Who, What, Where, How, When and Why are the 6 primitive interrogatives for analysing anything and are a path unto themselves where analysis can take over from action and experience. In fact, the old adage of "paralysis by analysis" is always a potential outcome when we are full of doubt and "need" to question things. Never is this more true than in the spiritual quest for self-realisation, however, there is also the necessity to validate concepts and theories so we are not full of beliefs that have no basis or merit.
So we are left asking ourselves, what is this Śūnyatā that Buddhism speaks of, How does one realise it, Where is it, Who can attain it, When can they do so and Why should one want to,? For the rational thinker, these are important questions that need answering if one is contemplating the nature of reality and of their experience in this world. There is nothing more pathetic than espousing beliefs that are born of blind faith, are not able to be independently validated and demand the abrogation of reason and common sense to accept them. So it is good to question and expect rational validation of concepts before adopting them, of course such concepts once adopted are no longer beliefs so much as evident truths. This has been my approach to spirituality; if it is not validated by independent experience then it is doubtful at best and possibly completely wrong. It is for this reason that the title of this blog is a question.
What
Therefore when validation of concepts is achieved it is significant to the spiritual seeker for such occurrences shine a light, as it were, or illuminates a little more of our true nature and reduces our level of ignorance, if only by a little. This has been my experience over the past month, moving into this space of the Bodhi mind during meditation and experiencing more directly this idea of Śūnyatā; that our conditioned and subjective physical experience and ego driven motivations are hollow, empty shells of delusion existing within the unconditioned, egoless nature of ultimate reality, our true nature.
How
I have previously outlined the process I have adopted for entering this state and have found it to be reliable, although in the past few meditations I have undertaken, I have found a degree of subtleness to the process that seems to be important and that is that through focusing my attention or awareness on my chakra centres I do not need to extend any focused effort in visualising colours. Instead the direction of my awareness to the chakra centre seems to generate a hue of the associated colour (Red, Orange, Yellow, etc.) while a sensation attached to my point of focus is felt within the Chakra centre. It's a subtle change from my previous description of the full process but it is an experiential validation of the energy centres, their colours and their hierarchical relationship to spiritual awareness. For it is by sequentially progressing through each of these Chakras that my awareness rises to the Crown and is positioned in the spiritual gateway.
Where
However, with every validation that the process attains an outcome, it seems that other more refined outcomes are possible. So it was yesterday morning when I awoke early and decided to spend some time during the hours before dawn in meditation. Not only did I attain the state of egoless existence, but the nature of that state changed, revealing the coarseness of my previous experiences. It was very humbling actually, realising that everything I had previously achieved was nothing compared to what lay beyond. It was that the nature of my awareness completely altered and the variance to the previous experience was so pronounced that I was quite startled by it and naturally, the state did not last for very long. That change was of a smoothness to my awareness, it was like a silk sheet compared to a rocky surface. Or like the static of an out of tune radio compared to the clarity of it once in tune. I was at once conscious of a fluid smoothness in my awareness and appreciative that my ignorance to this point was almost complete. At once I knew that there was such a level of awareness that was far above our normal consciousness yet it was so close as to be indistinguishable from ourselves in terms of distance and was available right here and right now! Unfortunately sensations of excitement soon filtered through and dropped me back to a more mundane meditative state. But I know where that awareness is, it's always with me I just need more practice to bring it forward into consciousness manifestation.
Who
My normal level of awareness was so clearly and obviously inferior to this sensation of fluidity and subtlety that it is clear that I have a long way to go in this understanding of Śūnyatā, but if I can bridge this gap to gain this experience then it must be available to all who seek it. That is, absolutely anyone can close this gap of ignorance and directly attain this experience of realising Śūnyatā through persistent practice.
When
Of course, this is not to say that realisations and experiences such as this are available immediately to anyone with a cursory interest. On the contrary, it is clear that new levels of awareness and knowing are only attained after prerequisite levels are achieved. So, while our Buddha nature, or fundamental awareness, is with us all the time, realising it comes in degrees through persistent effort. It is called transcendental wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā in Sanskrit) because it transcends the mundane world of ideas and concepts and wisdom grows with understanding and experience. So it is available to everyone when they are able to lose their delusions, fears, doubts and worries, when we are able to give up clinging to the conditioned and embrace the unconditioned, which is when this experience of Prajñāpāramitā is available.
Why
How tragic it is that we are held captive to this material existence and in many cases seem to have even given up our right of personal discernment and critical judgement, being dictated to in what is true and acceptable by external sources of authority, authorities that are themselves corrupted by their own ignorance, greed and anger. In this era of perpetual warfare, of concepts of ubiquitous enemies that demand unlimited and unrestrained security measures, where surveillance and policing have overrun any sense of reasonableness, where governments are demanding greater and greater controls over their citizens, where global financial instabilities threaten our livelihood at any moment, it is little wonder that it is so difficult to have faith in oneself, to even believe that transcendental wisdom is real, let alone that self actualisation is possible. Yet it is precisely because of the failures of this modern, materialistic existence in not being able to fulfil our most basic requirements for self-fulfilment, freedom, which provides motivation for seeking beyond the mundane. In fact, at this time in history we are awash with opportunities for people to begin considerations about the nature of their existence and become motivated to question the status quo, perhaps even to seek "alternative" means for attaining a sense of fulfilment. Of course there is nothing alternative to practices that have been in use since before recorded history and meditation is really the only tool for exploring one's inner landscape. So, if life seems unfulfilling with all of its material benefits, hollow diversions and unrelenting demands, and you are wondering if there is any sense at all in this crazy world that lies outside of you, perhaps it is time to consider that which is inside of you.
(3) Jesus said, "If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."
The Practice
After considering the 6 analytical dimensions (primitive interrogatives) of seeking Śūnyatā, above, we can establish the conceptual basis for considering and investigating the subject, perhaps even develop a few theories on what is it all about, but it is imperative not to fall into the trap of "paralysis by analysis" or believe you have arrived at a good enough understanding to satisfy your intellectual curiosity and move on to the next fleeting thing that crosses the mind. The only point to contemplating Śūnyatā is to know yourself, your true nature, to understand ultimate reality and to attain enlightenment. This requires meditative practice that develops Prajñāpāramitā and by degrees, brings that experience into this current existence.
(41) Jesus said, "Whoever has something in his hand will receive more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little he has."
But fear not if you cannot commit to the practice or feel no inclination to pursue the subject, your pure awareness, or Bodhi mind, is always with you waiting patiently for you to approach it and seek it out, if not in this life time then in the next. We will all get there in the end.
May we all realise the luminous mind.
