Hsin Shin Ming: “7. The Way is perfect, like vast space where nothing is lacking, and nothing is in excess.”

Hsin Shin Ming: “7. The Way is perfect, like vast space where nothing is lacking, and nothing is in excess.”

The Way means the true-Self, emptiness. When everything is empty, there is nothing that doesn’t belong to emptiness. In order for emptiness, the Way, to be lacking or in excess, there must be something else that can be a standard with which to evaluate or compare it. When there is nothing that doesn’t belong to the Way, emptiness, there is nothing else but emptiness. Then, there is no standard with which to evaluate, or rate emptiness or anything else to compare with emptiness. In fact, the phrase ‘like vast space’ is not an exact description of the Way because there is nothing like it, since there is nothing else but it. So, the word ‘perfect’ is not true of the Way because there is nothing imperfect with which to compare it. And so, ancient masters used to say, “The moment that you open your mouth to describe the Way, you are already wrong.”

Student: “How perfect is the Way?”
Master: “You have already profaned it.”

©Boo Ahm
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