means
not setting up an opposition between subject and object. The chief
characteristic of European civilization is dualism. Materialism, for
example, is opposed to spiritualism... Spirit or mind and body are one
thing, like the two sides of a sheet of paper. In everyday life they
cannot be separated." In his first sermon at Banares, the Buddha
preached the Middle Path, which is neither self-mortification nor a life
devoted to the pleasures of the senses. However, the middle path, as
advocated by the adherents of the Madhyamika system, is not quite the
same. Here, the middle path stands for the non-acceptance of the two
views concerning existence and non-existence, eternity and non-
eternity, self and non-self, and so on. In short, it advocates neither the
theory of reality nor that of the unreality of the world, but merely of
relativity. It is, however, to be noted that the middle path propounded
at Banares has an ethical meaning, while that of the Madhyamikas is a
metaphysical concept. Nagarjuna's Madhyamika school, which rejects
two extreme views of 'existence' and 'non-existence' and claims that
truth lies in the middle. The Middle School of which doctrine was
based on the three main works of Nagajuna. The most striking feature
of Madhyamaka philosophy is its ever-recurring use of ‘Sunya’ and
‘Sunyata.’ So this system is also known as the school with the
philosophy that asserts Sunya as the characterization of Reality.
Besides, there was a galaxy of Madhyamika thinkers, such as
Aryadeva in the third century A.D.), Buddhapalita in the fifth century,
Bhavaviveka in the fifth century, Chandrakirti in the sixth century, and
 316

Santideva in the seventh century. When ordinary people see an object,

they see only its existent, not its void, aspect. But an enlightened being
sees both aspects at the same time. This is the non-distinguishment, or
the unification of Voidness and existence, called "Nonabiding Middle
Way" in Mahayana Buddhism. Therefore, Voidness, as understood in
Buddhism, is not something negative, nor does it mean absence or
extinction. Voidness is simply a term denoting the nonsubstantial and
non-self nature of beings, and a pointer indicating the state of absolute
nonattachment and freedom. As a matter of fact, Voidness is not easily
explained. It is not definable or describable. As Zen Master Huai-Jang
has said: "Anything that I say will miss the point." Voidness cannot be
described or expressed in words. This is because human language is
created primarily to designate existent things and feelings; it is not
adequate to express non-existent things and feelings. To attempt to
discuss Voidness within the limitations of a language confined by the
pattern of existence is both time wasting and misleading. That is why
the Zen Masters shout, cry, kick, and beat. For what else can they do to
express this indescribable Voidness directly and without resorting to
words? When we hear about the non-self-existence and the illusory
nature of all phenomena including the “I”, we might conclude that
ourselves, others, the world and enlightenment are totally non-existent.
Such a conclusion is nihilistic and too extreme. According to the
Buddha all phenomena do exist. It is their apparently concrete and
independent manner of existence that is mistaken and must be rejected.
We should always remember that all existent phenomena are mere
appearances and lacking concrete self-existence they come into being
from the interplay of various causes and conditions. They arise, abide,
change and disappear. All of them are constantly subject to change.
This is true of ourselves as well. No matter what our innate sense of
ego-grasping may believe, there is no solid inherent “I” to be found
anywhere inside or outside our everchanging body and mind (mental
and physical components). We and all other phenomena without
exception are empty of even the smallest atom of self-existence, and it
is this emptiness that is the ultimate nature of everything that exists.
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Chöông Boán Möôi Saùu

Chapter Forty-Six

Khoâng Taùnh Trong Trung Quaùn Luaän

Tröôùc khi muoán hieåu veà Khoâng Taùnh trong Trung Quaùn Luaän,
chuùng ta neân tìm hieåu veà Taùnh Khoâng trong caùc kinh ñieån Ñaïi Thöøa.
Theo caùc kinh ñieån Ñaïi Thöøa, taùnh khoâng coù nghóa laø baûn chaát ñích
thöïc cuûa thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm. Taùnh khoâng vöôït khoûi söï phuû ñònh vaø
khoâng theå dieãn taû ñöôïc. Ñöùc Phaät cuõng duøng voâ soá nhöõng hình aûnh so
saùnh trong kinh ñieån Pali ñeå chæ ra söï khoâng thaät cuûa moãi loaïi phaùp vaø
chính nhöõng hình aûnh naøy, sau naøy ñöôïc duøng moät caùch hieäu quaû trong
caùc tröôøng phaùi trieát hoïc Ñaïi Thöøa, ñaëc bieät laø nhöõng nhaø tö töôûng
Phaät giaùo Trung Hoa ñaõ so saùnh taùnh khoâng vôùi nhieàu hình aûnh vaø maøu
saéc linh ñoäng. Theo Kinh Tieåu Khoâng, Ñöùc Phaät baûo A Nan: “Naøy A
Nan, nhôø an truù vaøo ‘khoâng taùnh’ maø baây giôø ta ñöôïc an truù vieân maõn
nhaát.” Vaäy thì nghóa cuûa traïng thaùi ‘khoâng’ laø gì maø töø ñoù Ñöùc Phaät
ñöôïc an truù vaøo söï vieân maõn nhaát? Chính noù laø ‘Nieát Baøn’ chöù khoâng
laø thöù gì khaùc. Noù chính laø söï troáng vaéng taát caû nhöõng duïc laäu, höõu laäu
vaø voâ minh. Chính vì theá maø trong thieàn ñònh, haønh giaû coá gaéng chuyeån
hoùa söï voïng ñoäng cuûa thöùc cho tôùi khi naøo taâm hoaøn toaøn laø khoâng vaø
khoâng coù voïng töôûng. Möùc ñoä cao nhaát cuûa thieàn ñònh, dieät taän thoï -
töôûng ñònh, khi moïi yù töôûng vaø caûm thoï ñaõ döøng thì ñöôïc xem nhö laø
neàn taûng vöõng chaéc ñeå ñaït ñeán Nieát Baøn.
Trung Quaùn Luaän laø teân taùc phaåm cuûa Boà Taùt Long Thoï, toå thöù 14
cuûa doøng Thieàn AÁn Ñoä). Ñaây laø boä luaän thöù nhaát vaø cuõng laø boä luaän
chính trong ba boä luaän chính cuûa Tam Toâng Luaän. Boä Trung Quaùn
Luaän do Ngaøi Long Thoï bieân soaïn, may maén nguyeân baûn tieáng Phaïn
vaãn coøn toàn taïi. Baûn Haùn vaên do Ngaøi Cöu Ma La Thaäp dòch. Taùc
phaåm naày goàm 400 baøi tuïng, trong ñoù Ngaøi Long Thoï ñaõ baùc boû moät soá
nhöõng kieán giaûi sai laàm cuûa phaùi Ñaïi Thöøa hay cuûa caùc trieát gia thôøi
baáy giôø, töø ñoù oâng baùc boû taát caû nhöõng quan nieäm duy thöùc vaø ña
nguyeân ñeå giaùn tieáp thieát laäp hoïc thuyeát “Nhaát Nguyeân” cuûa mình.
Theo Trung Quaùn, nghóa chaân thaät cuûa Taùnh Khoâng laø Phi Höõu hay
khoâng thöïc chaát. Trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn khoâng phaûi laø chuû thuyeát hoaøi
nghi maø cuõng khoâng phaûi laø moät chuû thuyeát baát khaû tri luaän. Noù laø moät
lôøi môøi goïi coâng khai ñoái vôùi baát cöù ai muoán tröïc dieän vôùi thöïc taïi.
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Theo Nghieân Cöùu veà Phaät Giaùo, ngaøi Taêng Hoä ñaõ noùi veà lyù töôûng Boà
Taùt trong Trung Quaùn nhö sau: “Phaät Giaùo coù theå ví nhö moät caùi caây.
Söï giaùc ngoä sieâu vieät cuûa Ñöùc Phaät laø reã cuûa noù. Phaät Giaùo cô baûn laø
caùi thaân caây, caùc hoïc thuyeát Ñaïi Thöøa laø nhaùnh cuûa noù, coøn caùc phaùi
vaø chi cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa laø hoa cuûa noù. Baây giôø, duø hoa coù ñeïp ñeán theá
naøo thì chöùc naêng cuûa noù laø keát thaønh quaû. Trieát hoïc, ñeå trôû thaønh ñieàu
gì cao hôn laø söï suy luaän voâ boå, phaûi tìm ñoäng cô vaø söï thaønh töïu cuûa
noù trong moät loái soáng; tö töôûng caàn phaûi daãn tôùi haønh ñoäng. Hoïc thuyeát
naày sinh ra phöông phaùp. Lyù töôûng Boà Taùt laø traùi caây hoaøn myõ chín
muøi treân caây ñaïi thuï cuûa Phaät Giaùo. Cuõng nhö traùi caây bao boïc haït
gioáng, vì vaäy beân trong lyù töôûng Boà Taùt laø söï keát hôïp cuûa taát caû nhöõng
thaønh toá khaùc nhau, vaø ñoâi khi döôøng nhö chia reõ cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa.” Theo
Jaidev Singh trong Ñaïi Cöông Trieát Hoïc Trung Quaùn, chuùng ta thaáy
raèng nhöõng neùt chính yeáu cuûa trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn vöøa laø trieát hoïc
vöøa laø thuyeát thaàn bí. Baèng caùch xöû duïng bieän chöùng phaùp vaø chieáu roïi
söï pheâ bình vaøo taát caû nhöõng phaïm truø tö töôûng, noù ñaõ thaúng tay vaïch
traàn nhöõng khoa tröông hö traù cuûa lyù trí ñeå nhaän thöùc Chaân Lyù. Baây giôø
ngöôøi taàm ñaïo quay sang vôùi thieàn ñònh theo nhöõng hình thöùc khaùc
nhau cuûa ‘Khoâng Taùnh,” vaø thöïc haønh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña. Nhôø
thöïc haønh tinh thaàn ñöùc haïnh Du Giaø, ngöôøi taàm ñaïo theo Trung Quaùn
doïn ñöôøng ñeå tieáp nhaän Chaân Lyù. Taïi giai ñoaïn sau cuøng cuûa Baùt Nhaõ,
nhöõng baùnh xe töôûng töôïng bò chaän ñöùng, taâm trí voïng ñoäng laéng ñoïng
tòch tònh laïi, vaø, trong söï tòch tònh ñoù, Thöïc Taïi cuùi hoân leân ñoâi maét cuûa
ngöôøi taàm ñaïo; keû ñoù ñoùn nhaän söï taùn döông cuûa Baùt Nhaõ vaø trôû thaønh
hieäp só phieâu du cuûa Chaân Lyù. Ñaây laø kinh nghieäm thuoäc veà moät chieàu
khaùc, moät chieàu voâ khoâng gian, voâ thôøi gian, noù sieâu vieät leân treân laõnh
vöïc cuûa tö töôûng vaø ngoân ngöõ. Cho neân noù khoâng theå dieãn ñaït ñöôïc
baèng baát cöù ngoân ngöõ naøo cuûa nhaân loaïi.
Treân quan ñieåm Tuyeät Ñoái, Sunyata coù nghóa laø “hoaøn toaøn khoâng
coù caáu taùc cuûa tö töôûng, khoâng coù ña nguyeân taùnh.” Noùi caùch khaùc,
khoâng taùnh ñöôïc söû duïng nôi nguyeân lyù coù haøm yù: ngoân ngöõ cuûa nhaân
loaïi khoâng theå dieãn taû ñöôïc; noù vöøa “laø” maø cuõng vöøa laø “khoâng laø,”
“vöøa laø vöøa khoâng laø,” “chaúng phaûi laø cuõng khoâng phaûi laø khoâng laø,”
phaïm truø tö töôûng hoaëc thuaät ngöõ ñeàu khoâng theå aùp duïng vaøo nhöõng
thöù vöøa keå treân ñöôïc. Noù sieâu vieät treân tö töôûng; noù voâ ña nguyeân
taùnh, noù laø moät toång theå, khoâng theå phaân chia thaønh nhöõng boä phaän
ñöôïc. Ñaëc ñieåm noåi baät nhaát cuûa trieát lyù Trung Quaùn laø söï söû duïng
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nhieàu laàn hai chöõ “khoâng” vaø “khoâng taùnh.” Vì ñaây laø khaùi nieäm chính
yeáu cuûa heä thoáng trieát lyù naøy, cho neân, heä thoáng trieát lyù naøy thöôøng
ñöôïc goïi laø “heä thoáng trieát lyù khoâng taùnh,” xaùc ñònh “khoâng” nhö laø
ñaëc taùnh cuûa Thöïc taïi. Chöõ “khoâng” ñaõ khieán cho ngöôøi ta caûm thaáy
boái roái nhaát trong trieát lyù Phaät giaùo. Nhöõng ngöôøi khoâng phaûi laø Phaät töû
ñaõ giaûi thích noù nhö laø thuyeát “hö voâ.” Nhöng ñoù khoâng phaûi laø yù nghóa
cuûa chöõ naøy. Treân phöông dieän ngöõ nguyeân thì chöõ goác cuûa noù laø “svì,”
coù nghóa laø “nôû lôùn ra” hay “baønh tröôùng ra.” Coù ñieàu ñaùng toø moø laø
chöõ “Brhaman” (Baø la moân) coù goác laø “brh” hoaëc “brhm,” cuõng coù
nghóa laø nôû lôùn hay baønh tröôùng. Theo lôøi Ñöùc Phaät veà “Khoâng lyù” vaø
veà nguyeân taéc cuûa khoâng, chöõ khoâng döôøng nhö ñöôïc söû duïng theo
nghóa cuûa “toàn höõu hoïc” trong haàu heát caùc kinh vaên Phaät giaùo. Söï nguï
yù veà yù nghóa ngöõ nguyeân cuûa chöõ naøy döôøng nhö khoâng ñöôïc dieãn taû
moät caùch ñaày ñuû vaø troïn veïn. Theo moät soá caùc hoïc giaû cho raèng chöõ
“khoâng” khoâng mang yù nghóa treân phöông dieän toàn höõu hoïc. Noù chæ laø
moät loaïi aùm thò treân maët “cöùu caùnh hoïc” maø thoâi. Nhöng roõ raøng chöõ
“sunya” ñöôïc duøng theo yù nghóa “toàn höõu hoïc,” keøm theo nguï yù cuûa
giaù trò luaän vaø boái caûnh cuûa cöùu theá hoïc. Theo nghóa toàn höõu hoïc thì
“sunya” laø moät loaïi “khoâng” maø ñoàng thôøi cuõng “chöùa ñaày.” Bôûi vì noù
khoâng phaûi laø moät thöù ñaëc bieät naøo ñoù, cho neân noù coù khaû naêng trôû
thaønh moïi thöù. Noù ñöôïc xem laø ñoàng nhaát vôùi Nieát Baøn, vôùi Tuyeät Ñoái,
vôùi Thöïc Taïi. Nguyeät Xöùng cho raèng trong trieát lyù Phaät giaùo, chöõ naøy
ñöôïc duøng baèng hai caùch: baûn chaát hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa moät söï vaät, thí duï
nhö noùng laø töï taùnh hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa löûa. ÔÛ trong theá giôùi naøy, moät
thuoäc taùnh luoân luoân ñi theo moät vaät, tuyeät ñoái, baát khaû phaân, nhöng
khoâng lieân heä moät caùch beàn vöõng vôùi baát cöù söï vaät naøo khaùc, ñaây ñöôïc
bieát nhö laø töï taùnh hay ñaëc taùnh cuûa vaät aáy. Chöõ “svabhava” hay töï
taùnh laø phaûn nghóa cuûa “tha taùnh” (parabhava). nguyeät Xöùng noùi raèng
“svabhava laø töï taùnh, caùi baûn chaát coát yeáu cuûa söï vaät.” Trong khi ngaøi
Long Thoï baûo raèng “Kyø thöïc töï taùnh khoâng do baát cöù moät vaät naøo khaùc
ñem laïi, noù laø voâ taùc, noù khoâng leä thuoäc vaøo baát cöù caùi gì, noù khoâng
lieân heä vôùi baát cöù thöù gì khaùc hôn laø chính noù, noù khoâng tuøy thuoäc vaø
voâ ñieàu kieän.” Chöõ “sunya” caàn phaûi ñöôïc hieåu theo hai quan ñieåm.
Thöù nhaát laø töø quan ñieåm cuûa hieän töôïng hoaëc thöïc taïi kinh nghieäm, noù
coù nghóa laø “svabhava-sunya,” töùc laø “töï taùnh khoâng,” hoaëc khoâng coù
thöïc taïi taùnh cuûa thöïc theå töï kyû ñoäc laäp cuûa chính noù. Thöù nhì laø töø
quan ñieåm cuûa Tuyeät Ñoái, noù coù nghóa laø “prapanca-sunya,” nghóa laø
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“hyù luaän khoâng,” hay khoâng coù söï dieãn ñaït baèng ngoân ngöõ khoâng coù hyù
luaän, khoâng do tö töôûng taïo thaønh, vaø khoâng coù ña nguyeân taùnh.

The Emptiness in the Treatise on the Madhyamika

Before studying and understanding the Emptiness in the

Madhyamika-Sastra, we should study and understand in the Emptiness
Mahayana sutras. According to Mahayana sutras, “Sunyata” means the
true nature of emperical Reality. It is considered as beyond the
Negation or Indescribable. The Buddha used a number of similes in the
Nikayas to point out the unreality of dharmas of every kind and it is
these similes that have been later used with great effectiveness in
Mahayana philosophical schools, especially of Chinese Buddhist
thinkers. According to the Culla Sunnata Sutta, the Buddha affirmed
Ananda: “Ananda, through abiding in the ‘emptiness’, I am now
abiding in the complete abode or the fullness of transcendence.” So,
what is the emptiness from that the Buddha abides in the fullness of
transcendence? It is nothing else but “Nirvana”. It is empty of cankers
of sense-pleasure, becoming and ignorance. Therefore, in meditation,
practitioners try to reduce or eliminate the amount of conscious
contents until the mind is completely motionless and empty. The
highest level of meditation, the ceasing of ideation and feeling, is often
used as a stepping stone to realization of Nirvana.
The Madhyamika-Sastra is the first and principle work of the three
main works of the Middle School, composed by Nagarjuna. Fortunately
the Sanskrit text of it has been preserved. It was translated into
Chinese by Kumarajiva. It is a treatise of 400 verses in which
Nagarjuna refutes certain wrong views of Mahayana or of general
philosophers, thereby rejecting all realistic and pluralistic ideas, and
indirectly establishing his monistic doctrine. According to the
Madhyamaka Sastra, the true meaning of Emptiness (Sunyata) is non-
existence, or the nonsubstantiveness. The Madhyamaka system is
neither scepticism nor agnosticism. It is an open invitation to every one
to see Reality face to face. According to the Survey of Buddhism,
Sangharakshita’s summary of the Madhyamaka system as follows:
“Buddhism may be compared to a tree. Buddha’s transcendental
realization is the root. The basic Buddhism is the trunk, the distinctive
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Mahayana doctrines the branches, and the schools and subschools of

the Mahayana the flowers. Now the function of flowers, however
beautiful, is to produce fruit. Philosophy, to be more than barren
speculation, must find its reason and its fulfilment in a way of life;
thought should lead to action. Doctrine gives birth to method. The
Bodhisattva ideal is the perfectly ripened fruit of the whole vast tree of
Buddhism. Just as the fruit encloses the seeds, so within the
Bodhisattva Ideal are recombined all the different and sometimes
seemingly divergent elements of Mahayana.” According to Jaidev
Singh in An Introduction To Madhyamaka Philosophy, we have seen
the main features of Madhyamaka Philosophy. It is both philosophy
and mysticism. By its dialectic, its critical probe into all the categories
of thought, it relentlessly exposes the pretensions of Reason to know
Truth. The hour of Reason’s despair, however, becomes the hour of
truth. The seeker now turns to meditation on the various forms of
‘Sunyata,’ and the practice of ‘Prajnaparamitas.’ By moral and yogic
practices, he is prepared to receive the Truth. In the final stage of
Prajna, the wheels of imagination are stopped, the discursive mind is
stilled, and in that silence Reality stoops to kiss the eye of the aspirant;
he receives the accolade of prajna and becomes the knighterrant of
Truth. It is an experience of a different dimension, spaceless, timeless,
which is beyond the province of thought and speech. Hence it cannot
be expressed in any human language.
From the standpoint of the Absolute, Sunyata means “Devoid of, or
completely free of thought construct, devoid of plurality.” In other
words, sunyata as applied to tattva signifies that: it is inexpressible in
human language; that ‘is’, ‘not is’, ‘both is’, and ‘not is’, ‘neither is’ nor
‘not is’, no thought, category or predicative can be applied to it. It is
transcendental to thought; it is free of plurality, that it is a Whole which
can not be sundered into parts. The most striking feature of
Madhyamaka philosophy is its ever, recurring use of “sunya” and
“sunyata.” So central is this idea to the system that it is generally
known as “Sunyavada,” i.e., the philosophy that asserts “Sunya” as the
characterization of Reality. Sunya is a most perplexing word in
Buddhist philosophy. Non-Buddhists have interpreted it only as
nihilism. But that is not what it means. Etymonogically it is derived
from the root “svi” which means “to swell” or “to expand.” Curiously
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enough, the word Brahman is derived from the root “brh” or “brhm”
which also means “to swell” or “to expand.” According to the Buddha’s
teaching on Sunya tattva and the ‘sunya principle’, the word sunya
seems to have been used in an ontological sense in most of Buddhist
contexts. The implication of the etymological signification of the word
does not seem to have been fully worked out. According to some
scholars the word “sunya” has no ontological signification. It has only a
soteriological suggestion. But the word “sunya” has obviously been
used also in an ontological sense with an axiological overtone and
soteriological background. In the ontological sense, “sunya” is the void
which is also fullness. Because it is nothing in particular, it has the
possibility of everything. It has been identified with Nirvana, with the
Absolute, with Supreme Reality or Paramartha, with Reality or Tattva.
Candrakirti says that this word has been used in Buddhist philosophy in
two ways: the essence or special property of a thing, e.g., ‘heat is the
svabhava or special property of fire.’ In this world an attribute which
always accompanies an object, never parts from it, that, not being
indissolubly connected with any thing else, is known as the svabhava,
i.e., special property of that object; svabhava (own-being) as the
contrary of parabhava (other-being). Candrakirti says, “Svabhava is the
own being, the very nature of a thing.” While Nagarjuna says: “That is
really svabhava which is not brought about by anything else,
unproduced (akrtrimah), that which is not dependent on, not relative to
anything other than itself, non-contingent, unconditioned.” The word
“sunya” has to be understood from two points of view. First, from the
point of view of phenomena or empirical reality, it means “svabhava-
sunya,” i.e. devoid of svabhava or independent, substantial reality of its
own. Second, from the point of view of the Absolute, it means
“prapanca-sunya,” i.e. devoid of prapanca or verbalization , thought
construct and plurality. According to Buddhism, there is not a thing in
the world which is unconditionally, absolutely real. Everything is
related to, contingent upon, conditioned by something else.
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Chöông Boán Möôi Baûy

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chöùng Nghieäm Tueä Giaùc Taùnh Khoâng

Tueä giaùc laø moät trong taùm ñaëc taùnh cuûa giaùc ngoä trong Thieàn. Theo
Nhöõng Kinh Nghieäm Toân Giaùo, James coù neâu ra ñaëc tính trí naêng ôû
nhöõng kinh nghieäm thaàn bí, vaø ñieàu naày cuõng aùp duïng cho kinh nghieäm
cuûa Thieàn, ñöôïc goïi laø ngoä. Moät teân khaùc cuûa ‘ngoä’ laø ‘Kieán Taùnh,’ coù
veû nhö muoán noùi raèng coù söï ‘thaáy’ hay ‘caûm thaáy’ ôû chöùng ngoä. Khoûi
caàn phaûi ghi nhaän raèng caùi thaáy naày khaùc haún vôùi caùi maø ta thöôøng goïi
laø tri kieán hay nhaän thöùc. Chuùng ta ñöôïc bieát raèng Hueä Khaû ñaõ coù noùi
veà söï chöùng ngoä cuûa mình, ñöôïc Toå Boà Ñeà Ñaït Ma aán khaû nhö sau:
“Theo söï chöùng ngoä cuûa toâi, noù khoâng phaûi laø moät caùi khoâng hö toaøn
dieän; noù laø tri kieán thích öùng nhaát; chæ coù ñieàu laø khoâng theå dieãn thaønh
lôøi.” Veà phöông dieän naày, Thaàn Hoäi noùi roõ hôn: “Ñaëc tính duy nhaát cuûa
Tri laø caên nguyeân cuûa moïi leõ huyeàn dieäu.” Khoâng coù ñaëc tính trí naêng
naày, söï chöùng ngoä maát heát caùi gay gaét cuûa noù, bôûi vì ñaây quaû thöïc laø
ñaïo lyù cuûa chính söï chöùng ngoä. Neân bieát raèng caùi tri kieán ñöôïc chöùa
ñöïng ôû chöùng ngoä vöøa coù quan heä vôùi caùi phoå bieán vöøa lieân quan ñeán
khía caïnh caù bieät cuûa hieän höõu. Khi moät ngoùn tay ñöa leân, töø caùi nhìn
cuûa ngoä, cöû chæ naày khoâng phaûi chæ laø haønh vi ñöa leân maø thoâi. Coù theå
goïi ñoù laø töôïng tröng, nhöng söï chöùng ngoä khoâng troû vaøo nhöõng gì ôû
beân ngoaøi chính caùi ñoù, vì chính caùi ñoù laø cöùu caùnh. Chöùng ngoä laø tri
kieán veà moät söï vaät caù bieät, vaø ñoàng thôøi, veà thöïc taïi ñaèng sau söï vaät
ñoù, neáu coù theå noùi laø ñaèng sau. Muïc ñích cuûa Taùnh khoâng chæ ra söï
ñoaïn dieät veà ngoân ngöõ vaø nhöõng noã löïc nhaèm ñöa ñeán söï ñoaïn dieät
naøy: “Taùnh khoâng töông öùng vôùi chaân lyù toái haäu, ñöôïc goïi laø traïng thaùi
trong ñoù ngoân ngöõ cuõng bò ñoaïn taän vaø ‘Taùnh khoâng’ nghóa laø taát caû
nhöõng phaùp hieän höõu lieân quan tôùi ñôøi soáng haèng ngaøy chuùng ta laø moät
yeáu toá ñöôïc xaùc laäp thaät söï.. Thuaät ngöõ ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ ñöôïc xöû duïng
ñôn giaûn nhö moät phöông tieän ñeå ñi ñeán Nieát Baøn hay Giaûi thoaùt. Veà
maët taâm lyù hoïc, ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ laø söï buoâng boû chaáp thuû. Phaùp thoaïi veà
‘Taùnh Khoâng’ nhaèm ñeå buoâng xaû taát caû khaùt aùi cuûa taâm. Veà maët ñaïo
ñöùc hoïc, söï phuû ñònh cuûa ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ laø moät hieäu quaû tích cöïc, ngaên
chaën Boà Taùt khoâng laøm caùc ñieàu aùc maø noã löïc giuùp ngöôøi khaùc nhö
chính baûn thaân mình. Ñöùc haïnh naày khieán nuoâi döôõng vaø taêng tröôûng
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loøng töø bi. Veà maët nhaän thöùc luaän, ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ nhö aùnh saùng chaân trí
tueä raèng chaân lyù khoâng phaûi laø thöïc theå tuyeät ñoái. Tri thöùc chæ cung caáp
kieán thöùc, khoâng cung caáp trí tueä chaân thaät vaø tueä giaùc laø vöôït qua taát
caû ngoân töø. Veà maët sieâu hình, ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ nghóa laø taát caû caùc phaùp
khoâng coù baûn chaát, taùnh caùch vaø chöùc naêng coá ñònh. Veà maët tinh thaàn,
‘Taùnh Khoâng’ laø söï töï do, Nieát Baøn hoaëc giaûi thoaùt khoûi khoå ñau phieàn
naõo. Nhö vaäy, ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ khoâng phaûi laø lyù thuyeát suoâng, maø laø naác
thang ñeå böôùc leân giaûi thoaùt. Naác thang maø nôi ñoù khoâng caàn phaûi baøn
luaän, maø chæ caàn caát chaân böôùc leân. Neáu haønh giaû khoâng böôùc, duø chæ
moät baäc, thì naác thang trôû neân voâ duïng. Nhö vaäy, ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ töôïng
tröng cho moät phöông phaùp tu taäp hôn chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm ñeå baøn
luaän. Coâng duïng duy nhaát cuûa ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ laø giuùp cho chuùng ta loaò
boû phieàn naõo vaø voâ minh ñang bao boïc chuùng ta ñeå môû ra nhöõng tieán
trình taâm linh sieâu vöôït theá giôùi naày ngang qua tueä giaùc. Trong söï
chöùng nghieäm ñöôïc khoâng taùnh laø söï chöùng nghieäm raèng chaúng nhöõng
chuùng sanh vaø Ñöùc Phaät, luaân hoài vaø Nieát Baøn, vaân vaân, ñeàu khoâng coù
chuû theå vaø ñeàu laø khoâng. Söï chöùng ngoä taùnh khoâng laø söï chöùng ngoä
raèng caùc phaùp khoâng coù chuû theå vaø khoâng vöôït ra ngoaøi lyù duyeân khôûi.
Phaøm phu chuùng ta ñaõ laâu ñôøi laâu kieáp thöïc theå hoùa caùc phaùp cuõng nhö
töï ngaõ. Söï thöïc theå hoùa naøy cuøng vôùi söï chaáp thuû laø nguoàn goác taïo ra
khoå ñau cho con ngöôøi. Phaät giaùo nhaán maïnh ñeán söï tænh thöùc veà ‘taùnh
khoâng’, nghóa laø söï khoâng coù baûn theå cuûa taát caû caùc phaùp bao goàm baûn
ngaõ vaø ngay caû baûn thaân cuûa Ñöùc Phaät haàu giuùp chuùng sanh coù cô may
giaûi thoaùt khoå ñau. Chæ khi naøo hieåu ñöôïc caùc phaùp theá gian khoâng coù
thöïc theå coá ñònh vaø caùc phaùp naøy töông quan laãn nhau thì môùi goïi laø
giaùc ngoä ñöôïc lyù duyeân khôûi vaø chöøng ñoù môùi chaám döùt ñöôïc khoå ñau
phieàn naõo.

Realization of Wisdom of Emptiness

Intuitive insight or wisdom is one of the eight chief characteristics

of ‘satori.’ In Zen. That there is a quality in mystic experience has been
pointed out by James in his Varieties of Religious Experience, and this
applies also to the Zen experience known as satori. Another name for
satori is ‘to see the essence or nature,’ which apparently proves that
there is ‘seeing’ or ‘perceiving’ in satori. That this seeing is of quite a
different quality from what is ordinarily designated as knowledge need
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not be specifically noticed. Hui-K’o is reported to have made this

statement concerning his satori which was confirmed by Bodhidharma
himself: “As to my satori, it is not a total annihilation; it is knowledge
of the most adequate kind; only it cannot be expressed in words.” In
this respect, Shen-Hui was more explicit, for he says that “The one
character of knowledge is the source of all mysteries.” Without this
noetic quality satori will lose all its pungency, for it is really the reason
of satori itself. It is noteworthy that the knowledge contained in satori is
concerned with something universal and at the same time with the
individual aspect of existence. When a finger is lifted, the lifting
means, from the viewpoint of satori, far more than the act of lifting.
Some may call it symbolic, but satori does not point to anything beyond
itself, being final as it is. Satori is the knowledge of an individual
object and also that of Reality which is, if we may say so, at the back of
it. The purpose of Sunyata refers to the objective of extinguishing
linguistic proliferation and the efforts leading towards this objective:
“Sunyata corresponds to ultimate truth, namely, the state in which
linguistic proliferation has been extinguished; and the meaning of
Sunyata signifies all existent relating to our everyday life in which
Sunyata is an actual established fact.” The term ‘Emptiness’ or
‘Sunyata’ is mainly used as a means to achieve Nirvana or Salvation.
Psychologically, ‘Sunyata’ is detachment. The teaching of Sunyata is to
empty the mind of cravings. Morally, this negation has a positive
effect, namely, preventing one from doing evils and making one love
oneself and others. It is to foster the virtue of compassion.
Epistemologically, Sunyata is an unattached insight that truth is not
absolutely true. It teaches that discursive knowledge does not provide
true wisdom and that enlightenment is the abandonment of conceptual
thinking. Metaphysically, Sunyata means that all things are devoid of
definite nature, characteristic and function, and that metaphysical
views are unintelligible and should be discarded. Spiritually, Sunyata is
freedom, Nirvana or liberation from suffering of the world. Emptiness
is not a theory, but a ladder that reaches out into the infinite. A ladder
is not there to be discussed, but to be climbed. If one does not even
take the first steps on it, it is no use to have the ladder. Thus, Emptiness
is a practical concept for cultivation, not a view for discussion. The only
use of the Emptiness is to help us get rid of this world and of the
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ignorance which binds us to it. It has only one meaning which is to help
us transcend the world through wisdom. In the realization of emptiness,
not only sentient beings but also the Buddha, not only the samsara but
also Nirvana, are without substance and are empty. This realization of
the non-substantial emptiness of everything is inseparably related with
the law of dependent co-origination. Lives after lives, we, ordinary
human beings, have a strong disposition to substantialize objects as
well as our own self as if they were permanent and unchangeable
substance. This substantialization along with attachment to all kinds of
objects cause human suffering. Buddhism emphasizes awakening to the
‘emptiness’, to the non-substantiality of everything, including self and
Buddha, in order to be emancipated from suffering. Dependent co-
origination as the truth is possible only when everything in the universe
is without enduring substance. At that time, one can say that one has
already emancipated from suffering.
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Chöông Boán Möôi Taùm

Chapter Forty-Eight

Tu Taäp Taùnh Khoâng Vôùi Taâm Voâ Sôû Ñaéc

Haønh giaû naøo tu haønh vôùi taùnh khoâng vaø caùi taâm voâ sôû ñaéc, voâ quaùi
ngaïi laø ñaõ vieãn ly ñieân ñaûo moäng töôûng, vaø ñeán ñöôïc cöùu caùnh Nieát
Baøn cuûa Tam Theá chö Phaät vaäy. Haønh giaû tu thieàn neân luoân nhôù raèng
chö phaùp khoâng coù thöïc höõu noäi taïi, khoâng coù baûn chaát thöôøng haèng.
Duø theá naøo ñi nöõa thì khoâng ai trong chuùng ta coù giöõ ñöôïc baát cöù thöù gì
maõi maõi treân coõi ñôøi naày caû. Chính vì vaäy maø haønh giaû neân luoân giöõ
cho mình caùi taâm voâ sôû truï. Taâm voâ sôû truï laø taâm chaúng chaáp vaøo
khoâng gian hay thôøi gian. Caùi taâm quaù khöù töï noù seõ döùt, töùc goïi laø voâ
quaù khöù söï, vôùi hieän taïi vaø vò lai laïi cuõng nhö vaäy (taâm hieän taïi roài seõ
töï döùt, töùc goïi laø voâ hieän taïi söï; taâm vò lai roài cuõng seõ töï döùt, töùc goïi laø
voâ vò lai söï), nhaän bieát chö phaùp khoâng thaät neân khoâng chaáp tröôùc.
Taâm ñoù goïi laø taâm voâ sôû truï hay taâm giaûi thoaùt, taâm Phaät, taâm Boà Ñeà;
taâm khoâng vöôùng maéc vaøo yù töôûng sanh dieät (voâ sinh taâm), ñaàu ñuoâi.
Noùi gì thì noùi, taâm laø thöù maø ngöôøi ta khoâng theå bieát ñöôïc duø coù coá
coâng tìm kieám theá maáy. Theo Hoøa Thöôïng Dhammananda trong
Nhöõng Haït Ngoïc Trí Tueä Phaät Giaùo, taâm coù theå ñöôïc ñònh nghóa ñôn
giaûn laø söï nhaän thöùc veà moät ñoái töôïng bôûi khoâng coù moät taùc nhaân hay
linh hoàn chæ huy moïi hoaït ñoäng. Taâm bao goàm traïng thaùi tính thoaùng
qua luoân luoân troãi leân roài maát ñi nhanh nhö tia chôùp. “Vì sinh ra ñeå
thaønh nguoàn cuûa noù vaø cheát ñi ñeå trôû thaønh loái vaøo cuûa noù, noù beàn
vöõng traøn treà nhö con soâng nhaän nöôùc töø caùc suoái nguoàn boài theâm vaøo
doøng chaûy cuûa noù.” Moãi thöùc nhaát thôøi cuûa doøng ñôøi khoâng ngöøng thay
ñoåi, khi cheát ñi thì truyeàn laïi cho thöùc keá thöøa toaøn boä naêng löôïng cuûa
noù, taát caû nhöõng caûm töôûng ñaõ ghi khoâng bao giôø phai nhaït. Cho neân
moãi thöùc môùi goàm coù tieàm löïc cuûa thöùc cuõ vaø nhöõng ñieàu môùi. Taát caû
nhöõõng caûm nghó khoâng phai nhaït ñöôïc ghi vaøo caùi taâm khoâng ngöøng
thay ñoåi, vaø taát caû ñöôïc truyeàn thöøa töø ñôøi naày sang ñôøi kia baát chaáp söï
phaân huûy vaät chaát taïm thôøi nôi thaân. Vì theá cho neân söï nhôù laïi nhöõng
laàn sanh hay nhöõng bieán coá trong quaù khöù trôû thaønh moät khaû naêng coù
theå xaõy ra. Taâm laø con dao hai löôõi, coù theå xöû duïng cho caû thieän laãn
aùc. Moät tö töôûng noåi leân töø moät caùi taâm voâ hình coù theå cöùu hay phaù
hoaïi caû theá giôùi. Moät tö töôûng nhö vaäy coù theå laøm taêng tröôûng hay
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giaûm ñi daân cö cuûa moät nöôùc. Taâm taïo Thieân ñaøng vaø ñòa nguïc cho
chính mình. Theo Ñaïi Sö AÁn Quang: “Taâm bao haøm heát khaép caû thaäp
phaùp giôùi, ñoù laø Phaät phaùp giôùi, Boà Taùt phaùp giôùi, Duyeân Giaùc phaùp
giôùi, Thanh Vaên phaùp giôùi, Thieân phaùp giôùi, Nhaân phaùp giôùi, A Tu La
phaùp giôùi, Suùc Sanh phaùp giôùi, Ngaï Quyû phaùp giôùi, vaø Ñòa Nguïc phaùp
giôùi. Moät taâm maø hay sanh taát caû. Phaät cuõng do taâm sanh, maø ñòa nguïc
cuõng do taâm taïo.” Trong Phaät giaùo, moät thöïc theå thöôøng haèng khoâng
theå tìm thaáy nôi baát cöù söï hieän höõu naøo. Thaät vaäy, taâm nhö vöôïn
chuyeàn caây, haõy ñeå cho noù ñi nôi naøo noù muoán; tuy nhieân, Kinh Kim
Cang ñeà nghò: “Haõy tu taäp taâm vaø söï tænh thöùc sao cho noù khoâng truï laïi
nôi naøo caû.” Haõy ñeå cho quaù khöù ñi vaøo quaù khöù. Taâm cuûa ngöôøi tu
phaûi thanh tònh. Ngöôøi tu khoâng neân caàu khaû naêng döï tri hay söï bieát
tröôùc. Söï bieát tröôùc chaúng mang laïi ñieàu gì hay ho, maø ngöôïc laïi chæ
gaây theâm phieàn phöùc cho chuùng ta maø thoâi. Noù khieán cho chuùng ta
phaân taâm, khoâng taäp trung tinh thaàn ñöôïc, do ñoù voïng töôûng seõ roái bôøi
vaø phieàn naõo seõ choàng chaát theâm. Neáu khoâng caàu söï bieát tröôùc, chuùng
ta seõ khoâng coù phieàn naõo, taâm khoâng bò chöôùng ngaïi. Haønh giaû tu thieàn
neân luoân nhôù raèng neáu chuùng ta tu haønh vôùi taùnh khoâng vaø caùi taâm voâ
sôû ñaéc, voâ quaùi ngaïi laø chuùng ta ñaõ xa rôøi ñieân ñaûo moäng töôûng, vaø
ñeán ñöôïc cöùu caùnh Nieát Baøn cuûa Tam Theá chö Phaät vaäy. Cuoái cuøng,
haønh giaû tu thieàn neân luoân nhôù lôøi Phaät daïy trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh:
“Bôûi khoâng chöôùng ngaïi, neân khoâng sôï haõi, vieãn ly heát moïi moäng
töôûng ñieân ñaûo, ñoù laø Nieát Baøn cöùu caùnh.” Ñaây môùi chính laø taâm cuûa
haønh giaû treân böôùc ñöôøng tu Ñaïo.

