403 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
403 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
FORMLESS, EMPTINESS, MYSTERY
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World Scripture
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FORMLESS, EMPTINESS, MYSTERY
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This section treats Ultimate Reality as a mystery, not a thing that can be
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defined by form or a concept of being. In the monotheistic religions, God is
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beyond any human concept, hidden, and inscrutable: 'My thoughts are not your
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thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.' The prohibition of images is a
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statement about the utter transcendence of God, for to make an idol to
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represent God is to reduce the infinite to finitude. Buddhism, Hinduism,
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Jainism, and Taoism affirm the ineffability of Ultimate Reality in their
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assertions that no words or intellection can properly convey its nature. It is
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beyond all duality, e.g., all attempts to think of it as a "thing" separate
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from other things. Its nature is emptiness.
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Emptiness in the eastern religions should never be misunderstood as a cognitive
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statement about Reality--such a statement or its referent is a "thing" and
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cannot itself be empty. Rather, as the Buddhist scholar Edward Conze writes,
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Emptiness is not a theory, but a ladder that reaches out into the
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infinite. A ladder is not there to be discussed, but to be
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climbed.... It is a practical concept, and it embodies an
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aspiration, not a view. Its only use is to help us to get rid of
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this world and of the ignorance which binds us to it. It has not
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only one meaning, but several, which can unfold themselves on the
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successive stages of the actual process of transcending the world
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through wisdom. Not everyone, of course, is meant to understand
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what emptiness means. In that case it is better to pass on to
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something else.1
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Truly Thou art a God who hidest Thyself.
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1. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Isaiah
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45.15
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Invent not similitudes for God; for God knows, and you know not.
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2. Islam. Qur'an 16.74
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For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
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neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
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For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
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so are my ways higher than your ways
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and my thoughts than your thoughts.
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3. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Isaiah 55.8-9
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No vision can grasp Him,
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But His grasp is over all vision;
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He is above all comprehension,
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Yet is acquainted with all things.
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4. . Islam. Qur'an 6.103
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Can you find out the deep things of God?
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Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
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It is higher than heaven--what can you do?
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Deeper than Sheol--what can you know?
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Its measure is longer than the earth,
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and broader than the sea.
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5. . Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Job
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11.7-9
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We raise to degrees of wisdom whom We please; but over all endued with
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knowledge is One, the All-knowing.
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6. Islam. Qur'an 12.76
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At this time the World-honored One serenely arose from meditation and addressed
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Shariputra, "The wisdom of all the Buddhas is infinitely profound and
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immeasurable. The portal to this wisdom is difficult to understand and
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difficult to enter. Neither men of learning nor men of realization are able to
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comprehend it."
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7. . Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 2
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- - - - - - - - - -
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1 Conze, Selected Sayings from the Perfection of Wisdom (Boulder: Prajna Press,
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1978) 24. Isaiah 55.8-9: Cf. 1 Corinthians 1.20-25, p. 798. Lotus Sutra 2:
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'men of learning' are shravakas who rightly understand the Four Noble Truths
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and who attain arhatship. 'men of realization' are pratyekabuddhas who rightly
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understand the twelve links of causation and who attain pratyekabuddhahood
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through solitary effort and meditation. This sutra was composed in a period of
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rivalry among the various schools of Buddhism. The Buddha goes on to say that
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the only way to enter the door is by faith.
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- - - - - - - - - - -
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If you think that you know well the truth of Brahman, know that you know
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little. What you think to be Brahman in your self, or what you think to be
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Brahman in the gods--that is not Brahman. What is indeed the truth of Brahman
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you must therefore learn.
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I cannot say that I know Brahman fully. Nor can I say that I know Him not. He
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among us knows Him best who understands the spirit of the words, "Nor do I know
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that I know Him not."
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He truly knows Brahman who knows Him as beyond knowledge; he who thinks that he
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knows, knows not. The ignorant think that Brahman is known, but the wise know
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Him to be beyond knowledge.
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8. Hinduism. Kena Upanishad 2.1-3
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All praise and glory is due the Lord, whose worth cannot be described even by
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the greatest rhetoricians of all times... None can fully understand or explain
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His Being however hard he may try. Reason and sagacity cannot visualize Him.
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Intelligence, understanding, and attainment cannot attain the depths of
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knowledge to study and scrutinize the Godhead. Human faculties of conception,
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perception and learning, and attributes of volition, intuition and apprehension
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cannot catch sight of His Person or fathom the extent of His might and glory.
