What does it mean when Buddhism says that everything is empty?

The post that I have below is written by a colleague of mine. It is actually quite illustrative of the concept of emptiness with regard to the Heart Sutra. It is probably mainly interesting to those who wish to understand Buddhism and to those who know some Chinese writing. Nevertheless in answer to the question above, I decided to post it up..

Lessons From The Prajnaparamita Hrdaya Sutra [The Heart Sutra]

Dr Y O Wong

Introduction

This study of the Heart Sutra approaches it from a non-sectarian view.

The Heart Sutra is a summary of the Lord Buddha’s teachings.

In 260 Chinese characters, the sutra teaches us contemplative meditation,

the 5 skandhas, the absence of Self, Dependent Origination, the 4 Noble Truths, the Truth of Emptiness and how to be truly liberated.

[This study will use for its analysis the Chinese Version as translated by Ven. Hsuan Tsang. Commonly used Sanskrit words are used to help with further discussion]

The sutra is a roadmap guiding us step-by-step along the path to enlightenment. Being a summary, every character presents a teaching;

hence to understand its lessons the Sutra demands basic knowledge of the Dharma.

‘Prajnaparamita’ stands for wisdom [prajna] acquired experientially by intuitive insight -‘the perfect wisdom that transcends this delusive world and brings us to Enlightenment’.

[‘Heart’ –’Hrdaya’ refers to the mind; hence this Sutra teaches us the way to develop our minds. It also refers to this Sutra as providing the ‘essence’ or the core teachings of the Dharma i.e. the ‘Heart’ of the Dharma.]

THE SUTRA PROPER

A.

The first 3 characters teach us the ALL-important first step in our cultivation.

1.

Guan – to observe mindfully

Zi – to observe ourselves (Zi as in ‘SELF’)

Zai – to mindfully see into ourselves at EVERY moment (Zai as in

‘shien zai’ meaning ‘now’)

Right mindfulness of body, speech and mind in every moment is needed.

The very start of this sutra emphasizes that in walking the path, understanding of the Dharma should not be theoretical but from direct personal observation of our body and mind.

The 2nd and 3rd characters in combination is

2.

‘Zi Zai’ – liberation, not to attach is both the aim and the method

in order to be liberated from suffering.

The first 3 characters taken together is

3.

‘Guan Zi Zai’ –in Chinese, represents Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva – The Embodiment of Compassion.

Compassion and wisdom are the two wings of the dove of Buddhism. We need compassion to help sentient beings and wisdom to cope with the ceaseless sufferings that may otherwise overwhelm us emotionally.

‘Compassion without wisdom is blind. Wisdom without compassion is lame.’

Bodhisattva is transliterated as

‘Pu Sa’ – ‘Bo’dhi – The search for Enlightenment being our aim. ‘Sa’ttva – The being with Bodhicitta whose

mind is set on achieving Enlightenment.

‘Xing Shen’ – for the Dharma to deliver us from suffering, we must translate it from academia to daily living

– Xing –means ‘to walk the path and live’ the Dharma,

-

Shen – ‘profoundly’; not superficially in words but practicing deeply in deed. This teaches us that Buddhism is not an intellectual exercise;

-

the Dharma must be lived via the 3-fold training of Precepts, Meditation and Wisdom.

The Dharma shows the way BUT theoretical knowledge is NOT the way. It is only by profoundly [‘Shen’] living the teachings do we truly WALK [‘Xing’] the way.

B.

Seeing TRUTH

In looking inwards in meditation, what in the Self do we see?

SELF (zi) – we are but five aggregates (Skandhas), which in combination make the system we perceive as our BODY-MIND, the ‘RUPA-NAMA’,

the “I”.

“Studying the Buddha way is studying oneself; Studying oneself is forgetting oneself;

Forgetting oneself is being enlightened by all things;

Being enlightened by all things is causing the body-mind of oneself and the body-mind

of others to be shed.”

- Dogen

The 5 skandhas consists of

-form [the component of the physical body, ‘Rupa’],

-sensation, perception, mental formation, and consciousness [these 4 being the components of the mind, ‘Nama’];

the 5 aggregates combined give rise to the Body-Mind that we perceive as “I”.

‘zhao jian’

– one must ‘clearly illuminate’, see, realize by one’s own insight.

