Don’t Think of a Mulberry Tree When You’re Standing in Front of a Pine Tree

Trust the Path Your Heart Takes

A lush forest of pine trees is filled with the clean, cool fragrance of pine. Open your chest and drink in that fragrance to your heart’s content, and your head will become clear and your heart light and fresh.

If, at this moment, you are standing in front of a pine tree but you’re thinking about a mulberry tree instead, you wouldn’t be able to sense the fragrance that the pine tree was sharing with you. That’s because your head would have been filled with berries and wide, flat mulberry leaves.

Among people who wander here and there in search of the Truth, some would ask, “What’s the difference between the enlightenment you attain in yoga and the enlightenment you attain in Buddhism?” Or, “What’s the difference between Buddhist meditation and Body & Brain Yoga?” All of these are a way to communicate the Truth; they’re just names.

What matters is neither the subject nor the method, but you yourself.

What do you really want?

If you went to the pine tree, it’s because you needed clear air. When you’re standing in front of a pine tree, all you have to do is enjoy the fragrance of the pine tree as much as you can. It’s only a waste of time to stand in front of a pine tree and think about a mulberry tree.

Whatever your goal, your attitude and mindset matter more than what method you employ. There is no method that will work without your wholehearted attention, your focus and effort. If you give it your all and keep going until you make it, you’ll find your way no matter what method you use. Whether they were conscious of it or not, everyone who has achieved success has experienced this.