Miami Nights

To be pain free is a negative happiness. To be physically sound and also so exhilarated by the moist 66 degree night air that one leaves one’s bed at 3:16 a.m. to experience it, like the clouds that enter windows in Lushan, is to recover youth, to know a peace that is a positive state that goes off one and gives back to the night air some of its invigoration.

On a cold night sleep is very sweet. I woke in the middle of the night, my mind clear and untroubled, and as I was unable to go to sleep again, I put on my clothes and sat facing my flickering lamp. On the table were a few folders of books. I chose a volume at random and began to read, but tiring I put down the book and sat calmly doing nothing. A long rain had newly cleared, and a pale moon was shining through the window. All around was silence.
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My nature is such as to enjoy sitting in the night...Man's clamor is not at rest, and yet the mind is bent on learning. Seldom does he find the outside calm and the inner world at peace.
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Now tonight all sounds and shapes bring this stability and calm. Thus can one purify the mind and spirit...

How great is the strength to be gained sitting in the night. Thus, cleansing the mind, waiting alone through the long watches by the light of the candle becomes the basis of an inner peace and of an understanding of things. This, surely, I will attain.

The Night Vigil, Shen Zhou (1492)