Piercing the illusion | Insights on Form, Emptiness and the nature of Reality

There is a persistent belief among meditators and the spiritual community that this world is an illusion. That it needs to be seen through to find the Truth. But actually it isn't quite so. It is not the forms and experiences that are an illusion.

There is only one part in all this that is really an illusion. And that is the persistent and nagging belief in independent sentient beings. In a self and others.

In the lightning strike of insight that is called Enlightenment, this is what is understood and becomes crystal clear:

That it is not the objects that are the illusion, the subjects are the illusion!

And the objects are nothing other than the infinite expressions of Reality itself. This is what is expressed in the Heart Sutra so succinctly.

"Form itself is Emptiness,

And Emptiness itself is Form.

Form is not other than Emptiness, and Emptiness is not other than Form."

There is a video on the Heart Sutra on this channel where we go deeper into it in its entirety. You'll find a link to that in the description. But today we're going to take a slightly different route. In the Heart Sutra video we focused on 'form' to mean this body.

This time we'll take a broader definition of 'form', and we won't be sticking to the Heart Sutra. This is more first-hand, intimate kind of understanding.

So, first of all, what do we mean by form is anything that can be perceived. Seen or heard or felt, touched.

Those are the forms.

Looking outside the window you might see the trees and sky. Forms! Let's say a bird flies by.

Even an advanced seeker has an intuitive sense: There's Consciousness here, and Consciousness there in the bird. There may even be a sense of Oneness and Sameness. The same Self.

But the deepest understanding is not this.

Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form.

This is a pointer to that deeper Truth. That this whole way of seeing the world is still flawed. That the bird over there and this body over here are not two separate entities.

Not two separate things that contain Consciousness, or some Special Essence, or the Self. The bird over there and the body here are not separate things at all!

Because there are no separate things.

These forms are in themselves none other than Emptiness.

The Ultimate Reality, made manifest.

Even at the most advanced stage in this inner search, that Reality is being considered as something different to all this. Unknowable, perhaps on the other side of death. But this is not so.

The only illusion in all this, is this idea and belief in these separate sentient entities.

But Form is none other than Emptiness and Emptiness is none other than Form.

This pointing out is designed to bust the belief that Ultimate Reality is unknowable, or only lies at the other side of death. Or that it is formless, and these forms are some sort of deviation or illusion.

There's only one aspect in all this that is the illusion. The belief in separate things; individual sentient entities; separate selves.

Apart from that misunderstanding, Reality is right here!

This grand vista before you, the entire gamut of forms is Emptiness.

The Supreme Reality. The Absolute Reality beyond all that is relative. Beyond beliefs, opinions, thoughts, memories, and theories, what is in front of you is real. Undoubtedly real.

And the aspect of this that is undoubtedly real, is called Emptiness. Or primordial and empty Aware-ness. The forms are obviously shifting and changing, and come in an infinite variety and diversity.

But in all these forms, Emptiness is what is the unchanging truth.

What these forms actually are. Primordial and empty Awareness.

Primordial: meaning it precedes this one life. Precedes all life, even this universe.

And is already present at the beginning of time.

Empty: devoid of any qualities, or anything perceivable. This refers to the starting conditions. Before there is time and space and all in it, there is just Emptiness.

But what is the quality of emptiness? I mean just in general, like the emptiness of a bowl, or a room. Emptiness is the capacity to be filled.

But when we talk of Emptiness as the Ultimate Reality, then filled by what?

There is nothing else.

So, if anything has appeared, if there's any perception, if there are these forms, what is being perceived other than that Emptiness itself? This is what science is saying too, isn't it? All these forms may shift and change, but the equations are always balanced, and everything sums up to zero!

The misunderstanding lies in seeing zero as nothing. But Reality is not nothing. That is obvious because of all these forms.

Because Reality is not truly nothing, but this Emptiness, It has the infinite capacity to be filled by all all sorts of forms.

But none of those forms exist as anything apart from Emptiness. They are the Emptiness being expressed in its infinite forms.

Form is Emptiness, and Emptiness is none other than Form.

Now consider this: If all there is, is this Emptiness, and these forms are the Emptiness, what is it that knows these forms?

Nothing else but the Emptiness itself.

The forms are known precisely because they are none other than the Emptiness. If these forms were truly 'other'; something apart from Emptiness, there would be no point of contact. Like how neutrinos pass through matter, or how a ghost would pass through a wall as if it was not there.

The forms would be unknown to the Emptiness. And it would be impossible to approach Cessation, and Enlightenment, and this understanding of Emptiness, through meditation and contemplative practices.

Emptiness is what is known to be the core Reality by the mind turning inwards. And forms are what is seen with the mind turning outwards.

But both this inward and outward, and the mind, are within the same Reality. Made possible because both inward and outward are two aspects of the same Reality. Are two ways of describing this Reality.

Emptiness is also Fullness.

So now, there's one last thing to consider here; is to contemplate your own identity in this context. In the Reality being described here, there's no such thing as 'nothing', or 'being nothing', or existing for a while and then ceasing to exist and becoming 'nothing'. And there are no separate selves. No individual sentient entities.

No sentient beings.

So, what are You then?

You are this Emptiness.

Only Emptiness can know these forms.

Because this Emptiness is in Itself, without reference to any particular form, is this primordial and intrinsic Awareness. Even if all forms dissipate for an eternity, even if this Awareness is emptied of all content, the Emptiness remains.

Reality remains.

Identity remains.