Re-Union

"It's judging things correctly without being able to give a reason. Surely you can see that this is not the same as knowing -- for how could knowledge be unreasoning? And it's not ignorance either -- for how could what hits the truth be ignorance? Correct judgement, of course, has this character: it is in between understanding and ignorance.

-- Diotima in 'Plato's Symposium'

In order to attempt to stimulate my mind and fashion new ideas, I have been researching the Prajñāpāramitā, specifically the Japanese [般若波羅蜜多]. 'The Heart Sutra' focuses explaining one of the most important Buddhist beliefs and one that I hold strongly. It is something that helps my mind to expand, and a way to create more compassion for the ones around us.

"When Avalokiteśvara, deep in meditation, observed the five skandhas
[He/She] saw that the skandhas were all empty of suffering." 

There is a lot of information here, and the Japanese translation only contains a few characters! 

Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion (reincarnated in our lifetime into His Holiness) was deep in meditation on the Diamond Sutra when he came across the five heaps, or skandhas. These skandhas are the phenomenological world as we see it. His Holiness likens them to the strings of String Theory, and the original Buddhists described them as five-fold; form, sensations, perception, mental-activity, consciousness. Avalo is saying that these five phenomena (the building blocks of our world) are void, filled with emptiness. In other words, they do not contain the suffering of the First Noble Truth. 

This, to put it lightly, is something that is remarkable to contemplate today, let alone to state it thousands of years ago. It means, that the First Noble Truth does not apply to the phenomena of the world. It makes the human mind the sole responsible entity, like a lantern fueled by one's thoughts, casting alternately light and shade. They fill the void with this 'energy', though I hesitate to use that word. It reminds me of the American proverb about being grease, instead of sand. Help lubricate (enlighten) situations, instead of causing friction (shade).

This also means that the world is therefore mixed in the mire of intellectual graffiti, one lantern shining alone giving only a specific appearance from a certain vantage point. It will, most assuredly, not be the item as a whole, just as color is hard to discern at night. While you are alone, there is no way to compare aside from two objects directly observed (this one is white, this one is not white, etc). It is as though you are always walking through the forest, flashlight in hand. No matter which way you shine it, there is still darkness around it. So, interacting is the only way to shine two lanterns onto one object of intention and this helps create a clearer picture of what one is trying to discover. What if even more 'lanterns' where to shine upon an object?

"Being in the middle of the two, they round out the whole and bind fast the all to all." - Diotima Symposium 

I will continue to use this in my meditation as often as possible. Light or shade can be cast without differentiation. The only change one can make is by using actions with proper attention and intention. This does not mean that you must at every point shine bright light. Some situations call for more shade, 'They round out the whole and bind fast the all to all.' If it is done to relieve suffering, a Buddhist uses both shade and light.

"Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle." - John Watson

I hope this has given you a little to think on, as is my only goal with this humble blog. In conclusion, the 'Heart Sutra' is, in my opinion, the heart of Buddhist literature. It shows, like modern philosophers believe, that the world is inherently empty and void of meaning. However, with proper knowledge of one's own mind, it is a world worth exploring, lantern in hand without judgement. 

'Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate  Bodhi Svaha.' [Gone, gone, gone beyond. Gone totally beyond enlightenment, praise.]