SHIN JIN MEI | 信心銘- DAY TWENTY-NINE
"Forget the wherefore of things,
And we attain to a state beyond analogy;
Movement stopped and there is no movement,
Rest set in motion and there is no rest;
When dualism does no more obtain,
Oneness itself abides not."
We like to know the why of things - to apprehend causes and conditions so we can reliably predict what will happen next, or so we can recreate conditions to deliver desired results. While this has its usefulness, it has to be approached with a non-clinging mind - one that has tasted a state beyond analogy or comparison. Once we've experienced this One, the process of integration begins.
Analogies have a way of taking on a life of their own. By espousing an ideological view, we give birth to its antithesis. Soon, we have a war of competing ideas that spirals into delusion. In this place, we strain at the gnat while we swallow the fly. I've seen arguments started on hypothetical grounds that escalated to violence that had no basis in the present or any observable conditions.
By experiencing directly we transcend the concept. Movement is stopped because there is no concept of movement, nor idea of rest. Here, even fixed concepts of dualism or oneness are shot through. An attempt even to cling to interconnectedness creates separateness.
We manifest perfect wisdom through compassionate action: we feed the hungry, pickup the downtrodden, and protect the vulnerable before these concepts even arise.
