The Emptiness of Emptiness

As for "the emptiness of emptiness," it refers to employing emptiness to demolish emptiness of the subject, emptiness of the object, and emptiness of both the subject and the object. It is on account of its demolishing of these three kinds of emptiness that it is referred to as the emptiness of emptiness.

Another way of stating this is that, having first employed the emptiness of dharmas to demolish [all] subject- related and object-related dharmas, one then employs this emptiness to demolish these three [resultant] varieties of emptiness. This is what is meant by the emptiness of emptiness.

Then again, [one may also say that] in the emptiness samadhi one contemplates the five aggregates as being empty and thereby achieves the realization of the eightfold path of the arya, the cutting off all afflictions and the gaining of the nirvana.na with residue. When that bodily life produced from the karmic causes and conditions of previous lives draws to an end, because one then desires to set aside [even] the eightfold path one then brings forth the samadhi of the emptiness of emptiness. This is what is meant by the emptiness of emptiness.

Question: What are the differences between emptiness and the emptiness of emptiness?

Reply: Emptiness demolishes the five appropriated aggregates. The emptiness of emptiness demolishes emptiness.

Question: If "emptiness" [here] refers to the emptiness of dharmas, they have already been demolished. If it is not the case that "emptiness" refers to the emptiness of dharmas, what is it that it demolishes?

Reply: Emptiness demolishes all dharmas so that the only thing which abides is emptiness. After emptiness has already demolished all dharmas, emptiness itself should also be set aside. It is on account of this that we require this "emptiness of emptiness."

Then again, whereas emptiness conditions all dharmas, the emptiness of emptiness conditions only emptiness.

"Champion" & "Dispensing With Medicine" Analogies:

This is analogous to a stalwart young fellow being able to drive off all outlaws, and to there being yet another man who is able to come along and defeat even this stalwart young fellow. The emptiness of emptiness is just like this.

This is also analogous to taking medicine. Medicine is able to overcome disease, but once the disease has been overcome, one ought to dispense with the medicine. If the medicine is not dispensed with, then yet another pathology manifests thereby. Although emptiness is able to
cure the disease of the afflictions, still, because it is to be feared that emptiness itself may develop into yet another disorder, one employs emptiness to dispense with emptiness. This is what is meant by the emptiness of emptiness.

Finally, it is because emptiness is employed to demolish the seventeen [other] kinds of emptiness that this is referred to as the emptiness of emptiness.

End Notes:

This is the fourth of the "Eighteen Emptinesses" the discussion of which
comprises the whole of fascicle 31.

Nagarjuna refers here to the first three emptinesses which he just finished discussing at length in the initial section of "Eighteen Emptiness." As you missed the discussion, it is only fair to point out that these three emptinesses refer basically to the emptiness of the "self," the emptiness of all that belongs to the objective sphere (including, obviously, "others"), and the emptiness of everything which relates to both.

Copyright © 2000. Bhikshu Dharmamitra. All rights reserved.