Abandoning Entanglements

"Abandoning things is superior, pursuing things is inferior."
So says Yen-t'ou.

I'm not so sure as I have abandoned quite a few things in my time and that empty tranquil state still eludes me. One of the first times I can remember having a 'zen' moment came while I was looking at a tree while I was waiting for a bus. It occurred to me that this particular tree had stood there long enough to have seen thousands of people rushing by, entangled in their own webs, consumed by thoughts that this tree would never be aware of and yet none of this made the slightest bit of difference to the tree whose sole delight was to be alive and breathing.
It ended shortly after I got on the bus and the guy sitting three seats over leaned into the aisle and puked on the floor. I got off immediately and waited for the next bus.
Yeah, I'm entangled, what are you going to do?

Do you remember sitting in the willow tree with me behind the house I grew up in? I had a friend who explained perspective to me by asking me to imagine the house I lived in and then he said, "Now back up so you can see the whole town." And then I backed up again so I could see the whole country and then the planet and then the solar system. It made me seem very small, sitting in my willow tree, and by association it made all of my tiny troubles seem insignificant.

"It is not that you sweep away ordinary feelings and bring into existence some holy understanding. When ordinariness and holiness exist no more, what is it?"-Daikaku