“‘How things really are’ is described in Buddhist philosophy as Emptiness (shunyata). Emptiness is often mis-understood in the West to mean ‘nothingness’, as if to say that nothing exists. This extreme view is known as ‘nihilism’, and it is a great obstacle to Buddhist practice. If you cling to the idea that nothing exists, then you may behave in ways that only solidify your own ego and cause harm to yourself and others.”
Based on the passage above, it seems that emptiness does not parallel with the word nothingness. But if the western culture really did misinterpret the word emptiness, then the passage does make some sort of sense. We “behave in ways that only solidify” our “own ego”. In other words, because we view emptiness as the meaning of nothingness, therefore, we only reacts to our own perception of the world of what it actually exists. This explains the reason why human are obsessed with the task of giving meaning to life to have a sense of importance to prove they once existed on this planet. Because we identify what we see is consider what it actually exists, thus we only see our own ego and fulfill it as much as we can by doing varies of acts such as “be cool” to satisfied our own desire.
But if the western culture really did mis-understood the word emptiness, then what does it mean in Buddhism?
“On the other hand, emptiness does mean that things don't exist the way we think they do. Things seem real and solid and permanent to us, but when we analyze closely, we see that everything is impermanent and constantly changing. In other words, they are "empty" of our confused projections. Recognizing this not just intellectually but experientially removes our ignorance and confusion, and creates a tremendous sense of space in our lives.”
An analogy for the passage above would be a pen that we perceive as a pen that is make of a plastic tube with ink inside of it that we can write with, therefore it is a PEN to us (real and solid- permanent). But this does mean the pen exists inherently because things are constantly changing. With this being said, emptiness means something does exist but not in the way we view things, and “nothing exists inherently”, in order for something to exist, there must be a cause or a relation with other things.
Following the path of what emptiness is in the vision of Buddhism, it seems we are trying to be cool because we view things as solid and real while they are “impermanent”. We are just fools of our life fulfilling something that is not there, because we barely can visualize what “emptiness” really is. If nothing exists inherently, nothing really has ever existed. In order for something to consider exist, is something that appears on earth with no cause, which is impossible because every effect there is a cause. To conclude all the above, emptiness does not exist, and yet, “all things are totally empty of any defining essence”.
Side Note:
I am interning in the Rubin Museum of Art, and I have the chance to talk to a Buddhist practitioner, who gave me some insights of emptiness in a Buddhist vision. As to summarize what emptiness really mean based on my own understanding of Buddhism was to imagine there are mud in a cup. If we were to stir the cup, it will be muddy and we will never get to see a clear cup of water. Just like our everyday life functioning back and forth non-stop, (fulfilling our desire, busy with the task of being cool), therefore, we thought to ourselves that we never see the empty part of ourselves. But if we stop stirring the cup (does not mean stop functioning, we are still living), we let the mud to settle and sink to the bottom of the cup – emptiness as following the task of meditation. With the explanation of emptiness being said, a clear empty mind does not mean it is completely empty, it is still there but we just let it be and not let it bother. By understanding the meaning of emptiness and knowing that everything is constantly changing and nothing really does exist inherently, we soon recognize the relationship of all things. Everything is connected, and we all are part of the other and they are the proof of our existence. In Buddhism, they believe that by practicing this belief, people will soon remove ignorance and getting closer to be enlightened. Emptiness means compassion, realizing everything is changing and connected, and soon we won’t try to compete over the others but to offer help for the others because we need others to help us to see our own existence.
Through the research of Nagarjuna, he believed that emptiness aren’t something bad that “leave us with a sense of metaphysical or existential privation, a loss of some hoped-for independence and freedom”, but “a sense of liberation through demonstrating the interconnectedness of all things, including human beings and the manner in which human life unfolds in the natural and social worlds.” If we realized the real meaning of emptiness, we soon notice that after all emptiness does not mean anything or have even existed. It is just a word that we give meaning to, therefore it exists somehow in our lives. By knowing we are all connected, and every effect has to encounter a cause, we will soon know that there is no need of covering or filling the hole of emptiness. Because emptiness does not really exist and there is no need of doing all different kinds of acts (live cool/methods discussed in class) to make ourselves to feel satisfied (external approval). We need the others to make ourselves exist, why competitions?
