“Suppose there’s a rock placed right here in front of us. It weighs about twelve kilograms, placed right here in front of us. Its weight is normal for it. It just stays right there. It’s normal for it. But if we go to lift it, it doesn’t feel normal at all. We find fault with it, “This rock is awfully heavy!” That’s how we find fault with it. Actually, it’s not awfully anything. When it sits there, it’s perfectly normal for itself. Even though it’s heavy, it doesn’t cause anyone to suffer—as long as no one tries to pick it up and carry it.
It’s the same with our preoccupations. When preoccupations come passing in, passing in, then as long as we don’t pick them up to carry them—as long as we let them go and put them down—there’s no heaviness. If you had no attachment to things, it would be like not carrying this rock around. Even though the rock would have its weight, you wouldn’t be weighed down— because you’re not carrying it. Your preoccupations, whether they’re good or bad: There’s not much to them. If you know them for what they are, you let them go. You don’t carry them around; you don’t latch onto them. They dissolve into the air, that’s all. They don’t come after you.”