Buddhism and Monotheism: God Equals Emptiness

K.Wong

Introduction

According to Sufi Ibn ‘Arabī’s Doctrine of ‘Unity of Being ’ (Waḥdāt al Wujūd) in his Sufi work ‘Seal of Wisdom’ (Fuṣūṣ al Ḥikam), God is defined as the Unity of contigent beings to produce a necessary existent. It is process philosophy of the dynamic ontology of becoming. Therefore, the religion of God is the epistemology of Dependent Co-arisen Unity. Likewise, Nāgārjuna in his treatise ‘Root-verses of the Middle Philosophy’ (Mūlamadhyamkakārikā) expounds the Doctrine of Emptiness (Śūnyavāda). Emptiness is too defined as the Unity of contigent conditions. Buddhism is certainly the process philosophy of the dynamic ontology of becoming. Therefore, Emptiness is also the epistemology of Dependent Co-arisen Unity. Thus we see clearly, God and Emptiness are equal in terms of the eternal Truth of Unity or Non-duality. It is therefore not amazing as both the Absolutes of Islamic Sufism and Mahāyāna Buddhism connote the same eternal Truth of Unity or Non-duality. In actuality, different religions are only different paths heading towards the same goal of liberation in which knowledge and virtue or conduct are fully rectified, refined and redeemed. It is compared to the metaphor of refining contaminated iron-ore into pure iron from which diverge beautiful icons of modern civilization can be constructed. The Truth of cosmic Unity is central to all religions. They are merely different vehicles to reach the same soteriological destination refining fallible Man into an infallible one.

Unity in Multiplicity

 Apparently, the myriad things or beings in the universe seem to exist as discrete entities separate from one another. In actuality, all myriad things or beings in the universe are interdependent and interrelated. They are not separate from the whole – the Unity of Being or Existence or the Emptiness of all phenomena of the empirical world. They are conditioning and are being conditioned by one another forming an interwoven network of interdependent world of Unity. This state of supporting and being supporting between contigent conditions is true picture of the oneness of the world. This Unity of the universe is the eternal Essence of the Buddha or God. All adherents of religions seek for this communal Truth of Wisdom – intuitive discernment of the oneness of the world. Many have comprehended the oneness of the world or unity in diversity intellectual. Mere intellectual understanding is not enlightenment. Only intuitive understanding is genuine enlightenment. Enlightenment is full or complete knowledge of the worldview of the relationship between manifest appearance and hidden Reality.

 Whoever perceives this dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality perceives the Essence of Buddha or God. Succinctly put, such intuitive discernment makes the Knower perceive oneself in others and others in oneself. Such intuitive perception of the Buddha or God results in a natural flow of lovingkindness and compassion among all fellow human beings and non-human beings. All human beings and non-human beings are integrated into an infinite existence or becoming of many in the One. There is one universe which contains myriad beings or things in it. The universe is a totality of all the myriad beings or things. The ordinary worldlings perceive the myriad beings or things as individuations or multiplicity. However, the Gnostic or Knowers (Jñāni) of Truth perceive that individuations or discrete entities are relatively true but are ultimately untrue.

 In monotheism, such wisdom of Theosophy results in the Knower being in union with God, that is dwelling in unity with the universe. In Buddhism, it enables one to enter the door of non-duality to live in unity with all others. Non-duality is the transcendence of the discrimination between the perceiver and the perceived, between the subject and object, between subject and predicate or between the substance and attribute. On the basis of dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality, the world is said to be empty of inherent existence. Emptiness of inherent existence implies that there is no self-nature embodied inherently in all conditioned phenomenon. The emptiness of self-nature denotes that the world is signless, markless or characteristicless. Whoever perceives signlessness, marklessness or characteristiclessness ceases grasping upon the five aggregates as this is I ; this is mine ; this belongs to me. Without grasping, conceptualization and volitional activities cease. The cessation of conceptualization shifts one’s consciousness from the conceptual mind into the intuitive mind. Enlightenment is gained and Nirvāṇa is realized in the intuitive mind of our inner Heart.

Logics

Permit me to utilize Buddhist logics to vindicate the equation between God and
Emptiness in terms of Ultimate Reality or Truth. According to four-cornered Logic, Emptiness is the Ultimate Reality of dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality which can be defined as follows:

Emptiness is

1. Existence
2. Non-existence
3. Both Existence and Non-existence
4. Both neither Existence nor Non-existence

These four negations are utilized to illustrate the ineffable meaning of Emptiness thus: The ultimate Truth is neither arising nor ceasing, neither eternalism nor annihilationism, neither identity nor difference and neither coming nor going. These eight negations reflect the Ultimate Reality or Truth of Emptiness. This eight-fold negation to depict Truth of Emptiness is elucidated in the Nāgārjuna’s renowned Mahāyāna treatise ‘Root Verses of the Middle Philosophy’ (Mūlamadhyamakārikā). Emptiness, which is dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality, is eternal and immutable.