Based on the passage above, it seems that emptiness does not parallel with the word nothingness. But if the western culture really did misinterpret the word emptiness, then the passage does make some sort of sense. We “behave in ways that only solidify” our “own ego”. In other words, because we view emptiness as the meaning of nothingness, therefore, we only reacts to our own perception of the world of what it actually exists. This explains the reason why human are obsessed with the task of giving meaning to life to have a sense of importance to prove they once existed on this planet. Because we identify what we see is consider what it actually exists, thus we only see our own ego and fulfill it as much as we can by doing varies of acts such as “be cool” to satisfied our own desire.
But if the western culture really did mis-understood the word emptiness, then what does it mean in Buddhism?
“On the other hand, emptiness does mean that things don't exist the way we think they do. Things seem real and solid and permanent to us, but when we analyze closely, we see that everything is impermanent and constantly changing. In other words, they are "empty" of our confused projections. Recognizing this not just intellectually but experientially removes our ignorance and confusion, and creates a tremendous sense of space in our lives.”
An analogy for the passage above would be a pen that we perceive as a pen that is make of a plastic tube with ink inside of it that we can write with, therefore it is a PEN to us (real and solid- permanent). But this does mean the pen exists inherently because things are constantly changing. With this being said, emptiness means something does exist but not in the way we view things, and “nothing exists inherently”, in order for something to exist, there must be a cause or a relation with other things.
Following the path of what emptiness is in the vision of Buddhism, it seems we are trying to be cool because we view things as solid and real while they are “impermanent”. We are just fools of our life fulfilling something that is not there, because we barely can visualize what “emptiness” really is. If nothing exists inherently, nothing really has ever existed. In order for something to consider exist, is something that appears on earth with no cause, which is impossible because every effect there is a cause. To conclude all the above, emptiness does not exist, and yet, “all things are totally empty of any defining essence”.
Side Note:
I am interning in the Rubin Museum of Art, and I have the chance to talk to a Buddhist practitioner, who gave me some insights of emptiness in a Buddhist vision. As to summarize what emptiness really mean based on my own understanding of Buddhism was to imagine there are mud in a cup. If we were to stir the cup, it will be muddy and we will never get to see a clear cup of water. Just like our everyday life functioning back and forth non-stop, (fulfilling our desire, busy with the task of being cool), therefore, we thought to ourselves that we never see the empty part of ourselves. But if we stop stirring the cup (does not mean stop functioning, we are still living), we let the mud to settle and sink to the bottom of the cup – emptiness as following the task of meditation. With the explanation of emptiness being said, a clear empty mind does not mean it is completely empty, it is still there but we just let it be and not let it bother. By understanding the meaning of emptiness and knowing that everything is constantly changing and nothing really does exist inherently, we soon recognize the relationship of all things. Everything is connected, and we all are part of the other and they are the proof of our existence. In Buddhism, they believe that by practicing this belief, people will soon remove ignorance and getting closer to be enlightened. Emptiness means compassion, realizing everything is changing and connected, and soon we won’t try to compete over the others but to offer help for the others because we need others to help us to see our own existence.
Through the research of Nagarjuna, he believed that emptiness aren’t something bad that “leave us with a sense of metaphysical or existential privation, a loss of some hoped-for independence and freedom”, but “a sense of liberation through demonstrating the interconnectedness of all things, including human beings and the manner in which human life unfolds in the natural and social worlds.” If we realized the real meaning of emptiness, we soon notice that after all emptiness does not mean anything or have even existed. It is just a word that we give meaning to, therefore it exists somehow in our lives. By knowing we are all connected, and every effect has to encounter a cause, we will soon know that there is no need of covering or filling the hole of emptiness. Because emptiness does not really exist and there is no need of doing all different kinds of acts (live cool/methods discussed in class) to make ourselves to feel satisfied (external approval). We need the others to make ourselves exist, why competitions?
P.S. : I do not fully understand the concept of Buddhism and their definition of emptiness, therefore, all above is based on my own understanding of the research. If there are any misinterpretation, welcome to correct my mistakes.
Bao Lin,
ReplyDeleteYour exploration will bear fruit, I think.
My understanding:
Emptiness in Buddhism relates to the notion of impermanence. Reality flows, rather than stands. Every aspect of our reality (the pen, your body, your thoughts) can be considered a construct of multiple parts, the construct constantly changes, and we ourselves also can be seen (by ourselves!) as dynamic constructs. Anchors away!