Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

phrases found in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra:
"Not born from a self,
Not born from another.
Not born from both,
Not born without a cause."
When the practitioner has attained a good posture and
achieved some firm attainment in samatha, he should
then think of these four phrases. The last one is very
important, but one should only practice it after having
inquired into the first three. From inquiry into them, one
will not get any answer (though wrong views will be
successively cut down), but at the fourth stage one will
realize sunyata, which is not only negative but will be
manifested from the gathering of many conditions.
b. Second meditation: Meditation on the eight negatives.
These are:
No production (utpada), no extinction (nirodha);
No annihilation (uccheda), no permanence (nitya);
No unity (ekartha), no diversity (anartha); and
No coming (agama), no departure (niragama).
Here we should distinguish what is the purpose of these
opposite arguments. In the first two, we find the nature
of nirvana clearly defined. Is this not enough? Why
should we proceed to the other pairs?
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