Term Paper On Magical Episodes And Emptiness

Knowledge of the idea of emptiness is of high relevance in the contemporary society. Dalai Lama regards emptiness as the “true nature of things and events.” This essentially entails the concept of the knowledge of the existence of the parts and wholes of all objects. It is worthwhile noting that a state of emptiness never means that essentially nothing exists. However, the idea of emptiness means that things may exist, but not mainly in the way, we perceive them to do. Despite, we need to be alert not to mistake the idea of emptiness with the absolute reality as Lama warns. This means emptiness cannot be regarded as a form of heaven since this would be a misinformed perspective. In the second episode of The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti, the teachings focus on emptiness. Vimalakīrti, a certain Licchavi who lived in the great city of Vaisali, feels emptiness of the people and the city at large although the people in the city do not feel the same. He explores the subject trying to change the people’s thoughts but the people rate him highly and think he is complete.
Magical episodes tell us that emptiness can exist in the physical nature despite the fact that people may see one as well endowed with material things. People saw Vimalakīrti as a wealthy person whose wealth was beyond any measure. They thought that he did not lack anything in his life. In the eyes of the people, he had ornaments made from the most precious tools. He always wore white clothes like the nonprofessional and the people took him to be satisfied in the society. However, emptiness ruled his heart. As much as the people thought he owned all the things, he saw himself as lacking everything because of the state of the people around him.
Magical episodes reveal that as much as people may see one as being emotionally and psychologically full, this may fail to reflect the actual state of emptiness. People believed that Vimalakīrti was emotionally and mentally satisfied, but this was not the true nature of his state. He associated with the elders, business people, and the ordinary people in the society in order to get some emotional balance. When he interacted with people, they though he was happy while he internally felt disturbed. He asserted that the body was inert and selfless and that he felt that the society missed many things as much as they thought they possessed everything (18).
The magical episodes show that the virtues that people hold dear to their lives may be far from the real state of emptiness. Vimalakīrti argues that the body is a function of ten virtues but these virtues do not make it complete (18). His life was full of beautiful virtues that made the people think that he was a complete person. However, he clearly states that the virtues did not imply the ultimate completeness of his personality. Wisdom, knowledge, charity, discipline, and endurance form the virtues which people consider imperative in the completeness of the people. However, Vimalakīrti affirms that he was incomplete despite possessing all the virtues. This means that what people identify as the principle virtues that are essential for one to be fully satisfied or complete may not highlight the true nature of the events and situations.
The use of magical episodes is advantageous in a number of ways. Initially, it helps the readers to visualize the event or phenomenon that an author is addressing. When authors address emotions, thoughts and appearance in normal texts, the readers may not see what the author is talking about in the eyes of reality. However, when an author uses the magical episodes, a reader can easily visualize what the author is talking about. In essence, the magical episodes create the image of reality in the minds of the readers.
The magical episodes also help the readers to memorize the stories and the lessons that they learn from reading different stories. In The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti, the author talks about how interactions with the judges and elders helped the character to feel content. He talks about his humility in the magical episode. He addresses how he clothed well to a state that people thought he was satisfied. He addresses the virtues possessed by Vimalakīrti such as honesty. The use of magical episodes helps the readers to memorize the stories hence they can tell them on. Magical episodes also present an easier way to tell the story on to other people after reading it. Putting a story in an act is one of the hardest things that people engage in. the description of a rich a desirable person in the second episode of The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti makes it easy for any person to tell the story to another person. In this way, the lessons learnt in the readings can be spread on to many other people.
Magical episodes are the best episodes to use in passing information about a particular event or virtue. In the second episode of The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti, the author uses the magical episodes to show how people thought the character was complete yet he was internally empty. The use of magical episodes helps the readers in many ways. The magical episodes help people to memorize the readings, relate them easily, and make them easily transferable.