‘wu yun jie kong’

–

‘that the 5 Skandhas are empty’

–

that the Self does not have an inherent, concrete, or absolute entity.

This second step is the lion’s roar of the sutra: it tells that one must see the “Emptiness of the SELF” in order to transform suffering.

Emptiness ‘KONG’– this word comes as close to describing the ultimate Truth as any word can.

What is Buddhism?

It is the development of wisdom and compassion.

How does one develop compassion? Through wisdom. How are we to develop wisdom?

By seeing that all things are Empty.

Seeing that the 5 skandhas are Empty means that what is looked upon as the ‘self’ has no innate unchanging substance, no permanent soul,

no inherent or independent existence.

It is not so that things change, it is rather that things ARE ‘change’. Everything is produced from causes and is connected to and conditioned by everything else in a complex web of cause and effect,

hence nothing exists independently in an unchanging state.

Our ‘self’ being a composite of the 5 skandhas is Empty;

that is, ever changing and impermanent, without an inherent self, and hence by its very nature is a cause of suffering. [3 characteristics of being]

This recalls the First Noble Truth – suffering, disappointment and dissatisfaction is intrinsic to life and this composite body by it’s very characteristic of Impermanence and No-self.

Material and sensual happiness is similarly fleeting and illusory.

‘That impermanence, that suffering, that changeability in the world, - that is the misery in the world.’

A.I: 258; GS. I: 237

The Second Noble Truth tells us that the cause of the suffering is craving; the desire to cling at objects, at sensual pleasures, to a non-existent self, and to ideas of eternity and permanence.

- Hence, to break the bonds of suffering, one must see the emptiness of the 5 skandhas, obtaining insightful understanding of the 3 characteristics of being, and realizing the futility of craving and greed.

“du yi qie ku e”

- ‘transforming all suffering and distress’.

The third step tells us that when we see the truth of Emptiness, the END RESULT is the transformation of the way we think, and with this ENLIGHTENMENT,

pain, suffering and distress is relieved even as the body suffers aging and sickness, and our interaction with our environment results in undesirable and unpleasant consequences

We learn not to be taken in by the appearance of things, and freedom from suffering comes from not clinging to an illusion and relying on it as a source of happiness.

“Form is NO other than Emptiness, Emptiness is NO other than Form, Form is EXACTLY Emptiness, and Emptiness is EXACTLY Form.”

[This is probably the most famous line in the sutra and possibly the most enigmatic.]

“se bu yi kong, kong bu yi se, se ji shi kong, kong ji shi se”

“Form” here refers to the first of the 5 skandhas, our physical BODY, the ‘RUPA’. [The word also includes all external objects as perceived by our senses.]

The Sutra teaches that ALL form is empty of an unchanging self or nature.

All phenomena is constantly changing, it is only the mind that perceives it to be a “form” which is apparently independent and unchanging.

Within this understanding of Ultimate Truth, the forms that we perceive

exists in the provisional worldly viewpoint– hence

“form is exactly Emptiness, and Emptiness is exactly form.”

A watch is empty of an inherent self for within the aggregates of springs, levels, metal and gears, nothing is inherently a watch – but the combination of the aggregates makes a “watch” with the characteristic function of an instrument that keeps time – hence FORM is a manifestation within this state of emptiness with a real function.

In Ultimate Truth a watch does not exist, but conventionally, this complex instrument that tells time ‘exists’.

‘If we refer to existence, then

Everything from the smallest mote of dust exists; If we refer to emptiness,

This whole wide world and everything in it are empty’

Zen saying

“shou xiang xing shi yi fu ru shi”

‘Sensation, perception, mental formation and consciousness’ [the 4 aggregates of the MIND, the ‘NAMA’], is similarly empty of any concrete existence.

C.

Awakening

To be enlightened is to awake from the delusions that cloud our minds.

We function in the environment of relative truth as perceived by us; hence while we train our minds to see the ultimate truth, the relative truth is very real in our daily lives.

– The Sutra strongly emphasizes that

“Form is NO other than Emptiness, Emptiness is no other than Form Form is EXACTLY Emptiness, Emptiness is EXACTLY Form”

Emptiness is NOT nihilistic; on the contrary it helps us to function in the best possible way as we now understand the nature or the “SUCHNESS” of things.

