What is MUSHIN ?
May be I’ve talked about this ten of the times if not hundred.
—– Still, I was asked the same question.
So, this is the most up-to-dated straight answer.
[]
It is a well known medical symptom among the Alzheimer patients
who lost the nerval connection to the Emotional region in the Brain
lost the recognition related to the SELF such as to recognize own
possessions even to distinguish the face of the own family.
So, Emotion judge the interest of OWN — in other words, this is the
center of EGO, Greed, Well being, Safety, Security, all those Instincts.
Of course, they are the key to the survival though, the total amount
of the signal/Data the brain has to deal is burst, so that there is a
rationalized economical saving was designed = coming data was
selected according to its importance.
The harmless insignificant data or repeating same data, are ignored.
We wouldn’t pay any attention to the same boring TV CM etc. and when
we do the repeating same work, we do automatic without Emotion. = In
deed, in such a case, the Motor Region of the brain would be programed
to do such routine work automatic, involving no Emotion at all.
[]
So, if we block the data/signal reaching Emotional region, we can do
the job automatic, without the Emotion. (= With highest efficiency !)
Without Emotion mean without the feeling of “Mine” = SELF —
because of no feeling of Ego, Self interest (mean, no envy, jealousy to
others), Own Greed, even No Cling to own Life, be free from the SELF.
This state of Mind mean, no need to cling the past, nor need to imagine
a dream= in other words, just see the world on front of the eyes as it is
Now, without having any Thinking.—– This eyes IS clear eyes.
And this state of Mind IS the “Mind of No-Mind” = Mushin.
[]
In order to acquire “block the Emotional process” Buddhists use
the long repeating practice for the brain to learn “How to
Opt-out the signal process” and DO the job (or Life) automatic.
(Like, you can branding “The matter” same as to the boring TV CM
and make it no longer recognized to be exists —
we know it’s still there though, it became a remote landscape.)
In certain extent, Zen Buddhism is very cool, even cold.
But, use this to live the life very hot is the other stage of Zen.
___/\___
PS : The Related Readings :
Clear the Deck for 2013 Reverse Engineering of Zen
Emotion / Meditation —– they are good to read. = It’s amazing
how Google Algorithm worked out to see the contents !
[]
Crèche in the Zen Buddhism
There are quite few Crèche in the Zen Buddhism.
Such as Mindfulness, Middle way, to live in Now,Selfless etc etc
and indeed, I did talked about those topics in the early posts.
Yet still, funnily enough, in the Agama Sutra, there was no word of
Lord Buddha for about those topics. And I realized that, the talking
of those Crèche started to appear in the Mahayana scriptures,
typically like Middle way.
—– as a matter of fact, I too wrote in somewhere, the Middle way is
not in the both extreme, somewhere in the Middle.
Though, think about the extreme — in the Nature/Dharma, if it was
too little, we may not noticed it was existing. And if it was too much,
there is no such things in nature. It was only a product of imagination.
In other words, if we follow the Nature/Dharma, we are
naturally live in the Middle way. Likewise, to live in Now, if we don’t
cling Past, neither indulge imagined Future, we only deal with Now.
In the same way, Mindfulness is not a special notion, it was the state
of Mind, when there was no other imagined matter / things, but seeing
the subject on front = what else can you think of ?
— in short, there wouldn’t be any of those issues exists in the Mushin.
= Mushin mean, live Selflessly. So, it became to clear / too clear that
the script writer of the Mahayana has written those Crèche from an
overheard rumor “That the Enlightened said to live in Middle way,
live in Now and facing the life in Mindfulness”etc etc = and started
mimicking the antic = pretending of “Middle way” “Mindfulness”
“Live in Now”etc. and talked a lot blah blah — While not knowing
what the “Middle way” was = because he hasn’t even experienced the
Mushin, there was no way to know what the real “Middle way” was.
The people who doesn’t know, talk a lot, to pretend !
Still, the matter IS very simple. = once you vacated (emptied) your
Mind, what you can see is only the matter on front (= no memory
of the past, neither imagined future) = when the matter only on
front exists, what else to think about = this is Mindfulness.
And when you follow what you instantly conceived (on that Moment
= so-called intuitive perception) is the way of the Dharma.(what else ?)
