Posted in Grad School

Thoughts on Emptiness

“I” am the person “I” am today because of all of the circumstances in which “I” have found “myself” along the way.  Everything that has ever happened to “me” has influenced how “I” think, how “I” feel, and how “I” behave.  Everything about “me” is shaped by “my” environment.  Every time “I” have ever made a decision in “my” life has been a step on the path to where “I” am right now.

If even one tiny thing were changed in some subtle way, “I” would not be who “I” am.  “I” would be different, and therefore someone else.

Therefore, “I” do not exist.

Author:

Ven. Dr. Myodo Jabo (Sandy Gougis) is a Zen Master and Priest in the Five Mountain Zen Order. She began studying Theravâdin Buddhism in 1998, adding Zen in 2003, and Vajrayana Buddhism in 2008. She currently practices in both the Zen and Tibetan traditions. Her Zen teacher is Most Ven. Wonji Dharma of the Five Mountain Zen Order, and her Tibetan guru is Lama Tsultrim Allione of Tara Mandala. In her free time, Myodo enjoys painting, jewelry making, and other creative endeavors.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.