To Cultivate Emptiness With the Mind of No Attaining

One who cultivates emptiness with the mind of no attaining and no

impediment, he is not afraid and he leaves distorted dream-thinking far
behind, he is acheiving the Ultimate Nirvana of all Buddhas of the
three periods. Zen practitioners should always remember that all things
(phenomena) lack inherent existence, having no essence or permanent
aspect whatsoever. No matter what happens, no one of us can keep
anything forever in this life. Thus, Zen practitioners should always
have the mind without resting place. The mind without resting place
means a mind that is detached from time and space, the past being past
may be considered as a non-past or non-existent, so with present and
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future, thus realizing their unreality. The result is detachment, or the

liberated mind, which is the Buddha-mind, the bodhi-mind, the mind
free from ideas or creation and extinction, of beginning and end,
recognizing that all forms and natures are of the Void, or Absolute.
Whatever we say, mind is that which cannot be known, no matter how
hard one seeks. According to Most Venerable Dhammananda in The
Gems of Buddhist Wisdom, mind may be defined as simply the
awareness of an object since there is no agent or a soul that directs all
activities. It consists of fleeting mental states which constantly arise
and perish with lightning rapidity. “With birth for its source and death
for its mouth, it persistently flows on like a river receiving from the
tributary streams of sense constant accretions to its flood.” Each
momentary consciousness of this everchanging lifestream, on passing
away, transmits its whole energy, all the indelibly recorded
impressions, to its successor. Every fresh consciousness therefore
consists of the potentialities of its predecessors and something more.
As all impressions are indelibly recorded in this everchanging
palimpsest-like mind, and as all potentialities are transmitted from life
to life, irrespective of temporary physical disintegrations, reminiscence
of past births or past incidents become a possibility. Mind is like a
double-edged weapon that can equally be used either for good or evil.
One single thought that arises in this invisible mind can even save or
destroy the world. One such thought can either populate or depopulate
a whole country. It is mind that creates one’s paradise and one’s hell.
According to Great Master Ying-Kuang: “The mind encompasses all
the ten directions of dharma realms, including Buddha dharma realm,
Bodhisatva dharma realm, Pratyeka-Buddha dharma realm, Sravaka
dharma realm, Heaven dharma realm, Human dharma realm, Asura
dharma realm, Animal dharma realm, Hungry Ghost dharma realm, and
Hell dharma realm. One mind can give rise to everything. Buddhas
arise from within the cultivator’s mind, Hells also arise from the
cultivator’s mind.” In Buddhism, an unchanging self-entity cannot be
found in all of existence. In fact, the mind is like a monkey, let it
moves wherever it will; however, the Diamond Sutra suggests:
“Cultivate the mind and the awareness so that your mind abides
nowhere.” Let “bygone be bygone.” The mind of a cultivator must be
pure. Do not long for foreknowledge of events. To have this kind of
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foreknowledge is, in fact, nothing but a lot of trouble, because it leads

to discrimination in our thinking and prevents us from being able to
concentrate. Being unable to concentrate or focus our energy on
cultivation, our idle thoughts run wild, then afflictions come in droves
(herds). If we do not crave this foreknowledge in the first place, then
we also will not have afflictions, and we are free of impediments. Zen
practitioners should always remember that if we cultivate emptiness
with the mind of no attaining and no impediment, we are not afraid and
he leaves distorted dream-thinking far behind, and we are acheiving
the Ultimate Nirvana of all Buddhas of the three periods. Finally, Zen
practitioners should always remember the Buddha’s teachings in the
Heart Sutra: “Because there is no impediment, he leaves distorted
dream-thinking far behind; ultimately Nirvana!” This, then, should be
the mind of a cultivator.
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Chöông Boán Möôi Chín

Chapter Forty-Nine

Theå Nhaäp Tính Khoâng

Muïc ñích chính cuûa tu taäp Thieàn laø theå nhaän vaø theå nhaäp tính
khoâng trong moïi giai ñoaïn cuûa ñôøi soáng thöïc teá vôùi voâ soá thöû thaùch,
khoù khaên vaø phöùc taïp. Khi ñoù loøng töø bi bao la ñöôïc thöùc tænh moät caùch
bình ñaúng, gioáng nhö möa rôi treân keû aùc cuõng nhö ngöôøi thieän; hay nhö
chieác caàu ñaù cuûa Trieäu Chaâu, treân ñoù taát caû chuùng sanh nhö ngöïa, löøa,
coïp, ruøa, thoû, vaø ngöôøi, vaân vaân, ñeàu böôùc qua. Ñaây laø söï thaønh töïu lôùn
nhaát maø ngöôøi ta coù theå thöïc hieän ñöôïc treân ñôøi, vaø khoâng phaûi ai trong
chuùng ta ñeàu coù khaû naêng laøm ñöôïc; nhöng khoâng haïi gì khi chuùng ta
coá heát söùc mình ñeå tieán ñeán gaàn lyù töôûng Boà Taùt, neáu khoâng ñôøi naøy
thì nhöõng ñôøi sau qua voâ löôïng kieáp. Khi caùi gì ñoù cuûa lyù töôûng naøy
ñöôïc naém vöõng thì haønh giaû tu Thieàn coù theå baét ñaàu cuoäc soáng thöïc
cuûa hoï trong xaõ hoäi, hay trong moät coäng ñoàng lôùn hôn: theá giôùi. Theo
Thieàn Sö Linh Moäc Ñaïi Chuyeát Trinh Thaùi Lang trong boä Thieàn Luaän,
Taäp III, Töù Toå Thieàn toâng Ñaïo Tín giaûi thích yù nghóa cuûa söï tónh laëng
trong tu taäp Thieàn vaø taùnh khoâng nhö sau: "Haõy suy gaãm veà saéc thaân
cuûa mình, xem thöû noù laø gì. Noù troáng roãng, khoâng coù thöïc töôùng, nhö
moät caùi boùng. Noù ñöôïc töôûng nhö coù thaät, nhöng nôi noù, chaúng coù thöù
gì ñeå naém giöõ ñöôïc... Töø giöõa Taùnh Khoâng khôûi leân luïc caên, vaø luïc caên
thuoâc veà Taùnh Khoâng, trong khi luïc traàn ñöôïc nhaän thöùc nhö giaác moäng
hay nhö moät huyeãn töôïng. Ñieàu naøy cuõng gioáng nhö con maét nhìn caùc
vaät; caùc vaät khoâng naèm trong con maét. Hay gioáng nhö taám göông phaûn
chieáu hình aûnh cuûa baïn: baïn thaáy hình aûnh moät caùch roõ raøng; taát caû
nhöõng phaûn aûnh aáy chæ laø taùnh khoâng, vì taám göông khoâng löu giöõ vaät
phaûn chieáu trong göông. Maët ngöôøi khoâng ñi vaøo trong thaân taám göông,
vaø taám göông khoâng ñi ra khoûi mình ñeå nhaäp vaøo maët ngöôøi. Khi thaáu
hieåu taám göông vaø khuoân maët töông quan nhö theá naøo vôùi nhau, khi
hieåu raèng ngay töø luùc baét ñaàu, ñaõ khoâng coù vaøo, khoâng coù ra, khoâng coù
qua laïi, khoâng coù thieát laäp töông quan giöõa hai beân, ngöôøi ta hieåu ñöôïc
yù nghóa cuûa Chaân Nhö vaø Taùnh Khoâng." Moät Thieàn sinh ñeán thaêm
Thieàn sö Baøn Khueâ Vónh Traùc vaø than vaõn: "Thöa Thaày, tính caùch cuûa
con quaû laø khoâng keàm cheá ñöôïc, laøm sao con söûa ñöôïc?" "OÂng coù moät
thöù raát laï ñoù," Baøn Khueâ traû lôøi. "OÂng cho ta xem thöû ñi." "Ngay baây
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giôø thì con khoâng theå cho Thaày xem ñieàu aáy ñöôïc." "Khi naøo thì oâng
coù theå cho ta xem?" Baøn Khueâ hoûi. "Noù xaûy ñeán moät caùch baát chôït"
Thieàn sinh traû lôøi. "Nhö theá," Baøn Khueâ keát luaän, "ñoù khoâng phaûi laø
baûn taùnh thaät cuûa oâng. Neáu quaû thaät ñoù laø baûn taùnh cuûa oâng, oâng coù theå
cho ta xem baát kyø luùc naøo. Vaøo luùc sanh ra, oâng ñaõ khoâng coù, cha meï
oâng cuõng khoâng truyeàn laïi cho oâng. OÂng haõy suy gaãm veà ñieàu ñoù."
Thaät vaäy, muïc ñích chính cuûa tu Thieàn laø theå nhaän vaø theå nhaäp tính
khoâng trong moïi giai ñoaïn cuûa ñôøi soáng thöïc teá vôùi voâ soá thöû thaùch,
khoù khaên vaø phöùc taïp. Khi ñoù loøng töø bi bao la ñöôïc thöùc tænh moät caùch
bình ñaúng, gioáng nhö möa rôi treân keû aùc cuõng nhö ngöôøi thieän; hay nhö
chieác caàu ñaù cuûa Thieàn Sö Trieäu Chaâu Toøng Thaåm (778-897), treân ñoù
taát caû chuùng sanh nhö ngöïa, löøa, coïp, ruøa, thoû, vaø ngöôøi, vaân vaân, ñeàu
böôùc qua. Ñaây laø söï thaønh töïu lôùn nhaát maø ngöôøi ta coù theå thöïc hieän
ñöôïc treân ñôøi, vaø khoâng phaûi ai trong chuùng ta ñeàu coù khaû naêng laøm
ñöôïc; nhöng khoâng haïi gì khi chuùng ta coá heát söùc mình ñeå tieán ñeán gaàn
lyù töôûng Boà Taùt, neáu khoâng ñôøi naøy thì nhöõng ñôøi sau qua voâ löôïng
kieáp. Khi caùi gì ñoù cuûa lyù töôûng naøy ñöôïc naém vöõng thì haønh giaû tu
Thieàn coù theå baét ñaàu cuoäc soáng thöïc cuûa hoï trong xaõ hoäi, hay trong
moät coäng ñoàng lôùn hôn: theá giôùi.

To Penetrate the Truth of Emptiness

The main purpose of cultivation of Zen is to grasp and to penetrate

the truth of Emptiness in every phase of practical life with
multitudinous challenges, difficulties and complications. At that time, a
great heart of compassion is awakened impartially, in the way rain falls
on the unjust as well as on the just, or in the way Chao-chou's stone
bridge, which is trodden on by all sorts of beings, by horses, donkeys,
tigers, jackals, tortoises, hares, human beings, and so on. This is the
greatest accomplishment man can achieve on earth, and everyone of us
cannot be expected to be capable of this; but there is no harm in our
doing the utmost to approach the ideal of Bodhisattvahood, if not in one
life, then in lives to come through kotis of kalpas. When something of
this ideal is firmly grasped, Zen practitioners can begin their real life in
society, or in a larger community: the world. According to Zen Master
D. T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Volume III, Tao-hsin, the
Fourth Ch'an Ancestor, explains what is meant by quietude in
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meditation and Emptiness in the following manner: "Reflect on your

own body and see what it is. It is empty and devoid of reality like a
shadow. It is perceived as if it actually exists, but there nothing there to
take hold of... Out of the midst of Emptiness there rise the six senses
and the six senses too are of Emptiness, while the six sense-objects are
perceived as like a dream or a vision. It is like the eye perceiving its
objects; they are not located in it. Like the mirror on which your
features are reflected, they are perfectly perceived there in all
clearness; the reflections are all there in the emptiness, yet the mirror
itself retains not one of the objects which are reflected there. The
human face has not come to enter into the body of the mirror, nor has
the mirror gone out to enter into the human face. When one realizes
how the mirror and the face stand to each other and that there is from
the beginning no entering, not going-out, no passing, no coming into
relation with each other, one comprehends the signification of
Suchness and Emptiness." A Zen student came to Zen master Bankei
and complained: "Master, I have an ungovernable temper. How can I
cure it?" "You have something very strange," replied Bankei. "Let me
see what you have." "Just now I cannot show it to you," replied the
other. "When can you show it to me?" asked Bankei. "It arises
unexpectedly, replied the student. "Then," concluded Bankei, "It must
not be your own true nature. If it were, you could show it to me at any
time. When you were born you did not have it, and your parents did not
give it to you. Think that over." As a matter of fact, the main purpose of
cultivation of Zen is to grasp and to penetrate the truth of Emptiness in
every phase of practical life with multitudinous challenges, difficulties
and complications. At that time, a great heart of compassion is
awakened impartially, in the way rain falls on the unjust as well as on
the just, or in the way Chao-chou's stone bridge, which is trodden on by
all sorts of beings, by horses, donkeys, tigers, jackals, tortoises, hares,
human beings, and so on. This is the greatest accomplishment man can
achieve on earth, and everyone of us cannot be expected to be capable
of this; but there is no harm in our doing the utmost to approach the
ideal of Bodhisattvahood, if not in one life, then in lives to come
through kotis of kalpas. When something of this ideal is firmly grasped,
Zen practitioners can begin their real life in society, or in a larger
community: the world.
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 335

Chöông Naêm Möôi

Chapter Fifty

Huyeãn Höõu Vaø Taùnh Khoâng

Thieân Thai Trí Khaûi Ñaïi Sö noùi: "Khi haønh giaû thaáy ñöôïc Khoâng,
haønh giaû khoâng nhöõng chæ nhaän bieát Khoâng maø coøn bieát ñöôïc thöïc taùnh
cuûa giaû höõu nöõa." Ngaøi Trí Khaûi ñaõ noùi veà huyeãn höõu vaø taùnh khoâng
nhö sau ñaây. Huyeãn Höõu Khoâng: Theo Thieân Thai Trí Khaûi Ñaïi Sö,
nhò ñeá huyeãn höõu khoâng töông öùng vôùi Phaàn Giaùo vôùi söï nhaán maïnh
cuûa noù veà hoïc thuyeát Taùnh Khoâng. Kinh Ñaïi Baùt Nhaõ noùi: "Saéc töùc thò
khoâng, khoâng töùc thò saéc." ÔÛ trình ñoä naøy, tuïc ñeá chæ cho hieän thöïc vaø
nhieàu thöù hieän töôïng khoâng theå ñong ño ñöôïc, vaø chaân ñeá chæ cho hieän
thöïc laø chính noù, troáng roãng vaø khoâng coù thöïc theå. Huyeãn Höõu Khoâng
Baát Khoâng: Cuõng theo Thieân Thai Trí Khaûi Ñaïi Sö, loaïi nhò ñeá "chaúng
höõu chaúng voâ" trôû neân moät chuùt phöùc taïp. Ngaøi muoán noù i tuïc ñeá huyeãn
höõu, nhöng noäi dung cuûa chaân ñeá ngaøy caøng taêng tính nguïy taïo. Trí tueä
quan troïng trong trình ñoä naøy söï giôùi thieäu hieän thöïc nhö trung lyù. Ñaây
laø loaïi trí tueä sieâu vieät nhöõng phöông dieän hieån hieän cuûa nhò nguyeân
"höõu vaø voâ" laø troáng roãng, vaø pha troän chuùng vôùi "Trung Ñaïo" daàu laø
höõu laäu hay voâ laäu, daàu raèng tuïc ñeá hay chaân ñeá. Huyeãn Höõu Khoâng,
Chaân Lyù Baát Höõu Baát Khoâng: Huyeãn höõu vaø söï ñoàng nhaát cuûa huyeãn
höõu vôùi khoâng taát caû goïi ñeàu goïi laø tuïc ñeá; vaø chaúng höõu chaúng khoâng,
vaø raèng taát caû chaân lyù bao goàm trong chaúng höõu chaúng khoâng laø chaân
ñeá. Ñaây laø choã tröïc tieáp môû ra nhò ñeá vöôït leân treân loái hieåu qua khaùi
nieäm phaân bieät. Tuy nhieân nhò ñeá theo khaùi nieäm ñöôïc dieãn taû laø töông
ñoàng vaø khoâng nhò nguyeân nhöng chæ do mieäng phaân bieät maø thaønh
chaân tuïc. Huyeãn Höõu Khoâng, Chaân Lyù Höõu Khoâng Caäp Baát Höõu Baát
Khoâng: Huyeãn höõu vaø söï ñoàng nhaát cuûa huyeãn höõu vôùi khoâng taát caû
goïi ñeàu goïi laø tuïc ñeá; vaø chaân lyù bao goàm höõu, bao goàm khoâng, vaø bao
goàm chaúng höõu chaúng khoâng laø chaân ñeá. Huyeãn Höõu Khoâng, Huyeãn
Höõu Baát Höõu Baát Khoâng: Huyeãn höõu vaø söï ñoàng nhaát cuûa huyeãn höõu
vôùi khoâng taát caû goïi ñeàu goïi laø tuïc ñeá; vaø chaúng höõu chaúng khoâng laø
chaân ñeá. Trình ñoä naøy ñöôïc Trí Khaûi noùi roõ raøng nhö laø "nhò ñeá cuûa
nhöõng ngöôøi ñi töø Bieät Giaùo ñeán Vieân Giaùo. Haønh giaû Bieät Giaùo thöøa
nhaän baát khoâng laø chaân lyù, neân phaûi duøng phöông tieän duyeân tu taâm
 336

thöùc ñeå ñaït ñöôïc hieän thöïc naøy. Haønh giaû Vieân Giaùo tröïc nhaän söï baát
khoâng cuûa chaân lyù laø chính noù khi nghe veà chaân lyù baát khoâng. Huyeãn
Höõu Voâ Töï Taùnh: Huyeãn höõu voâ töông öùng vôùi Bieät Giaùo maø ngaøi ñaõ
dieãn taû nhö laø söï hieåu bieát tuïc ñeá nhö laø "söï khoâng coù töï taùnh cuûa
huyeãn höõu," vaø chaân ñeá nhö laø "chaúng coù töï taùnh cuõng chaúng phaûi voâ."
Ñieàu naøy töông öùng vôùi söï thöøa nhaän söï hieän höõu bình thöôøng, ñöôïc
nhaán maïnh trong Bieät Giaùo nhö laø chaúng coù töï taùnh maø cuõng chaúng
phaûi laø ñoaïn kieán khoâng Söï hieän höõu bình thöôøng, ñöôïc nhaán maïnh
trong Bieät Giaùo chaúng phaûi laø hoaøn toaøn huyeãn aûo treân söï töôûng töôïng
veà loâng ruøa söøng thoû, nhöng laïi coù hieän thöïc nhö laø duyeân khôûi leân cuûa
vaïn vaät. Neáu höõu vaø voâ ñöôïc xem nhö nhò nguyeân, thì noù laø tuïc ñeá, vaø
khi höõu vaø voâ ñöôïc nhìn nhö baát nhò nguyeân thì noù laïi töông öùng vôùi
chaân ñeá.

Illusory Existence and the Emptiness

T'ien T'ai Great Master Chih-I says, "When one encounters

emptiness, one perceives not only emptiness but also knows the true
nature of conventional existence." Chih-I said about illusory extistence
and the emptiness as follows. Illusory Existence: According to T'ien
T'ai Great Master Chih-I, the understanding of the two truths in terms
of the emptiness of mundane (Illusory existence as empty of substantial
Being), illusory existence corresponds to the Shared Teaching with its
emphasis on the emptiness doctrine. It denies the substantial reality of
individual dharmas and posits the emptiness of dharmas along with the
emptiness of the self. Buddhahood is not attained by extinguishing
dharmas which have no substantial being to begin with, but by realizing
their inherent emptiness. As the Pancavimsatisahasrika-prajnaparamita
Sutra says, "Form is identical to emptiness and emptiness is identical to
form." At this level the mundane truth refers to reality as immeasurable
and multifarious phenomena, and the real truth refers to reality as it
truly is, empty of substantial Being. Illusory Existence as Both Empty
and Not Empty: Also according to T'ien T'ai Great Master Chih-I, the
classification of "illusory existence as as both empty and not empty"
becomes a bit complicated. He means the mundane truth is illusory
existence, but the content of the real truth becomes increasingly
sophisticated. The important insight at this level is the introduction of
 337

reality as the "middle." This is an insight which goes beyond the

apparently dualistic aspects of existence and non-existence, being and
emptiness, with outflows and without outflows, or the mundane truth
and the real truth, and incorporates them in a "Middle Path." Illusory
Existence as Empty of Substantial Being, the Real Truth Refers to
"Neither Existence Nor Emptiness": The mundane truth refers to both
illusory existence and the identity of illusory existence with emptiness;
and the real truth refers to "neither existence nor emptiness"; that all
reality is included in "neither existence nor emptiness". This is the
direct position of the two truths which are beyond conceptual
understanding. Nevertheless the two truths are described conceptually
as mutually identical, and non-dual yet two merely verbally
discriminated into real and mundane. Illusory Existence as Empty of
Substantial Being, the Real Truth Refers to "Existence or Emptiness,
Neither Existence Nor Emptiness": The mundane truth refers to both
illusory existence and the identity of illusory existence with emptiness;
and the real truth refers to the fact that "reality includes existence,
includes emptiness, and includes neither existence nor emptiness".
Illusory Existence as Empty of Substantial Being and Neither
Existence Nor Emptiness: The mundane truth refers to both illusory
existence and the identity of illusory existence with emptiness; and the
real truth refers to "neither existence nor emptiness". This level is
explicitly referred to by Chih-I as "the two truths of those advancing
from the Distinct to the Perfect Teaching. A person of the Distinct
Teaching recognizes only 'non-emptiness' as reality, and must
undertake conscious practices to realize this reality. Those of the
Perfect Teaching spontaneously realize the truth concerning all of
reality, just as it is, upon hearing of 'non-emptiness'". Illusory Existence
as Empty of Substantial Being: Illusory existence as empty of
substantial Being corresponds to those of the Distinct Teaching which
is described by Chih-I as understanding the mundane truth as the "non-
Being of illusory existence," and the real truth as "neither Being nor
non-existence." This corresponds to a recognition of conventional
existence, emphasized in the Distinct Teaching, as neither substantial
Being nor nihilistic nothingness. Conventional existence Distinct
Teaching is not a complete illusion on the level of the imaginary horns
of a rabbit or hair of a tortoise, but have reality as the conditioned co-
 338

arising of all things. If existence and non-existence are perceived as

dualistic, this is the mundane truth, and to perceive the non-duality of
neither existence and non-existence corresponds to the real truth.
 339

Chöông Naêm Möôi Moát

Chapter Fifty-One

Baûy Loaïi Nhò Ñeá

Nhò ñeá coù nghóa laø hai möùc ñoä cuûa chaân lyù, hoaëc laø hai caùch trong
ñoù moïi hieän töôïng ñöôïc nhaän bieát: 1) tuïc ñeá; vaø 2) chaân ñeá. Tuïc ñeá chæ
caùch maø moïi hieän töôïng ñöôïc nhìn qua caùi nhìn cuûa phaøm phu, vaø ñöôïc
coi nhö laø söï thaät öôùc leä. Moät chieác xe hôi, chaúng haïn, laø moät söï thaät
öôùc leä, bôûi vì noù coù theå vaän haønh nhieäm vuï cuûa moät caùi xe, maëc duø
neáu phaân tích töø caùi nhìn chaân ñeá thì noù chæ laø moät taäp hôïp cuûa nhöõng
phaàn, vaø ñöôïc cheá taïo do keát quaû cuûa nhöõng, vaø luoân thay ñoåi. Khi
ngöôøi ta tìm moät caùi xe thaät söï hieän höõu, thì ngöôøi ta chæ tìm thaáy moät
taäp hoïp cuûa nhöõng phaàn rieâng leõ, vaø khoâng coù caùi naøo coù theå laøm
nhieäm vuï cuûa caùi xe caû. Vì vaäy töø quan ñieåm chaân ñeá, chieác xe khoâng
coù töï taùnh. Chaân ñeá laø “khoâng” hay “vaïn höõu khoâng coù töï taùnh,” chaân
lyù naøy chæ coù caùc baäc Thaùnh môùi nhaän bieát roõ raøng ñöôïc. Chaân ñeá laø
giaùo phaùp giaùc ngoä toái thöôïng cuûa Phaät hay caùi thöïc khoâng hö voïng
voán coù, ñoái laïi vôùi theá ñeá (tuïc ñeá) cuûa phaøm phu, haïng chæ bieát hình
töôùng beân ngoaøi chöù khoâng phaûi laø chaân lyù. Tuïc ñeá hay chaân lyù quy
öôùc, ñoái laïi vôùi chaân ñeá. Chôn nhö töông ñoái trong theá giôùi hieän töôïng,
coù theå thay ñoåi, y theo lôøi noùi giaû danh maø hieän ra, baát bieán maø tuøy
duyeân. Nhöõng nhaø tö töôûng cuûa tröôøng phaùi Tònh Ñoä chaáp nhaän duøng
töông ñaõi chaân nhö ñeå dieãn taû tuyeät ñaõi chaân nhö, hay duøng töông ñaõi
chaân nhö nhö laø coã xe phöông tieän ñöa chuùng ta ñeán tuyeät ñaõi chaân
nhö. Phöông thöùc giuùp haønh giaû Tònh Ñoä döïa treân saéc töôùng ñeå ñaït ñeán
Phaät taùnh laø caùi voâ töôùng.
Theo Thieân Thai Trí Khaûi Ñaïi Sö, coù baûy loaïi nhò ñeá: Thöù nhaát,
thöïc höõu laø tuïc ñeá, dieät thöïc höõu laø chaân ñeá. Thöù nhì, huyeãn höõu laø tuïc
ñeá, nhaän bieát huyeãn höõu naøy thieáu chuû theå laø chaân ñeá. Thöù ba, huyeãn
höõu laø tuïc ñeá, nhaän bieát huyeãn höõu töùc khoâng, töùc baát khoâng laø chaân
ñeá. Thöù tö, huyeãn höõu laø tuïc ñeá, nhaän bieát huyeãn höõu töùc khoâng, töùc
baát khoâng vaø raèng taát caû caùc phaùp laø khoâng vaø baát khoâng laø chaân ñeá.
Thöù naêm, huyeãn höõu vaø söï ñoàng nhaát cuûa huyeãn höõu vôùi khoâng taát caû
goïi ñeàu goïi laø tuïc ñeá; vaø chaúng höõu chaúng khoâng laø chaân ñeá. Thöù saùu,
huyeãn höõu vaø söï ñoàng nhaát cuûa huyeãn höõu vôùi khoâng taát caû goïi ñeàu
goïi laø tuïc ñeá; vaø chaúng höõu chaúng khoâng, vaø raèng taát caû chaân lyù bao
 340

goàm trong chaúng höõu chaúng khoâng laø chaân ñeá. Thöù baûy, huyeãn höõu vaø
söï ñoàng nhaát cuûa huyeãn höõu vôùi khoâng taát caû goïi ñeàu goïi laø tuïc ñeá; vaø
chaân lyù bao goàm höõu, bao goàm khoâng, vaø bao goàm chaúng höõu chaúng
khoâng laø chaân ñeá.

Seven Kinds of Two Truths

Two Truths or two forms of statement (Satya-dvaya (skt)) are two

levels of reality, or two ways in which phenomena may be perceived:
1) conventional truths (samvrti-satya); and 2) ultimate truths
(paramartha-satya). The first refers to the way in which phenomena are
viewed by ordinary beings, and are said to be true on the conventional
level. A car, for example, is a conventional truth, because it is able to
perform the functions of a car, even though from the point of view of
ultimate analysis, it is perceived as a collection of parts, and
constructed as a result of causes and conditions, and constantly
changing. When one searches to find a truly existent car, what one
finds instead is just this collection of separate parts, none of which can
function as a car. Thus from the point of view of ultimate truth, the car
is empty of inherent existence. The ultimate truth is emptiness
(sunyata), which is only clearly perceived by sages (arya). The
fundamental meaning or the ultimate truth, or the Buddha law is the
correct dogma or averment of the enlightened or the asseveration or
categories of reality. Truth in reality, opposite of ordinary or worldly
truth (Theá ñeá) or ordinary categories; they are those of the sage, or
man of insight, in contrast with those of the common man, who knows
only appearance and not reality. Ordinary categories in contrast with
categories of reality (chaân ñeá). Common or ordinary statement, as if
phenomena were real. The relative truth, or the truth of the unreal,
which is subject to change, manifests ‘stillness but is always
illuminating,’ which means that it is immanent in everything. Pure
Land thinkers accepted the legitimacy of conventional truth as an
expression of ultimate truth and as a vehicle to reach Ultimate Truth.
This method of basing on form helps cultivators reach the Buddhahood,
which is formless.
According to T'ien T'ai Great Master Chih-I, there are seven
classifications of two truths: First, the mundane truth refers to real
 341

existence, and the real truth refers to the extinction of this "real
existence". Second, the mundane truth refers to illusory existence, and
the real truth refers to the identifying this illusory existence as empty
of substantial Being. Third, the mundane truth refers to illusory
existence, and the real truth refers to the identifying this illusory
existence as both empty and not empty. Fourth, the mundane truth
refers to illusory existence, and the real truth refers to the identity of
illusory existence with both emptiness and non-emptiness; that all
dharmas are both empty and not empty. Fifth, the mundane truth refers
to both illusory existence and the identity of illusory existence with
emptiness; and the real truth refers to "neither existence nor
emptiness". Sixth, the mundane truth refers to both illusory existence
and the identity of illusory existence with emptiness; and the real truth
refers to "neither existence nor emptiness"; that all reality is included
in "neither existence nor emptiness". Seventh, the mundane truth refers
to both illusory existence and the identity of illusory existence with
emptiness; and the real truth refers to the fact that "reality includes
existence, includes emptiness, and includes neither existence nor
emptiness".
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 343

Chöông Naêm Möôi Hai

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chaân Khoâng Dieäu Höõu

Chaân khoâng khoâng coù nghóa laø troáng roãng, maø coù nghóa laø caùi
khoâng maø khoâng phaûi laø khoâng; chaân khoâng laøm khôûi leân dieäu höõu.
Ngöôøi ta noùi chaân khoâng laø Nieát Baøn cuûa Tieåu Thöøa (chaân khoâng töùc
nieát baøn dieät ñeá, chaúng phaûi giaû neân goïi laø chaân, lìa boû haønh töôùng neân
goïi laø khoâng). Taùnh coù nghóa laø tinh thaàn hay tinh yeáu; daáu hieäu coù
nghóa laø töôùng. Taùnh vaø töôùng ñoái nghòch nhau, gioáng nhö tinh thaàn ñoái
choïi vôùi hieän töôïng. Tuy nhieân, thaät töôùng thaät taùnh hay Phaät taùnh
thöôøng haèng khoâng thay ñoåi. Thaät taùnh cuûa theá giôùi hieän töôïng laø chaân
khoâng, thöôøng höõu maø hö voâ; tuy hö voâ nhöng thöôøng höõu (caùi khoâng
chaúng phaûi laø khoâng, caùi höõu chaúng phaûi laø höõu maø phaøm phu suy
nghó). Baûn taùnh thaät cuûa caùc hieän töôïng chaúng phaûi 'toàn taïi' hay 'khoâng
toàn taïi', maø laø caû hai cuøng moät luùc, hoaëc khoâng phaûi laø caùi naøo heát
trong hai thöù ñoù, tuøy thuoäc vaøo quan ñieåm cuûa mình. Löôùt qua Taâm
kinh, baèng moät coâng thöùc ngaén Thieàn nhaán maïnh söï khoâng phaân bieät
caùi tuyeät ñoái vaø töông ñoái, moät söï ñoàng nhaát vöôït khoûi moïi caùch hieåu
bieát theo lyù luaän vaø duy lyù: "Saéc töùc laø khoâng, khoâng töùc laø saéc." Thaät
vaäy, söï toång hôïp hình thöùc vaø hö khoâng khoâng theå hieåu ñöôïc baèng lyù
luaän duy lyù; noù baát khaû tö nghì, vaø chæ coù theå nghieäm ñaïi giaùc saâu xa
môùi cho pheùp chuùng ta hieåu ñöôïc noù. Khi nhìn ra khoaûng khoâng tröôùc
maët, chuùng ta cho raèng noù laø troáng khoâng, nhöng kyø thaät trong ñoù coù
khoâng khí vaø voâ soá buïi traàn. Ngaøy nay ngöôøi ta tìm thaáy trong khoaûng
khoâng aáy nhöõng chaát khaùc nhö döôõng khí, ñaïm khí, vaø coù theå coù voâ soá
vi khuaån nöõa. Hôn theá nöõa, caùc nhaø vaät lyù ñaõ tìm thaáy caùc tia vuõ truï, tia
soùng aâm thanh vaø nhieàu thöù khaùc maø chæ coù caùc khoa hoïc gia môùi hieåu
noåi. Ñieàu naøy cho chuùng ta thaáy khoaûng chaân khoâng naøy dieäu höõu.
Ñieàu naøy coøn cho chuùng ta thaáy khoaûng khoâng gian naøy khoâng phaûi laø
troáng khoâng.
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True Void Is Wonderful Existence

True emptiness is not empty; it gives rise to wonderful existence.

Wonderful existence does not exists; it does not obstruct True
Emptiness. From the void which seemingly contains nothing, absolutely
everything descends. The absolute void, completely vacuity, said to be
the nirvana of the Hinayana. Nature means noumenon or essence;
mark mean characteristics, forms or physiognomy. Marks and nature
are contrasted, in the same way noumenon is contrasted with
phenomenon. However, true mark stands for true form, true nature,
Buddha nature always unchanging. True mark of all phenomena is like
space; always existing but really empty; although empty, really
existing. The true nature of all phenomena is neither existence nor
nonexistence, but rather both and yet neither, depending on the
viewpoint from which phenomena are regarded. A glimpse of the non-
distinctiveness of relative and absolute, which transcends all logical or
conceptual comprehension, is provided by a short formula from the
Heart Sutra: "Form is nothing other than emptiness, emptiness is
nothing other than form." As a matter of fact, the unity of form and
emptiness is not something that can be reached by reasoning and
thinking; it is inconceivable, and it can only be experienced in profound
enlightenment. When we look at the open space right in front of us, we
say it’s empty space, but in fact, it has air and numerous particles of
dust in it. Nowadays people find in it other substance such as oxygen,
nitrogen, and possibly numerous bacteria. Furthermore, physicists have
found cosmic rays, radio rays and many other things which only
scientists can understand. This will tell us that the true void is the
mysteriously existing. This means that this this open space is far from
empty.
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Chöông Naêm Möôi Ba

