Imagine that you are having a conversation with a friend and they smile warmly at you. You might interpret the smile as a warm gesture of friendship and connection. However, if you were to pay close attention to the smile, you would realize that it is not a static, permanent object. The smile is constantly changing and is dependent on various factors for its existence.
As you continue your conversation, you may notice that your friends smile fades, and eventually disappears altogether. This realization can help you to see that the smile was not a permanent or fixed object, but a temporary and changing phenomenon, dependent on various factors such as emotions, physical sensations, and thoughts.
In Buddhist philosophy, recognizing the emptiness of phenomena such as a fading smile can help us to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of reality. By recognizing the impermanence and interdependence of all phenomena, including ourselves, we can gain a greater sense of wisdom, compassion, and freedom from attachment to illusions of fixed identities and ideas.
Through this example of a fading smile, we can see that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence and are constantly changing, and that by recognizing this, we can develop a deeper understanding of the true nature of reality.