John Tan commented: Very good 👍
HL's expressions can integrate dependent arising, emptiness and empty clarity into a single taste. However the 开示录2, second and third line can be refined imo.
故舉⼀海,即印百川 this part is good.
百川會歸⼤海者,華嚴三昧也 this part should be refined.
舉⼀海,印百川。
舉⼀川,印大海。
超脱离歸,華嚴三昧也
When we talk about dependent arising, we must not fall into entrance and exit, coming and going.
And 舉 here means entire body-mind exertion.
Note: see ChatGPT translation at the bottom
Compilation of recent writings by Venerable Hui Lu:
The excerpts from Master Hui Lu's teachings on July 1, 2023, are profound and encompass various aspects of Buddhist philosophy. Here is a translation:
The Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Garland Sutra) has two key points: First, uphold the principle of dependent origination and causality. Second, sustain the fundamental Dharmadhatu of One Mind Suchness true nature of the mind.
Dependent origination is understood from the perspective of cause, condition, and effect, whereas emptiness is viewed from the ultimate truth of the vast emptiness of the true nature of mind, encompassing the emptiness of people, phenomena, and emptiness itself.
In the realm of dependent origination, one must not violate the law of causality, act against one's conscience, or contravene the principles of cause and effect.
From the perspective of emptiness, actions must not contravene the ultimate truth. The Buddha nature and true mind should not be betrayed. Not cutting off subject and object is to violate One True [Suchness], violating your true nature.
Dependent origination is essentially emptiness, and emptiness is indeed dependent origination. The Avatamsaka Sutra expands this to the realm of Dharma (law or principle), where the establishment of cause, condition, and effect is inherently without self-nature, reflecting the expansion of the true mind into the entire realm of Dharma without self-nature.
Therefore, maintaining both perspectives is essentially maintaining unity, not duality. Upholding the law of causality involves acting and speaking without deceiving one's conscience and wisdom. Others may not know your deceit, but you are deceiving your true nature, which you are well aware of.
All language and text are meant to enlighten us to see through the illusions and understand the importance of letting go. Applying the wisdom of Buddhism in the context of dependent origination, where dependent origination is the ultimate truth and vice versa, gives real meaning to our lives.
It is crucial to understand that all phenomena aim to eliminate the obstacles of afflictions and ignorance (Soh: afflictive and knowledge obscurations, see https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Two_obscurations). Reducing these obstacles leads to successful Buddhist practice. Merely listening without genuine practice is no different from not understanding at all.
Attachment turns life into a burden, devoid of meaning. Being constantly attached to gains and losses, suffering, and anger devoid of rationality is inferior to returning to a state of rational, emotional balance, and the unmovable state of the Buddha. Maintaining an unmovable state without attachment to appearances is the highest state.
Life requires guidance. One should use the true nature of the Dharma realm to guide one's body, speech, and mind, returning to the ultimate truth and the true mind. This gradual process leads to supreme enlightenment.
The essence of practice involves two key points: First, knowing when to apply the brakes when experiencing greed or anger. Failure to do so turns these seeds into endless cycles of ignorance and unreason. Second, transforming existence into non-existence. Understanding that dependent origination is essentially emptiness, and that current disputes, greed, and anger have no self-nature, is crucial. Beings, not understanding this, believe in the existence of things that can only lead to the carrying of karma.
Offering is an act of joy. The purpose of giving is self-transcendence, not for gaining something in return, which is a worldly view. The focus of giving is to relinquish false attachments, inner clinging, and the ignorance of countless eons. It is not about expecting others to treat you well in return, which would reduce it to a transactional relationship. The Dharma place represents absolute truth, not a transactional relationship.
What is Buddhism? It is a revolution of the mind, a sublimation of one's intrinsic nature, leading to inner peace and wisdom. When the mind is free from delusions, wisdom manifests.
