It’s all about the concept of Śūnyatā.
There is a famous Buddhist saying from the Heart Sutra that goes like this:
form is emptiness, and emptiness is form.
Form is not other than emptiness, emptiness
is not other than form.
The same is true with feelings, perceptions,
mental formations, and consciousness.
The word “emptiness” is what is translated into English, but the traditional meaning of empty and śūnyatā are very different. The best way to think about it is by thinking of everyday objects. If you have a bucket of water you would say that it is full. If I pour all of the water out of the bucket you would say that I emptied it. But what is an empty bucket? Emptiness means nothing.
Is there truly nothing inside the bucket?
Would you admit that there is air inside the bucket? Then it isn’t empty. But what is air?
Air is another word for the earth’s atmosphere which blankets the earth. The same air that would be in that bucket.
Where is the line between the earth’s atmosphere and outer space? Could it be that there isn’t one?
If this is true then when I emptied that bucket, I revealed that inside contains the universe.
The point is that there is no such thing as an empty space in the universe.
Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form.
When you don’t know who you are.
If you feel empty. If you are a stranger to yourself. The best thing you can do is to empty yourself of all expectations and preconceptions that you and others have made about yourself. Take a moment and be empty.
Within this emptiness you will eventually find a purpose.
You will find a self by paying attention to everything but yourself.
