Importance of the The Three Doors of Liberation

Buddha 

         Within Buddhism there is a concept know as the Three Doors of Liberation. The Three Doors of Liberation are emptiness, signlessness and aimlessness. All Buddhists accept these liberations and teach this concept throughout schools. “These Three Doors are sometimes called the Three Concentrations. When we enter these doors, we dwell in concentration and are liberated from fear, confusion, and sadness”(146). In other words entering into these Three Doors of Liberation helps calm one self and frees us from anxiety and stress. The First Door is called emptiness, by this the Buddha mean empty of something. It is healthy to practice the concept of emptiness. “The practice is to nourish the insight into emptiness all day long…When we touch these things deeply, we see the interbeing and interpenetrating nature of all that is” (146). We have to be sure to realize emptiness does not mean nonexistence but rather interdependent co-arising. The Second Door is signlessness. This concept discusses issues such as “As long as we are caught by signs- round, square, solid, liquid, gas- we will suffer”(149). Fear and attachment come from being caught within signs. We need to break through signs to be in touch with our reality. The Third and final Door of Liberation is aimlessness. “There is nothing to do, nothing to realize, no program, no agenda” (152). What we mean by this is that the purpose of a cat is to be a cat; the purpose of you is to be yourself. Aimlessness allows us to enjoy ourselves and everything else in this world. We need to know that we already have everything we need to know, it would only be detrimental for us to go out and look for something we only believe we want. As said on page 153, “Just be. Just being in the moment in this place is the deepest practice of meditation”. Just allow yourself to cherish in the moment and not search aimlessly around for something you will not find. We have to remember that we do not need anything; we already have what we want.

My sisters whom I appreciate very much 

     Hearing that everything is actually empty does sound a bit scary. Looking into this concept of emptiness deeper we learn to appreciate that emptiness is not so scary after all. We begin to notice everything is impermanent therefore everything is empty. In fact I have felt empty before and I’m sure all of you have as well. During high school my best friend and I began separating. It was a gradual separation but before we both knew it we were barley friends anymore. After this reality hit me I felt empty. I was sad and didn’t know what to do, but after a while it didn’t hurt so bad. I realized everything changes and this is just the way life is. I began to cherish my family and my closer friends a lot more. I also noticed myself paying more attention to my family's issues and helping other friends more often. Before I knew it I was beginning to think this concept of emptiness lead to a greater personal self. “The concentration on emptiness is a way of staying in touch with life as it is, but it has to be practiced not just talked about” (148). Personally I practice this concentration on emptiness quite often, this allows me to be happier. “But after practicing for a while, we see that things do exist, only in a different way than we thought” (147). Don’t be afraid of emptiness embrace it.

            People are always running around doing something. Everyone in American is always striving to be the best they can be and to improve what abilities they already possess. We need to begin to realize that we don’t need to do anything and that we already have everything we want. “There is no need to put anything in front of us and run after it”(152). We need to appreciate everything in front of us and realize we already have all that we need. A family friend of ours was a very athletic, smart and great mother. She was always on the go and always striving to become better, whether it was athletic wise or going back to school and getting a higher degree. She was always on the go and bettering herself each and everyday. You could tell she never took the time to sit around and realize she already is what she wants to become. One day, she was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer and given only a short while left to live. From that day on her attitude changed drastically. She began taking the time to realize how successful of a person she already was and that she already had everything she could ever wish for. She was now practicing the Third Door of Liberation, aimlessness. “In aimlessness, we see that we do not lack anything, that we are what we want to become, and our striving just comes to a halt”(153). Now she was able to enjoy every moment in her precious life. Sadly, she did pass away a few months later. After witnessing this I always have been one to appreciate everything I already have and realize I don’t need to become anything else. This concept can lead to a very positive life ahead. “Aimlessness is stopping and realizing the happiness that is already available” (155). It is very important to be able to take a step back from the world and remind yourself to just live in the moment and embrace everything you have because that is all you will ever need.

Nhá̂t, Hạnh. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy & Liberation : The Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and Other Basic Buddhist Teachings. New York: Broadway, 1999. Print.