非情 === 無心 ? ? ? (no mind in Soseki)

もう半世紀以上も前に読んだいい加減な気憶なのだが、夏目漱石の小説、門の中で僧侶が主人公に「禅の悟りとは非情なり」と説く場面がある。「非情とは道ばたで腸を晒して倒れている事すら平気でいられる心のことだ」と続ける。（これが正確な言い回しであったか自信は無いが）－－－この僧の言う非情とは俗に言ぅ無心の事だろうが（どこかの宗派では非情と訳しているのか？ あるいは漢訳のどこかの教典に「情に非らず」といった表現が有ったのか？）

どうも我々とかく表面的な見かけ、字面の印象、その固定観念でだまされる。非常に多くの仏敎由来の単語が俗語化して日常的に使われているがしばしば元々の悥味からずれてしまっている。諦めるも観念するも明確に理解すると言う元々の意味を離れ、希望を捨て目前の不運を受容する事と意味が変ってしまった。で、情動の関与なくと言う深意で使った非情と言う単語が酷薄無情と誤解されると「禅とは、仏教とはなんと非人間的なものか」と曲解され参禅者は“どう瞑想したらこの理解に至るのか”と混乱する。

(禅は、黙々と続ける行、あるいは日常の作業の間に己れが全く自己の意識無しに自動的に、無私無心に動いている事実に覚醒し、己れを動かしているのが外ならぬダルマである事を学びます。己れが実にダルマとともに在るのを自覚する事こそが悟りです。）

しかし、はたして漱石はどんな禅を教ったのであろうか？？？　　

(仮にでかい寺で参禅し、その場の雰囲気に圧倒されたとしても別に無心になれたり悟りに近付ける訳ではない。もし無心などと言うものを予め聞きかじっていたとしても座りながら「無心、無心」と考え続けるのが関の山。＝つまり、座っていても禅にはならない。で、昔バナシを色々読んで耳歳増になっていく。ーーーまァ、漱石が禅に熱心であったとは聞かないが）（笑）

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平常心（対話から）

これは友人とのメールのやり取りの抜粋です（青字は友人）

ーーー で、かつての人生の思い出、その追憶の駒々はどんな栄光や贅沢よりも、私にとってのかけがいのない宝物なのだ。それが宝物かガラクタかは、ひとりひとりのホンネで決める、というより、決まってしまう事だ。

そんな個人ごとの宝物を死ぬまで保持することがいかに大切かを共感する人々は、決して少なくはない。

この心理をわかってくれるときが来れば嬉しい。そして、先輩が意図していること とは無関係に、このホンネの欲求に先輩のピンホール写真が寄り添ってくれるから、ありがたい。

あのピンホール写真にやすらぎを覚えるのは、私の場合、心が覚えていて、時空を超えて再現したい、あるいは、せめて心の中にだけでも再現し再体験したい愛しき何かへの入り口を感じさせてくれるからだ。

　　おたくはものすごい思ぃ入れと追憶の中で生きていて、おそらく禅も同様に思ぃ入れ、思念の形だと考えていると思う。しかし僕の禅には思い込みの部分は無く現にやっている事、そこでの無心が僕にとっての禅であり解脱なのだ。つまり、何か特別な思い方とか観念が禅なのではなく、何の思いも無いのが褝なのだ。

何の思念、知的作意なく発想された事は、実は潜在意識、情念の深層からの呼びかけに外ならない。で、それを黙々と追求していくうちに針金彫刻やA７Rに付いたベス単なんて物が出来上った。これが僕の禅であり自在だ。

同様に何故かボケた映像に引っかかる。待てよ、これどっかで見たぞ。いつだったかは解らない遠い昔、ひよっとしたら夢の中だったかも。－－－で、ツァィスレンズの向うにそれを発見して以来、僕のレンズ行脚が始った。ピンホールはその一駒だ。