The concept of NIHILISM that things do not exist in any sense and that nothing continues after death, and the concept of ETERNALISM that there is true existence in objects that will exist unchangingly forever are BOTH expressly rejected in Buddhism. The Sutra quotation above clearly attests to this.

“shi zhu fa kong xiang”

EVERYTHING [zhu fa] that is perceived by us is empty of an unchanging nature.

The fourth step is realizing that not only is the ‘SELF’ empty but that

ALL phenomena are similarly EMPTY.

“bu sheng bu mie, bu gou bu jing, bu zeng bu jian”

Understanding this truth, one realizes that

‘nothing in ultimate reality is created or destroyed, is defiled or pure, nothing is added or lost’

–

matter and energy merely transform from one state to another in an ever-flowing flux,

–

no phenomena is of itself ‘real’, what is true is the ‘selflessness’ and

‘beginningless’ nature of all forms.

This fifth step is seeing that ultimately there is no birth or death, no creation or destruction, no purity or defilement and that nothing is ever added or reduced.

All pain and suffering, loss and death needs to be handled with Compassion. To prevent us from being overwhelmed by emotions, we need the Wisdom of the Truth to perceive everything in its totality.

With Understanding Emptiness

“shi gu kong zhong, wu se,

wu shou xiang xing shi”

“Therefore, in Emptiness, …….. there is NO form,

No sensation, perception, mental formation and consciousness. ”

The sutra emphasizes that when we awaken to the truth of Emptiness, we see that ‘I’ is a projection of the Body-Mind composite of the 5 skandhas. There are NO absolute coordinates by which we can define selfhood as we are constantly changing.

The first aspect is Enlightenment freeing the mind from wrong views of “Self”.

A second aspect is that on the death of an Enlightened Being, in the final Nirvana, the 5 Aggregates no longer come into existence again.

“wu yan er pi she shen yi”

……………’No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind’

Our sense organs provide us information from our environment, but they fail to perceive the Ultimate nature of its objects and instead provide data that reinforces our misconceptions.

Delusion is Truth as perceived by the senses of an unenlightened person;

Truth is delusions now seen as what it truly is by an enlightened mind, no longer cheated by the illusions created by his sense organs.

A second aspect is that with final Nirvana, the sense bases cease to exist.

“wu se sheng xiang wei chu fa”

……………’No form, sound, smell, taste, object of touch and object of thought’

The 6 perceived objects of visible form, sound, smell, taste, object of touch and object of thought are illusory and constantly changing.

What we perceive is a mental image; it is not permanent and certainly not ‘us’; For example, an image of an apple is clearly not ‘us’, and neither is an apple permanent.

Similarly we now learn that even our ‘objects of thoughts’ are just passing images and not ‘I’. When our minds think angry and unpleasant thoughts, we can recognize it and NEED NOT act on it as we know that it is just a thought and NOT ‘I’.

Typically most of us act impulsively in respond to our thoughts as we think that our thoughts are ‘we’. This is a paradigm shift in thinking as most people subscribe to the view that “I think, therefore I am”.

Being mindful, we can stop undesirable thoughts before they are translated into action. We know now that all perceived objects including our thoughts are impermanent and empty.

A second aspect here from the point of final Nirvana is that all sense objects now no longer exist.

“wu yan jie, nai zhi wu yi shi jie”

………….That the ‘6 consciousnesses of the Eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, touch consciousness and mind consciousness’ is similarly empty and ceaselessly changing.

The 6 sense organs, 6 sense objects and 6 sense consciousnesses form the foundation of our mental activities. The data received via our sense organs and recognized by our consciousness is unreliable, as the resultant illusory image does not reflect its true nature.

Our Ignorance is the cause of our craving to the objects as perceived by our senses.

When we understand the Truth of Emptiness, we are now no longer bound to them.

A second aspect is that with final Nirvana, all consciousness cease.

Ultimately, in the final Nirvana that follows the death of an Enlightened Being, the Aggregates, the sense bases, the sense objects and the sense consciousness all cease, thus the sutra clearly tells that in “EMPTINESS”, none of these is present.

In meditation, we recognize a sensation or the flow of a thought, …… accompanied by the arising of the corresponding sense consciousness or mind consciousness, …………

and then the cessation of the sensation or thought, …………

followed by the cessation of the corresponding sense consciousness or mind consciousness.