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His attributes cannot be fixed, limited or defined. There do not exist words
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in any language to specify or define His qualities, peculiarities,
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characteristics or singularities.
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9. Islam (Shiite). Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 1
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I asked the Messenger of God, "Did you see thy Lord?" He said, "He is a Light;
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how could I see Him?"
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10. Islam. Hadith of Muslim
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Verily, there exist seventy thousand veils of light and darkness before God. If
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He were to lift them, the light of the Majesty of His countenance would consume
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all of creation within sight.
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11. Islam. Hadith
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God is formless. If you think He is big, He is infinite, and if you think He
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is small, He is infinitesimal.
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12. Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon,
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10-13-70
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The eye cannot see it; the mind cannot grasp it.
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The deathless Self has neither caste nor race,
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Neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet.
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Sages say this Self is infinite in the great
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And in the small, everlasting and changeless,
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The source of life.
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13. Hinduism. Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.6
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- -- - - - - - - -
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Kena Upanishad 2.1-3: Cf. 1 Corinthians 8.1-3, p. 796; Diamond Sutra 21, p.
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800; Sirach 24.26-27, p. 806. Nahjul Balagha: Cf. 1 Corinthians 1.20-25, p.
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798. Hadith: On the notion that God is the transcendent and veiled center, see
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also Katha Upanishad 2.3.7-8, p. 93; 3.13, p. 840; Ezekiel 1.3-28, pp. 100f.;
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Zohar, p. 324.
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- - - - - - - - - -
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In the beginning was God,
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Today is God
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Tomorrow will be God.
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Who can make an image of God?
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He has no body.
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He is as a word which comes out of your mouth.
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That word! It is no more,
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It is past, and still it lives!
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So is God.
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14. African Traditional Religions. Pygmy Hymn
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(Zaire)
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Moses said, "I pray thee, show me thy glory." And [the Lord] said, "I will
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make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name 'The
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Lord'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy
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on whom I will show mercy." "But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for man
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shall not see me and live." And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by me
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where you shall stand upon the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put
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you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have
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passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my
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face shall not be seen."
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15. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Exodus
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33.18-23
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Moses said to God, "Show me now thy ways" (Exodus 33.13). And He showed them
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to him, as it is said, "He made known His ways unto Moses" (Psalm 103.7). Then
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Moses said, "Show me now thy glory" (Exodus 33.18), that is, "the attributes
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wherewith thou governest the world." Then God said, "Thou canst not comprehend
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my attributes."
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16. Judaism. Midrash, Psalm 25.4
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The Formless is Attributed and Unattributed,
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And gone into absorption in the cosmic Void.
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Himself has He made creation; Himself on it meditates.
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In the cosmic Void is he absorbed,
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Where plays the unstruck mystic music--
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Beyond expression is this miraculous wonder.
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17. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Gauri Sukhmani 21;
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23.1, M.5, pp. 290, 293
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The way that can be spoken of
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Is not the eternal Way;
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The name that can be named
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Is not the eternal name.
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The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth;
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The named was the mother of the myriad creatures.
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Hence always rid yourself of desire in order to observe its secrets;
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But always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its
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manifestations.
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These two are the same
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But diverge in name as they issue forth.
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Being the same they are called mysteries,
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Mystery upon mystery--
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The gateway of the manifold secrets.
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18. Taoism. Tao Te Ching 1
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- -- - - - - - - - -
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Midrash on Psalms: The true nature of God is beyond any of his attributes as
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humanly conceived; cf. The Kaddish, pp. 53f. Gauri Sukhmani: On the music of
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the spheres, see Qur'an 71.15, p. 325.
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- - - - - - - - - - -
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You look at it, but it is not to be seen;
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Its name is Formless.
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You listen to it, but it is not to be heard;
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Its name is Soundless.
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You grasp it, but it is not to be held;
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Its name is Bodiless.
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These three elude all scrutiny,
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And hence they blend and become one.
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Its upper side is not bright;
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Its under side is not dimmed.
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Continuous, unceasing, and unnameable,
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It reverts to nothingness.
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It is called formless form, thingless image;
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It is called the elusive, the evasive.
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Confronting it, you do not see its face;
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Following it, you do not see its back.
