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Understanding
The sunflower has not yet bloomed because the necessary conditions are not sufficient; similarly, many phenomena have not manifested, so we think they do not exist. On the other hand, the apricot blossom is blooming now, but it will wither in time. The notions of being and non-being are both mistaken perceptions if we do not contemplate according to the principle of dependent co-arising—when one condition is lacking, a phenomenon does not manifest, not because it does not exist.
Deep contemplation allows us to transcend the dualities of being/non-being and birth/death, leading to the state of fearlessness and the realization of no birth and no death. Lavoisier affirmed, “rien ne se crée, rien ne se perd” (nothing is created, nothing is lost), and Schrödinger practiced “touching the Earth” to recognize the continuity of life—every phenomenon only changes its form, it does not truly arise or disappear.
The practitioner is like the pear blossom, the apricot blossom, or the narcissus: hidden when conditions are not sufficient, manifesting fresh and stable when the right causes and conditions come together. Maintaining mindfulness in each moment allows us to embody the Bodhisattva right in daily life, without being caught in notions of being or non-being, opening the path of liberation and harmony between spirituality and science.
Part of the following collection
The Suchness of Reality and the Insight of Interdependent Origination