Subhūti: Competing for Nothing, Yet Gaining Everything

There's a certain kind of person you almost never notice.

They don't seek the spotlight, don't claim credit, don't fight for speaking rights. They sit quietly in a corner, seeming indifferent to everything.

You might think such a person has no ambition, is too passive.

But what if I told you this person received the Buddha's highest praise and became the protagonist who dialogues with the Buddha in the Diamond Sutra, a scripture that has been read for over a thousand years?

He is Subhūti, "Foremost in Understanding Emptiness" among the Buddha's Ten Great Disciples.

He lived his whole life keeping a low profile like an invisible person, yet saw through life more clearly than anyone.

His secret weapon is "emptiness."

What Is "Emptiness"? Not Nothingness

When people hear "emptiness," many misunderstand.

Does emptiness mean nothing exists? Tables don't exist, people don't exist, the world doesn't exist? Wouldn't that be nihilism?

Actually, that's not what it means.

The "emptiness" that Buddhism teaches means all phenomena have no fixed, unchanging essence. They are temporary phenomena formed by various conditions temporarily coming together.

For example: a flower. It appears to be "a flower," but think about it. This flower exists only because seeds, soil, water, sunlight, air, and countless other conditions are working together. Without these conditions, the flower wouldn't exist; when conditions change, the flower withers.

So "flower" is just a temporary state, not an eternal, unchanging thing.

This is emptiness.

Emptiness doesn't mean the flower isn't there. It means the flower has no fixed, independent "flower essence." It changes moment by moment, constantly depending on other conditions to exist.

Understanding this, look at your own life: your wealth, reputation, relationships, emotions. Is any of it permanent and unchanging?

No.

This is the gateway to the wisdom of emptiness.

Subhūti's Daily Life: The Samādhi of Non-Contention

In the Sangha, Subhūti had a very unique spiritual achievement called "the samādhi of non-contention."

"Non-contention" means not competing; "samādhi" means a stable mental state. The samādhi of non-contention means Subhūti reached a state of complete non-opposition to anyone, non-attachment to anything.

This wasn't because he had a weak character and didn't dare compete. It was because he saw through everything. All this competing, what is it really for?

Fame? Fame is given by others; others can take it away.

Gain? Gain is a product of conditions coming together; when conditions change, it's gone.

Right and wrong? So-called right and wrong are just different perspectives. There's no absolute right or wrong.

When you see through the nature of all these things, will you still care?

Subhūti didn't care.

When begging for alms, he didn't choose rich or poor houses. Wherever he went, he ate there. When finding lodging, he didn't choose good or bad rooms. Wherever there was space, he slept there. When someone misunderstood or slandered him, he wouldn't defend himself. He just smiled, nodded, and continued with his business.

Giving up means thinking something is meaningless and not doing it. Letting go means doing it without attachment to the result.

The Protagonist of the Diamond Sutra

Subhūti's most important role in Buddhist history was as the questioner who dialogues with the Buddha in the Diamond Sutra.

It's no accident that this scripture had him ask the questions. The Diamond Sutra's core theme is the wisdom of emptiness, and Subhūti was the authority on this in the Sangha.

He asked a crucial question: "After developing the aspiration for anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi (the heart seeking supreme enlightenment), how should this mind abide? When wandering thoughts arise, how do we subdue them?"

This question directly addresses the pain points of practitioners.

We all want inner peace, but thoughts never stop. We know we shouldn't grasp, but we can't help grasping anyway. What do we do?

The Buddha's answer can be summed up in one phrase: "Let the mind arise without abiding anywhere."

Don't let the mind stay on anything, not on success, not on failure, not on the past, not on the future. When the mind doesn't abide, the mind is free.

Once you "abide," you're trapped.

This truth, Subhūti didn't just hear and understand it, he lived it. That's why he could ask this question, and why he was chosen as the protagonist of this dialogue.

Practicing Emptiness in Daily Life

Subhūti applied the wisdom of emptiness to every detail of life.

When eating, he didn't distinguish whether food was tasty or not. He just quietly finished, treating eating as a necessary act to maintain life, not a pursuit of sensory pleasure.

When walking, neither hurried nor slow, every step grounded in the present moment, not looking back at the past, not fantasizing about the future.

When praised, not proud. When criticized, not angry. He knew praise and criticism are just others' thoughts, unrelated to "me." More accurately, there's no fixed "me" to be praised or criticized in the first place.

This might sound passive, but actually Subhūti lived more easily than anyone.

Most people live tired lives because they carry so much on their backs: past regrets, future anxieties, others' expectations, their own face. These things pile up, pressing down until they can't breathe.

Subhūti put all these down. Walking on the path, he had nothing on him, nothing in his heart.

This is true freedom.

Competing for Nothing, Yet Winning the Whole World

Subhūti competed for nothing his whole life. What did he end up with?

He received the Buddha's highest praise, Foremost in Understanding Emptiness.

He became the protagonist of the Diamond Sutra, a scripture passed down for over two thousand years, with countless people attaining enlightenment through reading it.

His name and wisdom are etched in history, becoming a model for countless practitioners through the ages.

Ironic? He competed for nothing, yet ended up with everything.

Actually it's not ironic at all. It's logical necessity.

When you stop grasping at results, you do things better instead. When you stop caring about others' opinions, you can show your true self instead. When you stop chasing fame and fortune, fame and fortune might come find you.

This is the most practical teaching of the wisdom of emptiness.

The Question for Us

Subhūti's story actually asks us one question:

You might be anxious and sleepless about promotions and raises. But after you get promoted, then what? Won't there be new anxieties?

You might be troubled and suffering over a relationship. But is that relationship permanent?

You might be angry for days over someone's words. But are those words really that important?

What Subhūti teaches us isn't to do nothing and care about nothing. It's to do while not taking results so seriously; to care while knowing everything will pass.

When you truly understand this, you'll discover:

The things that kept you awake at night actually aren't that serious.

The people who exhausted you actually can be let go.

And you, you've been free all along.

You just forgot.

Subhūti's story is reminding you to remember.