Day 53 of 365: Antidotes

Khenpo spends a chapter of his text discussing the nature Tathagata.  In the context of this discussion, he mentions that it could be appropriate to talk about the Tathagata as existent, nonexistent, or both depending on the context.  In truth, the nature of the Tathagata is beyond the four extremes.  However, we, as beings caught in ignorance most of the time, tend to gravitate towards one of the four extremes.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that many of us are kind of stuck in one of the four extremes--entangled perhaps.  To counteract our entanglement, it could be beneficial to contemplate the opposite extreme.  Most of the time we take reality to be 100% independent, lasting, and singular.  To counteract that, we could contemplate nonexistence.  While this is not the true nature, it helps free us from our entanglement, our addiction, to existence.  One could say the same thing for extreme nihilism, though that is usually less of a concern.  In those moments, perhaps it is beneficial to consider the fact that you can't really zero out the world.  Usually that view self-corrects when you bump into a parking meter, stub your toe, hear a loud noise, or get "jolted" by the world.  Wouldn't it be interesting to try to view the world from the perspective of each of the four extremes just to see what it is like and what might happen?