Not Demanding Perfection

Yutang Lin

Rigid views render communion difficult;
Demanding perfection goads all to suffer.
How could worldly things be satisfactory?
Once the illusion is gone, mind will open.

Comments:

Ideas and concepts are abstract but clear; therefore they readily form rigid views that are out of steps with real situations. Insisting on meeting certain demands not only would cause all involved to suffer but also would become a fountain of incessant worries. If one could wake up to the fact that real situations cannot be delineated as clearly as concepts, and thereby renounce the expectation of perfect adherence to ideals, then one would experience the sensation of a sudden opening of mind.

Written in Chinese on February 9, 2002
Translated on March 4, 2002
El Cerrito, California

---

[Home][Back to list][Back to Chinese versions]