Emptiness
Emptiness
Barren, blank, meaningless, and worthless are all synonyms for Emptiness, and yet in Buddhist philosophy, Emptiness is the Ultimate goal.
There is no higher attainment than the direct realization that everything is ‘empty’, that all phenomenon lack inherent or intrinsic identity. Simply put, things don’t exist without dependence upon their own parts, external causes and conditions.
When we go about our daily routine, we see solid, self sustaining objects which seem to exist from their own side: my car, my house, my girlfriend. To consider that our normal perception is an illusion, that things don’t really exist this way is counterintuitive, and the path to freedom and liberation.
Upon first consideration emptiness may not seem very appealing; in fact it may seem downright ugly because it asserts that there is no ‘me’. It can be difficult to embrace a philosophy which rejects the very concept we have built our lives around, the concept of self. Our most precious possession; ‘I’, the ‘Self’ that we would die to protect, is our biggest enemy, the beast that blocks our happiness.
The realization of emptiness defeats our enemy and unites us with the universe. When we let go of ‘self’ we begin to see things, experience things without the ‘Me’ filter. We begin to experience reality just as it is, without attachment or aversion, and become one with experience itself.
When ever we work with emptiness we must be on guard to the extremes of Nihilism and Absolutism. Our path is the ‘Middle way’, between Nihilism and Absolutism and as such rejects both nothingness and ‘Me-ness’. Nihilism refutes the existence of things, which contradicts reality; we can plainly see that objects do exist. The Buddhist argument is with how things exist, not that things are non-existent.
Absolutism is the opposite extreme which avows predefined characteristics both in the substratum of the universe and in individual objects themselves. Absolutism is the assertion that objects exist intrinsically, without dependence on other factors.
When we contemplate Emptiness and progress with meditation we see that Absolutism and Nihilism are not the correct view.
Meditation on Emptiness
The Cartesian theater, a derisive term brought to us by Philosopher Daniel Dennett in his argument to Descartes claim that consciousness involves an immaterial soul, which observes a representation of the world in the pineal gland of the brain. Under this notion, the soul plays the role of an unknowable prime actor, which can be viewed as an entity or agent, a creature with self-directed will power (residing in the mind) performing the task of observing all the sensory data projected on a screen at a particular instant, making the decisions and sending out commands.
—Wikipedia, Cartesian theater.
Looking at our mind during meditation, it’s not difficult to see where Descartes came up with the notion that there is an observer, possibly a permanent, unchanging entity which sits in our mind making decisions and executing actions.
Our first task in understanding Emptiness through meditation is to attempt to find the truth of this ‘Ghost’, this ‘Self’ at the wheel. A great place to start this investigation is with the thoughts that occur constantly in your mind. Try to pinpoint how the observer is directing your mind and the thoughts that are occurring.
Notice the minds awareness of this ‘observer’ and question.
Ambud
Thank you, This is very well writen and gives me a place to start. What do you do with the ghost when you find it?