In the third year of Tianci of the Northern Wei Dynasty (406 AD), on a certain winter day when 'he' was 24, 'he' followed his Master to the home of an old official to diagnose an illness. This official was a Chief Secretary in Suzhou. After the consultation ended, they boarded a carriage to return to the medical bureau. During the journey, 'he' and his Master discussed the official's condition in the carriage. The Master told 'him' that this official was already over 60 years old. He had originally planned to retire at 60, but having grown accustomed to being an official, he didn't know what to do after retirement, so he just continued. Recently, court affairs were numerous, and his body was old and frail, so he became ill from the busyness — it was a case of consumptive fatigue.
"Inability to let go is itself an illness." the Master continued.
"Huh? Isn't being unable to let go very common? Is that also an illness?" 'he' asked curiously.
"Being unable to let go, being fixated on one thing, is the mind being covered with dust and grime. That is a kind of illness."
"Master, the mind is formless and without characteristics. How can it become covered with dust and grime? How can you tell?"
The carriage passed by a stretch of lush green farmland. Several farmers wearing conical hats were busy in the fields; some were driving oxen to plow, others were bent over pulling weeds. Among them was an old man who looked particularly aged. Under the scorching sun, his whole body was tanned dark and shiny. Although slightly hunched, he worked vigorously.
"Look at that old man," the Master pointed outside the carriage to the elderly farmer. "The main thing he has done in this life is to constantly turn the soil, sow seeds, and harvest. He does it very well. For as long as he can move in this life, he persists in this. If you asked him to do something else, he would tell you he only knows how to do this; he doesn't know anything else."
"Even in the next life, because he is already too accustomed to it, he will continue doing this. What do you think?"
'He' pondered for a moment. Dust and grime essentially mean obscuring or covering. And obscuring means diminishing or covering the original radiance or form. 'He' understood.
"Master, so, because he is too accustomed to it, he becomes able to do only this, wanting to do only this. The infinite possibilities originally unique to a human being collapse into just one."
"That's right! Habitual tendencies are dust and grime. The more tendencies, especially bad ones, the more a person becomes bound and fettered. The human mind is originally bright and luminous. It is obscured by countless layers of dust and grime that it becomes dim and dull."
'He' who had now come to modern Taiwan recalled this past event.
'He' suddenly thought: Aren't bad habits also like rigid code, making people operate like machines, running incessantly in the same pattern until the parts fall apart and scatter? And those inexplicable attachments, bad habits, or stubbornness accumulated over countless lifetimes bind people tightly, wrap them up airtight, obscure all possibilities, allowing only a sliver of light, leaving only one possibility. These are far more than just dust and grime; they are practically mud, a prison, solid walls, wrapping people up so they cannot move, making it difficult to break free. And all of these are human beings' own undue sentimentality, self-inflicted suffering, weaving one's own cocoon.
Ordinary people's minds are filled with dust and grime, their mind's light dim and dull. They cannot recall anything of their past lives at all. The present life is merely a continuation of past habits, and they have no real thoughts about future lives. Everything in the human world is like a massive, old wheel. All things in the world are bound to it, constantly repeating, turning, and grinding. If one can, through spiritual practice, eliminate bad habits, brush away the heavy dust and grime, and let the originally complete light of the mind shine forth, then all the inherent possibilities of life, and all the various possibilities of past, present, and future, become clear at a glance. One can even transcend time, space, life, and death, attaining freedom everywhere.