Approaching the State of Samadhi and Śūnyatā

Q: Every morning when I wake up, my mind feels completely empty, and the six-syllable Buddha recitation arises in my thoughts. No matter what I do, I hear the Buddha's name in my mind. Thinking about other things feels exhausting. I eat little and have no desire to speak. My family thinks I seem like someone with senile dementia. Whatever I do, my mind feels vacant. Looking at my family or anything else, it feels as if they have nothing to do with me. When I think of my father, I visualize the skeletal state of his body. Looking at anyone, I see skeletons moving; seeing myself is the same. Now, during meditation, my mind is completely blank. Thinking feels tiring; even keeping my eyes open feels tiring. I can't recite the Buddha's name; I can only hear it in my mind. Is there something wrong with me?

A: This state you are experiencing is mental emptiness. In terms of spiritual practice, there is no problem. This is a positive sign that appears after genuine cultivation. Your mind has become empty, which certainly indicates a very pure heart. This is the result of long-term meditation, the outcome of practicing the Contemplation of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, skeleton contemplation, and Buddha recitation. Before attaining enlightenment, the mind remains very empty. When meditation is well-cultivated, the body becomes lazy, unwilling to engage in activities. The mind is empty, the thoughts are empty, showing no interest in anything. There is a sense of unfamiliarity and vast emptiness towards all matters and people. The phenomena you describe are all positive signs of cultivation, a state approaching samadhi before enlightenment. It shows that your practice has been extremely diligent. Reaching this stage is very difficult; continue to maintain it.

When Buddhist practitioners genuinely exert themselves and achieve results, their state is completely opposite to that of worldly people. Worldly people consider their physical and mental states normal, but these are actually habits of affliction. If our physical and mental states differ from theirs, that is correct. If they were the same, it would be wrong. They cannot understand you, and even if you explain, they won’t comprehend. Therefore, there’s no need to explain; just continue your diligent practice. If a practitioner’s mind is never empty, if everything seems good and very interesting, if everything feels familiar and intimate, then their cultivation is still insufficient. Your practice has been quite diligent and effective. Feeling unfamiliar with everything, as if it’s distant from you—that is correct. This is called detachment, the detachment that distances one from afflictions and worldly dharmas. Only after detachment can one attain enlightenment, realizing emptiness and selflessness.

The feeling you have now that everything is empty is a positive sign. As your concentration strengthens further and your wisdom deepens, you may truly realize emptiness. Others fundamentally cannot understand you and may regard you as a fool. We Buddhist practitioners, when we practice well, become “fools.” If we weren’t “fools,” we would be like worldly people, which would mean we haven’t practiced well. Your constant visualization of your father’s body in its skeletal state indicates you have attained preliminary achievement in skeleton contemplation or some accomplishment in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, showing that your meditation and contemplative practice have been effective. We do not look at worldly appearances; we look beyond them to see the true reality. The truth is that sentient beings are essentially skeletons, and skeletons ultimately return to emptiness. The physical body is empty; all phenomena are empty; human affairs and the principles of things are all empty. This is correct; your path is right. The results of your practice are quite excellent. Based on your current state, you are not far from attaining samadhi, not far from realizing emptiness and selflessness. Whatever type of samadhi arises, it is always related to emptiness. Continue your efforts.