Chapter Fifty-Three

Chaân Khoâng Dieäu Trí

Nhö ñaõ giaûi thích ôû caùc chöông tröôùc, chaân khoâng khoâng coù nghóa
laø troáng roãng, maø coù nghóa laø caùi khoâng maø khoâng phaûi laø khoâng; chaân
khoâng laøm khôûi leân dieäu höõu. Ngöôøi ta noùi chaân khoâng laø Nieát Baøn cuûa
Tieåu Thöøa (chaân khoâng töùc nieát baøn dieät ñeá, chaúng phaûi giaû neân goïi laø
chaân, lìa boû haønh töôùng neân goïi laø khoâng). Theo Phaät giaùo, giôùi laø quy
luaät giuùp chuùng ta ñeà phoøng phaïm toäi. Khi khoâng sai phaïm giôùi luaät,
taâm trí chuùng ta ñuû thanh tònh ñeå tu taäp thieàn ñònh ôû böôùc keá tieáp haàu
ñaït ñöôïc ñònh löïc. Trí tueä laø keát quaû cuûa vieäc tu taäp giôùi vaø ñònh. Neáu
baïn muoán ñoïan tröø tam ñoäc tham lam, saân haän vaø si meâ, baïn khoâng coù
con ñöôøng naøo khaùc hôn laø phaûi tu giôùi vaø ñònh haàu ñaït ñöôïc trí tueä ba
la maät. Vôùi trí hueä ba la maät, baïn coù theå tieâu dieät nhöõng teân troäm naày
vaø chaám döùt khoå ñau phieàn naõo. Hueä giuùp loaïi tröø aûo voïng ñeå ñaït ñöôïc
chaân lyù. Noùi caùch khaùc, Hueä hay Baùt Nhaõ laø naêng löïc thaâm nhaäp vaøo
baûn taùnh cuûa töï theå vaø ñoàng thôøi noù cuõng laø chaân lyù ñöôïc caûm nghieäm
theo caùch tröïc giaùc. Theo Tyø Kheo Piyadassi Mahathera trong Phaät
Giaùo Nhìn Toaøn Dieän thì taâm ñònh ôû möùc ñoä cao laø phöông tieän ñeå
thaønh ñaït trí tueä hay tueä minh saùt. Tueä bao goàm chaùnh kieán vaø chaùnh
tö duy, töùc laø hai chi ñaàu trong Baùt Chaùnh Ñaïo. Trí tueä giuùp chuùng ta
phaù tan lôùp maây môø si meâ bao phuû söï vaät vaø thöïc chöùng thöïc töôùng cuûa
vaïn phaùp, thaáy ñôøi soáng ñuùng nhö thaät söï, nghóa laø thaáy roõ söï sanh dieät
cuûa vaïn höõu. Theo Giaùo sö Junjiro Takakusu trong Cöông Yeáu Trieát
Hoïc Phaät Giaùo: Phaät giaùo ñaët neàn taûng treân Tam Hoïc (siksa): Giôùi,
Ñònh, Tueä nghóa laø neáu khoâng trì giôùi thì taâm khoâng ñònh, taâm khoâng
ñònh thì khoâng phaùt tueä. Hay noùi khaùc ñi, do giôùi maø coù ñònh, do ñònh
maø coù hueä. Ñònh ôû ñaây bao goàm nhöõng keát quaû vöøa tö bieän vöøa tröïc
quaùn. Tieáp ñoù Ñaïo Phaät coøn daïy haønh giaû phaûi ñi vaøo Tam Ñaïo laø
Kieán ñaïo, Tu ñaïo, vaø Voâ hoïc ñaïo. Ñaây laø ba giai ñoaïn maø haønh giaû
phaûi traûi qua khi tu taäp Kieán Ñaïo vôùi Töù Dieäu Ñeá baèng caùch thöïc haønh
Baùt Chaùnh Ñaïo; keá ñeán, haønh giaû tu taäp Tu Ñaïo vôùi Thaát Giaùc Chi. Tu
ñaïo ôû ñaây laïi coù nghóa laø keát quaû cuûa suy tö chaân chaùnh; vaø cuoái cuøng
laø thöïc hieän hoaøn toaøn baèng Voâ Hoïc Ñaïo. Noùi caùch khaùc, khoâng thaáy
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ñöôïc ñaïo thì khoâng tu ñöôïc ñaïo vaø khoâng thöïc hieän ñöôïc ñôøi soáng lyù
töôûng.
Dieäu trí laø trí tueä nhaän thöùc nhöõng hieän töôïng vaø nhöõng qui luaät
cuûa chuùng. Jnana laø söï saùng suoát naém vöõng taát caû nhöõng thuyeát giaûng
ñöôïc chöùa ñöïng trong caùc kinh ñieån. Trí laø tri giaùc trong saùng vaø hoaøn
haûo cuûa taâm, nôi khoâng naém giöõ baát cöù khaùi nieäm naøo. Ñaây laø söï thöùc
tænh tröïc giaùc vaø duy trì chaân lyù cho moät vò Boà Taùt, yù nghóa vaø söï hieän
höõu khoâng chæ tìm thaáy treân maët phaân giôùi giöõa nhöõng thaønh toá khoâng
beàn chaéc vaø lieân tuïc chuyeån ñeán maïng löôùi phöùc taïp cuûa caùc moái quan
heä trong ñôøi soáng haèng ngaøy, trong khi trí laø söùc maïnh cuûa trí tueä ñöa
ñeán traïng thaùi cuûa naêng löïc giaûi thoaùt, laø duïng cuï chính xaùc coù khaû
naêng uyeån chuyeån vöôït qua caùc chöôùng ngaïi cuûa hình thöùc oâ nhieãm vaø
caùc chaáp thuû thaâm caên di truyeàn trong tö töôûng vaø haønh ñoäng. Jnana laø
moät töø raát linh ñoäng vì ñoâi khi noù coù nghóa laø caùi trí theá gian taàm
thöôøng, caùi trí cuûa töông ñoái khoâng thaâm nhaäp ñöôïc vaøo chaân lyù cuûa
hieän höõu, nhöng ñoâi khi noù cuõng coù nghóa laø caùi trí sieâu vieät, trong
tröôøng hôïp naày noù ñoàng nghóa vôùi Baùt Nhaõ (Prajna). Dieäu trí laø trí tueä
bieát ñöôïc raèng taùnh khoâng laø baûn chaát toái haäu cuûa taát caû caùc phaùp.
Loaïi trí tueä ñaëc bieät naøy laø phöông tieän duy nhaát duøng ñeå loaïi tröø voâ
minh vaø nhöõng traïng thaùi taâm nhieãu loaïn cuûa chuùng ta. Trí tueä naøy
cuõng laø moät khí cuï maïnh meõ nhaát duøng ñeå hoùa giaûi nhöõng daáu aán
nghieäp thöùc u aùm. Hôn nöõa, trí tueä naøy khieán cho chuùng ta coù khaû naêng
laøm lôïi laïc ngöôøi khaùc moät caùch hieäu quaû, vì nhôø noù maø chuùng ta coù
theå chæ daïy ngöôøi khaùc phöông phaùp ñeå töï hoï cuõng ñaït ñöôïc loaïi trí tueä
naøy. Loaïi trí tueä thöù nhaát laø chìa khoùa ñeå daãn ñeán giaûi thoaùt vaø giaùc
ngoä. Ñeå coù theå ñaït ñöôïc loaïi trí tueä naøy, chuùng ta phaûi ñaàu tö moïi noã
löïc vaøo tu taäp giaùo lyù nhaø Phaät vaø thöïc haønh thieàn ñònh. Trí tueä bieát
ñöôïc ngoân ngöõ, lyù luaän, khoa hoïc, ngheä thuaät, vaân vaân. Loaïi trí tueä naøy
laø loaïi baåm sanh; tuy nhieân, ngöôøi ta tin raèng ngöôøi coù loaïi trí tueä naøy
laø ngöôøi maø trong nhieàu kieáp tröôùc ñaõ tu taäp vaø thöïc haønh nhieàu haïnh
laønh roài.
Dieäu trí laø trí hueä cuûa chö Phaät. Trí thaáy roõ raèng taùnh coù nghóa laø
tinh thaàn hay tinh yeáu; daáu hieäu coù nghóa laø töôùng. Taùnh vaø töôùng ñoái
nghòch nhau, gioáng nhö tinh thaàn ñoái choïi vôùi hieän töôïng. Thaät taùnh
cuûa theá giôùi hieän töôïng laø chaân khoâng, thöôøng höõu maø hö voâ; tuy hö voâ
nhöng thöôøng höõu (caùi khoâng chaúng phaûi laø khoâng, caùi höõu chaúng phaûi
laø höõu maø phaøm phu suy nghó). Khi nhìn ra khoaûng khoâng tröôùc maët,
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chuùng ta cho raèng noù laø troáng khoâng, nhöng kyø thaät trong ñoù coù khoâng
khí vaø voâ soá buïi traàn. Ngaøy nay ngöôøi ta tìm thaáy trong khoaûng khoâng
aáy nhöõng chaát khaùc nhö döôõng khí, ñaïm khí, vaø coù theå coù voâ soá vi
khuaån nöõa. Hôn theá nöõa, caùc nhaø vaät lyù ñaõ tìm thaáy caùc tia vuõ truï, tia
soùng aâm thanh vaø nhieàu thöù khaùc maø chæ coù caùc khoa hoïc gia môùi hieåu
noåi. Ñieàu naøy cho chuùng ta thaáy khoaûng chaân khoâng naøy dieäu höõu.
Ñieàu naøy coøn cho chuùng ta thaáy khoaûng khoâng gian naøy khoâng phaûi laø
troáng khoâng. Trong moät böùc thô traû lôøi cuûa Thieàn sö Hö Vaân göûi cho
Taêng Thieân Du, ngaøi ñaõ noùi: "Ngöôøi naøo duøng tình thöùc ñeå phaân bieät,
phaùn ñoaùn vaø quyeát ñònh, ngöôøi ñoù seõ traàm luaân troâi noåi trong coõi ta baø
vôùi caùi tình thöùc naøy. Khoâng yù thöùc ñöôïc veà caùi tình thöùc naøy laø caùi
haàm baãy nguy hieåm, nhieàu Thieàn giaû ngaøy nay baùm víu vaøo noù maø cho
laø Ñaïo. Hoï khôûi leân vaø chìm xuoáng gioáng nhö moät mieáng vaùn troâi giaït
giöõa bieån khôi. Neáu nhö oâng thình lình gaït boû ñöôïc moïi thöù, tuoät boû caû
tö töôûng vaø söï giaûi thoaùt, hoát nhieân oâng thaáy mình nhö trôït chaân daãm
leân treân muõi mình. Ngay töùc khaéc luùc ñoù oâng nhaän ra raèng caùi tình thöùc
ñoù töï noù laø caùi Chaân khoâng dieäu trí, chöù khoâng coøn thöù gì khaùc nöõa ñeå
maø ñaït ñöôïc. Nhö moät ngöôøi trong côn meâ loaïn xem ñoâng laø taây, kòp
ñeán khi tænh nhaän ra raèng taây cuõng chính laø ñoâng, chaúng coøn coù ñoâng
naøo khaùc ñeå tìm. Caùi Chaân khoâng Dieäu trí naøy cuøng soáng maõi vôùi thaùi
hö. OÂng coù bao giôø thaáy coù thöù gì laøm trôû ngaïi thaùi hö ñöôïc chaêng?
Tuy khoâng bò vaät trôû ngaïi, noù cuõng chaúng ngaên ngaïi caùc vaät ñi laïi trong
noù (caùi Chaân khoâng Dieäu trí cuõng vaäy, sinh töû phaøm thaùnh chaúng
nhieãm tröôùc noù ñöôïc chuùt naøo; tuy chaúng bò nhieãm tröôùc, nhöng noù
cuõng chaúng ngaïi sinh töû phaøm thaùnh ñi laïi trong noù)"

True Void & Marvellous Wisdom

As explained in previous chapters, true emptiness is not empty; it

gives rise to wonderful existence. Wonderful existence does not exists;
it does not obstruct True Emptiness. From the void which seemingly
contains nothing, absolutely everything descends. The absolute void,
completely vacuity, said to be the nirvana of the Hinayana. According
to Buddhism, precepts are rules which keep us from committing
offenses. When we are able to refrain from committing offenses, our
mind is pure to cultivate meditation in the next step to achieve the
power of concentration. The resulting wisdom, or training in wisdom. If
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you want to get rid of greed, anger, and ignorance, you have no choice
but cultivating discipline and samadhi so that you can obtain wisdom
paramita. With wisdom paramita, you can destroy these thieves and
terminate all afflictions. Wisdom (training in wisdom). In other words,
Wisdom or Prajna is the power to penetrate into the nature of one’s
being, as well as the truth itself thus intuited. Study of principles and
solving of doubts. Also according to Bhikkhu Piyadassi Mahathera in
The Spectrum of Buddhism, high concentration is the means to the
acquisition of wisdom or insight. Wisdom consists of right
understanding and right thought, the first two factors of the path. This is
called the training in wisdom or panna-sikkha. Wisdom helps us get rid
of the clouded view of things, and to see life as it really is, that is to see
life and things pertaining to life as arising and passing. According to
Prof. Junjiro Takakusu in The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy,
Buddhism lays stress on the Threefold Learning (siksa) of Higher
Morality, Higher Thought, and Higher Insight. That is to say, without
higher morals one cannot get higher thought and without higher thought
one cannot attain higher insight. In other words, morality is often said
to lead to samadhi, and samadhi to prajna. Higher thought here
comprises the results of both analytical investigation and meditative
intuition. Buddhism further instructs the aspirants, when they are
qualified, in the Threefold Way (marga) of Life-View, Life-Culture
and Realization of Life-Ideal or No-More Learning. These are three
stages to be passed through in the study of the Fourfold Truth by the
application of the Eightfold Noble Path; in the second stage it is
investigated more fully and actualized by the practice of the Seven
Branches of Enlightenment, life-culture here again means the results of
right meditation; and in the last stage the Truth is fully realized in the
Path of No-More-Learning. In other words, without a right view of life
there will be no culture, and without proper culture there will be no
realization of life.
Marvellous wisdom is higher intellect or spiritual wisdom;
knowledge of the ultimate truth (reality). Jnana is the essential clarity
and unerring sensibility of a mind that no longer clings to concepts of
any kind. It is direct and sustained awareness of the truth, for a
Bodhisattva, that meaning and existence are found only in the interface
between the components of an unstable and constantly shifting web of
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relationships, which is everyday life, while prajna is the strength of

intellectual discrimination elevated to the status of a liberating power,
a precision tool capable of slicing through obstructions that take the
form of afflictions and attachments to deeply engrained hereditary
patterns of thought and action. Jnana is a very flexible term, as it
means sometimes ordinary worldly knowledge, knowledge of
relativity, which does not penetrate into the truth of existence, but also
sometimes transcendental knowledge, in which case being synonymous
with Prajna or Arya-jnana. Marvellous wisdom is the wisdom
understanding that emptiness of inherent existence is the ultimate
nature of all phenomena. This specific type of wisdom is the sole
means to eliminate our ignorance and other disturbing states. It is also
the most powerful tool for purifying negative karmic imprints. In
addition, it enables us to benefit others effectively, for we can then
teach them how to gain this wisdom themselves. This is also the first
key to liberation and enlightenment. In order to be able to obtain this
type of wisdom, we must invest all our efforts in cultivating Buddhist
laws and practicing Buddhist meditation. Conventional intelligence
knowing, logic, science, arts, and so forth. This type of wisdom is from
birth; however, the person who possesses this type of wisdom is
believed that in previous lives, he or she had already cultivated or
practiced so many good deeds.
The wonderful wisdom is the Buddha-wisdom. The wisdom the
knows clearly that nature means noumenon or essence; mark mean
characteristics, forms or physiognomy. Marks and nature are
contrasted, in the same way noumenon is contrasted with phenomenon.
True mark of all phenomena is like space; always existing but really
empty; although empty, really existing. When we look at the open
space right in front of us, we say it’s empty space, but in fact, it has air
and numerous particles of dust in it. Nowadays people find in it other
substance such as oxygen, nitrogen, and possibly numerous bacteria.
Furthermore, physicists have found cosmic rays, radio rays and many
other things which only scientists can understand. This will tell us that
the true void is the mysteriously existing. This means that this this open
space is far from empty. In a letter to respond to his disciple Tseng
T'ien-yu, Zen master Hsu-yun wrote: "The one who distinguishes,
judges, and makes decisions is sentient consciousness. This is the one
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who forever wanders in Samsara. Not being aware that this sentient
consciousness is a dangerous pitfall, many Zen students nowadays cling
to it and deem it to be the Tao. They rise and fall like a piece of
driftwood in the sea. But if you can abruptly put everything down,
stripped of all thought and deliberation, suddenly you feel as if you had
stumbled over a stone and stepped upon your own nose.
Instantaneously you realize that this sentient consciousness is the true,
void, marvellous wisdom itself. No other wisdom than this can be
obtained. This is like a man, in his confusion, mistakenly regarding the
east as the west. But when he awakens, he realizes that the west is the
east. There is no other east to be found. This true, void, marvellous
wisdom lives on eternally like space. Have you ever seen anything that
can impede space? Though it is not impeded by anything, neither does
it hinder anything from moving on in its embrace."
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Chöông Naêm Möôi Boán

Chapter Fifty-Four

Saéc Töùc Thò Khoâng, Khoâng Töùc Thò Saéc

Trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh

Saéc laø hình theå, nhöng thöôøng duøng theo nghóa theå chaát, coù moät vò
trí trong khoâng gian, vaø ngaên ngaïi vôùi nhöõng hình theå khaùc. Vaäy, saéc
coù theå tích, do ñoù coù haïn cuoäc, bò tuøy thuoäc. Saéc phaùt hieän khi hoäi ñuû
nhöõng nhaân duyeân naøo ñoù, vaø tuøy nhöõng nhaân duyeân aáy maø truï moät
thôøi gian, roài tieâu dieät maát. Saéc voán voâ thöôøng, leä thuoäc, hö giaû, töông
ñoái, nghòch ñaûo vaø sai bieät. Theo kinh Voâ Ngaõ Töôùng, Ñöùc Phaät daïy:
“Naøy caùc Tyø Kheo, saéc khoâng phaûi laø ngaõ. Vì naøy caùc Tyø Kheo, neáu
saéc laø ngaõ, thì thaân naøy seõ khoâng bò beänh vaø chuùng ta coù theå noùi ‘öôùc
mong saéc cuûa ta ñöôïc nhö vaày, öôùc mong saéc cuûa ta khoâng phaûi nhö
vaày. Nhöng vì naøy caùc Tyø Kheo, saéc thaân khoâng phaûi laø Ngaõ cho neân
thaân naøy bò beänh vaø chuùng ta khoâng theå noùi ‘öôùc mong cho saéc cuûa ta
ñöôïc nhö vaày, hay öôùc mong cho saéc ta khoâng phaûi nhö vaày. Laïi nöõa
naøy caùc Tyø Kheo, caùc oâng nghó theá naøo? Saéc laø thöôøng hay voâ
thöôøng?” Baïch Ñöùc Theá Toân: “Saéc laø voâ thöôøng.” “Caùi gì voâ thöôøng thì
taïo khoå ñau hay laïc thuù?” Baïch Ñöùc Theá Toân: “Noù taïo khoå ñau.” Vaäy
caùi gì voâ thöôøng, khoå ñau, chòu söï bieán hoaïi thì coù theå naøo suy nghó
theo caùch naøy: “Caùi naøy laø cuûa toâi, caùi naøy laø töï ngaõ cuûa toâi, ñöôïc
chaêng?” Baïch Ñöùc Theá Toân: “Khoâng theå nhö vaäy ñöôïc.” Nhö vaäy baèng
phöông phaùp phaân tích, Ñöùc Phaät ñaõ nhìn nhaän söï hieän dieän cuûa khoå
ñau treân ñôøi naøy. Ngaøi cho thaáy raèng luyeán aùi moïi vaät maø khoâng coù
chaùnh kieán veà thöïc chaát cuûa chuùng laø nguyeân nhaân cuûa khoå ñau. Taùnh
voâ thöôøng vaø bieán ñoåi voán coù saün trong baûn chaát cuûa vaïn höõu. Ñaây laø
baûn chaát cuûa chuùng ta vaø ñaây laø chaùnh kieán. Neáu chuùng ta khoâng chaáp
nhaän ñieàu naøy, chaéc chaén chuùng ta seõ gaëp nhieàu ñieàu xung ñoät maâu
thuaãn vì chuùng ta khoâng theå naøo thay ñoåi ñöôïc baûn chaát cuûa vaïn höõu
vaø keát quaû laø ‘nieàm hy voïng xa daàn khieán cho chuùng ta ñau khoå. Vaäy
giaûi phaùp duy nhaát laø ôû choã phaûi ñieàu chænh quan ñieåm cuûa chính mình.
Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh coøn ñöôïc goïi laø Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña Taâm
Kinh, moät trong nhöõng boä kinh ngaén nhaát trong kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La
Maät Ña. Teân ñaày ñuû laø Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña Taâm Kinh. Coù leõ laø boä
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kinh phoå thoâng nhaát treân theá giôùi ngaøy nay. Taâm Kinh giaûng giaûi nghóa
lyù cuûa Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña, Ba La Maät veà Trí Tueä laøm cho ngöôøi ta
nhaän bieát roõ raøng veà taùnh khoâng cuûa baûn ngaõ vaø vaïn höõu. Taâm kinh laø
taâm cuûa Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät; noù laø taâm cuûa gia ñình boä kinh “Baùt Nhaõ
Ba La Maät Ña Taâm Kinh.” Theo Thieàn Sö Linh Moäc Ñaïi Chuyeát Trinh
Thaùi Lang trong boä Thieàn Luaän, Taäp III, moät caùch phieán dieän, caùi laøm
cho chuùng ta ngaïc nhieân nhaát khi theo ñuoåi yù töôûng trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm
Kinh laø haàu nhö chaúng tìm thaáy gì trong ñoù, ngoaøi moät chuoãi nhöõng
phuû ñònh, vaø caùi ñöôïc hieåu nhö laø Taùnh Khoâng chæ laø thuyeát ñoaïn dieät
thuaàn tuùy chæ nhaèm laøm giaûm moïi thöù xuoáng vaøo caùi khoâng. Keát luaän
seõ laø Baùt Nhaõ hay tu taäp theo kinh Baùt Nhaõ chæ nhaèm phuû nhaän vaïn
höõu... Vaø cuoái cuøng thì taát caû nhöõng phuû nhaän naøy chaúng ñöa ñeán tri
thöùc maø cuõng khoâng ñaït ñöôïc baát cöù thöù gì caû. Ñaït ñöôïc caùi gì coù nghóa
laø yù thöùc vaø chaáp tröôùc ñoái vôùi moät söï hieåu bieát coù ñöôïc töø keát quaû cuûa
lyù luaän töông ñaõi. Do khoâng coù sôû ñaéc naøo theo baûn chaát naøy, taâm thöùc
ñöôïc hoaøn toaøn giaûi thoaùt khoûi taát caû moïi chöôùng ngaïi, voán dó laø nhöõng
sai laàm vaø laãn loän khôûi leân töø söï hoaït ñoäng cuûa trí naêng, vaø cuõng giaûi
thoaùt khoûi nhöõng chöôùng ngaïi baét reã trong yù thöùc haønh ñoäng vaø tình
caûm cuûa chuùng ta, nhö nhöõng sôï haõi vaø lo aâu, nhöõng vui vaø buoàn,
nhöõng töø boû vaø say ñaém. Khi chöùng ngoä ñöôïc ñieàu naøy, laø ñaït ñeán Nieát
Baøn. Nieát Baøn vaø giaùc ngoä laø moät. Nhö theá töø Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña
chö Phaät quaù khöù, hieän taïi, vaø vò lai khôûi hieän. Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña
laø meï cuûa Phaät quaû vaø Boà Taùt quaû, ñoù laø ñieàu luoân ñöôïc nhaéc ñi nhaéc
laïi cho chuùng ta trong vaên hoïc Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät.
Kinh ñieån Pali ñaõ tuyeân boá saùu caên, saùu traàn vaø saùu thöùc cuõng nhö
naêm uaån ñeàu laø khoâng taùnh nhö sau: “Maét laø khoâng phaûi ngaõ vaø baát cöù
caùi gì thuoäc veà ngaõ; saéc khoâng phaûi laø ngaõ vaø baát cöù caùi gì thuoäc veà
ngaõ; thöùc khoâng phaûi laø ngaõ vaø baát cöù caùi gì thuoäc veà ngaõ.” Trong Baùt
Nhaõ Taâm Kinh, Ñöùc Phaät baûo ngaøi Xaù Lôïi Phaát: “Naøy Xaù Lôïi Phaát!
Theá giôùi hieän töôïng hay saéc töôùng naøy laø khoâng, vaø khoâng quaû thöïc laø
theá giôùi hieän töôïng. Khoâng khoâng khaùc vôùi theá giôùi hieän töôïng hay
Saéc, theá giôùi hieän töôïng hay Saéc khoâng khaùc vôùi Khoâng. Caùi gì laø theá
giôùi hieän töôïng thì caùi ñoù laø Khoâng, caùi gì Khoâng thì caùi ñoù laø theá giôùi
hieän töôïng.” Taâm Kinh giaûi thích yù nieäm Taùnh Khoâng roäng ra nhö sau:
“Saéc chaúng khaùc vôùi khoâng,” hoaëc “Khoâng chaúng khaùc vôùi saéc” vaø
“Taùnh khoâng cuûa chö phaùp khoâng sanh khoâng dieät, khoâng nhieãm,
khoâng tònh, khoâng taêng, khoâng giaûm,” nghóa laø saéc khoâng coù baûn chaát
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cuûa chính noù, noù sanh khôûi laø do duyeân sanh, do ñoù saéc laø khoâng hoaëc
ñoàng nghóa vôùi khoâng. Nhö vaäy, khaùch theå, chuû theå vaø thöùc ñeàu tuøy
thuoäc laãn nhau. Thöïc teá cuûa caùi naøy laø phuï thuoäc vaøo caùi khaùc; neáu caùi
naøy giaû thì nhöõng caùi khaùc cuõng laø giaû. Chuû theå nhaän thöùc vaø yù thöùc
cuûa khaùch theå beân ngoaøi haún cuõng laø giaû. Vì vaäy, khi moät ngöôøi nhaän
thöùc beân trong hoaëc beân ngoaøi ñeàu laø voïng töôûng, thì seõ thaáy khoâng coù
gì caû, taïo taùc vaø huûy dieät, nhieãm vaø tònh, taêng vaø giaûm... Do theá, noùi
raèng “Taùnh khoâng cuûa chö phaùp khoâng sanh, khoâng dieät, khoâng nhieãm,
khoâng tònh, khoâng taêng, khoâng giaûm.” Tuy nhieân, treân thöïc teá chuùng ta
khoâng theå noùi raèng moät phaùp vöøa laø thaät vaø ñoàng thôøi vöøa laø khoâng
thaät. ÔÛ ñaây taùnh khoâng phaûi ñöôïc ñònh nghóa nhö lyù duyeân khôûi. Coù söï
lieân heä maät thieát toàn taïi giöõa lyù duyeân khôûi vaø taùnh khoâng. Caùi naøy
bao haøm caùi kia, caû hai khoâng theå taùch rôøi nhau. Taùnh khoâng laø heä quaû
hôïp lyù cuûa quan ñieåm cuûa Ñöùc Phaät veà lyù duyeân khôûi. Taùnh khoâng laø
chuû ñeà trung taâm cuûa heä thoáng trieát hoïc Ñaïi Thöøa. Töø naøy ñöôïc duøng
trong heä thoáng Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät ñeå chæ moät traïng thaùi nôi maø taát caû
caùc chaáp thuû ñöôïc xem nhö baûn chaát thaät cuûa hieän töôïng laø hoaøn toaøn
bò choái boû. Noùi caùch khaùc, neáu chuùng ta bieát chö phaùp thöôøng khoâng coù
töôùng coá ñònh laø chuùng ta gieo ñöôïc chuûng töû tueä giaùc nhö Kinh Dieäu
Phaùp Lieân Hoa daïy: “Bieát chö phaùp khoâng coù töôùng coá ñònh thöôøng
haèng, haït gioáng veà Phaät taùnh seõ sanh khôûi.”
Theo Thieàn sö Taêng Xaùn trong Tín Taâm Minh, khoâng truù ôû nôi naøo
nhöng truù ôû khaép nôi. Möôøi phöông ñang ôû ngay tröôùc maët baïn. Caùi
nhoû nhaát cuõng gioáng nhö caùi lôùn nhaát nôi maø voâ minh bò ñoaïn taän. Caùi
lôùn nhaát cuõng gioáng nhö caùi nhoû nhaát, khoâng coøn thaáy bieân giôùi nöõa.
Söï hieän höõu ñuùng laø troáng roãng (Saéc laø Khoâng). Söï troáng roãng ñuùng laø
söï hieän höõu (Khoâng laø Saéc). Neáu noù khoâng gioáng nhö theá thì baïn
khoâng neân duy trì noù. Theo Thieàn Sö Suøng Sôn Haïnh Nguyeän trong
quyeån Thieàn Ñònh Chæ Nam, Taâm Kinh daïy raèng: "Saéc laø khoâng, khoâng
laø saéc." Nhieàu ngöôøi khoâng hieåu ñöôïc yù nghóa cuûa caâu naøy, keå caû
nhöõng ngöôøi ñaõ quaùn töôûng nhieàu naêm. Nhöng coù moät caùch hieåu raát
ñôn giaûn, döïa theo cuoäc soáng ñôøi thöôøng cuûa chuùng ta. Chaúng haïn, ñaây
laø chieác gheá baèng caây. Chieác gheá maøu naâu, chaéc chaén, naëng neà vaø coù
veû raát beàn vöõng. Baïn ngoài leân, chieác gheá chòu söùc naëng cuûa baïn moät
caùch vöõng chaõi. Baïn ñaët ñoà ñaïc leân gheá cuõng khoâng sao. Nhöng roài
baïn chaâm löûa vaøo gheá vaø boû ñi. Moät laùt sau khi baïn trôû laïi, chieác gheá
khoâng coøn nöõa! Caùi vaät vöøa môùi ñaây coù veû chaéc chaén, beàn vöõng, vaø
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hieän thaät maø baây giôø chæ coøn laø moät ñoáng tro buïi, bò gioù thoåi bay töù taùn.
Thí duï naøy chæ ra tính khoâng cuûa caùi gheá; noù khoâng phaûi laø moät vaät
thöôøng truï. Noù luoân thay ñoåi, khoâng töï hieän höõu. Khoâng choùng thì
chaày, cuoái cuøng caùi gheá seõ thay ñoåi, bieán thaønh moät thöù khaùc . Vì vaäy,
caùi gheá maøu naâu naøy hoaøn toaøn laø "khoâng". Nhöng daàu baûn chaát voán
khoâng, caùi "khoâng" aáy vaãn laø "saéc": baïn coù theå ngoài leân chieác gheá vaø
noù vaãn chòu ñöôïc baïn ñaáy. "Saéc laø khoâng, khoâng laø saéc." ñaáy baïn aï!

Form is Emptiness and the Very Emptiness is Form

In the Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra

Form is used more in the sense of “substance,” or “something

occupying space which will resist replacement by another form.” So it
has extension, it is limited and conditioned. It comes into existence
when conditions are matured, as Buddhists would say, and staying as
long as they continue, pass away. Form is impermanent, dependent,
illusory, relative, antithetical, and distinctive. According to the
Anattalakkhana Sutta, the Buddha taught: “O, Bhiksus, is the form not
the self. If the form, o Bhiksus, were the self, the body would not be
subject to disease and we should be able to say ‘Let my body be such
and such a one, let my body not be such and such a one. But since this
body, o Bhiksus, is not the self, therefore, the body is subject to
disease, and we are not able to say ‘Let my body be such and such a
one, let my body not be such and such a one.’” The Buddha further
said: “Now what do you think, o Bhiksus, is the body permanent or
perishable?” “It is perishable, Lord.” The Buddha added: “And that
which is perishable, does that cause pain or joy?” “It causes pain,
Lord.” “And that which is perishable, painful, subject to change, is it
possible to regard that in this way: ‘This is mine, this am I, this is
myself?’” “That is impossible, Lord.” By the method of analysis the
Buddha pointed out to his disciples that attachment to things without a
correct view as to their true nature is the cause of suffering.
Impermanence and change are inherent in the nature of all things. This
is their true nature and this is the correct view, and as long as we are at
variance with it, we are bound to run into conflicts. We cannot alter or
control the nature of things, and the result is disappointment or
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suffering. The only solution to this problem lies in correcting our own
point of view.
The Sutra of the Prajna Heart, also called the Prajnaparamita
Hridaya Sutra, one of the smallest sutras, contained in the Vast
Prajnaparamita. The full title of this sutra is “Heart of Prajna Paramita
Sutra.” Probably the most popular sutra in the world today. The Heart
Sutra explains the meaning of “Prajna Paramita,” the perfection of
wisdom that enables one to perceive clearly the emptiness of self and
of all phenomena. The Heart Sutra is the heart of the perfection of
wisdom; it is also the heart of the entire family of “Prajna Paramita
Sutras.” According to Zen Master D. T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen
Buddhism, Volume III, what superficially strikes us most while
persuing the text of the Hridaya or Heart Sutra of the Prajnaparamita is
that it is almost nothing else but a series of negations, and that what is
known as Emptiness is pure negativism which ultimately reduces all
things into nothingness. The conclusion will then be that the
Prajnaparamita or rather its practice consists in negating all things...
And at the end of all these negations, there is neither knowledge nor
attainment of any sort. Attainment means to be conscious of and be
attached to an understanding which is the result of relative reasoning.
As there is no attainment of this nature, the mind is entirely free from
all obstructions, that is, errors and confusions which arise from
intellectualization, and also from the obstruction that are rooted in our
cognitive and affective consciousness, such as fears and worries, joys
and sorrows, abandonments, and infatuations. When this is realized,
Nirvana is reached. Nirvana and enlightenment are one. Thus from the
Prajnaparamita arise all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future.
The Prajnaparamita is the mother of Buddhahood and Bodhisattvahood,
which is reiterated throughout the Prajnaparamita literature.
The Pali scripture declares six sense-organs, six sense-objects and
six consciousnesses as well as five aggregates are Sunyata as “Eye is
void of self and anything belonging to self; form is void from self and
anything belonging to self; visual consciousness is void of self and
anything belonging to self.” Matter is just the immaterial, the
immaterial is just matter (form is emptiness and the very emptiness is
form: Rupam eva sunyata, sunyataiva rupam). In the Heart Sutra, the
Buddha told Sariputra: “Sariputra! This phenomenal world or form is
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emptiness, and emptiness is truly the phenomenal world. Emptiness is

not different from the phenomenal world, the phenomenal world is not
different from emptiness. What is the phenomenal world that is
emptiness, what is emptiness that is the phenomenal world.” The
Hrdaya Sutra expands this concept by emphasis that “Rupa does not
differ from Sunya”, or “Sunya does not differ from rupa” and “Sunya of
all things is not created, not annihilated, not impure, not pure, not
increasing, and not decreasing.” It means that because rupa must have
no nature of its own, it is produced by causes or depend on anything
else, so rupa is sunyata or identical with void. Therefore, the perceived
object, the perceiving subject and knowledge are mutually
interdependent. The reality of one is dependent upon others; if one is
false, the others must be false. The perceiving subject and knowledge
of the external object must also be false. So what one perceives within
or without is illusory. Therefore, there is nothing, creation and
annihilation, pure and impure, increase and decrease and so on.
However, in reality, we cannot say a thing to be either real or unreal at
the same time. Here, Sunyata must be defined as Pratityasamutpada.
There is the intimate connection that exists between causality and
sunyata. The one presupposes the other; the two are inseparably
connected. Sunyata is the logical consequence of the Buddha’s view of
causality and effection. Sunyata is the central theme of the Mahayana
philosophical system. This term has been used in the Prajna-paramita
system to denote a stage where all viewpoints with regard to the real
nature of mundane world are totally rejected. In other words, we may
say that to have a viewpoint is to cling to a position and there can be
various types of positions with regard to the real nature of things as
Saddharma-Pundaria expressed: “Knowing that phenomena have no
constant fixed nature, that the seeds of Buddhahood sprout through
causation.”
According to Zen Master Seng-Tsan in Faith in Mind, abiding no
where, yet everywhere. Ten directions are right before you. The
smallest is the same as the largest in the realm where delusion is cut
off. The largest is the same as the smallest, no boundaries are visible.
Existence is precisely emptiness and emptiness is precisely existence.
If it is not like this, you should not preserve it. According to Zen Master
Seung Sahn in The Compass of Zen, the Heart Sutra teaches that "form
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is emptiness, and emptiness is form." Many people don't know what

this means, even some long-time students of meditation. But there is a
very easy way to see this in our everyday lives. For example, here is a
wooden chair. It is brown. It is solid and heavy. It looks like it could
last a long time. You sit in the chair, and it holds up your weight. You
can place things on it. But then you light the chair on fire, and leave.
When you come back later, the chair is no longer there! This thing that
seemed so solid and strong and real is now a pile of cinder and ash
which the wind blows around. This example shows how the chair is
empty; it is not a permanent abiding things. It is always changing. It has
no independent existence. Over a long or short time, the chair will
eventually change and become something other than what it appears.
So this brown chair is complete emptiness. But though it always has the
quality of emptiness, this emptiness is form: you can sit in the chair,
and it will still hold you up. You should know that "Form is emptiness,
and emptiness is form."
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 359

Chöông Naêm Möôi Laêm

Chapter Fifty-Five

Nhaát Thieát Phaùp Khoâng

Theo Phaïn ngöõ, chöõ “Phaùp” phaùt xuaát töø caên ngöõ “Dhri” coù nghóa
laø caàm naém, mang, hieän höõu, hình nhö luoân luoân coù moät caùi gì ñoù thuoäc
yù töôûng “toàn taïi” ñi keøm vôùi noù. Thöù nhaát, yù nghóa thoâng thöôøng vaø
quan troïng nhaát cuûa “Phaùp” trong Phaät giaùo laø chaân lyù. Thöù hai, phaùp
ñöôïc duøng vôùi nghóa “hieän höõu,” hay “höõu theå,” “ñoái töôïng,” hay “söï
vaät.” Thöù ba, phaùp ñoàng nghóa vôùi “ñöùc haïnh,” “coâng chaùnh,” “chuaån
taéc,” veà caû ñaïo ñöùc vaø tri thöùc. Thöù tö, coù khi phaùp ñöôïc duøng theo
caùch bao haøm nhaát, goàm taát caû nhöõng nghóa lyù vöøa keå, neân chuùng ta
khoâng theå dòch ra ñöôïc. Trong tröôøng hôïp naày caùch toát nhaát laø cöù ñeå
nguyeân goác chöù khoâng dòch ra ngoaïi ngöõ. Beân caïnh ñoù, Phaùp coøn laø
luaät vuõ truï hay traät töï maø theá giôùi chuùng ta phaûi phuïc toøng. Theo ñaïo
Phaät, ñaây laø luaät “Luaân Hoài Nhaân Quaû”. Phaùp coøn coù nghóa laø moïi
hieän töôïng, söï vaät vaø bieåu hieän cuûa hieän thöïc. Moïi hieän töôïng ñeàu chòu
chung luaät nhaân quaû, bao goàm caû coát tuûy giaùo phaùp Phaät giaùo. Theo
Giaùo Sö Junjiro Takakusu trong Cöông Yeáu Trieát Hoïc Phaät Giaùo, chöõ
Dharma coù naêm nghóa nhö sau: Dharma laø caùi ñöôïc naém giöõ hay lyù
töôûng neáu chuùng ta giôùi haïn yù nghóa cuûa noù trong nhöõng taùc vuï taâm lyù
maø thoâi. Trình ñoä cuûa lyù töôûng naày seõ sai bieät tuøy theo söï tieáp nhaän
cuûa moãi caù theå khaùc nhau. ÔÛ Ñöùc Phaät, noù laø söï toaøn giaùc hay vieân
maõn trí (Bodhi). Thöù ñeán, lyù töôûng dieãn taû trong ngoân töø seõ laø giaùo
thuyeát, giaùo lyù, hay giaùo phaùp cuûa Ngaøi. Thöù ba, lyù töôûng ñeà ra cho caùc
ñeä töû cuûa Ngaøi laø luaät nghi, giôùi caám, giôùi ñieàu, ñöùc lyù. Thöù tö, lyù
töôûng laø ñeå chöùng ngoä seõ laø nguyeân lyù, thuyeát lyù, chaân lyù, lyù tính, baûn
tính, luaät taéc, ñieàu kieän. Thöù naêm, lyù töôûng theå hieän trong moät yù nghóa
toång quaùt seõ laø thöïc taïi, söï kieän, söï theå, yeáu toá (bò taïo hay khoâng bò
taïo), taâm vaø vaät, yù theå vaø hieän töôïng: a) Nhöõng phaûn aùnh cuûa caùc hieän
töôïng vaøo taâm con ngöôøi, noäi dung taâm thaàn, yù töôûng. b) Nhöõng nhaân
toá toàn taïi maø tröôøng phaùi Tieåu thöøa cho ñoù laø neàn taûng cuûa nhaân caùch
kinh nghieäm. Theo phaùi Trung Quaùn, chöõ Phaùp trong Phaät Giaùo coù
nhieàu yù nghóa. Nghóa roäng nhaát thì noù laø naêng löïc tinh thaàn, phi nhaân
caùch beân trong vaø ñaèng sau taát caû moïi söï vaät. Trong ñaïo Phaät vaø trieát
hoïc Phaät giaùo, chöõ Phaùp goàm coù boán nghóa: Thöù nhaát, chöõ Phaùp coù
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nghóa laø thöïc taïi toái haäu. Noù vöøa sieâu vieät vöøa ôû beân trong theá giôùi, vaø
cuõng laø luaät chi phoái theá giôùi. Thöù nhì, chöõ Phaùp theo yù nghóa kinh
ñieån, giaùo nghóa, toân giaùo phaùp, nhö Phaät Phaùp. Thöù ba, chöõ Phaùp coù
nghóa laø söï ngay thaúng, ñöùc haïnh, loøng thaønh khaån. Thöù tö, chöõ Phaùp
coù nghóa laø thaønh toá cuûa söï sinh toàn. Khi duøng theo nghóa naày thì
thöôøng ñöôïc duøng cho soá nhieàu.
Theo Phaät giaùo, taát caû caùc phaùp ñeàu khoâng hay khoâng coù töï tính,
nhö ñöôïc giaûng daïy trong kinh Ñaïi Baùt Nhaõ hay ñöôïc Tam Luaän toâng
thöøa nhaän. Ñaây laø giaùo lyù cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa, phuû nhaän höõu theå cuûa söï
töôùng sai bieät vôùi hai hoïc thuyeát cô sôû treân. Khía caïnh hieän höõu trong
ñoù taát caû caùc söï vaät ñöôïc xem laø khoâng, khoâng ñöôïc sinh ra, khoâng
phaûi hai, vaø khoâng coù töï tính. Caùi Khoâng vôùi yù nghóa laø khoâng theå goïi
teân cuûa Hieän Höõu. Caùi khoâng veà söï baát khaû thuyeát cuûa taát caû caùc söï
vaät nghóa laø gì? Vì söï hieän höõu naày phuï thuoäc vaøo saùng kieán töôûng
töôïng hay bieán keá sôû chaáp cuûa chuùng ta neân khoâng coù töï tính naøo trong
noù coù theå ñöôïc goïi teân vaø ñöôïc mieâu taû bôûi cuù phaùp cuûa trí töông ñoái
cuûa chuùng ta. Theo Long Thoï Boà Taùt, nhaát thieát phaùp khoâng hay caùi
khoâng cuûa taát caû söï vaät vaø hieän töôïng. Thöøa nhaän taát caû caùc phaùp laø
Khoâng, caùi ñoù heát söùc haøm nguï, vì chöõ Dharma khoâng chæ rieâng cho
moät ñoái töôïng cuûa quan naêng maø coøn chæ cho caû ñoái töôïng cuûa tö
töôûng. Khi tuyeân boá taát caû nhöõng thöù ñoù laø Khoâng, khoûi caàn baøn luaän
chi tieát nöõa. Nhöng Kinh Baùt Nhaõ hieån nhieân coá yù khoâng ñeå nguyeân
traïng taûng ñaù ñeå ñeø naëng nhöõng ngöôøi hoïc Baùt Nhaõ moät caùch trieät ñeå
baèng hoïc thuyeát Taùnh Khoâng. Theo Long Thoï, taát caû caùc phaùp ñeàu
mang caùc ñaëc saéc naày: höõu töôùng, tri töôùng, thöùc töôùng, duyeân töôùng,
taêng thöôïng töôùng, nhaân töôùng, quaû töôùng, toång töôùng, bieät töôùng, y
töôùng. Nhöng heát thaûy nhöõng töôùng ñoù khoâng coù thöôøng truï baát bieán;
taát caû ñeàu laø ñoái ñaõi vaø giaû höõu. Phaøm phu khoâng theå soi toû vaøo baûn
chaát chaân thöïc cuûa caùc phaùp, do ñoù trôû neân chaáp thuû yù nieäm veà moät
thöïc taïi thöôøng, laïc, ngaõ, vaø tònh. Khoân ngoan chæ coù nghóa laø thoaùt
khoûi nhöõng quan ñieåm taø vaïy ñoù, vì chaúng coù gì trong chuùng heát, neân
phaûi coi laø Khoâng.