This sixth step tells us that in looking into our own minds, we see that

BOTH the ‘OBSERVED’ object or thought and the “OBSERVING MIND” that recognizes it and is conscious of it, is a ceaselessly changing flow

–

NO self, no unchanging ‘I’ is found.

D.

Teachings

The Dharma guides us to live with wisdom and thus stopping the unwholesome actions that result from ignorance.

Sow an action, reap a habit, Sow a habit, reap a character, Sow a character, reap a destiny.

The teachings on Dependent Origination and the 4 Noble Truths are crucially important for us to understand why we are trapped within the cyclic realms of samsara.

“wu wu ming yi wu wu ming jin, nai zhi wu lao si yi wu lao si jin”

‘wu ming’- ignorance

‘lao si’- old age and death

‘Therefore in Emptiness,…………...there is NO ignorance and also no ending of ignorance, to no old age and death and also no ending of old age and death’

In our daily lives, ignorance, old age and death is real and painful.

Understanding the teachings of Dependent Origination helps us understand why we suffer and how to be free from suffering,

Therefore when enlightened to the Truth of Emptiness, there is NO more ignorance,

there is NO SELF to be ignorant or to end ignorance, no one to age and die!

; these conventional truths have evaporated in the light of absolute Truth.

Dependent Origination teaches us that ALL phenomena are a result of causes and conditions, are INTERDEPENDENT, and exist or occur only because of their relationship with other phenomena, hence they are without SELF-ENTITY.

From the viewpoint of absolute truth, this absence of self-entity is EMPTINESS.

The seventh step tells us that in seeing the Truth and ending Ignorance, we sever the bonds that tie us to samsara with Right Views, Right Thoughts and Right Action.

A second aspect is that in the state of final Nirvana, in the state of “EMPTINESS”, there is no more ignorance, old age and death.

“wu ku ji mie dao”

“Therefore in Emptiness,………… there is NO suffering, also no source of suffering, no annihilation, no path.” [The 4 Noble Truths]

Suffering and dissatisfaction is faced by all of us.

The 4 Noble Truths tell us its nature, cause, the way to leave this state of suffering and reach the state of Nirvana.

On reaching the state of an Enlightened mind, there is now psychological liberation from suffering and greed.

A second aspect is that in the state of final Nirvana there is now physical liberation from Suffering as the Aggregates have ceased in the state of “Emptiness”.

From the Enlightened viewpoint, even the path disappears (!) for there is NO ONE to walk the path as there is NO unchanging permanent being.

One now begins to appreciate the gatha:

“For there is suffering but none who suffers, Doing exists although there is NO doer, Extinction is but NO extinguished person, Although there is a Path, there is NO go-er.”

~ Visuddhimagga

The lesson in the eighth step is expressed beautifully in the gatha above.

To fully understand the Sutras will require an awakened mind as language limits the depth and scope of the Teachings, binding it by concepts inherent in the very words used. The sutras thus serve as a vehicle to point towards the Truth that needs to be self-realized as language is inadequate to express the insights of an awakened mind given the complexity of reality.

E.

Wisdom and Attainment

Emptiness and existence are not 2 separate things but 2 aspects of the same.

In understanding Emptiness we can live in wonderful existence.

–

We had clearly learnt that there is no SELF, hence of what need is there to egoistically maintain position, attainment or a ‘high or higher’ level of wisdom and knowledge.

Hence,

“wu zhi yi wu de”

“Therefore in Emptiness,………….. there is NO wisdom, also no

attainment.”

Maintaining the attitude of a novice is preferred– eager, humble, and ready to learn – discarding the baggage of misconceptions and culture easily. Any thoughts of attainment leads to conceit and the danger of ‘Self’!

The sutra teaches us to be rid of attachments including attachment to attainment, results and knowledge.

“yi wu suo de gu ……………………… xin wu gua ai”

“Having nothing to attain… with no hindrance in the mind.”

There is no need to egoistically ‘achieve things’ [any ‘gain’ or ‘achievement’ is conceptual as ultimately there is NO-SELF to achieve anything].

This frees us from the fear of the need to achieve.

In cultivation, we act without thoughts of the person doing the work nor the magnitude or ‘return’ of the work done.

