All of the teachings of the Buddha are to be put into action, into practice; otherwise, the dharma becomes a useless philosophy. When we become skillful in putting the view and meditation into action in our lives, the dharma becomes a living teaching. From the Mahayana perspective, the view refers to the intellectual knowledge or understanding of emptiness we gain from study. Meditation is the process by which we become accustomed to that view and gain a personal, experiential knowledge of its meaning. When view and meditation are joined, whatever we do naturally becomes ethical conduct, or mindful action.
When we pay attention to our conduct in this world, we see that each of us is responsible for our actions and that from these actions we produce different results. Through studying and contemplating these teachings, we begin to see directly how each of us has the power to create happiness and bring that to the world, as well as the power to create suffering and bring that to the world. In this way, the practice of dharma becomes personally useful and meaningful and results in great benefit to others as well.
WHY EMPTINESS REALLY MATTERS
The key point in progressing on our journey to enlightenment and developing our potential for compassionate activity is the realization of the view of emptiness. Without this ground it becomes almost impossible to free ourselves or others from samsaric suffering and its causes. We can try but, without the view and meditation on emptiness, our efforts will not lead us out of our state of confusion.
Many great masters have said that without the view of emptiness, even our meditation on the most profound levels of the path can become a tool for boosting our ego. We might miss the actual path because we get caught up and lost in our search for higher and higher views. If, for example, we train ourselves in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen paths, we might become enamored of the high-sounding terms that explain these views. However, without the right view of egolessness, there is the possibility of becoming jaded with these expressions at some point. We hear them again and again without gaining any genuine understanding or insight into their nature. Once we become jaded with the terms of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, then no matter how many times or in whatever environment we hear them again, they will not make much impact on our mind or our path.
Therefore it is necessary not only to develop the view of emptiness but also some level of confidence or certainty in that view. Having some genuine taste of egolessness is an extremely powerful experience because egolessness is the actual cause of true compassion. Without a sense of letting go of our ego, our self-clinging, we will not give rise to true compassion. Our compassion will always be conditional. Despite what it looks like on the surface, there will always be some provision attached to it—like an e-mail that looks quite simple and short but has an attachment that goes on for pages and pages.
SEEING EMPTINESS, THEN ACTING WITH COMPASSION
When we first try to practice compassion, our intention may seem profound and genuine, but when we really look inside, we might discover that our actions are influenced by a self-centered attitude. We may be harboring certain expectations from the situation or person whom we are trying to help. We think that we will get something in return for our gesture of compassion. Why? It is because we still hold the view of ego and therefore our actions are expressions of clinging—to our cherished self, opinions and values.
For this reason, many Mahayana masters teach emptiness before giving teachings on compassion, loving-kindness, or the paramita practices of generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation and transcendental knowledge. This order of teaching may seem strange to some because emptiness is so hard to understand. Students often ask: Why egolessness first? Why not compassion? There is so much need of real compassion, of genuine loving-kindness in the world. There is so much need of generosity and of all the virtuous actions that are the basis of an ethical and disciplined life.
The answer is that all of these wonderful and beneficial things cannot be genuinely put into practice if we do not understand the view of emptiness and also have some real experience of it. We may think that we could help more people if we trained in compassion first. We may also think that when we train in emptiness we are not actually helping anyone. In fact, we may think that training in emptiness is self-serving because we are focusing on our own mind and own experiences. However, if you really look at what is happening as a result of this training, it is quite the opposite.
When we try to practice compassion without the view of egolessness, or emptiness, we are often not really helping because we ourselves are so confused. Our own lack of clarity only produces further confusion. If we have an idea that we think will help someone, it is usually based on our own interpretation of what we think they require or want. We are not looking at their situation from their point of view. Instead of giving them what they truly need, we give what we think they need. There is a difference between the two. Furthermore, we have value judgments about how they should accept our help, and so we “help” them further by imposing conditions and guidelines.
The heart of compassion and loving-kindness that is free from ego clinging allows us to see the suffering of others from their own perspective. We can see beyond our own ideas and beliefs. We can see what they need from their point of view, and we can apply our own wisdom at the same time. With this more open and clear view, we can see more realistically what will meet their actual needs and be truly beneficial.
“Emptiness & Action” by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche is adapted from talks presented at Nalandabodhi Open Retreat, Santa Sabina California, 2002. Tyler Dewar assisted Rinpoche with translation. © 2006 The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. The first talk in this series was published in Bodhi 7-4 with the title, "No Ego."
