The Difference Between Emptiness in Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna

The emptiness of "all dharmas are empty" has two aspects of meaning. On one hand, from the perspective of the Hīnayāna teachings, it refers to the meaning that the world of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) is empty; this level is relatively shallow and its scope relatively narrow, not including all dharmas. On the other hand, from the perspective of the Mahāyāna teachings, it refers to the meaning that both the world of the five aggregates and all dharmas are empty; this level is ever deeper—it is emptiness at the root, emptiness in essence, emptiness in the ultimate sense, reaching finally a complete and thorough emptiness, and its scope includes all dharmas without the slightest omission. The Hīnayāna teachings speak of the suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self of the world of the five aggregates. Here, emptiness refers to dharmas that arise, cease, and change impermanently: whatever arises will change and even cease; it cannot abide permanently nor last long. Dharmas that arise and cease are dharmas devoid of self-nature—this is the Hīnayāna emptiness. 

The Mahāyāna emptiness is that, after realizing the tathāgatagarbha, one observes in direct perception that the world of the five aggregates and all dharmas are all manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, and therefore all are empty; these dharmas are also arising, ceasing, changing, and unreal. Clearly, the Mahāyāna emptiness is more fundamental, more ultimate, and more thorough, making the principle of emptiness clear. From the perspective of the consciousness-only seed-wisdom (种智) of bodhisattvas on the bhūmis, all objects seen before one's eyes are manifested by the mind; the dharmas that are transformed and generated are illusory and unreal. It is like a magician conjuring a bouquet of flowers out of thin air: although this bouquet exists in appearance, in essence it is empty and nonexistent—its existence is a false appearance. The Mahāyāna teachings expound the emptiness, falsity, and middle way (空、假、中) of all worldly dharmas, whereas the Hīnayāna emptiness is relatively shallow: it has no "falsity" and no "middle," but only observes that worldly dharmas are impermanent, changing, and non-abiding. It does not perceive that kind of illusory falsity, does not grasp the essence of dharmas, and its wisdom of observation is relatively shallow.

Whether the practice is Mahāyāna or Hīnayāna, it is all about breaking the ignorance (avidyā) of the seven consciousnesses and the five aggregates, so that the seven consciousnesses and the five aggregates possess the wisdom of emptiness. If one has been steeped in many teachings and has a rich theoretical knowledge, able to write numerous argumentative essays, yet the mind is not empty, treating all the theories one has learned as truly existent dharmas—this is acquiring knowledge, not cultivation, and it runs counter to practice.

Especially in studying the Mahāyāna teachings, if one becomes immersed in profound and fascinating theories, constantly absorbing knowledge, diligently exploring and researching, organizing and summarizing, analyzing in minute detail, and grasping at all the dharmas manifested by the tathāgatagarbha as existent dharmas—clinging to existence rather than being empty—none of this is cultivation. Cultivation is to rely on the teachings to realize emptiness and thereby break ignorance, transforming the mental activities and mental nature. The mental nature can only be transformed when the mind is empty; only when the mental nature is transformed can the mental activities change accordingly, and only then can karmic retribution change from evil retribution to wholesome retribution. Every learner must bear in mind that the purpose of studying Buddhism is to attain an empty mind—"with the mind empty, one returns with honors." Cultivation is not about pursuing scholarship, not about accumulating knowledge and researching theories. Therefore one must not cling to principle while abandoning practice (执理废事); one must unify principle and practice, so that principle and practice are perfectly harmonious without obstruction.