When water is turbid, the shrimps, shellfish, crabs, and fish that fill the sea become invisible to the eye. Likewise, when the mind is clouded, good and evil cannot be distinguished from one another; what is beneficial and what is not cannot be discerned; one’s own welfare and the welfare of others cannot be told apart — and there is nothing but friction and conflict with those around one.
The opposite holds equally true: when water is clear, all that lies within — shrimps, shellfish, crabs, and fish both great and small, pebbles and grains of sand, and precious gems — becomes visible to the eye. When the mind is clear, one’s own welfare and the welfare of others are seen with clarity; harm is perceived for what it is; and that which is truly beneficial can be pursued and acted upon.
On any day that the mind remains clear throughout, whatever one undertakes feels unencumbered, and one is able to smile the whole day long — that is the true profit of life.
The remedy lies in recitation of prayers and sitting in meditation for a period, allowing the mind to settle — just as sediment gradually sinks to the bottom of turbid water, leaving it clear. The moment the mind begins to clear is the moment that day becomes one of gain.
March 17th, 2020
