Foundation for Mind-Being Research
Empty Fullness and the End to Seeking
Perhaps the most revealing Dean Brown story I know is a personal experience that Dean shared
with me a few months ago as we were studying the concept of "empty fullness" in the
Prajna-paramita ("Perfection of Wisdom") scripture of Buddhism-part of our work in
the Unfolding Images of Life Project soon to be posted at www.fmbr.org/life.
By way of background, I first met and worked with Dean at the little futures research "think
tank" that Willis Harman founded at the Stanford Research Institute in 1968. One of the
unpublicized aspects of our operation at SRI was the opportunity to take periodic vision quests
to areas such as Death Valley, facilitated by the shaman, A. H. Hubbard. In order to illustrate
the concept of empty fullness in a personal way, Dean told the following story.
Dean said that beginning at dawn, he left the company of "Captain" Hubbard, and took
a position sitting on a high rock looking over the desolate expanse of Death Valley. He continued
sitting there throughout the day, meditating.letting his conscious awareness become ever more
pure.
Finally, his conscious awareness felt empty of all obstructions to full experience of non-dual
oneness of all that is, and there he sat, simply experiencing the is-ness of that. Then he saw
a man walking toward him in the distance. As the man grew closer he could see that it wasn't
Hubbard. It was Christ.
Christ approached, then stood silently next to Dean for many minutes during which they were in
total rapport. Finally, Dean asked, "Is this all there is?" To which Christ nodded
his assent, then turned and walked away, disappearing in the distance.
Dean said that this experience quite literally changed his life.
Being a good student, I asked, "What was it about this experience that changed your
life." Dean replied, "Before that I was a seeker. After that I was a seeker no more,
there being nothing more to seek.
And being in Dean's darshan (radiating spiritual presence) as he told the story, I simply
replied, "I see what you mean." The story has changed my life as well.
Dean's darshan continues to be available after his passing on. It is a deep blessing.
Oliver Markley
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