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Cūḷa Suññata Sutta (MN 121): Nothingness

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.121.than.html

“Further, Ānanda, the monk—not attending to the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space, not attending to the perception of the dimension of the infinity of consciousness—attends to the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of nothingness. His mind takes pleasure, finds satisfaction, settles, & indulges in its perception of the dimension of nothingness.

“He discerns that ‘Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space are not present. Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of the dimension of the infinity of consciousness are not present. There is only this modicum of disturbance: the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of nothingness.ʼ He discerns that ‘This mode of perception is empty of the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space. This mode of perception is empty of the perception of the dimension of the infinity of consciousness. There is only this non-emptiness: the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of nothingness.ʼ Thus he regards it as empty of whatever is not there. Whatever remains, he discerns as present: ‘There is this.ʼ And so this, his entry into emptiness, accords with actuality, is undistorted in meaning, & pure.

Cūḷa Suññata Sutta (MN 121): The Infinity of Consciousness

“Further, Ānanda, the monk—not attending to the perception of earth, not attending to the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space—attends to the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of the infinity of consciousness. His mind takes pleasure, finds satisfaction, settles, & indulges in its perception of the dimension of the infinity of consciousness.

“He discerns that ‘Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of earth are not present. Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space are not present. There is only this modicum of disturbance: the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of the infinity of consciousness.ʼ He discerns that ‘This mode of perception is empty of the perception of earth. This mode of perception is empty of the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space. There is only this non-emptiness: the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of the infinity of consciousness.ʼ Thus he regards it as empty of whatever is not there. Whatever remains, he discerns as present: ‘There is this.ʼ And so this, his entry into emptiness, accords with actuality, is undistorted in meaning, & pure.

Cūḷa Suññata Sutta: The Infinity of Space

“Further, Ānanda, the monk—not attending to the perception of wilderness, not attending to the perception of earth—attends to the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space. His mind takes pleasure, finds satisfaction, settles, & indulges in its perception of the dimension of the infinity of space.

“He discerns that ‘Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of wilderness are not present. Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of earth are not present. There is only this modicum of disturbance: the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space.ʼ He discerns that ‘This mode of perception is empty of the perception of wilderness. This mode of perception is empty of the perception of earth. There is only this non-emptiness: the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space.ʼ Thus he regards it as empty of whatever is not there. Whatever remains, he discerns as present: ‘There is this.ʼ And so this, his entry into emptiness, accords with actuality, is undistorted in meaning, & pure.

Cūḷa Suññata Sutta (MN 121): The Perception of Earth

“Further, Ānanda, the monk—not attending to the perception of human being, not attending to the perception of wilderness—attends to the singleness based on the perception of earth. His mind takes pleasure, finds satisfaction, settles, & indulges in its perception of earth. Just as a bullʼs hide is stretched free from wrinkles with a hundred stakes, even so—without attending to all the ridges & hollows, the river ravines, the tracts of stumps & thorns, the craggy irregularities of this earth—he attends to the singleness based on the perception of earth. His mind takes pleasure, finds satisfaction, settles, & indulges in its perception of earth.

“He discerns that ‘Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of human being are not present. Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of wilderness are not present. There is only this modicum of disturbance: the singleness based on the perception of earth.ʼ He discerns that ‘This mode of perception is empty of the perception of human being. This mode of perception is empty of the perception of wilderness. There is only this non-emptiness: the singleness based on the perception of earth.ʼ Thus he regards it as empty of whatever is not there. Whatever remains, he discerns as present: ‘There is this.ʼ And so this, his entry into emptiness, accords with actuality, is undistorted in meaning, & pure.

Compare with Mūlapariyāya Sutta:

“There is the case, monks, where an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person—who has no regard for noble ones, is not well-versed or disciplined in their Dhamma; who has no regard for men of integrity, is not well-versed or disciplined in their Dhamma—perceives earth as earth. Perceiving earth as earth, he conceives [things] about earth, he conceives [things] in earth, he conceives [things] coming out of earth, he conceives earth as ‘mine’, he delights in earth. Why is that? Because he has not comprehended it, I tell you.”

Cūḷa Suññata Sutta (MN 121)

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in the Eastern Monastery, the palace of Migāraʼs mother. Then Ven. Ānanda, emerging from his seclusion in the evening, went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he said to the Blessed One: “On one occasion, when the Blessed One was staying among the Sakyans in a Sakyan town named Nagaraka, there—face-to-face with the Blessed One—I heard this, face-to-face I learned this: ‘I now remain fully in a dwelling of emptiness.ʼ Did I hear that correctly, learn it correctly, attend to it correctly, remember it correctly?”

[The Buddha:] “Yes, Ānanda, you heard that correctly, learned it correctly, attended to it correctly, remembered it correctly. Now, as well as before, I remain fully in a dwelling of emptiness. Just as this palace of Migāraʼs mother is empty of elephants, cattle, & mares, empty of gold & silver, empty of assemblies of women & men, and there is only this non-emptiness—the singleness based on the Saṅgha of monks; even so, Ānanda, a monk—not attending to the perception (mental note) of village, not attending to the perception of human being—attends to the singleness based on the perception of wilderness. His mind takes pleasure, finds satisfaction, settles, & indulges in its perception of wilderness.

“He discerns that ‘Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of village are not present. Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of human being are not present. There is only this modicum of disturbance: the singleness based on the perception of wilderness.ʼ He discerns that ‘This mode of perception is empty of the perception of village. This mode of perception is empty of the perception of human being. There is only this non-emptiness: the singleness based on the perception of wilderness.ʼ Thus he regards it as empty of whatever is not there. Whatever remains, he discerns as present: ‘There is this.ʼ And so this, his entry into emptiness, accords with actuality, is undistorted in meaning, & pure.

Emptiness is not the final state, but it is the gateway to Nibbāna. One attains the Three Deliverances—signless, desireless and voidness—upon arising from the attainment of Emptiness. This is Nibbāna.

The ultimate goal of both Vedanta and Buddha’s teaching is emptiness. Some may say that oneness or union with Brahman is a kind of fullness. But actually in experience, it is emptiness. Who is there to say, “Oneness”? The Buddha’s teaching on empt Inness is much more accessible, because he makes no attempt to hide it. Indeed, his teaching is based on emptiness and timelessness from the beginning.

Buddha’s teaching and Vedanta are different languages describing the same thing. So, one would expect them to have some similarities in structure. And so it’s not too surprising to find an exact ontological correlation between Buddha’s _paticca-samuppada,_ Dependent Arising, the Four Noble Truths, and Sankaracharya’s _catur-darshanam,_ the Four Views of progressive spiritual development.

Since the beginning of this channel we have discussed both Buddha’s teaching and its Vedic counterparts. Actually they are simply two different languages for talking about the higher stages of Self-realization. So far this topic of the equivalency of Vedanta and Dhamma has been implicit in our selection of topics, but I want to make it more explicit.

OK I get it, y’all don’t wanna hear about Dependent Arising anymore. Or maybe everybody’s just getting ready for summer vacation. That’s too bad, since I have a year’s worth of material on Name-&-Form alone! Oh well, if you’re really interested you can always read Venerable Bhikkhu Kaṭukurunde Ñāṇananda‘s book:

http://seeingthroughthenet.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/The-Law-of-Dependent-Arising_LE_Rev_1.0.pdf