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We continue to explore the foundational understanding at the heart of the early Mahāyāna vision as expressed in the Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 Lines.

The heart of this text is about cultivating a radical interpretation of the Buddha’s principle of emptiness that deconstructs language, subject and object, and all the dualities of the religion: suffering and peace, bondage and liberation, existence and non-existence. It does (or tries to do) all this without succumbing to nihilisms like spiritual bypass, which is the most important danger of this “Middle Way” approach.

In all the non-dual systems, we have to be careful what we are talking about if we want to use these doctrines as support for choices in the world. Saying that there is no self, no other, and no path, how do we live in relationship and community? This is a variation of the question that runs through the whole text: how should a Bodhisattva practice? But what do we do with the answer that Bodhisattvas “do not create a perception of” persons or practices? It can’t mean they don’t do anything! So it must mean that what they do is so deeply filtered through this lens of emptiness that it can’t be analyzed as “doing” anymore.

I think it’s impossible to talk about emptiness as a conceptual filter without including the meditative attainment of thought-free samādhi. So much here is about the inability of language to adequately describe what’s going on. This is a natural philosophical outgrowth of meditations where practitioners are resting in states where they are free of thought for long periods of time.

Emptiness is not a philosophical trick, it’s a contemplation of peacefulness. At the heart of this contemplation is the understanding that language gets in the way of peace, always. And even liberating language like poetry and Dharma teaching is still only a conventionally-agreed-upon fiction that has as its primary function to create division and boundaries in a world where there are none in nature.

So we’ll look at the non-dual approach as a way to see language for what it is—and isn’t—and draw on the experience of the mind in meditation as a somatic suggestion for how emptiness functions specifically as a short circuit for conceptual thinking.

SEAN OAKES
Sean Feit Oakes, PhD (he/they, queer, Puerto Rican & English, living on Pomo ancestral land in Northern California), teaches Buddhism and somatic practice focusing on the integration of meditation, trauma resolution, and social justice. He received Insight Meditation teaching authorization from Jack Kornfield, and wrote his dissertation on extraordinary states in Buddhist meditation and experimental dance. Sean holds certifications in Somatic Experiencing (SEP, assistant), and Yoga (E-RYT 500, YACEP), and teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, East Bay Meditation Center, Insight Timer, and elsewhere.

LINKS
Website: seanfeitoakes.com
Community Page: In It To End It
YouTube channel: In It To End It
Spirit Rock: spiritrock.org/teachers/sean-oakes
Insight Timer: insighttimer.com/seanoakes

GIVING
All of Dr. Oakes’ independent teaching is offered on the model of Gift Economy, in the Buddhist tradition of dāna, inspired giving. Support of our teaching and community is gratefully received. Thank you for your generosity.

Donate:
seanfeitoakes.com/gift-economy

Blessings on your path.