REALIZING EMPTINESS, shunyata, lies at the heart of the Mahayana journey to enlightenment, but how does that happen? What examples and instructions are there to follow that make the realization of emptiness authentic experience rather than an imagined state of blankness? We can begin with the “Perfection of Wisdom” scriptures—the Prajnaparamita sutras—which praise great bodhi-sattvas as brave beings fully dedicated to awakening for the benefit and well-being of all. They’re praiseworthy not simply because of the deeds they perform, but because they have looked into all the dark corners of their experience, to free themselves from delusion, and yet they willingly remain in samsara to liberate others. They embody the sublime union of vast, compassionate action with the profound wisdom of emptiness.
Such deep looking into the nature of experience is intimately linked with the great scholars of the Nalanda tradition—such as Chandrakirti, and the brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu, to name a few. Within this monastic university, they actively engaged in meditative and interactive inquiry into the nature of mind. They intensified the illumination of the Mahayana teachings. They did not, however, focus on intellectual mastery—the primary emphasis of contemporary scholarship. Instead, these practitioner–scholars used intellect to guide and sustain their contemplative practices, such as meditations on the selflessness of persons and the emptiness of phenomena. We follow in their footsteps to this day, and the spirit of Nalanda continues in practices that lead us to the wisdom of sunyata in ever-subtler ways until we fully embody it in the ways we act in the world.
FIRST STEPS
We might begin treading on the path of emptiness meditation with the in which the Buddha invites us to
