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Transforming Formations: Seeing Emptiness in Father, Enemy, and Sangha
When we look into the formation called “father,” we discover that “father” is a conventional designation arising through dependent co-arising—conditioned by ancestors, society and ourselves—and empty of a separate self. Blame and anger arise from ignorance of this interbeing; understanding emptiness brings only compassion, which in turn creates the conditions for true transformation. Whether we intervene in our father, a young prostitute, or any suffering being, it is through compassion born of deep insight that change becomes possible.
Every collective—Sangha, political party or ecosystem—is likewise a formation without self. Because of emptiness, these formations can be harmonized and improved by any element within them. Seeing “enemy” and “self” as mutually containing one another dissolves dualism, and compassion becomes the effective response. The teaching of Prajñāpāramitā shows us how to go beyond birth and death, marks and forms, touching the living Buddha, Christ—or Thầy—directly, free from notions.
At the close, Thầy invites the monastics to formal training in the Vimalakīrti Sutra (Tỳ Ni Đa Lưu Chi):
- Allocate one hour of practice and half an hour to sutra study.
- Every sister and brother must have their own copy—print any missing texts.
- Monastics are required to study; guests may attend as listeners.