If the mind is pure, the land will be pure. The ultimate Pure Land of Constant Peace and Light can only manifest when the mind is free from dust-like defilements. When the body, speech, and mind are pure, the Pure Land manifests. Freeing oneself from all delusions and attachments reveals the true Pure Land.
The four dignities of a practitioner are: Walking, which includes actions for self-benefit and benefiting others. Listening to the teachings benefits oneself, while propagating the teachings benefits others. Dwelling is to realize the non-arising of all phenomena, allowing the mind to rest in peace. Sitting is equivalent to unmovability and understanding emptiness. Lying down represents entering into the tranquility of cessation.
In the context of practicing the Dharma, one cannot fake progress. If one has virtuous roots from past lives, progress in learning the Buddha's way is faster. Without these roots, progress is slower. To follow the path of propagating the Dharma, one must place their mind in the realm of Dharma, which neither comes nor goes and has no beginning or end. The initial aspiration for enlightenment is equal to the infinite realm of Dharma. This aspiration never departs from enlightenment. To propagate the Dharma, one must have a selfless attitude, willing to sacrifice without expecting anything in return, including fame or material benefits.
Understanding the emptiness of all phenomena right now, as they inherently lack self-nature and are inherently empty and tranquil, is crucial. This 'one taste' or uniformity emphasizes the cessation and unification of the Buddha's mind, which understands all phenomena as dependent and therefore empty. The Buddha's realization that all phenomena lack inherent nature applies to all times and spaces.
Why are followers of the two vehicles limited? It's because they have not fully realized the dependent origination of all beings in the Dharma realm. The Mahayana is unified but not fully complete; only the Buddha is complete. We regard seeing phenomena as real as the lesser vehicle, understanding phenomena as dependent origination as the middle vehicle, and realizing the inherent emptiness and tranquility of phenomena as the greater vehicle. Though Dharma is one, beings have different capacities, leading to the three vehicles. However, these capacities do not change the oneness of the Dharma.
All suffering, the creation of karma, the endless cycle of reincarnation, and obstacles in practice stem from the inability to stop the discriminating mind. The key to Buddhist practice is to let go and detach from all appearances, maintaining a non-attached mind at all times.
Ultimate enlightenment, in essence, requires living amidst the complexities of dependent origination. Complexity signifies the true path of enlightenment. The worst situations are where Bodhisattvas thrive, as they have no enemies.
Emphasizing only the emptiness of all phenomena destroys the principle of dependent origination, while focusing solely on their existence negates their emptiness. Thus, avoiding both extremes and not dwelling in the middle way is the key to entering the true middle way, which is beyond concepts of emptiness, existence, and even the middle way itself. Understanding the emptiness of all phenomena reveals our true mind, which is beyond characteristics and concepts.
Conflicts among beings are inevitable. Learning to harmonize from these conflicts, as the Dharma realm inherently involves contradictions, is the essence of the Buddha's teachings. The Avatamsaka Sutra's concept of absolute equality emphasizes understanding the world as dependent origination. Life in this world, despite its contradictions, provides opportunities for spiritual growth. Those who face only agreement cannot attain Buddhahood, as adversity is necessary for spiritual development. Those constantly opposed without support may find their spirit withering away.
The most powerful language in the world is attitude. A sincere and kind attitude is the best form of communication, surpassing the need for words. The best gifts are those that do not require physical presents but the sincerity and gentleness of one's attitude, avoiding harm to others.
The ultimate truth of the world is that all phenomena lack inherent characteristics. This understanding is key to recognizing the true nature of reality.
Life is a concept, and correct concepts lead to genuine happiness. Establishing correct concepts, knowledge, common sense, and insights of the Buddha is essential for lasting happiness. Connecting dependent origination with emptiness brings eternal wisdom and happiness.
