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You are empty of Self
Suppose you take one kernel of corn and you see in it “the sunshine, the cloud, the blue sky, the rain, even the snow, the soil, the minerals in the soil, the fertilizer, the farmer, the time, the space, our consciousness”—everything is in the kernel. If you plant that kernel in the damp soil, in ten days it will sprout two or three new leaves. Just as the young plant of corn is the continuation of the kernel, we are the continuation of our father and our mother. Yet we often cannot see our parents in ourselves, and we may get angry at them as if they were “totally different persons.” Meditation reconnects us: breathing in peacefully, our father and mother in us feel light and peaceful, and we practice not for ourselves alone but for our ancestors as well.
Buddhist meditation has two elements:
- samatha—calming, concentrating (let the Buddha breathe, let the Buddha walk; I enjoy the breathing, I enjoy the walking)
- vipaśyanā—deep looking into the truth of no-self.
“Buddha is the breathing. Buddha is the walking. I am the breathing. I am the walking.” There is only the breathing, only the walking; there is no breather or walker separate from the act. Self, father, son, house, flower—each is a conventional designation (prajñapti) arising from elements coming together. Touching the insight of non-discrimination (no-sameness, no-otherness) frees us from fear, anger, jealousy, and the illusion of a separate self, and brings peace and joy into every act of walking, drinking tea, brushing teeth, or making breakfast.
Five fingers and their French names:
• thumb
• index
• middle (majeur)
• ring finger
• pinky (auriculaire)
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Public Talk at UCLA