Likewise, God can also defined in terms of four-cornered logic thus:

     God is the:

1. One
2. Many
3. Both the One and the many
4. Neither the One nor many

The One is the God. The One is the Unity. Therefore, the God is the Unity. The Unity is Emptiness. Emptiness is the Unity. The many is the multiplicity of the world. The contigent beings of the multiplicity do not exist as discrete entities. They are empty of inherent existence because they exist in unity with one another and not in separation as individuations. Therefore. the multiplicity is also Emptiness; Emptiness is also multiplicity (parallel to Heart Sūtra: Form is Emptiness ; Emptiness is Form). When it asserted that the God is both the One and the many, it connotes that, inwardly, God is the unmanifest Absolute and outwardly, God is the manifest multiplicity. The final negation of neither the One nor Many is to express the transcendence of God which is actually beyond the description of words. The final negation describes the state of ineffability of ultimate Truth. The ultimate Truth is ineffable. ‘The One in many’ connotes immanence of God. This is synonymous with Heart Sūtra’s exposition that ‘Emptiness is Form’ ( to be repeated with Emptiness is Feeling, Emptiness is Perception, Emptiness is Volition and Emptiness is Consciousness). Emptiness is dependently co-arisen Unity. It denotes that form exists because of Emptiness or Unity. It is equivalent to the affirmation that every form is empty. In other words, Emptiness is immanent in all phenomena. Alternatively put, there is potentially Buddha-nature in all phenomena. That God is transcendental connotes that God is beyond self or ego. Likewise, Buddha is also the transcendence of self or ego. Hence, Buddha and God are synonymous in terms of immanence and transcendence. Truth is universal. There is only one Absolute. The Wise speaks of one Truth by different names or designations. The Truth is actually infinite and therefore indescribable.

Middle Path

Like God, Emptiness is actually also ineffable. Emptiness is the reality of Ultimacy or highest Truth of Reality of the world. God is also the reality of ultimacy or the highest Truth of Reality of the World. The highest knowledge of Reality serves two-fold soteriological function. Firstly, it annihilates the self-centric ego. Secondly, it awakens us to the illusion and unreality of the phenomenal world. It also awakens us to the reality that only the Buddha or God is real and anything other than Buddha or God is unreal.

At this juncture, one ought to take heed that having realized the Emptiness of the world, one should not negate or deny the existence of the world. One should exercise the middle path to live in this world without ontological commitment (substantial view of ontology) which evokes self-grasping. One should not even be ontologically committed to Emptiness. This is the spiritual state of Emptiness of Emptiness in which self-centric ego is completely annihilated. The liberating state of Emptiness of Emptiness is synonymous with the self- redeemed state of al Fanā’ al Fanā’ (Destruction of Destruction) realized by an enlightened Sufi.

Spiritual wisdom is developed so that one is detached from the world but not to reject the world. Detachment is living in worldliness without mental corruptions. Human beings cannot be separated from the secular world. Material Life in temple or monastery is secular or worldly and only the mind is spiritual. The material life and spiritual life cannot be separated. Spirituality is developed so that one’s mind is not corrupt in the secular world. Without spiritual wisdom, one suffers incessantly. A knowledge of the relationship between the phenomenal world and Buddha or God (Emptiness) is the innate insurance for happiness. The ignorance of this knowledge of Theosophy is the cause of human suffering.

Conclusion

Therefore, we conclude that God is Emptiness and Emptiness is God. Since Emptiness is the Buddha. The God equals the Buddha. Having perceived this equation, all human beings ought to strive towards the alliances of civilizations to avert the epic clashes of civilizations which are rampant nowadays. The world is imperiled because our brothers and sisters are fighting against one another without being aware that all living beings and non-beings are intimately interdependent and interconnected. Consequently, the world today is getting more tumultuous.

The whole edifice of religion either Buddhism or Monotheism is constructed on the eternal Truth of Unity devoid of diverge differentiations of multiplicity. This discovery of communal Truth of Wisdom should be capitalized to bridge the divisions among human beings of different creeds, colours, and beliefs. Currently, there is an increasing propensities of clashes of civilizations that tend to tear the world apart. It is threat to world security, stability and peace. The brake should be pulled and the course should be reset towards more alliances of civilizations to save our currently imperiled world. Intellectual minds or heads do not suffice. We need to utilize the intuitive minds or inner Heart to interact with one another harmoniously. The Wisdom of the Buddha or God originates from the intuitive mind of the inner Heart. Religion helps us utilize the inner Heart to spiritualize the head (intellectual mind) so that we are more civil, humane or friendly towards others. Equanimity of non-grasping ought to be supported by boundless loving-kindness, compassion and appreciative joy. Equanimity without benevolence and love is dry. Equanimity supported by benevolence and love is wet. Wet equanimity promotes and fosters social cohesion.