Emptiness does not hinder dependent origination. While phenomena and their objects of perception are unattainable, one should not destroy the relationship between subject and object. Realizing that subject and object has no [inherent] nature is the true mind of the Buddha. Buddhism is not about destruction but about following dependent origination. Without understanding this, relationships and marriages are doomed to fail. Remember, liberation comes from following causality, not from resentment and destruction when things go wrong.
Emptiness encompasses the countless virtues of the Dharma realm. Practicing these virtues, rather than mere theoretical discussion, is essential. Being present in this moment, hearing the wisdom of the Avatamsaka Sutra, is like planting an indestructible seed that will not perish over countless eons. Worldly possessions are transient, but the teachings of the Dharma are the greatest form of offering. Sometimes, a single word can save not just one life but an entire family.
If expedient means do not lead to truth, they are meaningless. All phenomena, if not understood in the context of emptiness, are pointless. Cooking rice or attending religious ceremonies without understanding emptiness are mere activities. Emptiness is the seed of great wisdom. Understanding and practicing the Dharma leads to the realization of ultimate truth and wisdom.
Excerpt 14: "Seeing the form of dust and attaching, that is heretical view, Attaching to form is heretical view. Seeing the emptiness of dust, that is right view. Right view does not establish a 'right' at all, Dwelling in the form of dust is heresy. Seeing the nature of dust's form as emptiness, that is right. Seeing the emptiness of dust's form, is the only true mind. Therefore, right and wrong are about attaching and not dwelling, Right view is no view, There is no seer, nothing seen, Here are four emphases: No seer, nothing seen, Not falling into having view, not falling into not having view, This is called right view."
Excerpt 15: "Do not mistakenly think there is Dharma outside the mind, If there is Dharma outside the mind, there are attachments, there are emotions of love and hate, Our current living life, from your birth to today, Write your splendid life with the memory of your mind, Memory becomes your life. Your previous attachments, now not seen through, are also memories. Memory is imagery, imagery becomes a page in the history of your heart. Thus, we take the shadows in our heart, the words and shadows, And make them the reliance of our lifetime. Just relying on the wrong, thus we manifest love and hate because of external Dharma. In fact, there is no Dharma outside the mind, love and hate are unattainable, without any meaning. But the problem comes, this conditioned genesis is hard to pass, Without this conditioned genesis, you wouldn't be able to sit here today, So you have today's conditioned genesis, then you have hope for tomorrow! Therefore, the reason why cultivation is difficult, is difficult in this place. You want to remove karmic retribution, remember, There is no Dharma outside the mind, do not attach, live your days plainly. How can you remove your karmic retribution? From today onwards, put down the heart of attachment, karmic retribution will be removed. Simply put, originally there was not one thing, where can dust alight?"
Excerpt 16: "What is called the hardest to put down, is to put down greed, anger, and ignorance, to put down love and hate, It's not telling you to put down the great wisdom of the Tathagata, It's not telling you to put down the knowledge of virtuous mentors, It's not this meaning. Discard evil, retain the holy good."
Excerpt 17: "People are very scary, for that bit of dying for face, Dying for false dignity, rather not wanting the Buddha's right view truth. Why do sentient beings persist in error? It's because the face can't come down, this is the biggest problem. Therefore, those who die for face are the enders of truth, He can cover the truth, bury it in the coffin, But, he just wants face, just dies in showing off, For the sake of obtaining false applause and glory, And doesn't know the magnitude of the causality he bears, Severing the Dharmakaya wisdom life of sentient beings, you can't bear it. I advise all Dharma masters, lay practitioners, to speak Dharma, go! You should according to the Tathagata's right view. According to the Ancestors' knowledge."
Excerpt 18: "All Dharma is one true Dharma realm, Nothing is complicated. Turn the complicated into one true mind, That is called learning Buddhism. Turn one true mind into very complicated, Constant disputes, that is called a mundane person."
