Wisdom or prajna in Buddhism has nothing to do with the accumulation of knowledge or facts. The Dalai Lama is not wise, for example, because he can find answers to our social problems such as war or global warming. He is wise because he can inwardly distinguish between the pure Mind or ‘Clear light’ and the carnal body made up of the Five Aggregates which can be thought of as attributes. Said another way, when we realize that we are not anyone of the Five Aggregates, apperceiving our true nature, instead, this is wisdom. To also be able to differentiate the pure Mind from the coarse mind, which is just the vibration of Suchness (tathata), is also wisdom.
With respect to emptiness (shunyata) in Prajna-paramita literature, which is synonymous with Suchness or tathata, wisdom or prajna is the ability to distinguish emptiness, as a kind of transcendent element (dharmadhatu), from its attributes, namely, the Five Aggregates or skandhas. Perhaps Zen master Tsung-mi presents the notion of emptiness even better: “The first level is True Emptiness. This corresponds to the Dharmadhatu or principle. Fundamentally, its actual essence is only the Fundamental Mind.” It is worth adding that the Lankavatara Sutra says that unborn emptiness is better than emptiness which is born (jata).
Thus, the aggregate of form is really a composition of true emptiness or tathata. In this context, form is a kind of emptiness vibration. It is the same with the rest of the aggregates such as sensation, perception, experience/volition, and consciousness. These can also be characterized as modes of emptiness in which emptiness is a spiritual substance like aether.
In the pericope of the Heart Sutra which reads: "form is emptiness, emptiness is form", this is meant to emphasize that from the standpoint of wisdom the first aggregate of form belongs to emptiness just as the color blue belongs to the sky. But this pericope also says that emptiness, which is form, has the capacity or power to form itself or sensationalize itself (the second aggregate).
When a realized being such as the Buddha looks upon the Five Aggregates they resemble a beautiful reflection upon the surface of a pond, the pond representing emptiness. The reflection on the pond’s surface is precisely water (that is, emptiness) while, at the same time, the water of the pond has the attribute of reflecting just as gold has the attribute of being malleable.
One who is wise, therefore, can distinguish pure Mind from the coarse mind or true emptiness from the empty thing (which is formed emptiness). They can also distinguish their true nature from the Five Aggregates or the undying from the dying. They can distinguish nirvana from samsara or the false world from the true kingdom of light (svarga). Ordinary people can’t do this. They only perceive their aggregated body which is like a beast tied to the sacrificial stake of the external world. The Ten Stages Sutra says:
“Because it is covered over by the layered clouds of the Five Aggregates, sentient beings do not see it. If you encounter the spiritual wind of wisdom, it blows away the Five Aggregates. When the layers of clouds are totally gone, the enlightened nature is shining perfectly bright, clear, and pure.”
What also seems evident is that wisdom demands a special kind of practice whereby we cross over to the pure Mind more and more rather than always valorizing the coarse mind and this world. If we have gained a true glimpse into our Buddha-nature, or true emptiness, then we should develop and enrich it, increasing our wisdom. Above all, we should be engaged with meditation upon this pristine nature so that it becomes more avoiding, at the same time, our former habit of valorizing false reality which conceals ultimate reality.
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