This talk explores the concept of emptiness (śūnyatā) by comparing the Three Dharma Seals with the Seal of Emptiness (the One True Dharma Seal / the Seal of Ultimate Reality).

It also examines the practical methods of cultivating insight into emptiness through three key Buddhist teachings:

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta) – the practice of right mindfulness and right wisdom;

The Heart Sutra (Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra) – realizing that the five aggregates are all empty (“seeing that the five skandhas are empty”);

The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch – the method of “no-thought” (wu nian).

The talk further explains the relationship between emptiness, liberation, and Nirvāṇa, showing how the realization of emptiness leads to freedom from suffering and ultimate awakening.

Dharma Talk by Venerable Fa Liang on Vesak Day, May 4, 2022