The Empty Boat: A Story Of Anatta☯️

🛶 Formless Guide: The Empty Boat - Finding Peace in Not-Self 🧘‍♂️

Drift beyond the illusion of a fixed self with Jay in this contemplative episode of Formless Guide. We explore the profound Buddhist parable of the empty boat, a powerful story illustrating the concept of anattā (not-self). Discover how recognizing the emptiness of ego can dissolve anger, foster presence, and lead to true serenity. Learn to meet life's bumps and nudges with the question: "Is this too... just an empty boat?"

🎧 Tune in for a moment of deep reflection and a gentle unraveling of the self.

#Anatta #NotSelf #Emptiness #Mindfulness #Meditation #Buddhism #FormlessGuide #PeaceWithin #EgoDissolution #SpiritualGrowth #ContemplativePodcast

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome back to the Formula Sky.Today we let go of names of
noise, of the illusion of distortion, and drift within the
current of something deeper. This is a story not just to be

(00:24):
heard, but to be felt in the very center of your awareness.
In the time of the Buddha, therewas a monk named Tisa.
Tisa was disciplined, focused, proud of his serenity.

(00:46):
On the banks of the Ganges he found refuge in silence.
One morning, in meditation, he noticed a boat drifting towards
him. It was slow, quiet, until it
bumped against the shore. He rose, bothered, disturbed.

(01:13):
Who has interrupted my practice?He shouted.
But as he looked inside, there was no one, just an empty boat.
And in that moment, something inside Tisa cracked open The

(01:33):
anger, the righteousness, the self he had been defending had
nowhere to land. All that reach that had built
up. There was no way to direct it to
something. There was no other.
Only a river, a vessel moved by coarse, unnatural conditions.

(02:00):
The monk sat again, this time not as Tisa the Serene, not as
the Pure One, but simply as Presence itself.
From then on, whenever praise orblame came his way, whenever he
was nudged by joy or sorrow, he would ask, Is this too just an

(02:27):
empty boat? The teaching of anata or not
self is not an abstract principle.
It's the gentle unraveling of the idea that there is someone
here to protect, someone to promote, someone to prove.

(02:53):
It's the practice of letting go into the emptiness of the river.
You are the current. You are the empty boat.
You are the monk waking up againand again.

(03:16):
So today, breathe into that space where you feel disrupted.
Imagine that nudge in your day is an empty boat.
What arises when there's no one to blame?
Who is present when no one is there?

(03:39):
Let that be the focal point of your meditation.
Let that be the beginning of your release.
Take the time and allow this possibility to be available to
you. You can use mindful meditation

(03:59):
specifically to bring this to a reality within yourself.
Until next time, this is your formless guide.
Signing off.