Monthly Archives: August 2021

Voidness Visible

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Vajragoni

The Mandala is said to be the abode of the Essence of All Buddhas and whose fabric is of the Dharmadhatu. They represent, as does its Thangka cousin, Voidness made visible. All of this revolves around the Principle that all tantric meditations convey some experience of the void. Our next series in September is based on a contemplative’s personal experience of the void, or no-self, wherein voidness is all that remains when one’s superficial faculties subside and all that is left signifies an empty slate from which there is no escape—it must be lived out or one will go insane. But for now our concluding blog of this present series extrapolates the artistic representation of how everything changes back into the void since all dharmatas in themselves are devoid of That Real Essence of which we speak. Perhaps the best expression of this is the Kalachakra, or Sand Mandala—the most colorful and majestic imagery intricately created at the hands of Tibetan monks, only later to be ritually destroyed leaving that blank slate of emptiness or the void which is the actual primal canvas of the whole endeavor. read more

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The Purge

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Vajragoni

The initial inspiration for this series is based upon a book (The Doctrine of the Void as Propounded by St. John of the Cross and as Viewed in the Light of Thomistic Principles, 1955) by Rev. Leonard McCann (1908-1966). This was his Doctoral-Thesis based on the works of St. John of the Cross. What he provided in its pages are actual Bullet-Points incorporating the nature of the Void in relationship to the saints spirituality and works under each heading, for example, Memory and the Void, Various effects of the Void, Beginners and the Void, etc.—all in aphoristic fashion. This blog follows suit and has provided a version in light of the Unborn. Unfortunately, the book is long out of print and I only hope to do it justice in light of our subject matter. read more

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The Sixteen Voids of the Vajrayana

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Vajragoni

It’s been said that the teachings of the Vajrayana were first imparted to the gods and nagas before being conferred upon the human realms. This is based upon the transcendental gnosis of Voidness, which is firstly imparted to dharma realms that are not initially dependent upon corrupted phenomena and faulty thought-paradigms. This is based upon the principle of sarva-śūnya: read more

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The Voidmaster

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Vajragoni

A question oftentimes asked is, “if you found yourself on an isolated and deserted island, what book from a vast array of extensive possibilities would you choose to have with you for your sole companion?” For myself it would forever be The Zen Teachings of Huang Po. Huang Po (Huángbò) is the perennial and quintessential Zen Master, and for our purposes in this blog series he would also be reserved the title of Voidmaster. Numerous references to Voidness and the void are referred to in the text, the most dominant at this junction being the following: read more

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Primordial Voidness

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Vajragoni

Primordial Voidness (ádiśunyatá) refers to the intrinsic nature, which is the self-same Voidness. Everything we are conscious of, both inwardly and externally, is representative of this Voidness. From time immemorial the entire cosmos and its substrata dharmata hinges upon this magnificent Voidness. Our apparent origin is from Voidness, we are within (IT), and in the final scheme of this fragile samsaric bubble we shall dissolve back into Essential Voidness. In order to see this (clearly) it behooves us to Contemplate upon this Great Voidness. Upon our initial recognition, we need to stabilize IT within the very core of our beingness, which within a Buddhaic framework refers to remaining stable in our Natural State. There is no higher Self-Realization other than this and it can only be contemplated within the Clear Light of the Unborn Buddha Mind. read more

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Doctrine of the Void

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Vajragoni

As has been articulated in these many blogs, the Void is the privation of all disordered dharmata that is pleasing to the carnal mind and flesh. It is the antithesis of created realms by virtue of Its prior animating function that gives structure to such defiled states. As such It is hereafter referred to as the premier Voidness—neither something nor nothing yet simultaneously that Self-Same all-encompassing Void (śūnyatā) That is empty of inherent existence and non-existence. Huang Po’s famous dictum states that people are afraid of emptying their mind lest they plunge into Voidness, failing to recognize that their own Mind IS Voidness. This Voidness does not refer to some-thing “other” in the dark center of the universe, acting as some form of cosmic vacuum-cleaner sucking-in everything in its path like a gargantuan black-hole reducing everything to sheer nothingness. It needs to be stated at this junction that nothingness is NOT this Voidness; yea, Voidness is Self-Empty of everything—even the blackened and awful maul of nihilism. In Voidness there is no-thing to see, no-thing to perceive or conceive; begin to discriminate about IT and you will never self-recognize IT. read more

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