Wisdom means that we see things as they really are. We understand things clearly, without distortions. When we are looking at wisdom and emptiness, it is not something that is cold and remote. This open, spacious awareness contains everything.
In the Mahayana, we encounter practices that explore emptiness. These practices typically fall into the category of analytical meditation, an important form of insight meditation. Analytical meditation examines and investigates experience to help us get in touch with reality—the true nature of our minds, the world, and all experience. When it comes to emptiness, the basic idea is that the way things appear is very different from the way they truly are. Things seem to be solid and unchanging, but they are not. When we use analytical meditation to explore the principle of emptiness, we see beyond the way things look on the surface to get in touch with the open, fluid, dreamlike nature of reality.
You could spend an entire lifetime exploring the many dimensions of present-moment experience in meditation. The analytical practices of the Mahayana slowly open us to the dreamlike nature of our experience and perceptions. In time, how we perceive ourselves, others, and the world begins to shift and broaden. We start to see that beneath all the change of life, everything is simply open.
Emptiness invites us to look uncertainty in the eye.
Seeing the basic openness of reality might sound nice, but many meditators experience fear, anxiety, and resistance as they get in touch with emptiness. When teaching meditation, I have heard many people report feeling, for instance, as though they were “losing” their sense of self in a way that made them fearful. Touching emptiness can be uncomfortable, but this discomfort is actually a really good sign. Fear comes up because we are beginning to see through the limitations of our habitual sense of self. This can be scary at first. We haven’t yet gotten in touch with what is on the other side of our fear—the vast expanse of our true nature, the basic space of emptiness. And although this is a source of infinite well-being, we are not yet familiar with this new terrain. At the same time, our rigid sense of self may cause endless problems and suffering, but it is also familiar.
Mingyur Rinpoche likes to say that meditation is like ending a dysfunctional relationship with ourselves. Most of us know what it is like to be stuck in an unhealthy relationship. Even when we know the relationship is stagnant or toxic, we might find ourselves staying in it simply because it is familiar and change is threatening. Stepping into the unknown is always scary, even when we are leaving behind something that creates suffering. Emptiness invites us to look uncertainty in the eye. So if fear or resistance arises, take your time with it. Step back from your meditation if it is too overwhelming. In these cases, practices centered on kindness and compassion can be really helpful. Whatever you do, remember that fear in meditation is not a failure but a normal and healthy reaction on the path. Very often, just on the other side of fear, there is insight.
Be The Open Sky
Begin by setting a positive motivation for your practice. Think to yourself, I am going to meditate to help all beings discover their true nature and the nature of reality. May this help all beings to truly flourish!
Next, let go and rest in open, effortless awareness for a few moments. Drop the busy, “doing” energy of your life and give yourself permission to simply be.
As you rest with a sense of effortless presence, bring awareness to your body. Notice the solidity of your body. Feel the pull of gravity.
Now bring awareness into your body and notice any sensations there. You might feel the movement of your body as you breathe, or perhaps tingling or vibration in your hands or other areas. There might be tension or discomfort. Explore all this with a sense of curiosity and openness.
Notice how these feelings and sensations are dynamic, constantly moving and changing. At first, the body seems very solid, but now, notice all the movement and change. Simply be aware of that.
Next, look even deeper. Explore one small part of the body with a little more precision. Notice the sensations, and then keep looking. Can you feel a sense of openness within which the sensations are happening? If so, notice that. See if you can tap into a sense of spaciousness or openness within your body.
If you get a glimpse of that openness, let go and rest in that feeling. If not, continue to explore the shifting, moving sensations you find.
To conclude, let go of the exploration and rest again in open awareness. Be the open sky of your inner experience, and let all the clouds of your thoughts, emotions, and perceptions flow through without needing to focus on them or do anything with them.
♦
From A Meditator’s Guide to Buddhism by Cortland Dahl. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Thank you for subscribing to Tricycle! As a nonprofit, we depend on readers like you to keep Buddhist teachings and practices widely available.