Buddhism talks about Emptiness, the realisation of Emptiness. It took me some time to grasp this principle because it does not square with all the imagery as we have constructed it in the Western world. What exactly is Emptiness and when do you talk about Emptiness? Emptiness, for example, has to do with our opinion about things, our judgement. We judge all the time, all the time we think something about something. But what we think, does someone else think the same?
That maths teacher, what an incredible jerk he is.
My dad is the sweetest dad in the whole world.
Are we talking about the same person here? Why not! Because the teacher is a loving family father, caring and patient for his children. This is Emptiness! Our judgement says nothing about the truth, about that which is real. Our judgement is an expression of our own mental distortions. We cloud the truth with our desire, aversion and ignorance. This is why a Buddhist practices compassion, compassion. To accept someone as they really are is ultimately to see someone without judgement. Seeing someone or something from the Void of your existence, what a wealth!
The above is an example or interpretation from Buddhism, but Christianity also has references to Emptiness. Ecclesiastes in his scriptures speaks of vanity. Vanity is a skimpy translation of the Hebrew word ‘siphon‘, meaning wind or air. You may argue that vanity, the pursuit of air or emptiness, will get you nothing.
In a meditation, however, you can use this principle very nicely, because fundamentally you always focus on your breathing. You breathe in air that your body so desperately needs, but only by releasing it again, by breathing out, are you able to breathe in another gulp of air. Similarly, try to let go of your judgements, let go of thinking and see the Void.
