Attachments

By Victor M Fontane

From the perspective of the teachings elucidated by the World Honored One (Sakyamuni Buddha), whether considering the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, or various Buddhist principles, all ultimately guide sentient beings towards liberation from suffering and the attainment of nirvana. However, it is essential to recognize that all these teachings must be approached without attachment. As the sutra states, "If one should relinquish the Dharma, how much more so should one relinquish what is non-Dharma?" This serves as a reminder that even the Dharma should not be clung to as an "absolute truth"; it is merely a means of transport for sentient beings.

All conditioned phenomena are comparable to dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. The reason sentient beings cycle through the six realms is fundamentally due to the three poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance remaining untranscended, thus generating countless karmic causes that perpetuate the cycle of birth, existence, decay, and emptiness. Throughout this beginningless cycle of rebirth, the suffering, arising, cessation, and path of each era manifest differently. Each sentient being's perceptions and shared karmic conditions are diverse, leading to a multitude of variations in the world.

However, if one can comprehend that "all things lack inherent existence, all arise dependent on conditions, and their essence is emptiness," then it becomes possible to rest in the myriad conditioned and unconditioned phenomena without attachment to forms. This understanding clarifies that what is termed "Dharma" and "non-Dharma" are both established relative to conventional designations. Liberation transcends existence and non-existence; it is neither existence nor non-existence, but the Middle Way, which transcends all discriminative distinctions, revealing the true realm.

The wondrous emptiness manifests myriad phenomena that can be articulated or left unarticulated, illustrating the notion that a single flower nurtures a thousand worlds. Such wondrous emptiness surpasses all discursive expressions. Birth and cessation are, in essence, nirvana.

Benevolent Day: 

When spring arrives, flowers bloom on their own; as autumn comes, leaves scatter and fall. 

In the expanse of clouds rolling in and out, the wind passes through the bamboo grove, producing sound. 

The moon illuminates the cold pond, clear amidst the myriad manifestations, 

Revealing the original, true nature.