All Dharmas Are Empty

Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit root “Dhri” means to

hold, to bear, or to exist; there seems always to be something of the
 361

idea of enduring also going along with it. First, the most common and
most important meaning of “Dharma” in Buddhism is “truth,” “law,” or
“religion.” Secondly, it is used in the sense of “existence,” “being,”
“object,” or “thing.” Thirdly, it is synonymous with “virtue,”
“righteousness,” or “norm,” not only in the ethical sense, but in the
intellectual one also. Fourthly, it is occasionally used in a most
comprehaensive way, including all the senses mentioned above. In this
case, we’d better leave the original untranslated rather than to seek for
an equivalent in a foreign language. Besides, Dharma is also the
cosmic law which is underlying our world. According to Buddhism, this
is the law of karmically determined rebirth. Dharmas also mean all
phenomena, things and manifestation of reality. All phenomena are
subject to the law of causation, and this fundamental truth comprises
the core of the Buddha’s teaching. According to Prof. Junjiro Takakusu
in The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, the word “Dharma” has five
meanings: Dharma would mean ‘that which is held to,’ or ‘the ideal’ if
we limit its meaning to mental affairs only. This ideal will be different
in scope as conceived by different individuals. In the case of the
Buddha it will be Perfect Enlightenment or Perfect Wisdom (Bodhi).
Secondly, the ideal as expressed in words will be his Sermon,
Dialogue, Teaching, Doctrine. Thirdly, the ideal as set forth for his
pupils is the Rule, Discipline, Precept, Morality. Fourthly, the ideal to
be realized will be the Principle, Theory, Truth, Reason, Nature, Law,
Condition. Fifthly, the ideal as realized in a general sense will be
Reality, Fact, Thing, Element (created and not created), Mind-and-
Matter, Idea-and-Phenomenon: a) Reflection of a thing in the human
mind, mental content, object of thought or idea. b) Factors of existence
which the Hinayana considers as bases of the empirical personality.
According to the Madhyamakas, Dharma is a protean word in
Buddhism. In the broadest sense it means an impersonal spiritual
energy behind and in everything. There are four important senses in
which this word has been used in Buddhist philosophy and religion:
First, Dharma in the sense of one ultimate Reality. It is both
transcendent and immanent to the world, and also the governing law
within it. Second, Dharma in the sense of scripture, doctrine, religion,
as the Buddhist Dharma. Third, Dharma in the sense of righteousness,
 362

virtue, and piety. Fourth, Dharma in the sense of ‘elements of

existence.’ In this sense, it is generally used in plural.
The aspect of existence in which all things are to be regarded as
empty, unborn, non-dual, and without self-substance. According to
Buddhism, all dharmas as void, or devoid of specific character (sarva-
dharma sunyata or sarva sunyata), as taught by the Prajnaparamita text
or as admitted by the San-Lun (Madhyamika) School. This is the
teaching of the Mahayana denying specific character (laksana abhava)
with the two elementary doctrines. What is meant by the Emptiness of
the Unnamability (khoâng theå ñöôïc goïi teân) of All Things? As this
existence is dependent upon our imaginative contrivance, there is no
self-substance in it which can be named and described by the
phraseology of our relative knowledge. This unnamability is
designated here as a form of emptiness. According to Nagarjuna
Bodhisattva, all things are empty (Sarvadharma-sunyata (skt) is the
most comprehensive one, for the term ‘dharma’ denotes not only an
object of sense, but also an object of thought. When all these are
declared empty (emptiness of all things or the emptiness or unreality of
all things), no further detailed commentaries are needed. But the
Prajnaparamita evidently designs to leave no stone unturned in order to
impress its students in a most thoroughgoing manner with the doctrine
of Emptiness. According to Nagarjuna, all dharmas are endowed with
these characters: existentiality, intelligibility, perceptibility, objectivity,
efficiency, causality, dependence, mutuality, duality, multiplicity,
generality, individuality, etc. But all these characterizations have no
permanence, no stability; they are all relative and phenomenal. The
ignorant fail to see into the true nature of things, and become attached
thereby to the idea of a reality which is eternal, blissful, self-governing,
and devoid of defilements. To be wise simply means to be free from
these false views, for there is nothing in them to be taken hold of as not
empty.
 363

Phaàn Ba
Phuï Luïc

Part Three
Appendices
364
 365

Phuï Luïc A
Appendix A

Taùnh Voán Khoâng

Taùnh thöôøng ñöôïc duøng ñeå chæ caùi nguyeân lyù toái haäu cuûa söï hieän
höõu cuûa moät vaät hay moät ngöôøi hay caùi maø noù vaãn coøn toàn taïi cuûa moät
vaät khi ngöôøi ta laáy heát taát caû nhöõng gì thuoäc veà vaät aáy hay ngöôøi aáy ñi
maø taùnh aáy vaãn thuoäc veà ngöôøi aáy hay vaät aáy moät caùch baát ngôø ngöôøi
ta coù theå hoûi veà caùi maø noù coù tính caùch baát ngôø vaø caùi coù taùnh taát yeáu
trong söï taïo thaønh moät caù theå rieâng bieät. Duø khoâng neân hieåu “taùnh”
nhö laø moät thöïc theå rieâng leû, nhö moät haït nhaân coøn laïi sau khi boùc heát
caùc lôùp voû beân ngoaøi, hay nhö moät linh hoàn thoaùt khoûi thaân xaùc sau khi
cheát. Taùnh coù nghóa laø caùi maø neáu khoâng coù noù thì khoâng theå coù söï
hieän höõu naøo caû, cuõng nhö khoâng theå naøo töôûng töôïng ra noù ñöôïc. Nhö
caùch caáu taïo tö daïng cuûa noù gôïi yù, noù laø moät traùi tim hay moät caùi taâm
soáng ôû beân trong moät caù theå. Theo caùch töôïng tröng, ngöôøi ta coù theå
goïi noù laø “löïc thieát yeáu.”
Hoaèng Nhaãn (601-674), toå thöù naêm cuûa doøng Thieàn Trung quoác,
ngöôøi keá vò Ñaïo Tín. OÂng laø thaày cuûa Thaàn Tuù vaø Hueä Naêng. OÂng laø
moät vò sö noåi tieáng, toå thöù naêm cuûa Thieàn Toâng Trung Hoa, ñeä töû cuûa
Töù Toå Ñaïo Tín, vaø laø thaày cuûa Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng. Hoaèng Nhaãn cuøng
queâ vôùi Toå Ñaïo Tín, ôû Kyø Chaâu. Hoaèng Nhaãn ñeán vôùi Töù Toå khi ngaøi
coøn laø moät ñöùa treû; tuy nhieân, ñieàu maø ngaøi ñaõ laøm haøi loøng sö phuï laø
vôùi cung caùch traû lôøi cuûa ngaøi qua cuoäc noùi chuyeän ñaàu tieân. Khi töù toå
hoûi ngaøi veà hoï maø tieáng Trung Hoa goïi laø ‘Taùnh’ thì ngaøi ñaùp: “Con coù
taùnh, nhöng chaúng phaûi laø taùnh thöôøng.” Töù Toå beøn hoûi: “Vaäy laø taùnh
gì?” Hoaèng Nhaãn ñaùp: “Laø Phaät taùnh.” Töù Toå laïi hoûi: “Con khoâng coù
taùnh sao?” Hoaèng Nhaãn ñaùp: “Nhöng taùnh voán laø khoâng.” Töù Toå thaàm
nhaän bieát ñaây laø ngöôøi seõ ñöôïc truyeàn thöøa veà sau naày. Ñaây chæ laø
thuaät chôi chöõ, vì noùi veà toäc hoï hay danh taùnh vaø boån theå hay töï taùnh,
ngöôøi Trung Hoa ñeàu ñoïc chung laø ‘taùnh.’ Töù Toå Ñaïo Tín hoûi laø hoûi veà
danh taùnh, coøn caäu beù Hoaèng Nhaãn laïi ñaùp veà töï taùnh, caäu ñaõ möôïn
chöõ ñoàng aâm aáy coát ñöa ra kieán giaûi cuûa mình. Thaät vaäy veà sau naày
Hoaèng Nhaãn ñöôïc Töù Toå Ñaïo Tín truyeàn y baùt laøm toå thöù naêm cuûa
doøng Thieàn Trung Quoác.
 366

Trong Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn Kinh, Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng ñònh nghóa chöõ
“Taùnh” theo caùch nhö sau: “Taùnh hay taâm laø laõnh thoå,” ôû ñaây taùnh laø
vua: vua ngöï trò treân laõnh thoå cuûa mình; choã naøo coù taùnh, choã ñoù coù
vua; taùnh ñi, vua khoâng coøn nöõa, khi taùnh ôû thì thaân taâm coøn, khi naøo
taùnh khoâng ôû thì thaân vaø taâm hoaïi dieät. Ñöùc Phaät phaûi ñöôïc thaønh töïu
trong taùnh chôù ñi tìm ngoaøi thaân. Veà vieäc naøy Luïc Toå Hueä Naêng ñaõ noã
löïc ñem ñeán cho chuùng ta söï hieåu bieát roõ raøng veà caùi maø ngaøi nghe
ñöôïc baèng “Taùnh.” Taùnh laø löïc thoáng trò toaøn theå con ngöôøi chuùng ta,
noù laø nguyeân lyù cuûa söï soáng cuûa chuùng ta, caû veà theå xaùc laãn tinh thaàn.
Söï hieän dieän cuûa Taùnh laø nguyeân nhaân cuûa söï soáng, caû veà theå xaùc laãn
tinh thaàn, theo nghóa cao nhaát cuûa noù. Khi Taùnh khoâng ôû nöõa, taát caû
ñeàu cheát, ñieàu naøy khoâng coù nghóa laø taùnh laø moät vaät gì ngoaøi thaân vaø
taâm, nôi noù vaøo ñeå laøm chuùng hoaït ñoäng vaø ra ñi vaøo luùc cheát. Tuy
nhieân, caùi Taùnh kyø dieäu naøy khoâng phaûi laø moät loaïi lyù luaän tieân
nghieäm, maø laø moät thöïc taïi coù theå kinh nghieäm ñöôïc vaø noù ñöôïc Luïc
Toå Hueä Naêng chæ danh döôùi hình thöùc “Töï Taùnh, hay baûn taùnh rieâng
cuûa caùi “mình” trong suoát Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn Kinh

Nature Is Empty In Its Nature

Nature stands in most cases for the ultimate constituent, or

something ultimate in the being of a thing or a person, or that which is
left after all that accidentally belongs to a thing is taken away from it.
It may be questioned what is accidental and what is essential in the
constitution of an individual object. Though it must not be conceived as
an individual entity, like a kernel or nucleus which is left when all the
outer casings are removed, or like a soul which escapes from the body
after death. Nature means something without which no existence is
possible, or thinkable as such. As its morphological construction
suggests, it is ‘a heart or mind which lives’ within an individual.
Figuratively, it may be called ‘vital force.’
The fifth patriarch of Ch’an in China; the dharma successor of Tao-
hsin and the master of Shen-hsui and Hui-Neng. Hung-Jeân, a noted
monk. He was the fifth patriarch, a disciple of the fourth patriarch Tao-
Hsin, and the master of the sixth patriarch Hui-Neng. Hung-Jen came
from the same province as his predecessor, Tao-Hsin in Ch’i-Chou.
Hung-Jen came to the fourth patriarch when he was still a little boy;
 367

however, what he pleased his master at their first interview was the
way he answered. When Tao-Hsin asked what was his family name,
which pronounced ‘hsing’ in Chinese, he said: “I have a nature (hsing),
and it is not an ordinary one.” The patriarch asked: “What is that?”
Hung-Jen said: “It is the Buddha-nature (fo-hsing).” The patriarch
asked: “Then you have no name?” Hung-Jun replied: “No, master, for
it is empty in its nature.” Tao-Hsin knew this boy would be an excellent
candidate for the next patriarch. Here is a play of words; the characters
denoting ‘family name’ and that for ‘nature’ are both pronounced
‘hsing.’ When Tao-Hsin was referring to the ‘family name’ the young
boy Hung-Jen took it for ‘nature’ purposely, whereby to express his
view by a figure of speech. Finally, Hung-Jen became the fifth
patriarch of the Chinese Zen line.
In the Platform Sutra, the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng defined
‘nature’ as follows: “The nature, or mind or heart is the dominion,
nature is the lord: the rules over his dominion, there is ‘nature’ and
there is the ‘lord’; nature departs, and the lord is no more; nature is and
the body and mind subsists, nature is not and the body and mind is
destroyed. The Buddha is to be made within nature and not to be
sought outside the body. In this, Hui-Neng attempts to give us a clearer
understanding of what he means by ‘nature.’ Nature is the dominating
force over our entire being; it is the principle of vitality, physical and
spiritual. Not only the body but also the mind in its highest sense is
active because of nature being present in them. When ‘nature’ is no
more, all is dead, though this does not mean that ‘nature’ is something
apart from the body and mind, which enters into it to actuate it, and
depart at the time of death. This mysterious nature, however, is not a
logical a priori but an actuality which can be experienced, and it is
designated by Hui-Neng as “self-nature” or “self-being,” throughout
his Platform Sutra.
368
 369

Phuï Luïc B
Appendix B

Taùnh Khoâng Vaø Söï Tónh Laëng

Goác tieáng Phaïn cuûa “Taùnh khoâng” laø “Sunyata.” “Sunya” laáy töø
goác chöõ “svi” coù nghóa laø phoàng leân. Chö phaùp khoâng coù thöïc höõu noäi
taïi, khoâng coù baûn chaát thöôøng haèng, khoâng coù thöù gì coù thöïc taùnh cuûa
chính noù. Nhöõng gì hieän höõu ñeàu coù ñieàu kieän, vaø coù lieân quan vôùi
nhöõng yeáu toá khaùc. Theo Caûnh Ñöùc Truyeàn Ñaêng Luïc, quyeån IV, Töù
Toå Thieàn toâng Ñaïo Tín giaûi thích yù nghóa cuûa söï tónh laëng vaø taùnh
khoâng nhö sau: "Haõy suy gaãm veà saéc thaân cuûa mình, xem thöû noù laø gì.
Noù troáng roãng, khoâng coù thöïc töôùng, nhö moät caùi boùng. Noù ñöôïc töôûng
nhö coù thaät, nhöng nôi noù, chaúng coù thöù gì ñeå naém giöõ ñöôïc... Töø giöõa
Taùnh Khoâng khôûi leân luïc caên, vaø luïc caên thuoâc veà Taùnh Khoâng, trong
khi luïc traàn ñöôïc nhaän thöùc nhö giaác moäng hay nhö moät huyeãn töôïng.
Ñieàu naøy cuõng gioáng nhö con maét nhìn caùc vaät; caùc vaät khoâng naèm
trong con maét. Hay gioáng nhö taám göông phaûn chieáu hình aûnh cuûa baïn:
baïn thaáy hình aûnh moät caùch roõ raøng; taát caû nhöõng phaûn aû nh aáy chæ laø
taùnh khoâng, vì taám göông khoâng löu giöõ vaät phaûn chieáu trong göông.
Maët ngöôøi khoâng ñi vaøo trong thaân taám göông, vaø taám göông khoâng ñi
ra khoûi mình ñeå nhaäp vaøo maët ngöôøi. Khi thaáu hieåu taám göông vaø
khuoân maët töông quan nhö theá naøo vôùi nhau, khi hieåu raèng ngay töø luùc
baét ñaàu, ñaõ khoâng coù vaøo, khoâng coù ra, khoâng coù qua laïi, khoâng coù
thieát laäp töông quan giöõa hai beân, ngöôøi ta hieåu ñöôïc yù nghóa cuûa Chaân
Nhö vaø Taùnh Khoâng." Thieàn Sö Ñaïo Tieàm soáng vaøo khoaûng cuoái nhaø
Ñöôøng ñaàu nhaø Toáng (vaøo khoaûng giöõa theá kyû thöù X). Luùc ban ñaàu
Ñaïo Tieàm ñeán tham vaán vôùi thieàn sö Tònh Hueä. Tònh Hueä hoûi: "Ngoaøi
vieäc hoïc Thieàn, con xem nhöõng kinh ñieån gì?" Ñaïo Tieàm ñaùp: "Con
xem kinh Hoa Nghieâm." Tònh Hueä noùi: "Saùu töôùng toång, bieät, ñoàng, dò,
thaønh, hoaïi, thuoäc vaøo phaùp moân naøo?" Ñaïo Tieàm ñaùp: "Ñoaïn vaên
trong phaåm Thaäp Ñòa. Caên cöù vaøo lyù thuyeát naøy thì heát thaûy caùc phaùp
theá gian vaø xuaát theá gian ñeàu ñuû caû saùu töôùng." Tònh Hueä hoûi: "Vaäy
caùi 'Khoâng' coù ñuû caû saùu töôùng hay khoâng?" Ñaïo Tieàm nhö laïc maát
phöông höôùng khoâng bieát traû lôøi theá naøo. Tònh Hueä noùi: "Con haõy hoûi
ta ñi." Ñaïo Tieàm beøn hoûi: "Baïch thaày, vaäy thì caùi 'Khoâng' coù ñuû caû saùu
töôùng hay khoâng?" Tònh Hueä noùi: "Khoâng!" Ñaïo Tieàm hoaùt nhieân ñaïi
 370

ngoä; phaán khôûi tinh thaàn laøm leã boån sö. Tònh Hueä hoûi: "Con hieåu nhö
theá naøo?" Ñaïo Tieàm ñaùp: "Khoâng."

Emptiness and Quietude

A Sanskrit root for “Emptiness” is “sunyata”. The Sanskrit word

“sunya” is derived from the root “svi,” to swell. Sunya literally means:
“relating to the swollen.” Unreality of things or all things (phenomena)
lack inherent existence, having no essence or permanent aspect
whatsoever, nothing has a nature of its own. All phenomena are empty.
All phenomena exist are conditioned and, relative to other factors.
According to the Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Ch’uan-
Teng-Lu), Volume IV, Tao-hsin, the Fourth Ch'an Ancestor, explains
what is meant by quietude and Emptiness in the following manner:
"Reflect on your own body and see what it is. It is empty and devoid of
reality like a shadow. It is perceived as if it actually exists, but there
nothing there to take hold of... Out of the midst of Emptiness there rise
the six senses and the six senses too are of Emptiness, while the six
sense-objects are perceived as like a dream or a vision. It is like the
eye perceiving its objects; they are not located in it. Like the mirror on
which your features are reflected, they are perfectly perceived there in
all clearness; the reflections are all there in the emptiness, yet the
mirror itself retains not one of the objects which are reflected there.
The human face has not come to enter into the body of the mirror, nor
has the mirror gone out to enter into the human face. When one
realizes how the mirror and the face stand to each other and that there
is from the beginning no entering, not going-out, no passing, no coming
into relation with each other, one comprehends the signification of
Suchness and Emptiness." Zen master Tao-ch'ien lived between late
T'ang and early Sung (around the middle of the tenth century). He first
saw Ching-hui. Ching-hui asked, "What sutras do you read besides your
study of Zen?" Tao-ch'ien said, "I read the Avatamsaka Sutra." Ching-
hui said, "The sutra refers to the six aspects of existence; general and
particular, same and difference, existing and disappearing. To what
doctrine does this belong?" Tao-ch'ien said, "The passage occurs in the
chapters on the ten stages of Bodhisattvahood. According to its theory,
all things either of this world or of a supermundane world are
 371

considered to have these six aspects." Ching-hui asked, "Is 'emptiness

of space' (k'ung) furnished with these six?" Tao-ch'ien was at a loss
how to answer the question. Ching-hui said, "You ask me." Tao-ch'ien
asked, "Is 'emptiness of space' (k'ung) furnished with these six?" Ching-
hui said, "K'ung!" The answer opened at once the mind of Tao-ch'ien to
a new light; filled with joy, he bowed to the master. Ching-hui said,
"How do you understand?" Tao-ch'ien said, "K'ung!"
372
 373

Phuï Luïc C
Appendix C

Vaïn Höõu Baûn Lai Khoâng,

Vaïn Phaùp Nhö AÛo Hieän

AÛo hieän laø theá giôùi cuûa caùc hieän töôïng vaø hình thöùc beà ngoaøi; theá
giôùi cuûa baáp beânh vaø thöôøng xuyeân bieán hoùa, maø moät ngöôøi chöa giaùc
ngoä laïi cho laø hieän thöïc. Vuõ truï hieän töôïng luoân bò chi phoái bôûi ñoåi thay
vaø voâ thöôøng. AÛo hieän (Maya) chæ laø phöông tieän ñeå chuùng ta ño löôøng
vaø ñaùnh giaù theá giôùi hieän töôïng. Noù laø huyeãn hoùa khi theá giôùi saéc giôùi
naày ñöôïc nhaän thöùc khoâng ñuùng, nhö laø tónh vaø khoâng thay ñoåi . Khi noù
ñöôïc thaáy ñuùng nhö noù hieän höõu, nghóa laø moät doøng nöôùc chaûy sinh
ñoäng thì Maya laïi coù nghóa laø Boà Ñeà, hay trí tueä voán coù cuûa chuùng
sanh. Theo Thieàn Sö Ñaïo An (312-385) trong Sôn Moân Huyeàn Nghóa:
"Vaïn phaùp nhö aûo hieän. Vì chuùng nhö aûo hieän neân ñöôïc goïi laø 'chaân lyù
theá gian'. Taâm vaø thaàn thì chaân thöïc, khoâng phaûi laø khoâng, ñaây goïi laø
'chaân lyù toái thöôïng'. Neáu thaàn laø khoâng thì giaùo phaùp naøy daïy cho ai,
vaø ai laø ngöôøi tu taäp Ñaïo ñeå thoaùt ra khoûi voâ minh maø ñeán Thaùnh quaû?
Vì vaäy phaûi bieát raèng thaàn khoâng phaûi laø khoâng." Thieàn sö Ñaïo An
(312-385), moät hoïc giaû Phaät giaùo quan troïng nhaát cuûa Trung quoác vaøo
theá kyû thöù IV sau Taây lòch. Ñaïo An sanh ra taïi ñaát Phuø Lieãu, thuoäc xöù
Thöôøng Sôn, ôû mieàn baéc Trung Hoa, trong gia ñình theo Khoång giaùo,
nhöng oâng xuaát gia tu Phaät naêm 12 tuoåi. Vì töôùng maïo xaáu neân oâng
khoâng ñöôïc ngöôøi trong chuøa neå troïng cho maáy. Veà sau oâng du phöông
hoïc ñaïo, gaëp Ngaøi Phaät Ñoà Tröøng oâng lieàn xin theo laøm ñeä töû nöông
hoïc. Moãi khi Phaät Ñoà Tröøng giaûng kinh thì oâng truøng thuaät laïi, lôøi
giaûng vaø yù nghóa ñeàu dieãn ñaït ñeán möùc sieâu quaàn, laøm cho thính chuùng
thaûy ñeàu kinh haõi. OÂng ñaõ nghieân cöùu nhieàu vaên baûn khaùc nhau cuûa
Kinh Baùt Nhaõ vaø thöïc haønh thieàn ñònh. OÂng ñaõ bình giaûi nhöõng kinh
vaên naày ngay trong nhöõng naêm ñaàu trong ñôøi tu taäp cuûa oâng, vaø oâng
cuõng chính laø hoïc giaû Phaät giaùo ñaàu tieân phoái hôïp giöõa Baùt Nhaõ vaø
Thieàn Na, laø ngöôøi khai saùng moät trong nhöõng tröôøng phaùi Phaät giaùo
Trung Quoác ñaàu tieân, tröôøng phaùi naày ñöôïc trieån khai töø Kinh Baùt Nhaõ
Ba La Maät maø oâng ñaõ daøy coâng nghieân cöùu. Hoïc thuyeát veà “Khoâng toàn
taïi caên baûn,” tröôøng phaùi naày tin raèng caùch duy nhaát ñeå giaûi thoaùt khoûi
 374

nhöõng raøng buoäc cuûa mình laø baèng caùch giöõ cho tinh thaàn trong “khoâng
toàn taïi.” Sö Ñaïo An chuû tröông taát caû caùc phaùp "baûn taùnh khoâng". OÂng
cuõng laø ngöôøi ñaàu tieân laäp ra baûn danh muïc kinh ñieån baèng Hoa ngöõ
thôøi baáy giôø. OÂng ñöôïc coi laø ngöôøi ñaàu tieân khôûi xöôùng vieäc thôø Phaät
Di Laëc. Thôøi baáy giôø, vì chöa coù Luaät Taïng ñaày ñuû neân oâng ñaõ quy
ñònh nhöõng quy taéc chính veà sinh hoaït chung cho caùc ñeä töû cuûa mình.
Nhöõng sinh hoaït naày bao goàm nhöõng nghi leã toân vinh Ñöùc Phaät nhö ñi
voøng quanh caùc töôïng, phöông phaùp giaûi thích kinh ñieån, aên uoâáng trong
töï vieän, vaø nghi leã boá taùt. Vì bao giôø oâng cuõng xem troïng thieàn ñònh,
neân nhieàu ngöôøi coi oâng nhö moät trong nhöõng cha ñeû cuûa Thieàn Toâng
Trung Hoa, trong khi nhieàu ngöôøi khaùc xem oâng nhö laø ngöôøi thaät söï
saùng laäp ra Thieàn toâng Trung Hoa. Ngöôøi ta noùi raèng Ñaïo An Phaùp Sö
coù moät töôùng laï laø nôi caùnh tay traùi cuûa ngaøi noåi leân moät cuïc thòt u,
gioáng nhö hình caùi aán, neân ngöôøi ñöông thôøi cuõng goïi ngaøi laø “Thuû AÁn
Hoøa Thöôïng.”

All Things Are Originally By Nature Empty,

All Dharmas Are the Same As Magical Illusions

Illusion is the continually changing, impermanent phenomanal

world of appearances and forms, of illusion or deception, which an
unenlightened mind takes as the only reality. The phenomenal universe
is subject to differentiation and impermanence. Maya is merely a
medium through which we measure and appraise the phenomenal
world. It is the cause of illusion when this world of form is incorrectly
perceived as static and unchanging. When it is seen for what it is,
namely, a living flux grounded in emptiness, maya is bodhi, or inherent
wisdom. According to Zen Master Tao An (312-385) in Shan Men
Hsuan I: "All dharmas are the same as magical illusions. Because they
are the same as magical illusions they are called the 'worldly truth.'
The mind and spirit are real and not empty; this is the truth of supreme
meaning. If the spirit is empty, then to whom are the teachings given,
and who cultivates the Path to advance from an ignorant state and
attain Sagehood? Therefore it should be known that the spirit is not
empty." Tao-An, the most important Chinese Buddhist scholar of the 4th
century AD (312-385). He was born in Fu-Lieu area of Tsang-Shan
region in northern China into a Confucianist family; however, by the
 375

age of twelve he became a novice in the Buddhist monastic order.

Because he was so physically unattractive, not many people at the
temple respected him greatly. Later, he traveled abroad to learn
Buddhism. He met a great venerable Fu-Tu-Tzeng. He immediately
asked to follow to learn from this great master. Each time Fu-Tu-Tzeng
explained the Sutra he repeated the teachings. The words and
meanings were explained and clarified to the highest level, leading the
listeners to feel overwhelmed in astonishment at his extraordinary
penetration and knowledge of the Dharma he had leanred. He studied
various prajnaparamita texts and the sutras dealing with the practice of
dhyana. He composed commentaries on these texts very early on in his
life, and he was also the first scholar who joined the Prajna and
Dhyana. He was considered the first founder of one of the early
schools of Chinese Buddhism, which developed out of his engagement
with the Prajnaparamita Sutra. This was the school of fundamental
nonbeing, which believed that liberation from all spiritual fetters can
only be attained through the mind’s dwelling in nonbeing. Tao-an
supported the interpretation of all things as "originally by nature
(inherently) empty." He was also the first one who compiled catalogue
of sutras, listing those already available in Chinese translation. He is
considered the originator of the cult of Maitreya. At his time, due to
lack of a complete Vinaya-pitaka, he established guidelines for the
communal life of his followers. These guidelines included rites for
veneration of the Buddha, such as circumabulation of statues, methods
of expounding the sutras, communal meals, and the uposatha
ceremonies. Because of his emphasis on the importance of meditation
practice, many people regarded him as one of the fathers of Dhyana
Buddhism in China, while many others considered him as the actual
founder of Chinese Ch’an. It is said that Dharma Master Tao-An had a
unique characteristic in that his left arm had a great protrusion of flesh,
resembling a seal; thus, many people of the day called him “Seal-
Holding Great Master.”
376
 377

Phuï Luïc D
Appendix D

Ñöøng Duøng Kinh Ñieån Ñeå

Tìm Caàu Khoâng Taùnh!

Thieàn Sö Ñôn Haø Thieân Nhieân (739-824) thöôïng ñöôøng daïy chuùng:
"Taát caû caùc oâng ñeàu phaûi baûo hoä moät chuøa vieän. Chaúng phaûi caùc oâng
taïo taùc danh maïo, laïi noùi ngöôøi chaúng cuùng döôøng? Ngaøy tröôùc ta tham
vaán Hoøa Thöôïng Thaïch Ñaàu, vaø ñöôïc ngaøi chæ daïy caàn töï baûo hoä. Vieäc
naøy khoâng noùi baøn maø ñöôïc. Taát caû caùc oâng ai cuõng coù moät choã ñaát
ngoài, laïi nghi caùi gì? Thieàn khoâng coù phaûi laø caùi gì ñeå giaûi thích ñaâu?
Phaät coù phaûi laø thöù ñeå caùc oâng trôû thaønh ñaâu? Ta khoâng muoán nghe
moät tieáng naøo cuûa caùc oâng veà giaùo phaùp. Caùc oâng haõy nhìn kyõ maø
xem, phöông tieän thieän xaûo töø, bi, hyû, xaû chaúng phaûi töø ngoaøi maø ñöôïc.
Chaúng laáy ra ñöôïc moät taác vuoâng cuûa nhöõng thöù naøy ñeå laøm chöùng.
Thieän xaûo laø Vaên Thuø, phöông tieän laø Phoå Hieàn. Ñoù! Caùc oâng coøn
muoán ñi tìm ôû ñaâu nöõa khoâng? Ñöøng duøng kinh ñieån Phaät ñeå tìm caàu
'khoâng taùnh'. Thieàn sinh ñôøi nay laêng xaêng loän xoän cho laø tham thieàn
hoûi Ñaïo. ÔÛ ñaây ta khoâng coù phaùp daønh cho maáy oâng tu! Vaø cuõng
khoâng coù phaùp ñeå chöùng. ÔÛ ñaâu cuõng theá! Chæ caàn aên vaø uoáng nhö bình
thöôøng. Moïi ngöôøi ñeàu coù theå laøm ñöôïc ñieàu naøy maø! Ñöøng chaát chöùa
nghi ngôø. Chæ ñôn giaûn coi oâng giaø Thích Ca laø oâng giaø bình thöôøng.
Caùc oâng phaûi töï mình xeùt laáy. Ñöøng duøng caû ñôøi mình coá gaéng tranh
laáy moät chieác cuùp naøo ñoù, ngöôøi muø daãn ñaùm muø, caû ñaùm keùo nhau rôi
vaøo ñòa nguïc, maøu saéc mòt muø trong nhò nguyeân. Ta chaúng coù gì ñeå noùi
theâm nöõa. Haõy caån troïng!"
Haønh giaû neân nhôù raèng lôøi daïy kinh ñieån laø nhöõng baøi thuyeát giaûng
cuûa Ñöùc Phaät Thích Ca. Tam taïng Kinh Ñieån bao goàm Kinh, Luaät vaø
Luaän. Phaät Giaùo Nguyeân Thuûy thöøa nhaän kinh ñieån ñöôïc ghi laïi baèng
tieáng Ba Li (Nam Phaïn). Phaät giaùo Ñaïi Thöøa thöøa nhaän kinh ñieån ñöôïc
ghi laïi baèng tieáng Baéc Phaïn. Tuy nhieân, trong truyeàn thoáng "Baát laäp
vaên töï" cuûa caùc tröôøng phaùi Thieàn. Nhaø Thieàn döïa vaøo thöïc taäp hôn laø
vaên töï saùch vôû. Ngoân thuyeát phaùp töôùng hay giaùo lyù baèng ngoân töø traù i
vôùi söï töï chöùng. Ñieàu naøy chæ muoán nhaán maïnh raèng haønh giaû tu Thieàn
neân luoân nhôù ñeán boán pheùp nöông vaøo ñeå hieåu thaáu Phaät Phaùp maø
 378

chính ñöùc Phaät ñaõ daïy. Thöù nhaát laø Y phaùp baát y nhaân. Nöông vaøo
phaùp chöù khoâng nöông vaøo ngöôøi. Thöù nhì laø Y lieãu nghóa kinh, baát y
baát lieãu nghóa kinh. Nöông vaøo kinh roõ nghóa (vieân giaùo) chöù khoâng
nöông vaøo kinh khoâng roõ nghóa (phaàn giaùo). Thöù ba laø Y nghóa baát y
ngöõ. Nöông vaøo nghóa chöù khoâng nöông vaøo vaên töï. Thöù tö laø Y trí baát
y thöùc. Nöông vaøo trí tueä tröïc giaùc chöù khoâng nöông vaøo tri thöùc phaøm
phu. Neáu coù theå laøm theo nhöõng ñieàu naøy, chuùng ta seõ caûm thaáy kinh
ñieån laø nhöõng ngoïn ñeøn soi loái cho chuùng ta trong ñeâm toái, maø khoâng
phaûi baùm víu vaøo chuùng nöõa.

Don't Go Using the Buddhist Scriptures

to Look for Emptiness!

Zen master Tan-Hsia entered the hall and addressed the monks,
saying, "All of you here must take care of the temple and monastery.
Things in this place were not made or named by you, and have they not
been given as offerings? Formerly I studied with Shih-t'ou, and he
taught me that I must personally protect these things. This is not to be
discussed further. Each of you here has a place to put your cushion and
sit. Why do you suspect you need something else? Is Zen something
you can explain? Is a Buddha something you can become? I don't want
to hear a single word about Buddhism. All of you, look and see!
Skillful means and expedience, the unlimited mind of benevolence,
compassion, joy, and detachment; these things aren't received from
someplace else. Not an inch of these things is evident. Skillful means is
Manjusri Bodhisattva. Expedience is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Do
you still want to go seeking after something? Don't go using the
Buddhist scriptures to look for emptiness! These days Zen students are
all in a tizzy, practicing Zen and asking about the Way. I don't have any
Dharma for you to practice here! And there isn't any doctrine to be
confirmed. Just eat and drink. Everyone can do that. Don't harbor
doubt. It's the same everyplace! Just simply recognize that Sakyamuni
was an ordinary old fellow. You must see for yourself. Don't spend
your life trying to win some competitive trophy, blindly misleading
other blind people, all of you marching right into hell, floundering in
duality! I've nothing more to say. Take care!"
 379

Practitioners should always remember that teachings in sutras are

the Buddha's teachings. Three baskets in Pali recognized by Theravada
school. Sutras were written down in Sanskrit recognized by the
Mahayana school, including the sutras (kinh), Tantras (luaät), and the
Commentary (luaän). However, in the tradition of "No establishment of
words and letters" or "Teaching that does not establish words and
letters" of Zen schools. It lays stress on meditation and intuition rather
than on books and other external aids. Word-teaching contrasted with
self-realization. This just emphasizes that Zen practitioners should
always remember the four basic principles which the Buddha himself
taught for thorough understanding Buddhism. First, relying on the
teaching, not on the person or trust in the Law, not in men. Relying in
on the teaching, not merely on any persons (relying on the teaching and
not on the person who teaches it). Second, rely on the complete
teaching, not on the partial teaching, trust in sutras containing ultimate
truth, not incomplete one. Relying on the sutras that give ultimate
teachings, not on those which preach expedient teachings (relying on
discourses of definitive meaning, not on discourses of interpretable
meaning). Third, relying on the meaning, not on the letter. Trust in
truth, not in words (letters). Relying on the true meaning or spirit of
Dharma statement in sutra, not merely on the words of the statement
(relying on the meaning of the teaching and not on the expression).
Fourth, rely on knowledge, not on conditioned consciousness. Trust in
wisdom growing out of eternal truth and not in illusory knowledge.
Relying on intuitive wisdom, not on intellectual or normal
understanding (relying on intuitive wisdom and not on normal
consciousness). If we can follow these, we can see that scriptural texts
are lamps that help us pass through a dark night, without any
attachment to them.
380
 381

Phuï Luïc E
Appendix E

Söï Phaùt Trieån Taùnh Khoâng

Trong Kinh Ñaïi Baùt Nhaõ

Kinh Ñaïi Baùt Nhaï thuyeát veà trieát lyù caên baûn Ñaïi Thöøa vaø Luïc Ba
La Maät. Ngöôøi ta noùi raèng Phaät ñaõ thuyeát Kinh naày cho 16 chuùng hoäi ôû
boán nôi khaùc nhau: Linh Thöùu Sôn, Thaønh Xaù Veä, Cung trôøi Tha Hoùa
Töï Taïi, vaø Truùc Laâm Tònh Xaù. Kinh goàm 600 quyeån ñöôïc Ngaøi Traàn
Huyeàn Trang dòch sang Hoa Ngöõ vaøo thôøi nhaø Ñöôøng. Moät trong nhöõng
caâu noåi tieáng nhaát cuûa boä kinh laø "Saéc töùc thò khoâng, khoâng töùc thò
saéc." Noùi caùch khaùc, khoâng heà coù söï khaùc bieät giöõa ñeä nhaát nghóa ñeá
vaø theá tuïc ñeá. Neáu taùnh khoâng laø hoaøn toaøn khoâng thì thaät laø voâ nghóa.
Do ñoù, giai ñoaïn cuoái cuøng, Taùnh Khoâng nghóa laø phöông tieän cuûa cuûa
tuïc ñeá vaø chaân ñeá. Noùi caùch khaùc, maëc duø tuïc ñeá laø höõu vi nhöng laïi
caàn thieát cho vieäc ñaït ñeán chaân ñeá vaø Nieát Baøn. Taát caû caùc phaùp hieän
töôïng laø khoâng, nhöng vaãn töø caùc phaùp aáy maø giaùc ngoä. Theo Ñaïi Baùt
Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña Kinh, trung taâm coát loõi cuûa vaên hoïc kinh ñieån Baùt
Nhaõ ñaõ giaûi thích xuaát saéc yù nghóa naày vôùi caâu: “Saéc chaúng khaùc
khoâng, khoâng chaúng khaùc saéc.” Tuïc ñeá khoâng phaûi laø voâ duïng trong
vieäc ñaït ñeán giaùc ngoä, cuõng khoâng phaûi laø khoâng coù moái quan heä giöõa
tuïc ñeá vaø chaân ñeá. Vì theá, Baùt Nhaõ laø baûn chaát cuûa chaân trí, thaáy caùc
phaùp nhö thaät, töø ñoù ‘Boà Taùt töï taïi, khoâng chöôùn g ngaïi, khoâng sôï haõi,
vöôït qua caùc voïng töôûng ñieân ñaûo’ ñeå ngaøi ung dung töï taïi böôùc vaøo
theá gian ban phaùp thoaïi veà ‘Taùnh Khoâng’ cho taát caû chuùng sanh. Khaùi
nieäm Taùnh Khoâng trong kinh ñieån Baùt Nhaõ ñaõ môû cho chuùng ta thaáy
trong kinh ñieån Pali, khaùi nieäm ‘Khoâng’ ñöôïc moâ taû ñôn giaûn vôùi yù
nghóa thöïc taïi hieän töôïng laø khoâng, chôù khoâng noùi veà baûn theå nhö Taùnh
Khoâng trong vaên hoïc Baùt Nhaõ. Noùi caùch khaùc, khaùi nieäm ‘Khoâng’
trong kinh ñieån Pali nghieâng veà laõnh vöïc khoâng laø voâ ngaõ, cho tôùi khi
coù söï xuaát hieän vaø phaùt trieån cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa, ñaëc bieät vaên hoïc Baùt Nhaõ,
laõnh vöïc voâ ngaõ ñöôïc chia laøm hai phaàn: ngaõ khoâng vaø phaùp khoâng,
nghóa laø töø chuû theå ñeán khaùch theå, töø saùu caên ñeán saùu traàn, töø söï khaúng
ñònh cuûa sanh hoaëc khoâng sanh ñeán söï phuû ñònh cuûa sanh hoaëc khoâng
sanh... ñeàu troáng khoâng. Cuõng coù theå noùi raèng, khaùi nieäm khoâng trong
 382

kinh ñieån nguyeân thuûy laø neàn taûng cho söï phaùt trieån Taùnh Khoâng trong
vaên hoïc Baùt Nhaõ.

