old-path-white-clouds-thich-nhat-hanh

Chapter Sixty-Five
Neither Full nor Empty
After the Dharma talk, Venerable Svasti noticed how pensive many of the monks looked. He also felt that he had not grasped what the
Buddha taught. He resolved to listen carefully to the elder disciples during their Dharma discussions.
At the next Dharma talk, Venerable Ananda was asked by the monks to ask questions to the Buddha in front of the entire assembly. His
first question was, “Lord, what is meant by ‘the world’ and ‘the dharmas’?”
The Buddha said, “Ananda, the world (loka) is the collective whole of all things subject to change and dissolution. All dharmas are
contained in the eighteen realms: the six sense organs, the six sense objects, and the six sense consciousnesses. The six sense organs, as
you know, are eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mindconsciousness.
The six sense objects are form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and objects of mind. The six sense consciousnesses are seeing,
hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and perceiving. There are no dharmas apart from the eighteen realms. All eighteen realms are subject to
birth and death, to change and dissolution. That is why I have said that the world is the collective whole of all things which possess the
nature of change and dissolution.”
Ananda then asked, “Lord, you have often said that all dharmas are empty. What is meant by that?”
The Buddha said, “Ananda, I have said that all dharmas are empty because all dharmas are without a separate self. None of the six
sense organs, six sense objects, or six sense consciousnesses, possess a separate, individual self.”
Ananda said, “Lord, you have said that the Three Gates of Liberation are emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness. You have said that
all dharmas are empty. Is it because all dharmas are subject to change and dissolution that they are also empty?”
“Ananda, I have spoken often about emptiness and the contemplation on emptiness. The contemplation on emptiness is a wondrous
meditation which can help people transcend suffering, birth, and death. Today I will speak more on this contemplation.
“Ananda, we are all sitting together in the Dharma hall. There are no markets, buffaloes, or villages inside the Dharma hall. There are only
bhikkhus, sitting and listening to the Dharma. We can say that the hall is empty of all that is not here, and that it contains what is actually
here. The Dharma hall is empty of markets, buffaloes, and villages, but contains bhikkhus. Do you agree that that is correct?”
“Yes, Lord.”
“After the Dharma talk, we will all leave the Dharma hall and there will no longer be any bhikkhus here. At that moment, the Dharma hall
will be empty of markets, buffaloes, villages, and bhikkhus. Do you agree that that is so?”
“Yes, Lord, at that moment the Dharma hall will be empty of all those things.”
“Ananda, full always means full of something, and empty always means empty of something. The words full and empty have no meaning
on their own.”
“Please, Lord, could you explain that more.”
“Consider this—empty is always empty of something, such as empty of markets, buffaloes, villages, and bhikkhus. We cannot say that
emptiness is something which exists independently. Fullness is the same. Full is always full of something, such as full of markets, buffaloes,
villages, or bhikkhus. Fullness is not something which exists independently. At the present moment, we can say that the Dharma hall is
empty of markets, buffaloes, and villages. As for all dharmas, if we say that all dharmas are full, what are they full of? If we say that all
dharmas are empty, what are they empty of?
“Bhikkhus, the emptiness of all dharmas refers to the fact that all dharmas are empty of a permanent and unchanging self. That is the
meaning of the emptiness of all dharmas. You know that all dharmas are subject to change and dissolution. Because of that, they cannot be
said to possess a separate, independent self. Bhikkhus, empty means empty of self.
“Bhikkhus, there is no aggregate among the five aggregates that possesses a permanent, unchanging nature. All the aggregates of body,
feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness, are without a separate self. They do not possess a permanent and unchanging
nature. A permanent and unchanging nature would be an essential self. Contemplating in order to see the absence of such an independent,
separate self is contemplating emptiness.”
Ananda said, “All dharmas are without a self. This we understand. But then, Lord, do the dharmas actually exist?”
The Buddha quietly looked down at the small table before him on which was placed a bowl of water. He pointed to the bowl and asked