Instructions Audience: Be very aware of your two audiences for this paper. The f

Instructions
Audience:
Be very aware of your two audiences for this paper. The first three parts of the paper should be addressed to your grading team, who are knowledgeable about Zen. The fourth part of your paper should be written differently, addressed to someone who knows nothing about Zen – you should use concrete examples from everyday life.
Prompt:
What is the concept of emptiness (sunyata) in Zen Buddhism – and in what way(s) is it central to the goals of Zen? Please include the following in your discussion:
1) a definition of Zen emptiness
2) analysis of where it appears in the Heart Sutra 3) at least three connections to other topics in the previous modules – for example, bodhisattvas, interdependence, impermanence, “Bodhidharma’s” four lines, McRae’s Rules, Huineng’s stanza, etc. . . . Your choice of 3 (or more) that you can connect either to the Heart Sutra or to emptiness
4) demonstration of your own “skillful means” as you explain emptiness to someone who has no background in Zen*. Explain the connections to emptiness that you made in part 3 (for example, how a Zen Buddhist defines their “non-self” in relation to emptiness. You can do this in one of these ways:
an example from everyday life
a parable or allegory (a “teaching story”)
*remember that “skillful means” in the Buddhist context refers to a teaching that has been specifically tailored to a particular audience. The first three elements on this list should be addressed to your TA or instructor, but the last should be addressed to someone who is not knowledgeable about Zen. The best papers will do this through an example, story, or metaphor that you have created yourself, rather than one you found in the course or another source.
Purpose: to demonstrate your grasp of the most important concepts from the course as a summary of what you have learned. Therefore, you should not use any outside sources. But as always, all sources should be cited in MLA format.
Word count: approximately 600 words (more is fine)
AI uses permitted: NO AI writing permitted – this assignment should reflect your own – human – voice.
pre-writing, such as outlining
checking for grammar/spelling/typing errors
Either state that you did not use AI tools or, if you used them, name the tools and use the MLA acknowledgement form:
[Prompt you used]. Name of the AI tool and version: for example, ChatGPT-4. Company that made the tool: for example, OpenAI. Date the tool was used/generated. URL for the tool.