emptyuniverse

An Empty World (Sunna-loka)

Look at the world and see its emptiness....
Uproot the view of self and thereby go beyond death. (Sutta Nipata 1119)

Emptiness isn't some sort of dogmatic principle or philosophical ideal. Rather, it's a way of experiencing reality without the filter of 'self' — a self which manifests as the various concepts and other forms of self-seeking that we habitually identify with. And it's this egoistic identity — this self-view (atta-ditthi) — which causes ongoing subtle (and not so subtle) dissatisfaction and emotional conflict in our lives. In fact, our habitual identification with the mind's ongoing inner dialogue is the root cause of the majority of the collective suffering occurring in this world. And while there's only so much that we can do to relieve the collective suffering on this planet, there's a lot that we can do to relieve our own suffering and dissatisfaction. What's more, by relieving our own personal share of the collective suffering we are actually diminishing the suffering of the whole. Not only because there's then one less fearful, angry person in the world, but also because there's then one more calm source of sanity in the world. One more person working with others and not obstructing others. And precisely because working with suffering individually is also working with it collectively, the Buddha taught us to let go of self-identification for the benefit of both oneself and others.

The conditioned universe — which includes our bodies, our thoughts and emotions — is in continual flux. Moreover, everything that arises is completely dependent upon prior factors for its very appearance. And so due to this ongoing change and dependent origination, no self-existing entities can be found anywhere in this vast, empty universe. And because of interdependence there are actually no hard boundaries separating anything or anyone. The Buddha called this lack of inherent separation 'empty world' (sunna-loka). He considered the full recognition of this dependently originated situation, which is the recognition of emptiness, the 'end of all dissatisfaction' (dukkha nirodha). When the fictitious self dissolves, along with its opinions and demands, the end of dissatisfaction is spontaneously attained, because only an alienated individual living within the deluded boundaries of a separate self can experience dissatisfaction.

Of course, conventionally speaking, there is what we refer to as 'the self.' The person who gets up in the morning, works, and all the rest of it. But that conventional 'person' exists in a fluid reality that is built entirely upon interdependent relationships. Outside of the totality of interdependent relationship no separate person can be located anywhere in this conditioned system. And if we can learn to correct our cognitive errors concerning this dependently arisen situation, then we can begin to let go of all the pettiness that binds us to a cycle of finite views and limited, constricting identification. This is what the Buddha meant when he said, "Look at the world and see its emptiness ... uproot the view of self and thereby go beyond death." On the pages that follow we can explore the practice and implications of this injunction.

The Four Noble Truths

First of all it's worth taking a look at how this understanding of an 'empty world' fits into the overall teaching of the Buddha known as the Four Noble Truths. The first truth defines what the Buddha means by suffering (dukkha). The second truth explains how this suffering comes to be through ignorant self-identification and craving based on it. The third truth states that once we've let go of self-identification and craving, we will thereby be free from all causes of further suffering. And the fourth truth shows how we can go about radically letting go of this habitual identification and concomitant craving which results in suffering.

The Truth of Suffering:

All conditioned phenomena of body and mind are prone to suffering (dukkha). This is a straightforward empirical observation. As the Saccavibhanga Sutta (MN 141) states:

What, friends, is the Noble Truth of suffering? Birth is suffering; aging is suffering; death is suffering; grief, lamentation, bodily pain, mental pain and despair are suffering; association with the unbeloved is suffering; separation from the loved is suffering; not getting what is desired is suffering. In brief the five aggregates subject to grasping are suffering.

The five aggregates, the twelve sense spheres, and the eighteen elements are three ways of classifying all the various conditioned phenomena of body, mind, and environment. They are all prone to suffering because they are impermanent (anicca) and therefore provide no lasting happiness.

The Truth of the Origin of Suffering:

Craving (tanha) is the origin of suffering (dukkha). Ignorant (avijja) reification of, and identification with conditioned phenomena of body and mind is the origin of craving. This ignorant reification and identification gives rise to the belief in an independent self, which in turn gives rise to craving — the basic mental state of wanting continuous happiness and comfort, while simultaneously not wanting unhappiness and discomfort. This craving (and aversion) gives rise to suffering because unhappiness and discomfort are unavoidable as long as ignorant reification continues. The cycle of ignorance, craving, and suffering goes on unabated until discernment (panna) brings about its cessation. This ongoing cycle is called samsara.

The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering:

The cessation of suffering is Nibbana, which is the relinquishing of the ignorant belief in a self (i.e. the 'I') and all accompanying reification (i.e. the 'mine'), and which brings craving and suffering to cessation. This permanent release of the reification of all conditioned phenomena is liberation. Just this is the fruition of the path.

The Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering:

Not reifying and thereby identifying with conditioned phenomena of body and mind is the path leading to the cessation of suffering. This path involves the simultaneous and fully integrated threefold development of discernment (panna), ethical conduct (sila), and meditation (samadhi). (1)

• Discernment involves understanding the impermanent (anicca) nature of the various conditioned phenomena of body and mind. When this understanding of impermanence is developed one clearly sees that all conditioned phenomena are unsatisfactory (dukkha). And from this one concludes that such impermanent, unsatisfactory phenomena are not-self (anatta). There is no way that they can be taken to be a permanent self. They are empty of self and what could belong to a self. Discernment also involves the understanding that conditioned phenomena are dependently originated (paticca-samuppada), and are therefore empty of any self-nature or independent existence. Discernment culminates in directly knowing (nana) Nibbana, which is the permanently peaceful and nonabiding cessation of suffering. (more on discernment)

• Ethical conduct involves the development of productive, skillful actions and qualities of body, speech, and mind, which are conducive to meditation and which lead away from craving (and aversion). (more on ethical conduct)

• Meditation involves the development of a calm and unified mind (samatha) which can be utilized to clearly see the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and empty nature of conditioned phenomena. Through this clear seeing one turns away from ignorant identification and come to rest within the peace of Nibbana. This clear seeing (vipassana) takes the mind from the theoretical level of discernment to direct experiential discernment. (more on meditation)

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