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At the end of last night’s talk at Spirit Rock, a question led us back to the beautiful dialectic between the emptiness and fullness aspects of wisdom.

Insight into emptiness arises through seeing impermanence clearly and understanding the implications for identity and meaning. But instead of focusing on impermanence per se, it’s also possible to focus on process and interconnection, which opens an initially different-seeming pathway. Seeing the world’s fecundity, beauty, and complexity, we may initially come to an insight not around emptiness but around fullness—that everything is rapturously interwoven and interdependent.

These two pathways are not dramatically different philosophically—they end up meaning the same thing in existential terms—but they’re also not that different in terms of practice method. In both cases, what we’re doing is observing our experience of the world closely, attentive to the play between external conditions and internal states. But because the narrative and imagery of the two doorways is different, they’ve spawned competing religious styles, sectarian differences, and ways of writing and talking about numinous experience.

In the end I think they’re mostly differences of personal style and culture, but those matter—and they affect how we talk about what we’re doing here on this earth at this time. Tonight at Satsang we’ll talk about the fullness doorway and how it functions as a practice orientation.

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.