Nothing has any inherent existence of its own when you really look at it. This absence of independent existence is what can be called “emptiness.” When you think of a tree, one tends to think of a distinctly defined object; and on a certain level it is. But when you look more closely at the tree, you will see that ultimately it has no independent existence. When you contemplate it, you will find that it dissolves into an extremely subtle net of relationships. The rain that falls on its leaves, the wind that sways it, the soil that nourishes and sustains it, all the seasons and the weather, moonlight and starlight and sunlight—all form part of this tree. And too, the particular individual view that each person has when they look at the tree.
As you begin to think more about the tree, you will discover that everything in the universe helps to make the tree what it is; that it cannot at any moment be isolated from anything else; and that at every moment its nature is subtly changing.
This particular tree is in Cologne at the back of the Cologne Cathedral. Somehow despite the importance and wonder of the cathedral this tree seemed to overpower even that. Think about it.....
