The purpose of this meditation is to familiarise our mind with the idea that when we search with wisdom for the objects we normally see, we cannot find them.

I began the meditation by recalling some text from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso‘s book, Heart of Wisdom:

It is clear that if we were to shoot an arrow into the ocean we could not discover the depth of the ocean in this way. Similarly if we investigate the aggregates using sharp wisdom we shall not find anything that we can point to and say, “This is the aggregate of form” and so forth.

I thought about how if we search with wisdom for the objects we normally see around us, we will not be able to find them. Instead we will be confronted with a meaningful absence – the lack of true existence of the object.

I wanted to keep the meditation simple so I focused on the idea that when I search with wisdom, only the lack of inherent existence will appear. I felt that all the objects I normally perceive disappeared into a lack of true existence. Even I, the perceiver disappeared, along with my mind and thoughts and memories. I was filled with a lack of inherent existence, and stayed with the feeling of emptiness for the rest of the meditation.

Dedication

May all living beings walk through the doorway of emptiness to liberation and enlightenment.

Practice in the Meditation Break

I will look twice at objects – first at their mere appearance, and then again with wisdom, to see if I can still see them.