I enjoyed your perspective and insight on your experience.
It was a good idea to include a link with a definition.
That segues into the Three Characteristics that are applied to the understanding of the true nature of things: impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and no-self.
When sharing the Dharma, it becomes obvious that in modern times that skilful means inspires us to use caution so as to not discourage anyone. Thanks for bringing up emptiness and its relationship, however that word has negative connotations these days, in a general sense.
I would like to invite any lurkers or those new to Buddhism to consider their own reactions to the terminology used here, first and foremost. There are both obvious and subtle cultural biases that can impact understanding. If the terms generate questions about what all this has to do with liberation/freedom, then further inquiry is suggested.
While cultivating faith, (open to possibility) in the potentials of the cosmology and methodology of Buddhism is stressed, careful investigation and experimentation, (rather than belief) are the essential tools utilized throughout practice. Conceptual knowledge is not the goal, but it is an important vehicle to wisdom and realization.
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