Algorithm And Emptiness.pdf

Shinzen Young describes his meditation approach as "algorithmic," involving a sequence of procedures. The concept of algorithm is linked to the spiritual concept of "no-thing-ness" and has historical connections to East-West cultural interaction. The word "algorithm" comes from the Arabic name Al Khowarizmi, a mathematician whose work was translated into Latin by Fibonacci, introducing Arabic numerals and terms like "cipher," "zero," and "algebra" to Europe. The Indic system of numeration, which includes the concept of zero as a legitimate number, was adopted by Muslim mathematicians and later introduced to Europe. The English word "zero" is derived from the Arabic word "sifr," meaning "empty," which is also related to the Buddhist concept of "shūnyatā" or "no-thing-ness." Shinzen Young's teacher, Jōshū Sasaki Rōshi, believes that the behavior of zero as a number parallels the experience of enlightenment as "no-thing-ness," and that this concept can be used to describe the ultimate state of polarization, where all affirmative and negative forces join into a single effortless flow.