PureInsight | June 20, 2005
[PureInsight.org] When I read the Tang Poem "Reading Buddhist Classics with Chao at His Temple in the Early Morning" by Liu Zongyuan, I enjoyed one particular sentence. "In the tranquility of the Taoist temple courtyard, the moss adds color to the green bamboo." When considering the word "tranquility," I had some thoughts about it. I felt like writing an essay entitled, "About Tranquility."
The word jing (tranquility) is composed of two characters: "green" and "dispute." It is easy to explain the word "green," like the green slopes of the hills, but how should "dispute" be explained? I think it is derived from having no dispute with the world! Tranquility doesn't refer to a silent environment with clean, fresh air. There are differences in the degrees of tranquility. A peaceful environment is not equal to purity of the heart or resisting the influence of external evil. Yet it is not easy to resist external interference. If a person has been kind and benevolent in all of his or her lifetimes, then there is a predestined benevolent relationship with the world and external evil wouldn't have any room to interfere with that being. There would be peace and tranquility in that life. However, those with little compassion will have difficulty reaching tranquility. Not only will tranquility be difficult to achieve, there will also be a lot of external interference and obstructions.
The words "In the tranquility of the Taoist temple courtyard" were not written casually. It is not possible for an ordinary person to achieve the degree of tranquility that a Taoist can. The fields of these practitioners are completely pure! Devoted practitioners can purify their external environments, wherever they are. They can achieve such results without lifting a finger, making any comments, or using any thoughts. This type of tranquility is of a higher order. They are capable of inducing all people and lives around them to calm down.
At this juncture, I began to think about writing and reading essays, and about the colors, sounds and flavors of the various things I am in contact with daily . An essay or a composition is a complete outpouring from the author's heart. It is a complete representation of the author's cultivation state. It contains the entire belief of the author. In fact, every object contains all the representations of itself . If one were to be in continuous contact with impure things, one will become impure and be unable to achieve tranquility.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2005/5/30/32547.html