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Yet by holding fast to this Way of old,
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You can harness the events of the present,
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You can know the beginnings of the past--
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Here is the essence of the Way.
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19. Taoism. Tao Te Ching 14
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All voices get reflected there in the Supreme Soul (Paramatman). There is no
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reason; the intellect fails to grasp him. He is one and alone, bodiless and
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the Knower. He is neither long nor short, nor a circle nor a triangle, nor a
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quadrilateral nor a sphere. He is neither black nor blue nor red nor yellow
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nor white. He is neither a pleasant smell nor an unpleasant smell. He is
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neither pungent nor bitter nor astringent nor sour nor sweet. He is neither
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hard nor soft, neither heavy nor light, neither cold nor hot, neither rough nor
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smooth. He is bodiless. He is not subject to birth. He is free from
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attachment. He is neither female nor male nor neuter. He is immaculate
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knowledge and intuition. There exists no simile to comprehend him. He is
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formless existence. He is what baffles all terminology. There is no word to
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comprehend him. He is neither sound nor form nor odor nor taste nor touch.
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Only so much I say.
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20. Jainism. Acarangasutra 5.123-40
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The capacity of the mind is as great as that of space. It is infinite, neither
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round nor square, neither great nor small, neither green nor yellow, neither
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red nor white, neither above nor below, neither long nor short, neither angry
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nor happy, neither right nor wrong, neither good nor evil, neither first nor
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last. All universes are as void as space. Intrinsically our transcendental
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nature is void and not a single thing can be attained. It is the same with the
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Essence of Mind, which is a state of Absolute Void.
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21. Buddhism. Sutra of Hui Neng 2
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Reversion is the action of Tao.
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Weakness is the function of Tao.
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All things in the world came from being;
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And being comes from non-being.
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22. Taoism. Tao Te Ching 40
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Here, O Shariputra, form is emptiness, and the very emptiness is form;
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emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness;
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whatever is form, that is emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form. The
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same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness.
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23. Buddhism. Heart Sutra
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Vimalakirti, "Manjusri, all worlds are empty."
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Manjusri, "What makes them empty?"
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"They are empty because [their ultimate reality is] emptiness."
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"What is 'empty' about emptiness?"
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"Constructions are empty, because of emptiness."
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"Can emptiness be conceptually constructed?"
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"Even that concept is itself empty, and emptiness cannot construct emptiness."
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24. Buddhism. Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 5
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Tao Te Ching 1: The 'way,' that is, the Tao. Acarangasutra 5.123-40: This is
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the fundamental statement of Mahavira's enlightenment. In Jainism, the Supreme
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Soul is not God, but rather the condition of the liberated human soul, which in
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liberation becomes eternal, infinite, blissful, omniscient, and supreme in all
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the cosmos. Cf. Niyamasara 176-77, p. 226; Pancastikaya 170, p. 197. Sutra of
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Hui Neng 2: Cf. Mumonkan 33, p. 899. Tao Te Ching 40: Cf. Chuang Tzu 12, pp.
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589. Heart Sutra: This famous and enigmatic statement declares that all
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material phenomena are relative existences. Even emptiness itself is, if
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considered as a separate thing, a relative existence. At the same time, all
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material phenomena in their relativity participate in emptiness. The complete
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sutra is given on pp. 598f. Cf. Katha Upanishad 2.1.10-11, p. 588. Holy
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Teaching of Vimalakirti 5: This is a conversation between Vimalakirti, who is a
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wealthy lay Buddhist well versed in Mahayana teachings, and Manjusri, one of
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the great Bodhisattvas. The doctrine of emptiness (sunyata) is too profound for
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words; to describe it leads only to an infinite regress. This sutra is a
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favorite of lay Buddhists as Vimalakirti, the layman, excels all the monks and
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bodhisattvas in wisdom. Cf. Diamond Sutra 21, p. 800; Lankavatara Sutra 61, pp.
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634f.; Mumonkan 33, p. 899.
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- - - - - - - - - - - - -
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As long as there is duality, one sees "the other," one hears "the other," one
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smells "the other," one speaks to "the other," one thinks of "the other," one
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knows "the other"; but when for the illumined soul the all is dissolved in the
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Self, who is there to be seen by whom, who is there to be smelled by whom, who
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is there to be heard by whom, who is there to be spoken to by whom, who is
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there to be thought of by whom, who is there to be known by whom? Ah,
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Maitreyi, my beloved, the Intelligence which reveals all--by what shall it be
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revealed? By whom shall the Knower be known? The Self is described as "not
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this, not that" (neti, neti). It is incomprehensible, for it cannot be
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comprehended; undecaying, for it never decays; unattached, for it never
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attaches itself; unbound, for it is never bound. By whom, O my beloved, shall
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the Knower be known?
