At some point in many people's lives, they make a psychological "turn" towards some sort of openness or emptiness. In Buddhist terms, this is anatta and sunyata. While it can be difficult to understand or really come to grips with how or why I'd translate anatta (no-self) as openness--I think this was originally Chogyam Trungpa's translation, with me just agreeing [but don't blame Trungpa if he didn't actually say it]--it can be imagined when we think of how monks get their food. If your only possessions were a robe and a food bowl, and if you only got food through donations, what would it be like to find joy and freedom in the days when no one offered you anything? When we are free of the demands of individuality, it is like having or being "no-self" or open. (Maybe there is something different that is not "like" no-self but is it.)
What is it like
when you rely on
your begging bowl
for food,
when you rely on
the days your bowl is empty
for sustenance?
Copyright 2007 Todd Mertz