I see vividly – in my own mind – how painful emotions are so often preceded by a thought*.
That thought – along with all the others – is just a story I create about my experience. It doesn’t really exist. Like a rainbow, a dream, or mirage, the thought appears and, sooner or later, it disappears.
Knowing this – truly knowing this – is an essential aspect of securing true freedom and putting an end to suffering. Do you believe you can put an end to suffering?
Why do we admire great leaders and thinkers like the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Aung Sang Sui Kyi, and Albert Einstein?
Yes, they radiate the heart of love, compassion, courage, and conviction. They stand for “truth”. But what is this truth? Isn’t it a larger view of reality that goes beyond the limits of material imagination? Isn’t it an irreversible understanding of the way we are all inextricably linked to one another for better or for worse?
The word “emptiness” has come to have an uncomfortable, foreboding quality.
Rest assured it does not mean nothingness, a void, or a vacuum!
Mingyur Rinpoche says, “When Buddhists talks about emptiness, we don’t mean nothingness, but rather an unlimited potential for anything to appear, change, or disappear.”
He also equates emptiness with “the sense of openness people experience when they simply rest their minds” in meditation. - quotes from The Joy of Living, Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness.
For this week’s reflection, I’ve chosen two amazing quotations on emptiness from the Zen master Shunyru Suzuki-roishi.
“All descriptions of reality are limited expressions of the world of emptiness. Yet we attach to the descriptions and think they are reality. That is a mistake.”
“Although we have no actual written communications from the world of emptiness, we have some hints or suggestions about what is going on in that world, and that is, you might say, enlightenment. When you see plum blossoms or hear the sound of a small stone hitting bamboo, that is a letter from the world of emptiness.” - from Not Always So, Practicing the True Spirit of Zen, Shunryu Suzuki
I hope these quotations give you a glimpse of emptiness with all its potential. I would love to hear any thoughts or insights you would like to share.
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Hi, I'm Sandra Pawula, freelance editor, writer and inner explorer. I'm here to help you tap into your inner spring of true happiness and freedom.Curious? Read On!
