Rebirth in the spirit of emptiness

Abstract

This thesis reflects on a sense of place as an experiential event where one seeks solace by means of escape from ordinary life into a different realm for a few moments. The need to find solace manifests a sense of belonging through inhabitation of a place that is spiritually and emotionally nourishing – the kind of space that embodies remoteness and discovery, challenge, solitude and freedom.1 The project concept was generated by a visit to Japan at the beginning of the year where I was able to witness a culture that has long fascinated a global audience, including myself. This thesis is an investigation into the Japanese notion of emptiness, following the concept of Ma – to manifest a sense of place that can be perceived through space and time. It delves into the consciousness of mortality and growth, as core religious beliefs in Japanese Buddhism and Shintoism. Through this acknowledgement of space and time as ephemeral entities, those on a spiritual journey may partake in a pilgrimage to the five thresholds along the Lake Angelus circuit track in Nelson. The thresholds mark out different phases in a pilgrim’s walk through spiritual cleansing and rebirth. To be empty is to perceive that all things are free of intrinsic nature, to embrace transience and acknowledge nonexistence. This thesis proposes the state of solitude to not only be regarded as absolute detachment reached through geographical remoteness, but also an opportunity to engage in the dialogue between permanence and impermanence, birth and decay, exhaustion and renewal.