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25. Hinduism. Bhrihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.5.15
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What is never cast off, seized, interrupted, constant, extinguished, and
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produced--this is called Nirvana.
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Indeed, Nirvana is not strictly in the nature of ordinary existence for, if it
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were, there would wrongly follow the characteristics of old age and death.
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For, such an existence cannot be without those characteristics.
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If Nirvana is strictly in the nature of ordinary existence, it would be of the
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created realm. For, no ordinary existence of the uncreated realm ever exists
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anywhere at all.
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If Nirvana is strictly in the nature of ordinary existence, why is it
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non-appropriating? For, no ordinary existence that is non-appropriating ever
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exists.
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If Nirvana is not strictly in the nature of ordinary existence, how could what
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is in the nature of non-existence be Nirvana? Where there is no existence,
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equally so, there can be no non-existence.
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If Nirvana is in the nature of non-existence, why is it non-appropriating? For,
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indeed, a non-appropriating non-existence does not prevail.
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The status of the birth-death cycle is due to existential grasping [of the
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skandhas] and relational condition [of the being]. That which is non-grasping
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and non-relational is taught as Nirvana.
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The Teacher has taught the abandonment of the concepts of being and non-being.
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Therefore, Nirvana is properly neither [in the realm of] existence nor
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non-existence.
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If Nirvana is [in the realm of] both existence and non-existence, then
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liberation will also be both. But that is not proper.
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If Nirvana is [in the realm of] both existence and non-existence, it will not
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be non-appropriating. For, both realms are always in the process of
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appropriating.
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How could Nirvana be [in the realm of] both existence and non-existence?
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Nirvana is of the uncreated realm while existence and non-existence are of the
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created realm.
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How could Nirvana be [in the realm of] both existence and non-existence? Both
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cannot be together in one place just as the situation is with light and
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darkness.
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The proposition that Nirvana is neither existence nor non-existence could only
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be valid if and when the realms of existence and non-existence are established.
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If indeed Nirvana is asserted to be neither existence nor non-existence, then
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by what means are the assertions to be known?
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It cannot be said that the Blessed One exists after nirodha (release from
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worldly desires). Nor can it be said that He does not exist after nirodha, or
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both, or neither.
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It cannot be said that the Blessed One even exists in the present living
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process. Nor can it be said that He does not exist in the present living
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process, or both, or neither.
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Samsara (the empirical life-death cycle) is nothing essentially different from
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Nirvana. Nirvana is nothing essentially different from Samsara.
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The limits of Nirvana are the limits of Samsara. Between the two, also, there
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is not the slightest difference whatsoever.
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The various views concerning the status of life after nirodha, the limits of
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the world, the concept of permanence, etc., are all based on [such concepts as]
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Nirvana, posterior and anterior states of existence.
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Since all factors of existence are in the nature of Emptiness (sunya), why
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assert the finite, the infinite, both finite and Infinite, and neither finite
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nor infinite?
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Why assert the identity, difference, permanence, impermanence, both permanence
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and impermanence, or neither permanence nor impermanence?
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All acquisitions [i.e., grasping] as well as play of concepts [i.e., symbolic
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representation] are basically in the nature of cessation and quiescence. Any
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factor of experience with regards to anyone at any place was never taught by
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the Buddha.
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26. Buddhism. Nagarjuna, Mulamadhyamaka Karika
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25
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- - - - - - - - - -
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Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.5.15: This is the classic statement of the via
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negativa, as the seeker gradually strips away all relative phenomena,
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descending ever deeper into darkness. Through such an emptying of the soul,
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perhaps the Absolute may be found. Cf. Chuang Tzu 2, p. 181. Mulamadhyamaka
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Karika 25: In this well-known passage, Nagarjuna sets forth a logical argument
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for the identity of Nirvana (unconditioned existence) and Samsara (the world of
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changing, relative and interdependent phenomena). Cf. Heart Sutra, p. 589f.;
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Lankavatara Sutra 78, p 182; Milarepa, p. 587.
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- - - - - - - - - -
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