Anavakāra śūnyatā
anavakāra śūnyatā (T. dor ba med pa stong pa nyid དོར་བ་མེད་པ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་ [alt. དོར་བ་མེད་པའི་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་]; C. wusan kong 無散空).[1] Translated as "emptiness of what should not be abandoned", "emptiness of what cannot be repudiated", etc.[1][2] One of the sixteen types of emptiness.[2]
“That which is not to be abandoned” is variously described as:
The Madhyamakāvatāra states:
To abandon something means
To throw it away or to get rid of it.
What should not be abandoned is
What one should never cast away from oneself—the Mahayana. (196)
What should not be abandoned
Is empty of its very self.
Since this emptiness is its nature,
It is called the “emptiness of what should not be abandoned.” (197)[3]
The Garland of Radiant Light states:
Those fundamental virtues that are not extinguished, even in the basic field where nothing remains of the aggregates, are referred to as "that which is not eliminated." Their essential emptiness is called "the emptiness of that which is not eliminated." One meditates on the emptiness of the un-eliminated to attain fundamental virtues that are not extinguished, even when there is no remainder of the aggregates. Through the power of this meditation, the stains of apprehended and apprehender are purified and the body of qualities is attained. Thus, the fundamental virtues remain uninterrupted for as long as space endures.[4]
Thrangu Rinpoche states:
The previous emptiness of no beginning and no end and the present emptiness of not abandoning are intended to help sentient beings clear away obstacles. If we were afraid of samsara, we would want to escape it. By realizing its emptiness (that is to say, the emptiness which has no beginning and no end), we cease to fear samsara. The other obstacle to helping sentient beings is becoming attached to nirvana, when we value nirvana as supreme, excellent, and sacred. So, this emptiness refers to recognizing the emptiness of nirvana. Nirvana is that which has abandoned samsara. That meaning of nirvana is pointed out when speaking of "an abandoning," which is one name for nirvana, and when speaking of "not discarding," which means not being attached to and dwelling solely in nirvana, and when speaking of "the emptiness of a non-discarding." Thus, one is pointing out the lack of any inherent existence, nirvana.[6]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Lists of Lists, "sixteen emptinesses".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1
dor ba med pa stong pa nyid , Christian-Steinert Dictionary
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso 2003, Appendix 3.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2007, "The Characteristics of Emptiness".
- ↑ Lecture notes on the Madhyāntavibhāga, 2019-2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Thrangu Rinpoche 2000, Chapter 1.
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University
Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2007), Middle Beyond Extremes: Maitreya's Madhyantavibhaga with Commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, Snow Lion Publications- Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso (2003), The Sun of Wisdom, translated by Ari Goldfield, Shambhala
- Thrangu Rinpoche (2000), Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes. The root text by Maitreya and a Commentary by The Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Namo Buddha Publications