Excerpt 19: "If you have not yet broken through like the Buddha, the able and the so, Your view of things is very important. Your view is negative, then you are in unbearable pain. Your view is healthy, then your mind is happy. Everything negative thinking, your heart has a shadow. Hear the sutras, hear the Dharma, have a healthy mind, Will not attach to shadows, Will know the value of adverse increasing conditions, also understand humility, Understand others' praise does not represent your achievement, Wow! That's incredible, So you have not yet reached the Buddha's realm, first have a healthy view."
Excerpt 20: "The true mind is called the head, Knowledge is called adding a head on top of the head. Arising having view, arising not having view, Both are adding a head on top of the head, both are mind impurities, Then cannot see the Tathagata's true mind. Thus the Tathagata's right view is pure, What does pure mean? It is without one thing. As long as adding a head on top of the head, the view is impurity. You have various views, that is mind impurity. Fall into having view, mind impurity; Fall into not having view, mind impurity; Fall into both having and not having view, mind impurity; Fall into neither having nor not having view, mind impurity; Fall into mundane view, mind impurity; Fall into holy view, mind impurity. Sentient beings due to grasping form's delusion view, Do not know all Dharma has no able and so, Clinging to dust as having real substance to see, That is delusion view. Ladies and gentlemen, the things you see out there, Not one thing is yours. The things you see out there, Not one thing is real. Remember, pass your days according to conditions, Do not forget your own time and space, The role you play, The responsibility you should bear, You must be responsible to the end, You cannot say all forms are false, Then become a kind of mistaken negative. No! Buddhism is conditioned genesis's positive, He is the master of rationality, Not the slave of sensibility. Master, how can you be proactive? Why speak Dharma for everyone? Because this is the entirety of truth in my life! I live for the sake of Dharma masters, glory; I live for the sake of lay practitioners, glory; I live for the sake of the Dharmakaya wisdom life of boundless sentient beings, glory. This does not need others to teach, right? We also do not need to have a transactional relationship, right? The joy and peace of mind, Are the best gifts of our Tathagata self-nature. Give yourself the best gift, which is joy. Give yourself the best gift, which is peace."
Excerpt 21: "Learning Buddhism, in one sentence: Transforming existence into non-existence, then achieve Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi. Study the Tripitaka and twelve divisions of scriptures, Cannot depart from this key sentence, Transform the existence into non-existence, Transform disputes into coolness, Do not argue with fate."
"Yes. Conventionally, there are external objects and self, ultimately they are empty and there is no contradiction. Spontaneous presence and dependent arising, they are neither same nor different too. When mind conceptualizes and separates, parts and whole originate dependently and empty, that is precisely because the natural state is free and spontaneous."
- John Tan
[17/6/23, 11:34:30 AM] John Tan: The explanation about the taste of no mirror reflecting and illusory reflection as empty clarity = 一枚宝镜 is good.👍 (Soh: referring to audio recording I sent which contains excerpts from https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2017/01/excerpts-from-jewel-mirror-samadhi.html )
However,
1. insubstantial non-dual must be understood from
2. DO emptiness before freeing both mind and phenomena
3. into freedom from all elaborations.
4. As natural state of the basis.
[17/6/23, 11:36:41 AM] John Tan: When some one hit a "bell", sentient being felt it is "external" but is it? If it is not then is it "internal"? If it isn't both "internal" and "external", then what does it mean?
[17/6/23, 11:57:39 AM] John Tan: Do take note that ur X is also talking about that, but y is it so different?
[17/6/23, 3:49:49 PM] Soh Wei Yu: Internal and external are both subsets of inherent existence view. In the case of one mind and i am, subjectivity is inherent.. in the case of AF, subjectivity is seen through but externality is inherent.