(Because the Dharma is rational and harmonious as a whole system,
inherently, there is no extreme = this IS the very Middle way)
—– You see, it’s so simple in real (practical) life.
But, “talk about” the misconceived concept is much more complicated.
Because, such concept (=Crèche) is in the intellectual thinking, BUT
Zen Buddhism is a matter in the state of Mind (the way to handle the
data in the Brain) so, try to find the meaning by way of thinking is like
“To THINK HOW to ride a bicycle” instead to make own body to
“LEARN it”. 😀
___/\___
[]
禅における Detachment = 無着無住の意味
表題としたこの言葉は，実は検策の為に書込まれ，ここにやって来た
もののーつです。簡単に言えば参禅者からの質問という事でしょう。
－－－で，この機会を使ってこれに対する僕流の所見を書いてみます。
禅を云々する上で最も決定的な大前提となるのは「禅は到達する
境地ではなく，悟りに至るプロセス，単なる作業修業のーつである」
という事です。禅は月ではなくそれを指す指，あるいは指している動作
に過ぎません。＝ ではその動作がいかにして悟りにつながるのか？
これは仏教史の中で完璧に見過ごされて来た事ですが，仏教の修業，
勤行の延々と続く繰り返しの中に鍵があったのです。
仮にぐるぐると歩くにしろ，太鼓をたたき続けるにしろ，延々と
続く作業の神経情報処理は人間の脳内でルーチンとして自動的に
処理されるようになり，一方延々と繰返される刺激に対しては
情動的閾値が髙くなり無感動で処理されるようになります。
これは毎日座り続ける座禅においても同様で，遅かれ早かれ人間の頭
には全作業を自動的，かつ無感情で処理する習慣が身についていきます。
実はこれが禅で言う無我無心に外ならず，このメンタリティを持って
物事に対処する事が無着無住と言う事です。
－－－で，これが悟りとどう関わるのか？
＝執着を離れ，情動に翻弄される事も無くなったら，後いったい何の
気懸り苦労が残るのか？ 気懸りなしに生きられるなら，そうして
気懸りなしに死んで往けるならこれ以上の自由（解脱）は無い訳です。
つまりこれが涅槃です。
－－－－－（あっけに取られたとか？）
___/\___
——————————————
追記：
反覆動作のルーチン化とか毎日通り過ぎる道端の看板を見飽きて
それが全く気に止まらなくなる（存在しているにもかかわらず，
存在しないのと同様になってしまう）現象は，本人が自分で経験
して把み取る以外には学びようがないものです。
つまり無我無心，無着無住と簡単に言う事はできても，
こればかりは人から教えられ言葉の意味を理解しても本人が
経験して身につけない限りは何の足しにもなりません。
何故ならそれは知的理解ではなく脳内での情報処理の短絡化＝
情動域（＝偏桃体＝入力された情報に自己帰属の夕グを付ける＝
所有物や家族を見分けられる）の関与の排除，そこでの処理の
ジャンプ（自己意識抜きに物事を処理する）なのでこの回路が
作られない限り無心としての処理は機能しない。
理屈や知識では自転車に乗れるようにならないのと同じです。
現実には直弟子ですら必ずしもそれを体得できていなかった為に
釈尊はいまわの際になってすら｢人の言葉を信じるな。自分で
体得せよ」と繰返さねばならなかったのです。
逆に見れば，仏教史に登場する異説異論は実は無我無心を体得
できなかった者が，その言い訳，目くらましの為にいい加減な
作り話しをやっていたのではとの疑いが涌いてきます。
この点から見ると龍樹（ナガールジュナ）あたりが最もクサい。
本当に無心無住の境に達していた人間がはたして龍宮のハナシまで
デッチ上げて，あそこまで派手なセールスキャンペーンをやるか？？？
『大乗印のエスパーベルト，これであなたも即，菩薩に変身〜！』
えっ！？冗談でしょ？
（実践に依る人間改造ではなく，思い込みを利用した盲信への変質です）
————————————
Hoben (方便) / Upaya — (2)
Most of the books I refer to, are I brought from Japan and unless I need to find
the English word, I do not look into Wiki kind. —– So, I tell you the truth,
until few days ago, I didn’t know that there a Sanskrit word for Hoben (方便), Upaya
existed. In Japan Hoben is a widely used word spread out of the Buddhism,
which has an extended meaning of “convenient mean” or “easy alternative” kind,
and the original Buddhist context was masked by those common usage.
