Taking It Light

Yutang Lin

Bound by fixed views to criticize often,
Whatever touched yields entanglement.
Fading of self reduces one's insistence;
Adverse or unexpected, things are light..

Comment:

Buddhist teachings indicate that originally there were no such things as the concept of a self or that of a person. Through this awakening one might be able to escape from the confinement of concepts. Nevertheless, some people who engage in Buddhist studies or practices have become overzealous of their views that they constantly criticize everything and thereby are entrapped in many entanglements. When a practitioner walks on the right path, limitations set by the concepts of "self" and "others" would gradually diminish in mind, and consequently there would be less insistence and haggling. Furthermore, when matters arise one would remain calm and peaceful as if nothing had happened. This does not mean indifference but rather that ordinary matters would seem trivial when the mind is very open and wide.

Written in Chinese on July 2, 2001
Translated on July 16, 2001
El Cerrito, California

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