The Great Calm Observation, Volume 1, Part 4, Page 1

The Great Calm Observation, Volume 1, Part 4, Page 3

2. The Four Broad Vows Without Birth or Extinction

Next, one simply observes each thought of mind that arises through two mutual aspects - the sense faculty that is the thinking mind and the sensations that are the elements of reality. There is no aspect of producer or produced that is not identical with emptiness. Having falsely reasoned how the thought arises, it arises:

Without a self
Without an other
Without both a self and an other, and
Not without cause

When it arises, it does not arise from itself, from another, from both, or without cause. When it goes, it does not face to the east, the south, the west, or the north. The thought is not inside, outside, both, or in between. Further, it does not have a permanent self-existence. However there are names and terms for that which we call the thought’. These terms do not remain, and yet they are not without remaining. They are born, and yet they are without birth. They are without birth, and yet they are not without birth. Their existence and nonexistence are both transcended. The ordinary and foolish make them to exist. Those that are wise recognize their nonexistence.

It is like a child seeing the moon's image in the water; upon attaining it there is joy and upon losing it there is grief. The greater person lets go of attachments and is without elation or sadness. The image in a mirror and illusions of magic are also like this.

The Sutra on Brahma’s Questions says:
"Suffering is without birth, and
Origination does not blend into causality;
The Path is without duality, and
Extinction is without birth."

The Great Nirvana Sutra says:
"Understanding suffering without suffering,
there is the absolute truth, ...
Understanding extinction without extinction,
there is the absolute truth."

With Origination being identical with emptiness, one is not like the thirsty deer that gallops into mirage of water in the shimmering heat¹.
With Suffering being identical with emptiness, one is not like the foolish monkey that tries to grab the moon's reflection in the water².
With The Path being identical with emptiness, one does not say "I practice with emptiness and I do not practice without emptiness.” It is like the illustration of the raft that carries one to the other shore³; even the spiritual reality must be discarded, much less that which is not the spiritual reality.
With Extinction being identical with emptiness, one does not speak of living beings or lifespans; who is in this extinction, and yet realizes that extinction?

With Life & Death being identical with emptiness, how can it be discarded?
With Nirvana being identical with emptiness, how can it be attained?

The Long Chapter says:
"I do not desire to create a cultivated path in that which is without birth, whether it is from the Four Spheres of Mindfulness or the Noble Eightfold Path⁴"
and it says:
"I do not desire to create an attained effect in that which is without birth, whether as a Srotapanna or even as an Arhat⁵."

One depends on these examples to also say:
"I do not desire to create forms, feelings, thoughts, actsof will, or consciousness in that which is without birth⁶.",
And saying:
"I do not desire to create greed, anger, or stupidity in that which is without birth⁷."

With only thoughts of empathy for living beings, one raises up the Broad Vows to uproot the two sufferings and dispense the two kinds of happiness⁸.

Because one reaches the emptiness of suffering and origination, one is without the nine states of bondage.
Because one reaches the emptiness of the path and extinction, one is without the solitary liberation.

This is being ‘neither bound nor liberated and inspiring the genuinely true Bodhi mind’, and clearly reveals the meaning of the right inspiration of the mind.

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1. From The Lankavatara Sutra

2. From The Mahasanghika Vinaya

3. From The Diamond Sutra and others

4. These are first and last of the Seven Branches of Awakening (see The 37 Facets of Spiritual Awakening), and here are meant to represent all the steps on the Truth of the Path: The Four Spheres of Mindfulness: Mindfulness of #1 The Body (& Impurity) #2 Feelings (& Suffering) #3 Mind (& Impermanence) #4 Spirituality (& Selflessness), and The Noble Eightfold Path: #1 Proper Conduct #2 Proper Livelihood #3 Proper Speech #4 Proper Diligence #5 Proper Mindfulness #6 Proper Concentration #7 Proper Views #8 Proper Intent

5. Stages of realization in the Truth of Extinction: The four stages in the development of the ideal of early Buddhism, the Arhat: #1 Stream-Enterer (Srotapanna) #2 One who will return once more to the stream (Sakradagami) #3 One who will never again return to the stream (Anagami) #4 One who is liberated from the stream (Arhat)

6. Physical form, feelings, thoughts, acts of will, & consciousness: The Five Aggregates of Self whose apparent continuity constitutes the illusion of false self-existence, i.e., the Truth of Suffering

7. Greed, anger, & stupidity: The Three Poisons, i.e., the Truth of Origination

8. Two kinds: internal & external, that is, spiritual & material

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