time, space and zen

the young monk asks:
be kind o ancient zen master,
tell us what is space?
what about time?

lifting the corners of the mouth
towards heaven,
reply comes with a smile
so serene:

witness the infinitely present presence,
time has no meaning hence.

all moments are concealed inside Now.
this enlightenment is the Way, the Tao.

space is nothing

but illusionary forms.
lo, it's only emptiness

that revolves.

(c) MysticSaint

+ trivia on emptiness from quantum physics:

Did you know that there's so much empty space (emptiness) inside matter (atoms, molecules) that the entire human race could be squeezed into the volume of a sugar cube?
.......... yes the entire human race! its unbelievable, but true!

- fact inspired from Marcus Chown's book, The Quantum Zoo: A Tourist's Guide to the Neverending Universe

One of the towering achievement of modern physics is quantum theory which has enabled us to understand the physical reality in a remarkable and unprecedented manner. "If the empty space in atoms were removed, the entire human race would fit in the volume of a sugar cube" - this humorously presented fact points to the overwhelmingly integrated emptiness in our physical world from scientific point of view.

Emptiness embedded in this creation is something about which ancient mystics and sages talked about hundreds and thousands of years earlier in the language of metaphysics. Buddha talked about so much that Emptiness of Reality (empty of inherent existence) has become one of the central doctrine of Buddhism. Off course the mystics, sages and Buddha - all were addressing the emptiness of not only matter, but beyond as well.