(continued – The Ten Vows made by all Tathagatas )
Paradise is found within my mind,
I vow to attain it.
마음 속의 극락세계 태어나기 원입니다.
This verse proves a slightly annoyed, quiet voice that wants to reply, “Do you mean to say that some wonderful state of being or place, is only to be found within this boring, petty, messy, deficient, ‘me’?! I haven’t found anything that interesting here in all these years, so let’s look somewhere else.” Lol.
This pretty much sums up the way my thinking defaults to. “Whelp, I looked in this corner. Nothing exciting here, so let’s look somewhere else.”
And yet…. All the awakened beings who have gone on to teach have said the same thing. When the turbulent water calms down, the moon will be seen. It didn’t suddenly pop into existence; it was always there shining brightly.
(This text is from Daehaeng Kun Sunim’s translation of “The Thousand Hands Sutra”)
Wake Up and Laugh! 