What is the "meditation on emptiness" in MN 121?
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What is the "meditation on emptiness" in MN 121 ?
What does "emptiness" refer to in this sutta?
Also, what does "oneness dependent on the perception of ..." mean in this sutta?
> “Indeed, Ānanda, you properly heard, learned, attended, and remembered
> that. Now, as before, I usually practice the meditation on emptiness.
>
> Consider this stilt longhouse of Migāra’s mother. It’s empty of
> elephants, cows, horses, and mares; of gold and money; and of
> gatherings of men and women. There is only this that is not emptiness,
> namely, the oneness dependent on the mendicant Saṅgha. In the same
> way, a mendicant—ignoring the perception of the village and the
> perception of people—focuses on the oneness dependent on the
> perception of wilderness. Their mind becomes eager, confident,
> settled, and decided in that perception of wilderness. They
> understand: ‘Here there is no stress due to the perception of village
> or the perception of people. There is only this modicum of stress,
> namely the oneness dependent on the perception of wilderness.’ They
> understand: ‘This field of perception is empty of the perception of
> the village. It is empty of the perception of people. There is only
> this that is not emptiness, namely the oneness dependent on the
> perception of wilderness.’ And so they regard it as empty of what is
> not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present.
> That’s how emptiness is born in them—genuine, undistorted, and pure.
>
> ......
>
> Whatever ascetics and brahmins enter and remain in the pure, ultimate,
> supreme emptiness—whether in the past, future, or present—all of them
> enter and remain in this same pure, ultimate, supreme emptiness. So,
> Ānanda, you should train like this: ‘We will enter and remain in the
> pure, ultimate, supreme emptiness.’ That’s how you should train.”
Asked by ruben2020
(39432 rep)
May 30, 2020, 04:13 AM
Last activity: May 12, 2025, 01:10 AM
Last activity: May 12, 2025, 01:10 AM