Some may question: On what grounds does Buddhism claim that realizing emptiness (śūnyatā) brings only happiness and no suffering? What if there is absolutely nothing left after realizing emptiness? This is a perfectly understandable doubt. However, when the perceiving subject and perceived object, the body and mind, are all recognized as the play of dharmatā , there truly is no suffering! There is not even the kind of fleeting, impermanent pleasure we currently experience, but rather an eternal happiness known as “supreme bliss”, or the “bliss” described in the Four Virtues of Nirvana—Permanence, Bliss, Self, and Purity (nitya-sukha-ātman-śubha)—taught in the Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.
Therefore, we must personally verify that all of these phenomena can only bring us happiness.
We need to prove that all these appearances arise from our mind, and the mind itself is inherently blissful. We often say, “Appearance is dharmatā,” and dharmatā is bliss—an absolute bliss (non-dual) that never diminishes or fades. This is precisely the purpose of our seeking to realize emptiness.
Precisely because this happiness never deteriorates and is by no means impermanent, it is called “liberation” (mukti).
Liberation must entail the departure from suffering and the attainment of lasting happiness; if even a trace of suffering remains, it cannot be called the "attainment of happiness and freedom from suffering." Once we verify that all objects and all phenomena, both internal and external, are entirely dharmatā, they then serve only one purpose—to bring us peace and happiness. That is nirvāṇa!
As for nirvāṇa, it does not refer to entering a meditative absorption of cessation (nirodha-samāpatti) where all appearances vanish. We often say, "Upon entering the meditative concentration on dharmatā, all dualistic mundane appearances will disappear." Consequently, some may misunderstand this to mean that in the state of meditative concentration on dharmatā, one has realized something distinct from appearances. In fact, this is not the case; the meditative concentration on dharmatā is merely a method of using "concentration" (samādhi) to discern the essence of appearances. An awakened one knows that the essence of appearances they have realized is actually identical to the appearances themselves—form is emptiness (rūpaṃ śūnyatām)! One absolutely does not realize something that is different from appearances.
Therefore, we must realize that all external objects are actually appearances of the mind, and their essence is identical to that of the mind. They are all manifestations of luminosity (prabhāsvara), according with the qualities of the luminous nature—permanence, bliss, self, and purity (nitya-sukha-ātman-śubha). Thus, the external world only brings us happiness! (Actually, there is an issue with this phrasing, as it seems to establish a relationship between a "self" and the "external world," but we are limited by language and can only express it this way.)
At that moment, I am the external objects, and the external objects are me. Of course, the "I" here is not the personal self, but rather refers to dharmatā.
The "self" clung to by ordinary beings does not exist. For example, if I feel that people are looking at me, is it truly an "I" that feels this? In reality, there is no truly existent "self" at all; it is my mind that gives rise to these dependent-arising phenomena. It is the mind that manifests the appearance of many eyes looking at this body. In fact, nowhere within this composite of the five aggregates (skandha) can a "self" be found; "self" is a misrecognition by the mind. If this "self" truly existed, the statement "these external objects can only bring me happiness" would be incorrect. However, in reality, no such self is ever established.
When our mind awakens that all of this—including our body—is actually the play of dharmatā, the happiness and suffering produced by the "self" will vanish, leaving only "supreme bliss" and the "a single nature " (piṇḍa-graha). This is the significance of our realizing emptiness (liberation).
Liberation is the elimination of "grasping at the self of persons" (pudgala-ātman) and "grasping at the self of phenomena" (dharma-ātman), and this is accomplished through the realization of emptiness. Once these two types of self-grasping dissolve, the mind naturally abides in pure bliss.
The direct experience that the very essence of all phenomena, including the five aggregates—namely, this very body and the sensations and perceptions that arise in dependence upon it—is inherently empty can only be attained through the realization of emptiness itself. When our mind directly realizes that both the body and all external phenomena are entirely empty in nature, we attain liberation (mokṣa), and thereby obtain ultimate bliss .
Once the empty nature of all phenomena has been realized, no phenomenon can any longer cause our mind to swing between suffering and happiness — this uncontrollable, involuntary fluctuation is what is called saṃsāra. At that time, no matter how external conditions change or how appearances arise, the mind abides in everlasting bliss. Remember: it is everlasting bliss — not substantially existent bliss.
—Excerpted and adapted from An Overview of Madhyamaka
This article is a preliminary translation draft and has not yet been reviewed or proofread by the speaker.
