What is the ethereal state of mind advocated by traditional Chinese culture?

What Buddhism calls "emptiness" is also a very important wisdom of life. It is not true that there is no such thing as an empty space, but it is not true that there is no such thing as an empty space. It is a wise interpretation of the existence of the "empty". The Heart Sutra is one of the shortest Buddhist classics, with only two hundred and sixty words, but with extremely deep connotations. One of the most quoted formulas is "color is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from color, color is emptiness, emptiness is color". "Color" represents material existence, and we cannot leave the phenomenon of existence to recognize emptiness; the present moment of existence is emptiness. Our understanding of "emptiness" should be combined with the theory of cause and effect.

Buddhism's explanation of life can be summarized in four words: "cause and effect". In other words, all existence and destruction in the world are determined by karma, so that "all dharmas are born and all dharmas are destroyed by karma". The "dharmas" represent everything that exists, and they are all determined by karma. Cause and effect are conditions, of which the cause is the primary condition and the effect is the secondary condition. Apart from the sum of these conditions, we cannot find any real and unchanging existence. Take for example the table in front of us. The term "table" is a pseudonym, a concept agreed upon for the sake of communication. In addition to this pseudonym, the table itself is just a bunch of material combinations, which are formed by the combination of many conditions such as planks of wood, nails, paint, labor, etc. Without these conditions, there is no such thing as a table. Without these conditions, there is no such thing as a table. As you can see, the table is nothing more than an illusion of cause and effect. Each of these conditions, in turn, consists of a multitude of conditions, such as wood being composed of various elements, and so on.

Buddhism refers to "emptiness" as "karmic emptiness". It denies the existence of a single, unchanging thing; everything is determined by conditions, not by oneself; the table has no self, and we have no self. By analogy, everything in the world is not a false appearance of cause and effect, which is what Buddhism calls "false existence". This is what Buddhism calls "false existence". By "false existence", it means that we should stay away from the two sides of existence and emptiness: although the table is not fixed and unchanging, it is still false. If we think that there is nothing at all, that is a categorical view; if we think that it is fixed and unchanging, then we fall into the common view. The Buddhist understanding of the world, on the other hand, is the understanding of the Middle Way, the true understanding that is far away from the two sides of categorical and permanent.

The Buddha told us a formula for recognizing the world in the Diamond Sutra: "What is said to be all dharmas is not all dharmas, and that is why it is called all dharmas." In the same way, what is called a table, that is, not a table, is called a table. The table is only the illusion of cause and effect, there is no fixed and unchanging substance, and it is up to us to establish the name of the table for it, that's all. Therefore, the existence of anything is both existence and emptiness. Empty of the many connotations that we assign to it: this table looks good or not, like it or not, valuable or not. These so-called judgments are all given to it by us, and in the eyes of different people, the value will be very different. Whether or not it looks good or is likeable has to do with people's likes and dislikes and emotions. We project our emotions onto the object and then cling to it. What Buddhism calls "emptiness" is what helps us to see through the truth of things and the illusion of karma.

From the perspective of Buddhist practice, "emptiness" is mainly about breaking the "I-ness". The most important characteristic of human beings is that they are always self-centered. According to Buddhism, all troubles and evils are rooted in the attachment to the self. If a person always thinks about personal gains and losses, he or she is bound to live a particularly miserable life. We can observe that if a person thinks of everyone else and rarely thinks of himself, he must be very happy and at peace.

The world is infinite, the universe is infinite. So, is man actually capable of recognizing the world and the universe? According to Buddhism, our mind is also infinite, and if we can develop the infinite dimension of our mind, we can naturally recognize the infinite. However, the strong "I-ness" of our mind turns it from infinite to finite, or even extremely finite. From the point of view of consciousness, everyone has a world of his own, and lives in this world of his own. Some people's world is very narrow and some people's world is very open. How big this world is depends on ourselves. Some people are devoted to someone, and that person is their world; some people are devoted to their family, and that family is their world; some people are devoted to their career, and that career is their world.

Buddhism's understanding of "emptiness" is to help us break the "I-ness" and bring the finite back to the infinite. Because of this, the human world is full of endless worries and sufferings. Once we break the "I-ness", life will return to its original natural state and we will become a free human being.

The Buddha told us that all sentient beings have Buddha nature and can become Buddhas. To become a Buddha is to develop the infinite wisdom, infinite light, and infinite merit that is present in life. Our mind was originally the same as the great emptiness, with the mind encompassing the great emptiness and the measure of the sand world. Now, however, it is confined to a very narrow realm constructed by my own attachment. To study and practice Buddhism is to shatter the castle built by "I-ness" and to develop the treasure of life. The whole practice of Buddhism is the process of breaking down the "I-attachment". Enlightenment, as it is called in Zen Buddhism, is the key to unlocking the treasure of life.