SHIN JIN MEI | 信心銘- DAY EIGHT

"When you strive to gain quiescence by stopping motion,
The quiescence thus gained is ever in motion;
As long as you tarry in the dualism,
How can you realize oneness?"

There is an old koan often given to new students: "How do you stop the distant temple bell from ringing?" Any time you meet with the bell in an attempt to quiet it, it merely rings louder. Once the bell and hearer, distance and nearness, ringing and silence, have been transcended - the koan cracks open and the Way is manifested.

You cannot have boundlessness or emptiness show itself by attempting to create a vacuum and cast it therein. It would be easier to nail the earth still with your hammer. Any attempt to conceptualize the Way creates its antithesis. Thus we tarry in dualism.

Oneness requires no effort of the small self. It presents itself directly. Just taste the wine.