《太上老君说了心经》

Those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) must first contemplate their own mind. The mind is the master of the activity of Shen (spirit); whether in movement or in stillness, all arises from the mind. The moment a thought stirs, quiet is hard to maintain; only when one is no longer pulled along by thoughts can the true be realized. The mind is at once the source of affliction and the root of cultivating the Dao.

One clings neither to movement nor to stillness, neither giving rise to delusive thoughts nor deliberately retaining anything. What is called “no-mind and no-movement” does not mean suppressing the mind’s thoughts, but not allowing action to be governed by delusive notions, while all action still arises from the mind. When the mind is realized, true nature can be recognized; when nature is recognized, the mind is understood as well. The mind does not cling to any place, nor does it take “abiding nowhere” as a place that can itself be held fast. Only by completely letting go of attachment can one return to the real. Only when one does not cling even to “emptiness” can one be said to realize the real within empty stillness.

Lord Lao said: “From measureless kalpas (an extremely long, incalculable span of time) I have contemplated my own mind and thereby attained the Dao, until I reached the realm of emptiness and nothingness. Having arrived at such a state, what can still be said to have been gained? It is only for the sake of sentient beings that one reluctantly calls this ‘attaining the Dao.’”

Lord Lao also said: “I see that sentient beings cannot clearly understand their own minds. They squander long ages to no purpose and vainly exhaust their Shen; if they never realize their own mind, they remain sunk for a very long time. Those who follow the sacred teaching I transmit can wander free and at ease, embracing and preserving true nature.”