Lord Buddha’s witty teachings, which was timely and suit to the occasion, or to
the person speaking to, is a well known stories, hence those witty talk style has
been adapted by the Zen talk, or even by the children’s comic book “Ikkyu-san”.
As its casual use became so common, we almost forgotten it had a Buddhism origin.
—– So that, to find this word, “Upaya” really surprised me, not because of its
meaning but the attitude, the ancient monk did created a dedicated nickname for
Lord Buddha’s talking style, yet still, they couldn’t find the meaning of
Lord Buddha’s silence.
[]
Do you talk about the prostitute or prostitution in public ? I don’t think you do.
It’s a dirty talk and officially, it’s not exist in your life. And if it’s not in the society,
neither a word prostitution exists. It’s mean, even if anybody asked about it, you
can not understand what it mean nor able to answer.
To Lord Buddha, talking about Atman or Self never happened, because no such things
of the Self exists and to talk about a thing which is not exists was nothing but a
delusion and it is a dirty talk. Because of it is not exists and as he doesn’t have, it was
no use to make a question about the Self or its reincarnation to him, because
he wouldn’t answer anyway, since even no word, no notion was there.
= This was the reason why, to those questions, there was no answer from
Lord Buddha at all.
[]
And when the teaching was related to the Self, there was no explanatory words
but to show the practice which would lead to the “Selfless State of the mind” —–
or just to give a smile, otherwise (if you can’t get it), the excommunication.
(This was the reason why no explanation of “No Self” was in the scripture.
—– either it was omitted because of the conflict with the Hinduism or it couldn’t
be written down because, no such things like a Self exists.)
(In Buddhism, especially in Zen, there is nothing between Yes and No.
Yes mean 200% commitment but if it was No, even a word No itself is no longer exist.
= it is not a denial or even an argument but a total erasure = the subject, the matter
is completely disappeared. = hence no psychological conflict.
When no-self, there is even no subject, who is thinking the matter.)
___/\___
[]
HOBEN (方便) / Upaya — in Buddhism
In one before previous post, “Why live”, the author of the book Dr. Ogoshi was
saying that the Hoben (方便) (upaya = Sanskrit) = the mean or way (to lead others to
the Enlightenment) as the vital part of the human relation therefore that makes
the Reason to live.
[]
Among the religions, the only one asking the followers “to understand (the matter)”
is the Buddhism. All others need just believe what was said or written.
With this reason, only the Buddhism having a notion of Direct transmission or
Hoben/upaya and the Pathway. All those are just the mean and the process. —–
Why those mean or process was talked about, but not the goal itself was = that
because, the goal couldn’t be explained, even if anybody knows. Because, it is Void.
Indeed, it’s a funny religion and the strange deal = on the end, you may get the Void
at its best. If it was short of best, you get nothing. Get nothing, yet even if you did
the best, get Void ! —– How Fantastic ! ! !
( at least the another religion is promising the heaven or paradise kind of good deal!
— whether it was fraud or not in the eyes of Advertising Standard Authority.)
[]
In the famous Kisa Gotami story, what she was instructed was to obtain the
mustard seeds from the house never had bereavement. — After knocking all
the doors in the village, and running all the day, she was convinced that the
bereavement is the truth of human existence. —– The advice of
Lord Buddha, “To save the dead child, it need to get the mustard seeds” was not
necessary true though, the action she took, definitely brought her the enlightenment
and helped her to overcome a sorrow of the lost child. —– And to give such a good
advice and lead the person to get enlightened IS the Mahayana Buddhist duty.
(It must be much harder to enlighten the other. Who got the brain of
Lord Buddha, in this world today ? ! )
___/\___
[]
PS: In the mainstream Buddhism, Kisa Gotami’s story
was understood only as a sample of Hoben shown by
Lord Buddha. But, what I’ve been talking about is, its contributory effect of
“Repeating Actions” (running and knocking all the doors next by next) to her
brain function. = (Repeating input to the brain lead the apathetic response =
input would be handled emotionally detached = this is all about
the Buddhist’s practice and the VOID in the mind.)
