Obey the nature of things, and you are in concord with the Way, calm and easy and free from annoyance, but when your thoughts are tied, you turn away from the truth, they grow heavier and duller and not at all sound.
— Sosan Ganchi Zenji, 3rd Patriarch of Zen
When they are not sound, the spirit is troubled, what is the use of being partial and one-sided then? If you want to walk the course of the One Vehicle, be not prejudiced against the six sense objects.
When you are not prejudiced against the six sense-objects, you are then one with the Enlightenment;
When approaching an intersection with a traffic signal, how many of us would ever intentionally run a red light? None of us, right? What about running a yellow light or running green light? Is there such a thing?
Have you ever driven down a stretch of road with several intersections and all the lights were green? Did you ever speed up in order to reach the last light before it turns red? Did you ever think that you ignored the message of each green light- which is to proceed at your normal speed.
A green light does not mean speed up. Doing so is called running a green light!
And when we finally approach the last light and it turns yellow, we speed up even more, completely ignoring what the yellow light means- slow down and prepare to stop. To speed up instead is called running a yellow light!
What about ignoring our stress by nurturing our issues until something changes in our tissues and we feel physical pain? What about thinking of what we want to say next instead of really listening to someone?
Obey the nature of things, Sosan says, don’t ignore what your senses are telling you, and you are then one with the Enlightenment.
Can oneness with Enlightenment be this simple? Or maybe as simple as sitting quietly and following your breath?