Hsin Shin Ming: “43. All dualities come only from ignorant inference.”
All dualities here means forms or illusions and ignorant inference implies discriminations. All dualities are how emptiness or non-duality seems when it is divided into many by our imaginary lines created through discriminations. Though each of them seems to have different shapes, different size and different nature from one other, they are the same in essence as emptiness. All the characteristics they have are not innate but are given to them by us. Diamond, for example, is not diamond and is not precious unless we label it as so. There is no difference at all between a handful of soil and a fist sized diamond if we don’t discriminate and label them as such. When we, having realised this fact, are not deluded by them, these dualities are called forms. They are referred to as illusions when we, ignorant of this fact, are deluded by them.
Student: “What happens when all dualities disappear?”
Master: “Nothing happens.”
Student: “How can we live if nothing happens?”
Master: “When nothing happens, death also doesn’t happen. Why are you worried about death?”
©Boo Ahm
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