[]
Become Immune or Irritated ?
When you read a post, like Key Mechanism in Zen Buddhists Mind you might have
mistaken that while doing repeated practice and keep receiving repeated same signal,
our brain automatically start ignoring it. —– Really ? Think it yourself.
In the real situation, such as when you hear the same CM repeating the same name
on the radio or TV, in most of the case you just feel annoyance and irritation =
our brain, our perception couldn’t stand of it. —– So, which is the true.
— the brain become immune or become irritated and mad ?
[]
My explanation there was
“When a task was given by an order or from a situation in the life, first, it’s needed to
have a “Contemplation” some time interpreted as an acceptance, giving-up (to resist) or
determination to take the task (which ever it was passive or more positive, active way).
—–> And as it was accepted = no way else to go = have to face
the task head-on (this is called “Mindfulness”).
= “needed to have an acceptance” (whether, I’ll do / I have to do / I need to do).
This acceptance or determination, mind-set has to come first, preceding to the act.
And this determination = the conviction “I’ll DO” makes the same task, such as
sweeping the garden, from just a task to the practice to reach the Enlightenment.
Lord Buddha did know this from the beginning therefore in his earliest teachings of
“Four Noble Truth” he said
1) The Life is in sufferings.
2) There was the cause of those sufferings. (because of Karma, hence impermanence)
3) So, it is necessary to (actively) seek the way to escape from the sufferings.
4) And the Buddhism is the way to overcome those sufferings.
Lord Buddha didn’t go any deluded idea, how this world was created by whom kind
of mumbo-jumbo but straight into the reality of the life = It IS the sufferings, and
telling the people to accept it first.
First to accept, then seek the remedy. And the way to seek the remedy is the way of
the repeated practice. So that, the repeated same signal in the brain doesn’t cause
the repulsion but just accepted, then got used => ignored => so, the person become
immune to such signal while carrying out the daily life = => become immune to
the sufferings in the life general => able to live in peace without feel sufferings = is the
Enlightenment. (What a clever magic or the clever design of the brain mechanism !)
= this is the mechanism (the Dharma) everybody was born to have
= therefore, anybody can get the Enlightenment !
= This is THE beauty of Buddhism.
___/\___
[]
Think yourself — Why ?
“Don’t believe what others said. Think yourself” was the most famous last teachings of
Lord Buddha in his death bed. Buddhism is not a religion to recites the words in the
book (repeat the same words million times makes a man to believe it ) or arguing how
to interpret the meaning with rhetoric, but just practice and get understanding.
Therefore, in this context, the use of the word “Think” may not to be the correct word
= instead, “Feel and Grasp” “Find and Understand” would be better, because as I said,
the Buddhism is not a religion of what you Think and Remember but who you become,
down to the subconscious level.
[]
See a simple situation. Somebody taught you the Walking Zen saying “By walking
round and round, you can get rid of all your thoughts, and get Mushin, the Mind of
No-Mind. This is the another way of meditation which purifying your mind.”
—– Well, the words must be well remembered and a word Mushin must be stuck
to the mind. ~~~~~ Then, walk round and round —– while a thought of
“Have I got Mushin or yet ?” coming up again and again and haunt you. 😀 😀
(Instructor should have told you just “Follow me”. It’s difficult to see a quality
of the instructor = well spoken friendly instructor tend to get more attendance.
It’s a paradox Sir ! ) 😀
[]
When No-Mind, No-Self was the matter,
teach it by the word is self-contradiction. = I think,
Lord Buddha didn’t teach it in such a way, but just showed how to do, expecting
that the followers can get the Selfless Mushin naturally through the practice.
(Please read the Post : [Test of Selflessness]) (And remember Kisa Gotami’s story =
She was just made running around without having any explanation ! )
Though, among the followers, someone pretending to be wiser, started to give an
own explanation what was the intention of practice or meaning of Selflessness.
But as I said, to explain it by the word is the Self-contradiction, for instance,
“ Do this without thinking is the No-Mind, No-Self” — though, to have this notion
in the Mind IS against the No-Mind = nothing but a Self-contradiction.
