གླང་པའ་རྩལ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.6

intro.6

The sūtra repeatedly draws attention to the empty and thus illusory nature of all phenomena, which includes everything from sensory appearances up to central Buddhist conceptions such as the six perfections, monastic discipline, morality, merit, and even the Buddha himself. The realization of this empty and illusory nature of all phenomena is transcendent insight, which allows one to rest naturally in a state of absorption. Phenomena as well as transcendent insight are said to be like space: “Space is not something to be realized, nor is it something to be abandoned. Likewise, no phenomenon is something to be realized or abandoned.” Because of this empty nature of phenomena, all conceptions about them as substantial or real are completely mistaken. To realize this is to correctly understand emptiness.