The Truth About the Five Aggregates

Question: Why is it said that both the noble five aggregates and the lowly five aggregates are false appearances? And why does the Heart Sutra say that all dharmas are empty in nature, neither arising nor ceasing? 

Answer: For example, a child uses building blocks to assemble a house and then takes it apart, and afterward assembles it again and dismantles it again, repeatedly and ceaselessly assembling and dismantling. The house goes from nonexistent to existent, and then from existent to nonexistent—arising and ceasing, ceasing and arising. Therefore it is said that the house is illusory, a false appearance, an empty appearance. Yet the building blocks always exist and are never destroyed. As long as the building blocks exist and the child does not tire of assembling them, the house will continually appear and exist. Therefore it is said that the house is precisely the ever-existing empty appearance, neither arising nor ceasing.

Likewise, the five aggregates are constructed from the seeds of the seven great elements. When the causes and conditions are complete, the seeds of the seven great elements assemble the five aggregates; when the causes and conditions disperse, the five aggregates disperse and return to the original state of the seeds of the seven great elements. When the causes and conditions are complete again, the seeds of the seven great elements once more assemble the five aggregates. In this way, the five aggregates continually arise and cease in accordance with causes, conditions, and karmic force. Whether it is the noble five aggregates built by the seeds of the seven great elements in accordance with meritorious karmic seeds and causes and conditions, or the lowly five aggregates built in accordance with unmeritorious karmic seeds and causes and conditions, all are false appearances and illusory appearances, all are empty appearances. 

When the five aggregates cease, the seeds of the seven great elements still remain, and then, when the causes and conditions are once again complete, these seeds of the seven great elements assemble the five aggregates again, repeatedly and ceaselessly giving birth to the five aggregates. In this way, relying on the seeds of the seven great elements, the five aggregates can be born forever, existing forever without interruption. From this angle and in this sense, the five aggregates, which are an empty appearance, are therefore also neither arising nor ceasing, and sentient beings will transmigrate forever. With the seeds of the seven great elements, with karmic seeds, with causes and conditions—what can be done about the five aggregates?