Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 51-minute teaching on the Heart Sūtra, Kyabje Rinpoche explains how the text presents the “three ever-liberated doors”—three wisdoms forming the direct entrance to liberation. He positions this within the five Mahāyāna paths: during accumulation and preparation, meditators develop calm abiding before reaching the path of seeing, where emptiness is directly perceived. He then maps the sūtra’s core lines—”form is empty, emptiness is form, signless, unproduced”—to the three doors: all phenomena are empty of inherent existence; causes are signless; results are unproduced. Using a flower metaphor, he shows how understanding these three aspects of emptiness places one at the door to the Buddha’s house, poised to enter liberation. For practitioners who already know the Mahāyāna path framework.
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File: tape – KR.mp3
UUID: dbfe4e8a-cd4e-4f5b-8f8f-ca67a3e44a3a
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Heart Sūtra
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,371
To develop a compassion too conjunction with the special intention wishing that both self and other sentient beings be free from all the suffering and their causes and I will take all the responsibility to free them from all the suffering. And through this meditate or develop compassion. And then wish both self and being to have entire happiness in their causes and shall take all the responsible to bring self and others towards the happiness. And through this meditate on love. And then developed a special altruistic intention or enlightened mind wishing that I shall attain enlightenment in order to free all the self and others from all the suffering and bring them to the ultimate happiness.
For that purpose I shall here listen to this essence teaching of Mahāyāna, Heart Sūtra and bring all the teaching into contemplation and meditation through this I shall benefit all sentient beings and others. And with this motivation we shall do a short meditation. The the Lord Buddha Śākyamūni has set forth so called the three ever liberated doors, during the teaching of emptiness. So we shall here, go through the three liberated, ever liberated door, today in this class. So we have set forth the five paths, five Mahāyāna paths in the earlier classes.
The five paths are path of accumulation, preparation, path of seeing, of meditation and the path of no more learning or normal training. About the first two and how one meditates or cultivates the meditation on emptiness during the first two parts, the accumulation and the preparation part, we have briefly explained about the practice how the practitioner performed the practices of emptiness So the the text, the sūtra set forth from the beginning, it begins from the form is empty or emptiness and the emptiness is formed. These two explains and and teaches one how to protect oneself from falling into two ends, which means to extend the eternalism and the nihilism. So the first one the form is empty which avoids ones from falling into eternalism and the emptiness is formed help one to avoid ones from falling from nihilism. So that by training in these two which which one leads into the middle path.
And then the next two forms, say the first one is formless emptiness and then emptiness. Form. And the next two are emptiness is not other than the form and form is not other than emptiness. Those two means So those two, the form is emptiness is not other than the form and form is not other than emptiness, which implies that the form and the emptiness of the form are one in entity or in nature but exists exists difference in nominal terms. For example, it is like the flower and the metok in Tibetan word which means flower.
So the flower and the metal hold one entity or one nature, but as we said that that exists different in nominal terms which means they have different names. So the flowers exist by its own by its name sounds flower whereas in metok it’s as metok. So they are different in name in nominal terms but hold the same entity. Flower means metal. So it is like the form and the emptiness of the forms are exist different, differently in nominally but holds the same entity or one nature.
So by basis on the form and we meditate on the four types of emptiness emptiness of the form, like form is empty, emptiness is form, it’s not other than empty, emptiness is not other than form, these are the four empties, and likewise we can take the same meditation or analysis of emptiness on the rest of the aggregates, like feelings and so forth. And so the part of the accumulation of the Mahāyāna vehicle, it it has also been classified into three which means three which are the small, middling and the great. When one the great accumulate, a great part of the accumulation path, one has already attained the calm abiding meditation of or on emptiness or focusing on emptiness. So at that time during the great part of the accumulation part, as we say accumulation part, three small, middling and the great one. During the the great time, the great path, one is in the single part, the calm abiding single pointed meditation on emptiness and maintaining and continuing with the single pointed meditation and after that and through this one attains called the Haktong, special insight.
And then by continuously, constantly single pointedly doing meditation on emptiness on that particular path one attains the special insight and after that whenever one achieves the wisdom derived from the meditation that is the time or is the criterion of having attained or reached the second part which is part of preparation. And then whenever one reaches the second path of preparation at that time or during that period one does realize the emptiness but not directly and during that time we recall it said the one realized the generic image of emptiness. The one does realize emptiness but not directly. And then for for the second part, the of preparation, it has four periods which called the four types of part of preparation called the training on the heat of the path of preparation and the peak training of the path of preparation, the forbearance or patience of the path of preparation, and the last one is called the supreme practice or the path of preparation. So when one reaches the last one of those four, which is the supreme part of the path of preparation is considered that one has reached the most ultimate or utmost part of the the ordinary being.
And then when after training in all these parts of the path of preparation, you’re training during the heat, peak training, forbearance of a patient, and during the last one called the Supreme Dharma, the Supreme Dharma, during that time one single again single pointedly meditate on the emptiness and and one realize the the emptiness which means that one not not not the generic image of emptiness one realize the emptiness directly. So, single one one does the single pointed, meditation on emptiness during the the the the Supreme Dharma of the path of preparation training of the path of preparation and during that time after the constant single point meditation one realizes the emptiness or directly and whenever one realizes the emptiness directly is the sign or is the time or period where one has reached the third part which is path of seeing. The meaning of the seeing is that that way it’s the time yeah. It’s the part where one sees the emptiness. And when one reaches the third part, the path of seeing, and then it is very powerful which means that the practice is performed by the person who has reached the path of seeing and all the practices becomes very powerful or effective.
