Where does longing lead when the self disappears?
In this introspective Prologue, Master Woo Myung reflects on his early days, his solitude, and the silent burden of carrying Heaven’s task. Beyond dreams, beyond existence or non-existence, lies a space of truth where there is no self—only responsibility and remembrance.
📺 Watch the video and read the original writing below.
🎬 YouTube Video
📝 Original Writing by Master Woo Myung
Prologue
A time of playing willow pipes;
a time of growing dreams by the stream;
now that I live without self
I long for those times.
All people who live
have dreams of the past.
They dream dreams of hope
but they are not able to do what they need to do –
they live ignorant of life’s futility.
It is possible to know it is futile
when you wake up from the dream.
Don’t blame it for being futile;
don’t brag that it exists,
or sigh that it doesn’t;
life is but a springtime dream,
but without dreams there is no hope
so life was made to dream dreams,
leaving you with nothing
after sad times have passed.
I am already living a life
which exists and yet does not;
I have already departed from myself
regardless of what anyone says.
I am me only because I am living
but amidst existence there is nothing,
and amidst nothing, there is existence.
Existence and non-existence are one and the same.
It is now possible to see that one’s mind does not exist,
but no one else in the world
has the mind of non-existence.
I am alone in knowing,
steeped in solitude.
It is best to be among people,
to be ordinary.
Perhaps this is because I miss those I have lost,
for now I know that to stand out is unhappiness.
While searching for Truth
I was simply seeking to
attain a high level of enlightenment
but I have been given a task –
the task of truly saving people.
I do not know whether
I will be able to carry out heaven’s order,
and it makes me wake in my sleep
and wander in my dreams.
It is a burden that is too large and overwhelming.
Though I worry, I am without any minds.
My minds have disappeared somewhere,
and I am alone,
writing these words.
🌱 Reflect at Santa Clara Meditation
The journey begins with a dream and ends in stillness.
At Santa Clara Meditation, we walk this path together—toward freedom, truth, and peace of mind.
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