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Sutra on the Contemplation of the King of the Face 2
The sixth gatha in the Sutra “Kính Kiến Vương” teaches us not to be caught in the dualities of being and non-being, this life and the next, but to enter the Middle Way through contemplation of all dharmas. The practice includes:
- Letting go of both sides of being and non-being: abandoning both affirmation and negation, releasing and distancing oneself.
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Letting go of the four notions: person, self, living beings, and lifespan.
Thanks to this, we no longer feel aversion toward this life nor do we seek the next life, but realize the limitless lifespan as taught in the Lotus Sutra, which is the foundation of the Mahayana and the Middle Way, allowing us to live in peace and freedom.
Insight into dharmas is to use wisdom to contemplate the mind and its objects, avoid wrong views, and attain “letting go of the world of emptiness” and “non-attainment.” The Buddha taught us to go beyond the four categories of existence (is, is not, both is and is not, neither is nor is not) to see that all dharmas are without self-nature. For example, “the self practices, dharmas practice, non-practice practices”—to practice without being caught in form. The story of Winnie the Pooh illustrates the non-discriminative view of subject and object, reaching paramārtha (the ultimate truth), transcending all dualities. Rituals or precepts, if lacking mindfulness, concentration, and insight, are only forms; only when practiced with mindfulness and contemplation do they truly liberate.