Byodo-in, Oahu. August, 2011

Emptiness of all is not all. There is more.

The teachings on emptiness, of which non-self is a constituent, are meant to wake us up, not stupefy us into doctrine.

That which we take as substantial, solid, and lasting is anything but substantial or solid, and as long as we misconstrue that which abides for that which decays, and that which falls apart for the unborn and everlasting, we quite are lost.

The truly permanent and lasting is revealed in Nirvana.

Samsara is the dreamlike and painful mirage — not the other way round.

It is the false fire that is blown out. The pure light remains — as it has, as it will. This is good news!

If Buddha Nature is empty, then any being, however deluded, is the same as a Buddha. This is not so.

If the Buddha is empty then this provisional, conditional world is just the same as the Buddha’s reality, and the Dharma is a nonsense. But this is not so.

An aggregate is by nature compounded and is not of the Unborn, Uncreated, and Unconditioned. It will arise, exist for a time, and decay.

The abiding True Self is not subject to birth, decay, death, and rebirth…

Rejoice in the Deathless!

Shalom —

Dharma Fool