8.4. Emptiness
This question appears in the Sutta Nipāta, asked by the Brahman ascetic Mogharāja
evaṃ abhikkantadassāviṃ,
atthi pañhena āgamaṃ,
kathaṃ lokaṃ avekkhantaṃ,
maccurājā na passati.
SNP5.15 mogharājamāṇavapucchā
Thus one of supreme vision
I have come with a question
How should one view the world
So that the king of death does not see one
The Buddha's iconic reply has been an inspiration for serious meditators for millennia.
suññato lokaṃ avekkhassu,
mogharāja sadā sato,
attānudiṭṭhiṃ ūhacca,
evaṃ maccutaro siyā,
evaṃ lokaṃ avekkhantaṃ,
maccurājā na passatī"ti.
One should view the world as empty
Mogharāja, ever mindful
Eliminating the sense of self
Thus one can surpass death
Thus the king of death does not see one.
So viewing the world as empty is the key to surpassing (birth and) death.
But how exactly to do that?
Fortunately this is perfectly explained in a sutta contained in the the Saḷāyatana Saṃyutta in the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Ānanda asks the Buddha:
suñño loko, suñño loko’ti, bhante, vuccati. kittāvatā nu kho, bhante, suñño lokoti vuccat'ti?
yasmā ca kho, ānanda, suññaṃ attena vā attaniyena vā tasmā suñño lokoti vuccati.
kiñca, ānanda, suññaṃ attena vā attaniyena vā? cakkhu kho, ānanda, suññaṃ attena vā attaniyena vā. rūpā suññā attena vā attaniyena vā, cakkhuviññāṇaṃ suññaṃ attena vā attaniyena vā, cakkhusamphasso suñño attena vā attaniyena vā,yampidaṃ cakkhusamphassapaccayā uppajjati vedayitaṃ sukhaṃ vā dukkhaṃ vā adukkhamasukhaṃ tampi suññaṃ attena vā attaniyena vā.
SN35.85 suññatalokasuttaṃ
Bhante, it is said, "The world is empty, the world is empty. In what way is the world empty?"
Because, Ānanda, the world is empty of a self or anything related to a self, that's why it is said, "The world is empty."
And what is empty of a self or anything related to a self? The eye… forms … eye consciousness… visual experience… all that is felt, pleasant or unpleasant, based on visual experience, that too is empty of a self or anything related to a self.
(And likewise for all the other senses including mind)
The first thing to notice about this sutta is that the Buddha describes the world not as the world 'out there', but as the subjective world of experience. That's the only world anybody actually knows. And while this world is full of experiential phenomena, it's truly empty of a self, empty of any essence, empty of any entity, empty of any soul, empty of any kind of lasting being.
This idea of emptiness can really freak some people out. They think, "Before I had an I, now it doesn't seem to exist any more. Where did I go!? What happened to me!?" But there never was an I, there never was a me, it was always just empty experience. Others leap towards this idea of emptiness, because they understand the simple truth of it. This is what's happening now, this is what's always been happening, just empty experience arising and passing away. When there's nothing to hold on to, the mind can let go.
Ultimately, clinging onto something that isn't really our own to possess just causes endless amounts of hardship and suffering.
When we see this with the eye of wisdom, how all things inside and outside are completely impersonal, the illusion breaks. We see that dragging an imaginary self and all its possessions around is a huge burden, an unnecessary stress. Not taking that heavy burden to be oneself, we can drop the weight to the ground, lighten the load and get relief.
Holding on to a sense of self is merely holding onto dukkha. Letting go of the sense of self is merely letting go of dukkha. Everything else continues as normal.
When we realise that the thing we are gripping so tightly is causing us suffering, we drop it naturally, like a burning coal. Nobody needs to tell us to drop something hot. And yet, in a way, that's what we're all doing—clinging tightly onto the very thing which is the source of the pain.
This practice helps to provide a vivid, clear understanding of the process by which suffering is being created. Understanding how dukkha is made, it becomes possible to stop making it.
"Where does this practice go?", we may ask. To find out, let's take it for a test drive. What happens when we see the world as empty? What happens when we let go of taking this world of experiences as I, as me, as mine? Most people experience an incredible sense of relief. It's such a great feeling to put down the invisible weight that we've been carrying around unnecessarily as long as we can remember. It's a heavy load, dragging an imaginary self through existence.
