Thoughts!
Stopping and Seeing
Wei-tse (d. 1348)
“Calmness and insight develop through stilling thoughts: the mind of the buddhas manifests therein.” This saying seems to refer to cessation and observation, or stopping and seeing.
The ocean of nature to which all things alike return is essentially united, quiet, always clear and calm. When it is stirred by the influences of conditions, then billows of consciousness and waves of emotion well up in ten thousand ways. If not for stopping, there is no way to clarify its clarity and calm its calmness.
The cosmos of reality completely manifesting unity is always evident and always clear when views are gone and things disappear. As soon as it is obscured by the dust of behavioural and intellectual obstructions, then the fog of confusion and clouds of delusion coalesce into myriad forms. If not for seeing, there is no way to bring to light its evident clarity.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few”
― Shunryu Suzuki
"When gifts are given to me through my camera, I accept them graciously." - Minor White