0 upvotes, 3 direct replies (showing 3)
The Heart Sutra says "No suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path". That is a direct negation of the Four Noble Truths. You are just fixating on one specific apparent contradiction. There are lots of apparent contradictions in Buddhism (both Theravada and Mahayana).
Comment by Querulantissimus at 03/02/2025 at 22:33 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Beings in the pure lands are still on the path. Once you are no longer on the path, you can manifest your own pure land as the expression of your bodhicitta.
Comment by krodha at 03/02/2025 at 22:53 UTC
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The Heart Sutra says "No suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path". That is a direct negation of the Four Noble Truths.
That is not the case.
The *Sarvadharmāpravṛttinirdeśa* says:
> *Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how should we view the four truths of noble beings?”*
> *The Blessed One responded, “Mañjuśrī, whoever sees all karmic predispositions as unborn understands suffering. Whoever sees all phenomena as unoriginated eliminates the origin. Whoever sees all phenomena as utterly beyond suffering actualizes cessation. Whoever sees all phenomena as intangible cultivates the path.*
> *“Mañjuśrī, whoever sees the four truths of noble beings in this way will not form concepts such as, ‘These phenomena are virtuous, and those are nonvirtuous; these are to be understood, these are to be eliminated, these are to be actualized, and these are to be cultivated; suffering is to be understood, the origin is to be eliminated, cessation is to be actualized, and the path is to be cultivated.’ Why is that?*
> *“Any phenomenon toward which ordinary and immature beings become attached, angry, or ignorant is seen to be unborn, nonexistent, mistaken, imputed, and produced. Therefore, no phenomena are accepted or rejected. This type of mind is not attached to the three realms and correctly sees that the entirety of the three realms is unborn and [F.277.a] like an illusion, a dream, an echo, and a hallucination. That mind regards all virtuous and nonvirtuous phenomena to be like visual distortions. It sees the realm of attachment as the expanse of nirvāṇa. Likewise, the elements of anger and ignorance are seen as the expanse of nirvāṇa.*
Also from the *Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā:*
> *The Lord having said that, venerable Subhūti asked him, “Lord, what is the sameness of the four noble truths?”*
> *“Subhūti,” he replied, “it is where there is no knowledge of suffering and no suffering; where there is no knowledge of the origination of suffering and no origination of suffering; where there is no knowledge of the cessation of suffering and no cessation of suffering; and where there is no knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of suffering and no path leading to the cessation of suffering.*
> *“Furthermore, Subhūti, whether the tathāgatas arise or whether the tathāgatas do not arise, the suchness of the four noble truths, their unmistaken suchness and unaltered suchness, the true nature of dharmas, the certification of dharmas, and the establishment of dharmas remain as just the dharma-constituent. Such a dharma-constituent is a natural state not robbed of mindfulness, the true nature of dharmas that is never ruined. Bodhisattva great beings practicing the perfection of wisdom practice the truths in order to awaken, one way or the other, to the truths.”*
The *Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā:*
> *Similarly, emptiness is not something other than the noble truths. Nor are the noble truths something other than emptiness. The nature of the noble truths is emptiness. Emptiness is the noble truths.*
Comment by tarwatirno at 04/02/2025 at 06:06 UTC*
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
For very good reason, we try to avoid contradiction in normal, every day living. But at the level of truly, absolutely everything? *That* must include it's own negation. The contradiction isn't just apparent. So to synthesize Heart and Diamond a little bit:
There is no one to suffer, that is why it is called suffering.
There is no one to have an origin, that is why it is called origination.
There is nothing to stop, that is *how* to stop.
The road's name is Nowhere To Go.