　　　　　　　　＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

　　執着を捨てることを良しとする賢人は古来多かれど、「自分に正直に生きる」「嘘をつかずに生きる」ことではじめて安らぎを得る人も多い。しかし現実には本音をいつわり、偽の自分を生きて幸せを装う程、器用に振る舞えない人のひとりであることをさんざん自覚させられてきた。

　　正直も否も、欲や執着と言った感情どころか、そもそもアタシはあまり自己である意識が無いので思いつくまま 勝手に生きさせていただいております。これが禅で言う自在。

で、自在についてもう少し書くと＝これは孔子サマの言う「己れの欲する所に従えども距を超えず」と同様なもので、己れ、己れの生きざま、思考、撰択の全てが一致しているなら、つまり己れとして生れたそのもの、つまりカルマ、ダルマに沿ったものであるなら、それがー如であり、それが正しい。

　　正直であるの無いの云々と考えているお宅はまだ正直の外側をうろうろしているだけで正直になり切っていない。(本当に正直なら、それについて考える事はない）

『俺以外の誰でもない俺は、俺である事を考える必要はない』

だから禅は考えないし（無心）自己である意識の必要も無い（無私）。只生きるだけ。－－－で、これが自在でありその心を平常心と呼ぶ。

お宅がごちゃごちゃ悩んでいるとしたら、お宅は悩むように生れたのかも知れぬ＝それがお宅のカルマであるなら、そう生きるのが正しい。

（禅とは冷いもんです　😀）___/\___　

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Ideally ~~~~ or Typical

Think, about your own life, — how can it be “Ideally” re-organized.    Then think about how is your typical daily life ?  —– In either case you may need to think quite deep.

—– So, how about, can you imagine “Typical Buddhist” or “typical Muslim man” ? You may say that you don’t know about them deep enough, or you might draw an image of a caricature = funny exaggeration based on the popular stereotype.   As those Notion of Ideal, or Typical kind were artificially created abstract notions for the convenience of communication or try to show how I am intelligent, they never represent a reality.    Real truth is always stays few steps behind of “Ideal” or “Typical” —– and we all know it.

So, the obvious FACT is, what so ever the imagination you have made-up here just now, in the actual daily life, you ARE just carry on your same old daily Life = You must be realized here, extreme or exaggerated idea came up when you INTENTIONALLY THINK = otherwise you are not having such image or notion = In a real daily life, you ARE living without any artificial conscious of “I AM carrying out my living operation”.  —– As a matter of FACT, while reading this blog, you are even NOT aware of YOU are reading this.   While away from intentional thinking, we ARE naturally following the way of the commonsense or what the Buddhists call Dharma.  Of which we unconsciously follow.

This IS what all about of SELFLESSNESS, and the real situation of the Middle way. (Both extreme were created by the intentional thinking = live without such thinking  (Selfless Mushin)  we can follow the Dharma and it IS the very Middle Way.

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Throw a stone

The words here “Throw a stone” is a metaphor or a symbol indicating that there is a meaning behind of such action — in Zen term, a Direct Transmission.  Why Direct Transmission ? — Because the words couldn’t convey the meaning behind or such meaning would be lost if it was expressed in the words. 

After many years, I suddenly realized that Lord Buddha never spoken about the Concept or the Idea conceived in the mind other than in the metaphoric stories.  His teachings were doing or show what or how to do.  And never explained what its action for or meanings of it.  So that, the Disciples were guessing or making their own interpretation if not their own understanding. —– The most of the scriptures were such kind of interpretations or guess-works and very little real teachings of Buddha was recorded because of very few could manage to catch the meaning behind, let alone describe them in the scripture.  (So that, the Buddhism has been surrounded by the mountain of buzz-words created by a superficial capturing such as Selfless, No-thinking, Mushin, Dedication, Self-sacrifice, Detauchment, No-greed, No-emotion, No-fear, Mindfulness, Middle way, — etc etc.)

In deed, Lord Buddha didn’t teach  the meaning or the intention behind of his teachings.  BECAUSE to explain such meaning WILL destroy the teaching itself. (It was recorded in the scripture typically as “Unanswered Questions” =  the abstract, imaginary notions such as an idea of  SELF or theoretical existence like an Infinity, were completely ignored by him.)

