Being and Non-Being: The Secret of Presence and the Void

Have you ever noticed why some people only need to appear and the whole crowd stirs with excitement, while others, even sitting in the middle of a crowd, seem as if they do not exist? Today's dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang helps us understand "being" and "non-being" — not only in material terms, but also in terms of blessings from merit and spiritual energy.

What are Being and Non-Being?

In the talk, the Venerable defines: "Being is that which has a countable quantity, has quality, has characteristics, has its function, and has applications that can be used in this life. That we call being. And what about non-being? The opposite — no mass, no countable quantity, no necessary characteristics, and unable to be used or applied in life — we temporarily call non-being."

But the Venerable immediately adds: "In this universe, nothing is ever absolute." Therefore, a teacup, a coin, or time are all "being," yet none of them is permanent. And the deep void, in truth, is overflowing with energy.

The Presence of a Person: Being or Non-Being?

The Venerable uses a vivid example of someone appearing before a crowd: "Because that person is present in our hearts, in the hearts of the crowd. Their appearance has meaning to us, has meaning to the community, so we feel glad and joyful."

Why? Because that person has blessings from merit, virtue, and talent, creating merit. Conversely, there are people standing right before us whom we do not see, or even find bothersome, because they create no positive value. This shows that presence lies not merely in the physical body, but in the spiritual value each person cultivates.

Being Becomes Non-Being, Non-Being Becomes Being: The Law of Impermanence and Cause and Effect

The Venerable presents four pairs of categories:

Being becomes non-being — due to impermanence (anicca), due to enjoying blessings with arrogance, due to cells dividing and then stopping.

Non-being becomes being — through striving and doing good deeds, from poverty to wealth; even life itself naturally arises when conditions (dependent origination) are sufficient.

Being continues as being — knowing humility, preserving what one has, and continuing to do good so that blessings from merit follow blessings from merit.

Non-being remains non-being — being poor yet lazy, committing wrongs and becoming even poorer.

The Venerable quotes: "We are here now, but one day we too will vanish and no longer exist in this life."

And he clearly states the cause: "For example, someone is wealthy and honored, but when wealthy and honored, they become arrogant and indulge in pleasure. Therefore their blessings from merit are exhausted." That is the law of impermanence (anicca) and cause and effect (karmic law) governing all existence.

The Universe from the Void: Looking Through the Lens of the Buddha's Teachings (Dharma)

The Venerable rejects a shallow reading of the Big Bang theory. Instead: "The universe began from the void. There are regions in the universe where there seems to be nothing at all... but truly, it is never nothing at all. In the region we call empty, countless fields of light, electromagnetic fields, and gravitational fields pass through completely."

And especially, there is a "secret field" — the karma of sentient beings, the law of cause and effect (karmic law). When these fields collide and twist together, hydrogen forms, then stars, then planets. That is the greatest transformation from "non-being" into "being."

Practice: Seeing "Being" and "Non-Being" to Live with Ease

The Venerable warns: "By principle, everything in the world is non-being. But if we look at reality, everything is being. Yet if we look and see everyone as nothing, we lose our compassion."

Therefore, a practitioner must not contemplate "non-being" as a form of denial. See clearly that all phenomena exist in a relative role, so that we may sow blessings from merit and be present in a meaningful way. Once we understand the truth of "being that is non-being, non-being that is being," we live without obstruction — not stuck in being, not falling into non-being.

Life is a flowing stream of "being" and "non-being." Let each of our appearances be filled with love and wisdom, so that blessings from merit follow one another endlessly. That is precisely the way of the bodhisattva: never leaving this world, yet fully entering the wondrous void.