The true opponent in a debate on emptiness is your own ego.
Interpretation
The main challenge in discussing emptiness lies within ourselves, particularly our egos. We must confront our own biases and pride to engage in meaningful dialogue.
This quote emphasizes that the greatest obstacle we face when grappling with concepts like emptiness is our own ego. In any debate, it's easy to become defensive or overly invested in our viewpoints, but true understanding comes from recognizing and setting aside our personal biases. This self-awareness can lead to deeper insights and more authentic discussions about profound topics.
In practice
When discussing controversial ideas in a philosophy class, this quote reminds students to check their egos at the door.
To discover your real questions, simply take a time-out. Stop looking ahead of yourself at where you’re going or backward at where you’ve been. When you do stop, there’s a sense of going nowhere. There’s a sense of gap, which is a tremendous relief. You can simply breathe and be who you are.
Sometimes we are too polite with our suffering and allow it to dominate our life.
There is no inherent awakening power in cultural forms that have become dissociated from the wisdom and practicality that gave birth to them. They turn into illusions themselves and become part of the drama of religious culture. Although they can make us happy temporarily, they can't free us from suffering, so at some point, they become a source of disappointment and discouragement. Eventually, these forms may inspire nothing more than resistance to their authority.
It is not about how much you give, it is about how much you can let go with your mind.
It is all up to us. We are the ones who have to keep looking at our thoughts, looking for the nature of our mind. there is nobody else in control of our lives, our experiences, our freedom or our bondage.
There is no emptiness without appearance, and there is no appearance without emptiness. That is what we call the interdependent nature.
We poison the wine as He decants it into us; murder a melody He would play with us as the instrument...Hence all sin, whatever else it is, is sacrilege.
What we call "normal" is a product of repression, denial, splitting, projection, introjection, and other forms of destructive actions on experience...It is radically estranged from the structure of being.
And what? What's the other choice? To passively let things happen and then say: "Tut-tut, what at botch that was"? Don't we all manipulate people? Even if we openly ask them to make a choice, don't we try to frame it so they'll chose as we think they should?
There's this sense that whiteness is the default and does not need to be questioned. That you've got a race if you're black, or any kind of Asian, or any kind of Native American, but that you have no race if you are white.
The subliminal mind receives and remembers all those touches that delight the soul. Our soul takes joy in this right touching by the Essence of all experience.
If you're trying to avoid one move that you don't think is going to work out, don't then settle for a different move that maybe doesn't check all the boxes. Be true to the philosophy and understand the bigger picture. There's always another day to fight.
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