At that time, one’s wisdom becomes very, very good. So, and when one reaches the path of seeing and that the path of seeing is the is is the path or is the door called the ever liberated doors.
And so liberated which means liberation from the suffering and the disturbing emotions and the door is the door entrance where one enters. So so the path of seeing is the entrance towards the liberation. So and as for the part of the ever liberated door the door of ever ever liberated door, they are set forth to be three types of doors. Three types of doors. And the first one is the door which is called all the phenomena are empty of inherent existence or free of inherent existence.
It’s . All the phenomenons are free empty of inherent existence from the entity. For example, then here like the flower what it means is the flower from its entity, is free of inherent existence by through its entity or its nature. Like a flower, by its own nature it is free of inherent existence. And it’s not only the flower by its nature or its entity itself, it’s not only free of inherent existence but all the causes of the flower.
We are on to the second door now. The second door is if the causes are also free of inherent existence or are say the causes are also signless which means are also the causes of the flower, seeds, water and so so forth are also empty of inherent existence. Yes. It’s the the second door which are the word to word which says that the causes are also signless or signless, which which means the the the the free empty of inherent existence. And then the third one is the results are also unproduced or unproduced inherently existent.
Which means that the flower has a cause but flower is also a cause. Flower itself is also a course because it has results. So because, so what it means is the results of the flowers are also produced but they are not produced inherently, but yeah not produced inherently, which means the results are also unproduced inherently that which shows the the the third door. So then in brief, speaking, then the the wisdom we realize is that the the entity flower the entity of is empty of inherent existence. First wisdom.
And wisdom which realizes all the causes of the flowers are also signless which means they’re free of inherent existence and the wisdom which realizes the results of the flowers are also inherent free of inherent existence or are unproduced, are not produced inherently. So these three wisdoms are called the the the three ever liberated doors. So these three wisdoms, wisdom realizing directly realizing emptiness, the door towards liberation. And whenever one attains any of those wisdoms and then one can or one can quickly or easily or very soon reach the city of nirvana or liberation when one attains any of these wisdoms. It is like sitting or standing right next or right in the Buddha house main gate or main door.
It is very obvious that when one reaches there, if one walks in one can quickly or very quickly within a minute or a second one is inside the Buddha house. So those three wisdoms are like the entrance of the Buddha house to reach inside Buddha house. So those three wisdoms a door towards liberation and when one reaches those or realize or attain any of those wisdoms, one is like sitting next to the door. You can easily reach the liberation, city of liberation. So for that reason these three the doors or the wisdoms are very very important to cultivate or realize within our mind stream because without achieving any of those wisdoms one can’t free oneself from the samsaric existence or saṃsāra and one undergoes to huge suffering being in saṃsāra.
So therefore therefore therefore therefore the Buddha Śākyamūni has set forth has set forth all the teachings three ever liberated doors, very affectionately set forth the teaching of three ever liberated doors because he wants to free sentient beings from the saṃsāra or samsaric existence. No. So we are dealing we have reached the third part, the path of seeing. And path of seeing the text begins from the calling Śāriputra listen. So the the text that that Śāriputra, thus all phenomena are empty.
Which means this shows the first first first door of the tree saying that that’s So the text says that Śāriputra does all phenomena all phenomena are empty, which saying the empty of inherent existence and this bit, this line shows the first liberated door. And the reason why it says thus all phenomena or empty, the reason using thus is because for doing the the the person, the practitioner has been meditating single pointedly on emptiness from from the previous part which is path of accumulation. And then the the rest, the text begins with signless, unproduced, unspoiled, stainless, and unstained, these lines show the second door of the three ever liberated doors and which is called the door the title is set forth the door of signlessness. And the the the next two shows the undiminished and the unfilled, it’s called unfilled, shows the third third door which is called the door the third door, which is called the door of wishlessness.
Yeah. The word to word, the door of wishlessness. So the wish is which is set forth word to word. And what the meaning of that is that the third door is as we, you know, demonstrated example before the the flower result and its causes. So the third door is to the its results are also free of inherent existence.
So which is called the wish or wishful prayer which we say that we wish for the result saying in future may I attain this and and may I have this and this and so forth. So what it means is all the results are also free of the wish which refers to the free of empty of inherent existence or not in not exist inherently. So briefly speaking then what it means is what it mentions all these eight, all phenomena of empty, signless, unproduced, unspoiled, so forth they are eight in numbers. Briefly speaking what it means is all those phenomena are the empty of inherent existence or yeah empty of inherent existence and where is the time which we are in the path of seeing, where one sees all the phenomena are empty of inherent existence and directly realize the emptiness and one is single pointedly meditation on the emptiness. So these three, are the wisdom directly realizing emptiness are very very powerful and very effective.
That they are like the fire to burn all the bushes. And so the path of seeing is the path where one a path of seeing is the very strong antidote towards the negative defilements or to get rid of all the negative defilements or the faults in terms of disturbing emotions, bad karmas, and there’s also one called the the the the obstruction towards omniscience.