Question asked by WLY
Hello pastor, I want to share you my interpretation of Sunyata after 8 months of practicing the Dharma so far. I was wondering if this is somewhat correct.
When someone says "Your ugly" etc. etc. We get offended by them because we put an imputed definition on just a combination of different sounds. 'Ugly' and language as a whole is just a bunch of sounds connected together to form meaning. But the sounds itself have no meaning, its empty. We put a meaning onto things but the things itself have no meaning.
Dear WLY,
Thanks for your question. Yes, what you have understood is absolutely correct. The sound has not meaning, it is empty. However, what you have described is just one aspect of emptiness as actually, emptiness applies to literally everything from physical objects, non-tangible objects (like sounds) and even the thoughts in our minds.
Emptiness is described in many different ways and can be learned in many different ways. The best and most succinct way is to follow the Lamrim teachings. Within teachings, learning about emptiness can be summed up into two sections:
The first is the emptiness of the self.
The second is the emptiness of phenomena (which means everything else, apart from the self. This includes sound too).
Out of the two of these, it’s more important to learn about the emptiness of the self first. If you are able to understand that and then put it into practice in meditation to achieve actually insight into emptiness, then when it comes to the emptiness of phenomena, it will be easier.
You should read the Lamrim teachings, which is a guided manner through the complete Buddhist practice. This is because the teachings on emptiness actually require a very firm grounding in other Dharma topics, otherwise the understanding will only be superficial and it will be fleating, it won’t last long in your mind.
The Lamrim test we use is called Liberation in The Palm of Your Hand, its available here: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/lamrim-liberation-in-the-palm-of-your-hand
I hope this helps.