# Sunyata - the emptiness of all things



## schtink (Sep 4, 2006)

To Kadampa Buddhists all things are totally empty of any defining essence. Consequently all things have no fixed identity ('inherent existence') and are are in a state of impermanence - change and flux - constantly becoming and decaying. Not only are all things constantly changing, but if we analyse any phenomenon in enough detail we come to the conclusion that it is ultimately unfindable, and exists purely by definitions in terms of other things - and one of those other things is always the mind which generates those definitions.

Kadampa Buddhism regards the persistent delusion of 'inherent existence' as a major obstacle to spiritual development, and the root of many other damaging delusions. One of these delusions is the materialist belief in an objective reality existing independently of mind. By asserting that the universe exists inherently as a brute fact, materialism denies that subjective experience has any relevance to or influence on the universe, or indeed any existence at all.

The delusion of inherent existence is deeply ingrained our our culture. It was embedded into western philosophy by the Greek philosopher Plato, who was born about sixty years after Buddha's death.

Plato's view of reality is that for any class of objects there is a defining ideal form which is fixed, permanent and unchanging. All physical instances of objects tend to be imperfect. For example the wilting, mildewed roses in my garden are imperfect instances of an ideal rose which exists in a perfect realm of eternal forms. It is only by reference to this authoritative 'specification' that my mind is able to identify and name the transient physical phenomena, which 'participate' in the ideal form's attributes.

...taken from: http://home.btconnect.com/scimah/sunyata.htm


----------



## Rozanne (Feb 24, 2006)

If everything is empty to Kadampa Buddhists I wonder why it costs so much to part of the movement? I went for a few months at the end of last year, but in the end it just cost too much for my budget. When I mentioned that I would like to discount - afterall I was not working at the time, but a student, they were very resistant.

The last straw came when they turned the lounge into "World Peace Cafe" and turfed a friend out because he wasn?t buying anything, saying "we are running this like a business now".

Judge for yourself.


----------



## californian (Jul 24, 2006)

pretty funny response miss starling, if i might say so... :lol:

on a more serious note, i think that your post, schtink, displays a pretty devastating critique of "inherent existence." it does seem to me, however, that there is a problem in linking this to Plato. while Plato seems to have believed in "ideal forms" this has more to do with the perfect or the eternal that he believed/hoped existed. to my knowledge, Plato would not have thought that these ideal forms could exist independent of "mind."

i think the problem is more properly rooted in modern/enlightenment thought. it is in this period that "objectivity" begins to reign supreme. coincidentally, or perhaps, not so coincidentally, it is during this time that depersonalization disorder begins to be reported as a generally occurring phenomenon in the West.


----------



## CECIL (Oct 3, 2004)

I agree totally with theory the OP is talking about.

Incidentally the concept has a lot of bearing for DP as well. If you try to think in absolutes, black and white and that everything is seperate then you end up with a totally dead and lifeless world. In THAT reality nothing is alive, including yourself. Nothing changes, everything is static. Sound familiar?

If, on the other hand, you stop believing in definitions and labels, then everything takes on much more life. Everything is connected, everything is simply energy and it all flows. It all constantly evolves, including yourself. Nothing is static, not even yourself, and nothing can be defined. You and everything around you is part of an infinite well of energy. Sounds good to me 

If you try to define things, especially yourself, then you are making it static/unchangeable. But this is not the nature of reality.



> One of these delusions is the materialist belief in an objective reality existing independently of mind. By asserting that the universe exists inherently as a brute fact, materialism denies that subjective experience has any relevance to or influence on the universe, or indeed any existence at all.


Absolutely. This is why I steered away from Science after so many years of subscribing to its beliefs. There is nothing more alive and rich than your own subjective reality. Everyone's subjective reality is different (You create your own reality) yet collectively we use our creative energies to create the world we live in today.

If you believe in a static and absolute reality seperate from yourself then for starters you feel seperated from the world and you feel alone. Moreover you feel powerless to change the world and your life since you are not connected to it and it will keep on existing even without you here. Sound familiar?

Want to change the world? You can. It all starts by changing yourself. If enough people change then quite literally the world changes as well (since collectively we create the world).

This world exists as a play pen for our imagination.

"The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words. If you know the words the world is made of, you can make of it what you will" - Terrence McKenna.


----------



## CECIL (Oct 3, 2004)

californian said:


> i think the problem is more properly rooted in modern/enlightenment thought. it is in this period that "objectivity" begins to reign supreme. coincidentally, or perhaps, not so coincidentally, it is during this time that depersonalization disorder begins to be reported as a generally occurring phenomenon in the West.


Very good observations. I don't think its a coincidence at all


----------

