Problem
Do you agree or disagree The concept of shunyata that Christopher Ives argues for is one where nothing in the world exists on its own and that there is no theory that can accurately represent the nature of reality. One example that helped me to conceptualize this was the one of language where we discussed how deeply relational language is. In thinking of my own life and experience of living through the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to this concept I think of the actions that have become a part of everyday life that not only protect me but those around me and points to the interconnectedness of our society. Being that the point of Buddhism is to live better in humanity rather than transcending it, it would make sense that people performing simple acts like wearing a mask and being vaccinated would be in alignment with this idea of being better to humanity. To be less self-centered at this time leads to improvement of society as a whole. While it might be immediately uncomfortable to wear a mask, in the long run it is beneficial for all of those around us. In thinking about emptiness of ourselves that points to the fact that we exist in a way where we have dynamic relationships with everything around us and once we understand the emptiness of ourselves we can see how connected we are to every other part of the world.