Prabu Gikon Vasan, Senior Lay Student

Zen Mountain Monastery, Mt Tremper, New York, Thursday 08/21/2025

Understanding the many negations in the Heart Sutra, and the concept of “emptiness,” requires effort and faith. It asks us to examine what we take as true, and to verify that through practice. Buddhism does not limit this inquiry to abstract concepts; it directly engages our lived experiences and beliefs in order to ease suffering. If there is no value put on something–like a coin before it’s stamped–then what is it worth? Senior lay student Gikon takes up the path of practice, clarifying the essential teachings of form and emptiness.