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The Middle Way - Contemplating Being and Non-being
The chapter “Contemplating Being and Non-being,” the fifteenth in the Middle Way Treatise, introduces the concept of self-nature—an inherent nature that is permanent, neither arising nor ceasing—and illustrates it through the story of the king who split the lute but could not find the “essence” in any of its pieces. The sound of the lute, the banana tree, and the onion are only manifestations of dependent co-arising, non-self, and impermanence; there is no separate substance or entity.
The fifth gatha
If being is not established,
How can non-being be established?
Because of being, there are dharmas;
The destruction of being is called non-being.
makes clear that being and non-being are only interdependent concepts, without a fixed self-nature. Nirvana is not annihilation but the extinguishing of the notions of “being–non-being,” going beyond the two extremes, leading to absolute freedom.
Deep contemplation reveals that self-nature does not change, does not undergo the four marks:
- birth
- abiding
- change
-
extinction
thus, the five aggregates also have no self-nature. This insight helps us transcend suffering and affliction. The story of King Trieu Viet reminds us of the mistaken belief in “being–non-being” after death, while the priceless treasure is the insight of impermanence and non-self that the Buddha has offered.
