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I read the following in the internet:

Sheng-yen renders the following teaching of Mañjuśrī, for entering samādhi naturally through transcendent wisdom:

Contemplate the five skandhas as originally empty and quiescent, non-arising, non-perishing, equal, without differentiation. Constantly thus practicing, day or night, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down, finally one reaches an inconceivable state without any obstruction or form. This is the Samadhi of One Act.

Wikipedia

What is meant, here, by the five skandhas (five components of life) as:

  1. empty?
  2. non-arising?
  3. non-perishing?
  4. equal, without differentiation?

3 Answers 3

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I think the quote in Wikipedia is Sheng-yen's paraphrase of The Fourth Patriarch Tao-hsin who quoted from the Manjushri sutra:

The Fourth Patriarch Tao-hsin 道信(580-651 ) wrote Ju-tao anhsin yao fang-pien men 入道安心要方便 門. The Methods for Entering the Path and Calming the Mind. In it, he quoted from the Lankavatara Sutra and the Wen-shu shuo po-jo ching 文殊說般若經. The Prajna Sutra Spoken by Manjusri. He stresses the importance of tso-ch'an for the beginner, with emphasis on the right posture. The neophyte must then contemplate the five skandhas the material skandha of form (the elements), and the four mental skandhas : feeling, perception, phenomena, and consciousness. The Manjusri Sutra says, "He should contemplate the five skandhas as originally empty and quiescent, non-arising, non-perishing, equal, without differentiation. Constantly thus practicing, day or night, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down, finally one reaches an inconceivable state without any obstruction or form. This is the Samadhi of One Act (I-hsing sanmei) 一行三昧."

TSO-CH'AN By Master Sheng-Yen

Strangely though, I looked for a translation of the Manjusri Sutra to see for myself what it says originally, and what I read there about the Samadhi of One Act doesn't talk about skandhas, it seems to be very different:

Mañjuśrī asked, “World-Honored One, what is called the One Action Samādhi?”

The Buddha replied, “The dharma realm has the one appearance. Focusing one’s mind on the dharma realm is called the One Action Samādhi. If, among good men and good women, there are those who aspire to enter the One Action Samādhi, they should first hear prajñā-pāramitā and next train and learn it accordingly. Then they will be able to enter the One Action Samādhi, which fits the conditions of the dharma realm: indestructible, inconceivable, with no regress, no hindrance, and no appearance. If good men and good women aspire to enter the One Action Samādhi, they should sit properly in an open place, facing the direction of a Buddha, abandon distracting thoughts and appearances, focus their minds on that Buddha, and keep saying His name. If they can continue, thought after thought, thinking of one Buddha, they will be able to see, in their thinking, past, future, and present Buddhas. Why? Because the merit acquired from thinking of one Buddha is immeasurable and boundless, no different from the merit acquired from thinking of innumerable Buddhas or thinking of the inconceivable Buddha Dharma.

The Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra taught by Manjushri

A little earlier though in ibid. is the passage which might be paraphrased as being about skandhas:

Mañjuśrī said,

“If I could say that I abide in prajñā-pāramitā, this would be a perception founded on the view that one has a self. Abiding in a perception founded on the view that one has a self means that prajñā-pāramitā has a place. That I do not abide in prajñā-pāramitā is also [a perception] founded on the view that one has a self, and is a place as well. Free from these two places [subject and object], I abide in not abiding, like Buddhas abiding in the inconceivable state of peace and silence. Such an inconceivable state is called the dwelling of prajñā-pāramitā. In the dwelling of prajñā-pāramitā, all dharmas have neither appearance nor act.

“Prajñā-pāramitā is inconceivable. The inconceivable state is the dharma realm, which has no appearance. Having no appearance is the inconceivable state; the inconceivable state is prajñā-pāramitā. Prajñā-pāramitā and the dharma realm are the same, not distinct. Having neither differentiation nor appearance is the dharma realm; the dharma realm is the realm of prajñā-pāramitā. The realm of prajñā-pāramitā is the inconceivable state; the inconceivable state is the realm of no birth and no death.”

Mañjuśrī continued,

“The realm of a Tathāgata and the realm of a self are the appearance of non-duality. Those who practice prajñā-pāramitā in this way do not seek bodhi. Why not? Because bodhi, which is free from appearances, is prajñā-pāramitā.

“World-Honored One, to know the appearances of a self means not to be captivated by it. Not knowing and not being captivated by anything is what Buddhas know. The inconceivable [state of] not knowing and not being captivated by anything is what Buddhas know. Why? They know that the true nature of everything has no appearance. Then what drives the dharma realm? What in its true nature has neither self-essence nor attachment is called no thing[2] and is free from place, dependency, and fixity. Freedom from place, dependency, and fixity means having neither birth nor death. Having neither birth nor death is the virtue of any saṁskṛta or asaṁskṛta dharma. With this knowledge, one will not elicit perception. Without perception, how can one know the virtue of any saṁskṛta or asaṁskṛta dharma? Not knowing[3] is the inconceivable state. The inconceivable state is what Buddhas know, such as neither grasping nor not grasping, seeing neither the appearance of past, present, or future, nor the appearance of coming or going, and grasping neither birth nor death, neither cessation nor perpetuity, neither arising nor acting. This knowledge is called the true wisdom-knowledge, the inconceivable wisdom-knowledge. Like the open sky, with neither appearances nor features, in unequaled equality, it makes no comparison, neither this against that nor good against evil.”