—– Do something, JUST do something without do other than DO, = such as to take a bicycle and ride, and go shopping.  When you do such riding, you ARE not thinking how to ride, how to push the feet or take a balance = because, you do it without any conscious “Let alone any conscious of I’m DOING the bicycle ride” = In fact, you ARE doing it without your SELF.  AS this IS the evidence of that the SELF IS not exists, and the idea of the SELF was a creation of your conscious or IMAGINATION.  Since the SELF is not exists, the notion or its word is not exists either (in other words, they were INTENTIONALY created to deal with those notion.) = Therefore, it IS not possible to explain the idea of “There is no SELF” = you can’t explain this without using the notion or the word SELF other than you yourself realize that you ARE riding the bicycle without the conscious of SELF.  Lord Buddha taught his followers to learn it through the action (or a kind of repeating practice — mind you there wasn’t a bicycle then.  😀 ) —– still, how his teachings was successful or succeeded was quite questionable = AND as he was aware of it, he had to leave the very last words “Don’t take the other’s words, learn it by YOURSELF” —– The history of the Buddhism showed nothing but the silly misunderstanding or more precisely the lack of understanding among the followers since then.   (I’ll show it with the most typical sample of “Middle way” in the next post.)

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What is VOID and Middle way

What all about Buddhism, the matter is “How our Mind works” no more no less. 

To Lord Buddha himself, its source was our mind itself.  Lord Buddha observed the activity and its tendency of his own mind, and the mind of the others as well.  But, priory to the matter of Mind, Lord Buddha discovered the mechanism of the Dharma, and its entwined activity of the Karma.  In the first glance, the Mind looked work in the same principle of the Karma though, there are some peculiar tendency in the activity of the Mind.  Generally, the Dharma works according to the mechanism of the Karma, though, the Mind does not necessary follow the Karma. 

When we see, the Mind may see but may not see.  Seeing and recognise it, is not the same activity.  Even if we didn’t see, we may still recognise it.  Its mean, the existences of the Dharma may be the same.  It may be there but may not be there.  The constant change in the moment to moment makes the situation even worse.  We can define, it’s there or it’s not there though, the truth seems not the matter of what we define still, we know the state of it by our intuition or subconsciousness = It’s there as it is.  But, we can not see this cognition, because it is in our dark subconscious = it’s there but not there.  Therefore, the form is no different from the Void.  Void is no different from the form.  See the world in this eyes, is the Middle way.  And because the world is exists in this way, It IS the VOID.   

The meaning of the night walk described in the post “Test of selflessness” was —– The followers followed Lord Buddha without ask why or what for = without having any lexical cognition.  Completely Selfless and Open minded = not imposing their own definition or seek an answer but accept the situation (walk on the rainy night) as it is = without going into the mind-game / Why,  but just take a walk —– This selfless mind is in the Middle way and accept the Dharma in such a way is to see its Void.  To gain the eyes of middle way, the followers became free from the wrong idea and start to see and live as the own (as it is).   To be as the own mean to be with Dharma. 

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What Buddha taught ?

When we try to find what was the original teachings of

Lord Buddha  among the millions line of scripture, we have

to pay the most heavy attention to the personality of

Lord Buddha as an individual human being in his totality, while

chiselling out all the mixed-ups and the glorifying decorations.

(If the scripture had Hindu name, it is not Buddhism, or the 

story has supernatural magnificence it was just a fantasy.)

—– there could be a gradual change of his view and the opinion

still, there couldn’t be an utter contradiction from the same person.

Since he got his Enlightenment (with his own understanding of the

world) after he seceded from ascetic monks/Guru’s group (with a

disappointment and a lost hope to find a viable answer from them

and such ascetic approach) therefore his idea couldn’t be anything

like a transcendental oracle like fanatic words  (so-called

mumbo-jumbo) but  frank and down to the earth straight idea.

[]

Typically like Four Noble Truth, those very brunt and blatant words

were the words of cool realist.

