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emptiness and no-self questions
Okay so... the result of all my meditations and understandings thus far, have indicated that 'emptiness' is like the KEY, that
I need to thoroughly understand
"emptiness" (or whatever term to describe it...)
it's everywhere right ? but it's at the same time nowhere...right?
in my understanding it is the essence of all things,
it's what everything has in common..
it's "shadowy and indistinct"... ,
<< its funny I used to be into taoism, and they always said like "return to the uncarved block" and other parallels to buddhism, so many in fact, that I've come to the conclusion they are the same thing....>>
anyway this emptiness, I thought had it one night meditating..(probably not) but it's like I can't touch it or understand it...
Does it exist/not exist outside of concepts?
it has the form of no form?
I don't mean like the basic obvious levels of emptiness...like a glass with no water, or a person with no soul...
I mean like.......hahaaha I don't know what i mean...the ground of reality?????... ?
Please just tell me everything you guys know about emptiness,
I need to thoroughly understand
"emptiness" (or whatever term to describe it...)
it's everywhere right ? but it's at the same time nowhere...right?
in my understanding it is the essence of all things,
it's what everything has in common..
it's "shadowy and indistinct"... ,
<< its funny I used to be into taoism, and they always said like "return to the uncarved block" and other parallels to buddhism, so many in fact, that I've come to the conclusion they are the same thing....>>
anyway this emptiness, I thought had it one night meditating..(probably not) but it's like I can't touch it or understand it...
Does it exist/not exist outside of concepts?
it has the form of no form?
I don't mean like the basic obvious levels of emptiness...like a glass with no water, or a person with no soul...
I mean like.......hahaaha I don't know what i mean...the ground of reality?????... ?
Please just tell me everything you guys know about emptiness,
0
Comments
The Emptiness (Shunyata) of the seemingly "individual" object...doesn't matter if its me or the Milky Way Galaxy [100,000,000,000 suns total] is mirrored by the "wholeness" of all existance.
As Thich Nhat Hahn pointed out so eloquently, "The question isn't to be or not to be but rather to inter-be or not to be." Emptiness shows that we are connected not just to one another but to all things. Eventually you will notice that when you look at an ordinary apple you don't just see the apple but the apple tree, the apple orchard, the apple farmers, the earth from which the trees grow, the rain the nourishes them, the sun that gives them strength, the atmosphere...and the whole of the Universe unfolds.
*This is what is meant by "Self being an illusion."
The Buddha said emptiness means 'empty of self and anything belonging to self'. This reality one must confirm through meditation. Buddha called this meditation satipatthana.
Satipatthana is examining or directly seeing the body until the mind sees: "It is merely body (rather than 'self')"; examining or directly seeing feelings until the mind sees: "It is merely feeling (rather than 'self')"; examining or directly seeing mental objects until the mind sees: "It is merely mental fabrications (rather than 'self')"; and examining or directly seeing dhamma until the mind sees: "All things are merely dhamma (rather than 'self')".
For example, if we look at a block of concrete or a tree, we do not see any 'self' there. We must develop refined meditation so our mind can see itself, its consciousness, its objects and the body in the same way.
Our mind watches our breathing & body until it sees there is no self in the breathing & body. If this can be done then strong feelings of rapture & happiness arise. Then the mind watches these feelings until it sees there is no self in these feelings. At this stage the mind is very refined and whatever moods (defilments) or thoughts arise in the mind, the mind can see they are merely mental fabrications rather than a 'self'.
In brief, to understand emptiness, it is best to meditate.
Otherwise, if we do not have the time to meditate intensively, we should examine life like a scientist until we realise all things are merely natural phenomena; just elements of nature.
Kind regards
DDhatu
Why must we sacrifice one for the other? "Practice" is essential for those who wish to follow the Buddha's Dharma...but the realization of emptiness is also essential to this.
i feel it's not enough though, why?
we aint talking about the game, .....we talking about PRACTICE......
we talking about samsara,
samsara that I go out and die for,
and we talking about practice....
PRACTICE?! not the game........not the...
PRACTICE?
-Allen Iverson
LOL jk, but seriously, how do I practice...? I feel like society is a very large obese person sitting on my face, I have no room to practice...society tells me what to do, and I do it...
I'm in a very closed system you see....i go try my best where ever i am..is that enough? is it enough to just be like in a cave and practice?
You are holding very tightly to the idea of 'non-self". Just let go of it and you may find that "self" goes with it.
I have trouble with that....u know state of flux that's left over, how to describe it? bewildering...
sometimes i get into it and see: a shapeless, colorless, non nonexistent nothing, is this emptiness?
Palzang
As long as you see dualities, you will never crack them. "Duality" is the illusion...there are only symmetries.
What's the difference?
Duality always implies a seperation between the two subjects. With "symmetry" all seeming opposies are in fact connected...thus all things are connected:
Night/Day
Light/Darkness
Earth/Sky
Good/Evil
Wisdom/Ignorance
Compassion/Selfishness
etc etc...
A coin always has two sides...but there is always just one coin.