Source Text
That is how I see spiritual emptiness: as a way to be open and awake and to take life seriously but lightly.
There is a power in life that will empty us out, no matter how hard we try to be perfect.
Therefore, first you resist any temptation to be hyperactive, and then you enjoy calm that comes from letting things take their course.
This is a perfect story of emptiness. Instead of seeing something, you see nothing, and that nothing is meaningful. The townsman’s attitude is standard: He is about to lose touch with this teacher, so he looks for something. This is how we deal with change and loss. We look for something, anything, to fill the gap.
I try to live by Nasrudin’s rule: Do not give away the ring on your finger. Let the other person find meaning in the emptiness that comes from you not giving too much and keeping what is important to you. Giving can be outwardly generous and inwardly selfish. You can get great emotional rewards from giving away too much, but in the end the hidden egotism may ruin the friendship.
Make it a general rule: Appreciate emptiness wherever you find it. A friend doesn’t show up for a dinner date at a restaurant. You sit there looking at the empty chair. Turn your frustration into a meditation on emptiness. Watch what happens when you embrace the empty chair instead of cursing it.
Sometimes, for example, it is best to keep quiet instead of speaking. Someone criticizes you and expects a defensive response, but you don’t say anything. You are not being passive and weak, because it takes considerable strength and special skill to be quiet. Let’s call it “the art of holding your tongue” or “the art of not being lured into action” or “the art of using powerful but invisible weapons.”
Not doing anything, not explaining yourself, not defending, not showing any external sign of your inward feeling — these are all ways of shooting a bow without an arrow and of honoring holy emptiness. You can get to a point where you appreciate absence over presence and silence over a need to speak. You may have no “weapons” and draw great power from that emptiness. You may become known as a person with odd invisible skills.
I’m inspired to allow empty spaces all over my life: times for doing nothing, gaps in a day’s schedule, not going to a place where I’m asked or encouraged to go, saying no to the offer of a job. These are the windows and doorways of my life. Because of those empty passageways I may see things otherwise hidden or visit places otherwise inaccessible. If you fill up your life, nothing unexpected can happen. You can’t make fresh discoveries, and you will have few surprises and revelations.
Even if you don’t have anything, that will be taken from you. This extreme wording may remind you of the end of the Heart Sutra: “absent … truly absent.”
AI Summary
The Eloquence of Silence by Thomas Moore presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.