Emptiness

Emptiness, or shunyata, basically refers to that inner space of awareness between stimulus and response.  It is a wonderful but sometimes scary space.  It is the space of uncertainty in which we might feel unsure of ourselves.  When we really move into that space all of our self and world definitions are up for grabs.  All of the sudden we don’t have any answers.  We don’t have any baggage.  Everything and nothing is possible.  It is a perspective which is “out of the box,” it is a step into extraordinary mind, beyond ego.

Stimulus refers to anything that might trigger a response in us.  Our response is based on our interpretation, our conditioning and ignorance.  It arises out of the dual forces of desire and aversion, love and hate.  It is centered in ego, a limited perspective in which we are separate from the all.  In life we often seem to have little or no control over what happens in the world, however within our freedom of response we assume power.  Paradoxically, when we let go of our need to control situations we discover an inner process of transformation.  When we make an inward shift in consciousness our world shifts in accord.  When we step out of our limited ego-identities, we enter a new world.

Shunyata is not a negative state.  Often we fear the feeling of emptiness, loss, or confusion.  It is actually the gateway to enlightenment.  Emptiness refers to the state of mind in which we are free of any preconceived notions and are hence able to see clearly.  As the Buddha taught, ”When appearances and names are put away and all discrimination ceases, that which remains is the true and essential nature of things and, as nothing can be predicated as to the nature of essence, it is called the “Suchness” of Reality.”  We tend to cling tenaciously to our words and concepts.  They give us an illusion of stability and certainty.  In truth, they are just symbolic constructs which describe reality to some limited extent.  To enter Shunyata means to be open to the mystery of being, always and ultimately indefinable.  As the French say, it has a certain “Je n’ sais quoi.” 

Meditation is the art of entering into shunyata.  It allows us to disconnect from the thought constructs of our minds and to rest in our original being.  At first we may find ourselves wrestling with the restless energy of our “monkey-mind.”  It doesn’t work very well to try to subdue this monkey.  In fact, if you wrestle with it, it will kick your ass.  Instead it is better to just leave it be and to observe, to watch, listen and realize the underlying stillness which is deeper within.  Our deeper being is always present beneath the surface of things like the canvas under the painting, or the screen on which the video is displayed.  For us the inner surface, the inner screen is pure emptiness, the boundless expanse of consciousness. 

Emptiness in this sense is not “nothingness.”  This is not like nihilism which states that nothing is real.  Instead it is the creative source of everything.  It is like the zero-point field (ZPF) in physics; an all pervasive field of potential underlying and supporting the physical universe.  As Michael Talbot explains, “According to our current understanding of physics, every region of space is awash with different kinds of fields composed of waves of varying lengths. Each wave always has at least some energy. When physicists calculate the minimum amount of energy a wave can possess, they find that every cubic centimeter of empty space contains more energy than the total energy of all the matter in the known universe!”  (The Holographic Universe, 1991)

Our entire universe, as vast as it is, is like a bubble floating in an immense sea of energy.  Similarly, our personal “universes” of experience are tiny bubbles floating in an immense inner ocean of consciousness-energy.  When we are able let go of the temporary forms associated with the mind and senses we enter into this inner reservoir of creative potential.  Our various bodies, minds and consciousness all originate in and ultimately belong to this singular underlying field of consciousness-energy.  It is our true Self. 

Samsara

Suffering is definitely relative.  For some people life is a daily struggle to survive, for others it may be the failure to find the ideal relationship, job or latté.  I’m not making fun here really.  No matter how well off we are we suffer.  It’s a good idea sometimes to look around and realize how well off we are in comparison.  Even better, of course, to devote some of our resources to helping those who are less fortunate.  The truth, however, is that suffering is universal. 

When things are going well we feel content and happy.  Unfortunately life, existence, nature, or whatever we call it, involves change.  The ancient Greek philosopher Hereclitus observed that, “the only constant is change.”  When we depend upon outward circumstances for our sense of well-being we are always vulnerable to devastation.  Another word for this dependence is attachment.  Attachment is at the heart of suffering.  Deeper still, however, is ignorance.  Ignorance in this sense doesn’t mean lack of education; it means that we have forgotten who we truly are.  We don’t know ourselves. 

Samsara means the continuous cycle of birth, decay, death and rebirth.  It is a cycle that happens every lifetime, but it also happens each day and every moment.  When we were born we entered into this life experience, into this particular physical, familial, socio-economic, cultural and historical context.  Although we are unaware of it, it has all been preconditioned by our past karmas.  On a soul level we have chosen this life experience in order to develop spiritually.  Imagine writing a screenplay full of drama, comedy, action, etc. then submitting it and forgetting about it.  Suddenly you are at the theatre and watching the movie.  You laugh, cry, cringe and groan with each scene completely forgetting that you are the author.  Because it has been so well produced, you become so involved with the main character that you even forget you are actually in the audience. 

The true purpose of human life is to awaken to our true nature.  As Thich Nhat Hahn says, “We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.”  The ego-self belongs to the drama.  It is the character we have identified with.  The ego-self is involved with duality.  It loves this and hates that.  Our lives are the tragic-comic dramas of our egos.  We have friends and enemies.  We fall in and out of love with others, experience success and failure, health and sickness, joy and sorrow.  We fail realize that everyone and everything is our Self in disguise.  As we awaken our lives change from drama to love story.  Ego tells us that there is a particular person with whom we will find true love.  Spirit reveals to us that we are love itself. 

There is a wonderful verse from the Bhagavad Gita which gives us a glimpse of what this universal Self-love might be like.  “Enlightened ones,” says Krishna, “look with an equal eye upon one who is intelligent and humble, an uneducated janitor, a cow, elephant or dog.”  A friend once commented that it seems like the enlightened person is indistinguishable from an idiot.  This is the perspective of the intellectual ego.  We have to go beyond the rational intellect in order to know a deeper reality.  Our True Self is beyond mind and intellect.  As we awaken in consciousness we begin to recognize ourselves in all beings.  This is the birth of compassion, the birth of love.

It is also the gateway to freedom, moksha.  Moksha, or nirvana, is the release from samsara.  It is the recognition of the eternal being behind the appearances of life.  When we are aware of our eternal beingness; when we are at rest in Atman, i.e. Self, we have a higher perspective.  We can recognize that this life, this incarnation is temporary while we are eternal.  It doesn’t really matter what kind of past you or I might have had.  Once we awaken to our authentic being we are liberated from that narrative, from that dream.  Attachment will try to take us back there again, so we have to be on guard.

I have found a simple way of understanding non-attachment and liberation in a quote from Victor Frankl, MD, who said, "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."  Consciousness, compassion, non-attachment and liberation might here be considered as roughly synonymous.  Consciousness develops as we are able to enter that space between stimulus and response; when we practice inner non-attachment.  Compassion and liberation, or moksha, arise naturally when we are able to this.