Episode 219: The Rain Could Turn to Gold

"The rain could turn to gold and still your thirst would not be slaked," the Buddha said. He was pointing to the endless cycle of craving, the restless thirst that keeps us searching outside ourselves for satisfaction. Even if we were showered with gold, our longing would not end. So how do we free ourselves from this thirst? In this Fan Favorite episode, we look for the answer in understanding the connection between emptiness and craving.

 

When Buddhism speaks of emptiness (shunyata), it doesn't mean that nothing exists. It means that nothing exists inherently or independently. Everything arises because of many causes and conditions.

 

Think about a table. It seems to be a table all on its own. But in truth, it depends on wood, on carpenters, on the label "table," and on our own minds to recognize it. Without these causes (and many more), the table as we know it doesn't exist. Even beauty works this way. If we see a flower as beautiful, we think the beauty is "out there." Yet without our mind, that beauty would never appear. Emptiness reveals that our world is far more fluid and interdependent than it seems.

 

The Buddha described craving as tanha, which literally means thirst. This isn't just enjoying things; it's clinging to them for happiness or pleasure.

He compared it to tasting honey on a razor's edge. The first taste is sweet, but pain follows. That's what happens when we cling to pleasures, possessions, or people: we suffer when they change, disappear, or fall short of our hopes. Craving always promises satisfaction but never delivers.

 

At the root of craving is a misunderstanding. We think things exist solidly and permanently, as if beauty, pleasure, or comfort live inside them. But emptiness shows us this isn't true.

 

When you enjoy a sunset, your mind is part of creating that beauty. When you savor a meal, your mind is shaping the pleasure. But we don't see it this way. We believe the joy</