The way things are
is what there is.

The way things are
is what is meditating.

The way things are
sometimes likes to say "I."

But "I" is only
the way things are.

Neither holding nor rejecting "I,"
O friend,
who can know the way things are?

The way things are
is not a way.

The way things are
is not a thing.

The way things are
is what there is.