Ordinary Mind: Session 6

In Session VI of the Ordinary Mind Meditation Course, we dive into the often murky waters of emptiness. We explore how this often misinterpreted concept is actually the stepping stone to understanding and balancing the Absolute and the Relative in our lives. We practice a general self-enquiry technique, a first step in the direction of discovering the most basic existential truth: Who Am I?

Transcript

BellR pivotal BellR peculiar Welcome to the Ordinary Mind Meditation Podcast,

Where we explore the principles of Buddhist meditation both in theory and in practice.

Ok,

So last time we discussed Karma.

It can be said that Karma is a description of the way that the relative or everyday level of Truth functions.

Today,

We'll discuss the way that the absolute level of Truth functions,

Namely the concept of emptiness.

Few concepts are as badly misunderstood,

And actually emptiness is often taken as a way to show that Buddhism is nihilistic,

But nothing could be further from the Truth.

When we say something is empty,

What we mean is that it's empty of something.

A glass can be empty of water,

And in the same way we can say that all phenomena are empty of separate and inherent self-entities,

Or empty of self.

On a day-to-day level,

The self is usually experienced by most of us as a sort of tiny driver that lives in the space behind our eyes.

We feel that it's the thing which is in charge,

Which calls the shots.

This is hard to put exactly into words,

But I think everyone knows from experience what we're talking about here.

The reason emptiness is not only tangible,

But actually very relevant,

Is that usually we create a kind of duality between self and other.

If I'm here,

Everything outside the boundary of my skin is there,

It's not I.

This sense of isolation from our surroundings then brings with it all the rest of this game that we play,

Attaching to the things we like,

Aversion towards the things we don't like,

And dullness towards everything in between.

The process of turning things into separate selves is driven by language.

For the sake of our human communication and for its convenience,

We turn processes into solid objects,

Or as I like to say,

Turn what are actually verbs into nouns.

As we know,

All the so-called solid objects that we perceive are in fact atoms that are moving at various speeds.

So no solid static thing actually exists,

And all things are made from the same sets of subatomic particles.

This is why a different way,

And probably a more useful way to call emptiness,

Is interconnectedness.

Thich Nhat Hanh,

The Vietnamese Zen Master,

Gives the example of a piece of paper.

When one looks deeply into a piece of paper,

He says,

One can see the trees,

The earth in which they grow,

The sun which nourishes them,

The clouds that water them,

The lumberjack,

His parents,

The food he eats,

The other people who process the paper,

Etc.

Etc.

Ad infinitum.

Another famous example in Buddhist lore is called Indra's net.

This is a net which has a reflective jewel within each of its knots,

And each jewel reflects all the other jewels in the net,

And so it's also itself reflected in all the other jewels.

My personal favorite example,

Or let's say thought experiment,

Occurred to me as I was walking along a creek and mindful of my breathing.

Suddenly I realized that the trees and plants that provide oxygen for me are not at all less a part of my respiratory system than are my lungs let's say,

Because if there were no trees it would be the same as having no lungs.

Breathing just wouldn't be possible anymore.

This kind of interdependence and interpenetration is exactly what is described by the word interconnectedness.

If emptiness is the negation,

Or saying how things are not,

Interconnectedness describes the positive aspect,

Or the way that things are.

There's actually a point to all this beyond sounding like the musings of some stoned hippie.

The only road to true compassion and a truly awake and ethical way of being as an individual and also as a society is this recognition that there's not me against the world,

But it's actually all of this giant process where each individual is just a certain part of the whole,

And this also entails taking responsibility for this part.

Another way to think about it is like a wave,

Which isn't identical to the ocean,

Because it's a clearly distinguishable feature of the ocean,

But it's also not separate from the ocean in any way.

With all that said,

Here's a word of warning.

It's very important not to conflate relative truth and absolute truth.

It's totally true and wonderful that we are this process of the unfolding of all things,

Having started off as the big bang and at some point down the line turned into humans that build skyscrapers and iPhones,

But we're also individuals with bank accounts and bills to pay.

This is why many traditional descriptions of the spiritual journey end with the seeker entering back into the marketplace,

Into the center of worldliness,

And there she mingles and helps all those around her.

It's like,

Say,

Being able to enjoy a scary movie,

Because we realize that it's just a movie and are not so absorbed in it that it causes us suffering.

This is the meaning of the saying,

Buddhas clarify the absolute without destroying the relative.

Today's meditation will be a general self-inquiry meditation.

What this means is that we're gonna turn our attention back on itself and look for this thing which feels like a self.

For this,

The rule is pretty simple.

Subject can't be object.

It's like a projector and a movie.

As long as I can see the movie,

I'm not looking at the projector.

Okay,

So let's take a few deep breaths.

You can practice either version of the healing breaths that we learned in the previous episodes.

So either breathe in for five seconds,

Hold the breath for five seconds and exhale for five seconds,

Or use the advanced proportion which is breathing in for four seconds,

Holding for 16 seconds,

And breathing out for eight seconds.

Let's do this a few times.

Now as we do this,

Either focus single-mindedly on the numbers as you're counting,

Or use the simple mantra Amitofo,

And then focus on the letters.

So for example,

Breathing in,

Holding,

Amitofo,

Amitofo,

Amitofo,

Amitofo,

Amitofo,

Amitofo,

Amitofo,

And out,

Mi,

To,

Fo,

A,

Mi,

To,

Fo.

Keep your attention fully on it.

Visualize the letters or the numbers as you say them.

May your actions be pregunted to.

At this point,

As you exhale,

What we're gonna do is we're gonna just hang out on the outbreaths.

Don't adjust anything.

Don't place your attention anywhere.

There is nothing to do.

Just pay attention to that space after the outbreath.

The inbreath will just naturally follow.

You don't have to manipulate it.

You don't have to do anything.

Just drop everything.

Just hang there.

Now,

There's this space that's there and then there is a certain feeling of,

I am doing this or I am experiencing this.

So now ask yourself sincerely,

Where is this eye?

If I am aware of it,

Then it's not me.

Just like the movie which isn't the projector.

So keep looking.

Who is this eye?

Who is experiencing all of this?

Often,

A feeling of doubt or a certain unstable feeling comes up.

Just as if the rug has been pulled out from under our feet.

Usually,

This makes us want to run away.

But here,

We really sit and cook in this fully.

Like a potato cooking in tinfoil.

We sit in this unstableness and just stew in it.

We stay with it.

Experiencing fully and directly this scary thing,

This instability.

Who is it?

Who's having this experience?

Right at the source,

Right at the center.

This time,

We're staying right here.

We're not going anywhere.

We're feeling all of it.

Who is this eye?

Stick with it.

Just stay with the feelings and the experiences that come up.

Now,

Let go of everything and just rest there.

Once again,

Nothing to do,

Nothing to think or to change.

Just completely relax into this natural state of things.

The natural cognizant clarity of the mind.

Just hang out there.

Bring yourself gently back.

This was a first step into self-inquiry.

Do this practice until you feel comfortable staying with this questioning sensation.

This practice is a truly transformative one.

Thank you for joining today.

Until next time,

Ameetofu.

Reviews

This is a really clear and useful discussion of emptiness coupled with a short guided investigation of how to explore it. Terrific. Thank you.

awesome and rare

Very thoughtful-am bookmarking.

Great lecture and meditation instructions. Will bookmark this one. Thanks 🙏

great lesson and meditation. Thank you!

What great insights

Wonderful. Thank you.