Examine the inside and the outside.

A monk asked. "I am told that the master said. 'The Way has nothing to do with the practice. Where there is no defilement, nothing is lacking.' This 'no defilement' - what does it mean?"

Joshu said, "Examine the inside and the outside."

The monk said. "Do you yourself examine them?"

Joshu said. "I do."

The monk said. "What is wrong with you that you must examine them?"

Joshu said, "What about you?"

______________________________________________________________(Sayings of Joshu #64)

It's not something that only a master can do, examine the inside and the outside. We have all been exposed to the inside and to the outside. The inside and the outside are not hidden, and exploring them answers the 'no defilement' query. Or that 'no defilement' becomes obvious.

The alternative to exploring/examining the inside and outside is the focus on situations and entities and outcomes. So the whole difference is just a shift in our belief about what it is we're doing and prioritizing. We can either naturally 'do' the fundamentally complete-activity of exploring, or we can turn away from exploring by playing a more discrete game of outcomes, by simply committing to and believing in those outcomes.

Submitted February 28, 2022 at 05:08AM by True__Though https://ift.tt/1oRO3LE