溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
The Mind Cannot Be Grasped
The past mind cannot be grasped, the present mind cannot be grasped, the future mind cannot be grasped. The mind dwells nowhere.
There is an old tale of a scholar who went to buy rice cakes and was struck by this verse from an old monk: "The past mind, the present mind, the future mind — none can be grasped.
Am I suffering by clinging to a mind already gone and a mind not yet come?
📝Reflection
There is an old tale of a scholar who went to buy rice cakes and was struck by this verse from an old monk: "The past mind, the present mind, the future mind — none can be grasped. To which mind will you offer your cake?" Most of our suffering lives in two places: regret over a past already gone, anxiety over a future not yet come. The only thing we can actually hold is now, yet we pour the mind into two ungraspable places. The mind is like a flowing river — you cannot touch the same water twice. So cling neither to the water passed nor the water yet to come; just feel this water your feet are in now.
🌱Apply It Today
When you sink into past regret or future worry today, briefly place your mind on the floor under your feet or a sound you hear now. Now is all you can grasp.
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
