Actually, emptiness of mind is not even a state of mind, but the original essence of mind which Buddha and the Sixth Patriarch experienced. "Essence of mind," "original mind," "original face," "Buddha nature," "emptiness"--all these words mean the absolute calmness of our mind.
-Shunryu Suzuki, "Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind"
Commentary: Indeed, an empty mind is not filled with ego-delusion. To conquer ego-delusion, Suzuki urges the practitioner to "have a firm conviction in the original emptiness of your mind".
Empty mind is described as infinity, so that we "give up calculating" with our mind.
Interest in infinity helps us "to stop the thinking of your small mind".
Suzuki's "small mind" is his term for the ego-delusion which is part and parcel of samsara.
Thus samsara is the mundane world consisting of the cycle of birth, life and death. It is empowered by ego-delusion.
To escape samsara, one has to awaken to this and put out the flames of desire.
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