So that, there is no way else to learn No-Self other than “Do the practice
and find it by oneself.” —– (Same situation to learn how to ride a bicycle
= absolutely no word will help, but to learn it yourself ! —– And once learned,
you ride it automatic = no thinking is needed there. )
[]
Lexical communication is based on the words which is the categorized, abstract
notion, hence, it rely on the high-level process in the brain which we call thinking.
Bypassing those thinking process and leave the judgement, or action to the
old intuitive part of the brain called Limbic System, = is
“What Mushin and the Selflessness meant.”
This is why “Don’t believe what others said. Think yourself = Experience yourself and
discover the fact, that the things can be done without thinking = in Selfless Mushin.”
So, if it was Selfless, who did this = It was done by the Dharma !
[]
—– Still, this episode exposed a serious situation then. In a very last moment, WHY
Lord Buddha had to give such basic instruction to the most closest disciples.
= It signify the fact, that
Lord Buddha did aware that his disciples haven’t fully understood
what his teachings of No-Self was.
(And it explains why the Buddhism have had deviated in such early stage
and mixed up with the Hinduism.)
___/\___
[]
How to teach No-Self and Void
No-self, Mind of No-mind = Mushin, Void etc etc —– in fact it’s all same state
of the mind or brain though, a trouble is, it can not be explained —– because,
if it was explained, its action, and the words themselves destroy the notion of
No-self or Void and in effect, it is to prove that “You have your own Self”. 🙂
It is the same to a duty of silence, you can’t tell or declare that “I am in silence”
= if you tell that you are in a practice of silence = you fail the duty.
[]
In the Buddhist scripture it was “explained” in the relation to the 5 aggregates
= in fact the relation between the sense and the object = “sensed” —–
such as a sense of vision and the object what you thought that you have seen,
and likewise sense of hearing etc etc = 5 senses and effectively all the existences.
===> Its core is, you never be sure whether you actually seen it, or what you
thought that you’ve seen, was true or not, that’s because the subject, you and the
object were existing in the relation to the others in moment to moment, hence
they couldn’t be defined as a reliable solid existence therefore nothing, include
yourself is real —– in another word, Void. (It’s shame though, to understand
what was written there doesn’t mean “able to get Selfless or see the Void” ! )
—– (The expression in a typical Mahayana scripture “Exists as Not-exists” was
an excuse of the autoer “I didn’t say neither exists or not exists” ) 🙂
[]
Because of you, yourself is Void, you can’t explain it’s situation because the
situation in any moment is keep changing hence any static description could
be a false = in fact any such notion is nothing but a delusion.
So, this is the fundamental trouble to teach, let alone to explain the Selfless or Void.
Lord Buddha had this trouble too, of cause. And his answer was “Not answer” —–
because, there is no problem to continue the life without having the SELF, far from
it, we were born and naturally living in Selfless, in other words, having and clinging
to the Self, or believing that the world, or all the existences are really existing, is
nothing but the delusion. So, what
Lord Buddha did was just show the practice he does in Selfless state (Mushin) =
and he instructed to do the the same, exactly like him. = and everybody followed =
automatically following him exactly the same manner IS nothing but the practice
of the Selflessness. (Please read [Test of Selflessness])
[]
It is impossible to explain what the Selflessness or Void is, still in practice
anything can be done in completely Selfless manner and it is in deed a
demonstration and the proof of the Void.
[]
And this was the reason why the scriptures are in haywire still the teachings of
Buddhism and it’s tradition has been maintained in the Zen practice.
—– if you can do the same, again and again without conceive a question, you are
in the Selfless state. And you can extend this state to do any other work, even a
thinking process. (It may sound funny as it is the same brain though, the thinking
part of the brain is not necessary involving the emotional region where the feeling
of Me = Self was created. —– So, the mental practice of Detachment will work.)
