We Must Let Go Even of the Thought That We Have Awakened
In the Ten Oxherding Pictures, the scene where both the person and the ox disappear shows the deep meaning of emptiness. Emptiness does not mean that nothing exists. It means that all things are present just as they are, yet there is no fixed substance called "I" or "mine" that can be grasped there.
As practice deepens, we see that neither the mind being tamed nor the self that tames it is fixed. So even the thoughts "This is my mind," "I grasped it," and "I awakened" must be released.
In Seon there is a saying: if you meet the Buddha, let go even of the Buddha. This does not mean denying the Buddha. It means abandoning even the last attachment that forms around the name of awakening. When the thought "I have awakened" grows strong, that too becomes self-attachment.
Emptiness is not nihilism. It is the place of living naturally as things are, without being bound by affection and attachment. When hungry, eat; when sleepy, sleep. Within that, no mind of "I have gained something" sticks.
Today, do not regard emptiness as nothingness, and do not remain even in the thought of awakening. May this be a day of letting go of attachment within life as it is.
Emptiness does not mean that nothing exists; it means there is no graspable self or mine. Even the thought "I have awakened" can become attachment, so that mind must also be examined. Today, may you live naturally without the mind of having gained something.
