Every question is the child of its answer. As every sight, sound and fragrance can be traced to a source, so every problem leads inevitably to its own source, its solution.
We are faced with countless questions and endless problems; our very existence presents as an unanswerable question, an insoluble problem. Yet all answers, all solutions, are already within us. If we cannot find them it is because we are not looking in the right place, or in the right way. Questions come from all around us: our outer world is the problem. Their answers are found within: our inner world is the solution.
Questions are indissolubly linked to their answers, as smoke and fire. Problems are intrinsically connected to their solutions by invisible, homing thread, as a migrating bird will return inevitably to its unseen birth-nest on the far side of the world. Each question is the echo of its answer, each problem the reflection of its solution.
We cannot see an object in dense fog, because of the fog. Peering at the object will not make it any clearer. Similarly, thinking, worrying about or dwelling on a problem cannot reveal its solution. The only way to see material objects through dense fog is to clear the fog: then the objects are self-evident. The only way to perceive truth through an obfuscating mind is to empty the mind – to meditate. Then the truth – which was always there – stands “clear as day” before us.
To “meditate on a problem” is a contradiction in terms. To ponder a problem only lends it more credibility and strength. Meditation only reveals solutions. Put aside your problem and meditate in silence. Then allow the solution to present itself in its own charming way, in its own sweet time.