True Emptiness, Wondrous Being

My notes from the book Essential Math for AI by Hala Nelson.

I didn’t write my reflections as much as I wanted this month. I’ve been busy studying, working on a new 32 × 46 painting, and reflecting on different matters. Overall, I feel satisfied with the creative processes unfolding across that spectrum.

Here is a recap of some meaningful things I’ve been reflecting on.

Emptiness is the middle way

I’m learning and understanding that to say something is empty is to say something much deeper, more radical, and harder to fathom than simply stating that things are inconstant or in flux. I can see how the rationalization of emptiness can easily lead to misconceptions, especially early on. Sometimes leading to a sense of existential meaninglessness for some, or to questioning external objects and phenomena too soon, before turning inward toward our own sensations, emotions, and thoughts. This kind of ontological questioning, by itself, does little to reduce dukkha.

Turning inward keeps the process more alive. It helps loosen a self-contracted view and brings happiness, not by resolving reality conceptually, but by softening the grip of identification and learning the nature of emptiness in our own nature.

“That things exist, O Kaccāyana, is one extreme. That they do not exist is another. Rejecting both these extremes, the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma by the middle way.”

Realization must be a human condition

I’ve been reflecting on how concepts like meditation, enlightenment, and realization almost inevitably fall into the trap of social status and signaling. It becomes easy to believe there is a correct way to meditate, to perceive jhānas as higher or special states, or to imagine enlightenment as something distant, reserved, or rare.

The way I see enlightenment is similar to love. Love is an elevated emotion: it expands, stabilizes, and organizes the mind. It extends beyond the boundary of “me.” And yet, love is also deeply human. It is intrinsic to our nature, and therefore available to anyone.

I perceive enlightenment in the same way. It may be an elevated mental condition, but it is not foreign to us. It is human, meaning not something to acquire from outside, but something to uncover within the structure of our own experience.

A lovely picture, Feb 14 ♥