How does something have a nature, an essence, if it is not a thing, that is, that stays for but a spell?
And if it is something, how do we understand it to have a nature? Is it not something else, this nature? Something so much more imposing and weighty, that we must search longingly to find… it?
And what is a quality, this thing we call an essence?
Does naming an absence succeed in giving meaning to nothing at all?
Does “emptiness” have a meaning in the absence of everything and nothing at all? Or is it merely a reverberation of bad ideas past?
Appearances are more than sleight-of-hand and stage makeup! After all they do show up. And for our pleasure, more often than not, such is the character of this troop.
But a stage that is not a stage? A now that is not some time?
Lights, camera, and action that are not exactly what they appear to be?
(But how do we say they are nothing at all?)
No wonder we are confused. How do you grasp nothing? We need something to take hold of!
So let’s invent a time and place, with ample seating and friendly chatter, and await the appearance of the troop that is to show up, with trumpets blaring, drums thumping, and bells all ringing — such a spectacle!
While waiting, we can read the latest physical theories, because they feel weighty. And be entertained by the clown who imparts their importance upon an audience listening inattentively, having been dazzled by the magical displays and graphs.
And beneath it all, pure presencing presents — its epiphanic display — and that is all. But it’s not nothing at all.
What else is there to do? Ah!
“Awesome beauty beheld!” The five-star review.