Development of Sunyata
in Prajna-Paramita Sutra

The Maha-prajna-paramita sutra is the fundamental philosophical

work of the Mahayana school, the formulation of wisdom, which is the
sixth paramita. It is said to have been delivered by Sakyamuni in four
places at sixteen assemblies: Gridhrakuta near Rajagrha (Vulture
Peak), Sravasti, Paranirmitavasavartin, and Veluvana near Rajagrha
(Bamboo Garden). It consists of 600 books as translated by Hsuan-
Tsang under the T’ang dynasty. One of the most famous phrases from
the Sutra: "Matter is just the immaterial, the immaterial is just matter
(form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form)." In other words,
there is no difference between the supreme truth and the conventional
truth. If Sunyata is the total Sunyta, then it is meaningless. According to
the Mahayana tradition, Sunyata is the Means of the Relative Truth
and the Ultimate truth. That is to say, worldly truth, though not
unconditional, is essential for the attainment of the ultimate Truth and
Nirvana. The Hrdaya Sutra, the central of the Prajna-paramita
scriptures, has expanded this significance by the emphasis words that
‘Rupa does not differ from Sunya’ or Rupa is identical with Sunya.
Relative truth is not useless in achieving enlightenment, nor can it be
said that there is no relation between worldly and ultimate truths. Thus,
Prajna-paramita is of the nature of knowledge; it is a seeing of things, it
arises from the combination of casual factors. From that, Bodhisattvas
have no hindrance in their hearts, and since they have no hindrance,
they have no fear, are free from contrary and delusive ideas in order
that he can content himself with entering the world to spread the Truth
of Sunyata to all walks of life without any obstacles. The concept of
Sunyata in Maha-Prajna-paramita Sutra opens our knowledge that in
Pali Nikaya, the concept of Sunnata is diplayed very simple with the
idea of the reality and that sunnata in Panca Nikaya is also the form of
real nature, i.e., Sunyata in Prajna-paramita texts. In other words,
Sunnata in Pali scriptures attached special importance to non-self and
until the appearance and development of Mahayana, specially Prajna-
 383

paramita literature, the the field of non-self is represented in two parts:

the non-substantiality of the self and the non-substantiality of the
dharmas, i.e., from subjective to objective, from six internal sense-
bases to six external sense bases, from affirmation of either being or
non-being to denial of either being or non-being, etc, are empty. The
negation of all things gives us to insight into the reality. That is also to
say, Sunnata in Pali Nikayas is the foundation for the development of
Prajna-paramita literature.
384
 385

Phuï Luïc F
Appendix F

Thieàn Voâ Sôû Truï

Khi moät vaät coøn choã truï thì noù ñaõ bò troùi buoäc roài, cuõng khoâng coøn
laø tuyeät ñoái nöõa. Trong Thieàn voâ sôû truï, taâm chaúng chaáp vaøo khoâng
gian hay thôøi gian. Caùi taâm quaù khöù töï noù seõ döùt, töùc goïi laø voâ quaù khöù
söï, vôùi hieän taïi vaø vò lai laïi cuõng nhö vaäy (taâm hieän taïi roài seõ töï döùt,
töùc goïi laø voâ hieän taïi söï; taâm vò lai roài cuõng seõ töï döùt, töùc goïi laø voâ vò
lai söï), nhaän bieát chö phaùp khoâng thaät neân khoâng chaáp tröôùc. Taâm ñoù
goïi laø taâm voâ sôû truï hay taâm giaûi thoaùt, taâm Phaät, taâm Boà Ñeà; taâm
khoâng vöôùng maéc vaøo yù töôûng sanh dieät (voâ sinh taâm), ñaàu ñuoâi. Thaät
vaäy, taâm truï choã naøo goïi laø truï? Theo Ñaïi Baùt Nhaõ Kinh thì taâm truï
choã khoâng truï goïi laø truï. Maø theá naøo laø choã khoâng truï? Cuõng theo Ñaïi
Baùt Nhaõ Kinh thì khoâng truï baát cöù choã naøo töùc laø truï choã khoâng. Nhöng
theá naøo laø khoâng truï baát cöù choã naøo? Laàn nöõa, theo Ñaïi Baùt Nhaõ Ba La
Maät Ña Taâm Kinh thì khoâng truï baát cöù choã naøo coù nghóa laø khoâng truï ôû
thieän aùc, höõu voâ, trong ngoaøi, khoaûng giöõa, khoâng truï ôû khoâng cuõng
khoâng truï ôû baát khoâng, khoâng truï ôû ñònh cuõng khoâng truï ôû baát ñònh, töùc
laø khoâng truï ôû baát cöù choã naøo. Haønh giaû tu Thieàn neân luoân nhôù raèng
khoâng truï baát cöù choã naøo ñích thöïc laø choã taâm truï cho chính taâm mình
vì ñoù laø taâm Phaät
Theo Kinh Kim Cang, moät vò Boà Taùt neân coù caùc tö töôûng ñöôïc thöùc
tænh maø khoâng truï vaøo baát cöù thöù gì caû. Toaøn caâu Ñöùc Phaät daïy trong
Kinh Kim Cang nhö sau: “Baát öng truï saéc sanh taâm, baát öng truï thinh,
höông, vò, xuùc, phaùp sanh taâm, öng voâ sôû truï nhi sanh kyø taâm (khoâng
neân sinh taâm truï vaøo saéc, khoâng neân sinh taâm truï vaøo thanh, höông, vò,
xuùc, Phaùp. Neân sinh taâm Voâ Sôû Truï, töùc laø khoâng truï vaøo choã naøo).
Thieàn sö Tuyeát Phong Nghóa Toàn (822-908) laø moät vò thieàn sö noåi tieáng
khoå haïnh vaøo thôøi nhaø Ñöôøng. Tuyeát Phong ñaõ nhieàu naêm haønh cöôùc
du phöông, luoân mang theo beân mình moät caùi vaù (muoãng muùc canh)
trong luùc haønh Thieàn; ñieàu naøy coù yù nghóa laø Tuyeát Phong ñaûm nhaän
coâng vieäc nhoïc nhaèn thaáp keùm nhaát trong choán toøng laâm, ñoù chính laø vò
Taêng naáu beáp, maø caùi vaù chính laø daáu hieäu cuûa coâng vieäc aáy. Tuyeát
Phong keá thöøa y baùt cuûa Ñöùc Sôn vaø trôû thaønh vò truï trì sau naøy. Coù
moät vò Taêng hoûi: "Hoøa Thöôïng gaëp Ñöùc Sôn, ñaõ ñöôïc gì maø lieàn thoâi
 386

khoâng ñi nöõa?" Tuyeát Phong ñaùp: "Laõo Taêng ñeán tay khoâng, veà tay
khoâng." Theo Thieàn sö D.T. Suzuki trong quyeån "Thieàn Hoïc Nhaäp
Moân," vaán ñaùp nhö vaäy haù chaúng phaûi laø loái giaûi thích bình thöôøng nhaát
veà "Voâ sôû truï" sao? Ñoái vôùi haønh giaû tu Thieàn, thì taâm neân truï choã
naøo? Neân truï choã khoâng truï. Vaäy thì theá naøo laø choã khoâng truï? Khoâng
truï baát cöù choã naøo töùc laø choã khoâng truï. Nhöng maø theá naøo laø khoâng truï
baát cöù choã naøo? Khoâng truï baát cöù choã naøo coù nghóa laø khoâng truï thieän
aùc, höõu voâ, trong ngoaøi, khoaûng giöõa, khoâng truï choã khoâng cuõng khoâng
truï choã baát khoâng, khoâng truï choã ñònh cuõng khoâng truï choã baát ñònh, töùc
laø khoâng truï baát cöù choã naøo. Chæ caàn khoâng truï baát cöù choã naøo töùc laø
choã truï cuûa taâm; ñöôïc nhö vaäy môùi goïi laø taâm voâ sôû truï, maø taâm voâ sôû
truï laø taâm Phaät. Thaät vaäy, taâm voâ sôû truï laø taâm chaúng chaáp vaøo khoâng
gian hay thôøi gian. Caùi taâm quaù khöù töï noù seõ döùt, töùc goïi laø voâ quaù khöù
söï, vôùi hieän taïi vaø vò lai laïi cuõng nhö vaäy (taâm hieän taïi roài seõ töï döùt,
töùc goïi laø voâ hieän taïi söï; taâm vò lai roài cuõng seõ töï döùt, töùc goïi laø voâ vò
lai söï), nhaän bieát chö phaùp khoâng thaät neân khoâng chaáp tröôùc. Taâm ñoù
goïi laø taâm voâ sôû truï hay taâm giaûi thoaùt, taâm Phaät, taâm Boà Ñeà; taâm
khoâng vöôùng maéc vaøo yù töôûng sanh dieät (voâ sinh taâm), ñaàu ñuoâi.

No-Abiding Zen

When a thing has its fixed abode, it is fettered, it is no more

absolute. In "No-abiding" Zen, the mind is without a resting place,
detached from time and space, the past being past may be considered
as a non-past or non-existent, so with present and future, thus realizing
their unreality. The result is detachment, or the liberated mind, which is
the Buddha-mind, the bodhi-mind, the mind free from ideas or creation
and extinction, of beginning and end, recognizing that all forms and
natures are of the Void, or Absolute. In fact, where is the abiding place
for the mind? According to the Prajnaparamita Sutra, the mind abides
where there is no abiding. But what is meant by "there is no abiding
place?" Also according to the Maha-Prajna-paramita Sutra, when the
mind is not abiding in any particular object, we say that it abides where
there is no abiding. But again, what is meant by not abiding in any
particular object? And again, according to the Prajnaparamita Sutra,
"not abiding in any particular object" means not to be abiding in the
dualism of good and evil, being anf non-being, thought and matter; it
 387

means not to be abiding in emptiness or in non-emptiness, neither in

tranquility nor in non-tranquility. Zen practitioners should always
remember that where there is no abiding place, this is truly the abiding
place for the mind, for that mind is Buddha's mind.
The complete sentence which the Buddha taught Subhuti as
follows: “Do not act on sight. Do not act on sound, smell, taste, touch or
Dharma. One should act without attachments.” According to the
Diamond Sutra, a Bodhisattva should produce a thought which is
nowhere supported, or a thought awakened without abiding in anything
whatever. Zen master Hsueh-feâng was one of the most earnest truth
seekers in the history of Zen during the T'ang dynasty. He is said to
have carried a ladle throughout the long years of his disciplinary Zen
peregrinations. His idea was to serve in one of the most despised and
most difficult positions in the monastery life, that is, as cook, and the
ladle was his symbol. When he finally succeeded Teâ-shan-Hsuan-chien
as Zen master, a monk approached him and asked, "What is that you
have attained under Teâ-shan? How serene and self-contained you are!"
Hsueh-feâng said, "Empty-handed I went away from home, and empty-
handed I returned." According to Zen master Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in
"An Introduction To Zen Buddhism," is not this a practical explanation
of the doctrine of "no abiding place"? For Zen practitioners, where is
the abiding place for the mind? Zen practitioners' minds should abide
where there is no abiding. What is meant by "there is no abiding"?
When the mind is not abiding in any particular object, we say that it
abides where there is no abiding. But what is meant by not abiding in
any particular object? It means not to be abiding in the dualism of good
and evil, being and non-being, thought and matter; it means not to be
abiding in emptiness or in non-emptiness, neither in tranquility nor in
non-tranquility. Where there is no abiding place, this is truly the
abiding place for the mind, and the non-abiding mind is the Buddha-
mind. In fact, the mind without resting place, detached from time and
space, the past being past may be considered as a non-past or non-
existent, so with present and future, thus realizing their unreality. The
result is detachment, or the liberated mind, which is the Buddha-mind,
the bodhi-mind, the mind free from ideas or creation and extinction, of
beginning and end, recognizing that all forms and natures are of the
Void, or Absolute.
388
 389

Phuï Luïc G
Appendix G

Ca Na Ñeà Baø vaø Trieát Hoïc Trung Quaùn

Sôû dó goïi laø Ca Na Ñeà Baø (Kanadeva) vì oâng chæ coù moät maét. Kana
theo Phaïn ngöõ laø moät maét. OÂng coøn ñöôïc goïi laø Aryadeva. OÂng soáng
taïi mieàn Nam AÁn vaøo khoaûng theá kyû thöù ba tröôùc Taây lòch, vò Toå thöù
XV cuûa Thieàn Toâng AÁn Ñoä. OÂng laø moät trong nhöõng ñeä töû noåi troäi nhaát
cuûa ngaøi Long Thoï vaø coáng hieán caû ñôøi mình trong vieäc keá tuïc coâng
vieäc cuûa Thaày mình, laøm vöõng chaéc truyeàn thoáng trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn.
Nhöõng neùt chính yeáu cuûa trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn vöøa laø trieát hoïc vöøa laø
thuyeát thaàn bí. Baèng caùch xöû duïng bieän chöùng phaùp vaø chieáu roïi söï
pheâ bình vaøo taát caû nhöõng phaïm truø tö töôûng, noù ñaõ thaúng tay vaïch traàn
nhöõng khoa tröông hö traù cuûa lyù trí ñeå nhaän thöùc Chaân Lyù. Baây giôø
ngöôøi taàm ñaïo quay sang vôùi thieàn ñònh theo nhöõng hình thöùc khaùc
nhau cuûa ‘Khoâng Taùnh,” vaø thöïc haønh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña. Nhôø
thöïc haønh tinh thaàn ñöùc haïnh Du Giaø, ngöôøi taàm ñaïo theo Trung Quaùn
doïn ñöôøng ñeå tieáp nhaän Chaân Lyù. Taïi giai ñoaïn sau cuøng cuûa Baùt Nhaõ,
nhöõng baùnh xe töôûng töôïng bò chaän ñöùng, taâm trí voïng ñoäng laéng ñoïng
tòch tònh laïi, vaø, trong söï tòch tònh ñoù, Thöïc Taïi cuùi hoân leân ñoâi maét cuûa
ngöôøi taàm ñaïo; keû ñoù ñoùn nhaän söï taùn döông cuûa Baùt Nhaõ vaø trôû thaønh
hieäp só phieâu du cuûa Chaân Lyù. Ñaây laø kinh nghieäm thuoäc veà moät chieàu
khaùc, moät chieàu voâ khoâng gian, voâ thôøi gian, noù sieâu vieät leân treân laõnh
vöïc cuûa tö töôûng vaø ngoân ngöõ. Cho neân noù khoâng theå dieãn ñaït ñöôïc
baèng baát cöù ngoân ngöõ naøo cuûa nhaân loaïi. Theo truyeàn thoáng Phaät giaùo,
oâng laø laø moät trong saùu nhaø pheâ bình noåi tieáng cuûa Phaät giaùo thôøi ñoù,
vaø laø taùc giaû cuûa boä "Boán Traêm Baøi Keä Veà Du Giaø Boà Taùt Haïnh".
Ngöôøi ta keå raèng oâng bò moät ngöôøi ngoaïi ñaïo aùm haïi.
Töôûng cuõng neân nhaéc laïi, Trung Quaùn Luaän laø teân taùc phaåm cuûa
Boà Taùt Long Thoï, toå thöù 14 cuûa doøng Thieàn AÁn Ñoä). Ñaây laø boä luaän
thöù nhaát vaø cuõng laø boä luaän chính trong ba boä luaän chính cuûa Tam
Toâng Luaän. Boä Trung Quaùn Luaän do Ngaøi Long Thoï bieân soaïn, may
maén nguyeân baûn tieáng Phaïn vaãn coøn toàn taïi. Baûn Haùn vaên do Ngaøi
Cöu Ma La Thaäp dòch. Taùc phaåm naày goàm 400 baøi tuïng, trong ñoù Ngaøi
Long Thoï ñaõ baùc boû moät soá nhöõng kieán giaûi sai laàm cuûa phaùi Ñaïi Thöøa
hay cuûa caùc trieát gia thôøi baáy giôø, töø ñoù oâng baùc boû taát caû nhöõng quan
 390

nieäm duy thöùc vaø ña nguyeân ñeå giaùn tieáp thieát laäp hoïc thuyeát “Nhaát
Nguyeân” cuûa mình. Theo Trung Quaùn, nghóa chaân thaät cuûa Taùnh
Khoâng laø Phi Höõu hay khoâng thöïc chaát. Trieát hoïc Trung Quaùn khoâng
phaûi laø chuû thuyeát hoaøi nghi maø cuõng khoâng phaûi laø moät chuû thuyeát baát
khaû tri luaän. Noù laø moät lôøi môøi goïi coâng khai ñoái vôùi baát cöù ai muoán
tröïc dieän vôùi thöïc taïi. Theo Nghieân Cöùu veà Phaät Giaùo, ngaøi Taêng Hoä
ñaõ noùi veà lyù töôûng Boà Taùt trong Trung Quaùn nhö sau: “Phaät Giaùo coù
theå ví nhö moät caùi caây. Söï giaùc ngoä sieâu vieät cuûa Ñöùc Phaät laø reã cuûa
noù. Phaät Giaùo cô baûn laø caùi thaân caây, caùc hoïc thuyeát Ñaïi Thöøa laø
nhaùnh cuûa noù, coøn caùc phaùi vaø chi cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa laø hoa cuûa noù. Baây
giôø, duø hoa coù ñeïp ñeán theá naøo thì chöùc naêng cuûa noù laø keát thaønh quaû.
Trieát hoïc, ñeå trôû thaønh ñieàu gì cao hôn laø söï suy luaän voâ boå, phaûi tìm
ñoäng cô vaø söï thaønh töïu cuûa noù trong moät loái soáng; tö töôûng caàn phaûi
daãn tôùi haønh ñoäng. Hoïc thuyeát naày sinh ra phöông phaùp. Lyù töôûng Boà
Taùt laø traùi caây hoaøn myõ chín muøi treân caây ñaïi thuï cuûa Phaät Giaùo. Cuõng
nhö traùi caây bao boïc haït gioáng, vì vaäy beân trong lyù töôûng Boà Taùt laø söï
keát hôïp cuûa taát caû nhöõng thaønh toá khaùc nhau, vaø ñoâi khi döôøng nhö
chia reõ cuûa Ñaïi Thöøa.” Theo Jaidev Singh trong Ñaïi Cöông Trieát Hoïc
Trung Quaùn, chuùng ta thaáy raèng nhöõng neùt chính yeáu cuûa trieát hoïc
Trung Quaùn vöøa laø trieát hoïc vöøa laø thuyeát thaàn bí. Baèng caùch xöû duïng
bieän chöùng phaùp vaø chieáu roïi söï pheâ bình vaøo taát caû nhöõng phaïm truø tö
töôûng, noù ñaõ thaúng tay vaïch traàn nhöõng khoa tröông hö traù cuûa lyù trí ñeå
nhaän thöùc Chaân Lyù. Baây giôø ngöôøi taàm ñaïo quay sang vôùi thieàn ñònh
theo nhöõng hình thöùc khaùc nhau cuûa ‘Khoâng Taùnh,” vaø thöïc haønh Baùt
Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña. Nhôø thöïc haønh tinh thaàn ñöùc haïnh Du Giaø, ngöôøi
taàm ñaïo theo Trung Quaùn doïn ñöôøng ñeå tieáp nhaän Chaân Lyù. Taïi giai
ñoaïn sau cuøng cuûa Baùt Nhaõ, nhöõng baùnh xe töôûng töôïng bò chaän ñöùng,
taâm trí voïng ñoäng laéng ñoïng tòch tònh laïi, vaø, trong söï tòch tònh ñoù, Thöïc
Taïi cuùi hoân leân ñoâi maét cuûa ngöôøi taàm ñaïo; keû ñoù ñoùn nhaän söï taùn
döông cuûa Baùt Nhaõ vaø trôû thaønh hieäp só phieâu du cuûa Chaân Lyù. Ñaây laø
kinh nghieäm thuoäc veà moät chieàu khaùc, moät chieàu voâ khoâng gian, voâ
thôøi gian, noù sieâu vieät leân treân laõnh vöïc cuûa tö töôûng vaø ngoân ngöõ. Cho
neân noù khoâng theå dieãn ñaït ñöôïc baèng baát cöù ngoân ngöõ naøo cuûa nhaân
loaïi.
 391

Aryadeva and the Madhyamaka Philosophy

He was called Kanadeva because he had only one eye. The

Sanskrit “Kana” means one-eyed. He was also called Aryadeva. He
lived in Southern India in the third century, the fifteenth patriarch of
the Indian Zen School. He was one of the most foremost disciples of
Nagarjuna and devoted his life to continuing his master's work,
consolidating the Madhyamika tradition. The main features of
Madhyamaka Philosophy. It is both philosophy and mysticism. By its
dialectic, its critical probe into all the categories of thought, it
relentlessly exposes the pretensions of Reason to know Truth. The hour
of Reason’s despair, however, becomes the hour of truth. The seeker
now turns to meditation on the arious forms of ‘Sunyata,’ and the
practice of ‘Prajnaparamitas.’ By moral and yogic practices, he is
prepared to receive the Truth. In the final stage of Prajna, the wheels
of imagination are stopped, the discursive mind is stilled, and in that
silence Reality stoops to kiss the eye of the aspirant; he receives the
accolade of prajna and becomes the knighterrant of Truth. It is an
experience of a different dimension, spaceless, timeless, which is
beyond the province of thought and speech. Hence it cannot be
expressed in any human language. According to the Buddhist tradition,
he was one of the six great commentators on the Buddha's teachings
and was the author of Four Hundred Verses on the Yogic Deeds of
Bodhisattvas (Catuhsataka). It is said to have been killed by a non-
Buddhist.
It should be reminded that the Treatise on the Madhyamika, the
first and principle work of the three main works of the Middle School,
composed by Nagarjuna. Fortunately the Sanskrit text of it has been
preserved. It was translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva. It is a treatise
of 400 verses in which Nagarjuna refutes certain wrong views of
Mahayana or of general philosophers, thereby rejecting all realistic and
pluralistic ideas, and indirectly establishing his monistic doctrine.
According to the Madhyamaka Sastra, the true meaning of Emptiness
(Sunyata) is non-existence, or the nonsubstantiveness. The
Madhyamaka system is neither scepticism nor agnosticism. It is an
open invitation to every one to see Reality face to face. According to
 392

the Survey of Buddhism, Sangharakshita’s summary of the

Madhyamaka system as follows: “Buddhism may be compared to a
tree. Buddha’s transcendental realization is the root. The basic
Buddhism is the trunk, the distinctive Mahayana doctrines the
branches, and the schools and subschools of the Mahayana the flowers.
Now the function of flowers, however beautiful, is to produce fruit.
Philosophy, to be more than barren speculation, must find its reason
and its fulfilment in a way of life; thought should lead to action.
Doctrine gives birth to method. The Bodhisattva ideal is the perfectly
ripened fruit of the whole vast tree of Buddhism. Just as the fruit
encloses the seeds, so within the Bodhisattva Ideal are recombined all
the different and sometimes seemingly divergent elements of
Mahayana.” According to Jaidev Singh in An Introduction To
Madhyamaka Philosophy, we have seen the main features of
Madhyamaka Philosophy. It is both philosophy and mysticism. By its
dialectic, its critical probe into all the categories of thought, it
relentlessly exposes the pretensions of Reason to know Truth. The hour
of Reason’s despair, however, becomes the hour of truth. The seeker
now turns to meditation on the various forms of ‘Sunyata,’ and the
practice of ‘Prajnaparamitas.’ By moral and yogic practices, he is
prepared to receive the Truth. In the final stage of Prajna, the wheels
of imagination are stopped, the discursive mind is stilled, and in that
silence Reality stoops to kiss the eye of the aspirant; he receives the
accolade of prajna and becomes the knighterrant of Truth. It is an
experience of a different dimension, spaceless, timeless, which is
beyond the province of thought and speech. Hence it cannot be
expressed in any human language.
 393

Phuï Luïc H
Appendix H

Taùnh Khoâng Cuûa Vaïn Höõu

Trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh

Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh hay goïi taét laø Taâm Kinh, laø phaàn kinh ngaén
nhaát trong 40 kinh taïo thaønh Ñaïi Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña Kinh. Ñaây laø
moät trong nhöõng kinh vaên quan troïng nhaát trong Phaät giaùo Ñaïi thöøa.
Kinh ñöôïc nhaán maïnh veà taùnh khoâng. Kinh thöôøng ñöôïc caùc Phaät töû
tuïng thuoäc laøo trong caùc töï vieän. Moät trong nhöõng caâu noåi tieáng trong
kinh laø “Saéc baát dò khoâng, khoâng baát dò saéc” (hình thöùc chæ laø hö khoâng,
hö khoâng chæ laø hình thöùc), moät coâng thöùc ñöôïc laäp ñi laäp laïi trong nhaø
thieàn. Toaøn boä vaên kinh cuûa Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät coù nghóa laø “trí hueä
ñaùo bæ ngaïn.” Kinh ñöôïc Ngaøi Huyeàn Trang dòch sang Haùn töï. Theo
quan ñieåm Phaät giaùo, saùu caên, saùu traàn vaø saùu thöùc cuõng nhö naêm uaån
ñeàu laø khoâng taùnh nhö sau: “Maét laø khoâng phaûi ngaõ vaø baát cöù caùi gì
thuoäc veà ngaõ; saéc khoâng phaûi laø ngaõ vaø baát cöù caùi gì thuoäc veà ngaõ; thöùc
khoâng phaûi laø ngaõ vaø baát cöù caùi gì thuoäc veà ngaõ.” Trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm
Kinh, Ñöùc Phaät baûo ngaøi Xaù Lôïi Phaát: “Naøy Xaù Lôïi Phaát! Theá giôùi
hieän töôïng hay saéc töôùng naøy laø khoâng, vaø khoâng quaû thöïc laø theá giôùi
hieän töôïng. Khoâng khoâng khaùc vôùi theá giôùi hieän töôïng hay Saéc, theá
giôùi hieän töôïng hay Saéc khoâng khaùc vôùi Khoâng. Caùi gì laø theá giôùi hieän
töôïng thì caùi ñoù laø Khoâng, caùi gì Khoâng thì caùi ñoù laø theá giôùi hieän
töôïng.” Theo Thieàn sö Taêng Xaùn trong Tín Taâm Minh, khoâng truù ôû nôi
naøo nhöng truù ôû khaép nôi. Möôøi phöông ñang ôû ngay tröôùc maët baïn.
Caùi nhoû nhaát cuõng gioáng nhö caùi lôùn nhaát nôi maø voâ minh bò ñoaïn taän.
Caùi lôùn nhaát cuõng gioáng nhö caùi nhoû nhaát, khoâng coøn thaáy bieân giôùi
nöõa. Söï hieän höõu ñuùng laø troáng roãng (Saéc laø Khoâng). Söï troáng roãng
ñuùng laø söï hieän höõu (Khoâng laø Saéc). Neáu noù khoâng gioáng nhö theá thì
baïn khoâng neân duy trì noù. Haønh giaû naøo ngoä ñöôïc “saéc baát dò khoâng,
khoâng baát dò saéc; saéc töùc thò khoâng, khoâng töùc thò saéc; thoï, töôûng, haønh,
thöùc laïi cuõng nhö vaäy” laø ñaõ vöôït qua ñöôïc cöûa aûi sanh laõo beänh töû.
Hieåu bieát veà taùnh khoâng cuûa vaïn höõu laø söï hieåu bieát chôn chaùnh veà
taùnh khoâng cuûa nguõ uaån, khoâng phaûi vì chuùng laø nguõ uaån, maø vì baûn
chaát thaät cuûa vaïn phaùp laø khoâng. Theo Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh, “Ngaøi
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Quaùn Töï Taïi Boà Taùt quaùn nguõ uaån giai khoâng, ñoä nhaát thieát khoå aùch.”
Theo Phaät giaùo Tieåu Thöøa, ngaõ laø söï keát hôïp cuûa nguõ uaån hay nhieàu
vaät chaát hôïp laïi maø thaønh, neân khoâng thaät (ñaây laø caùi khoâng töông ñoái).
Theo Phaät giaùo Ñaïi Thöøa, vaïn höõu giai khoâng, töø baûn chaát ñaõ laø khoâng
(ñaây laø caùi khoâng tuyeät ñoái). Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh giaûi thích hieän töôïng
khoâng phaûi laø hieän thöïc, maø chæ laø nhöõng aûo giaùc hay phoùng chieáu tinh
thaàn rieâng cuûa chuùng ta (Baát cöù hieän töôïng vaø söï vaät naøo toàn höõu trong
theá gian naày ñeàu khoâng coù thöïc theå, do ñoù khoâng heà coù caùi goïi laø
“ngaõ”). Chính vì theá maø ngöôøi tu taäp phaûi xem xeùt nhöõng hoaït ñoäng
tinh thaàn cuûa hieän töôïng sao cho tinh thaàn ñöôïc troáng roãng, côûi boû vaø
laéng ñoïng. Baùt Nhaõ maø chuùng ta muoán noùi ôû ñaây laø loaïi aùnh saùng trí
tueä cuûa bæ ngaïn. Ñaây laø loaïi trí tueä phi thöôøng maø chuùng ta khoâng theå
naøo coù ñöôïc baèng con ñöôøng lyù luaän hoaëc theo kieåu thoâng minh cuûa
thöôøng tình bôûi vì chuùng ta khoâng theå naøo lyù luaän caùi ñeïp sieâu vieät vaø
toaøn thieän cuûa Baùt Nhaõ baèng trí oùc phaøm phu haïn heïp vôùi moät caùi taâm
coøn nhieàu xao xuyeán bôûi nhöõng taøi, saéc, danh, thöïc, thuøy, cuõng nhö
ñöôïc maát, hôn thua, cheâ khen, vaân vaân. Ngöôïc laïi, con ñöôøng duy nhaát
maø chuùng ta coù theå ñaït ñöôïc laø con ñöôøng theå nghieäm vaø tu taäp haèng
ngaøy cuûa chính baûn thaân mình maø thoâi.
Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh laø böùc thoâng ñieäp ngaén töø ñöùc Phaät veà taùnh
khoâng. Trong ñaïo Phaät, chuùng ta thöôøng nghe noùi veà buoâng xaû vaø
khoâng baùm víu vaøo thöù gì. Nhö vaäy Ñöùc Phaät muoán daïy gì veà buoâng
xaû? Ngaøi muoán noùi trong cuoäc soáng haèng ngaøy khoâng caùch chi maø
chuùng ta buoâng moïi vaät moïi vieäc. Chuùng ta phaûi naém giöõ söï vieäc, tuy
nhieân ñöøng coá baùm víu vaøo chuùng. Thí duï nhö chuùng ta phaûi laøm ra
tieàn cho chi tieâu trong ñôøi soáng, nhöng khoâng baùm víu vaøo vieäc laøm ra
thaät nhieàu tieàn maø baát chaáp ñeán vieäc laøm ra tieàn baèng caùch naøo. Haønh
giaû laøm baát cöù vieäc gì cuõng neân laøm vôùi caùi taâm xaû boû. Ñöøng neân kyø
voïng söï ñeàn ñaùp hay taùn döông. Haønh giaû tu thieàn neân luoân nhôù raèng
taâm xaû laø taâm khoâng luyeán aùi, bao goàm xaû boû vaät chaát nhö nhöõng cuûa
caûi, thaân, saéc, aâm thanh, vò vaø tieáp xuùc, vaân vaân; vaø xaû boû tinh thaàn
nhö taâm thieân vò, taø kieán hay ngaõ chaáp, vaân vaân. Neáu chuùng ta xaû boû
moät ít, chuùng ta seõ coù moät ít bình an. Neáu chuùng ta xaû boû ñöôïc nhieàu,
chuùng ta seõ coù nhieàu bình an. Neáu chuùng ta xaû boû hoaøn toaøn, chuùng ta
seõ ñöôïc bình an hoaøn toaøn. Qua baøi Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh ngaén nguûi,
chuùng ta thaáy giaùo phaùp caên baûn cuûa nhaø Phaät laø buoâng xaû taát caû
nhöõng ñieân ñaûo moäng töôûng ñeå ñeán ñöôïc cöùu caùnh Nieát Baøn cuûa Tam
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Theá chö Phaät vaäy. Tuy nhieân, trong ñôøi soáng thöïc teá haèng ngaøy, noùi thì
deã maø laøm thì khoù voâ cuøng. Ñieàu quan troïng nhaát trong lôøi nhaén nhuõ
cuûa Ñöùc Phaät qua baøi Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh laø nhöõng ai chòu tu taäp ñuùng
theo lôøi Phaät daïy, duø chæ laø moät phaàn raát nhoû, cuõng seõ coù ñöôïc moät ñôøi
soáng xa rôøi nhöõng cuoàng si moäng töôûng, moät ñôøi soáng töï taïi giöõa muoân
ngaøn khoå ñau phieàn naõo vaø cuoái cuøng laø moät ñôøi soáng an laïc, tænh thöùc
vaø haïnh phuùc thaät söï. Tuy nhieân, ñeå coù theå xaû boû ñuùng nghóa lôøi Phaät
daïy, chuùng ta neân chaáp nhaän caû caùi toát laãn caùi xaáu. Muoán laøm ñöôïc
ñieàu naày, haønh giaû tu thieàn neân naém vöõng lôøi Phaät daïy veà caùi taâm
“khoâng phaân bieät” maø ñöùc Phaät ñaõ daïy trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh. Dó
nhieân phaøm phu chuùng ta khoù coù theå hình dung ñöôïc raèng “saéc töùc thò
khoâng vaø khoâng töùc thò saéc”, vì ñoái vôùi chuùng ta hai traïng thaùi haïnh
phuùc vaø khoå ñau laø hai traïng thaùi hoaøn toaøn khaùc vaø traùi ngöôïc nhau.
Nhöng neáu muoán thaät söï xaû boû taát caû, chuùng ta seõ khoâng coù söï löïa
choïn naøo khaùc! Noùi toùm laïi, höông thieàn trong Baùt Nhaõ Taâm Kinh chæ
toûa ra moät khi chuùng ta thaät söï quyeát taâm tu taäp vaø theå nghieäm cho
baèng ñöôïc trí tueä Baùt Nhaõ, vì laõ trí tueä Baùt Nhaõ laø moät thöù aùnh saùng
vöôït leân treân taát caû moïi giôùi haïn cuûa trí tueä phaøm phu. Thaät vaäy, chính
nhôø trí tueä Baùt Nhaõ naày maø moät chuùng sanh khoå ñau phieàn naõo coù theå
ñöôïc giaûi thoaùt thaät söï vaø moät ñôøi soáng giaùc ngoä vaø haïnh phuùc chaân
thaät coù theå ñöôïc taùi laäp laïi, khoâng phaûi ôû moät kieáp naøo, maø laø ngay baây
giôø vaø ôû ñaây.

