31. Seeing confusion as the four Kayas is unsurpassable shunyata protection.

In this very traditional slogan, the four Kayas (bodies) are dharmakaya (the space from which phenomena arise), sambhogakaya (the vibrant, energetic quality of phenomena, vivid yet insubstantial), nirmanakaya (the appearance of phenomena, form arising from emptiness) and svabhavikakaya (the other three – space, energy and appearance – arising simultaneously).

I think the essence of this slogan is the invitation to recognize that everything we experience – including confusion – arises spontaneously and without seeming origin. Yet there is a kind of clarity and vividness to the form that arises, which is a play of phenomena on the stage of shunyata (emptiness). Seeing our experience in this way cuts through the solidity of our thoughts, offering us protection from suffering in times of confusion.