{"collection":"Majjhima Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_mn121/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_mn121","id":"suttacentral_mn121","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/mn121/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Majjhima Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near S\u0101vatth\u012b in the stilt longhouse of Mig\u0101ra\u2019s mother in the Eastern Monastery. Then in the late afternoon, Venerable \u0100nanda came out of retreat and went to the Buddha. He bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: \u201cSir, this one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sakyans where they have a town named Townsville. There I heard and learned this in the presence of the Buddha: \u2018\u0100nanda, these days I usually practice the meditation on emptiness.\u2019 I trust I properly heard, learned, applied the mind, and remembered that from the Buddha?\u201d \u201cIndeed, \u0100nanda, you properly heard, learned, applied the mind, and remembered that. Now, as before, I usually practice the meditation on emptiness. Consider this stilt longhouse of Mig\u0101ra\u2019s mother. It\u2019s empty of elephants, cows, horses, and mares; of gold and silver; and of gatherings of men and women. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely, the oneness dependent on the mendicant Sa\u1e45gha. In the same way, a mendicant\u2014ignoring the perception of the village and the perception of people\u2014focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of wilderness. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of wilderness. They understand: \u2018Here there is no stress due to the perception of village or the perception of people. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of wilderness.\u2019 They understand: \u2018This field of perception is empty of the perception of the village. It is empty of the perception of people. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of wilderness.\u2019 And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That\u2019s how emptiness manifests in them\u2014genuine, undistorted, and pure. Furthermore, a mendicant\u2014ignoring the perception of people and the perception of wilderness\u2014focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of earth. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of earth. As a bull\u2019s hide is rid of folds when fully stretched out by a hundred pegs, so too, ignoring the hilly terrain, inaccessible riverlands, stumps and thorns, and rugged mountains, they focus on the oneness dependent on the perception of earth. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of earth. They understand: \u2018Here there is no stress due to the perception of people or the perception of wilderness. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of earth.\u2019 They understand: \u2018This field of perception is empty of the perception of people. It is empty of the perception of wilderness. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of earth.\u2019 And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That\u2019s how emptiness manifests in them\u2014genuine, undistorted, and pure. Furthermore, a mendicant\u2014ignoring the perception of wilderness and the perception of earth\u2014focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite space. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of the dimension of infinite space. They understand: \u2018Here there is no stress due to the perception of wilderness or the perception of earth. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite space.\u2019 They understand: \u2018This field of perception is empty of the perception of wilderness. It is empty of the perception of earth. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite space.\u2019 And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That\u2019s how emptiness manifests in them\u2014genuine, undistorted, and pure. Furthermore, a mendicant\u2014ignoring the perception of earth and the perception of the dimension of infinite space\u2014focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness. They understand: \u2018Here there is no stress due to the perception of earth or the perception of the dimension of infinite space. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness.\u2019 They understand: \u2018This field of perception is empty of the perception of earth. It is empty of the perception of the dimension of infinite space. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness.\u2019 And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That\u2019s how emptiness manifests in them\u2014genuine, undistorted, and pure. Furthermore, a mendicant\u2014ignoring the perception of the dimension of infinite space and the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness\u2014focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of nothingness. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of the dimension of nothingness. They understand: \u2018Here there is no stress due to the perception of the dimension of infinite space or the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of nothingness.\u2019 They understand: \u2018This field of perception is empty of the perception of the dimension of infinite space. It is empty of the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of nothingness.\u2019 And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That\u2019s how emptiness manifests in them\u2014genuine, undistorted, and pure. Furthermore, a mendicant\u2014ignoring the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness and the perception of the dimension of nothingness\u2014focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. They understand: \u2018Here there is no stress due to the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness or the perception of the dimension of nothingness. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.\u2019 They understand: \u2018This field of perception is empty of the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness. It is empty of the perception of the dimension of nothingness. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.\u2019 And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That\u2019s how emptiness manifests in them\u2014genuine, undistorted, and pure. Furthermore, a mendicant\u2014ignoring the perception of the dimension of nothingness and the perception of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception\u2014focuses on the oneness dependent on the signless immersion of the heart. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that signless immersion of the heart. They understand: \u2018Here there is no stress due to the perception of the dimension of nothingness or the perception of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. There is only this modicum of stress, namely that related to the six sense fields dependent on this body and conditioned by life.\u2019 They understand: \u2018This field of perception is empty of the perception of the dimension of nothingness. It is empty of the perception of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely that related to the six sense fields dependent on this body and conditioned by life.\u2019 And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That\u2019s how emptiness manifests in them\u2014genuine, undistorted, and pure. Furthermore, a mendicant\u2014ignoring the perception of the dimension of nothingness and the perception of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception\u2014focuses on the oneness dependent on the signless immersion of the heart. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that signless immersion of the heart. They understand: \u2018Even this signless immersion of the heart is produced by choices and intentions.\u2019 They understand: \u2018But whatever is produced by choices and intentions is impermanent and liable to cessation.\u2019 Knowing and seeing like this, their mind is freed from the defilements of sensuality, desire to be reborn, and ignorance. When they\u2019re freed, they know they\u2019re freed. They understand: \u2018Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.\u2019 They understand: \u2018Here there is no stress due to the defilements of sensuality, desire to be reborn, or ignorance. There is only this modicum of stress, namely that related to the six sense fields dependent on this body and conditioned by life.\u2019 They understand: \u2018This field of perception is empty of the perception of the defilements of sensuality, desire to be reborn, and ignorance. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely that related to the six sense fields dependent on this body and conditioned by life.\u2019 And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That\u2019s how emptiness manifests in them\u2014genuine, undistorted, pure, and supreme. Whatever ascetics and brahmins enter and remain in the pure, ultimate, supreme emptiness\u2014whether in the past, future, or present\u2014all of them enter and remain in this same pure, ultimate, supreme emptiness. So, \u0100nanda, you should train like this: \u2018We will enter and remain in the pure, ultimate, supreme emptiness.\u2019 That\u2019s how you should train.\u201d That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, Venerable \u0100nanda approved what the Buddha said.","title":"The Shorter Discourse on Emptiness","tradition":"Majjhima Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":1714}