To be precise, it should be: color is emptiness, and emptiness is color.

In the "Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra", the most important classic of Mahayana Buddhism, "form is emptiness and emptiness is color" is an important principle of Mahayana Buddhism. This is an important idea in Buddhism. Simply put, form refers to all things and phenomena that can be seen or cannot be seen, and these phenomena are caused by cause and effect. Emptiness is the essence of things, and everything comes from nothing.

"Color is emptiness, emptiness is form" is a famous saying in the Buddhist scriptures, which contains profound philosophical thoughts. Most people, including literati, like to joke about it, thinking that color refers to women, and emptiness means nothingness or nothingness. It is said that the monk saw through the mortal world and regarded women as nothingness or nothingness, so he became a monk.

In fact, color is not female color, and emptiness is not nothingness. To understand the true meaning of this statement, we have to start with the basic teachings of Buddhism.

The main teachings of Buddhism are the so-called "Four Noble Truths", namely suffering, origin, cessation and path. The two truths of suffering and collection clarify the nature of life and the causes of its formation; the two truths of cessation and path point out the destination and path of liberation in life.

Specifically:

1. The truth of suffering is that life in this world seems to be suffering. There are many kinds of suffering in life, such as "birth, old age, illness, and death", as well as countless troubles. .

2. Jidhi is an analysis of the causes of pain and troubles. It believes that all things and phenomena in the universe cannot exist independently, but are composed of a variety of factors. In this case, all entities have no independent "self-nature". Buddhism calls it "all dharmas have no self" and believes that all things are changeable, which is called "all actions are impermanent". This is the main meaning of emptiness. content.

3. The truth of annihilation is the highest state of Buddhism, that is, nirvana, which can extinguish the suffering and troubles of life and transcend the cycle of life and death. 4. The truth is the road to Nirvana. The methods are summarized as "precepts, concentration, and wisdom."

Extended information:

Supplementary explanation:

Color, appearance, surface, phenomenon. Color is emptiness, emptiness is color, which means that the appearance is empty and the outside is empty. To further explain, the outside is empty, the appearance is empty, the inside is the foundation, and the essence is the foundation. When looking at people and things, when you encounter confusion and confusion, look at the essence and content, so as not to be confused by the surface and phenomenon, look at people and see Essence, look at the essence of the problem.

The connotation and essence of the Heart Sutra is philosophy, that is, prajna (wisdom).

From the origin:

From the origin, form and emptiness are one. Color is produced or transformed out of emptiness through the "combination of causes and conditions"; all colors are generated or transformed from emptiness through a certain "combination of causes and conditions";

In other words, color is emptiness. The representation or appearance or appearance of sex under certain causal conditions. Form comes from emptiness; all form has emptiness. Emptiness is the origin or essence of form. All form can return to its true nature, which is to return to emptiness. When form (or sentient beings) returns to emptiness or origin, that is when Buddhahood is achieved.

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