Exploring Emptiness and Personal Transformation

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The chapter discusses the concept of emptiness as rooted in contemplative traditions, emphasizing its relationship to personal transformation and systems change. It delves deep into different interpretations of emptiness, exploring its significance in navigating perspectives on reality and truth in both historical and contemporary contexts. The conversation touches on the role of the mind in shaping perceptions, the moral implications of different perspectives, and the importance of moving beyond intellectual understanding to actually change lived experiences through cultivating skillful perception.

On this episode I'm joined once again by meditation teacher and author Rob Burbea. For this conversation Jamie Bristow and I talk with Rob about his approach to emptiness, and how it can be a route beyond postmodern nihilism and into a vibrant and sacred participation in the world. We talk about: An overview of the ‘ways of looking’ approach to emptiness, the participatory nature of perception & the world, how perception gets fabricated through our participation, the limitations of a purely cognitive deconstruction ala postmodernism, how Rob would define emptiness if asked about it at a cocktail party, How emptiness reveals a path beyond post-modernity, how hidden commitments limit our ability to explore perspectives, the unavoidability of participation and the impossibility of neutrality, the middle way between existence and non-existence, how this approach to emptiness offers a way forward in a ‘post-truth’ world, how your experience right now is constellated by your way of seeing (whether you know it or not), and the necessity of practice to realize the deeper dimensions of emptiness. Seeing that Frees [Amazon] Rob on the Deconstructing Yourself Podcast 2009 Emptiness Retreat Dharma Talks