One sutta describes the process like this:
"seyyathāpi, āvuso, puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṃ caramāno tiṇhaṃ kuṭhāriṃ ādāya vanaṃ paviseyya. so tattha passeyya mahantaṃ kadalikkhandhaṃ ujuṃ navaṃ akukkukajātaṃ . tamenaṃ mūle chindeyya, mūle chetvā agge chindeyya, agge chetvā pattavaṭṭiṃ vinibbhujeyya . so tattha pheggumpi nādhigaccheyya, kuto sāraṃ!
evameva kho, āvuso, bhikkhu chasu phassāyatanesu nevattānaṃ na attaniyaṃ samanupassati. so evaṃ asamanupassanto na kiñci loke upādiyati. anupādiyaṃ na paritassati. aparitassaṃ paccattaññeva parinibbāyati. ‘khīṇā jāti, vusitaṃ brahmacariyaṃ, kataṃ karaṇīyaṃ, nāparaṃ itthattāyā’ti pajānātī"ti.
SN35.234 udāyīsuttaṃ
Say for example a man was looking for hardwood, going around on a search for hardwood, he would enter a forest with a machete. There he would see a large plantain trunk, young and growing straight up. He would cut that off at the root, then cut the crown off, then unroll the trunk. There he wouldn't even find any sapwood, not to mention hardwood.
In the same way a monk neither sees a self or anything related to a self within the six fields of sense experience. Not seeing a self in this way, he grasps onto nothing in the world. Not grasping, he is unperturbed. Being unperturbed, personally the fire goes out. He knows, "Birth is finished, the holy life has been lived, what should be done has been done, there is nothing further than this state."
Meditation on emptiness
Transcript
Let's examine all the components of experience, experience itself, and all responses to experience, understanding the emptiness of each part of the process.
The eyes are empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
Visible forms are empty.
Eye consciousness is empty.
The conscious experience of seeing is empty.
All vedanā which arise from seeing are empty.
All the mind's responses to vedanā, craving, aversion, ignorance, even equanimity are empty.
From start to finish, the whole process of seeing, the components of visual experience, the experience itself, and all responses to it are empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
The ears are empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
Sounds are empty.
Ear consciousness is empty.
The conscious experience of hearing is empty.
All vedanā which arise from hearing are empty.
All the mind's responses to vedanā, craving, aversion, ignorance, even equanimity are empty.
From start to finish, the whole process of hearing, the components of auditory experience, the experience itself, and all responses to it are empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
The nose is empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
Smells are empty.
Nose consciousness is empty.
The conscious experience of smelling is empty.
All vedanā which arise from smelling are empty.
All the mind's responses to vedanā, craving, aversion, ignorance, even equanimity are empty.
From start to finish, the whole process of smelling, the components of olfactory experience, the experience itself, and all responses to it are empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
The tongue is empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
Flavours are empty.
Tongue consciousness is empty.
The conscious experience of tasting is empty.
All vedanā which arise from tasting are empty.
All the mind's responses to vedanā, craving, aversion, ignorance, even equanimity are empty.
From start to finish, the whole process of tasting, the components of gustatory experience, the experience itself, and all responses to it are empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
The body is empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
Physical sensations are empty.
Body consciousness is empty.
The conscious experience of feeling physical sensations is empty.
All vedanā which arise from feeling are empty.
All the mind's responses to vedanā, craving, aversion, ignorance, even equanimity are empty.
From start to finish, the whole process of physical sensation, the components of somatic experience, the experience itself, and all responses to it are empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
The mind is empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
Mental phenomena are empty.
Mind consciousness is empty.
Any conscious mental experience is empty.
All vedanā which arise from mental experience are empty.
All the mind's responses to vedanā, craving, aversion, ignorance, even equanimity are empty.
From start to finish, the whole process of mental experience, the components of mental experience, the experience itself, and all responses to it are empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
With open awareness, stay aware of every experience.
Understand that all the components of this experience are empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
Understand the experience itself is empty.
Understand that all vedanā which arise from this experience are empty.
Understand that all the mind's responses to vedanā, craving, aversion, ignorance, even equanimity are empty.
Understand that, from start to finish, this experience is empty, empty of a self or anything that belongs to a self.
Keep paying deep attention to the emptiness of every experience.
Continue seeing all experiences as empty for the day. Empty of a self, or anything that belongs to a self.
Q&A
Q: Do you have any questions or doubts at this point?