The Benefit of Existence and the Utility of Emptiness

Xuefeng

What exists is beneficial; what is empty is useful. “Benefit” refers to tangible gains, tools, and consumables; “utility” refers to things that can be used in various ways and applied repeatedly.

For example, when you buy a radish from the market, the radish represents benefit—it's a consumable good, used once and gone.

Similarly, a dictionary is a benefit. It is a tool that can be used repeatedly, but it is static—it does not change.

Earning a hundred yuan is a benefit, but once it’s spent, it’s gone.

Radishes, dictionaries, and money provide tangible benefits; they are consumable or utilitarian objects.

An empty room, on the other hand, represents utility. It can be used as a bedroom, a study, or for storage. Its applications are varied and can be used repeatedly.

Interpersonal relationships and friendships are also utilitarian. They can be used for conversation, emotional support, or to help achieve personal goals.

A blank sheet of paper is utilitarian as well. You can draw on it, write on it, or fold it into a paper airplane for a child’s entertainment.

Buying a refrigerator offers utility because its interior is empty, making it useful for storage. A drinking cup is useful because it’s hollow, allowing it to hold water. A computer is useful because its internal structure enables it to connect to the internet and offer limitless possibilities.

A car, being hollow, also serves as a utility. It provides practical benefits, like transportation, which is a form of benefit.

Learning knowledge and skills is useful, but since knowledge and skills can also bring tangible benefits, they also serve as benefits.

Things we can see and hear can be regarded as benefits; those that are beyond sight, hearing, and smell can be regarded as utilities.

What exists as tangible benefit is a consumable; what is void or empty is a utility with unlimited potential for repeated use.

Benefit is temporary; utility is infinite.

For example, a water cup filled with water (existing) has only one use: holding water. Once the water is poured out (non-existing), the cup can have multiple uses: holding milk, coffee, tea, flowers, or other items.

When a utility item is filled (existing), it serves a single purpose; when it is empty (non-existing), it becomes useful in many ways. A blank sheet of paper filled with writing (existing), a room filled with items (existing), or a ship filled with passengers (existing) are all considered benefits. When these things are empty (non-existing), they revert to their utility value.

Benefits are tangible and consumable, while utilities are abstract, offering greater value through their potential for varied and repeated use.

When thoughts become rigid and minds are fixed, when hearts are filled with preconceptions, people turn into one-time-use objects, having benefit but no utility. When loving partners marry, establish a home, and their relationship becomes fixed, it turns into a one-time-use tool with no further utility. Becoming obsessed with a particular religion, political party, doctrine, or theory to the point of dogmatism leads to rigid and dead thinking, making it no longer useful.

Consistently having tangible benefits means frequent gains; consistently embracing emptiness means frequent utility.

A spring stretched to its elastic limit and no longer rebounds becomes useless. A fist extended and not withdrawn is no longer useful. A person who is dominated by others loses their utility. A mind that stops thinking loses its use. A soul clouded by worldly phenomena loses its freedom and spiritual perception.

When events arise, the heart responds; when events fade, the heart remains empty and fresh. When emotions come, love manifests; when emotions fade, love remains empty, and the person remains loving. The wind rustles the bamboo, but when the wind passes, no sound lingers. A goose crosses a cold pond, leaving no trace. The bamboo and pond remain fresh and beautiful. Not lingering in the midst of flowers and songs, not dwelling on achievements or moral perfection, not becoming attached to deep emotions or nostalgia, not remaining in places of sorrow, anger, hatred, or resentment—this makes life rich and vibrant. Life moves forward without reincarnation, reaching the Celestial Islands Continent of the Elysium World.

Consistently holding onto benefits equates to life being a fleeting dream; consistently embracing emptiness reveals life as a true realm of bliss.

To embrace death is to frequently hold onto benefits; to embrace life is to frequently embrace emptiness.