Nature is originally referred to essential qualities or innate disposition; related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants, animals, and other features of the world develop of their own accord. The essential qualities of the nature can be divided into two categories i.e. inherence and dependence. Both of these qualities as observed by the mind would exist concurrently in harmonious orientation. Therefore, it is imperative for one to understand that the nature is sufficiently universal and infinite in its original disposition and is governed by the universal laws.

Right now, what could be the key ingredients of the nature? Precisely, the answer would be energy or emptiness. When one sees into energy, one sees into emptiness; when one sees into emptiness, one sees into energy. This could be the rationale for the saying, ‘Form is Empty, Empty is Form.’ The principle in effect : seeing into form is seeing into matter, seeing into matter is seeing into energy and seeing into energy is seeing into emptiness. Energy is described as the ability to cause change or do work, while emptiness is understood as absence in the static entity and devoid of inherent existence for all created objects or things. Both the energy and emptiness are universal qualities that correspond to dependent arising and inherent existence concurrently.

For general understanding, conditional phenomenon is a necessary pre-requisite for energy to exist; without it, existence would be impossible. On another front, emptiness is a necessary pre-requisite for any object to exist; without it, the object would be impossible. Therefore, we could conclude that energy and emptiness are essential qualities for the dependent nature to sustain perpetually. When there is no dependent nature arising, no energy or emptiness would arise. Likewise, when there is no energy or emptiness arising, no dependent nature would arise. This is how the conventional reality works i.e. not in-linear but in inter-dependence, inter-woven and inter-relation since the dawn of time in a very comprehensive and complicated network of existence.

In the dependent nature, the existence of energy would give rise to the mind that in turn conjures up perceptions, conceptions, labels, boundaries, names, activities, shapes, relations, descriptions, stereotyping, beginning, ending, etc. The mind is a necessary pre-requisite for the circumstances of duality or multiplicity to be present. As such, we shall be clear by now that mind is the forerunner of all states. These circumstances of duality or multiplicity are merely the end result of various aggregated activities being observed by the mind under the influence of conditional phenomena.

And only when there is a balance circumstance, there is a chance for integration process i.e. under a balance phenomenon, one could witness shapes or forms arised; under an imbalance phenomenon, one could see no shapes or forms arised - and the cycle of conditional phenomena continues. Therefore, it is correct to mention that all objects are empty and exist conditionally without an eternal essence. They only exist in relation to each other as appearances that in turn vary as per the perceptions of the beholders.

When one ponders as a subject on the other side of the object or matter, one would notice that energy takes on various forms and reborn all the time in the dependent nature. However, the sum of all the energies in the system is a constant or never changes because energy can neither be created nor destroyed as per the Law of Conservation of Energy. This would mean that energy corresponds to inherent existence as well due to its unchanging nature described as above. It is the same case scenario for emptiness. Emptiness corresponds to both dependent arising and inherent existence concurrently. While emptiness could not exist without a dependent partner, emptiness in direct perception cannot be segmented or dissected further to see the real origin because it does not constitute some false appearances concealing a lack of inherent existence. Therefore, it has unchanging nature that all conventional phenomena lack.

As a summary, we could conclude that energy and emptiness are essential qualities that exist everywhere in the dependent and inherent nature. In the dependent nature, the something as in object would not arise out of nothing but instead, arise out of the energy aggregates that have been forever existed in a system. This is because energy or matter is actually the same thing, both reflected in a different form (as in Einstein’s formula, E = mc2). And since we can’t see energy with our naked eyes, we would call it empty instead of nothing. It is difficult for one to see into this ultimate truth because the mind is dependent arising and the presence in the waves of dependent phenomena have clouded the mind from discerning the reality of circumstances i.e. ignorance arises. Nevertheless, the wise Buddha has laid emphasis that one should see in all angles of things or matters while searching for ultimate truth or reality. Without it, any conclusions made out of one’s observation would not be balance or in wholesome nature. And with the presence of emptiness, the potential movement of the mind from non-enlightenment towards a state of enlightenment would be possible.