Imagined Practice and Realization Is Futile

The various claims about "emptiness" proliferating online are filled with exaggerated claims, yet in reality, despite loudly proclaiming all kinds of emptiness, the mind remains fundamentally incapable of becoming empty. One must realize emptiness through direct experience; only upon perceiving emptiness can the mind begin to empty itself, little by little. Without attaining genuine realization of emptiness, all talk of it remains mere sloganeering, mere imagination and conceptual thought, which proves utterly futile. However, regarding the actual methods of practice, without having practiced them, one simply does not know how to truly practice or how to genuinely realize; it all becomes imaginary practice and imaginary realization. Ultimately, the root cause is insufficient merit and karmic conditions.