Subjective & Objective Emptiness

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vinodh
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Subjective & Objective Emptiness

Post by vinodh »

Hi All,

I have been pondering about this lately. Buddhist philosophy speaks of Shunyata.

Is the Shunyataa Objective or Subjective ?

Or is the notion of Objectivity and Subjectivity, itself another form of Dvaya (Dualism), the distinction made, being false themselves ?

or am I just blabbering :crazy: :thinking:

V
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yo dharmaṁ paśyati, sa buddhaṁ paśyati

One who sees the Dharma, sees the Buddha
śālistamba sūtra

na pudgalo na ca skandhā buddho jñānamanāsravam
sadāśāntiṁ vibhāvitvā gacchāmi śaraṇaṁ hyaham

Neither a person nor the aggregates, the Buddha, is knowledge free from [evil] outflows
Clearly perceiving [him] to be eternally serene, I go for refuge [in him]
saddharma-laṅkāvatāra-sūtra
alwayson
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Re: Subjective & Objective Emptiness

Post by alwayson »

To say an object is "empty" is synonymous with saying that thing is dependently originated.

Bundles of causes and conditions are designated by mere conceptual labels, which of course also applies to the causes and conditions themselves and even the principle of causality itself since everything is dependently originated (i.e. empty).
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Paul
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Re: Subjective & Objective Emptiness

Post by Paul »

Mahayana sutras regularly speak of the notions of subject, object and action being completely false.
Look at the unfathomable spinelessness of man: all the means he's been given to stay alert he uses, in the end, to ornament his sleep. – Rene Daumal
the modern mind has become so limited and single-visioned that it has lost touch with normal perception - John Michell
Asabandha
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Re: Subjective & Objective Emptiness

Post by Asabandha »

Sort of on topic: Am I understanding correctly that the meaning of mahamudra is that subjectivity and objectivity as well as ultimate truth and conventional truth all are seen to be one seamless extant reality? Sort of like the direct view of emptiness in action? Is it as simple as saying "pure, nonconceptual experience" -- or is this better characterized as rigpa from Dzogchen?
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ground
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Re: Subjective & Objective Emptiness

Post by ground »

vinodh wrote:Is the Shunyataa Objective or Subjective ?
Shunyataa is empty of "Shunyataa".
Objective is empty of "Objective".
Subjective is empty of "Subjective".

These concepts are mere thought but even mere thought is empty of "thought" but it is not empty of experience. However experience, too, is empty of "experience".

Kind regards
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Huifeng
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Re: Subjective & Objective Emptiness

Post by Huifeng »

vinodh wrote:Hi All,

I have been pondering about this lately. Buddhist philosophy speaks of Shunyata.

Is the Shunyataa Objective or Subjective ?

Or is the notion of Objectivity and Subjectivity, itself another form of Dvaya (Dualism), the distinction made, being false themselves ?

or am I just blabbering :crazy: :thinking:

V
The term sunyata or sunya has a number of uses, in different contexts.
It is not always referring to the same issue or meaning.

Depends what kind of sunyata.
Sometimes the term refers to objects, sometimes to subjects.
Sometimes it is a subjective epistemological state, sometimes an objective ontological state.

~~ Huifeng
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