FIRST REFLECTIONS
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With a foundation of hinayana purity derived by completely abandoning any harmful activity, one begins upon the path of the mahayana, which is the path of unifying emptiness and compassion. Let us again consider the meaning of emptiness. All sentient beings have mind and all identify with this mind. So, one thinks, "I am this mind," and one thinks, "I am," thereby contributing to the formulations of a variety of likes and dislikes, of aversions and attractions to different phenomena. Although it has absolutely no self whatsoever, this mind has an incidental clinging to a self as being something or someone real. Observing the true nature of mind and discovering that it is devoid of any descriptive characteristics (such as size, shape, color, or location) is to recognize that mind, in essence, is emptiness. In the hinayana practice, little emphasis is placed upon the recognition of the emptiness of all phenomena; instead, this view of emptiness is attained by seeing the emptiness of personality. It is simply not enough to recognize the emptiness of personality, however, or to recognize that mind itself is empty and devoid of any substantiality. One needs to recognize the void nature of all phenomena, and in so doing, one proceeds to enter the path of the mahayana. The Prajna Paramita Sutra, or the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, is the primary source of the teaching on emptiness in Buddhadharma. Basically, this sutra points o1,1t that mind is emptiness in categorically stating that "there is no form; there is no feeling; there is no sensation; there is no taste; there is no touch." In presenting the teaching that all these things are actually empty, this sutra is regarded as the core of elucidation on this topic. Its concept is the basis of the meditative practice that has developed in several schools, most notably in the Buddhist orders in Japan. Emphasis is placed on recognizing the emptiness of form, the emptiness of sound, the emptiness of feeling, the emptiness of smell, and so on. In short, all sensory appearances are recognized as being empty. This realization is achieved by seeing that the mind itself, that all appearances perceived and/ or experienced by the mind, are, in fact, mental projections. They are the mind's play; as mind itself is insubstantial, so too are these projections.