The teachings, practices and realizations of Emptiness have been important themes in Buddhism from the early days of Theravada on through the development of the Mahayana and Vajrayana schools. In this retreat we will introduce and explore the many meanings and implications of emptiness in Buddhist thought and practice through talks, readings, reflections, guided meditations and group discussions.
This talk was given on the opening night of the Emptiness Retreat.
It introduces the theme of emptiness as a lack of unchanging essence or substance. This retreat encourages us to explore the possibility that things are not as they appear to be.
The Buddha said many times that no self is to be found in the phenomena of our senses. But still, the sense of a self in us arises over and over. This talk explores through sutta references how this sense of self is created in the moment and how it can cease.
The Buddha often used the schema of the Five Aggregates to show that what we take to be self is actually impermanent and unsatisfactory, and that clinging to the aggregates will bring suffering.
All the phenomena of our senses are empty of any solid substance or essence. It may be more appropriate to refer to phenomena as "appearances" rather than "objects." This theme is explored through the Sutta "A Lump of Foam" in the Samyutta Nikaya.
