Yuan Wu says, “All the myriad things are neither opposed to nor contrary to your true self. Directly pass through to freedom and they make one whole (page 66).” Yes, as humans we are always making comparisons and choosing and naming and categorizing and numbering and more.
We are always making things right or wrong, good or bad, serious or casual. Some of us are so “anal” we put our canned goods in the closet in alphabetical order, our boxes from short to tall or tall to short and our clothes in the closet from dark to light or light to dark!
Our “self” is our things, our things are who we are.
Yuan Wu goes on to say, “The only problem is when people put themselves in opposition to it and spurn it and impose orientations of grasping or rejecting, creating a concern where there is none. This is precisely why they are not joyfully alive (page 66).”
Don’t get me wrong I am not asking everyone to live in a house that is chaos, or drive a car that is filled with junk. As in Unity we would say that creates “chaos in the mind and ultimately in the body.” But let us not get confused with “things” and “self.” You are not your things!
When you were born you came out of your mother’s womb with NOTHING…no clothes, no thoughts, no worries, no car, no diapers. Just your perfect human nature, yourself! There were no objects to cling to, no rules or regulations, no 10 commandments or 16 precepts. There was just your breath!
When you were born the doctor rated you on the Apgar Score: your condition in which pulse, breathing, color, tone and reflex 
irritability was rated on scale of 0, 1, or 2 at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth. That’s it! They just wanted to know if you were breathing, had good color, tone, and reflexes. If not, from there it would be all downhill for the baby.
As adults we begin to rate ourselves on a myriad of things that are external to what keeps us alive. We ponder and worry about our “self” and “things” and create chaos and challenges in our lives. Yuan Wu gives us some sage advice: “To succeed it is necessary to melt and let go and spontaneously attain a state of great rest.” There is nothing more beautiful then watching that newborn baby simply lying in the arms of its mother sound asleep enjoying the peace of life. No picking and choosing and naming—self or things. They are “joyfully” alive with each breath.
Thus, when we sit we simply focus on the breath watching it flow in and out unconcerned with how it does it or why it does it—just glad it does it! When worries come your way simply focus on the breath going in and out and watch the worries subside. There you will find your “true self your freedom, and your wholeness.”
So, keep on breathing!
(Picture from Pinterest)
Cleary J.C. and Cleary, T. (1994) Zen Letters Teachings of Yuanwu. Boston & London: Shambhala
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