Spaciousness does not come by arriving at a state of mind where thoughts and emotions simply do not arise and disturb us. On the contrary, difficulties are part of life, and emotions connected to them will always arise. Rather it comes when we can hold such mental events in awareness in such a way that we do not give them, or the stories and dramas that make up our personality, the importance that they clamour for:

Yes, there is the purity of these autumn waters extending out to the horizon

But how does that compare with the haziness of the moon on a Spring night?

Most people want to have pure clarity

But sweep as you will, you cannot empty the mind

Keizan Jokin, the “Great Patriarch” 1268 – 1325, second founder of the Soto Zen School