Let the Gentle Breeze Send Off the White Clouds

Fortunate is the one who donned the monastic robe;

The universe gained another who is unattached;

Stay when conditions exist, go as conditions are extinguished;

Let the gentle breeze send off the white clouds.

If one wishes to practice, one may do so at home; it is not necessary to stay in a monastery.

The intrinsically kind person is able to practice at home; the evil-minded stay in a monastery without practicing. A clear and pure mind is not dependent on lay or monastic identity.

When it is time to come, come; when it is time to go, go. There is no anticipation, no reluctance, no indecisiveness. There is no my-dignity, my-interests, and so forth. Only the conditions of meeting, parting, separating, and joining are considered. It is beyond control, yet it is not a coincidence. Birth and death are the same. Just live in simplicity and purity, right here, right now. With this frame of mind, even if one is busy with work, “The universe gains another who is unattached.”

If you are still attached to worldly causes and conditions, you are bound to make another round in this realm. This could be an unaccomplished ambition, a star-crossed relationship, or perhaps the great compassion and pity for humanity of a bodhisattva.