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Standing at the end of the bridge, I was waiting for a friend from far away. The pause left my mind an open expanse in which my thoughts could stretch their wings and repose. The void during these minutes suggested all kinds of possibilities lying in wait, but nothing happened. Nothing would spoil the peace within. The perfect harmony of life is revealed by a momentary sense of emptiness. The vacancy in traditional Chinese painting that conveys images of sky, earth and water, can unfold the artistic conception. The emptiness in my life can open up the virgin soil of my mind which is untouched by the sootes hubbub of this mortal life.
Once we stopped for lunch. I washed down some steamed bread with water and hurried to sketch a fruit garden. When I returned, the street was deserted. The noon sun bleached everything in sight. Some eyes stared at me from shadows. I waited in silence. Everything was on its way. There was no worry, no anxiety. I was deprived suddenly of all my thoughts and sensations and was replenished with something brilliant and hushed, something unlimited, weightless and pure. Afterwards, we started again. The further we escaped from the rush of human inhabitants, the closer we neared the miracle of nature. I was kept waiting, breathless with admiration for the changing sceneries, one after another. At the sight of the mountains, all my senses were reduced to nothing for an instant. At that time, my heart became so clean and free that I almost was baptized a pantheist.
So many old-timers and latecomers shuttle back and forth on this permanent landscape. Only the everlasting mountains can tell the eternal truth of our being. I stopped to wait and listen. I heard nothing but the sound of emptiness. Truth and beauty never exist beyond our soul. It can be discovered in emptiness. It can be gained by your waiting.
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