The difficulty in meeting of minds

This is best done in silence!

Words are not the experience. When we use words, we have to use a little ego to communicate. An ego (awareness clinging to concepts) will be around until the moment of enlightenment.

Spiritual communication is a tricky business: it’s like living in the Asura realms …very subtle quarrelling! We may use language differently due to our understanding and backgrounds. Unless we are on the same path, we have to generalise …and even then it is tricky! Even on retreat, people still argue about the word ’emptiness’.

 For some, the use of the terms ‘consciousness’, ‘perception’ and ‘awareness’ are seen as absolutes. Others see these words are still applying to a relative state, unless the word ‘pure’ is put in front of them (‘pure’ means uncontaminated emptiness, which comes from the word Shunyata in Sanskrit meaning emptiness).

From the tradition I follow, the word ‘awareness’ is a relative state. ‘Emptiness’ would be the absolute non-state. They are seen as a unity – the two truths in union – as in, “empty essence and cognisant nature”.

Arising from these two truths is unconfined compassion.

That compassion is the meeting of minds!