The Original Self Is Pure

📝Reflection

The exclamation "who knew" (何期) repeats six times — the astonishment of one who, at the moment of awakening, discovers what was too close to see: that what he sought far away was within him all along. We strive our whole lives to become a better self, fixing and filling our lacking selves. But this verse tells another story: the original self is already pure. Upon it, only the world's verdicts, wounds, and fears have settled like dust. What must be wiped away is not the original self, but the gaze of others laid over it. The self at the deepest place is, whatever anyone says, flawlessly clear.