In her little meditation room at home, Roshi Richardson has a statue of Mary holding her dead son Jesus. She says that for her it is an image of letting go. It represents the radical letting go of everything, the emptying that is essential in Zen practice. Mary has arms that hold, but do not cling. She is a nurturing presence that does not constrict. It is especially difficult to let go of your own child.
— Ellen Birx, Healing Zen