Buddhism by Dalai Lama

Author:Dalai Lama
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wisdom Publications

Linda Lane

TIBETAN MONKS IN PHILOSOPHICAL DEBATE, INDIA

Initially we ascertain that if things existed inherently they would have to exist in one of the four ways. Then, with analysis, we examine and see the absurd consequences that follow if things arose in any of these ways and conclude they cannot arise in any of the four ways. We can then conclude that because things do not arise in any of the four ways, they are empty of inherent existence.

Language—including words such as “arising” and “ceasing”—is a means to understand things; it is approximation of reality. We cannot find the exact moment in which a sprout arises. The causal process of the seed producing a sprout makes sense only on this nominal level. It cannot be explained within a framework where things possess inherent nature.

When discussing the reasoning refuting the four extremes of arising, we often use the example of a sprout or another common object. However, when meditating, apply this reasoning to anger, dukkha, the path to liberation, and so forth, and contemplate how they arise.

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