This is not mine, it's from the book Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell. When I read it I felt a sense of freedom, and wanted to share it.
Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what other avoid?
How ridiculous!Other people are excited,
as though they were at a parade.
I alone don't care,
I alone am expressionless,
like an infant before it can smile.Other people have what they need;
I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about,
like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.Other people are bright;
I alone am dark.
Other people are sharp;
I alone am dull.
Other people have a purpose;
I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.I am different from ordinary people.
I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.
Author's notes:
yes and no:
Chao-chou asked Nan-ch'üan, "What is the Tao?"
Nan-ch'üan said, "Everyday mind is the Tao."
Chao-chou said, "How can I approach it?"
Nan-ch'üan said, "The more you try to approach it, the farther away you'll be."
"But if I don't get close, how can I understand it?"
The master said, "It's not a question of understanding or not understanding. Understanding is delusion; not understanding is indifference. But when you reach the unattainable Tao, it is like pure space, limitless and serene. Where is there room in it for yes or no?"
I don't care: If good happens, good; if bad happens, good.
I am like an idiot: First you erase the blackboard; then you can write something new.
I am different from ordinary people: I am more ordinary. When I am hungry, I eat; when I am tired, I sleep; that's all. Pai-chang said,
After enlightenment one is till the same as one was before. One is simply free from unreality and delusion. The ordinary person's mind is the same as the sage's, because Original Mind is perfect and complete in itself. After you have had this recognition, please don't lose it.