Spiritual Journey (part 2) - Emptiness

 

It was Saturday evening, almost a week since Jack and Jill had first met the monk in the monastery on the mountain. Both had been reflecting on their activities of the past week. It had been a busy week at work for both of them, however in the evenings they had some time to reflect on their visit to the monk.

Jack was a computer engineer and as such logic, structured thinking and problem solving was a big part of his day to day work life. The logic of the experience and the experiencer that the monk had taken them through appeared to be sound and the direct experience of the self that the monk had given them through the guided experiment was also undeniable. However his logical mind was still trying to come to terms with "everything that changes is an experience". That  means all that I can sense with my senses is just an experience, and all the things that I used to think are me are really just experiences, as they are ever changing. This was very hard to grasp, as all his conditionings and  beliefs had centred around a different version of self then what the monk had introduced to them.

Jill on the other hand was a arts major and very creative, passionate and intuitive, to whom music, creative writing and singing came naturally. Jill in her creative pursuits had realised, that there was a source that was far more creative than her, which was the source of her inspiration and intuition. The experiment that the monk got them to do, triggered a state of immense bliss in her, a bliss she had experienced at times when she was in an elevated creative state that she called the "zone". Jill had unsuccessfully tried to be in the state of emptiness that the monk had taken them into during the week and had been wondering what was the missing ingredient.

Jack and Jill got up early morning on Sunday and made their way expectantly up the mountain, both pondering over their respective questions in silence and keen to meet the monk. As they reached the summit of the mountain, the sun was just rising. The monastery and the cherry blossoms appeared even more beautiful in the golden rays of the morning sun. The rays of the rising sun were slowly lighting up the trees, the mountain, the cherry blossoms and the monastery. It was a spectacular sight, both of them stood awe struck at the beauty that was unfolding as the sun rose from behind the mountain.

 

It was a good fifteen minutes until the sun had completely drenched the mountain in its golden rays that they realised the purpose of their visit. Jack and Jill entered the monastery and as before saw the monk seated at the base of the huge statue of Buddha. This time though his eyes were open and in front of him was a small table with a teapot and a cup of tea. He asked both of them to sit down and asked Jill to pour him a cup of tea.

As Jill started pouring the tea, the monk said "keep pouring the tea until I ask you to stop". Jill filled up the cup and she looked up at the monk, but the monk just gazed at the cup and said nothing. Jill continued pouring the team and the cup was now overflowing and the tea made its way onto the table and then finally onto the floor. Then at last the monk asked Jill to stop pouring the tea.

Jack and Jill both looked puzzled at each other and at the monk. Based on their last meeting with the monk they had realised by now that the monk had a deeper insight into people and was able to read their minds. Before they could say anything, the monk asked Jack "you wanted to find your true self didn't you".

"Yes" said Jack.

"Just like the cup here, your cup is full and overflowing with all the ideas about yourself. You must empty it first or else whatever I am about to tell you will overflow like the tea and make its way onto the floor" said the monk.

Looking at Jill the monk said "You wanted to be empty, but every day you fill up your cup with thoughts of your work, which you are thinking about all the time. Your cup is full too, it must be emptied too".

"So what should we do" asked Jack and Jill.

"Remember the last time you were completely empty of concepts, ideas and thoughts" asked the monk.

"Last Sunday, when we were here" said Jack and Jill.

"That is correct. What about when you stood gazing at the sunrise today before you entered the monastery ?" asked the monk.

"Yes that too" said Jack and Jill suddenly realising that the monk appeared to know what they had been doing even when he wasn't there.

"Tell me what were you thinking as you looked at the scenic view in front of you this morning. Were you thinking about your work" asked the monk.

"No" said Jack and Jill.

"Were you even thinking about anything" asked the monk.

"Nothing" said Jack and Jill.

"Did you realise how long you had been standing there. Did you even realise you had been standing like that for a good fifteen minutes" asked the monk.

"No" said Jack and Jill quite surprised, as they had both lost track of time as they had gazed at the rays of the rising sun lighting up the mountain.

"At that time were you even aware of why you were here and who you were" asked the monk.

"No" said Jack and Jill.

"But you felt it was the most exhilarating experience you ever had and you were very alive and alert" asked the monk.

"Yes" said Jack and Jill.

"You had no sense of time, no sense of why you were here, who you were, no thoughts, yet very alive and alert, is that correct ?" asked the monk.

"Yes" said Jack and Jill.

"In other words you were completely empty of all ideas, concepts of yourself, of all thoughts. As empty as you were when you did the experiment with me and also as empty as you were when you first came up the mountain and you saw the cherry blossoms the first time" said the monk.

"Yes" said Jack and Jill, a bit taken aback with the relative ease with which the monk had connected their disparate experiences, as if he was watching them all the time.

"That is your natural state, empty of all ideas, concepts, substance, time. You are beyond time and as I mentioned last week, that which you are has no name, no qualities, it does not belong to a place, it is here and now, it is neither born, nor it dies, it is always there, it never changes, it is the only one and it is limitless" said the monk.

"Now tell me have you ever been in this state of emptiness before ?" asked the monk.

"Yes, especially when I am in the creative 'zone', I loose track of time, I loose track of the past and the future, I feel I am in an extremely alert but blissful state" said Jill.

