Śūnyatā

Hello hello, it's Sunday and I am done with work, thankfully. So time for a long blog post! I've been keeping this a secret and I think it's a good time to talk about this, as it's been one month...

sunyata // emptiness

since I got my 2nd tattoo mwahaha.

Alright so yes I got myself a new tattoo on the right wrist this time. I got it tattooed by Ash again when I was in Singapore last month. I've been waiting for it to heal, not sure why it took longer this time. My skin was just peeling and peeling heh. I think it has something to do with it being tattooed on my dominant hand. Maybe there's more movement etc. So the healing is slowed down.

Anyway yes I got myself "Śūnyatā" tattooed on my right wrist. I know I want to get something that compliments the "anicca" on my left. The best tattoo to get will be "anatta" which is non-self. But I think it's too "brutal" heh. Also I haven't fully grasped the principle of anatta. This is one of the reasons why (thankfully) that I didn't get both tattooed together back in 2017 heh.

I wanted to get another tattoo since 2018 but whenever I'm back in SG, I'm always preoccupied with things. So when I got back last month, my schedule wasn't packed and thus I decided to get it. I think the idea came to me in mid 2018 ish? Since sunyata is kind of the cousin of anatta, and sunyata has a more poetic touch to "non-self". Because in Budhdism, everything is marked with emptiness!

The concept of emptiness in Buddhism is one of the most mind-blowing teaching that I have ever received. I came across the teaching of emptiness through the Prajnaparamita Sutra about 6 years ago? I was brought up in the Theravada tradition. Even when I was in Singapore, I went to a Theravada temple. It was only until I returned home and went to the temple in my hometown on new and full moon days that I started chanting the (Chinese version of) Prajnaparamita Sutra.

The first line that really got the whole ball rolling is:

"舍利子, 是诸法空相, 不生不灭, 不垢不净, 不增不减"

Which means "Sariputra, all the Dharma is empty. It is not created not destroyed, not purified nor defiled, not increasing nor decreasing.". Okay there are a lot of different translations to the sutra but it's something along this line heh. I was intrigued when I see the words "Dharma is empty". Because Dharma means the teachings of the Buddha. So how can it be empty? What does this mean?

I decided to read further and read different texts explaining this sutra. Then I remember that "Dharma" in different Dharmic religions can mean a couple of different things. From the cosmic law, to law of nature, to truth and reality (or nature of reality). Now when you replace "Dharma" with truth, that whole line makes a lot of sense for me. That the truth (whatever truth) is not created not destroyed, not purified nor defiled, not increasing nor decreasing. It is our ego that does those!

I think I love the explanation of the Sutra by Thich Nhat Hanh the most. He says that the nature of reality is marked with emptiness. Which makes a lot of clarification for me haha.

As I read further I realised how beautiful emptiness is. How emptiness isn't something negative at all. To me I take it that emptiness here is of those qualities. That's the truth. But our ego hates the truth, we want things to go on our own way and therefore we increase/decrease, purify/defile or create/destroy the truth that go according to our own way. Just so that our ego is happy.

And you know what happened when we let our ego happy? We suffer.

And I love Thay's explanation of "nature of reality". From this I can infer that everything in life is marked by emptiness. Or they are truly empty. And it's how we respond/treat these things that define our own happiness and way of life. Do we want to fill it with ignorance that feeds our ego? Or do you want to accept it and let our mindfulness fully grasp it and then respond to it?

And the Sutra goes with this line

"In emptiness there is no ignorance, no aging and death. No origination, cessation, no attainment"

This line is a bit tricky because a lot of people think Buddhists are emo people who don't want to attain anything in life hahaha. Cause someone once personally asked me so what's there to attain if there is nothing to attain? I think this whole line is a reference of impermanence (anicca) because a lot of people hate impermanence. We love things with origination but hate the fact that there's cessation. So if there is no cessation or origination to begin with, there will be no suffering.

Okay it's really hard to explain this but basically it's in line with nirvana, which is the breaking of the life and death cycle. Nirvana to me isn't just about "life" and "death" but everything that is created and destroyed. Like our thoughts, emotions, feelings and so on. To be aware of the creation and cessation of these things. That's the end goal of Buddhism and it's hard to attain heh.

Cause we still have our own ego. Who create and cease things as and when they want it heh.

So yes. This is why sunyata is truly a complimentary tattoo to my anicca on my left. They're like the cookies and cream of Buddhism! The salt and pepper, the chocolate and mint. And so on. I think they are facts of life. It's hard to deny them... Once again, cause of our own egos.

Alright I hope you enjoy these insights! Thank you to Ash once again for getting this inked on my wrist. I think enough of word tattoos. Lets do... Something artistic. Heh heh.

Have a great last week of October everyone :)