Blue Cliff Record Case 61: Fengxue's "One Atom of Dust"
Often we live with the sense that we are strangers in a strange land. We feel isolated from others, unsure how to fit in with the people and situations in our lives. But although we look outside ourselves for the source of our problems, this sense of alienation is nothing other than our estrangement from ourselves. This feeling of isolation is actually a positive space, because this is what brings us to practice. Practice is a process of returning to our own hearts, to a place we have never left yet must rediscover. When we are willing to stay true to ourselves in all circumstances, we will find an opening to our hearts that will allow us to call ever place home.