..续本文上一页thing we will have accumulated is a huge amount of negative karma. Therefore, we must learn and study the wisdom of emptiness.

　　At present, many people have a misunderstanding of what emptiness actually means because they have not studied Buddhism properly using a systematic approach. Some Zen practitioners think that: “Since all things and events are emptiness, then there are no differences between virtue and non-virtue. Therefore, there is no point in carrying out animal liberation and other virtuous activities, because these acts are discriminating good and bad.” This kind of argument is very misleading and mistaken. Although the nature of things and events is emptiness, when you have not realized this profound emptiness directly, observing the law of karma, causes and effects, and carrying out virtuous activities are necessary.

　　In the past, a Han monk named Hashang Mahayana (Heshang Moheyan) came to Tibet to spread Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism is a supreme lineage. From the history recorded in Tang Biographies of Eminent Monks, Song Biographies of Eminent Monks, and Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks, it is evident that many practitioners with sharp minds have realized emptiness after encountering Zen teachings. Despite this, Hashang Mahayana still failed. Why

　　 Because from the beginning he promoted the practice of non-mentation (he held that all thoughts, wholesome or unwholesome, prevented enlightenment). Some Tibetans believed his words, and discontinued the traditional practices of making offerings to the triple gem in the monastery, and light offerings in front of Buddha statues. (If you have been to the Potala Palace and similar places, then you know that Tibetans have the extraordinary tradition of making offerings to the Buddha.) These actions were not well accepted by the wise ones, and so they followed the prophecies of Khenpo Bodhisattva (Shantarakshita), and invited Kamalashila from India to debate with Hashang Mahayana. At the end, Hashang Mahayana was defeated in the debate, and Tibetans re-established their tradition of the systematic approach to the study and practice of Dharma.

　　For this reason, following the systematic approach to the study and practice of Dharma is quite important. In the highest realization of Zen and Vajrayana Buddhism, all things and events are emptiness, and there should not be any grasping at all. But before we reach that state, we should still carry out animal liberation, recite mantras, read sutras, carry out charitable works, do our homework, and so on. We must not discontinue these activities. Otherwise, if this gateway to accumulating merits is blocked, then future liberation will be more difficult. Hence, if we have not reached the ultimate state of emptiness, then acts to accumulate positive merits should not be discontinued. In particular, these acts should be done with the mind of bodhicitta too—please remember this!

　　V. Emptiness Is Not Mere “Non-Existence,” but Inpisible with Clear Light Buddha Nature

　　Perhaps someone may ask: “If, in ultimate reality, everything is empty, then how could our thoughts and emotions, as well as the supreme merits and noble qualities of Buddha, manifest or arise

　　” The answer is simply that they arise from emptiness itself. Within emptiness, there is another aspect, which has the nature of clarity and luminosity. This aspect is called Buddha nature.

　　Buddha nature is an exceptionally profound and sophisticated concept. It is the focal point during the third turning of the wheel of Dharma. This teaching is available in both Sutrayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. In the treatises of Sutrayana Buddhism, these doctrines are most extensively elucidated by the Sublime Continuum (Ratnagotravibhaga) and from the sutra point of view, most extensively elucid…

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