“wu gua ai gu, wu you kong bu.” “NO hindrance, thus no fear.”

True freedom is the freedom of pure thoughts, an unimpeded mind free from fear,

a calm insightful mind with clear vision unobstructed by the haze of delusions.

Enlightenment is not something far away; it is a result that arises from causes.

The ninth step tells us that if we keep on planting the causes, the Law of Karma ensures that the result will inevitably arise.

We are exhorted to be non-attached to results and let the result take care of itself.

“yuan li dian dao meng xiang, jiu jing nie pan”

“yuan li” – to leave far behind; the Right view of things is needed.

“Dian dao” – to overturn the misconceptions and delusions that cloud our mind. “Meng xiang” – a dream; our environment as perceived by our sense impressions.

The tenth step tells clearly that it is through the awakening of the mind that

subsequently

‘jiu jing nie pan’ “lead us to Nirvana”

-the state of complete and final cessation of greed and craving, hatred and ignorance.

Just be a farmer, planting good seeds daily,

watering them with the dew of Precepts, Mind training and Wisdom, weeding it from the destructive forces of Greed, Hatred and Ignorance, and the harvest of Enlightenment will ripen in the light of insight and awakening.

F.

2 important teachings in the Heart Sutra – “Kong” and “ Wu”

“Wu” (No, Non, None)

The Chinese word “wu” which forms an eminent theme in this sutra expresses a concept brilliantly; the word means “NO”, “non”, “none” – as in “NO form, …”, “NO eye,..” “NO colour,..”, “NO ignorance”, “NO suffering”, “NO attainment”, etc.

It conveys the principle of No grasping or attachment;

like a mirror one cultivates the capacity to receive and relinquish all that goes in front of it without grasping or clinging.

Hence one does not grasp onto the form, or the senses, or the attainments or failures, or happiness or pain – one just functions full-heartedly.

We must realize that both happiness and pain is impermanent and present in our lives – this is clearly stated in the First Noble Truth. We spend much time chasing after happiness, hoping it will last, and avoiding pain and wishing that it would not come. Inevitably this remains wishful thinking. The ‘monster of pain’ is a relative that will visit us periodically while the ‘angel of happiness’ will similarly come and go. Both are family members that we cannot refuse or hold on to whether we like them or not. We have to live with both relatives and transcend the pleasant-unpleasant dichotomy, to have a mirror like mind that reflects things as they are instead of the futile efforts of resisting the monsters and holding on to the angels.

Being aware of IMPERMANENCE and EMPTINESS, we cherish every moment but DO NOT attempt to possess.

“Kong” [Emptiness]

From the sutra we can see “Emptiness” from 3 aspects

1.

First is Human Emptiness –

since all of life is interconnected, no life has absolute or inherent existence. ‘Human emptiness’ reminds us that even our existence as human beings is the product of a temporary gathering of conditions that are constantly changing. It is however important to realize that this DOES NOT deny our existence, only that it is empty of an unchanging SELF.

2.

Second is the Emptiness of all phenomena-

Everything that we see, touch, smell, hear, own, like or dislike is Empty of an inherent self. Nothing has an independent existence and is thus constantly changing.

3.

Third is the understanding of the ‘Emptiness’ that is Nirvana (Nie- Pan), Enlightenment-

When we truly understand Emptiness, we rise above duality to attain a level of Supramundane Consciousness that transcends delusion. We see from an enlightened viewpoint and let go of our grasping and attachments. With the death of an Enlightened Being, he or she now is in the state of Final Nirvana which is “Empty” of Aggregates, Greed, Hatred, Ignorance, Suffering, Existence, Birth or Death.

Ni-Vana: - “Ni” is a negative particle and “Vana” means lusting or craving, hence the word literally means the End of craving and lusting,

and is the highest level of awareness of the Truth.

G.

LIFE

All of life depends on the fact of Emptiness – that everything is being transformed from one state to another, that mass and energy is neither created nor destroyed but merely transformed from one state to another depending on conditions.

It is essential to have this truth of Emptiness to have anything at all!

If things were unchanging, nothing will come into being! This is the fundamental principle of existence.

At the individual level, it is precisely because there is no unchanging SELF that Karma can prevail. If we have a permanent entity, then no change would be possible.

Because nothing has a permanent SELF-NATURE, everything is now possible.

H.

