Namaste. So, we’re going to continue with the sutta on emptiness, and this time we’re going to talk about nothingness.

“Further, Ānanda, the monk – not attending to the perception of the dimension of the infinity of space, not attending to the perception of the dimension of the infinity of consciousness – attends to the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of nothingness. His mind takes pleasure, finds satisfaction, settles, & indulges in its perception of the dimension of nothingness.”—Cūḷa Suññatā Sutta

So, we see that this sutta describes a series of contemplations, and each step is more subtle than the last, each step is more peaceful than the last. This is called tranquility meditation, ~samaṇa, samaṇa jhana~. What this means is that the mind is becoming progressively quieter, more settled, and deeper in a trance of quietude, silence, non-action, and certainly non-identification, non-projection – so many things. See, the Buddha’s process is a negative process, it consists in leaving off so many things that we normally keep active. Like a juggler, with so many balls in the air, our minds are always throwing thoughts around, and projecting different... Well, the word the Buddha uses is conceits. A conceit is a conception, but it’s a particular kind of conception designed to reinforce the ego. Now, the ego is an expression of individuality, but individuality doesn’t really exist. [chuckles]