If instead its like chariot and parts, everything is dependently designated in the presence of the parts and conditions and these parts and conditions do not amount to anything inherently existing or produced apart from that mere name designated in dependence, then we do not have such views where subject or object or externality needs to be inherent. Mind is name only and so is phenomena.. nothing has core or essence or intrinsic existence
[17/6/23, 3:50:33 PM] Soh Wei Yu: Imo she skips to freedom from all elaborations and natural state of no mind without going through insights of anatta, dependent origination or emptiness clearly
[17/6/23, 3:50:48 PM] Soh Wei Yu: Just say silence all conventionalities into state of no mind
[17/6/23, 3:50:52 PM] Soh Wei Yu: Insight isnt clear
[17/6/23, 3:50:57 PM] Soh Wei Yu: I doubt she is clear even about anatta
[17/6/23, 3:52:28 PM] Yin Ling: Hwa shang Mahayana
[17/6/23, 4:55:53 PM] John Tan: "Hwa Shang" is a bad translation of "和尚“ Moheyan of northern Buddhism in China. Gelug and Tsongkhapa are attacking strawman and making him a stereotype for non-mentation of Zen practice. We know that this is not true. Zen is nothing like that.
[17/6/23, 4:56:53 PM] Yin Ling: I see
[17/6/23, 4:57:21 PM] Yin Ling: That’s kinda mean 😂
[17/6/23, 5:00:04 PM] John Tan: Here u r talking about "inherent existence" but X isn't. In fact many are not. That is y non-inherent experience and dependent origination are extremely crucial for right understanding. It is not just doing away with conventionalities and conceptualities. But it involves several critical insights. So what r the differences, why jumping to freedom of all elaborations this way resulted in such a different experience and understanding?
[17/6/23, 5:00:48 PM] John Tan: Tibetan has this bad habit
[17/6/23, 5:34:19 PM] Yin Ling: The object of inherent existence is left unnegated if straight jump. It’s almost impossible to liberate theoretically , just dissociate .
[17/6/23, 5:34:47 PM] Yin Ling: Maybe they debate too much 😂 everyday debate
[17/6/23, 5:36:54 PM] John Tan: Yes. This idea of inherent existence in which "anatta" is just part of the entire spectrum is an all together insight that is made explicitly clear only by Tsongkhapa although gelug tend to turn extremely analytical.
[17/6/23, 5:41:33 PM] John Tan: Both see through conceptual conceptual constructs, but they r different. But difference in what sense is not easy to see. As we become clearer and used to it, we will realize that the entire mmk is actually emphasizing this particular insight. Mmk is not just saying the conceptual layering must be eliminated like non-mentation. When we integrate into practice, we become clearer and have more confidence. Both mind and phenomena are both released, conventionalities r released but differently. I have been trying to bring out the taste of this aspect on my posts in FB "weight of thoughts"...lol.
[17/6/23, 5:51:30 PM] Yin Ling: Yeah not just concepts but the whole referent itself is the conceptualisation. It’s hard for me to actualised yet lol
[17/6/23, 6:01:50 PM] John Tan: 1. A referent is a reified mental construct or "named things". We din realize that. We thought it is real.
