Five Skandhas Are Empty — Internal Reference¶

This version contains the Guide's original texts in full, presented without alteration, for deep study.

I. Definition and Essence¶

689. The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, while practising deep prajnaparamita, clearly saw that all five skandhas are empty, and thus relieved all suffering and distress.

(New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, No. 689)

"The five skandhas are empty — what is not empty is consciousness, structure, and energy. 'Everything is empty' is a mistaken understanding; where you go depends on your own consciousness."

(Xuefeng's Writings · Q&A · Reply to Li Yunxiang's Various Questions)

II. Five Skandhas Empty in Cultivation Practice¶

I come from emptiness, and I return to emptiness. The five skandhas are empty — sensation, perception, formation, and consciousness all return to emptiness. All dharma-forms are empty-forms. There is no gain, no loss. Buddha-dharma is no-dharma; no-dharma is dharma. Possession is affliction; attachment is the sea of suffering. I originally had nothing; I return to nothing — Elysian bliss, free of clinging, free of having.

The truth of LIFE: no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no form, sound, scent, taste, touch, or objects of mind. No arising, no ceasing; no impurity, no purity; no increase, no decrease. Human life is a play — short or long, fortune or loss, winning or losing, none of it matters. As one rises, another falls; as one peaks, another ebbs. Where you triumph in this life, you falter in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The vast cosmos, boundless and infinite — return to zero-state, and transformation is endless. Act yet act not; do yet do not. No old age and death, nor any end to old age and death. Close one door and nine open. This shore is that shore; this moment is that moment. Joy here, joy there; suffering here, suffering there. Miss it now, and you are lost forever.

The sea of suffering stretches on; the world of mortals churns. Swords flash, tongues wag. Yet through prajnaparamita, the mind is without hindrance. Without hindrance there is no fear. Far from all perversions of view, one attains ultimate nirvana. Nirvana is zero-state; zero-state is Elysian bliss. Selflessness fulfils the self; non-having fulfils having; no-self fulfils self; no-form fulfils form.

The Second Home — paradise on earth. Most in the world lack the good fortune to taste its joy. We who have devoted ourselves to this have attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, practised formless giving, and accrued merit beyond measure. Others may criticize — it is no concern of mine. Persecution and suppression cannot stop the will of Heaven.

Time and space flow and shift; peaks and valleys alternate. Life is a journey, not a destination. Neon lights hold no sway; wealth and glory are floating clouds. Tides rise and fall; flowers bloom and wither; life and death repeat — nothing new. Five skandhas empty, ever returning to zero-state — this is the supreme method for reaching eternal Elysian bliss.

Adversity and ease arise from one's own consciousness. Fortune conceals misfortune within; misfortune harbours fortune. Why grieve or rejoice? When celestial spirit fills the heart, the great cosmos is all wondrous — life everywhere holds delight. Follow causes, roam freely; go along with circumstance, wander at ease. Move in accord with this; stop in accord with this; act urgently in accord with this; be carefree in accord with this. Here and now in accord with this; there and then in accord with this.

Chanyuan Celestials are all celestial grass — formed by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, nurtured by the essence of sun and moon. Enter the world and open the celestial path; leave the world and enter the celestial island. No lingering over the splendour of the mundane world; no attention to birth, old age, sickness, and death — graceful and free, smiling into the celestial realm.

The human world weeps for me; the celestial realm smiles for me; hell howls at me; Elysian bliss beckons me. Whether I go or stay is entirely Heaven's will. A flash of mortal affairs passes like a flower blooming for one day — stir the ordinary heart, still the celestial heart, and laugh it off.

(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation of Immortals · Five Skandhas Empty, Return to Zero-State, 2014-01-07)

III. Five Skandhas Empty and Liberation of the Soul¶

"The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, while practising deep prajnaparamita, clearly saw that all five skandhas are empty, and thus relieved all suffering and distress."

Do not trust what the eyes see. Do not trust what the ears hear. Do not trust what the nose smells. Do not trust what the tongue tastes. Do not trust what the body touches. Trust what the soul drives.

If the soul is in prison, one who lives in a mansion, drives a luxury car, and holds trillions in wealth is still a prisoner. The soul that is free and unhindered — even while living in a thatched hut, eating plain food, walking on foot — is a living immortal every day. Through formless thinking, one can enjoy heavenly life even while the body is in prison.

(Xuefeng's Writings · Soul · How to Enjoy Heavenly Life in Prison, 2025-03-01)

"The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, while practising deep prajnaparamita, clearly saw that all five skandhas are empty, and thus relieved all suffering and distress." "Through prajnaparamita, the mind is without hindrance; without hindrance there is no fear; far from all perversions of view, one attains ultimate nirvana."

"Gate, gate, pāragate, pārasaṃgate, bodhi svāhā!"

(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation · Walking toward Celestial and Buddha-hood without Adversity, 2025-07-20)

IV. Five Skandhas Empty in Funeral Guidance¶

All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow — like dew or a flash of lightning. Thus should they be contemplated. All appearances are illusory; to see beyond all appearances as no-appearance is to see the Tathagata. Do not linger or look back; do not cling to mirages or beautiful palaces. Five skandhas are empty; emptiness is form. Do not rush toward bright lights; do not flee into darkness. If you encounter fierce spirits, do not be afraid. If someone calls your name from behind, do not turn around. Fly as high as you can; run as far as you can. Where you hear the faint strains of Chan music, that is where your soul belongs.

(Xuefeng's Writings · Lifechanyuan · Chanyuan Sutra for Guiding Departed Souls)

V. The Prerequisite for Perceiving Five Skandhas Empty¶

Only after one has truly comprehended the truth and reality of things does one have the opportunity to see clearly that the five skandhas are empty.

(Chanyuan Corpus · Life Manual · Words from Ten Thousand People)

Zero-State · Elysian Bliss · Sunyata · Nirvana · No-Self, No-Form · Return to Zero · Mind Without Abiding · Inverted Illusions · Letting Go