{"id":1794,"date":"2018-09-06T14:29:56","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T14:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/?p=1794"},"modified":"2025-08-12T04:27:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T04:27:54","slug":"depth-is-formless-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/meditation\/depth-is-formless-meaning","title":{"rendered":"Depth is Formless Meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forms are meaningless. Meaning is formless.<\/h3>\n

You may like money or status<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But what really motivates you, is the liking. Money doesn\u2019t mean anything by itself. Status doesn\u2019t mean anything without your liking it.<\/p>\n

And eventually, you cannot consciously<\/em> decide to be motivated. You cannot consciously<\/em> decide to \u2018like\u2019.<\/p>\n

Try it if you, well\u2026 like to. And see: this very liking also is not a conscious decision. Whether you like it or not, it\u2019s always so. You \u2013 or anyone\/anything else \u2013 can invite, not decide for you to like anything. It comes spontaneously from deeper inside you. It comes from the realm where \u2018deeper meaning\u2019 resides. The flow of the latter is your liking (or disliking).<\/p>\n

But:<\/p>\n

the deeper you go into this realm of meaning, the more \u2018forms\u2019 dissolve.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

E.g. you like money. Why?<\/p>\n

Because what you can buy with it.<\/p>\n

Why do like to buy this?<\/p>\n

Because it means something to\u2026 But why?<\/p>\n

Why\u2026 why\u2026 why\u2026?<\/p>\n

At some point, you don\u2019t know it anymore.<\/p>\n

Some of this not-knowing may be because it\u2019s hidden (Freudian). But there\u2019s much more: eventually, you don\u2019t find it because it\u2019s not as such findable.<\/p>\n

It has non-shape meaning.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Mahayana-Buddhism, it\u2019s said to be \u2018emptiness\u2019 (sunyata). This is not plainly empty (void, vacuum). It\u2019s \u2013 within that tradition \u2013 something like \u201cForm is emptiness. Emptiness is form,\u201d while at the same time \u201cThere is no emptiness. There is no form.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one said this would be easy.<\/p>\n

I see it \u2013 with my Western, rational eye \u2013 as \u2018subconceptual processing\u2019: mental, pattern-wise but by far not having clear forms (concepts). Moreover, it\u2019s quite gradual. Something like:<\/p>\n

You\u2019re in a deep mist.<\/p>\n

Then you see a shape approaching.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something going on but you don\u2019t know what it is.<\/p>\n

Ah. It\u2019s a man. No, it\u2019s a gorilla!<\/p>\n

Ah. It\u2019s a nice gorilla.<\/p>\n

He wants a banana from you. You give him a banana.<\/p>\n

Everybody\u2019s happy.<\/p>\n

Sub-conceptual<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because of this \u2018formless\u2019 quality, it\u2019s difficult to define depth. It\u2019s sub-conceptual. So. Try to use concepts\u2026 Difficult.<\/p>\n

At the same time, this sub-conceptual realm (or sunyata) is the source of all our concepts at any moment of thinking. We continuously live in a huge mist. All kinds of \u2018gorillas\u2019 appear. However, never does an entity appear by magic, right before your nose. Each time, they emerge from the fog.<\/p>\n

The comparison gets weirder. The mist is always kind of solipsistic. Entities may come from \u2018outside\u2019 or \u2018inside\u2019 but:<\/p>\n

they always appear within you.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Most of all, your motivations.<\/p>\n

Just as you cannot decide for a gorilla to appear in your mist, you cannot decide for a motivation to appear in your mist.<\/p>\n

Even not, if you are sitting down now, a motivation to stand up. As conscious and knowingly the motivation may appear to you, it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

However, you\u2019re absolutely not lost in this mist.<\/p>\n

You are<\/em> this mist.<\/p>\n

Meditation is about experiencing this directly.<\/p>\n

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Forms are meaningless. Meaning is formless. You may like money or status But what really motivates you, is the liking. Money doesn\u2019t mean anything by itself. Status doesn\u2019t mean anything without your liking it. And eventually, you cannot consciously decide to be motivated. You cannot consciously decide to \u2018like\u2019. Try it if you, well\u2026 like Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n

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