Early on you said that in Buddhism they talk about an emptiness, which is kind of this

realizing that life isn't so solid and your identity as a mirage and all these kinds of things.

It almost sounded like that's the opposite of like victimhood.

Because when we think about victimhood, it is, I create an identity for myself,

and then I create a story around that identity,

which has suffered some kind of injustice,

and then I kind of live out that injustice.

How does Buddhism think about victimhood and identity and trauma, I guess?

So, of course, we identify incredibly strongly with our past, right? think about victimhood and identity and trauma, I guess?

So, of course, we identify incredibly strongly with our past,

and we in so many ways are prisoners of what has happened to us in our past.

And it's totally understandable, of course.

But Buddhism brings in a whole fresh perspective, which is that you are not your past.

I mean, even on a physical level, every cell in your body has changed and your mind has changed.

You are right now in the present.

The past is an illusion, as is the future.

And we spend so much time in the past and future or trying to manipulate the present.

Whereas with meditation, you're learning to be in the now and not be... It doesn't mean you don't plan or don't remember, but you're learning to cling less to the past and future.

And you're learning to cling less to or hold less to the idea that things

are really as solid as you think they are. I mean, it's very scientific. There's a Buddhist meditation

which literally is about a table, like, you know, here we are with this table. And they say,

if you take apart this table, you'll find it doesn't exist.

...