The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction, however,
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
— Sengcan, Hsin Hsin Ming
Sound and silence. Calm and agitation. Pain, and what is not pain.
Each one known only against the other.
For a while, try having no preferences. No likes, no dislikes. Just being.
Feel what’s here, murky and hard to name. Ask, can I be with this?
Notice the mind wanting stillness, pushing restlessness away. Soften around the wanting.
Then relax the distinction itself. Put it down, like a heavy bag.
No self. No other. All just happening.
When you open the eyes, look for where the meditation ends.