When I first saw Michelle’s photo of Angkor Wat, I immediately thought of this shot I took in New Mexico at the ruins of a settler’s ranch:
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We recently saw a glorious Korean film called “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring” in English. It takes place mostly in a monk’s floating temple. Inside his humble place, he has a shrine and a place to sleep. The “bedroom” is set apart by a doorway, but there are no walls. Still, every time he retires, he stands up and goes through the doorway. It would take him two crawling motions to go from his knees before the Buddha statue to his bedroll on the floor, but he never does that. The door is a reminder, a discipline, a practice, I’m sure. It represents some kind of edge or divider, and yet, all is One inside as the open space prevails. I like how this ruin recaptured that feeling. We put up our boundaries, but they are mere illusions. Or perhaps delusions. Edges are not the Truth of the world, but we cling to them nevertheless. They give our organized Western minds that compartmentalism that makes us feel secure and in control. The hazard there is that when the compartments are breached, we feel that something is “wrong”, and we become anxious…needlessly. Learning to be at peace with being open is a practice I’m following lately.
In case that’s too philosophical for you, I’ll give you some more literal illustrations:
