Fools may speak endlessly of dreams, but those who can truly discern the meaning hidden within them may yet become sages.
Perhaps dreams can reveal what is difficult to see while we are awake: how easily we become absorbed in what seems real, important, and lasting.
This thought raises a profound question: What does it truly mean to attain the state of “emptiness of the four elements” while living in this world? In Buddhist thought, the “four elements” — earth, water, fire, and air — represent the physical body and material existence. To see them as “empty” is to recognize that they are impermanent, constantly changing, and cannot be permanently possessed.
Must one be born deep in the mountains, far removed from the dust and distractions of ordinary life, untouched by worldly desires, in order to attain this state? Or is the greater challenge to remain in the midst of society — to experience its joys and sorrows, encounter the countless faces of humanity, yet enter the world without becoming trapped by it, and leave it without being disturbed by either storm or sunshine?
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