When I first started trying to understand meditation, the concept of emptying was often front and center. In one way or another, I repeatedly came across the idea that the goal of meditation was to empty oneself in order to achieve a state of nothingness.
At the beginning of my journey I would assume a position that I believed was conducive to meditation, and I would then attempt to rid my mind of every trace of thought. I had studied and practiced methods to synchronize the mind, tune out distractions, and seize thinking, but rather than reaching a prolonged blank slate state, I would often be struck by startling insight.
The response to a question I had been pondering would suddenly rise into awareness. The answer was familiar as if I'd always known it, but forgotten. It was obvious, true, and delivered in the clearest and simplest way.
At other times, a universal bit of wisdom would present itself and provide - to my mind - evidence that the Truth does, in fact, reside within us. I
It did seem, however, that a quiet state was necessary to let this important information through.
If I could only use one word to describe the sense that accompanies these moments, it would be relief; the feeling of reassurance and relaxation that inevitably follows a release from anxiety and distress that accompanies not being aligned with the truth.
I began to realize that whatever I was doing in these quiet moments was valuable even if I thought I wasn’t meditating. I felt that although these sessions were more productive than any other time in my day, I was not successful at achieving the state of emptiness that had been described.
Fast-forward several years. I came across five important pieces of information.
A Clear and Steady Seeing of the Way Things Are
In their book Buddhism: A Concise Introduction, Houston Smith and Philip Novak describe the Buddha's first meditation:
"As he reflected steadily on life's impermanence, his mind opened onto a new state of lucid equanimity. It was now calm and pliable, and the clarity of its seeing was marred by neither elation nor sorrow. It was his first deep meditation - not an otherworldly trance, but a clear and steady seeing of the way things are. And more, it was accomplished in the normal conditions of life..."
For the first time, I wondered if I had actually been experiencing hundreds of meditations over the years without recognizing them for what they were. Ironic somewhat, considering meditation is "...a clear and steady seeing of the way things are." But I was confused because such great emphasis had been placed on the emptying and the nothingness. The words in the text lined up with my own experience but stood in contrast to what I had understood to be the goal.
A Monk's Experience
Around the same time, a client who had once been a Buddhist monk and had lived in a monastery for twenty years said that he had practiced meditation multiple times a day, every day for the entire time that he was there. Only once did he experience an altered state in which he claimed to have felt the Kundulini serpent rise up his spine. Surprisingly, when asked if he could share anything else on the practice, he said that that particular experience, and all his years of practice, had not otherwise produced anything noteworthy. If a former monk had no remarkable experiences, and had not succeeded in emptying himself, I couldn't help but wonder what was really meant to be happening.
Setting Your Mind Free
Then while watching Little Buddha, the 1993 film that follows Tibetan Buddhist monks from a monastery in Bhutan, searching for a child who is the rebirth of a great Buddhist teacher, I came across another significant description. The little boy they suspect might be the reincarnation of the deceased monk asks what meditation is:
Jesse Conrad: Were you sleeping lama?
Lama Norbu: No, I was meditating.
Jesse Conrad: What's meditating?
Lama Norbu: It is being totally quiet and relaxed, separating yourself from everything around you, setting your mind free like a bird, and you can then see your thoughts as if they were passing clouds.
Again, not so much an empty mind for the sake of being empty, but so that it might be set free and see things clearly.
Emptiness is Not An Absolute Reality or Independent Truth
In the Dalai Lama's book The Essence of the Heart Sutra, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people describes emptiness as "the true nature of things and events" and "to avoid the misapprehension that emptiness is an absolute reality or an independent truth."
Each piece of information was reshaping my understanding and it wouldn't be long before I received the fifth piece of information that brought everything into focus.
Achieving Emptiness So That You May Be Filled
I attended a retreat at a Buddhist center in Hilo, Hawai'i at which a Tibetan Rinpoche was the guest teacher.
I took pages of notes. Even though English was not his first language, he was able to clearly and concisely, and in very simple terms convey the heart of Buddhist teachings. And although all of it was interesting and he was indirectly answering questions I had for years, I remember my interest peeked when he began to explain the significance of "emptying."
He added only one brief concept that finally brought it all together. He said, you empty so that you can fill yourself with your Buddha nature.
Finally it all made sense. Emptying is not the goal. It is part of a process. Emptying is a necessary and essential step to make room in the vessel for our true nature to enter, dwell within us, and flourish.
I immediately thought of the Christian teaching that the Holy Spirit can only come to dwell in us when we are of pure heart. In Christianity, The Holy Spirit is the great advocate and the voice of truth, but it doesn't come to live in us if our hearts and minds are filled with disorder, chaos, and confusion. If instead of being empty, the vessel is filled with negativity, resentment, jealousy, fear, and anger, there is no space within us to receive the comforting Truth meant to sustain and guide us in this reality.
In an instant I understood the nature of this kind of meditation. It is in its purest sense a clearing out of all the cluttering thoughts and vices. It is a conscious and systematic ridding of harmful distractions so that we can make way for the truth; the truth about ourselves, about others, about situations, and about reality.
We empty ourselves so that we may know "the true nature of things and events."
The argument for daily practice makes perfect sense when we understand the significance of meditation. We need to clear the clutter, the lies, the distractions, the emotions that keep us from being our true self and we need to do it daily. Just as we tend to the diurnal cleaning of our body, we need to ritually tend to the cleaning of our interior. And as Buddha discovered, it can be "accomplished in the normal conditions of life..."
The emptying of the vessel makes way for awareness to enter and provide a place from which to observe accurately. For Buddhists emptying makes room for our Buddha Nature to flow through. For Christians, emptying allows space for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. This allows us to not only receive, but also provide others with love, kindness, forgiveness, patience, and understanding.
We empty the vessel so that it may be filled with all things true, beautiful, and humane.
Emptiness is not simply a void. Through mediation, the goal is not to arrive at nothingness and return empty handed.
Emptiness is like a freshly tilled field that is ready to receive seeds, water, and sunlight, and in time produce a harvest. It is like a jar of clay, waiting to be filled with life giving and life saving water.
Emptiness is the state right before we receive the truth. It is a state of peace, that makes way for clarity so that we have a better chance at navigating this reality with pure hearts.
Emptiness provides a state of consciousness or awareness that nothing is missing. It allows for the realization that you are already complete, and the foundation from which to simply Be.
References:
Bertolucci, B., Reeves, K., & Fonda, B. (1995). Little Buddha.
Smith, H., & Novak, P. (2003). Buddhism: A concise introduction. New York: HarperSanFrancisco.
Lama, D. X. I. V., & Thupten, J. (2005). Essence of the heart sutra: The Dalai Lama's heart of wisdom teachings. Boston: Wisdom Publications.