5. For Those Who Dream of Freedom...
If we climb a mountain in the east we call it ‘this mountain’ and we call the mountain to the west ‘that mountain’; but if we climb down the eastern mountain and up the western mountain we then refer to the western mountain as ‘this mountain’ and to the eastern mountain as ‘that mountain’. ‘This’ and ‘that’ therefore depend upon our point of reference. This is also true of self and other. By climbing down the mountain of self it is possible to ascend the mountain of other, and thereby cherish others as much as we presently cherish ourself. (Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Eight Steps to Happiness: the Buddhist Way of Loving Kindness, pp. 103-104, © 2000)
So, what does it mean to say “empty mountains”? Just like this and that mountain, self and other are not as distinct and exclusive as they appear. By practicing exchanging self with others, we cultivate the minds of compassion and wisdom and begin to see the world in the same way as an enlightened being. Buddha also said, “Change your mind, change your world.” By understanding the dependent relationship between our mind and external objects, we understand that the world we experience is merely a reflection of our own mind. Buddha said that mind has the power to create all pleasant and unpleasant objects. So, if we understand that objects depend on the mind—not only in terms of their subjective qualities but also all their defining characteristics and functions—we can change the way objects appear to us simply by re-conceptualizing them. Even our own self-perceptions either as ordinary beings pervaded by suffering, or as enlightened beings abiding in great bliss, are just as malleable. Gradually, we will gain the ability to control our mind and in this way solve all our problems. What could be more liberating than this?!
Look on the world as a bubble, look on it as a mirage; then the King of Death cannot even see you. Come look at this world! Is it not like a painted royal chariot? The wise see through it, but not the foolish. (Buddha Shakyamuni, Dhammapada 170-171, translated by Eknath Easwaran, The Dhammapada: Translated for the Modern Reader, p. 125, © 1993)
Buddha said that we create our own experiences—the world is what we make of it. So, if we understand that all the things we experience in the world around us are full of our own projections, then we can ask ourselves what is left behind once we take away all those projections? Nothing... they are empty! That is to say, everything is empty of our projections. From their side, people and things do not have any of the qualities—such as good or bad—that we are imputing onto them, and so they cannot inherently be sources of happiness or suffering. Therefore, freedom from suffering comes from within. That is to say, if happiness and suffering are experiences of the mind, then their main or substantial cause must also reside within the mind. This is why in the Sutras we are told, “If you realize your own mind, you will become a Buddha. You should not seek Buddhahood elsewhere” (Understanding the Mind: an Explanation of the Nature and Functions of the Mind, p. 1, © 1993, 1997, 2002).