Saturday, October 12, 2024

trace the stream back

 





Trace the stream back to its source.
Trace consciousness to the root 
where there is no inside or outside,

 Consciousness is,
 I am over here as the subject, 
you are all out there as objects, 
and I roll along with my life.

 But if I trace my mind back further,
 to a place closer and nearer, 
where I am no longer separating myself from objects,
 the mind turns around. 

With the backward step,
 you see the unity
 and the emptiness of separation.


Walking forward does not cease; 
walking backward does not cease.
 Walking forward does not obstruct walking backward. 
Walking backward does not obstruct walking forward. 

This is called the mountain flow and the flowing mountain.



~ Dogen
excerpts from the Mountain and Waters Sutra



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