The Buddha told Mañjuśrī,

“This knowledge is called the wisdom-knowledge that never fades.”

Now for your question -- "What is meant by empty, non-arising, etc.?"

I'm not sure I can explain it in my own words.

The four noble truths suggest that suffering (and desire) arise and cease -- and the goal is cessation, or non-arising.

In a similar way I think the quote you're asking about is saying to contemplate the skandhas as "non-arisen".

A complication (which may or may not be relevant) might be that according to some "perfect wisdom" doctrine, it isn't correct to talk about things (dhammas including skandhas) as arising and ceasing -- because, they have no own-existence, they're like dreams.

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  • The Pali suttas contain different words that are sloppily translated as "arise" & "cease". For example, MN 148 refers to uppādo & vayo for the operational arising & ceasing of the six sense spheres when viewed as not-self by a Buddha. Then suttas such as SN 22.5 & AN 4.41 uses words such as "samudaya" & "atthaṅgama" when referring to the arising & ceasing of grasping in relation to the five aggregates. Thus aggregates arising & passing from conscious awareness of them is different to aggregates arising/growing/fattening & passing/settling down due to grasping & non-grasping. Commented Oct 9, 2023 at 9:03
  • The word "udaya" appears to mean "growth" or "increase". "Samudaya" appears to mean "growth/increase" together with ("sam") defilements. Uppada appears to means to "pop up". For example, the suttas say Buddhas "uppada" ("arise"). Commented Oct 9, 2023 at 9:10
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Emptiness of five aggregates means body is empty of self, feelings are empty of self , perceptions are empty of self , choices are empty of self , consciousness is empty of self.

Form or body is non- arising thus non- perishing. Similarly feelings , perceptions, choices and consciousness are non -arising thus non perishing.

Bodies or forms are equal whether good or bad. Similarly feelings, perceptions, choices and consciousness are equal whether good or bad.

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  • Thank you for your answer however I marked it down. It contains no references & the view offered about emptiness here sounds Theravadin. I would particularly like to learn what are the Sanskrit or Chinese words here for non-arising & non-perishing. Commented Oct 7, 2023 at 21:04
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    @DhammaDhatu Sanskrit term for non-arising is Anutpāda and for non-perishing is Alaya. Commented Oct 7, 2023 at 21:38
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"Contemplate the five skandhas as originally empty and quiescent, non-arising, non-perishing, equal, without differentiation."

This refers to the same breakthrough that is described in the Heart of Prajnaparamita Sutra:

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, while performing deep practice of Prajnaparamita (alt. transl. "samadhi of transcendent wisdom" as in your excerpt - AV), contemplated the five skandhas and saw that they were devoid of essential nature (aka "empty" - AV).

...

Shaariputra, all things have the character of emptiness: they neither arise nor perish; they are neither defiled nor pure, neither deficient nor complete. (In other words, in the absence of conceptualization by a sentient observer, phenomena are "originally equal, without differentiation" - AV)

"Constantly thus practicing, day or night, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down, finally one reaches an inconceivable state without any obstruction or form."

This, again is a reference to the Heart Sutra:

By not grasping at mental constructs (alt. trans. "with no hindrance in the mind" or "no mental obstruction" - as in your passage), bodhisattva dwells in Prajnaparamita. No grasping therefore no fear. Far beyond mistaken fantasy, at last there is Nirvana.

The technical term for "mental obstruction" used in the Sanskrit version of Heart Sutra is "citta āvaraṇa". It refers to a rigid mental construct blocking one's vision like the cataract.

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  • So your answer seems to be suggesting the "five aggregates" are "concepts" therefore in Emptiness there are no concepts arising & passing therefore there are no aggregates? If this is true, when the Buddha asks: "Please bring some water", his mind ceases to dwell in Emptiness? Is this true? Do you believe the Enlightenment of Buddhas is only temporary? Do you believe Enlightenment is an absence of "concepts"? Thanks Commented Oct 9, 2023 at 8:55
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    Hi, good question. Literal abiding in emptiness is called signless absorption and it is temporary. Liberation by wisdom is beyond that. It is not grasping at concepts, and seeing through concepts. In Mahayana they call it "non-abiding Nirvana".
    – Andriy Volkov
    Commented Oct 9, 2023 at 9:30
  • OK. Whatever. More different words. Commented Oct 9, 2023 at 12:10

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