The Emptiness of All Phenomena

In the Heart Sutra

The Heart of the Prajna-Paramita-Sutra or Heart Sutra, the shortest

of the forty sutras that constitute the Prajanparamita-sutra. It is one of
the most important sutras of Mahayana Buddhism. The sutra is
especially emphasized on emptiness (Shunyata). It is recited so
frequently in the temple that most Buddhists chant it from memory.
One of the most famous sentences in the sutra is “Form is no other than
emptiness; emptiness is no other than form,” an affirmation that is
frequently referred to in Zen. The Prajna-Paramita Heart Sutra literally
means “the wisdom that leads to the other shore.” The sutra was
translated into Chinese by Hsuan-Tsang. In the point of view of the
Buddhism, six sense-organs, six sense-objects and six consciousnesses
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as well as five aggregates are Sunyata as “Eye is void of self and

anything belonging to self; form is void from self and anything
belonging to self; visual consciousness is void of self and anything
belonging to self.” In the Heart Sutra, the Buddha told Sariputra:
“Sariputra! This phenomenal world or form is emptiness, and emptiness
is truly the phenomenal world. Emptiness is not different from the
phenomenal world, the phenomenal world is not different from
emptiness. What is the phenomenal world that is emptiness, what is
emptiness that is the phenomenal world.” According to Zen Master
Seng-Tsan in Faith in Mind, abiding no where, yet everywhere. Ten
directions are right before you. The smallest is the same as the largest
in the realm where delusion is cut off. The largest is the same as the
smallest, no boundaries are visible. Existence is precisely emptiness
and emptiness is precisely existence. If it is not like this, you should not
preserve it. One who realizes “form does not differ form emptiness,
emptiness does not differ from form; form itself is emptiness,
emptiness itself is form; so too are feeling, cognition, formation and
consciousness”, he crosses beyond birth-old age-sicknesses-death.
A true understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena means
true understanding that the five skandhas are empty, not only because
they are aggregates, but by their very nature. According to the Heart
Sutra, “the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva illuminated the five skandhas
and saw that they were empty. Thus he overcame all ills and
sufferings.” In Theravada, the self is a composite, or an aggregate of
many other elements, and is therefore empty or relative emptiness. In
Mahayana Buddhism, al phenomena including the self are empty in
their very nature or absolute emptiness. The Prajna-Paramita Heart
Sutra shows that all phenomenal appearances are not ultimate reality
but rather illusions or projections of one’s mind (all mundane
conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, shadow and bubbles).
Every cultivator should regard all phenomena and actions in this way,
seeing them as empty, devoid of self, and tranquil. Prajna which we
want to talk here is the light of wisdom on the other shore. This is an
extraordinary wisdom that we can never achieve through reasoning or
intellectualism, because there is no way we can reason the
transcendent and flawless beauty of the “Prajna” with our normal
wisdom with a limited dimension of mind that is always stirred by
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wealth, talent, beauty, fame, drink or eating, sleep and rest, gain and
loss, win and fail, and so on. On the contrary, the only way that we can
obtain this wisdom is our own personal practice and experience.
The Heart Sutra is a short message from the Buddha on Emptiness.
In Buddhism, we have always been hearing about letting go and not
clinging to anything. What does the Buddha mean on letting go? He
means in daily activities, no way we can let go everything. We have to
hold on things; however, try not to cling to them. For example, we try
to make money for our living expenses, but not try to cling on making a
lot of money to accumulate regardless of the means of making the
money. Practioners do everything with a mind that lets go. Do not
expect any praise or reward. Zen practitioners should always
remember that mind of detachment or renunciation includes physical
(wealth, body, form, sound, smell, taste, touch, etc) and mental (biased
minds, wrong views, self-grasping, ego-grasping, etc). If we let go a
little, we will have a little peace. If we let go a lot, we will have a lot
of peace. If we let go completely, we will know complete peace and
freedom. Through the short sutra of the Heart Sutra, we can see the
basic teaching of the Buddha on how to let go distorted dream-thinking
far behind in order to immediately acheive the Ultimate Nirvana of all
Buddhas of the three periods. However, in practical daily life, speaking
is easy but doing is extremely difficult. The most important thing that
the Buddha advised in the Heart Sutra is that those who are able to
cultivate in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings, even just a part of
it, will have a life that is far beyond all perverted views, confusions,
and imaginations; a life that is free from all kinds of sufferings and
afflictions; and a real life of peace, mindfulness and happiness. In order
to be able to let go in the exact meaning of the Buddha’s teaching, we
should have the ability to accept both good and bad together. To be
able to do this, Zen practitioners should hold firmly in mind the
principle of “non-discrimination” that the Buddha taught in the Heart
Sutra. Of course, it is difficult for normal people like us to imagine that
“form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from
form” because, for us the two states of happiness and suffering are
totally different and contrary to each other. But if we really want to let
go, we will not have any other choice! In short, the fragrance of the
Heart Sutra can only spread out once we determine to cultivate and
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experience the Prajna Wisdom, for this wisdom is a special kind of

light that goes beyond all limits of any mundane wisdom. As a matter
of fact, it is because of the Prajna Wisdom that a suffered and afflicted
being can be truly liberated and a real life of enlightenment and
happiness can be re-established, not in another life, but right here and
right now.
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Phuï Luïc I
Appendix I

Tu Taäp Phaùp Khoâng Quaùn

Khoâng quaùn, giaû quaùn hay quaùn saùt moïi vaät ñeàu khoâng. Haønh giaû
tu thieàn neân luoân quaùn nieäm veà taùnh Khoâng cuûa vaïn höõu. Quaùn nieäm
veà taùnh voâ thöôøng cuûa hôïp theå nguõ uaån: saéc, thoï, töôûng, haønh, thöùc.
Xeùt töøng uaån moät, töø uaån naøy sang uaån khaùc. Thaáy ñöôïc taát caû ñeàu
chuyeån bieán, voâ thöôøng vaø khoâng coù töï ngaõ. Söï tuï hôïp cuûa nguõ uaån
cuõng nhö söï tuï hôïp cuûa moãi hieän töôïng, ñeàu theo luaät duyeân khôûi. Söï
hôïp tan cuõng gioáng nhö söï hôïp tan cuûa nhöõng ñaùm maây treân ñænh nuùi.
Quaùn nieäm ñeå ñöøng baùm víu vaøo hôïp theå nguõ uaån. Tuy vaäy khoâng khôûi
taâm chaùn gheùt hôïp theå nguõ uaån. Quaùn nieäm ñeå bieát raèng öa thích vaø
chaùn gheùt cuõng laø nhöõng hieän töôïng thuoäc hôïp theå nguõ uaån. Quaùn nieäm
ñeå thaáy roõ tuy nguõ uaån laø voâ thöôøng, voâ ngaõ vaø khoâng, nhöng nguõ uaån
cuõng raát maàu nhieäm, maàu nhieäm nhö baát cöù hieän töôïng naøo trong vuõ
truï, maàu nhieäm nhö söï soáng coù maët khaép moïi nôi. Quaùn Khoâng ñeå thaáy
ñöôïc nguõ uaån khoâng thöïc söï sinh dieät, coøn maát vì nguõ uaån laø chaân nhö.
Quaùn Khoâng ñeå thaáy voâ thöôøng chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm, voâ ngaõ cuõng laø
moät khaùi nieäm, vaø ngay caû Khoâng cuõng chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm, ñeå khoâng
coøn bò raøng buoäc vaøo voâ thöôøng, voâ ngaõ vaø khoâng, ñeå thaáy ñöôïc Khoâng
cuõng chæ laø Khoâng, ñeå thaáy ñöôïc chaân nhö cuûa Khoâng cuõng khoâng khaùc
vôùi chaân nhö cuûa nguõ uaån.
Trong thieàn quaùn “chaân khoâng,” haønh giaû buoâng boû nhöõng taäp
quaùn suy nghó cuûa mình veà “coù vaø khoâng” baèng caùch chöùng nghieäm
raèng nhöõng khaùi nieäm ñöôïc thaønh hình sai laàm veà taùnh ñoäc laäp vaø
thöôøng coøn cuûa vaät theå. Haønh giaû nhìn toaøn boä vuõ truï qua vaïn höõu noái
keát nhaân duyeân. Khi chuùng ta nhìn vaøo moät caùi gheá chuùng ta chæ thaáy
söï coù maët cuûa goã, maø khoâng thaáy ñöôïc söï coù maët cuûa röøng, cuûa caâ y,
cuûa laù, cuûa baøn tay ngöôøi thôï moäc, cuûa taâm ta... Haønh giaû khi nhìn vaøo
caùi gheá phaûi thaáy ñöôïc caû vaïn höõu trong lieân heä nhaân duyeân chaèng
chòt: söï coù maët cuûa goã keùo theo söï coù maët cuûa caây, söï coù maët cuûa laù
keùo theo söï coù maët cuûa maët trôøi, vaân vaân. Haønh giaû thaáy ñöôïc moät
trong taát caû vaø duø khoâng nhìn vaøo chieác gheá tröôùc maët, cuõng thaáy ñöôïc
söï coù maët cuûa noù trong loøng vaïn höõu. Caùi gheá khoâng coù töï taùnh rieâng
bieät, maø noù coù trong lieân heä duyeân khôûi vôùi caùc hieän töôïng khaùc trong
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vuõ truï; noù coù vì taát caû caùc caùi khaùc coù, noù khoâng thì caùc caùi khaùc ñeàu
khoâng. Moãi laàn môû mieäng noùi “gheá”, hoaëc moãi laàn khaùi nieäm “gheá”
ñöôïc thaønh hình trong nhaän thöùc chuùng ta laø moãi laàn löôõi göôm khaùi
nieäm vung leân vaø cheùm xuoáng, phaân thöïc taïi ra laøm hai maûnh: moät
maûnh laø gheá, moät maûnh laø taát caû nhöõng gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá. Ñoái vôùi
thöïc taïi thì söï chia caét aáy taøn baïo voâ cuøng. Chuùng ta khoâng thaáy ñöôïc
raèng töï thaân caùi gheá laø taát caû nhöõng gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá phoái hôïp maø
thaønh. Taát caû nhöõng gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá naèm ngay trong caùi gheá. Laøm
sao chia caét cho ñöôïc? Ngöôøi trí nhìn caùi gheá thì thaáy söï coù maët cuûa taát
caû nhöõng gì khoâng phaûi laø gheá, vì vaäy thaáy ñöôïc tính caùch baát sinh baát
dieät cuûa gheá. Phuû nhaän söï hieän höõu cuûa söï vaät laø phuû nhaän söï hieän höõu
cuûa toaøn theå vuõ truï. Noùi caùch khaùc, phuû nhaän söï coù maët cuûa caùi gheá töùc
laø phuû nhaän söï coù maët cuûa toaøn theå vuõ truï. Caùi gheá kia maø khoâng coù thì
vaïn höõu cuõng khoâng. Söï hieän höõu cuûa caùi gheá khoâng ai coù theå laøm cho
noù trôû neân khoâng hieän höõu, ngay caû vieäc chaët cheõ noù ra, hay ñoát noù ñi.
Neáu chuùng ta thaønh coâng trong vieäc huûy hoaïi caùi gheá, laø chuùng ta coù
theå huûy hoaïi toaøn theå vuõ truï. Khaùi nieäm “baét ñaàu vaø chaám döùt” (sanh
dieät) gaén lieàn vôùi khaùi nieäm “coù vaø khoâng.” Moät chieác xe ñaïp chaúng
haïn, baét ñaàu coù töø luùc naøo? Neáu noùi raèng caùi xe ñaïp baét ñaàu coù töø luùc
boä phaän cuoái cuøng ñöôïc raùp vaøo, taïi sao tröôùc ñoù mình laïi noùi chieác xe
ñaïp naøy coøn thieáu moät boä phaän? Khi chieác xe ñaïp hö hoaïi, khoâ ng duøng
ñöôïc nöõa, taïi sao mình laïi goïi laø chieác xe ñaïp hö? Haõy thöû quaùn nieäm
veà giôø sinh vaø giôø töû cuûa caùi xe ñaïp ñeå coù theå thaáy ñöôïc caùi xe ñaïp
khoâng theå naøo ñöôïc ñaët ra ngoaøi boán phaïm truø “coù, khoâng, sinh, dieät.”
Thieàn sö Baïch AÅn (1686-1769) thöôøng keå moät caâu chuyeän xaûy ra
vaøo thôøi Sö coøn laø moät thieàn sinh treû, treân ñöôøng haønh cöôùc tìm kieám
danh sö ñeå tham cöùu thieàn ñaïo. Luùc ñoù Sö chuyeân taâm thöïc haønh phaùp
khoâng quaùn, thanh loïc voïng töôûng vaø kieán chaáp, chuaån bò cho giai ñoaïn
bieán chuyeån taâm thöùc. Coù laàn, Baïch AÅn cuøng ñi haønh cöôùc vôùi hai
thieàn sinh khaùc. Moät trong soá hai ngöôøi yeâu caàu Baïch AÅn mang giuùp
haønh lyù cho mình vì lyù do beänh taät. Baïch AÅn vui veû nhaän lôøi, gaït boû
gaùnh naëng treân löng ra khoûi taâm trí vaø taäp trung saâu hôn vaøo vieäc thieàn
quaùn. Thaáy Baïch AÅn laø ngöôøi treû tuoåi vaø nhieät tình, vò Taêng thöù hai
cuõng vieän côù ñau yeáu vaø nhôø Baïch AÅn mang hoä haønh lyù cho mình. Vôùi
tinh thaàn hyû xaû cuûa moät Phaät töû, Baïch AÅn vui veû vaùc theâm moät gaùnh
nöõa leân vai mình, tieáp tuïc böôùc ñi vaø doàn heát taâm trí vaøo vieäc thieàn
quaùn. Cuoái cuøng, caû ba ñi ñeán moät beán ñoø. Luùc naøy Baïch AÅn ñaõ hoaøn
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toaøn kieät söùc, neân ngay khi vöøa leân ñoø xong laø naèm laên ra nguû say. Khi
thöùc daäy, Baïch AÅn thaät söï baát ngôø. Ñoø ñaõ ñeán nôi vaø caäp beán töï luùc
naøo khoâng bieát. Muøi tanh hoâi lan khaép con ñoø. Baïch AÅn nhìn quanh
quaát vaø phaùt hieän ra moïi ngöôøi ñeàu bò oùi möûa, maët maøy taùi xanh. Ai
cuõng nhìn Baïch AÅn moät caùch ngaïc nhieân. Thì ra, chuyeán ñoø vöøa gaëp
phaûi moät côn gioù lôùn khi ra ñeán giöõa soâng. Gioù to soùng lôùn ñaõ khieán
cho chieác ñoø bò laéc lö döõ doäi, laøm cho moïi ngöôøi keå caû ngöôøi traïo phu
ñeàu bò say soùng naëng. Chæ tröø moät mình Baïch AÅn, do ñaõ nguû quaù say vì
kieät söùc, khoâng bò aûnh höôûng gì töø côn soùng gioù vöøa roài. Sau naøy, moãi
khi nhaéc ñeán söï kieän aáy, thieàn sö Baïch AÅn thöôøng vui veû cho raèng laàn
ñoù Sö ñaõ nhaän ñöôïc moät phaàn thöôûng xöùng ñaùng.

Meditating On Emptiness

Contemplation of all things as void or immaterial. Zen practitioner

should always practice meditation on the emptiness of all things.
Contemplation the nature of emptiness in the assembly of the five
aggregates: bodily form, feeling, perception, mind functionings, and
consciousnesses. Pass from considering one aggregate to another. See
that all transform, are impermanent and without self. The assembly of
the five aggregates is like the assembly of all phenomena: all obey the
law of interdependence. Their coming together and disbanding from
one another resembles the gathering and vanishing of clouds around
the peaks of mountains. We should practice the contemplation on
Emptiness so that we will have the ability to neither cling to nor reject
the five aggregates. To contemplate on emptiness to know that like and
dislike are only phenomena which belong the assemblage of the five
aggregates. To contemplate on emptiness so that we are able to see
clearly that the five aggregates are without self and are empty, but that
they are also wondrous, wondrous as is each phenomenon in the
universe, wondrous as the life which is present everywhere. To
contemplate on emptiness so that we are able to see that the five
aggregates do not really undergo creation and destruction for they
themselves are ultimate reality. By this contemplation we can see that
impermanence is a concept, non-self is a concept, and emptiness is also
a concept, so that we will not become imprisoned in the concepts of
impermanence, non-self, and emptines. We will see that emptiness is
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also empty, and that the ultimate reality of emptiness is no different

from the ultimate reality of the five aggregates.
In meditation on true emptiness, practitioners let go habitual ways
of thinking about being and non-being by realizing that these concepts
were formed by incorrectly perceiving things as independent and
permanent. Practitioners see the entire universe in interwoven and
interdependent relations in all things. When we look at a chair, we see
the wood, but we fail to observe the tree, the forest, the carpenter, or
our own mind. When we meditate on it, we can see the entire universe
in all its inter-woven and interdependent relations in the chair. The
presence of the wood reveals the presence of the tree. The presence of
the leaf reveals the presence of the sun. Meditator can see the one in
the many, and the many in the one. Even before they see the chair,
they can see its presence in the heart of living reality. The chair is not
separate. It exists only in its interdependent relations with everything
else in the universe. It is because all other things are. If it is not, then
all other things are not either. Every time we use the word “chair” or
the concept “chair” forms in our mind, reality severed in half. There is
“chair” and there is everything which is “not chair.” This kind of
separation is both violent and absurd. The sword of conceptualization
functions this way because we do not realize that the chair is made
entirely from non-chair elements. Since all non-chair elements are
present in the chair, how can we separate them? An awakened
individual vividly sees the non-chair elements when looking at the
chair, and realizes that the chair has no boundaries, no beginning, and
no end. To deny existence of anything is to deny the presence of the
whole universe. In other words, to deny the existence of a chair is to
deny the presence of the whole universe. A chair which exists cannot
become non-existent, even if we chop it up into small pieces or burn it.
If we could succeed in destroying one chair, we could destroy the
entire universe. The concept of “beginning and end” is closely linked
with the concept of “being and non-being.” For example, from what
moment in time can we say that a particular bicycle has come into
existence and from what moment is it no longer existent? If we say that
it begins to exist the moment the last part is assembled, does that mean
we cannot say, “This bicycle needs just one more part,” the prior
moment? And when it is broken and cannot be ridden, why do we call it
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“a broken bicycle?” If we meditate on the moment the bicycle is and

the moment it is no longer, we will notice that the bicycle cannot be
placed in the categories “being and non-being” or “beginning and end.”
Zen master Hakuin used to tell a story regarding the period when
he was a young student, traveling around to see Zen teachers and
meditating on emptiness, by which Zen followers seek to clear their
minds of subjective imaginings in preparation for perception of
objective truth. On one occasion, Hakuin was traveling in the company
of two other Buddhist monks. One of them asked Hakuin to carry his
baggage for him, pleading weakness and fatigue from illness. The
young Hakuin readily assented, taking his mind off the extra load by
plunging even more deeply into his contemplation of emptiness.
Observing Hakuin's youth and zeal, the other monk decided to take a
load off his own shoulders as well. Claiming illness like the first, he
asked Hakuin to carry his baggage too. In the spirit of Buddhist service,
Hakuin took up the third load and continued on his way, immersing
himself in emptiness more intently than ever. Eventually the three
monks reached a point where they could go on only by boat, so they
boarded a ferry at the nearest landing. Completely exhausted by now,
Hakuin collapsed into a heap and fell sound asleep. When he awoke,
the young seeker was momentarily disoriented. It appeared that they
had just docked, but he had no memory of the trip. Noticing a foul odor,
he looked around and saw that everyone was green in the face and
covered with vomit. And they were looking at him very strangely. It
turned out that the ferry boat had run into a squall in the course of its
passage and had been tossed about so violently that everyone,
including the boatman himself, had become uncontrollably seasick.
Only the young Zen student Hakuin, so exhausted from carrying the
baggage of his two companions that he slept right through the storm,
had not been affected at all. This, related Zen master Hakuin, was how
he had first realized through his own experience that the principle that
hidden virtue is manifestly rewarded is actually true.
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Phuï Luïc J
Appendix J

Hoa Nieát Baøn

Trong Phaät giaùo, coù nhieàu loaïi hoa ñöôïc xem nhö laø bieåu töôïng
cuûa söï thanh tònh. Cuõng coù loaïi hoa mang teân Öu Ñaøm, cöù moãi ba ngaøn
naêm môùi nôû moät laàn. Töø thôøi ñöùc Phaät Thích Ca Maâu Ni xuaát hieän ñeán
nay chæ môùi hôn hai ngaøn naêm traêm naêm, vaäy thì Öu Ñaøm laø loaïi hoa
gì? Hoa sen cuõng laø moät loaïi hoa quan troïng nhö trong Kinh Phaùp Hoa.
Nhöõng loaïi hoa naøy laø hoa gì? Kyø thaät, hoa mai, hoa öu ñaøm, hoa sen
taát caû ñeàu gioáng nhö cuoäc soáng cuûa moãi ngöôøi chuùng ta. Chuùng ta hieåu
roõ chính cuoäc soáng naøy töï noù nhö laø moät loaïi hoa Tam Baûo khi chuùng
ta quan saùt ngaøy ñöùc Phaät Thích Ca Maâu Ni nhaäp Nieát Baøn. Nieát Baøn
laø gì? Coù nhieàu ñònh nghóa khaùc nhau cho Nieát Baøn, y nhö coù nhieàu
loaïi hoa khaùc nhau vaäy. Chaúng haïn, chuùng ta coù theå nhìn Nieát Baøn nhö
söï daäp taét voïng tình, cho daàu caùc baïn coù thoûa maõn hay khoâng vôùi ñònh
nghóa naøy. Tình caûm hay voïng tình khoâng nhaát thieát laø caùi gì ñoù tieâu
cöïc. Tình caûm laø moät thöù naêng löôïng tích cöïc vaø quan troïng. Neáu maát
ñi thöù naêng löôïng naøy thì chuùng ta seõ cheát. Vì theá, theo quan nieäm naøy,
Nieát Baøn cuõng gioáng nhö caây neán chaùy vaø cuoái cuøng taét lòm. Coøn
nhöõng loaïi Nieát Baøn khaùc hay khoâng? Chuùng ta noùi ñöùc Phaät Thích Ca
Maâu Ni ñaït ngoä, Ngaøi ñi vaøo Nieát Baøn. Daàu ñang ôû Nieát Baøn nhöng
Ngaøi vaãn coøn phaûi ñoái ñaàu vôùi nhöõng vaán ñeà cuûa thaân vaø taâm nhö beänh
hoaïn, khoù khaên, vaø bò quaáy raày bôûi phieàn naõo baèng caùch naøy hay caùch
khaùc, cuõng gioáng nhö baát cöù ai trong chuùng ta. Nhöng sau khi nhaäp
Nieát Baøn, cuõng töùc laø sau khi nhuïc thaân ñaõ cheát, thì taát caû phieàn naõo
cuûa thaân theå vaø taâm lyù lieàn taét lòm theo. Ngoaøi ra, coøn coù nhöõng aùm chæ
khaùc nöõa veà Nieát Baøn. Nieát Baøn cuõng chæ cho baûn tính chaân thaät cuûa
chuùng ta. Noùi caùch khaùc, töï tính cuûa chuùng ta laø thanh tònh vaø chaân
thaät.
Theo Phaät giaùo, Nieát Baøn, Phaïn ngöõ laø Nirvana goàm ‘Nir’ coù nghóa
laø ra khoûi, vaø ‘vana’ coù nghóa laø khaùt aùi. Nieát Baøn coù nghóa laø thoaùt
khoûi luaân hoài sanh töû, chaám döùt khoå ñau, vaø hoaøn toaøn tòch dieät, khoâng
coøn ham muoán hay khoå ñau nöõa (Tòch dieät hay dieät ñoä). Nieát Baøn laø
giai ñoaïn cuoái cuøng cho nhöõng ai ñaõ döùt tröø khaùt aùi vaø chaám döùt khoå
ñau. Noùi caùch khaùc, Nieát Baøn laø chaám döùt voâ minh vaø ham muoán ñeå
 406

ñaït ñeán söï bình an vaø töï do noäi taïi. Nieát Baøn vôùi chöõ “n” thöôøng ñoái laïi
vôùi sanh töû. Nieát baøn coøn duøng ñeå chæ traïng thaùi giaûi thoaùt qua toaøn
giaùc. Nieát Baøn cuõng ñöôïc duøng theo nghóa trôû veà vôùi taùnh thanh tònh
xöa nay cuûa Phaät taùnh sau khi thaân xaùc tieâu tan, töùc laø trôû veà vôùi söï töï
do hoaøn toaøn cuûa traïng thaùi voâ ngaïi. Traïng thaùi toái haäu laø voâ truï Nieát
Baøn, nghóa laø söï thaønh töïu töï do hoaøn toaøn, khoâng coøn bò raøng buoäc ôû
nôi naøo nöõa. Nieát Baøn laø danh töø chung cho caû Tieåu Thöøa laãn Ñaïi
Thöøa. Vôùi haønh giaû tu Thieàn, khi baïn hieåu roõ voâ ngaõ thì seõ hieåu roõ Nieát
ban tòch tónh. Chöõ "Nirvana" ñöôïc dòch nhieàu caùch, coù khi dòch laø "vieân
maõn", coù khi dòch laø "dieät tröø duïc voïng". Theá nhöng Nieát baøn vaø voâ
thöôøng laïi laø caùi phía tröôùc vaø caùi phía sau. Hieåu roõ voâ thöôøng lieàn ñaït
ñöôïc Nieát baøn; hieåu roõ söï soáng laø Nieát Baøn laø ñaõ quaùn chieáu ñöôïc voâ
thöôøng. Vì theá, haønh giaû tu Thieàn thaø laø nghó ra caùch ñoái maët vôùi voâ
thöôøngcoøn hôn laø phaûi xöû lyù toaøn boä tam phaùp aán (voâ thöôøng, khoå vaø
voâ ngaõ) nhö laø moät phaùp phaûi chöùng ñaéc. Theo Kinh Laêng Giaø, Ñöùc
Phaät baûo Mahamati: “Naày Mahamati, Nieát Baøn nghóa laø thaáy suoát vaøo
truù xöù cuûa thöïc tính trong yù nghóa chaân thaät cuûa noù. Truù xöù cuûa thöïc
tính laø nôi maø moät söï vaät töï noù truù. Truù trong chính caùi choã cuûa mình
nghóa laø khoâng xao ñoäng, töùc laø maõi maõi tónh laëng. Nhìn thaáy suoát vaøo
truù xöù cuûa thöïc tính ñuùng nhö noù nghóa laø thoâng hieåu raèng chæ coù caùi
ñöôïc nhìn töø chính taâm mình, chöù khoâng coù theå giôùi naøo beân ngoaøi nhö
theá caû.” Sau khi Ñöùc Phaät vaéng boùng, haàu heát caùc thaûo luaän suy luaän
sieâu hình taäp trung quanh ñeà taøi Nieát Baøn. Kinh Ñaïi Baùt Nieát Baøn,
nhöõng ñoaïn vaên baèng tieáng Baéc Phaïn vöøa ñöôïc phaùt kieán môùi ñaây, moät
ôû Trung AÙ vaø ñoaïn khaùc ôû Cao Daõ Sôn cho thaáy moät thaûo luaän soáng
ñoäng veà caùc vaán ñeà nhö Phaät taùnh, Chaân nhö, Phaùp giôùi, Phaùp thaân, vaø
söï khaùc nhau giöõa caùc yù töôûng Tieåu Thöøa vaø Ñaïi Thöøa. Taát caû nhöõng
chuû ñieåm ñoù lieân quan ñeán vaán ñeà Nieát Baøn, vaø cho thaáy moái baän taâm
lôùn cuûa suy luaän ñöôïc ñaët treân vaán ñeà voâ cuøng quan troïng naày.
Theo Boà Taùt Long Thoï trong Trieát Hoïc Trung Quaùn, Nieát Baøn
hoaëc thöïc taïi tuyeät ñoái khoâng theå laø höõu (vaät toàn taïi), bôûi vì neáu noù laø
höõu, noù seõ bò keàm cheá ôû nôi sanh, hoaïi, dieät, vì khoâng coù söï toàn taïi naøo
cuûa kinh nghieäm coù theå traùnh khoûi bò hoaïi dieät. Neáu Nieát Baøn khoâng
theå laø höõu, thì noù caøng khoâng theå laø voâ, hay vaät phi toàn taïi, bôûi vì phi
toàn taïi chæ laø moät khaùi nieäm töông ñoái, tuøy thuoäc vaøo khaùi nieäm höõu
maø thoâi. Neáu chính ‘höõu’ ñöôïc chöùng minh laø khoâng theå aùp duïng cho
thöïc taïi, thì voâ laïi caøng khoâng theå chòu noåi söï soi xeùt chi li, bôûi vì ‘voâ’
 407

chæ laø söï tan bieán cuûa ‘höõu’ maø thoâi.’ Nhö vaäy khaùi nieäm ‘höõu’ vaø ‘voâ’
khoâng theå aùp duïng ñoái vôùi thöïc taïi tuyeät ñoái, laïi caøng khoâng theå nghó
tôùi chuyeän aùp duïng nhöõng khaùi nieäm naøo khaùc, bôûi vì moïi khaùi nieäm
khaùc ñeàu tuøy thuoäc vaøo hai khaùi nieäm naày. Noùi toùm laïi, tuyeät ñoái laø
sieâu vieät ñoái vôùi tö töôûng, vaø vì noù sieâu vieät ñoái vôùi tö töôûng neân noù
khoâng theå ñöôïc bieåu ñaït baèng tö töôûng, nhöõng gì khoâng phaûi laø ñoái
töôïng cuûa tö töôûng thì chaéc chaén khoâng theå laø ñoái töôïng cuûa ngoân töø.

Blossom of Nirvana

In Buddhism, there are many flowers which are considered as

symbols of purity. There is also the udumbara flower, which blooms
once every three thousand years. Only some twenty-five hundred years
have passed since Sakyamuni Buddha appeared in the world, so what
kind of flower is this? The lotus is also a primary blossom, as in the
Lotus Sutra. What are these blossoms? In fact, the plum, the udumbara,
and the lotus blossoms are all analogous to the life of each of us. We
appreciate this very life itself as the blossom of the Three Treasures
when we observe Sakyamuni Buddha's Nirvana Day. What is nirvana?
There are different definitions of nirvana, just as there are different
kinds of blossoms. For example, we can look at nirvana as the
extinction of deluded passion, although you may not be satisfied with
that definition. Passion or deluded passion is not necessarily something
negative. Passion is a very important, positive energy. If we extinguish
this energy, we are dead. So this view of nirvana is like a candle that
burns and is finally extinguished. What are some other kinds of
nirvana? We say that when Sakyamuni Buddha attained realization, he
entered nirvana. Being in nirvana, he still had to deal with the
problems of the body and mind, such as illness, difficulties, and being
disturbed in one way or another, just like anyone of us. Upon
parinirvana, or his physical death, all these physical and mental
difficulties were extinguished. Besides, there are different implications
to Nirvana. Nirvana also refers to the genuineness of our own nature.
In other words, our self-nature is pure and genuine.
According to Buddhism, the Sanskrit term Nirvana consists of ‘nir’
meaning exit, and ‘vana’ meaning craving. Nirvana means the
extinguishing or liberating from existence by ending all suffering. So
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Nirvana is the total extinction of desires and sufferings, or release (giaûi

thoaùt). It is the final stage of those who have put an end to suffering by
the removal of craving from their mind (Tranquil extinction: Tòch dieät,
Extinction or extinguish: Dieät, Inaction or without effort: Voâ vi, No
rebirth: Baát sanh, Calm joy: An laïc, Transmigration to extinction: Dieät
ñoä). In other word, Nirvana means extinction of ignorance and craving
and awakening to inner Peace and Freedom. Nirvana with a small “n”
stands against samsara or birth and death. Nirvana also refers to the
state of liberation through full enlightenment. Nirvana is also used in
the sense of a return to the original purity of the Buddha-nature after
the disolution of the physical body, that is to the perfect freedom of the
unconditioned state. The supreme goal of Buddhist endeavor. An
attainable state in this life by right aspiration, purity of life, and the
elimination of egoism. The Buddha speaks of Nirvana as “Unborn,
unoriginated, uncreated, and unformed,” contrasting with the born,
originated, created and formed phenomenal world. The ultimate state
is the Nirvana of No Abode (Apratisthita-nirvana), that is to say, the
attainment of perfect freedom, not being bound to one place. Nirvana is
used in both Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhist schools. For Zen
practitioners, when you understand no-self, that is the peace of nirvana.
The word "Nirvana" is translated in different ways, such as "perfect
bliss" or "extinction of all desires." But nirvana and impermanence are
like front and back. When you understand impermanence, you find
peace. When you truly see your life as nirvana, then impermanence is
taken care of. So, Zen practitioners rather than figuring out how to deal
with impermanence, consider these dharma seals all together as the
dharma to be realized. In the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha told
Mahamati: “Oh Mahamati, Nirvana means seeing into the abode of
reality in its true significance. The abode of reality is where a thing
stands by itself. To abide in one’s self-station means not to be astir, i.e.,
to be eternally quiescent. By seeing into the abode of reality as it is
means to understand that there is only what is seen of one’s own mind,
and no external world as such.” After the Buddha’s departure, most of
the metaphysical discussions and speculations centered around the
subject of Nirvana. The Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Sanskrit fragments
of which were discovered recently, one in Central Asia and another in
Koyasan, indicates a vivid discussion on the questions as to what is
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‘Buddha-nature,’ ‘Thusness,’ ‘the Realm of Principle,’ ‘Dharma-body’

and the distinction between the Hinayana and Mahayana ideas. All of
these topics relate to the problem of Nirvana, and indicate the great
amount of speculationundertaken on this most important question.
According to Nagarjuna Bodhisattva in the Madhyamaka
Philosophy, the absolute is transcendent to both thought and speech.
Neither the concept of ‘bhava’ not ‘abhava’ is applicable to it. Nirvana
or the Absolute Reality cannot be a ‘bhava’ or empirical existence, for
in that case it would be subject to origination, decay, and death; there is
no empirical existence which is free from decay and death. If it cannot
be ‘bhava’ or existence, far less can it be ‘abhava’ or non-existence,
for non-existence is only the concept of absence of existence (abhava).
When ‘bhava’ itself is proved to be inapplicable to Reality, ‘abhava’
cannot stand scrutiny, for abhava is known only as the disappearance of
‘bhava.’ When the concept of ‘bhava’ or empirical existence, and
‘abhava’ or the negation of bhava cannot be applied to the Abslute, the
question of applying any other concept to it does not arise, for all other
concepts depend upon the above two. In summary, the absolute is
transcendent to thought, and because it is transcendent to thought, it is
inexpressible. What cannot be an object of thought cannot be an object
of speech.
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Phuï Luïc K
Appendix K

Taát Caû Laø Moät, Caùi Moät Voán Troáng Khoâng

Nguyeân Hieåu (617-686) laø teân cuûa moät nhaø sö noåi tieáng xöù Trieàu
Tieân. OÂng cuõng laø taùc giaû cuûa nhieàu boä luaän noåi tieáng. Moät buoåi chieàu
toái, trong luùc vöôït qua sa maïc, Thieàn sö Nguyeân Hieåu döøng chaâ n laïi
trong moät khu röøng coù löa thöa vaøi goác caây vaø moät ít nöôùc roài nguû
thieáp ñi. Nöûa ñeâm, oâng thöùc giaác vaø thaáy khaùt nöôùc. Trôøi toái ñen nhö
möïc. OÂng sôø soaïng tìm nöôùc uoáng. Cuoái cuøng oâng vôù ñöôïc moät caùi
taùch treân maët ñaát. OÂng choäp laáy vaø uoáng. OÀ, ñaõ khaùt thaät! Sau ñoù oâng
vaùi laïy thaät laâu, tri aân ñöùc Phaät ñaõ cho oâng moùn quaø nöôùc. Saùng ngaøy
hoâm sau, khi thöùc daäy, Nguyeân Hieåu thaáy raèng vaät maø toái hoâm qua oâng
töôûng laø caùi taùch chæ laø moät caùi soï ngöôøi vaáy maùu, coøn dính maáy maûnh
thòt vuïn nôi xöông goø maù! Nhöõng loaïi coân truøng kyø laï ñang boø hoaëc noåi
treân maët nöôùc möa dô daùy beân trong chieác soï naøy. Caûnh töôïng naøy laøm
cho Nguyeân Hieåu noân möûa. OÂng môû mieäng ra. Ngay sau khi noân möûa
xong, taâm thöùc oâng môû ra vaø oâng ñaõ hieåu. Toái qua, oâng khoâng thaáy gì
vaø khoâng suy nghó gì: nöôùc ngoït ngaøo tuyeät vôøi. Saùng hoâm nay, oâng
thaáy, oâng suy nghó, vaø oâng noân möûa. AØ, oâng töï nhuû, chính vieäc suy nghó
ñònh ñoaït ra caùi toát vaø caùi xaáu, caùi soáng vaø caùi cheát. Khoâng suy töôûng,
khoâng coù vuõ truï, khoâng coù Phaät, khoâng coù Phaùp. Taát caû laø moät, caùi Moät
voán troáng khoâng. Nguyeân Hieåu khoâng caàn phaûi ñi tìm thaày nöõa, ngaøi
ñaõ ngoä ñöôïc caùi soáng vaø caùi cheát. Ngaøi coøn phaûi hoïc gì nöõa? Ngaøi
quay ñaàu, vöôït qua sa maïc vaø veà laïi Trieàu Tieân. Nhö vaäy, vaïn phaùp
ñeàu coù chung moät taùnh laø “khoâng taùnh” (vaïn phaùp ñeàu do nhaân duyeân
sanh dieät, chöù khoâng coù töï taùnh, vì khoâng coù töï taùnh neân ta goïi “taùnh
khoâng” laø taùnh chung cuûa vaïn höõu).
Tuy nhieân, trong nhaø Thieàn, muoân phaùp ñeàu quy veà moät moái: bình
ñaúng, baát nhò, vaø troáng khoâng. Trong thí duï thöù 45 cuûa Bích Nham Luïc.
Moät vò Taêng hoûi Trieäu Chaâu: "Muoân phaùp veà moät, moät veà choã naøo?"
Trieäu Chaâu ñaùp: "Ta ôû Thanh Chaâu deät ñöôïc moät taám vaûi boá naëng baûy
caân." Theo Vieân Ngoä trong Bích Nham Luïc, neáu nhaèm choã moät kích
ñoäng lieàn ñi hoäi ñöôïc, loã muõi caùc vò Hoøa Thöôïng giaø ôû moïi nôi, moät
luùc xoû xong, khoâng laøm gì ñöôïc oâng, töï nhieân nöôùc doàn thaønh ñaàm.
Neáu laø nhaûy nhoùt thì laõo Taêng ôû döôùi goùt chaân oâng. Choã tinh yeáu cuûa
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Phaät phaùp chaúng phaûi ôû nhieàu lôøi, chaúng phaûi ôû noùi laém. Chæ nhö vò
Taêng naøy hoûi Trieäu Chaâu "Muoân phaùp veà moät, moät veà choã naøo?" Trieäu
Chaâu laïi ñaùp: "Ta ôû Thanh Chaâu deät ñöôïc moät taám vaûi boá naëng baûy
caân." Neáu nhaèm treân ngöõ cuù maø bieän thì laàm nhaän ñònh baøn tính (moät
tieâu chuaån coá ñònh). Neáu chaúng nhaèm treân ngöõ cuù maø bieän, taïi sao laïi
noùi theá aáy? Coâng aùn naøy tuy khoù thaáy maø deã hoäi, tuy deã hoäi laïi khoù
thaáy. Khoù thì nuùi baïc vaùch saét, deã thì lieàn ñoù tænh tænh, khoâ ng coù choã
cho oâng suy nghó phaûi quaáy. Qua caâu traû lôøi cuûa Trieäu Chaâu, roõ raøng
Thieàn muoán coù moät taâm hoàn töï do vaø khoâng bò trôû ngaïi daàu laø khaùi
nieäm veà "moät" hay "toaøn theå" cuõng ñeàu laø chöôùng ngaïi vaät vaø moät caùi
baãy ñe doïa ñeán söï töï do ban ñaàu cuûa tinh thaàn. Giaû söû, coù ngöôøi khoâng
traû lôøi ñöôïc caâu hoûi ngay luùc ñoù, maø trôû veà Thieàn thaát nghieàn ngaãm roài
hoâm sau trôû laïi traû lôøi Trieäu Chaâu: "Baây giôø thì toâi ñaõ coù caâu traû lôøi
ñuùng cho caâu hoûi cuûa Thaày ñaây: 'Vaïn phaùp qui nhaát, nhaát qui vaïn
phaùp.'" Nhöng coù leõ Trieäu Chaâu seõ noùi: "Theo tinh thaàn nhaø Thieàn thì
caâu traû lôøi cuûa oâng ñeán quaù treã. OÂng ñaùng laõnh ba chuïc heøo laâu roài."
Thieàn hoaøn toaøn khoâng thích hôïp vôùi nhöõng danh xöng nhö vaäy. Trong
Thieàn, hoaøn toaøn khoâng coù ñoái töôïng naøo ñeå naém baét, daàu ñoù laø "Phaät"
hay "Boà Taùt". Thieàn laø ñaùm maây phieâu laõng treân baàu trôøi. Khoâng coù
con oác naøo coù theå sieát chaët ñöôïc noù, khoâng coù sôïi daây naøo coù theå troùi
noù ñöôïc caû, noù maëc tình töï taïi. Thoaïi naøy cuøng caâu Phoå Hoùa noùi "Ngaøy
mai ôû trong vieän Ñaïi Bi coù trai," laïi khoâng coù hai thöù. Moät hoâm, coù vò
Taêng hoûi Trieäu Chaâu: "Theá naøo laø yù Toå Sö töø Taây sang?" Trieäu Chaâu
ñaùp: "Caây baùch tröôùc saân." Vò Taêng thöa: "Hoøa Thöôïng chôù ñem caûnh
chæ ngöôøi." Trieäu Chaâu baûo: "Laõo Taêng chaúng töøng ñem caûnh chæ
ngöôøi." Xem kia theá aáy, nhaèm choã cöïc taéc chuyeån chaúng ñöôïc, neáu
chuyeån ñöôïc töï nhieân che trôøi che ñaát. Neáu chuyeån chaúng ñöôïc thì
chaïm ñeán lieàn thaønh keït. Haõy noùi Trieäu Chaâu coù Phaät phaùp thöông
löôïng hay khoâng? Neáu noùi coù Phaät phaùp, Trieäu Chaâu ñaâu töøng noùi taâm
noùi taùnh, noùi huyeàn noùi dieäu. Neáu noùi khoâng coù chæ thuù Phaät phaùp,
Trieäu Chaâu chaúng töøng coâ phuï lôøi hoûi cuûa oâng. Ñaâu chaúng thaáy Taêng
hoûi Hoøa Thöôïng Moäc Bình: "Theá naøo laø ñaïi yù Phaät phaùp?" Moäc Bình
ñaùp: "Traùi ñoâng qua naøy lôùn nhö theá." Laïi coù moät vò Taêng hoûi coå ñöùc:
"Choã nuùi saâu vöïc thaúm vaéng baët khoâng ngöôøi, laïi coù Phaät phaùp hay
khoâng?" Coå ñöùc ñaùp: "Coù." Vò Taêng laïi hoûi: "Theá naøo laø Phaät phaùp
trong nuùi saâu?" Coå ñöùc ñaùp: "Cuïc ñaù lôùn laø lôùn, nhoû laø nhoû." Xem loaïi
coâng aùn naøy lôøi kyø quaùi taïi choã naøo? Haønh giaû tu Thieàn phaûi neân luoân
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nhôù raèng Thieàn khoâng caàn chuùng ta suy nghó "taám vaûi boá naëng baûy
caân" coù thaàn tính hay khoâng. Vì neáu nhö theá thì Thieàn seõ rôi vaøo heä
thoáng trieát hoïc, vaø seõ khoâng coøn laø Thieàn nöõa. Kyø thaät, Thieàn chæ caûm
giaùc söï aám aùp cuûa löûa, caùi laïnh giaù cuûa baêng, vì khi trôøi laïnh thì chuùng
ta seõ bò laïnh vaø tìm caùch ñi söôûi aám. Trong Thieàn, caûm giaùc laø taát caû vaø
caûm giaùc phaûi ñöôïc hieåu theo yù nghóa saâu saéc nhaát hay hình thöùc thuaàn
tuùy nhaát. Vaø ñieàu quan troïng nhaát maø chuùng ta phaûi luoân nhôù laø Thieàn
laø tri giaùc hoaëc caûm giaùc chöù khoâng phaûi tröøu töôïng hay traàm tö, nhöng
Thieàn laïi maïnh meõ baát chaáp khaùi nieäm. Chính vì vaäy maø Thieàn raát khoù
naém baét ñöôïc. Caån troïng!

