Nothingness in Meditation: Making Sense of Emptiness and Cessation
March 18, 2024 Vismay Agrawal, Ruben Laukkonen 2 citations preprint
Contemplative practices can trigger experiences often labeled 'nothingness,' but these encounters are frequently conflated. This work clarifies two distinct phenomena: emptiness—the lack of inherent existence in experience (no-thingness)—and cessation—an absence or 'cut' in the stream of consciousness (nothingness). Synthesizing Buddhist literature and empirical research, the authors examine the relationship between these experiences, their transformative effects, and neural correlates. They explore pathways leading to cessation and propose cognitive models using active inference. The analysis juxtaposes experiences of void, oneness, non-dual awareness, and pure consciousness with insights into emptiness and cessation, discussing their potential for alleviating suffering.