Our FBA Dharmabyte today is a reading from the and#8216;Perfection of Wisdomand#8217; titled: and#8220;The Knowledge of the Suchness of the Skandhasand#8221;. From the guided and#8220;Reflection on the Five Skandhasand#8221; in the series and#8220;Night Lily Garden of the Midnight Way and#8211; Emptiness and the Great Compassionand#8221; by Kulaprabha.
Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio
The Knowledge of Suchness
[music] Dharma Bites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for your life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. Thank you, and happy listening. So we will start us off with a reading from one of the perfection of wisdom sutras. And so it's called knowledge of the suchness of the scandhas. The suchness of the scandhas. So Sabote says, first of all he boots on his spectacles, and then he says, "How does a bodhisattva come to the knowledge of the five grasping scandhas when he trains himself in the deep perfection of wisdom?" And the Buddha replies, "He comes to the knowledge of the five scandhas when he knows, according to the truth, first of all what the marks of the scandhas are, secondly how they are produced and stopped, and thirdly what is meant by their suchness." Firstly, what the marks of the scandhas are. Form is like a massive foam. It has no solidity. It is full of cracks and holes, and it has no substantial inner core. Feeling is like a bubble, which swiftly rises and swiftly disappears, and it has no durable subsistence. Perception is like a mirage. As in a mirage pool absolutely no water can be found, so there is nothing substantial in that which is perceived. Impulses are like the trunk of a plantain tree. When you strip off one leaf sheath after another, nothing remains, and you cannot lay hand on a core within. Consciousness is like a mock show, as when magically created soldiers conjured up by a magician are seen marching through the streets. Then secondly, how the scandhas are produced and stopped. The Bodhisattva wisely knows the production of the scandhas when he knows that they have come from nowhere, although they seem to manifest themselves actually before him. He wisely knows the stopping of the scandhas when he knows that they do not go to anywhere, although they seem to disappear altogether out of sight. And thirdly, the Bodhisattva perceives according to the truth that there is what is to be known as the suchness of the five scandhas, in which there is no production or stopping, no coming or going, no defilement or purification, no growth or diminution. This suchness is never false to its nature, and therefore is it called suchness. In it there is no false perceiving, and that also is why it is called suchness. As stars, a falter vision, as a lamp, a mock show, dew drops or a bubble, a dream, a lightning flash or a cloud, so we should view what is conditioned. We hope you enjoyed today's Dharma Bite. Please help us keep this free. Make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. And thank you. [BLANK_AUDIO]