2. If we see through this, what happened?
[17/6/23, 6:17:30 PM] Yin Ling: If we see through then nothing “real” is there. 😂
[17/6/23, 6:17:43 PM] Yin Ling: Then the mind can stop elaborating and be at peace
[17/6/23, 11:55:03 PM] Soh Wei Yu: Quietening the mind actually doesnt see through the referents. Like ramana maharshi talks about silence. But the Self is seen as truly existing and solid and real. AF sees through self/Self and resides in nonconceptual pce but the referent of world as solid and real and ultimate is still there
[17/6/23, 11:55:38 PM] Soh Wei Yu: Samadhi etc, quietness doesnt necessarily release the very realness and solidness or inherency of Self and phenomena
[17/6/23, 11:55:58 PM] Soh Wei Yu: Even if one can have peak experience of no mind it is not the same as having an insight that sees through self
[18/6/23, 12:15:41 AM] Soh Wei Yu: Imo true insight of emptiness should lead to an equipoise of in the seen only the seen as med par gsal snang a “nonexistent clear appearance” or a “clearly apparent nonexistent,” , thus no seer, no seeing and nothing seen
[18/6/23, 12:15:58 AM] Soh Wei Yu: Otherwise resting in nonconceptual presence can still be a state of alaya
[18/6/23, 12:17:15 AM] Soh Wei Yu: Otherwise even if one says all conventionalities are silenced it may not be the same thing
[18/6/23, 12:19:56 AM] Yin Ling: Ya this is very difficult actually even after understanding
[18/6/23, 12:20:13 AM] Soh Wei Yu: Its actually the realness and inherentness thats released not merely mentation or labelling
[18/6/23, 12:21:38 AM] Yin Ling: Ya even the person writing on instagram“talking to higher self” is sort of holding onto Alaya in his sleep and practice
[18/6/23, 12:21:58 AM] Yin Ling: Not sure though. Just my feeling
[18/6/23, 12:23:29 AM] Soh Wei Yu: I thought so too
[18/6/23, 12:23:44 AM] Soh Wei Yu: Thats why i sent him the 7 stages but i think not easy to understand la haha
[18/6/23, 12:23:52 AM] Soh Wei Yu: But some of his stuff are interesting
[18/6/23, 12:27:35 AM] Yin Ling: Did u? Lol
[18/6/23, 12:28:06 AM] Yin Ling: Must not be easy because his practice is so mature
[18/6/23, 12:28:36 AM] Yin Ling: I mean practice for a long time
[18/6/23, 12:46:14 AM] Soh Wei Yu: I sent everybody i think can benefit 🤣
[18/6/23, 12:46:24 AM] Soh Wei Yu: In 2006 i sent eckhart tolle 🤣
[18/6/23, 12:46:38 AM] Soh Wei Yu: Yeah
[18/6/23, 12:46:47 AM] Yin Ling: Did he reply you lol
[18/6/23, 12:49:29 AM] Soh Wei Yu: That time i sent in envelope or cd i think.. or maybe email I forgot. He didnt reply
[18/6/23, 12:49:36 AM] Soh Wei Yu: Recent one someone replied for him
[18/6/23, 12:49:38 AM] Soh Wei Yu: Sam M, Jun 24, 2022, 9:30 AM MDT:
Hello Soh,
Thank you for contacting Eckhart Teachings. We are deeply touched and moved by the many people that write into Eckhart and Kim, leaving no doubt there is an unprecedented shift in consciousness happening around us. Unfortunately, Eckhart is not able to send personal replies or accept gifts but sends his deepest gratitude to you for wanting to share with him.
We thank you for reaching out to Eckhart and wish you the very best in your journey.
Sam M | Customer Care
Eckhart Teachings | Toll Free 1-844-595-3316
support@eckharttolle.com
Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5:00 pm MT
[18/6/23, 12:51:13 AM] Yin Ling: Wow epic
[18/6/23, 12:51:35 AM] Yin Ling: Customer service 🤦🏻♀️
[18/6/23, 12:58:07 AM] John Tan: U have a serious addiction for sending the phases of insights.
[18/6/23, 1:07:21 AM] John Tan: 👍
No seer, no seeing, nothing seen means freedom from all elaborations into the natural state -- spontaneously presents and naturally perfected.
A state free from conceptual elaborations can be non-mentation like what Tsongkhapa said, there is no wisdom and insight involved. Insight of non-inherentness will result in direct taste non-existence clear appearances.
[18/6/23, 11:42:13 AM] Yin Ling: image omitted
[18/6/23, 11:42:13 AM] Yin Ling: 😅
———-
P.s. just recalled some nice excerpts on equipoise I shared from years ago:
Sonam Thakchoe (The Two Truths Debate: Tsongkhapa and Gorampa on the Middle Way):
"Tsongkhapa regards the nondual realization of ultimate truth as an epistemic event... ...Tsongkhapa does not hold the achievement of nondual wisdom as equivalent to the cessation of cognitive activity...