"I have been in a state of emptiness when I skied the first time. All my attention was focussed on trying to navigate the slope without falling." said Jack.

"Yes there are different degrees of emptiness, for example

• at times you may have little or no attention on the activity you are doing, your actions are on auto-pilot driven by your conditionings, habits, feelings and desires, without any intellect. At such times you are the least empty;
• at times your attention is strongly on an activity and you have excluded all other activities. However just like when you were skiing, you were still aware of the intention to avoid falling in the background. The mind / intellect is still active even though in the background, as awareness only. Due to your awareness you are an observer of the activity and as well as of whether you are empty or not and if not empty then to what degree you are empty; and
• at times your attention is so strongly on an activity, that you and the activity become one, this is what Jill refers to as the 'zone'. In this state your mind does not exist and you are the most empty.

The more empty you become, the more aligned you become to your natural self" said the monk. 

"Is there a way to become more empty ?" asked Jack.

The monk said "Your natural state is emptiness and you do not need to do anything to be empty, however over time you have accumulated so much ignorance about your true self, that a more concerted effort is necessary to free the mind from these false beliefs and indoctrinations that have been adopted.

Some of the things that can make you empty either for a short time or for prolonged periods are -

• Become one with nature. Nature is the truest form of how we are meant to be - empty. We came empty handed and we will leave empty handed - what is not understood is that we are meant to live empty handed. no collection, no hoarding no grasping, no holding on. The entire universe is emptiness, to become one with it a person needs to be empty. When you see a tree observe the leaves of the tree, observe their colour, observe the bushes and the flowers around you next time you walk through a garden. Next time you go to the beach watch the waves crashing on the beach or the rocks. There is a certain peace, harmony and balance in nature. As you observe this balance you become yourself balanced and empty. You had the same experience when you saw the sunrise this morning.

• Enjoy what you do. There are three key types of way that people do work -
• When people grumble or complain when they do anything or any work. Everything they do where they complain and grumble becomes hard work and is a burden. This fills you up with resentment, quite the opposite of becoming empty. The more baggage you collect the more longer the journey to drop it.
• There are those people who do their duty. They do what the process demands neither more nor less. They do things because they have been told or trained to do things a certain way. There is no resentment or baggage here, however the issue arises when they have to do things that they don’t like or are not aligned to the outcomes they seek and then they end up complaining and building resentment. This creates baggage which can gradually accumulate.
• There are times that a person gets engrossed in whatever they do loosing sense of time and outcomes as well. In this state you are said to be in the “zone” or “flow”. A number of musicians and athletes have experienced this state. It appears Jill you have experienced this state as well. This doesn’t happen always but when it does the person begins to enjoy whatever they do, becomes one with what they are doing and becomes empty. In this state neither any baggage is collected nor the past baggage that has been collected interferes with the present activity. This is the preferred way of maintaining emptiness.
• Develop the power of perspective. When you observe a tree from one angle it appears in a certain way, when you observe it from a different angle, it appears different. There are no two perspectives that are the same. Observing things from only one lens or perspective gives one a biased viewpoint. Hence it is important to recognise that every perspective is just that - a perspective. It’s not real. Nothing in this life is real or permanent. The more perspectives we can observe things from, the more wiser we become, which in turn makes us more detached and which makes us more empty. Of course realising that all that you can perceive is an illusion, instantly puts everything in perspective.
• In addition to the power of perspective, another great way of creating detachment is awareness. Being aware of and a witness to everything creates a distance between the experience and the experiencer. Being in awareness puts everything in perspective. Start simple, initially by just observing nature, then moving on to your breath, feelings and then your thoughts, all the time being aware of who you are or even the act of observing. Slowly but surely you will develop a balanced perspective.
• Become like the river continuously flowing holding on to nothing enjoying the journey of life. Life too is continuously flowing it holds on to nothing, every moment is different and new. To experience every moment of life in it’s entirety full attention is required on the present. When there is full attention on the present, one’s mind becomes automatically empty.

In summary our natural state is emptiness, we are already empty and we do not need to do anything to be empty, however to let go of the ignorance we have accumulated over time a more concerted effort is necessary".

"I do have some home work for you both" said the monk.

"Jack, I want you to cultivate being aware that you are an experiencer in your day to day activities. Initially you can start with small mundane tasks, gradually building up to more complex tasks, till it becomes automatic" said the monk.

"Jill you need to try being in the 'zone' at least twice a day initially and then gradually increasing to all activities you do. If you struggle initially, use nature or your work to cultivate it, till it comes naturally and automatically" said the monk.

Jack being the intellectually driven asked the monk the reason for a different homework for both of them. To which the monk replied "Just like the doctor prescribes different medicine for different ailments, the master must prescribe home work based on what the student needs. I want you to practice for a month and come back and share your progress. If you do have any questions, you can leave a message on the general number of the monastery and I will call you back". 

Both Jack and Jill thanked and bowed to the monk who now they referred to as the master and took his leave, excitedly walking out of the monastery, keen to apply what they had learnt in their day to day lives.

As they walked past the monastery, there on the monastery gates, on a black board they saw the following thought of the day and it resonated with their learnings today.

"Like a thief entering an empty house, bad thoughts cannot in any way harm an empty mind" 

 Spiritual Journey (part 1) - Relationship, Spiritual Journey (part 3) - Power of Perspective