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Caked in Emptiness ...

... from another thread ...

Reading books from Meister Eckhart and the desert fathers I stumbled over this hymn,
many of their teachings are similar to buddhism
"To be full of things is to be empty of God.
To be empty of things is to be full of God".

I am amazed by Roshi Eckhart and his influence. Also the dessert mothers, who famously never said, 'Let them eat cake' (Hope it is fish cake) :3
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Mothers

Is being full of Cod too fishy for you? Do you prefer running on empties? Do you prefer yidam practice and multiple imaginary gods?

“I am the great and glorious Heruka!
My food is the life-force of living beings,
My seat, the three worlds and three planes of existence.
I am the Lama. I am the Yidam.
I am Samantabhadra, the mighty Vajradhara.
Without me, in the time before me,
There was no saṃsāra, no transcendence.
Now, the phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa
Are all perfect within me, the great Heruka.
The blazing fire mountain is my realm.
The vīras and ḍākinīs are my retinue.
The Great Perfection is my Dharma.
I am the Heruka of equalness and perfection.”

http://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/khenpo-shenga/advice-on-yidam

Ay caramba! :o

kando

Comments

  • pegembarapegembara Veteran
    edited April 2018

    The world delights in conceptual proliferation (papanca).
    Buddhas delight in the ending of that (nippapanca)

    https://tricycle.org/magazine/tangled-thought/

    DakiniCromeYellowFoibleFullShoshin
  • kandokando northern Ireland Veteran

    Being a bit fishy myself I would say I have a fin in both camps! You have great links by the way @Lobster

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    Emptiness is not always beneficial ive found. Last time I was trying to design and write a PR flyer I found my mind was totally empty... except for some mental tumbleweeds... it did not help in the process. So beware emptiness o:)

    lobster
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    That's not emptiness.... that's mindlessness.... Empty of thought does not mean empty of mind, it means an absence of concentration..

    That's not to say it was your fault, @Kerome . It happens to us all....

  • lobsterlobster Veteran

    So beware emptiness o:)

    indeed ... mind full of crap is even worse. Yes, that is the voice of experience ;)

    In the early stages we create or fill space with better options. For example I no longer think of fish for no reason, unless somone mentions Buddhas, Dharma ... then I think of fish ... ?

    Useless mind wandering, attachment to monkey mind is no use, it is dukkha.

    Mind meandering is no substitute for the concentrated awareness @federica express mentions ...

    Do not think of a fish riding an elephant ... oops ... It is ... too late ... O.o ... and now back to better links ...

  • VimalajātiVimalajāti Whitby, Ontario Veteran
    edited June 2018

    This is a picture of an empty cake:

    lobster
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    No, it isn't..... It's a picture of a cake tin, containing greaseproof paper that once wrapped around a cake. Which is now gone, consumed, disposed of.

    Said the pedant.

    Officiously.

    kandoVimalajāti
  • VimalajātiVimalajāti Whitby, Ontario Veteran
    edited June 2018

    @federica said:
    No, it isn't.....

    I wouldn't be so sure, necessarily, @federica.

    Some say that the self is as empty as the cake above.

  • VimalajātiVimalajāti Whitby, Ontario Veteran
    edited June 2018

    Here is another empty cake:

    They don't seem to have a lot in common, though, these two cakes.

    Some people say that both of the cakes are exactly the same.

  • ScottPenScottPen Maryland Veteran

    Wow that cake looks good. I'll be ok without it though.

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    @lobster said:
    Useless mind wandering, attachment to monkey mind is no use, it is dukkha.

    Mind meandering is no substitute for the concentrated awareness @federica express mentions ...

    Wait, do you mean to say I have to concentrate AND be mindlessly empty? And here I thought concentration always meant concentration on something...

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    It's no good. Please hand me a slice of not-cake. With extra not-cream.

    Not-calories.
    Don't you just love 'em....?

    image

    Vimalajāti
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    edited June 2018

    @Kerome said:
    Wait, do you mean to say I have to concentrate AND be mindlessly empty? And here I thought concentration always meant concentration on something...

    Tee Hee. <3

    Object orientated focus/concentration meditation is often preparatory. For example concentration on a lama, mantra, physical posture, walking mindfully or very commonly, 'The Breath'.

    The awareness and concentration of 'The Emptiness'/stillness/non-being is a result of our developing a clearing of mind clutter ...

    Iz no-plan ... and now back to baking ... :)

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