When the Mind Does Not Waver, the World Is Seen Rightly

When the mind is not swaying here and there, we can see the beauty of the world rightly. When the mind is shaken, even the same world first gives rise to complaint, comparison, discrimination, and attachment. But when the mind is steady, life as it is begins to appear newly.

Seung Sahn sunim taught in this spirit: when the mind does not waver here and there, we come to see the beauty of this world and realize that this world is already truth.

This does not mean that truth exists only in some special place. It means that mountains and water, flowers and wind, and even one ordinary word or action in daily life are revealed as the place of Dharma when the mind is clear and unmoving.

In Seon Buddhism, awakening is sometimes revealed through very ordinary and unexpected words. When asked, "What is Buddha?" a Seon master may answer by pointing to an ordinary object right before the eyes. This teaching shows that Buddha is not a special object far away, but can be revealed in the place just as it is, right now.

But keeping an unmoving mind in daily life is not easy. When someone criticizes us, when something does not go our way, or when changes in the world shake the mind, we are easily pulled by emotion. It is natural for emotions to arise, but practice is not letting words and actions be swept along by those emotions.

Thoughts arise and disappear. Emotions also arise and disappear. If we keep being pulled along by that flow, the mind shakes; but when we notice it and keep our center, the world gradually appears differently.

Today, rather than blaming the wavering mind, may we notice that wavering, not be dragged by thoughts and emotions, and see truth within life just as it is.