LIVE!

The Sutra teaches that

“All Buddhas of the past, present and future live prajna paramita and thus attain perfect awakened enlightenment” [anutara samyak sambodhi];

seeing things as it truly is in its ‘suchness’.

With wisdom one is unattached to sensual pleasures for we understand the transient nature of our ‘form’ and our thoughts, neither to the illusive ‘Self’ with its birth and death nor to false views of eternity and nihilism.

We learn to see things as it is, in its ‘suchness’.

Freed from the suffocating delusions; we must now function to the best of our abilities and also relinquish attachment to the “non-existence” of phenomena.

The Sutra clearly teaches that

“Form is no other than Emptiness, Emptiness no other than Form”

beseeching us not to be trapped in conceptual prisons but to see that reality has both aspects.

Wisdom is seeing clearly both the illusive FORM and the Truth of EMPTINESS, and going beyond both to lead a life of virtue and compassion, achieving the unification of wise thoughts from the understanding of ultimate Truths and virtuous behavior in our daily lives.

In doing so, we finally understand the profound truth that

“Form is exactly Emptiness, Emptiness exactly Form”.

One should use one’s mind in such a way that it will be free from any attachment.

Diamond Sutra

I.

The need for Contemplative Insight

The written word tends to transform what is alive and dynamic into frozen dogma, it makes the Truth appear alien, ancient and inapplicable to daily life.

The Dharma is applicable and found in our life and environment at every moment and it is important for us to have a direct perception of the Truth.

The Dharma is not dogma that can be passed from person to person like a book; while sages may claim to know the truth and that only their version of it is the “Truth”,

the Lord Buddha insists that each person must discover the Truth for himself.

The language of the Heart Sutra is such that it challenges one to study and reflect on it profoundly before one can unravel its message; it forces one to realize the Truth for himself during the quest to understand it.

No amount of theory or conceptual understanding can effect a change in our behaviour or personality; only a direct realization of the Truth of the Dharma can cause this seismic change.

J.

Going Beyond

The heart of the Heart Sutra is NOT Emptiness, it is that we must go beyond both “Form” and “Emptiness” to be truly liberated.

‘True Emptiness is not empty;

It gives rise to wonderful existence. Wonderful existence does not exist; It does not obstruct true Emptiness.

From the void which seemingly contains nothing, Absolutely everything descends.’

Avatamsaka Sutra

K.

The Heart Sutra as Mantra

A mantra is a collection of words and sounds, the chanting of which focuses and

protects the mind.

The mind that lives the Teachings of the Dharma is protected by the power of the TRUTH.

“Therefore, know that prajna paramita is the Great Mantra, the Wisdom Mantra, the Unsurpassed Mantra, the Supreme Mantra”;

reminding us of the Teachings every time we chant or contemplate the Sutra.

When successfully applied, the Dharma

“completely removes all suffering”. “This is Truth, not deception”,

it is the Truth of the Dharma that sets us on the path to liberation.

Gate, Gone,

Gate, Gone,

Paragate, Gone Beyond,

Parasamgate, All Gone Beyond,

Bodhi, Awakening,

Svaha. All Hail!

One possible interpretation of this mantra is

Gone: Realization of the Truth from talks, study and discussion. This understanding is theoretical and from an intellectual level.

Gone: Starting of Experiential insight of the Dharma from meditation practice.

Gone Beyond: Direct perception of the Emptiness of phenomena in meditation.

We now see beyond the mundane to the ultimate Truths of nature.

All Gone Beyond: The viewpoint of an Enlightened mind whereby there is simultaneous perception of BOTH ultimate and conventional Truth and going beyond all concepts. This is True Liberation.

Awakening: The Heart of Buddhism is not Emptiness, Wisdom or Compassion. It is Liberation; Freedom from pain and suffering. Enlightenment is awakening to the Truth and going beyond all concepts and thoughts.

All Hail!

Thank you.

I acknowledge and thank my teachers for sharing with me the profound lessons of this sutra. Any error in its interpretation is entirely due to my lack of understanding.

This talk was given to the members of the National University of Singapore Buddhist Society [NUSBS] at a retreat in Johor Bahru on 11 May 2002.

The lessons from the Heart Sutra were shared with the members of the S’pore Buddhist Fellowship on 3 Dec 2002.