Page 112 - Extinguishment of self, in search of dhamma

104
observer of happiness—when we experience these things, how are they? The happiness does not arise, it only resides inside. Or, there is very little happiness, totally separate. The characteristic of our state of mind here: The key thing is—after we have practiced dhamma, how does our state of mind change? How good is it? The emergence-cessation phenomenon. The mind that does its duty as an experiencer, and the various natural conditions that we con ne within an ambiance. Happiness is just one example used here.
For serenity—try this. When experiencing natural conditions and the ambiance surrounding us is serene— make the experiencer or the mind that does its duty as an experiencer more expansive than the image that we see. Observe: When we inject serenity into the image that we see, how do we feel? (A practitioner answers: We feel serene). For those who experience other phenomena, other than serenity, what else do we experience? The serenity here—is our feeling serene or is the image that we see serene? And, the image that we see, how does it feel? (A practitioner answers: Empty) Ah, see! Differences are emerging. In addition to emptiness, what other feelings are there? (A practitioner answers: Still) Ah—the image that we see is still. Serenity is correct, stillness is correct, emptiness is also correct.
Observe this emptiness: If we look at the image, has the image disappeared or is our feeling becoming empty?