Identifying the object of negation when we meditate on emptiness is difficult simply because it is present much of the time. We live much of our lives grasping at things that appear inherently existent, especially ourselves, but it is hard to recognise this because it happens so naturally. There is nothing new about this process, nothing special. It is easier to recognise the grosser kind of self-centred thought when we are being particularly selfish. We might get a little defensive if someone were to point it out to us, but sometimes we can get to the point where we can acknowledge, “Yes, there’s that self-centred thought again.” This is only the gross object of negation of a self-sufficient, substantially existent person, not the subtler one of an inherently existent person, which we do not even notice because it is there most of the time.

When something disturbing happens in our day, instead of thinking about how troublesome the other person is, we can use the opportunity to stop and ask, “What is my idea of self at this point? Where is the object of negation here?” To use an example from the Abbey community, say you are putting wood chips in the garden and somebody comes up and says to do it another way. Suddenly, you get tight and your whole existence is invested in the way the wood chips are put in the garden. At this point it would be good to stop and ask, “How does the ‘I’ appear to exist at this moment?

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