Tsongkhapa's description of the way the meditator arrives at nondual understanding is as follows. The cognitive agent experiences a fusion of subjectivity and its object, which refer here not to self and outside world but rather to elements within the meditator's own psychophysical aggregates. The meditator remains introspective, not engaging the outside world, but the outside world as such does not disappear. What occurs is instead a total cessation of the dualities between subject I and object mine, between thinker and thought, between feeler and feelings, between mind and body, between seeing and seen, and so forth. Initially a meditator perceives, for instance, that in each act of seeing, two factors are always present: the object seen and the act of seeing it. While each single act of seeing involves dissolution, the object seen and the act of seeing actually consist of numerous physical and mental processes that are seen to dissolve serially and successively. Eventually, the meditator also notices the dissolution of the dissolution itself.
In other words, the meditator first realizes the fluctuating and transitory character of the five aggregates, which is then followed by further realization of the aggregates as empty and selfless, and finally by the realization of the emptiness of even the empty and selfless phenomena. Nondual knowledge is thus arrived at, in Tsongkhapa's view, through the direct experience of seeing the truths within one's own aggregates, rather than being convinced of the truth of certain abstractions through rational argument or persuasion. Since the process here is a cognitive experience that operates entirely within the domain of one's psychophysical aggregates, it is therefore an epistemic but not a metaphysical nonduality.
This is how, according to Tsongkhapa, an arya has direct nonconceptual and nondual access to the transcendent nature of his own five psychophysical aggregates during meditative equipoise. In the wake of meditative equipoise, an arya engages with dualistic worldly activities, such as taking part in philosophical discourse, practicing different social conventions, and so on. The arya will thus make use of socio-linguistic conventions, but since the arya has eradicated all reifying tendencies, even these worldly dualistic engagements will be seen as consistent with nondual wisdom. Both non-dual and dual wisdoms, especially in the case of a buddha, Tsongkhapa argues, are fully commensurate."
"Both Tsong khapa and Go rampa describe non-dual knowledge as being like a process of mixing water. They argue that the fusion between subjectivity and objectivity, from the meditator's point of view, reaches its climax in their non-dual state in a way that is like mixing clean water from two different jars by pouring it all into one jar. Tsong khapa for example argues: "from the vantage point of the wisdom that directly realises ultimate reality, there is not even the slightest duality between object and the object-possessing consciousness. Like mixing water with water, [yogi] dwells in the meditative equipoise".' Tsongkhapa insists, however, that this metaphor should not be taken too far or too literally. It refers only to the cognitive process that occurs in total dissolution, and to the experience associated with that process, and must not be taken to represent the achivement of a metaphysical unity."
“So, as far as Tsong khapa is concerned, there is no contradiction in claiming that, from the empirical standpoint, on the one hand, non-dual wisdom constitutes the subjective pole of consciousnesses with ultimate truth as its objective counterpart; from the ultimate vantage point, on the other hand, non-dual wisdom and ultimate truth, "are free from the duality of act (bya ba) and object acted upon (byed pa)".
In the non-dual state, even the cognitive interplay between subject and object appears, from the meditator's point of view, completely to cease. This is because, as Tsong khapa points out, "duality of act and object acted upon is posited strictly from the perspective of empirical cognition".
Although the dual appearances of subject and object completely dissolve from the perspective of non-dual wisdom, and thus the meditator does not experience the mutual interaction between distinct and separate elements—between the seer and the seen—the meditator nonetheless engages in an act of 'mere seeing'. As the Buddha explains to Bahiya:
In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to the
heard, only the heard. In reference to the sensed, only the sensed. In
reference to the cognised, only the cognised. That is how you should
train yourself [Ud I. 10]... then Bahiya, there is no you in terms of that.
When there is no you in terms of that, there is no you there. When there
is no you there, you are neither here not yonder nor between the two.
