by Tang Huyen

In any and all moment, whether shit happens or not,
one is always smack face to face with eternity,
without any gap in between, if that's how one takes it.
That option is not something that can be taken away,
even in that place where shit happens.
It is an inalienable possession.

Everything still happens like before,
but for a moment, everything lights up
in glory, everything is beautiful, right,
just, perfect, and stays so for all eternity.
Shit still happens, but it and everything
else for a moment is perceived from a
different perspective, which forever puts
everything and all other perspectives into
perspective. It redeems everything from
a perspective of all eternity. Take it
easy, it says, take everything like a
feather floating in the air, aggravation
brings no reward, a light and light-hearted
perspective is its own reward. Such an
attitude, when carried over to the place
where shit happens, makes shit so much
more bearable. In fact, some shit can
positively turn into grace when gratefully
received in such an attitude.

And, for heaven's sake, it's only an
attitude, which comes for free, but how
much good it does! How much wonder it
performs unasked! It is not another plane
of existence, because it is right here
and now, but it redeems existence right
here and now, too. And it demands nothing
other than a light and light-hearted
perspective, which floats unattached
like a butterfly.

In brief, whether something is shit or not
still depends on one, on how one takes it,
and that possibility is freedom, which
comes free. In any and all moment, whether
shit happens or not, one is always smack
face to face with eternity, without any
gap in between, if that's how one takes it.
That option is not something that can
be taken away, even in that place where
shit happens. It is an inalienable
possession.

Colophon

Written by Tang Huyen and posted to
talk.religion.buddhism on 29 May 2006,
in reply to Jubjub the Humble's question:
"What's that place where shit happens?"
— posed against Tang Huyen's prior statement
that in grace the universe justifies itself
and all is beautiful and perfect for all
eternity. This post is his answer: grace
does not abolish adversity; it recontextualises
it. The attitude of grace — seeing each moment
from the perspective of eternity — is always
available, always free, and cannot be
taken away by any circumstance whatsoever.
Original Message-ID: <[email protected]>.

Tang Huyen was a regular contributor to
Buddhist Usenet groups through the 2000s,
distinguished by rigorous citation of Pali,
Sanskrit, and Chinese canonical sources
alongside Western scholarship. This post
stands as the companion piece to "Freedom
Comes Free" (27 May 2006): where that post
addresses the end of technique and the
beginning of grace, this one addresses
grace in the face of adversity. Together
they form the complete Tang Huyen teaching
on the inalienable nature of freedom.

Preserved from the Usenet archive for the
Good Work Library by the New Tianmu
Anglican Church, 2026.
Original Message-ID: <[email protected]>.

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