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.