24) Emptiness

Conditioned, dependant arising is the fact that everything and everyone is here as a result of something else. The table is here because a tree grew, was cut down, was made into a table and was transported here.

The same is true for our thoughts and emotions. They occur because of stimuli, because of seeds of thought generated by other things.

Take anger. It originates from something else. An unpleasant thought creates a perception, an idea in your mind. Maybe you have a feeling that someone doesn’t like you. From that idea there is a lot of thinking which goes on. Then the thinking becomes unbalanced, and turns into anger.

The anger comes from perceptions (usually misinterpreted and therefore wrong), which may have become habits, and in this way it can continue on and on.

So everything is dependent on the conditions. When there is one thing present it is only there because of another thing being present.

The experience you are having is an interplay between your senses and your thoughts, perceptions, emotions. The experience is empty of any origin itself, it is happening because of other things.

This is emptiness, or conditioned, dependent arising.

Our self, our personality is something that is put together, arranged, made.

You may decide to act in a certain way towards a friend. You may do the same thing again and again, creating a habit. It can seem that your personality is this habit, that this is you. In fact, the personality is a result of conditioned arising.

At your core you are really empty of habit.

Go back to your core, and you see that in fact you are clear and bright and pure.

Condition gives rise to seeds.

Seeds give rise to thoughts.

Thoughts give rise to actions.

Actions give rise to habit.

Habit produces destiny.

When the truth of this hits us, like a train, and we start to watch ourselves, the way our thoughts run, and we learn, we can truly learn to be happy.