If the person was a kind of salesman, he would have chosen much

sweeter words and even a misleading bait in it (such as a promise

of Heaven). But

Lord Buddha was not a spin-doctor but rather like a rational scientist,

he talked the facts and phenomena, not his speculation or fantasy —

its mean his teachings were not an idealistic Dogma but the wisdoms

based on the facts and the scientific observations.

= in this approach, he found the mechanism of Karma and able to see

the effect of the time in moment to moment flaw.    So that, to find 

the NO Perpetual Soul (Anatman) was a straight conclusion.

(That’s why in his Sangha, there was no Cast = curse from the past)

Those observations and the understandings needs no special filter to 

see = they are the common facts, and from those observations anybody

who acquired the right eyes can see and find the truth behind 

( 8 right ways meant this) and see the Enlightenment.   That was why,

Lord Buddha gave the last instruction on his death bed

“Don’t believe what was said but see/learn it yourself” = this word

clearly indicates that the teachings were not a Dogma to memorise

but the Direct Transmission =

wisdom which could be learned from the observation of Facts.

[]

And Lord Buddha’s observation went into deep inside of the

human psych = subconsciousness too.

He realised that we are able to see and know the subject

without us thinking it.  (So-called intuition) 

And he thought this is the Manifestation of the Dharma in us.

(We can walk without thinking how to walk — so,

WHO made us to walk ? = It must be the Dharma !

But being in our subconscious, even we know it’s there though

we can not see = It is there and/but It is not there.  (There must

be a big debate about “Self / Soul, the subject / who is thinking, =

the person who is thinking IS WHOM ?       Though, as

Lord Buddha took the stance that there is no Self / Atman = talking

this subject IS effectively a recognition of the existence of the Self =

So, how it was debated was very interesting but we may not know.

—– still from the Scripture we can see the description “Giving

without aware of giving IS the true giving” = we can guess what

was taught there then.  And from here, (if Self exists or not) the

debate extended —> Does Dharma exists or itself is Void ? ? ?

And in this context, an episode in the Agama sutra was the

story which gave us the most crucial insight.

= That was the true record of

Lord Buddha’s teachings.

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Core of the Buddhism

Did Buddhism asked the followers to remember any special notion,

something like a rule of the “Preservation of Energy” in physics or

a special formula, or to do very peculiar practice ?   (Don’t mix-up

with a funny ritualistic practice of Tantra sect.

Or their magic Mantra (Dharani) which was claimed to have a

supernatural power. — They are noting to do with the teachings of

Lord Buddha.)

.

—– Such as Four Noble Truth = they are only a bit deeper

understanding of the phenomena in our life general.

= After all, what the Buddhism telling us were the Awareness

toward our own existence.    Which is not far from our

common sense = Because all of us ARE existing more or less on

the same bases = Nobody was born to live for ever, nor born

with the wings to fly etc etc = nobody is superman, or

divine figure in flesh —– as no supernatural facts exists (other

than silly delusion or rumour) there couldn’t be any possibility

of the fantastic fabrication mixed into the Buddhism teachings.

(In deed, there are mountain of fancy stories = but they ARE

the fancy stories = nothing to do with the teachings.

— It’s a fun to see a fancy imagination of the people.)    😀

[]

Lord Buddha denied any idealistic notions as they are only

the delusions.  (Therefore he completely ignored to answer

(completely stop to talk the person is the same to kill him)

the questions about “after the life” or about the “universe”

which is neither exists nor possible to know.

—– Considering the both subjects are the easiest topics to tell a

fabrication or a fancy story (because, to counter prove its fancy

story is even harder — Try to prove there are Heaven and Hell.

Then try disprove them.   You will see it’s a waste of time = so that,

Lord Buddha completely ignored it. )

Probably the most important key to decipher Buddhism teachings

are in the story of Kisa Gotami (Running around the village) =

as a typical Upaya teaching, there was no verbal teaching but the

learning by the practice = Direct transmission to the subconscious.

= No lexical Notion/Idea or Thinking process.

And this phenomenon was also significant in this story.

