Buddhism- Emptiness

The Emptiness of Dependence

There is a common idiom that says, “It takes two to tango.” It was not until I was older that such a miniscule phrase holds such truth; the tango is a fiery dance, set in motion by the beauty of two bodies, and without both partners, the dance does simply not exist. The Dalia Lama states in his book about the theory of “dependent origination,” There are no subjects without the objects by which they are defined, there are no objects without subjects to apprehend them, there are no doers without things done. There is no chair without legs, a seat, a back, wood nails, the floor on which it rests, the walls that define the room it’s in, the people who constructed it, and the individuals who agree to call it a chair and recognize it at something to sit on. Not only is the existence of things and events utterly contingent but, according to this principle, their very identities are thoroughly dependent on each other” (64). With this philosophy, everything is interwoven and dependent on one another.

Also in Buddhism, there is the theory of emptiness that states, “things and events are empty in that they do not posses any immutable essence, intrinsic reality, or absolutely being that affords independence” (47). Therefore, because all things happen in reliance upon causes and circumstances, they are empty of fundamental existence. If everything and ourselves are empty, then do we exist in and as each other, and does that make us no longer separate, just like there is no ocean without a wave, no watch without a watchmaker, or the tango without two dancers? For example, in order to end suffering and to bring destruction to our self-egos in reach the state of emptiness, the Eighth fold path can be followed. Although each part is individually empty in nature, In order to reach the state of emptiness, one must practice all eight parts because it is nature of them working together that contributes to the state of emptiness; one cannot stand by...