 Dushun admits that his claim of mutual pervasion “transcends conventional sensibilities.” However, he offers a metaphor for clarification, comparing li to water and shi to waves. This metaphor, originating with the Lankavatara Sutra, posits that each wave contains the entire ocean, and that each wave appears in every part of the ocean. These posits are not entirely implausible. Individual waves extend across the entire ocean, insofar as waves lack natural borders for extension; and waves extend beneath the surface of ocean waters, insofar as waves also lack natural borders for thickness. But, regardless of plausibility, the metaphor suggests that the mutual pervasion of li and shi amounts to the claim that none of the myriad things has natural borders even though they appear to have them (by virtue of presenting to us as discrete individuals that are separate from and independent of each other). 