Following Skillfully

In the Mahayana Sraddhotpada, Asvaghosa presents a skillful way to appreciate the teaching of tathata which is identified with shunyata, the teaching on emptiness. This teaching cannot be understood through words and concepts. Our language is already dualistic, so we need to have some awareness about how we are using words and the dualistic bias that goes with them.

He suggests a way to use our words and thoughts to penetrate Tathata by abandoning this dualistic tendency. When we speak of something, do not distinguish between subject and object. When we see something, do not distinguish between the subject who sees and the object which is seen. The Yogacara teachings suggest our consciousness is based primarily on projections which are dualistic, so bringing a meta-wareness to how we project and working to not solidify this process can help us appreciate the non-dual nature of reality.

Roshi Robert Althouse