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When your mind thinks, This is a hallucination, the thought comes
that in reality the I is empty.
It s the same with any external object that you see. When you see
a table, it appears to be something completely real from its own side,
but this is a hallucination, the object to be refuted. In reality it is not
there. When you look at a flower, think, This real flower appearing
from its own side is a projection, a hallucination. In reality, there s
no such thing there.
If you practice mindfulness of how everything that appears to exist
from its own side is a hallucination, you re always practicing aware-
ness of emptiness. It naturally becomes awareness of emptiness. The
4 . . . . . .
how things exist
more objects you look at, the more you re aware of emptiness; the
more names you think of, the more you re aware of emptiness; the
more objects you see or have, the more meditation on emptiness
you do. Meditating like this becomes very powerful, very effective
meditation on emptiness.
You can now see how big a difference there is between your life
and reality. It s like the difference between earth and sky. How you
live your life, how you create things and believe in them, is com-
pletely contrary to reality, which is emptiness.
Dedication
Think, Due to all the empty merits of the three times past, pres-
ent and future accumulated by me and by all other beings, may
the empty I achieve the empty enlightenment and lead the empty
sentient beings to that empty enlightenment.
Dedicate the merits with awareness of what I have just described
about the hallucination. This way of dedicating is pure, in the sense
of being unstained by the concept of true existence. This merit can t
later be destroyed by anger or wrong views.
It s very important to know how to dedicate merit. Otherwise,
even though you put so much effort into the motivation and the
actual action of accumulating merit, if the dedication is not done cor-
rectly, your merit can be destroyed by anger or wrong views.
Great Enlightenment Temple, New York
8 September 1990
. . . . . .
4
Different Ways of Looking at Things
Do not commit any non-virtuous actions,
Perform only perfect virtuous actions,
Subdue your mind thoroughly
This is the teaching of the Buddha.
Meditation on impermanence and emptiness
ook at self, action, object, friend, enemy, stranger, body and
Lpossessions all these things are transitory in nature, chang-
ing within every second by causes and conditions. They are not
definite, in the sense that you can always have them, that they will
always last. Therefore, there s no basis to give rise to anger, the dis-
satisfied mind of desire, the concept of permanence and other wrong
concepts.
Everything what is called I, action and object, the names
that we say and hear is labeled. When we talk, we talk by labeling
on a base. From morning to night, everything we think, talk or hear
about is labeled. We think things that we have labeled. We talk about
things that we have labeled. We hear things that we have labeled.
6 . . . . . .
how things exist
Everything, every word, shows that it is empty of existing from
its own side. Everything, every word, shows that it is a dependent
arising, merely imputed by the mind in dependence upon its base.
Everything is like this. The way each of these things exists is by being
merely imputed by the mind in dependence upon its base.
Since every single thing that we think, say or hear is a dependent
arising, everything is empty of existing from its own side. I, action,
object, sense objects, samsara and nirvana, true suffering and true
cause of suffering, true cessation of suffering and true path every-
thing is empty of existing from its own side.
Be aware that all these things I, action, object, all the five sense
objects, samsara, nirvana, true suffering, true cause of suffering,
true cessation, true path are empty. One-pointedly concentrate
on them, looking at their nature, which is empty. This is the way
to meditate on The Essence of Wisdom,17 the essence of the entire Bud-
dhadharma and especially of all the teachings of the Prajnaparamita,
the Wisdom Gone Beyond.
The way things exist is by being merely imputed by the mind. That s
all. True existence is decorated, or projected, onto the merely labeled
I, merely labeled actions, merely labeled objects, merely labeled true
suffering and true cause of suffering, merely labeled true cessation
of suffering and true path. It is because true existence is projected
onto all these things that they appear concrete or real, in the sense
of having existence from their own side. Starting with the real I, all
these things that appear to have existence from their own side, to be
17
The Heart Sutra; see the appendix of this book.
. . . . . . 7
different ways of looking at things
unlabeled, independent, are hallucinations. The true existence of all
these things is projected by our own mind, by our ignorance, and
these truly existent things are all hallucinations.
Believing that the way these things appear is true blocks our seeing
their reality, emptiness only (Skt: shunyata; Tib: tong-pa-nyid).18
Concentrate on this for a little while, starting with the real I that
is appearing from its own side. Focus your mind on your percep-
tion of things as real, as having existence from their own side. Then
think, All these appearances are projected by ignorance, by the
concept of true existence. They are all hallucinations. Apply the
word hallucination to these things, then meditate on the meaning
of hallucination in relation to what you perceive, to what appears to
you. Recognize what the hallucination is and think of the meaning
of hallucination. Concentrate intensely on this.
Looking at the hallucination
We can also look at things with our eyes open and meditate on the
meaning of hallucination. In reality, every form is merely imputed
but it doesn t appear to us in that way; it appears to have existence
from its own side, to be an independent, real form. With your eyes
open, look at a form and think, This is a projection of my ignorance.
This is a hallucination. While looking at things with your eyes open,
meditate on the meaning of hallucination.
18
The only, not usually used in the English expression, emphasizes that it is the
lack of true existence that is being referred to rather than ordinary emptiness, as
in empty space.
. . . . . .
how things exist
Recognize the object to be refuted. Look at what is appearing to
you. Looking at an object means looking at your perception of it, at
what appears to your mind. There s no object that exists other than
that which appears to your mind. It is the view of your own mind.
Looking at an object means looking at your own view of it, which is
the production of your present level, or quality, of mind. How purely
or impurely you see an object has completely to do with the quality
of your mind, whether it is pure or impure. And this applies to how
you see everything: people, buildings, holy objects and so forth.
Looking at an object means looking at a creation of your own mind.
A form is something that has color and shape and can be seen by the
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