___/\___
[]
釈尊の教え — その原形
釈尊の教えの原形を考える上で最も決定的な鍵となるのはその僧伽（サンガ）にカーストは
存在しなかったという事実です。何故カーストという概念が生れたのか？－－－実は
それこそがヒンズー教の根底である輪廻再生の観念で，カーストはその個人の前生の反映，
その結果に外ならないという理屈であったのです。
釈尊の時代はちょうどこのヒンズー思想の勃興期で，儀式的なバラモン教から陰惨な宿命論ヘの
移行期であった訳です。 これはかつて日本にあった『天中殺』の流行のようなもので，
それを真に受けて信じ込んだ人間は恐怖のパニックに陥った。
当時の新興宗教のグルが説く輪廻再生，カーストのくびき説におびえる人々に
“心配するには及ばない，そもそもベーダやヒンズー教で言うような不滅の魂（アートマン）など
と言うものは無い。人の肉体が死ねばそこに宿っていた魂，我と言うものも消滅する。これが
涅槃であり，そもそも我（セルフ）などと言うものは当人の思い込み，妄想以外の何物でもない”
と説かれたのです。つまりこの教えは『輪廻再生を繰返す永遠の苦（娑婆，サムサラ）からの解放』
ではなく『“輪廻再生を繰返す永遠の苦”という誤ったヒンズー説からの解放を説いた訳だったのです。
古典的べーダ以来一般的に信じられていた不滅の魂（アートマン）を否定し，それが輪廻再生して
カーストが現れるとしたヒンズー教の流行思想を否定した
釈尊の説は実に革命的な教えであったと言えるでしょう。(この教えの根底に縁起，
因縁説（肉体と精神，我の相互依存）がありそもそも我などというものは存在し得ないという
考えが包括的空観に発展していった訳です。） と言う史実を一見するだけで，仏教というものが
いかにヒンズーやタントラと混合され換骨奪胎されて来ていたかを窺い知る事ができます。
つまり人類は実に２０００年以上に渉って釈尊を冒涜し続けていたのです。
___/\___
[]
Zen thinking — [Void] in the real life
After years or months I don’t remember still, I suddenly realized a significance
of the words in an episode in the Agama Sutra.
(= I described it in the post [Three times Buddha] )
[]
“Thinking without thinking” sound Zen like approach you may think though,
it is nothing fancy at all = 90% of our thinking was actually done in this way.
With utter annoyance of the philosophers, this fact was revealed to the mankind
when a Brain Scanner was first introduced = after all, we, the most intelligent
creature on the planet is not necessary consciously carrying-out our
thinking process. —– (We only conscious of it’s process after it was converted to
the lexical code on the last moment.)
The reality is, when we say “I think”, in fact, the most of the thinking has been
already done a moment ago without us noticing it.
And in the almost all the case, so-called “My Decision” was actually made
out of our conscious.
So, “thinking without thinking” is in reality “thinking without noticing that
I was thinking” = we are in deed always keep thinking or our brain is always active
yet simply we are not aware of it. So that, not only an obvious “work-out to solve
an arithmetic problem kind” of conscious thinking, even so-called meditation is
nothing but a practice of “latent thinking process”and often, our brain find a
connection, even an answer from completely unrelated matter. (Very creative !)
[]
There was not a significant issue I was facing, or even an important question =
therefore it was not “posted” in my mind = just there as one of the memory, yet,
a passage in the scripture was suddenly highlighted and gained the significance.
= A ha ! I found it’s here.
(Answer was always given when we are not intentionally seeking = When
our mind was free — or in the state of Mushin or in the Void, suddenly
the connection was made. —– some time in the bathroom. 😀 )
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Lord Buddha told the horse trainer “Stop speaking is the same to kill the person”
(Please read the post.) —– this is not just an action on the mouth, but the hole
mind-set = In the mind-set, the person became a landscape hence no longer
recognized as a person. So, its existence is “Exists as not Exists” = this is
nothing but a state of “Void”. = In deed, this is the very core of what
Lord Buddha’s teaching was, and what all about the Zen Buddhism is.
To detach and free the Mind and see the Void and by freeing the mind,
it enables us to see the dynamism of Karma and the Dharma, hence enables
to live with Dharma moment to moment.
—– This is THE paradox, “By detaching the view and emotionally free from the
subject, thence the mind can see subject even more in it’s details”.
= Because, the mind is not stack in a small part of the subject or fixed view, but
it is seeing the subject in any point and from any angle.
= this is the very Clear Eyes to see the Truth.
And the way to gain the Enlightenment.
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