All Is One, and This One Is Empty

Yuan-Hsiao, name of a famous Korean monk. He was also the

author-monk of many famous treatises. One evening as the monk Won
Hyo was crossing the desert, he stopped at a small patch of green,
where there were a few trees and some water, and went to sleep.
Toward midnight he awoke, thirsty; it was pitch-dark. He groped along
on all fours, searching for water. At last his hand touched a cup on the
ground. He picked it up and drank. Ah, how delicious! Then he bowed
deeply, in gratitude, to Buddha for the gift of water. The next morning,
Won Hyo woke up and saw beside him what he had taken for a cup
during the night. It was a shattered skull, blood-caked and with shreds
of flesh still stuck to the cheek-bones. Strange insects crawled or
floated on the surface of the filthy rainwater inside it. Won Hyo looked
at the skull and felt a great wave of nausea. He opened his mouth. As
soon as the vomit poured out, his mind opened and he understood. Last
night, since he hadn't seen and hadn't thought, the water was delicious.
This morning, seeing and thinking had made him vomit. Ah, he said to
himself, thinking makes good and bad, life and death. And without
thinking there is no universe, no Buddha, no Dharma. All is one, and
this one is empty. There was no need now to find a master. Won Hyo
already understood life and death. What more was there to learn? So
he turned and started back across the desert to Korea." Thus, the
absolute in everything; the ultimate reality behind everything is empty.
However, in the Zen Sect, everything reverts to one that is equal
non-dual, and empty. In example number 45 of the Pi-Yen-Lu, a monk
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asked Chao Chou, "The myriad things return to one. Where does the
one return to?" Chao Chou said, "When I was in Ch'ing Chou I made a
cloth shirt. It weighed seven pounds." According to Yuan-Wu in the Pi-
Yen-Lu, if you understand "going immediately at one stroke," then
you've pierced the nostrils of the world's old teachers all at once, and
they can't do a thing about you. Naturally where water goes, a channel
forms. But if you vacillate and hesitate, the old monk Chao Chou is
under your feet. The essential point of the Buddhist Teaching is not a
matter of many words or verbose speech. A monk asked Chao Chou,
"The myriad things return to one. Where does the one return to?" Yet
Chao Chou answered him saying, "When I was in Ch'ing Chou I made
a cloth shirt; it weighed seven pounds." If you go to the words to
discriminate you are mistakenly abiding by the zero point of a scale. If
you don't go to the words to discriminate, what can you do about it that
he did nevertheless speak this way? This case, though hard to see, is
nevertheless easy to understand; though easy to understand, it's still
hard to see. Insofar as it's hard, it's a silver mountain, an iron wall.
Insofar as it's easy, you are directly aware. There is no place for your
calculations of right and wrong. Through Chao-chou's reply, it is clear
that Zen wants to have one's mind free and unobstructed; even the idea
of "oneness" or "allness" is a stumbling-block and a strangling snare
which threatens the original freedom of the spirit. Supposed, someone
could not answer the question right at that moment, but went back to
the meditation hall to reflect on the question, and came back the next
day to answer Chao-chou: "Now I have the right answer to your
question: 'All things are to be returned to the One, and this One is to be
returned to all things.'" Chao-chou might have said to him: "According
to the spirit of Zen, your answer came much too late. You should have
received thirty blows a long time ago." Zen defies all such
designations, even though these are "Buddhas" or "Bodhisattvas". In
Zen, there is no object upon which to fix the thought. Zen is a wafting
cloud in the sky. No screw fastens it, no string holds it; it moves as it
pleases. This story is the same kind as the story of P'u Hua saying,
"Tomorrow there's a feast at the Temple of Great Compassion." One
day a monk asked Chao Chou, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch
coming from the West?" Chao Chou saod, "The cypress tree in the
garden." The monk said, "Don't use objects to teach people with,
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Teacher." Chao Chou said, "I've never use objects to teach people."
Observe how, at the ultimate point, where it is impossible to turn, he
does turn, and spontaneously covers heaven and earth. If you can't turn,
wherever you set foot on the road you get stuck. But say, did Chao
Chou ever have discussions of Buddhist doctrine or not? If you say he
did, when has he ever spoken of mind or of nature, of mysteries or of
marvels? If you say he didn't have the source meaning of the Buddhist
Teaching, when has he ever turned his back on anyone's question?
Haven't you heard: a monk asked Mu P'ing, "What is the great meaning
of the Buddhist Teaching?" Mu P'ing said, "This winter melon is so
big." Again: a monk asked an ancient worthy, "Deep in the mountains
on an overhanging cliff, in a remote, inaccessible, uninhabited place, is
there any Buddhist Teaching or not?" The ancient worthy said, "There
is." The monk said, "What is Buddhist Teaching deep within the
mountains?" The ancient worthy said, "The large rocks are large, the
small ones small." When you look at such a case, where are the
obscurities? Zen practitioners should always remember that Zen does
not ask us to concentrate our thought on the idea that a piece of "seven-
pound cloth shirt" is divine. For when Zen does this, it commits itself to
a definite system of philosophy, and there is no more Zen. In fact, Zen
just feels fire warm and ice cold, because when it freezes we shiver
and welcome fire. In Zen, the feeling is all and all, and the feeling
must be understood in its deepest sense or in its purest form. And the
most important thing that Zen practitioners should always remember is
that Zen perceives or feels, and does not abstract nor meditate, but Zen
strongly defies concept-making. That is why Zen is difficult to grasp.
Be careful!
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Phuï Luïc L
Appendix L

Tu Haønh Chæ Vôùi Moät Chöõ “Voâ”

"Voâ" laø teân cuûa moät trong nhöõng coâng aùn noåi tieáng trong nhaø
Thieàn. Coâng aùn "Voâ" noåi tieáng, cho pheùp chính thieàn sö Voâ Moân ñaït
tôùi giaùc ngoä saâu saéc. Coâng aùn naày chuû yeáu ñöôïc duøng nhö coâng aùn
"Phaùp Thaân", nhaèm giuùp haønh giaû coù söï theå nghieäm ñaàu tieân veà ñaïi
giaùc. Maõi ñeán ngaøy nay, coâng aùn naày ñöôïc ñöa ra nhö coâng aùn ñaàu tieân
cho nhieàu ngöôøi khôûi ñaàu con ñöôøng thieàn. Theo quyeån Ba truï Thieàn,
moät hoâm Thieàn sö An Coác Baïch Vaân thöôïng ñöôøng daïy chuùng: "Ngaøy
xöa, chöa coù heä thoáng coâng aùn, vaäy maø nhieàu ngöôøi vaãn ñaït ñeán töï
ngoä. Nhöng ñoù laø moät coâng vieäc khoù khaên vaø ñoøi hoûi nhieàu thôøi gian.
Ngöôøi ta baét ñaàu duøng ñeán coâng aùn caùch ñaây chöøng moät ngaøn naêm vaø
vaãn tieáp tuïc cho ñeán baây giôø. Moät trong nhöõng coâng aùn hay nhaát, bôûi vì
noù ñôn giaûn nhaát, ñoù laø coâng aùn 'Mu'. Ñaây laø nhöõng ñieàu baïn caàn phaûi
bieát ñeå hieåu: Moät hoâm, moät vò Taêng ñeán thaêm Trieäu Chaâu, vò Thieàn sö
löøng danh cuûa Trung Hoa caùch ñaây maáy traêm naêm, vaø hoûi: 'Con choù coù
Phaät taùnh hay khoâng?' Trieäu Chaâu traû lôøi: 'Mu.' Theo nghóa ñen, 'Mu' laø
'khoâng,' khoâng moät caùi gì, nhöng yù nghóa thaät trong lôøi ñaùp cuûa Trieäu
Chaâu khoâng naèm nôi töø ngöõ. 'Mu' laø bieåu hieän cuûa Phaät taùnh soáng
ñoäng, vaän haønh vaø naêng ñoäng. Ñieàu maø baïn phaûi laøm laø phaùt hieän tinh
thaàn hay tinh tuùy cuûa töø 'Mu' aáy, khoâng phaûi baèng phaân tích theo trí
naêng nhöng baèng caùch tìm trong baûn ngaõ saâu xa nhaát cuûa baïn. Sau ñoù,
baïn phaûi chöùng minh moät caùch cuï theå vaø sinh ñoäng cho Thaày cuûa mình
thaáy raèng baïn thaáu hieåu raèng 'Mu' laø moät chaân lyù soáng ñoäng, maø khoâng
vieän ñeán caùc khaùi nieäm, lyù thuyeát hay giaûi thích tröøu töôïng. Haõy nhôù
raèng baïn khoâng theå naøo hieåu 'Mu' baèng tri thöùc phaøm phu; baïn phaûi
naém baét noù baèng moät caùch tröïc tieáp vôùi toaøn boä baûn theå." Robert
Aitken vieát trong quyeån 'The Gateless Barrier': "Trong suoát cuoäc ñôøi,
Trieäu Chaâu Toøng Thaåm giaûng daïy hoïc troø moät caùch raát giaûn dò vôùi ít
caâu kín ñaùo. Ngöôøi ta noùi raèng moãi khi ñaïi sö môû mieäng laø aùnh saùng
choùi loøa treân moâi. Ñaïo Nguyeân Hy Huyeàn, ngöôøi ñaõ coâng kích caùc baäc
tieàn nhaân trong Phaät phaùp moät caùch töï taïi ñaõ phaûi kính caån laåm baåm
thoát leân: 'OÂi! Trieäu Chaâu Laõo Phaät!' Boán möôi theá heä thieàn sinh, vaø sau
ñoù bao nhieâu theá heä khaùc nöõa, ngöôøi Trung Hoa, ngöôøi Ñaïi Haøn, ngöôøi
 418

Vieät Nam, ngöôøi Nhaät, vaø giôø ñaây, ngöôøi ngöôøi khaép nôi treân theá giôùi,
khao khaùt töø ngöõ duy nhaát cuûa ngaøi 'Voâ' gôïi nhôù ñeán söï hieän höõu sinh
ñoäng cuûa vò Laõo Phaät. 'Voâ' laø moät bí quyeát, moät coå ngöõ hoaëc moät töø
ngöõ maø caùc nhaø nghieân cöùu noái tieáp nhau, traûi qua nhieàu theá kyû, taäp
trung nghieân cöùu vaø phaùt hieän ra aáy laø phöông tieän ñeå môû roäng caùi taâm
höôùng ñeán söï thaáu hieåu. Khi baïn hoøa hôïp vaøo doøng chaûy ñoù, baïn ñang
gia nhaäp ñoaøn haønh höông ñoâng voâ soá cuûa quaù khöù, hieän taïi vaø töông
lai. trong ngoân ngöõ ñôøi thöôøng, töø 'voâ' coù nghóa laø khoâng coù, nhöng neáu
lôøi cuûa Trieäu Chaâu Tuøng Thaåm chæ coù yù nghóa nhö theá, laøm gì coøn coù
Thieàn."
Thieàn Sö Moâng Sôn Ñöùc Dò (?-1104) thuoäc ñôøi thöù taùm cuûa doøng
Thieàn Nguõ Toå Phaùp Dieãn. Moâng Sôn ñaõ keå laïi nhöõng kinh nghieäm
Thieàn cuûa mình nhö sau: "Naêm 20 tuoåi toâi môùi quen bieát vôùi Thieàn,
cho ñeán naêm 32 tuoåi, toâi ñaõ thaêm vieáng 17 hay 18 Thieàn sö, hoûi hoï veà
caùch thöïc haønh phaùp moân Thieàn, nhöng khoâng ai chæ ra manh moái. Sau
naày khi ñeán tìm tröôûng laõo Hoaøn Sôn, ngaøi daïy toâi haõy nhìn vaøo yù
nghóa cuûa ‘Voâ,’ vaø noùi theâm ‘haõy chaêm chuù vaøo chöõ Voâ suoát caû ngaøy
ñeâm khoâng ngöøng nghæ, nhö meøo ñang rình chuoät, nhö gaø maùi aáp tröùng.
Khi chöa thaáy roõ, haõy nhö con chuoät gaëm nhaém caùi röông goã vaø ñöøng
bao giôø xao laõng coâng phu. Thöïc haønh coâng phu nhö vaäy, chaéc chaén
thôøi cô böøng saùng cuûa taâm ngöôi seõ ñeán. Y theo lôøi daïy naày, toâi chaêm
chæ thöïc haønh, ngaøy ñeâm khoâng nghæ. Roài traûi qua 18 ngaøy. Boãng nhieân
khi ñang uoáng traø toâi chôït hieåu caùi cöôøi nuï cuûa Ca Dieáp khi Ñöùc Phaät
ñöa leân moät caønh hoa tröôùc ñaïi chuùng. Toâi möøng rôõ khoân xieát; ñi caàu
moät vaøi vò tröôûng laõo cuûa Thieàn, nhöng caùc ngaøi khoâng traû lôøi roõ reät, coù
vò baûo toâi haõy duøng baûo aán tam muoäi maø aán chöùng möôøi phöông theá
giôùi, chöù ñöøng baän loøng ñeán thöù gì khaùc. Toâi tin lôøi naày, traûi qua hai
naêm, naêm hieäu Caûnh Ñònh thöù naêm (1265), toâi ñang ôû taïi tænh Töù
Xuyeân, phuû Truøng Khaùnh, ñang nguy kòch vì bò beänh kieát naëng. Khoâng
coøn chuùt löïc naøo, caû ñeán haûi aán tam muoäi cuõng khoâng giuùp gì trong luùc
naày. Keå caû caùi hieåu veà Thieàn ñaõ töøng coù cuõng chaúng giuùp toâi ñöôïc.
Löôõi khoâng chòu noùi, thaân theå khoâng chòu cöû ñoäng; chæ coøn chôø cheát laø
heát. Quaù khöù dieãn ra tröôùc maét: nhöõng ñieàu ñaõ laøm, nhöõng caûnh ngoä ñaõ
töøng traûi; theá laø toâi ôû trong moät traïng thaùi tuyeät voïng gheâ gôùm vaø heát
coøn bieát caùch naøo thoaùt khoûi caùi daøy voø cuûa noù. Sau cuøng coá gaéng töï
chuû, toâi phaân phoù yù muoán cuûa mình, roài laëng leõ ñöùng daäy, thaép moät ít
nhang, doïn laïi caùi boà ñoaøn cuõ kyõ; laøm leã Tam Baûo, Thieân Long vaø
 419

thaàm saùm hoái nhöõng toäi chöôùng tieàn khieân. Toâi khaán nguyeän raèng neáu
toâi heát kieáp naày thì mong nhôø naêng löïc cuûa Baùt Nhaõ maø taùi sinh trong
moät gia ñình toát ñeïp vaø ñöôïc xuaát gia töø khi haõy coøn beù boûng. Nhöng
neáu toâi ñöôïc laønh beänh, toâi muoán ñöôïc xuaát gia ngay vaø hieán caû cuoäc
ñôøi coøn laïi ñeå hoïc Thieàn. Neáu ñöôïc giaùc ngoä, toâi seõ cöùu giuùp moïi
ngöôøi cuõng ñöôïc giaùc ngoä nhö mình. Sau lôøi khaán nguyeän naøy, toâi ñeà
khôûi chöõ Voâ trong loøng vaø quay aùnh saùng soi vaøo trong mình. Khoâng
laâu, toâi nghe trong taïng phuû maùy ñoäng ñoâi ba laàn, nhöng khoâng ñeå taâm
ñeán; moät luùc sau loâng maøy toâi nghe cöùng khoâng chòu chôùp, vaø laùt nöõa
toâi heát bieát ñeán thaân theå cuûa mình; chæ coù chöõ Voâ coøn laïi trong loøng
thoâi. Ñeán chieàu toâi rôøi choã ngoài vaø thaáy beänh mình bôùt ñöôïc moät nöûa;
toâi ngoài xuoáng trôû laïi cho ñeán khi gaàn saùng. Baáy giôø beänh hoaøn toaøn
bieán maát. Giôø ñaõ bình phuïc, thaân taâm nhö thô thôùi. Thaùng taùm naêm aáy,
toâi ñeán Giang Laêng thí phaùt laøm sö. Gaàn heát moät naêm toâi ñi haønh cöôùc,
vaø luùc ñang thoåi côm thì thaáy ra raèng vieäc tu taäp coâng aùn phaûi giöõ
khoâng giaùn ñoaïn vaø vôùi coâng phu lieân tuïc. Roài toâi ñeán truù nguï taïi
Hoaøng Long. Laàn thöù nhaát buoàn nguû, toâi vaän duïng yù chí choáng laïi vaø
vaãn ngoài nhö cuõ, côn buoàn nguû bò chinh phuïc deã daøng. Laàn thöù hai
buoàn nguû, toâi toáng khöù noù y nhö laàn tröôùc. Laàn thöù ba côn buoàn nguû
xaâm chieám naëng neà, toâi böôùc xuoáng khoûi choã ngoài vaø ñi leã Phaät, nhôø
vaäy maø thaáy tænh taùo laïi. Trôû laïi choã ngoài vaø tieáp tuïc tieán tôùi. Nhöng
sau heát luùc phaûi ñi nguû toâi duøng goái keâ ñaàu vaø nguû ñöôïc moät chuùt; sau
ñoù, laáy caùnh tay laøm goái, vaø cuoái cuøng hoaøn toaøn khoûi phaûi naèm daøi
xuoáng. Qua hai ñeâm nhö theá, ñeán ñeâm thöù ba, toâi meät nhoïc ñeán ñoä nhö
thaáy chaân khoâng chaám ñaát. Boãng ñaâu ñaùm maây muø nhö che maét nay
ñöôïc queùt saïch, toâi thaáy nhö vöøa taém xong, hoaøn toaøn maùt meû. Coøn veà
coâng aùn thì nghi tình laø naëng nhaát vaø coâng aùn söøng söõng ra ñaáy maø
khoâng caàn duïng coâng. Taát caû nhöõng caûm giaùc ngoaïi thaân, nhöõng nguõ
duïc vaø baùt phong khoâng coøn quaáy phaù nöõa; töï mình trong suoát nhö moät
cheùn pha leâ ñaày tuyeát, nhö trôøi thu quang ñaõng khoâng maây. Coâng phu
cöù dieãn tieán raát toát ñeïp nhö theá, nhöng chöa coù chuùt döùt khoaùt naøo. Sau
ñoù toâi giaõ töø chuøa du haønh sang Chieát Giang. Doïc ñöôøng vì quaù nhieàu
meät nhoïc neân coâng phu Thieàn cuõng suy giaûm. Toâi ñeán chuøa Thöøa
Thieân, nôi ñaây Coâ Thieàm Hoøa Thöôïng ñang truï trì, vaø taïm thôøi döøng
chaân ôû ñoù. Toâi töï theä seõ khoâng rôøi khoûi nôi naày cho ñeán khi naøo laõnh
hoäi ñöôïc ñaïo Thieàn. Hôn moät thaùng sau, toâi laáy laïi coâng phu ñaõ maát.
Baáy giôø khaép mình gheû lôõ; nhöng vaãn quyeát taâm giöõ vöõng coâng phu duø
 420

coù ñaùnh ñoåi caû cuoäc ñôøi. Nhôø ñoù maø taâm löïc ñöôïc maïnh meõ theâm
nhieàu, vaø bieát giöõ vöõng coâng phu cuûa mình ngay caû luùc beänh hoaïn. Moät
hoâm ñöôïc môøi ñi thoï trai, suoát treân ñöôøng ñeán nhaø trai chuû, vöøa ñi vöøa
ñeo ñuoåi coâng aùn, maõi mieát trong coâng phu tu taäp cho tôùi ngang qua
nhaø maø vaãn khoâng hay mình ñang ôû ñaâu. Nhôø vaäy maø toâi hieåu ra theá
naøo goïi laø thöïc haønh coâng phu ngay trong moïi ñoäng duïng. Ñeán ñaây thì
taâm cô cuûa toâi nhö maët traêng phaûn chieáu töø loøng saâu cuûa doøng nöôùc
ñang chaûy; maët nöôùc tuy chaûy xieát, nhöng maët traêng vaãn y nhieân baát
ñoäng." Ngaøy moàng saùu thaùng ba, Sö ñang ngoài treân boà ñoaøn, taâm nieäm
chöõ Voâ nhö thöôøng leä thì vò Taêng thuû toøa böôùc vaø o Thieàn ñöôøng. Tình
côø thaày laøm rôi hoäp nhang treân neàn nhaø, khua leân moät tieáng. Tieáng
ñoäng chôït khôi toû taâm mình thaáy moät vieãn töôïng taâm linh môùi meû, vaø
cuøng vôùi tieáng keâu toâi thaáu trieät töï theå cuûa mình, choäp ñöôïc oâng giaø
Trieäu Chaâu (taùc giaû chöõ Voâ). Sö buoäc mieäng ñoïc ngay moät baøi tuïng:
“Moät höùng loä ñaàu cuøng
Ñaïp phieân ba thò thuûy
Trieäu Chaâu laõo sieâu quaàn
Dieän muïc chæ nhö thò
(Ñöôøng ñi chôït heát böôùc. Daãm ngöôïc, soùng laø nöôùc. Giaø Trieäu
Chaâu quaù chöøng. Maët maøy chaúng chi khaùc).

Cultivation With Just One Word “Mu”

"Mu" is the name of one of the most famous koans in Zen. The
renown koan "Mu", with which Zen master Wu-men himself came to
profound enlightenment. It is especially suitable as a "hosshin koan"
(koan of the dharma-body), i.e., as a koan that can help a practitioner to
a first enlightenment experience. It is still given today to many
beginners on the Zen path as their first koan. According to 'The Three
Pilars of Zen', one day Zen Master Hakuun-Yasutani (1885-1973)
entered the hall to teach the assembly: "In ancient days there was no
koan system, yet many people came to Self-realization. But it was hard
and took a long time. The use of koans started about a thousand years
ago and has continued down to the present. One of the best koans,
because the simplest, is Mu. This is its background: A monk came to
Joshu, a renowned Zen master in China hundreds of years ago, and
asked: 'Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?' Joshu retorted, 'Mu!'
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Literally, the expression means 'no' or 'nothing,' but the significance of

Joshu's answer does not lie in the word. Mu is the expression of the
living, functioning, dynamic Buddha-nature. What you must do is
discover the spirit or essence of this Mu, not through intellectual
analysis but by search into your innermost being. Then you must
demonstrate before your teacher, concretely and vividly, that you
understand Mu as living truth, without recourse to conceptions,
theories, or abstract explanations. Remember, you can't understand Mu
through ordinary cognition; you must grasp it directly with your whole
being." Robert Aitken wrote in The Gateless Barrier: "Throughout his
long career Chao-chou taught in a simple manner with just a few quiet
words. It is said that a light seemed to play about his mouth as he
spoke. Dogen Kigen, who freely criticized many of his ancestors in the
Dharma, could only murmur with awe, 'Joshu, the Old Buddha.' Forty
generations of Zen students and more since his time, Chinese, Korean,
Vietnamese, Japanese, and now people everywhere, have breathed his
one word 'Mu,' evoking the living presence of the Old Buddha himself.
This Mu is an arcanum, an ancient word or phrase that successive
seekers down through the centuries have focused upon and found to be
an opening into spiritual understanding. When you join that stream you
have joined hands with countless pilgrims, past, present, future. In
everyday usage the 'Mu' means 'does not have' but if that were Chao-
chou's entire meaning, there wouldn't be any Zen."
Mung-Shan-Te-I, who was the eighth descendant of Fa-Yen of Wu-
Tsu. Mung-Shan told the following stories of his experience in Zen:
"When I was twenty years old, I became acquainted with Zen, and
before I was thirty-two I had visited seventeen or eighteen Zen masters
asking them as to their method of discipline, but none were able to
enlighten me on the most important point. When later I came to the
master Huan-Shan, he told me see into the meaning of ‘Wu,’ and
added, ‘Be vigilant over your WU through all the periods of the day, as
constantly vigilant as a cat is when she tries to catch a rat, or as a hen
is while sitting on the eggs. As long as you have as yet no insight, be
like a rat gnawing at the coffin-wood and never vacillate in your
exertion. As you go on with your task like that, the time will surely
come when your mind will become enlightened. Following this
instruction, I steadily applied myself to the work, day and night.
 422

Eighteen days thus elapsed. Suddenly, when I was taking tea, I cam
upon the meaning of Kasyapa’s smile, which was elicited when the
Buddha produced a flower before a congregation of his disciples. I was
overjoyced; I wished to find out whether my understanding was correct
and called upon a few masters of Zen. They, however, gave me no
definite answer; some told me to stamp the whole universe with the
stamp of Sagara-mudra-samadhi, and not to pay attention to anything
else. Believing this, I passed two years. In the sixth month of the fifth
year of Ching-Ting (1265), I was in Ch’ing-Ch’ing, Szu-Ch’uan, and
suffering a great deal from dysentary, was in a most critical condition.
No energy was left in me, nor was the Sagaramudra of any avail at this
hour. Whatever understanding of Zen I had all failed to support me.
The tongue refused to speak, the body to move; all that remained was
to greet death. The past unrolled itself before me, the things I had
done, as well as the situations I had been in; I was thus in a ghastly
state of despondency and completely at a loss as to how to escape from
its torture. At last, determining to be master of myself, I managed to
make my will. I then got up quietly, lit some incense, arranged the
invalid cushions; I made bows to the Triple Treasure and also to the
Naga gods, and silently confessed my previous sins before them. I
prayed that if I were to pass away at this time I might be reborn
through the power of Prajna in a good family and become a monk in
my early years. But if I should be cured of this disease I wanted to
become a monk at once and devote the rest of my life entirely to the
study of Zen. If an illumination should come I would help others even
as myself to get enlightened. After making this prayer, I set up “WU”
before my mind and turned the light within myself. Before long I felt
my viscera twist for a few times, but I paid no attention; it was after
some time that my eyelids became rigid and refused to blink, and later
on I became unconscious of my own body; the “WU” alone occupied
my consciousness. In the evening I arose from my seat and found that I
was half cured of the disease; I sat down again until the small hours of
the morning when the physical disorder completely disappeared. I was
myself again, well and in good spirits. In the eighth month of the same
year I went to Chiang-Ling and had my head shaved to become a
monk. Before the year was over, I went on a pilgrimate, and while
cooking rice I found out that the koan exercise must be carried on
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uninterruptedly and with continuous effort. I then settled myself at

Huang-Lung. When I felt sleepy for the first time I exercised my will to
resist it and kept on sitting, when the sleepiness was early vanquished.
When I became sleepy a second time, I drove it away in a similar
manner. A third attack was too strong; I got down from my seat and
made bows to the Buddha, which revived me. I resumed my seat and
the process had to be repeated. But when at last I had to sleep I used a
pillow and slept a little; later my elbow was substituted for the pillow,
and finally I altogether avoided lying down. Two nights were thus
passed; on the third night I was so fatigued that I felt as if my feet did
not touch the ground. Suddenly the dark cloud that seemed to obstruct
my vision cleared away, and I felt as if I had just come from a bath and
was thoroughly rejuvenated. As to the koan, a state of mental fixation
prevailed, and the koan occupied the centre of attention without any
conscious striving on my part for it. All external sensations, the five
passions, and the eight disturbances, no longer annoyed me; I was as
pure and transparent as a snow-filled silver bowl or as the autumnal
sky cleared of all darkening clouds. The exercise thus went on quite
successfully but as yet with no turning point. Later I left this monastery
and travelled to Cheâ-Chiang. On the way I experienced many
hardships and my Zen exercise suffered accordingly. I came to the
Ch’eng-T’ien monastery which I was presided over by the Master Ku-
Ch’an, and there took up my temporal habitation. I vowed to myself
that I would not leave this place until I realized the truth of Zen. In a
little over a month I regained what I had lost in the exercise. It was
then that my whole body was covered with boils; but I was determined
to keep the discipline even at the cost of my life. This helped a great
deal to strengthen my spiritual powers, and I knew how to keep up my
seeking and striving even in illness. One day, being invited out to
dinner I walked on with my koan all the way to the devotee’s house,
but I was so absorbed in my exercise that I passed by the house without
even recognizing where I was. This made me realized what was menat
by carrying on the exercise even while engaged in active work. My
mental condition then was like the reflection of the moon penetrating
the depths of a running stream the surface of which was in rapid
motion, while the moon itself retained its perfect shape and serenity in
spite of the commotion of the water. On the sixth of the third month he
 424

was holding “WU” in his mind as usual while sitting on the cushion,
when the head-monk came into the meditation hall. Accidentally he
dropped the incense-box on the floor, making a noise. This at once
opened Mung-Shan's mind to a new spiritual vista, and with a cry he
obtained a glimpse into his inner being, capturing the old man Chao-
Chou (the author of WU). He gave voice to the following stanza:
“Unexpectedly the path comes to an end
When stamped through, the waves are the water itself.
They say, old Chao-Chou stands supremely above the rest,
But nothing extraordinary I find in his features.”
 425

Phuï Luïc M
Appendix M

Chöõ Khoâng Theå Chôû Ñöôïc Caùi Khoâng Chöõ,

Nhöng Sô Cô Vaãn Caàn Kinh Ñieån

Taùm nguyeân taéc caên baûn trong Phaät giaùo Thieàn Toâng, cuûa tröïc giaùc
hay lieân heä tröïc tieáp vôùi taâm linh cuûa tröôøng phaùi Thieàn Toâng: Chaùnh
Phaùp Nhaõn Taïng, Nieát Baøn Dieäu Taâm, Thöïc Töôùng Voâ Töôùng, Vi
Dieäu Phaùp Moân, Baát Laäp Vaên Töï, Giaùo Ngoaïi Bieät Truyeàn, Tröïc Chæ
Nhaân Taâm, Kieán Taùnh Thaønh Phaät. Nancy Wilson Ross vieát trong
quyeån 'Theá Giôùi Thieàn': "Maëc daàu Thieàn ñöôïc caùc moân ñoà xem nhö laø
moät toân giaùo, trong Thieàn khoâng heà coù nhöõng kinh ñieån thieâng lieâng
laøm luaät, khoâng coù saùch thaùnh truyeàn, khoâng coù giaùo ñieàu cöùng nhaéc,
khoâng coù ñaáng Cöùu Theá, khoâng coù ñaáng Thieâng Lieâng coù theå gia aân vaø
ban cho chuùng ta söï cöùu roãi. Khoâng coù nhöõng neùt bieåu tröng raát phoå
bieán ôû caùc heä thoáng toân giaùo khaùc. Thieàn coù phong vò töï do, vaø ñöôïc
moät soá lôùn ngöôøi ñöông thôøi caûm thuï. Hôn nöõa, vôùi muïc tieâu ñaõ ñöôïc
nhaém laø duøng nhöõng phöông phaùp ñaëc bieät ñeå mang laïi söï töï hieåu bieát
saâu saéc veà baûn thaân cuûa moãi ngöôøi ñeå mang laïi bình an cho taâm thöùc,
Thieàn ñaõ loâi cuoán ñöôïc söï chuù yù cuûa nhieàu nhaø taâm lyù hoïc phöông
Taây. Khoù khaên lôùn nhaát cuûa Taây phöông khi thaûo luaän veà yù nghóa cuûa
Thieàn laø laøm sao giaûi thích 'Thieàn vaän haønh nhö theá naøo.' Thieàn ñaëc
bieät nhaán maïnh ñeán vieäc giaùo huaán Thieàn naèm ngoaøi ngoân töø:
'Giaùo ngoaïi bieät truyeàn, baát laäp vaên töï.
Tröïc chæ nhaân taâm, kieán taùnh thaønh Phaät.'
Ñeå bieát roõ veà Thieàn, vaø ngay caû ñeå baét ñaàu hieåu Thieàn, caàn phaûi tu
taäp ngay."
Tuy laø nhö vaäy, Thieàn sö Minh Trí (?-1196), teân cuûa moät vò Thieàn
sö Vieät Nam, queâ ôû Phuø Caàm, Baéc Vieät laïi daïy ñoà chuùng raèng: Chöõ
khoâng theå chôû ñöôïc caùi khoâng chöõ, nhöng ngöôøi sô cô vaãn caàn ñeán
kinh ñieån. Luùc haõy coøn treû, ngaøi gaëp vaø trôû thaønh ñeä töû cuûa Thieàn sö
Ñaïo Hueä. Ngaøi laø phaùp töû ñôøi thöù 10 doøng Thieàn Voâ Ngoân Thoâng. Moät
hoâm, Thieàn Sö Minh Trí (?-1196) ñang noùi chuyeän moät vò Taêng, beân
caïnh coù moät vò Taêng khaùc noùi: “Noùi heát söùc töùc laø Vaên Thuø, im laëng
heát söùc töùc laø Duy Ma.” Sö baûo: “Khoâng noùi, khoâng im, chaúng phaûi laø
oâng sao?” Vò Taêng gaät ñaàu. Sö baûo: “Sao chaúng hieän thaàn thoâng?” Vò
 426

Taêng thöa: “Chaúng töø choái vieäc hieän thaàn thoâng, chæ sôï Hoøa Thöôïng
thaâu vaøo giaùo.” Sö baûo: “OÂng chöa phaûi laø con maét ôû ngoaøi giaùo ñieån.”
Ngaøi thöôøng nhaéc nhôû caùc ñeä töû: “Toâng phaùi khoâng truyeàn baèng nhöõng
lôøi daïy trong kinh ñieån, maø laø taâm truyeàn taâm. Ñaây ñöôïc goïi laø bieät
truyeàn. Coå ñöùc daïy raèng ‘Chöõ khoâng theå chôû ñöôïc caùi khoâng chöõ, cho
neân Thieàn ñöôïc truyeàn ngoaøi kinh ñieån.’ Tuy nhieân, haønh giaû sô cô vaãn
caàn tôùi kinh ñieån, bôûi vì caùc oâng caàn ngoùn tay chæ vaøo maët traêng, ñeå töø
ñoù caùc oâng coù theå nöông theo maø ñeán ñöôïc traêng.” Döôùi ñaây laø moät
trong nhöõng baøi keä Thieàn noåi tieáng cuûa ngaøi:
“Giaùo ngoaïi khaû bieät truyeàn,
Hy di Toå Phaät uyeân.
Nhöôïc nhaân duïc bieän ñích,
Döông dieäm mích caàu yeân.”
(Giaùo ngoaïi neân bieät truyeàn,
Laâu xa Phaät Toå saâu.
Neáu ngöôøi caàu phaân bieät,
AÙnh naéng tìm khoùi maây).

