this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2023
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Buddhism

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Nothing Exists (lemm.ee)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/buddhism
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Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.

Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received."

Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.

"If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So the self is not separate but is one with all beings. Given that we don't understand anything scientifically about consciousness, this seems reasonable, even likely. The fact that embracing it as a truth leads to a more harmonious existence is the icing on the cake.