Meditation On The Third Attribute Of True Duhkha, Empty

So,

In this meditation session,

We will explore the third of the four attributes of true dukkha.

So this is called empty,

The aggregates are empty,

And one explanation,

The common explanation among all the Buddhist schools is that this refers to the lack of a permanent,

Unitary,

Independent self.

That's the kind of self that some of the non-Buddhist schools of philosophy and religion believed in.

They actually teach the existence of that kind of self.

And it's also similar to the idea of the soul in Christianity and Judaism and Islam.

And so we may have been exposed to this idea in our life and may have accepted it and have this belief in this kind of self.

And so it's good to explore if this kind of self or soul does exist or not.

And it's a more coarse or gross conception of a self that Buddhism says is a wrong conception,

A misconception.

And exploring this,

You know,

Getting used to exploring this type of self is helpful for later on exploring a more subtle conception of self,

The inherently existing or independently existing self or I.

So it's good to start with a more gross one and then we can gradually move to more subtle ones.

So let's begin with a few minutes of sitting quietly to settle down our body and mind and generate a positive motivation for doing the meditation.

So do your best to sit with a straight back.

But that doesn't mean being tense.

Ideally,

We should be relaxed as much as possible.

So it can be helpful to scan your body from the top of your head down to your toes or the other way around from your toes up to the top of your head.

Just kind of quickly scan through your body with your awareness.

And if you notice tension or tightness anywhere in the body,

See if you can let it go.

Just tell yourself to relax or imagine the tension melting and flowing out of you or evaporating in space.

Just try your best to let go of any tension you find in your body.

Take a few minutes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And before we continue with the meditation,

Let's make sure that our intention,

Our motivation for doing the meditation is as positive as possible.

If you're comfortable with the idea of attaining enlightenment to be able to help all living beings,

You can bring that aspiration into your mind and think that you're doing the meditation for that purpose.

If you're not comfortable with that idea,

Then you might be comfortable feeling the wish to benefit others as much as possible in your life,

That you would like to grow your positive qualities,

Your wisdom,

Compassion,

Love,

And so on,

So that you can be helpful to others as much as possible.

So those are just some suggestions.

So take a few moments to think about your reasons for doing the meditation.

Try to make it something altruistic,

Benefiting not just yourself,

But also others and the world.

And if you're not comfortable with the idea of attaining enlightenment to be able to help others as well,

Then you might be comfortable with the idea of attaining enlightenment to be able to help others as well.

So the Buddha taught that there is no permanent unitary independent self or soul or atman.

He himself searched for such a thing and wasn't able to find it and realized it was a false notion,

Something fabricated by the mind,

Not really there.

But we need to explore this for ourselves.

We need to investigate what the Buddha said and see if it's true or not.

So this idea of a permanent unitary independent self isn't something innate.

It isn't something we're born with.

Rather,

It's an idea we learn from studying a religious or philosophical tradition that does believe in this kind of self.

So if we have been exposed to this idea,

We were taught this idea by teachers,

Parents,

And so forth,

We might believe in it.

Even if we were not exposed to this idea,

We were not taught this idea,

It's still useful to explore it.

There's lots of other people in the world who do believe in this kind of self or soul.

It's good to investigate if such a thing really does exist or not.

So we'll go through the three qualities that such a self has,

One by one,

And just check to see if it's possible that such a self or soul could exist.

So the first quality of this kind of self is permanent.

And this means,

For example,

People believe there's a person,

An I,

A self existing now in this present life.

And even when we die,

Our self,

Our soul will continue to exist,

Even though our body is buried or cremated and left behind,

But this real self or soul will continue to exist after death and it will either go to heaven or to hell,

Depending on how we behave during our life,

Or it will take rebirth.

Some people believe in rebirth and that this is the self that is reborn.

It goes from one life to the next.

But it's somehow unchanging.

So for example,

Many people think,

Oh,

I really miss my parents and my grandparents.

They passed away.

But after I die,

I will meet them again in heaven.

We will all be reunited in heaven,

And there we can remain happily forever after.

So that shows a kind of notion of a self,

An I,

A me,

As well as other people like my mother,

My father,

My grandparents,

My children.

There's some kind of fixed identity in each one of us,

And that will continue to exist even after death.

And we will be reunited in heaven,

And we'll carry on our loving relationship with each other.

So this means that there is a self which remains the same,

Even after death,

After our body dies and this life comes to an end.

So let's check to see if that's a realistic idea or not.

Our aggregates,

What we call in Buddhism aggregates,

Are basically body and mind.

So let's first explore the body and ask ourselves,

Can that kind of self or soul be found anywhere in my body?

Think about the parts of your body,

The different organs making up your body,

Your skin,

Blood,

Bones,

And then down to the tiniest particles,

The cells and molecules and atoms and so on.

So can you find any part of your physical body that you can point to and say,

That is such a self,

A self that will continue to exist after death and will be reunited with my loved ones in the next life.

Tables.

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And if we are unable to find any part of our body that has that kind of quality of permanence,

We can also check the mind,

Which is more difficult because we can't see the mind.

It's not a visible,

Tangible thing.

We can know it through our practice of meditation,

Self-awareness,

Just getting more familiar with our inner world of thoughts and emotions.

But still we can try to see if we can find anything within our mind that is permanent and unchanging and will continue to exist even after death and again meet with loved ones,

Relatives and friends and so on in the next life.

Is there anything in the mind we can point to as being that kind of self or soul?

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And the second quality of this kind of self is unitary,

Meaning it doesn't have any parts.

It's one whole monolithic thing.

So spend some time thinking about your body and mind and see if you can find anything within your body and mind that doesn't have parts.

It can't be broken down further into smaller parts,

But it's just a fixed,

Partless,

Whole,

Monolithic thing that you could point to as being this kind of self or soul.

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And the third quality is independent,

Meaning not depending on causes and conditions,

Not affected by causes and conditions,

Able to exist completely by itself without arising from causes and conditions.

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You might think,

Well,

Maybe I can't find it in my body and I can't find it in my mind,

But maybe there's something else that's not the body and not the mind,

But is this kind of permanent,

Unitary,

Independent self or soul.

You might have that doubt.

So that's something to explore too.

Is there something other than our body,

Other than our mind,

That we can point to as being that kind of self or soul?

What is it?

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So we need to end the meditation now.

You may have come to a conclusion about this meditation topic.

You feel certain about whether or not this kind of self exists.

Or you may feel not convinced and that you need more time.

You need to explore this question further and that's fine.

You can do that on your own.

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But we'll end here by making a mental dedication of the positive energy,

The merit we've created from doing this meditation.

Even if we didn't come to a conclusion,

But just asking this question,

Doing this exploration with a positive intention,

This is a good thing to do.

It is a step towards the higher states of mind,

Wisdom and enlightenment.

So let's share this positive energy with others,

With all living beings,

Wishing it will help all of them be released from suffering and the causes of suffering and find genuine peace and happiness up to the highest happiness of enlightenment.

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