This, just this, is the end of stress [Ud I. 101.
The experience of 'mere seeing' in a non-dual form is valid only when it is empirically grounded and when there is cognitive activity occurring between non-dual wisdom and non-dual ultimate truth.”
"Although all empirically given truths such as the aggregate of form, feelings etc., are contingently produced and have diverse conventional characters, all of them, according to Tsong khapa, are ultimately empty of the inherent arising. They share the universal characteristic (ro gcig, eka-rasa), literally, the same 'taste'. The Buddha, for example, makes this statement: "just as the great ocean has but one taste, the taste of salt, even so does this dharma and discipline have but one taste, the taste of release" [AN VIII.19].
The Samadhirajasatra (ting nge 'dzin rgyal po'i mdo) tells us: "By knowing one all are known. And by seeing one all are seen. Despite many things are said about [ultimate truth] in the conventional terms, no haughtiness should arise from it",' and furthermore, "Just as you have recognised ('du shes) personality, even so you should apply the same insight with respect to all [phenomena]. All phenomena are of the [same] nature like a clear space".
In the Gaganagamjasamadhi (Nam mkha'i mdzod kyi ting nge 'dzin), it is stated that: "Whoever by meditating on one phenomenon knows all phenomena as apprehensible like illusions and mirages, and knows them as hollow, false and ephemeral will before long reach the summum bonum (snying po) of enlightenment".
And Aryadeva also tells us that "whosoever sees one is said to see all. That which is emptiness of one is the emptiness of all" [VIII:191].
Referring to this last passage from Aryadeva, Candrakirti has this to say:
The emptiness of the essence of form is itself the emptinesses of the essences of aggregates such as feeling. Similarly, the emptiness of the essence of eye-source is itself the emptinesses of the essences of all twelve sources. Likewise, the emptiness of the essence of eye-constituent is itself the emptinesses of the essences of all eighteen constituents. Equally so are [the emptinesses of the essences of] the infinite categories of things due to the distinct divisions in things, spaces, times and references. For whatever is the emptiness of the essence of one thing, is itself the emptinesses of the essences of all things. In spite of the fact that jars and bowls for example are distinct, space is not distinct. While things such as form are distinct, insofar as they all lack of essential arising of the form etc., they are not distinct. By understanding the lack the essential arising of merely one phenomenon, one understands the lack of the essential arising of all phenomena.'
Since all phenomena are empty of any substance or essence, they are all dependently arisen and relational entities. Tsong khapa agrees.' Yet to endorse the claim that the ultimate nature of all phenomena is fundamentally the same does not, in Tsong khapa's view, make one a monist. While accepting this account of the ultimate nature of things, Tsongkhapa remains committed to a pluralistic view. "A pluralistic view of the world", as Kalupahana puts it, "is not incompatible with dependent arising (pratityasamputpada).
Pluralism in the context of dependent arising does not imply the existence of self-contradictory truths. It need not necessarily lead to a notion of an Absolute that transcends such self-contradictory truths. As far as Tsong khapa is concerned, the ultimate reality of, for instance, the table in front of my eyes, cannot be treated as simply identical with the ultimate reality pertaining to the chair that I am sitting on. The empty table cannot be the taken as identical with the empty chair since the emptiness of the table is constitutive, not only of the empty table, but of the empty conceptual-linguistic conventions imposed upon it as well. Those conventions belong exclusively to the ultimate truth of the table and are not present in the chair.
According to Tsong khapa, however, conceding this much does not prevent one from arguing for the universality of ultimate truth. Just as different objects occupy different spaces, and yet the space those objects occupy has the same 'non-obstructive' characteristic, so the ultimate realities of both table and chair are different, notwithstanding the fact that two ultimate realities have identical natures—they share 'the same taste'. Both of these emptinesses imply insubstantiality and essenceless in the negative sense, as well as dependently arisen and relational nature in the affirmative sense."