—– Why it’s significant = because its phenomenon of

“Exists but Exists Not” character of the Subconsciousness

and this phenomenon is the core of the Voidness.

Dharma IS here or HERE all together IS the Dharma though,

since its detail is constantly changing moment to moment because

the Karma is active, it couldn’t be defined in one shape, still it IS

the Dharma.  = This “Exists yet Exists not” character is parallel to

our subconsciousness.  = And this IS what we ARE = and to

become aware this fact IS the Enlightenment.

(So, effectively it IS no difference to know who I AM = just

I am as I am. = That’s why, it is a Dog shit.)   😀

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Enigmatic ?

People says that the Buddhism is the enigma.

Well, if the person says it’s an enigma, the person knows it half.

Half ? —– Yes the person already learned half of it !

It’s remarkable, despite the Buddhism is in the enigma.

Why it’s in enigma ? = Because the Buddhism is not teaching

the crucial matter in the words.

Why ?

Because, to learn it without the words is crucial, therefore

it wouldn’t be taught or explained by the words.

So, to know the situation and able to describe its Enigma is a

sure sign of that the person did come half way. = It’s great. 

Well done.

(The point of this was described in this post.) = and as the story

tells, it’s point / secret was not clearly understood even by the

Lord Buddha’s closest disciple Ananda.

—– Because the teachings of Selfless or learning of selfless has

to be done in Selfless  = It’s mean without the person aware of it

= couldn’t be told / couldn’t be heard. = Once you consciously

heard the word / explanation, your conscious / Self become

aware of it = it IS a breakdown of the Selfless.

Lord Buddha taught Selfless in this way (could anyway else ?) =

so, the Buddhism was seen to be an Enigma.

[]

Hence, you have to learn Buddhism / Zen in a Selfless way = it’s

mean you just do the practice until you get the Selfless state =

Mushin (Mind of no-mind). 

And when you become able to live in the selfless way, you are

NOT conscious of your state, therefore you can NOT able to

observe yourself = you can NOT describe it in the words.

= So, you don’t know what it IS, nor others know either !

Everything stays in the depth of Subconscious.

Therefore, the Buddhism stays in Enigma.

—– IS it clear ?  (= it’s a paradox isn’t it !)  😀

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Test of Selflessness (The most important Post)

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Lord Buddha’s Stance

When Lord Buddha got his Enlightenment under a pepal (bodhi) tree, he received

a milk porridge from a village girl Sujata and eat it.  Since he has broken rank from

heard austere, denying their way, such as torturing the body wouldn’t bring any

supreme understanding of the Truth, so better remain to be ordinary,

this was his fundamental stance.  — So that, in his earliest basic teachings such

as the Four Noble Truth, the Life was defined as in a suffering.   Although the way

to make oneself free from such sufferings was taught, it was not telling like a

transcended vision, but showing a way of the living (of daily life = never staged-up

like walk on the water, or move a mountain but how to handle the things we are

dealing with every day’s life while living together with followers).

= This stance was the very foundation of the Mahayana Buddhism.  

(The reason why in the early days of the Buddhism appear to have so-called

Hinayana style was, probably the influence of one of the disciple Maha Kashapa

who was originally a hard austere monk.  (Buddhism took 5 hundreds years to

realize this mistake).

Another reason why such mistake was made was, that the core of the teachings

was to train one’s subconscious, not a word to memorize. = Buddhism is NOT the

theory/theology or IDEA, but the way how we see the things, react to the situation

or handle the things “without thinking”. ( = Just Doing)

The way to DO or to LIVE in this way can be learned only by the practice therefore

no point to explain it in the word. = Very difficult to teach, let alone to learn.

(To explain or to question nullify the point = like, to explain to be silent.)

[]

The back ground of those teachings was that our brain process the matter

unconsciously — consciousness comes far later after the intervention of the loads 

of “considerations” such as own gain, desire, manipulative trick, etc etc.

