Crossing Nebraska

The previous post explored the nature of emptiness , shunyata , and closed with a few observations that could be thought of as either clarifying descriptions or logical conclusions, as the case may be. Essentially, when we’re experiencing emptiness we realize that our usual quantitative or qualitative judgments about things simply don’t make sense anymore. Ideas regarding young and old, small and big, bad and good, are just that – ideas; and ideas need not necessarily be grounded in reality. Thich Nhat Hanh (1988) illustrates this quite well with his examination of the life cycle of one of our most beloved flowers, the rose. We normally think of a bunch of plump blossoms in full bloom as being the ultimate state of existence for roses. After due consideration, however, we can see that the subsequent wilting, dying, and decaying of those very blossoms creates ‘new’ soil that makes possible ‘new’ life – ‘new’ roses, ‘new’ food, ‘new’ habitat for animals. Thus, the wilting of flower ...