When we pay attention to our conduct in this world, we see that each of us is responsible for our actions and that from these actions we produce different results. Through studying and contemplating these teachings, we begin to see directly how each of us has the power to create happiness and bring that to the world, as well as the power to create suffering and bring that to the world. In this way, the practice of dharma becomes personally useful and meaningful and results in great benefit to others as well.
WHY EMPTINESS REALLY MATTERS
The key point in progressing on our journey to enlightenment and developing our potential for compassionate activity is the realization of the view of emptiness. Without this ground it becomes almost impossible to free ourselves or others from samsaric suffering and its causes. We can try but, without the view and meditation on emptiness, our efforts will not lead us out of our state of confusion.
Many great masters have said that without the view of emptiness, even our meditation on the most profound levels of the path can become a tool for boosting our ego. We might miss the actual path because we get caught up and lost in our search for higher and higher views. If, for example, we train ourselves in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen paths, we might become enamored of the high-sounding terms that explain these views. However, without the right view of egolessness, there is the possibility of becoming jaded with these expressions at some point. We hear them again and again without gaining any genuine understanding or insight into their nature. Once we become jaded with the terms of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, then no matter how many times or in whatever environment we hear them again, they will not make much impact on our mind or our path.
Therefore it is necessary not only to develop the view of emptiness but also some level of confidence or certainty in that view. Having some genuine taste of egolessness is an extremely powerful experience because egolessness is the actual cause of true compassion. Without a sense of letting go of our ego, our self-clinging, we will not give rise to true compassion. Our compassion will always be conditional. Despite what it looks like on the surface, there will always be some provision attached to it—like an e-mail that looks quite simple and short but has an attachment that goes on for pages and pages.
SEEING EMPTINESS, THEN ACTING WITH COMPASSION
When we first try to practice compassion, our intention may seem profound and genuine, but when we really look inside, we might discover that our actions are influenced by a self-centered attitude. We may be harboring certain expectations from the situation or person whom we are trying to help. We think that we will get something in return for our gesture of compassion. Why? It is because we still hold the view of ego and therefore our actions are expressions of clinging—to our cherished self, opinions and values.
For this reason, many Mahayana masters teach emptiness before giving teachings on compassion, loving-kindness, or the paramita practices of generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation and transcendental knowledge. This order of teaching may seem strange to some because emptiness is so hard to understand. Students often ask: Why egolessness first? Why not compassion? There is so much need of real compassion, of genuine loving-kindness in the world. There is so much need of generosity and of all the virtuous actions that are the basis of an ethical and disciplined life.
The answer is that all of these wonderful and beneficial things cannot be genuinely put into practice if we do not understand the view of emptiness and also have some real experience of it. We may think that we could help more people if we trained in compassion first. We may also think that when we train in emptiness we are not actually helping anyone. In fact, we may think that training in emptiness is self-serving because we are focusing on our own mind and own experiences. However, if you really look at what is happening as a result of this training, it is quite the opposite.
When we try to practice compassion without the view of egolessness, or emptiness, we are often not really helping because we ourselves are so confused. Our own lack of clarity only produces further confusion. If we have an idea that we think will help someone, it is usually based on our own interpretation of what we think they require or want. We are not looking at their situation from their point of view. Instead of giving them what they truly need, we give what we think they need. There is a difference between the two. Furthermore, we have value judgments about how they should accept our help, and so we “help” them further by imposing conditions and guidelines.
The heart of compassion and loving-kindness that is free from ego clinging allows us to see the suffering of others from their own perspective. We can see beyond our own ideas and beliefs. We can see what they need from their point of view, and we can apply our own wisdom at the same time. With this more open and clear view, we can see more realistically what will meet their actual needs and be truly beneficial.
“Emptiness & Action” by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche is adapted from talks presented at Nalandabodhi Open Retreat, Santa Sabina California, 2002. Tyler Dewar assisted Rinpoche with translation. © 2006 The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. The first talk in this series was published in Bodhi 7-4 with the title, "No Ego."
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche is a leading Buddhist teacher in North America and an advocate of American and Western Buddhism. A lover of music, art and urban culture, Rinpoche is a poet, an avid photographer, an accomplished calligrapher and visual artist. He is the founder and president of Nalandabodhi, an international network of Buddhist study and meditation centers, and of Nitartha International, a non-profit educational corporation dedicated to preserving the contemplative literature of East Asia.
See http://dpr.info and www.nalandabodhi.org for more information
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