Sunday, October 14, 2012

Form is Only Emptiness, Emptiness Only Form


We will meet next Sunday October 2 pm for 15 minutes of silent meditation followed immediately by a talk/discussion lasting until approximately 3:30. In this meeting I will discuss my talk this past week-end in Raleigh, North Carolina at the Self Inquiry Group, as well as share my observations about the week-end and the other speakers. To summarize briefly, I began my talk with a reference to the famous lines from The Heart Sutra "Form is only emptiness, emptiness only form". The meaning of these lines cannot be understood through reason or logical thinking. They can only be understood through an experiential realization or awakening. In recent years a lot has been written about awakening, some of it by people who actually do intuitively understand at least some aspects of awakened awareness.  Many people who write or talk about awakening have had at least a solid glimpse of the reality described in The Heart Sutra, yet it is very rare to read or hear about the embodiment of this awareness and its manifestation in daily life. It is possible though not always easy to live a life that appears ordinary on the surface yet continuously demonstrates the free movement of this direct and unpremeditated awareness in daily life. In this talk we will consider what this embodied manifestation of no mind looks and feels like, and how it is both similar to and different from ordinary, self-centered functioning.  The free thought and action that emerges from direct awareness is equally and immediately available to everyone, all the time. What prevents us from recognizing and 'surrendering' to it? We have all had experiences where this unhindered awareness occurred in our life. What was it like?


2 comments:

Lou said...

Hi Michael,

Did they video the conference at all do you know?
Lou X

Michael Hall PhD said...

Yes, it was recorded and will hopefully be available at the Self Inquiry Group site, as are the previous year's retreats. It will take a while (months) to edit and prepare the recordings, though.