What Lord Buddha found was That all of our sufferings were emanated from those

“consideration” or Thinking, therefore to eliminate those thinking and live on the

Moment (you can only see “The Moment” = before or after/future exists only in

your mind/thinking.) you can eliminate Sufferings, also the products of

thinking/imagination = fear, delusion, evil idea etc etc.

Do or Live without thinking IS nothing other than the MUSHIN.

This mindset was described by the Mahayana Script writers as the VOID.

—– So that, the teachings of

Lord Buddha was nothing to do with a fancy stories of Deity or Devil, Angel

let alone fancy “Spiritual” vision, but the practice.  And the everyday’s our life

is the reality of our life = rather messy ugly phenomena.    This was why

Lord Buddha liked to mix with people, eat the same food (he died for

food poisoning of rotten fish = he ate anything = not a vegetarian).

And to live in MUSHIN in what life ? = Just in our life = as it is, nothing special

= just ordinary life — What a dog shit.   But this IS what the Enlightenment.

Lord Buddha didn’t tell anything peculiar or supernatural stories because,

that was not where he stood.   (He was not a magician nor spin doctor but an

Enlightened man = Buddha.  Enlightened wise man tells useful real stories, not

the useless crazy fantasies.)  🙂

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Meaning on the Hand

Well, this is the Post diverted and became its own from the previous post.

Hand is a body parts which got second highest concentration of

the nerve after the eyes.  And especially we human got our hands

best developed among any animals, we have best and the most

delicate control of them.    So that, not only its dexterity or the

physical function, its acquired the mean of expression as well. 

We can read the meaning of what the hand is telling or symbolizes,

and the eyes tend to follow what the hand is expressing.  

(I mean not only F**K or Peace kind of sign but also more delicate

mood of its operator as well.)  🙂  

[]

Among the Buddhism, Tantra sect having not only their Dharani

(magic words) but also quite complicated form of the hand sign

(or finger twists which the followers do the same — and they are

showing off it each others “Look I can do better than you”).

It’s hard to guess where it was originated, = each

Buddhism Figures are showing their unique hand sign.

You may search their meanings or each name in the Wiki  though,

I don’t think it would bring any worthwhile understanding of the

Buddha’s teachings.   They are just the cosmetic style.

[]

= After all, the core of the teachings was, to reprogram the brain to

jump the process in the Emotional Region in Limbic System, where

the notion of Self-interests = Ego / Greed / Desire  were induced.

It is the same situation to learn ride a Bicycle = reprogram the Motor

Region of brain to learn the body-balance on the bicycle = intellectual

understanding of “How to ride” wouldn’t work, but physical practice.

Lord Buddha’s last words in his death bed to the disciples was

“Don’t believe what others say or you head, but learn it yourself”

—– This episode signify

(1) His teaching could not be understood intellectually but only 

a practical learning of the body and the mind could materialize.

Such as,  you been reading this blog without noticing WHO is

reading this — ?   = We are living without noticing the SELF.

Unless we assert “Me Me Me” Self is not there.

— With a practice, you will get a technique to apply this mental

mechanism to do the subject which was awkwardly entwined with

your Ego, without Emotion and without the so-called Self.

(2) The reason why

Lord Buddha had to say it in such a precious, last remaining

moment was that his disciples has yet necessarily mastered it.

—– And this fact explain why the Buddhism and its teachings of

“No-Self /Anatman” (No soul to Reincarnates) was misconceived

and mixed up with the Hinduism (which says Reincarnation) since

such early days.

[]

When we saw a hand and feel what sort of meaning it’s saying,

— we can feel but it can not be interpreted into the words.  

Our hand express unconsciously = and we read it unconsciously.

= they are out of the lexical comprehension.   —– The most of

Lord Buddha’s statue having the hand sign called “Semui” (in

Japanese) which said to mean “Don’t be afraid” — Can you see it ?

I can only see “Oh, what a big hand !” —– 😀 

—– You have to see it by your eyes.  Not from the stories.

Otherwise, Why You need to bother be a Buddhist.

To contact with all the fresh stimuli with your naked sense will

keep your brain young.   🙂

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