To see groundlessness as a concept begs the primordial question of how we know what we know. Like the proverbial layers of the grand onion, this question can be peeled back and back, either through the intellectual contemplations common to east and west or through the practice of meditation. Yet the question will still remain as to whether either of these approaches has even a whit to do with groundlessness—the experience.

Taking the view, understanding the view, experiencing the view can, in this and all things, change the way that the world is perceived. As we know, all of creation is composite, subject to dissolution and decay. We and our mindstreams are part of this process. We are sitting somewhere on the compost bin, and our turn to return to the soil awaits us. Nonetheless there is great joy, great art, and great beauty. There is the love that can be shared and the compassion that marks the well-lived life. This does not stand in opposition to groundlessness, but springs from it as inevitably as the wildflowers spring on the sides of mountains and hills.

This talk will delve into this subject and hopefully like the cold water that flows down from that mountain, bring with it a bit of freshness and alacrity.

Ridge Trail Wildflowers by Emmy Aug 4, 2020