Truly Seeing

Once, a student asked their Zen master, "How can we truly see with our eyes?"

The master held up a small piece of paper and said, "What do you see?"

The student replied, "I see a piece of paper."

The master then crumpled the paper into a ball and held it up again, asking, "And now, what do you see?"

The student responded, "I see a ball of paper."

The master then unfolded the paper and smoothed it out, asking again, "Now what do you see?"

The student replied, "I see a piece of paper again."

The master smiled and said, "In the same way, truly seeing with our eyes means seeing things as they are, without our own biases or preconceptions distorting our perception. Just as the paper remains the same regardless of its shape, the true nature of things remains unchanged regardless of how we may perceive them. To see with clarity is to see without judgment or attachment."