Lina & Zisou in Acadia, 2021
This was a meeting of two intrepid scholars
and their furry friends on the rugged coast of Maine.
I was en route to Eastport from New York;
Lina to Boston from Nova Scotia.
We'd never before met in person,
but had spent countless hours working together
(she the teacher, me the student),
through the University of Otago
in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Downeast Maine.
Acadia National Park.
Ocean Path.
Dogs.
We both had dogs that shed fur throughout the car and ached to get off the leash and chase a stick.
Zen.
Meditation, modernity, sanity. Does any of it really exist?
Watch this (empty) Space.
Until it's not empty any more (or does it never stop being empty?).
{ Emptiness in Buddhism }
One teacher explained to me that the concept of "emptiness" in Buddhism is really about its opposite: connectedness. No one object, person or being exists autonomously, or inherently; without the support and connection of a myriad of substances, energies and connections in which we're embedded. Every single "thing" is empty of inherent existence.