Conversation
georgia
georgia
emptiness of all dharmas (here meaning phenomena) (sarva dharma shunyata) 
all this indeed is Brahman (sarvam khalvidam brahma)
imagine seeing that everything you can think of is a chain of dependent and transitory things and thus is "empty", while neglecting the one permanent independent thing: God. many mahayana buddhists say that bodhichitta (mind striving to buddha-hood), buddha-hood and even nibanna itself are ultimately empty and experienced by the wise as emptiness--devoid of substance like foam, dew, a shadow, or lightning. other (slightly later I believe) mahayana buddhists claim that there is a permanent primordial buddha-nature (tathagatagarbha) at the essential core of every living being, defined as the mind/potential mind of perfect self-luminous knowledge (often said to be knowledge of emptiness, or knowledge of non-self)--said to be pure, infinite, unchanging and also as a kind of self(!). when talking about buddha-nature/buddha-mind/buddha-womb, of course, its so easy to stray into talking about God and the soul, which is/are said not to exist. even the same word used for Brahman-essence in Advaita Vedanta, svabhava (own-being), a concept totally denied by the aforementioned buddhist nihilists, is used for these buddhists for the buddha-nature!
while many, including the bhagavatism-influenced bhaktas and zen buddhists, claim their form of liberation or bliss is different and superior, I believe that all forms of highest samadhi are experienced equally, both because there is no ego or mind or intellect or senses to produce difference, and because it is a pure essential state equivalent to knowing Brahman which is the singular non-dual and partless substrate of all things including the mind. however, I tentatively believe that once the mind and intellect return after samadhi, even though the mind of a yogi/buddha is small p perfect (totally purified of imperfections and unfathomably wise), differences in interpreting the previously experienced state of highest samadhi/nibanna arise, owed not due to differences in purified minds per se but due to the sheer limitedness of the mind as a faculty in perceiving God (God doesnt have a mind, being indiscrete and without limiting adjuncts) who is all-encompassing. therefore someone who worships God devoutly might experience more bliss upon reckoning that they were unified with God (or close to God if they are not monist), and someone who doesnt believe in God or in any phenomena would be prone to cognizing the experience of samadhi as shunyata (emptiness), which is just an aspect of Brahman. (whether its saguna or nirguna Brahman depends on your interpretation, is the absence of qualities a quality?)
all this indeed is Brahman (sarvam khalvidam brahma)
imagine seeing that everything you can think of is a chain of dependent and transitory things and thus is "empty", while neglecting the one permanent independent thing: God. many mahayana buddhists say that bodhichitta (mind striving to buddha-hood), buddha-hood and even nibanna itself are ultimately empty and experienced by the wise as emptiness--devoid of substance like foam, dew, a shadow, or lightning. other (slightly later I believe) mahayana buddhists claim that there is a permanent primordial buddha-nature (tathagatagarbha) at the essential core of every living being, defined as the mind/potential mind of perfect self-luminous knowledge (often said to be knowledge of emptiness, or knowledge of non-self)--said to be pure, infinite, unchanging and also as a kind of self(!). when talking about buddha-nature/buddha-mind/buddha-womb, of course, its so easy to stray into talking about God and the soul, which is/are said not to exist. even the same word used for Brahman-essence in Advaita Vedanta, svabhava (own-being), a concept totally denied by the aforementioned buddhist nihilists, is used for these buddhists for the buddha-nature!
while many, including the bhagavatism-influenced bhaktas and zen buddhists, claim their form of liberation or bliss is different and superior, I believe that all forms of highest samadhi are experienced equally, both because there is no ego or mind or intellect or senses to produce difference, and because it is a pure essential state equivalent to knowing Brahman which is the singular non-dual and partless substrate of all things including the mind. however, I tentatively believe that once the mind and intellect return after samadhi, even though the mind of a yogi/buddha is small p perfect (totally purified of imperfections and unfathomably wise), differences in interpreting the previously experienced state of highest samadhi/nibanna arise, owed not due to differences in purified minds per se but due to the sheer limitedness of the mind as a faculty in perceiving God (God doesnt have a mind, being indiscrete and without limiting adjuncts) who is all-encompassing. therefore someone who worships God devoutly might experience more bliss upon reckoning that they were unified with God (or close to God if they are not monist), and someone who doesnt believe in God or in any phenomena would be prone to cognizing the experience of samadhi as shunyata (emptiness), which is just an aspect of Brahman. (whether its saguna or nirguna Brahman depends on your interpretation, is the absence of qualities a quality?)
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