Lama's wisdom

I found this lovely poem posted by a young Chinese blogger who is now on his trip to Tibet. According to him, the poem was written by the sixth Dalai Lama (六世达赖喇嘛) named 仓央嘉措.

First best not to see
Then mind won't be captivated
Next, best not to become intimate
Then mind won't be trapped

A Chinese translation was added:

压根儿没见最好的，也省得情思萦绕。
原来不熟也好，就不会这般颠倒。

In a world that people say seeing is believing, and confuse representation with the presence simple and pure, this poem does make us to ponder. Most of us tend to be captivated and trapped easily by things and creatures. Human are weak and soft by nature. We cling to images and think they speak the truth; we hold on to memories and remember them as the evidence of being. It takes courage to reach beyond the things that captivate us, to look into the depth of our experience. And it takes wisdom to make ourselves connected and engaged to other beings without being trapped. We catch and be caught, touch and be touched at the very same moment.