Words Cannot Carry the Wordless,

But Beginning Practitioners Still Need Scriptures

The eight fundamental principles, intuitional or relating to direct

mental vision of the Zen School: Correct Law Eye-Treasury; Nirvana
of Wonderful and Profound Mind (see Dieäu Taâm); Reality is nullity;
the Door of Abhidharma; it is not relying on books, or not established
on words; it is a special transmission outside the teachings; it points
directly to the human mind; through it one sees one’s own nature and
becomes a Buddha. Nancy Wilson Ross wrote in The World of Zen:
"Zen, although considered a religion by its followers, has no sacred
scriptures whose words are law; no fixed canon; no rigid dogma; no
Savior or Divine Being through whose favor or intercession one's
eventual Salvation is assured. The absence of attributes common to all
other religious systems lends Zen a certain air of freedom to which
many modern people respond. Furthermore, Zen's stated aim of
bringing about, through the employment of its special methods, a high
degree of knowledge with a resultant gain of peace of mind has caught
the attention of certain Western psychologists... The gravest obstacle in
 427

discussing Zen's possible meaning for the West os the difficulty of

explaining 'How it works.' In its own four statements, Zen emphasizes
particularly that its teaching lies beyond and outside words:
'A special transmission outside the Scriptures;
No dependence upon words and letters;
Direct pointing to the soul of man;
Seeing into one's nature and the attainment of Buddhahood.'
To know Zen, even to begin to understand it,
It is necessary to practice it."
However, a Vietnamese Zen master named Minh Trí from Phuø
Caàm, North Vietnam, taught his disciples: Words cannot carry the
wordless, but beginning practitioners still need scriptures. When he was
young, he met and became a disciple of Zen master Ñaïo Hueä. He was
the dharma heir of the tenth generation of the Wu-Yun-T’ung Zen Sect.
One day, Zen master Minh Tri was talking to a monk when another
monk stood next to them said, “Talking with all one's might is
Manijusri; keeping silent with might and main is Vimalakirti.” Master
Minh Tri said, “Neither talking nor keeping silent, isn't that you?” The
monk agreed. Master Minh Tri said, “Why haven't you shown your
supernatural powers?” The monk said, “I'm not declining, I'm only
afraid that the Master will include me among those who are adherent to
scriptural teachings.” Master Minh Tri said, “You are not the eye of the
transmission outside the teaching yet.” He always reminded his
disciples: “The intuitive school which does not rely on texts or writings,
but on personal communication of its tenets, either oral or otherwise.
This is called a special transmission outside of the teachings in the
scriptures. Ancient virtues teach that ‘Words cannot carry the wordless,
so Zen is transmitted outside the scriptures.’ However, practitioners
still need scriptures because you need a finger pointing to the moon, so
that you can follow that direction to reach the moon.” Below is one of
his famous Zen poems:
“The Way of the Buddha and Patriarchs is so profound,
That it should specially be transmitted outside the scriptures.
If you seek for the distinction,
Just as you look through the fog under the sunrise.”
428
 429

Phuï Luïc N
Appendix N

Boán Trí Baùt Nhaõ

Theo Kinh Phaùp Baûo Ñaøn, Phaåm thöù Baûy, coù boán loaïi trí: Thöù
nhaát laø Ñaïi Vieân Caûnh Trí (Cuûa Phaät A Suùc): Ñaïi Vieân Caûnh Trí laø
taùnh thanh tònh cuûa chuùng sanh (chuyeån thöùc thöù taùm laøm Ñaïi Vieân
Caûnh Trí). Trí to lôùn vieân maõn hay trí hieån hieän caùc saéc töôùng trong
caûnh trí cuûa Nhö Lai. Cuõng laø trí chuyeån töø A-Laïi-Da thöùc maø ñöôïc, laø
trí hieån hieän vaïn töôïng cuûa phaùp giôùi nhö taám göông troøn lôùn, töông
öùng vôùi theá giôùi vaø lieân heä vôùi A Suùc Beä Phaät cuõng nhö Ñoâng Ñoä. Thöù
nhì laø Bình Ñaúng Taùnh Trí (cuûa Phaät Baûo Töôùng): Bình Ñaúng Taùnh
Trí laø taâm khoâng beänh cuûa chuùng sanh (chuyeån thöùc thöù baûy laøm Bình
Ñaúng Taùnh Trí). Bình Ñaúng Taùnh Trí laø caùi trí vöôït ra ngoaøi söï phaân
bieät Toâi Anh, do ñoù maø döùt boû ñöôïc caùi yù nieäm veà ngaõ. Caùi trí xem
moïi söï moïi vaät ñeàu bình ñaúng nhö nhau. Nhôø coù trí naøy maø ngöôøi ta
khôûi leân taâm ñaïi bi. Theo lyù thuyeát Duy Thöùc, moät khi bình ñaúng taùnh
trí khôûi leân thì boán thöù oâ nhieãm töï aùi, töï kieán, kieâu maïn vaø si meâ ñeàu
tan bieán. Caùi trí bieát taùnh bình ñaúng cuûa vaïn höõu. Caùi trí xem moïi söï
moïi vaät ñeàu bình ñaúng nhö nhau. Bình Ñaúng Taùnh Trí chuyeån töø Maït
Na thöùc maø ñöôïc, laø trí taïo thaønh taùc duïng bình ñaúng cuûa caùc phaùp,
töông öùng vôùi löûa vaø Nam Phaät ôû Nam Ñoä. Thöù ba laø Dieäu Quaùn Saùt
Trí (cuûa Phaät A Di Ñaø): Dieäu Quaùn Saùt Trí laø trí thaáy maø khoâng phaûi
duïng coâng cuûa chuùng sanh (thöùc thöù saùu ñöôïc chuyeån thaønh Dieäu Quaùn
Saùt Trí). Dieäu Quaùn Saùt Trí laø moät trong naêm trí ñöôïc noùi ñeán trong
kinh ñieån cuûa toâng Chaân Ngoân. Trí chuyeån töø yù thöùc maø ñöôïc, trí phaân
bieät caùc phaùp haûo dieäu phaù nghi, töông öùng vôùi nöôùc vaø Phaät A Di Ñaø
ôû Taây phöông. Theo Tònh Ñoä vaø Chaân Toâng, Phaät A Di Ñaø thuø thaéng
hôn caû trong soá Nguõ Trí Nhö Lai; maëc duø quoác ñoä cuûa Ngaøi ôû Taây
Phöông chöù khoâng ôû trung öông. Trong soá Nguõ Trí Nhö Lai, Ñöùc Phaät
A Di Ñaø ôû phöông Taây coù theå ñoàng nhaát vôùi Trung öông Ñaïi Nhaät Nhö
Lai, laø Ñöùc Phaät cuûa Phaùp Giôùi Theå Taùnh. Caùc boån nguyeän cuûa Ñöùc A
Di Ñaø, söï chöùng ñaéc Phaät quaû Voâ Löôïng Quang vaø Voâ Löôïng Thoï, vaø
söï thieát laäp Cöïc Laïc quoác ñoä ñaõ ñöôïc moâ taû ñaày ñuû trong Kinh A Di
Ñaø. Thöù tö laø Thaønh Sôû Taùc Trí: Trí cuûa Phaät Baát Khoâng hay Vi Dieäu
 430

Thanh hay Phaät Thích Ca Maâu Ni. Thaønh Sôû Taùc Trí gioáng nhö Vieân
Caûnh Trí (naêm thöùc ñaàu ñöôïc chuyeån thaønh Thaønh Sôû Taùc Trí). Thaønh
Sôû Taùc Trí laø trí giuùp hoaøn thaønh moïi vieäc maø khoâng taïo nghieäp. Trí
toaøn thieän hai coâng vieäc töï ñoä vaø ñoä tha. Moät trong naêm trí ñöôïc noùi
ñeán trong kinh ñieån cuûa toâng Chaân Ngoân. Trí chuyeån töø nguõ caên (nhaõn,
nhó, tyû, thieät vaø thaân), trí thaønh töïu dieäu nghieäp töï lôïi lôïi tha, töông öùng
vôùi Baát Khoâng Thaønh Töïu Nhö Lai vaø Phaät Di Laëc ôû Baéc Ñoä.

Four Prajna Wisdoms

According to the Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra, Chapter Seventh,

there are four knowledges: First, the great perfect mirror wisdom of
Aksobhya: The wisdom of the great, perfect mirror is the clear and
pure nature of all sentient beings (the eighth consciousness turned to
become the wisdom of Great Perfect Mirror). The great ground mirror
wisdom is great perfect mirror wisdom or Perfect all-reflecting
Buddha-wisdom. Also the great ground mirror wisdom, derived from
alaya-vijnana (alaya consciousness), reflecting all things; corresponds
to the earth, and is associated with Aksobhya and the east. Second, the
wisdom of Equality or the universal wisdom of Ratnaketu: The wisdom
of equal nature is the mind without disease of sentient beings (the
seventh consciousness turned to become the Wisdom of Equal Nature).
The wisdom of Equality is the wisdom of rising above such distinction
as I and Thou, thus being rid of the ego idea. Wisdom in regard to all
things equally and universally. Depending on this wisdom, one arises
the mind of great compassion. According to the Mind-Only Theory,
once the mind of equality arises, the four defilements of self-love, self-
view, pride and ignorance are extinguished. The wisdom of cognition
of essential identity. The wisdom in regard to all things equally and
universally. The wisdom of Equality is the wisdom which derived from
manovijnana or mano consciousness, wisdom in regard to all things
equally and universally, corresponds to fire and is associated with
Ratnasambhava and the south. Third, the wisdom of wonderful
contemplation: The profound observing wisdom of Amitabha. The
profound or wonderful observing wisdom is seeing without effort of
sentient beings (the sixth consciousness turned to become the
Wonderfully Observing Wisdom). Pratyaveksana-jnana is one of the
 431

five wisdoms mentioned in the Shingon texts. The wisdom derived

from wisdom of profound insight (yù thöùc), or discrimination, for
exposition and doubt-destruction; corresponds to water, and is
associated with Amitabha and the west. According to the T’ien-T’ai
and Shingon, Amita is superior over the five Wisdom Buddhas
(Dhyani-Buddhas), even though he governs the Western Quarter, not
the center. Of the five Wisdom Buddhas, Amitabha of the West may be
identical with the central Mahavairocana, the Buddha of homo-cosmic
identity. Amitabha’s original vows, his attainment of Buddhahood of
Infinite Light and Life, and his establishment of the Land of Bliss are
all fully described in the Sukhavati text. Fourth, the wisdom that
accomplishes what is done: The perfecting wisdom of Amoghasiddhi.
The Perfect wisdom is the same as the perfect mirror (the first five
consciousnesses turned to become the perfecting wisdom).
Krtyanusthana-jnana is the wisdom of perfecting the double work of
self-welfare and the welfare of others, one of the five wisdoms
mentioned in the Shingon texts. The wisdom derived from the five
senses (nguõ caên), the wisdom of perfecting the double work of self-
welfare and the welfare of others; corresponds to the air and is
associated with Amoghasiddhi and Maitreya in the north.
432
 433

Phuï Luïc O
Appendix O

Boán Caùch Dieãn Taû Nieát Baøn

Chöõ Nieát Baøn coù nghóa laø “ñoaïn dieät” vaø töø ñoù daãn ñeán thanh tònh.
Moät vaán ñeà ñöôïc neâu leân ôû ñaây laø coù phaûi Nieát Baøn chæ laø traïng thaùi
bieán ñoåi cuûa trí tueä hay noù laø moät chieàu khaùc cuûa thöïc taïi. Chöõ Nieát
Baøn ñöôïc duøng cho caû traïng thaùi taâm lyù bieán ñoåi laãn moät traïng thaùi
sieâu hình hoïc. Trong giaùo ñieån Phaät giaùo ñaõ coù ñaày daãy nhöõng dieãn ñaït
cho thaáy Nieát Baøn laø moät traïng thaùi bieán ñoåi cuûa nhaân caùch vaø yù thöùc.
Söï bieán ñoåi naøy ñöôïc moâ taû baèng nhöõng töø ngöõ phuû ñònh nhö ñoaïn dieät
aùi duïc vaø luyeán chaáp, nhöng cuõng coù khi töø ngöõ naøy ñöôïc duøng trong
khaúng ñònh nhö saûn sanh trí tueä sieâu vieät vaø an bình. Theo trieát lyù Phaät
giaùo, coù boán caùch ñeå dieãn taû Nieát Baøn. Thöù nhaát laø caùch dieãn taû phuû
ñònh: Moâ taû theo loái phuû ñònh laø phöông thöùc thoâng thöôøng nhaát. Nieát
Baøn laø baát töû, baát bieán, baát dieät, voâ bieân, voâ taùc, voâ sanh, vò sanh (chöa
sanh), baát theä, khoâng bò huûy hoaïi, baát taïo, voâ beänh, voâ laõo, khoâng coøn
ñoïa laïc vaøo choán traàm luaân, voâ thöôïng, chaám döùt khoå ñau, vaø giaûi
thoaùt toái haäu. Thöù nhì laø caùch dieãn taû khaúng ñònh: Nieát Baøn laø an
bình, cöïc laïc, trí tueä sieâu vieät, thanh tònh vaø an oån. Kyø thaät taát caû moïi
thöù höõu haïn ñeàu laø voâ thöôøng. Baûn chaát chuû yeáu cuûa noù laø sanh vaø
dieät. Noù sanh ra roài laïi bò huûy dieät. Söï ñoaïn dieät cuûa noù ñem laïi thanh
tònh vaø an laïc. Söï ñoaïn dieät cuõng coù nghóa laø chaám döùt tham aùi vaø khoå
ñau trong traïng thaùi taâm an tònh. Noùi theo caùch khaúng ñònh, Nieát Baøn
cuõng coù nghóa laø cöïc laïc, laø trí tueä sieâu vieät, söï chieáu saùng, vaø yù thöùc
thuaàn tuùy trong saùng. Thöù ba laø caùch dieãn taû nghòch lyù: Phöông thöùc
naøy thöôøng ñöôïc tìm thaáy nhieàu nhaát trong Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña hay
trong caùc giaùo ñieån Trung Quaùn. Nieát Baøn truï trong caûnh giôùi voâ sôû truï.
Con ñöôøng duy nhaát ñeå ñaït ñeán muïc ñích naøy laø chöùng nghieäm raèng
theo nghóa toái haäu thì khoâng coù baát cöù muïc ñích naøo ñeå ñaït ñeán. Nieát
Baøn laø thöïc taïi maø thöïc taïi laïi laø khoâng taùnh. Thöù tö laø caùch dieãn taû
töôïng tröng: Söï moâ taû theo caùch töôïng tröng khaùc vôùi caùch moâ taû
nghòch lyù, noù traùnh neù loái dieãn taû tröøu töôïng vaø thay vaøo ñoù laïi söû duïng
nhöõng hình aûnh cuï theå. Töø quan ñieåm naøy, Nieát Baøn laø choã an truù maùt
meû, laø hoøn ñaûo trong vuøng ngaäp luït, laø beán bôø ñaèng xa, laø Thaùnh
thaønh, laø nôi veà nöông, laø choã che chôû, laø nôi dung thaân an toaøn.
 434

Four Ways of Description of a Nirvana

The word “Nirvana” literally means “extinguished” and therefore

“tranquil.” A question is raised whether Nirvana is only a transformed
state of mind or whether it is another dimension of being. The word has
been used both for a transformed psychological state and for a
metaphysical status. Buddhist literature is full of statements which go
to show that Nirvana is a transformed state of personality and
consciousness. The transformation is described in negative terms as a
destruction of craving and attachments and in positive terms as the
emergence of transcendental wisdom and peace. According to Buddhist
philosophy, there are four ways of description of a Nirvana. The first
way of description of a Nirvana is the way of negative description: The
negative description is the most common. Nirvana is deathless,
unchanging, imperishable, without end, non-production, extinction of
birth, unborn, not liable to dissolution, uncreated, free from disease, un-
aging, freedom from transmigration, utmost, cessation of pain, and final
release. The second way of description of a Nirvana is the way of
positive description: Nirvana is peace, bliss, transcendental wisdom,
pure and security. Impermanent, indeed, are all conditioned things. It is
their very nature to come into being and then to cease. Having been
produced, they are stopped. Their cessation brings peace and ease.
Cessation also means extinction of craving and cessation of suffering
with a state of calm. In a positive way, Nirvana also means the
supreme bliss, transcendental wisdom, illumination, and pure radiant
consciousness. The third way of description of a Nirvana is the way of
paradoxical description: This statement is mostly found in
Prajnaparamita or Madhyamika literature. Nirvana is abiding in a state
of non-abiding. The only way of reaching the goal is to realize that in
the ultimate sense there is no goal to be reached. Nirvana is reality
which is void (sunya). The fourth way of description of a Nirvana is the
way of symbolical description: Symbolical description differs from the
paradoxical in avoiding to speak in abstractions and using concrete
images instead. From this standpoint, Nirvana is the cool cave, the
island in the flood, the further shore, the holy city, the refuge, the
shelter, and the safe asylum.
 435

Phuï Luïc P
Appendix P

Chaân Lyù

Chaân lyù laø leõ töï nhieân, khoâng choái caõi ñöôïc. Chaân lyù chính laø
nguyeân nhaân dieät tröø khoå ñau. Trong Phaät Giaùo Ñaïi Thöøa, chaân lyù
ñöôïc noùi trong Kinh Lieân Hoa vaø Hoa Nghieâm. Theo Tam Phaùp Ñoä
Luaän, chaân lyù coù nghóa thöïc höõu, chaân, baát hö vaø nhö thò; ñoù goïi laø
chaân lyù. Trong Töù A Haøm Moä Sao Giaûi coù chöùa ñöïng moät ñoaïn ngaén
veà tam ñeá: "Chaân lyù goàm coù nghóa cuûa theá gian höõu töôùng vaø nghóa ñeä
nhaát. Kinh noùi: 'Chaân lyù theá tuïc, chaân lyù cuûa hình töôùng, vaø chaân lyù toái
thöôïng'." Theo chaân lyù töông ñoái thì taát caû caùc söï vaät ñeàu hieän höõu,
nhöng trong chaân lyù tuyeät ñoái thì khoâng coù gì hieän höõu caû; trong chaân
lyù tuyeät ñoái, ngöôøi ta thaáy raèng taát caû caùc söï vaät ñeàu khoâng coù töï tính,
nhöng trong chaân lyù töông ñoái coù moät söï nhaän thöùc choã naøo khoâng coù
töï tính.
Moät vò Taêng ñeán gaëp Thieàn sö Laâm Teá vaø hoûi: "Chaân lyù cöùu caùnh
cuûa ñaïo Phaät laø gì?" Laâm Teá lieàn quaùt leân! Vò Taêng leã baùi. Thieàn sö
Laâm Teá noùi moät caùch chaâm bieám: "Vò sö huynh ñaùng kính naøy coù theå
giöõ vöõng laäp tröôøng trong tranh bieän." Vò Taêng hoûi: "Thaày chôi aâm
ñieäu gì vaäy? vaø Thaày thuoäc tröôøng phaùi naøo?" Laâm Teá noùi: "Khi laõo
Taêng ôû nôi cuûa Hoaøng Baù, laõo Taêng hoûi Thaày moät caâu hoûi ba laàn vaø caû
ba laàn laõo Taêng ñeàu bò thaày ñaùnh." Vò Taêng chaàn chöø. Thaáy theá Thieàn
sö Laâm Teá beøn quaùt leân roài laäp töùc ñaùnh vaø noùi: "Khoâng theå naøo ñaët
moùng tay vaøo hö khoâng ñöôïc." Haønh giaû tu Thieàn neân luoân nhôù raèng
Chaân lyù Cöùu Caùnh cöùu caùnh maø Thieàn coá gaéng chuyeån taûi khoâng theå
naøo coù theå laø moät caùi gì heïp hoøi, höõu haïn hoaëc chuyeân bieät; noù phaûi laø
moät caùi gì bao la, ñaïi ñoàng vaø voâ haïn, haøm chöùa taát caû vaø bao truøm taát
caû; khoâng theå ñònh nghóa vaø meänh danh ñöôïc. Ñoù laø lyù do taïi sao Chaân
lyù cöùu caùnh Thieàn laø khoâng theå ñònh nghóa cuõng khoâng theå laõnh hoäi
ñöôïc baèng phaøm trí.
Trong Tam Phaùp Ñoä Luaän coù moät ñoaïn vaên noùi raèng: "Coù ba loaïi
chaân lyù: chaân lyù ña nguyeân, chaân lyù saéc töôùng, vaø chaân lyù ñeä nhaát."
Trong Töù A Haøm Moä Sao Giaûi coù chöùa ñöïng moät ñoaïn ngaén veà tam
ñeá: "Chaân lyù goàm coù nghóa cuûa theá gian höõu töôùng vaø nghóa ñeä nhaát.
Kinh noùi: 'Chaân lyù theá tuïc, chaân lyù cuûa hình töôùng, vaø chaân lyù toái
 436

thöôïng'." Moãi thöù trong ba chaân lyù naøy ñöôïc giaûi laøm ba phaàn. Ñaúng ñeá
ñöôïc giaûi thích nhö coõi theá tuïc, gia ñình vaø giaùo duïc. Choã naøy töông
hôïp vôùi hieän höõu giaû taïm trong ñôøi soáng haèng ngaøy, vaø söï chaáp nhaän
caùi nhìn töông ñoái hôïp lyù. Thöù nhì laø chaân lyù cuûa saéc töôùng goàm ba
phaàn thuoäc Töù Dieäu Ñeá: khoå, taäp vaø ñaïo. Ñaây goïi laø chaân lyù cuûa hình
töôùng vì noùi ñeán vieäc quaùn chieáu hình töôùng hoaëc söï thöïc, vöôït luaân
hoài sanh töû, chöùng ngoä khoå ñeá, taäp ñeá vaø ñaïo ñeá. Phaàn thöù tö cuûa Töù
Dieäu Ñeá laø dieät ñeá, ñöôïc giaûi thích laø voâ töôùng, vì vaäy khoâng naèm
trong phaïm vi töôùng maïo. Chaân lyù ñeä nhaát nghóa goàm coù ba phaàn: tònh
thaân, tònh khaåu vaø tònh yù. Thaân chæ cho nhöõng hoaït ñoäng sinh vaät lyù,
khaåu chæ cho lôøi noùi vaø yù chæ cho töï töôûng. Nhö vaäy thanh tònh taát caû ba
maët naøy laø ñeä nhaát nghóa.
Haønh giaû tu Phaät neân luoân nhôù raèng tu taäp khoâng phaûi laø caùi gì
phöùc taïp, hoaëc laø moät söï nghieân cöùu ñoøi hoûi giaùc quan coù söï tröøu töôïng
cao nhaát. Chaân lyù vaø söùc maïnh cuûa tu taäp chính laø söï ñôn giaûn, tröïc
tieáp vaø thöïc tieãn. Tyû nhö, khi baïn gaëp moät ngöôøi, chæ ñôn giaûn chaøo vaø
hoûi "hoâm nay anh coù khoeû khoâng?" Ngöôøi aáy seõ noùi "Toâi khoûe, caùm ôn
anh." Ñaây chính laø tu taäp thaät söï. Hay khi baïn gaëp moät ngöôøi baïn, lieàn
môøi ngöôøi aáy uoáng moät taùch traø, ñaây cuõng traøn ñaày yù nghóa trong tu
taäp. Hay khi baïn ñoùi buïng, lieàn tìm caùi gì ñoù ñeå aên, töùc laø baïn ñang tu
haønh moät caùch troïn veïn. Khoâng coøn thöù gì khaùc töï nhieân hôn nhö theá
ñöôïc; ñieàu duy nhaát chuùng ta phaûi laøm laø môû maét ra ñeå thaáy ñöôïc yù
nghóa tieàm taøng cuûa vaïn höõu. Tuy nhieân, haønh giaû tu Phaät phaûi luoân
caån troïng veà vaán ñeà naøy. Tu taäp khoâng theå vaø khoâng bao giôø ñöôïc laãn
loän vôùi chuû nghóa töï nhieân hay söï buoâng thaû khoâng boù buoäc naøo, nghóa
laø con ngöôøi buoâng troâi theo taäp khí töï nhieân maø khoâng ñaët nghi vaán veà
giaù trò vaø nguoàn goác cuûa söï vieäc. Coù söï khaùc bieät lôùn giöõa haønh vi cuûa
ñoäng vaät vaø cuûa con ngöôøi, haønh vi cuûa ñoäng vaät thì thieáu haún ñaïo ñöùc
tröïc giaùc vaø söï hieåu bieát veà toân giaùo. Ñoäng vaät khoâng bieát gì veà
chuyeän töï coá gaéng caûi thieän hoaøn caûnh hay tieán boä treân ñöôøng ñi ñeán
ñöùc haïnh cao hôn. Theo Truyeàn Ñaêng Luïc, quyeån VI, moät hoâm Thaïch
Cuûng Hueä Taïng ñang laøm vieäc trong nhaø beáp, Thieàn sö Maõ Toå Ñaïo
Nhaát, thaày cuûa Thaïch Cuûng, ñeán hoûi oâng ñang laøm caùi gì vaäy. Thaïch
Cuûng traû lôøi: "Chaên traâu." Thaày hoûi: "Chaên nhö theá naøo?" Thaïch Cuûng
ñaùp: "Moãi khi traâu ñi leäch daàu chæ moät laàn, con lieàn keùo muõi traâu laïi."
Maõ Toå noùi: "OÂng ñuùng laø keû chaên traâu." Theo Thieàn sö D.T. Suzuki
 437

trong quyeån "Thieàn Hoïc Nhaäp Moân," ñaây khoâng phaûi laø chuû nghóa töï
nhieân, maø ñaây laø duïng coâng tu taäp.

The Truth

The truth is the destructive cause of pain. In Mahayana, true

teachings primarily refer to those of Lotus and Avatamsaka Sutras.
Expedient teachings include all other teachings. According to the
Treatise on liberation in three parts, truth means that which is actually
existent, real, not nothingness and Thusness; therefore, it is called
"truth." The Summary of the four Agamas (Ssu EÂ Han Mu Ch'ao Chieh)
contains a short reference to three truths: "Truth includes that of
mundane plurality, that which has marks, and that of supreme meaning.
A Sutra says 'The truth of mundane plurality, the truth of marks, and
the truth of supreme meaning'." According to relative truth all things
exist, but in absolute truth nothing is; in absolute truth one sees that all
things are devoid of self-nature; however, in relative truth, a perception
where there is no self-nature.
A monk came to see Zen master Lin-chi and asked: "What is the
ultimate truth of Buddhism?" The master gave a "kwatz!" The monk
bowed. The master said sarcastically: "The venerable brother can hold
his point in controversy." The monk asked: "Whose tune do you play?
and to what school do you belong?" The master said, "When I was at
Huang-po, I asked him a question three times and was struck by him
three times." The monk hesitated. Thereupon, the master gave him
another "kwatz!" which was immediately followed a blow and this:
"Impossible it is to fix nails onto vacuity of space." Zen practitioners
should always remember that the ultimate truth that Zen tries to convey
cannot be a thing that is narrow, finite, or exclusive; it must be
something vast, universal, and infinite; all-inclusive and all-embracing;
defying definition and designation. That's why the ultimate truth cannot
be defined and grasped by ordinary intellect.
In the Treatise on liberation in three parts contains a commentary,
sayings: "There are three types of truth: the truth of plurality, the truth
of marks, and the truth of supreme meaning." The Summary of the four
Agamas (Ssu EÂ Han Mu Ch'ao Chieh) contains a short reference to
three truths: "Truth includes that of mundane plurality, that which has
 438

marks, and that of supreme meaning. A Sutra says 'The truth of

mundane plurality, the truth of marks, and the truth of supreme
meaning'." These three truths are each explained in three parts. First,
the truth of plurality is explained as the realm of the mundane, the
family, and the education. This corresponds to the conventional world
of everyday existence and the acceptance of the commonsensical view
of reality. Second, the truth of marks consists of three parts of the Four
Noble Truths: suffering, the cause of suffering, and the Path. This is
called the "truth of marks" because it refers to contemplating the marks
or characteristics of reality, the transiency of samaric existence, and
realizing the truth of suffering, the cause of suffering, and the way to
liberation. The fourth Noble Truth, that of the extinction of suffering, is
explained as having no marks, and therefore does not correspond to the
realm of marks. Third, the truth of supreme meaning also has three
parts: it consists of the complete cessation of action, words, and
thoughts. Action corresponds to physical activity, words to verbal
activity, and thoughts to mental activity. Thus the cessation of all
activity is the realm of supreme truth.
Buddhist practitioners should always remember that cultivation is
not a very complicated affair, or a study requiring the highest faculty of
abstraction and speculation. The truth and power of cultivation consists
in its very simplicity, directness, and utmost practicalness. For instance,
when you see another person, just simply say hello, good morning, and
ask "how are you today?" That person will say "I am fine, thanh you."
This is real cultivation. Or, when you see a friend, you invite that friend
to have a cup of tea, this, again, is full of cultivation. Or, when you are
hungry, you find something to eat, you have been acting your
cultivation to its fullest extent. Nothing could be more natural; the one
thing needful is just to open your eye to the latent (concealed or
hidden) significance of it all. However, Buddhist practitioners should
always be careful on this matter. Cultivation cannot and can never be
confused with naturalism or libertinism, which means to follow one's
natural bent without questioning its origin and value. There is a great
difference between human action and that of the animals, which are
lacking in moral intuition and religious consciousness. The animals do
not know anything about exerting themselves in order to improve their
conditions or to progress in the way to higher virtues. According to the
 439

Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Ch’uan-Teng-Lu), Volume

VI, one day Shih-kung was working in the kitchen when Zen master
Ma-tsu Tao-i, his master, came in and asked what he was doing. "I am
herding the cow," said Shih-kung. The master asked, "How do you
attend her?" Shih-kung replied, "If she goes out of the path even once,
I pull her back straightway by the nose; not a moment's delay is
allowed." Said the master, "You truly know how to take care of her."
According to Zen master Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in "An Introduction To
Zen Buddhism," this is not naturalism. Here is an effort to do the right
thing.
440
 441

Phuï Luïc Q
Appendix Q

Chaân Lyù Nhö Lai

Nghóa ñen cuûa Nhö Lai laø nhö ñeán, hay nhö theá, chæ traïng thaùi giaùc
ngoä. Nhö Lai coù theå ñöôïc hieåu laø “Giaùc ngoä nhö theá toâi ñeán” vaø duøng
chung cho taát caû caùc Phaät hôn laø rieâng cho Phaät Thích Ca Maâu Ni.
Ngöôøi ñaõ giaùc ngoä toaøn haûo cao nhaát (samyak-sambuddha). Ñaây laø
moät trong möôøi danh hieäu cuûa Phaät maø Phaät duøng khi xöng hoâ. Trong
Phaät giaùo Ñaïi thöøa, Nhö Lai ñöôïc duøng döôùi hình thöùc hoùa thaân, laøm
trung gian giöõa baûn chaát vaø hieän töôïng. Nhö Lai coøn ñoàng nghóa vôùi
“Tuyeät ñoái,” “Baùt Nhaõ” hay “Hö khoâng.” Baäc Nhö Lai sieâu vieät leân
treân taát caû ña nguyeân taùnh vaø phaïm truø cuûa tö töôûng, coù theå coi laø
khoâng phaûi vónh haèng maø cuõng khoâng phaûi laø phi vónh haèng. Ngaøi laø
baäc khoâng theå truy taàm daáu tích. Vónh haèng vaø phi vónh haèng chæ ñöôïc
duøng trong laõnh vöïc nhò nguyeân taùnh chöù khoâng theå duøn g trong tröôøng
hôïp phi nhò nguyeân. Bôûi leõ caùc baäc Chaân Nhö ñeàu gioáng nhau trong söï
hieån hieän, vì theá taát caû chuùng sanh ñeàu tieàm naêng trôû thaønh Nhö Lai.
Chính Nhö Lai taùnh hieän höõu trong chuùng ta, khieán cho chuùng ta khao
khaùt tìm caàu Nieát Baøn, vaø cuoái cuøng taùnh aáy seõ giuùp giaûi thoaùt chuùng
ta. Nhöõng kinh Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña voán ñöôïc xem laø coù khuynh
höôùng phuû ñònh, trong soá ñoù coù moät ñoaïn nhö sau: “Phaùp maø Nhö Lai
tuyeân thuyeát voán laø baát khaû ñaéc, khoâng chöôùng ngaïi, söï khoâng chöôùng
ngaïi cuûa noù gioáng nhö hö khoâng, chaúng ñeå laïi daáu veát gì; noù vöôït leân
treân nhöõng hình thöùc tröøu töôïng, khoâng coù ñoái nghòch, vöôït ra ngoaøi
sinh töû, noù khoâng coù ñöôøng maø ngöôøi ta coù theå tieán ñeán ñöôïc. Chaân lyù
naøy chöùng nghieäm ñöôïc ñoái vôùi ngöôøi ñi theo Nhö Lai vì Nhö Lai tuøy
thuaän vôùi Chaân Nhö. Vì Chaân Nhö ñoàng nhaát, vöôït ngoaøi ñi ñeán,
thöôøng truï, khoâng bieán dòch, khoâng ly caùch, khoâng phaân bieät, moät thöïc
theå tuyeät ñoái, khoâng coù daáu veát cuûa taâm thöùc, vaân vaân.” Theo thieàn sö
D.T. Suzuki trong Thieàn Luaän, Taäp III, vì raèng Phaùp cuûa Nhö Lai
khoâng theå ñöôïc ñònh nghóa moät caùch khaúng quyeát, caùc kinh Baùt Nhaõ
ñöa ra moät chuoãi nhöõng phuû ñònh. Chæ coù moät caùch khaúng quyeát duy
nhaát laø noùi nhö theá laø nhö theá. Nhöõng ai bieát, noùi theá laø ñuû, nhöng theo
quan ñieåm lyù luaän thì coù theå noù chaúng coù nghóa lyù gì caû, noù coù theå bò
cho laø troáng roãng. Ñieàu naøy khoâng theå traùnh ñöôïc, vì nhöõng thuaät ngöõ
 442

cuûa tröïc giaùc ñeàu nhö vaäy caû, vaø heát thaûy nhöõng chaân lyù thuoäc veà yù
thöùc toân giaùo, maëc daàu coù veû nhö hôïp vôùi lyù trí, cuoái cuøng thì taát caû
ñeàu thuoäc veà boä thuaät ngöõ naøy. “Toâi laø gì?” “Toâi ôû ñaâu?” hay “Toâi bò
buoäc vaøo ñaâu?”, ñoù laø nhöõng caâu hoûi ñöa leân bôûi tri thöùc, nhöng söï giaûi
quyeát laïi khoâng hoaøn toaøn hôïp lyù. Neáu khoâng laø moät chuoãi phuû ñònh thì
noù chæ ñôn thuaàn laø bí nhieäm, gaït boû ra ngoaøi phöông caùch hieåu bieát
thoâng thöôøng.

Tathagata's Truth

Tathagata literally means one “thus come,” the “thus” or

“thusness,” indicating the enlightened state. Therefore, Tathagata can
be rendered as “Thus enlightened I come,” and would apply equally to
all Buddhas other than Sakyamuni. One of the ten titles of the Buddha,
which he himself used when speaking of himself or other Buddhas. In
Mahayana Buddhism, Tathagata is the Buddha in his nirmanakaya, the
intermediary between the essential and the phenomenal world.
Tathagata also means “Absolute,” “Prajna” or “Emptiness Shunyata.”
The Tathagata who has gone beyond all plurality and categories of
thought can be said to be neither permanent nor impermanent. He is
untraceable. Permanent and impermanent can be applied only where
there is duality, not in the case of non-dual. And because Tathata is the
same in all manifestation, therefore all beings are potential
Tathagaatas. It is the Tathagata within us who makes us long for
Nibbana and ultimately sets us free. The Prajnaparamita Sutras are
always disposed to be negative int heir statement, give among others
the following: “The Truth as given out by the Tathagata is unattainable,
it knows no obstruction, its non-obstructibility resembles space as no
traces are left; it is above all forms of contrast, it allows no opposition,
it goes beyond birth and death, it has no passageway whereby one may
approach it. This truth is realizable by one who follows the Tathagata
as he is in his Suchness. For this Suchness is something uniform,
something beyond going and coming, something eternally abiding,
above change and separateness and discrimination, absolutely one,
betraying no traces of conscious striving, etc.” According to Zen master
D.T. Suzuki in Essays in Zen Buddhism, Third Series (p.116), as the
truth of the Tathagata cannot be defined in any positive way, the
 443

Mahaprajna-Paramita Sutra has a series of negations. The only

affirmative way is to designate it 'state of being so' or 'suchness' or 'so-
ness'. To those who know, the term is expressive and satisfying, but
from the logical point of view it may mean nothing, it may be said to be
devoid of content. This is inevitable; terms of intuition are always so,
and all the truths belonging to the religious consciousness, however
intellectual they may appear, after all belong to this class of
terminology. “What am I?” “Where am I?” or “Whither am I bound?”--
the questions are raised by the intellect, but the solution is not at all
logical. If it is not a series og negations it is simply enigmatical,
defying the ordinary way of understanding.
444
 445

Phuï Luïc R
Appendix R

Saùu Möôi Hai Kieán Giaûi

Theo Kinh Ñaïi Baùt Nhaõ Ba La Maät Ña, coù 62 kieán giaûi: (20) Naêm
uaån duyeân vôùi boán traïng thaùi laøm thaønh hai möôi kieán giaûi. Boán kieán
giaûi cuûa Saéc bao goàm saéc laø thöôøng, saéc laø voâ thöôøng, saéc laø caû thöôøng
laãn voâ thöôøng, saéc laø khoâng (phi) thöôøng cuõng khoâng (phi) voâ thöôøng.
Boán kieán giaûi cuûa Thoï bao goàm thoï laø thöôøng, thoï laø voâ thöôøng, thoï laø
caû thöôøng laãn voâ thöôøng, thoï laø phi thöôøng phi voâ thöôøng Boán kieán giaûi
cuûa Töôûng bao goàm töôûng laø thöôøng, töôûng laø voâ thöôøng, töôûng laø caû
thöôøng laãn voâ thöôøng, töôûng laø phi thöôøng phi voâ thöôøng. Boán kieán giaûi
cuûa Haønh bao goàm haønh laø thöôøng, haønh laø voâ thöôøng, haønh laø caû
thöôøng laãn voâ thöôøng, haønh laø phi thöôøng phi voâ thöôøng. Boán kieán giaûi
cuûa Thöùc bao goàm thöùc laø thöôøng, thöùc laø voâ thöôøng, thöùc laø caû thöôøng
laãn voâ thöôøng, thöùc laø phi thöôøng phi voâ thöôøng. Naêm uaån duyeân vôùi töù
bieân laøm thaønh hai möôi kieán giaûi. Boán kieán giaûi cuûa saéc bao goàm saéc
laø höõu bieân, saéc laø voâ bieân, saéc laø caû höõu laãn voâ bieân, saéc phi höõu phi
voâ bieân. Boán kieán giaûi cuûa Thoï bao goàm thoï höõu bieân, thoï voâ bieân, thoï
höõu laãn voâ bieân, thoï phi höõu phi voâ bieân. Boán kieán giaûi cuûa Töôûng bao
goàm töôûng höõu bieân, töôûng voâ bieân, töôûng laø höõu laãn voâ bieân, töôûng
phi höõu phi voâ bieân. Boán kieán giaûi cuûa Haønh bao goàm haønh höõu bieân,
haønh voâ bieân, haønh caû höõu laãn voâ bieân, haønh phi höõu phi voâ bieân. Boán
kieán giaûi cuûa Thöùc bao goàm thöùc höõu bieân, thöùc voâ bieân, thöùc caû höõu
laãn voâ bieân, vaø thöùc phi höõu phi voâ bieân. Naêm uaån duyeân vôùi boán
chuyeån laøm thaønh hai möôi kieán giaûi. Boán kieán giaûi cuûa Saéc bao goàm
saéc nhö khöù (saéc keå nhö maát), saéc chaúng nhö khöù (saéc keå nhö chaúng
maát), saéc nhö khöù chaúng nhö khöù (saéc keå nhö maát maø cuõng keå nhö
chaúng maát), saéc phi nhö khö phi chaúng nhö khöù (saéc chaúng keå nhö maát,
chaúng keå nhö chaúng maát). Boán kieán giaûi cuûa Thoï bao goàm thoï nhö khöù,
thoï chaúng nhö khöù, thoï nhö khöù chaúng nhö khöù, thoï phi nhö khöù phi
chaúng nhö khöù. Boán kieán giaûi cuûa Töôûng bao goàm töôûng nhö khöù,
töôûng chaúng nhö khöù, töôûng nhö khöù chaúng nhö khöù, töôûng phi nhö khöù
phi chaúng nhö khöù. Boán kieán giaûi cuûa Haønh bao goàm haønh nhö khöù,
haønh chaúng nhö khöù, haønh nhö khöù chaúng nhö khöù, haønh phi nhö khöù
phi chaúng nhö khöù. Boán kieán giaûi cuûa Thöùc bao goàm thöùc nhö khöù, thöùc
 446

chaúng nhö khöù, thöùc nhö khöù chaúng nhö khöù, thöùc phi nhö khöù phi
chaúng nhö khöù. Saùu möôi moát laø Ñoàng Nhaát thaân taâm. Saùu möôi hai laø
Dò Bieät thaân taâm.

The Sixty-Two Views

According to the Mahaprajna-Paramita Sutra, there are sixty-two

views: The five skandhas under four considerations of time, considered
as time past, whether each of the five has had permanence,
impermanence, both, and neither. Four views of Form include form is
permanent, form is impermanent, form is both permanent and
impermanent, form is neither permanent nor impermanent. Four views
of Sensation include sensation is permanent, sensation is impermanent,
sensation is both permanent and impermanent, and sensation is neither
permanent nor impermanent. Four views of perception include
perception is permanent, perception is impermanent, perception is both
permanent and impermanent, perception is neither permament nor
impermanent. Four views of Volition or Mental formation include
mental formation is permanent, mental formation is impermanent,
mental formation is both permanent and impermanent, and mental
formation is neither permanent nor impermanent. Four views of
consciousness include consciousness is permanent, consciousness is
impermanent, consciousness is both permanent and impermanent,
consciousness is neither permanent nor impermanent. Five skandhas
under the four considerations to their space or extension, considered as
present time, whether each is finite, infinite, both, or neither to make
another 20 views. Four views of Form include form is finite, form is
infinite, form is both finite and infinite, form is neither finite nor
infinite. Four views of Sensation include sensation is finite, sensation is
infinite, sensation is both finite and infinite, and sensation is neither
finite nor infinite. Four views of Perception include perception is finite,
perception is infinite, perception is both finite and infinite, and
perception is neither finite nor infinite. Four views of Volition or
Mental formation include volition is finite, volition is infinite, volition
is both finite and infinite, and volition is neither finite nor infinite. Four
views of Consciousness include consciousness is finite, consciousness
is infinite, consciousness is both finite and infinite, consciousness is
 447

neither finite nor infinite. Five skandhas under the four considerations
to their destination to make another 20 views. Four views of Form
include form is gone, form is not gone, form is both gone and not gone,
form is neither gone nor not gone. Four views of sensation include
sensation is gone, sensation is not gone, sensation is both gone and not
gone, sensation is neither gone nor not gone. Four views of Perception
include perception is gone, perception is not gone, perception is both
gone and not gone, and perception is neither gone nor not gone. Four
views of Volition or mental formation include volition is gone, volition
is not gone, volition is both gone and not gone, volition is neither gone
nor not gone. Four views of consciousness include consciousness is
gone, consciousness is not gone, consciousness is both gone and not
gone, consciousness is neither gone nor not gone. The sixty-first, unity
of body and mind. The sixty-second, difference of body and mind.
448
 449

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