Buddhism and Emptiness: East vs. West

Large colorful Buddha statue in an orange robe beneath a canopy, surrounded by trees and blue sky

Emptiness is highly prized in Buddhism, but not so much in Western psychology. Go figure. Of course, they can, and do, claim that those are two separate things, but still. The two different approaches could almost define the two larger cultures, east and west. Because, even if the Emptiness of Buddhism is a logical extension of the anatta and anicca concepts of no intrinsic self and no permanence, such that now nothing is intrinsic or permanent, still most psychologists would probably say that doesn’t sound much better. And it is not much different really, but simply two different reactions to a similar situation, the most common form of which is silence.

Wikipedia describes it like this: Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia,[2] depression, loneliness, anhedonia, despair, or other mental/emotional disorders, including schizoid personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizotypal personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. A sense of emptiness is also part of a natural process of grief, as resulting death of a loved one, or other significant changes. Yuk! That is not so good…

But Buddhist Emptiness is good, and silent meditation is at the heart of it. Guided meditations are usually intended for Westerners. In retreats intended for Asians, I’ve only ever witnessed silent meditation. Why is that, I wonder? AOC accuses prisons of torture if they put a prisoner in solitary detention. I guess they don’t teach those prisoners to meditate. But they could. And maybe they should. That might accomplish two goals with one shot, separate dangerous prisoners and give them a path forward at the same time. Silence is golden. Emptiness is godly.