Self — No-Self

This was quoted from a part of the previous post.

(To talk about the SELF need to recognize the existence of it = need to

have yet another Self to observe its existence ! — if you can aware/

observe yourself, your observer has already alienated  YOU. )

 —– it seems I need to say a bit more :

When you got another “You” = you are no longer innocent happy mam.

Instead you start try to impose “What you’ve conceived your figure”

which is no more than a wish-full imagination OR distorted, depressed

“Hate-figure”.

To see the True figure of Yourself is one of the most difficult

task in the life. = First of all, it is hidden deep in your

subconscious,

and often, half of them were what you don’t want see.

So, the most of the people try to make-up something looks good,

(to satisfy your Ego, pride/vanity and want to show-off to others)

—– though, not necessary everybody, everything to be such ugly.  

= Try to do better IS the default of our survival instinct !

(If we fail, the repercussion/drawback would be harsh ! = even a

fraud-star try to invent better story, and sword-master

practiced hard to kill the enemy )

So that, in the Four Noble Truth in the Buddhist Teachings,

“The effort to seek the Enlightenment” is very natural. 

—– When you fail, still to see straight to the “Failed Yourself” =

IS in fact, a kind of the Enlightenment. (according to the Mahayana)

(To see yourself as it IS = IS see it without any impose = No-Ego, No-Self !)

  = Don’t worry, relax !   😀

___/\___

.

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 !)  😀

___/\___

Test of Selflessness (The most important Post)

[]

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.)  🙂

___/\___

[]

The last Glow of the day

——————- last glow of the day ?

A while ago we saw a news of a Rock Star David Bowie’s death though,

how he died, even where he died was not clear.  Even Bowie’s best

friend Brian Eno hasn’t been told.

Bowie left this world incognito = of course alone.

—– Strangely I never gone his concert or took his picture.   Because I

didn’t like Glam Rock and didn’t like his slimy creature like texture. 

[]

About the same time one of the senior member of our Alpine Club

“said to have” died. —– why said to have was that the other member

found it in a news paper report.    Despite the past-away has been

quite active not only in the mountain but also organizing such as the

country-skiing event etc.   He or his family didn’t contact the club at all

and the small funeral was said to have taken place within the closest

members of the family. = Seeing this news in the club’s mailing, I found

that “Yes, this is the manner, the enlightened man taking his nirvana”.

[]

We came to this world alone and die alone. 

Still wanting to die while surrounded by a lots of family members and

the friends, and to have a big funeral —– isn’t this a fear of dying alone,

or a display of the vanity and the greed of the dying or the family ?

There might have been a lots of dramas among the attendances of funeral

= good and bad and ugly, not mention the battle over the inheritance etc.

So, the smallest gathering would be the quietest. And closest to the nirvana.

—– then, give the another thought.

Anyway, the past-away never know whats happens after =

why not to kick a big frolic and have a fun !

___/\___

[]

Wasn’t that a Contradiction — or— Enlightenment ?

Somebody questioned me after this paragraph :

—– 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.  —– Which was

the last paragraph of the last post = Meaning on the Hand.

“You (mean Me) been saying “See the world in Detached eyes.

Do the things like a routine without Emotion” but here you

say “Feel it with naked sense” — which is true ?”

[]

Aha, you are right.  I didn’t pay enough attention.

It was a matter of the stage, while people gain the awareness.

= Going through the pathway, people gain the awareness and in

the same time perception, attitude etc everything will change,

but only stage by stage.  It will not happen in one go.

—– With the endless repeated practice, the person may gain a

mentality to do the practice as a routine, out of emotion, and gain

an attitude to carry-out the work/dairy life in a detached mind.

Once the person mastered this mental state, in fact the person

became immune to the emotional up and down and became a

cool observer to his/hers own life.    Once the person reached to

this stage, the person would be liberated from the Person itself.

This is the biggest Paradox in Zen. = As the person IS now free

from the SELF, there will be NO concern left = even the own life,

therefore free to commit anything.  So, feel free, enjoy or cry free.

In fact, here is an Enlightened Person.

___/\___

[]

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”.  😀

___/\___

[]

Still, this is the Zen

Seeing a scratch on the surface of the washing-up

bowl in my kitchen which I’ve been using since I have  

started to live in this flat, I realised that the dirt or  

stubborn coating on the surface of this plastic bowl 

could be removed by just scouring hard.  —– I was 

thinking to remove such limescale mixed stubborn

dirt needs to use a strong chemical such as limescale

remover kind of acid.

—– There was the choices.  

Throw away old bowl and buy new one.

Anyhow, it was only a couple of pound cheap item though, strangely

I couldn’t find the same shaped one in any shop.  

Other choice was do nothing. = as it has been used 15 years, why not

another 15 years. — utterly lazy and sound hopeless though, to make

nothing happen is a kind of peaceful choice and cost nothing too.

One of the famous Japanese monk, Ryokan said to have one pail and

he used it for everything, to wash his foot to serve a rice.   So, use one

bowl only for washing-up many many years wouldn’t make any crime.

[]

If I can clean it by just scouring, why not to try. = When a spoon edge

made a scratch, a scouring pad made by metal mesh should work well.

—- So, I did. (to the half extent) It IS a simple work = just scouring,

scouring and scouring.  The more scour,  bowl become the cleaner.

While scouring, I just scouring (=Mindfulness) = no thinking.(Mind is

in the Mushin / Void state.)  

This is the Zen. —– soon or later, the bowl will get perfectly clean state. 

Exactly the same process, the Japanese Sword was perfected. (Strangely,

we aim always the better — who asked ? or because of our nature/Dharma)

You may laugh though, the bowl which became clean is the equivalent 

of the enlightened soul.

—– Yet another teachings may say,  neither a bowl nor soul kind of

things was there in the first place, who get enlightened ?

Good question.

___/\___

[]

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）

————————————

Yoshizen Phenomena

Alongside the peculiar phenomenon found in the Google Search, such as

“Yoshi – Zappa” which lead to my circular fisheye photo on the top page,

or “Tiny Life Egg” which lead to my photo of the Green lacewings’ Egg

( = on top of the 3.4 million items on their list,)

— the search term “Art Figure – St. Lucia” will have this image

on the top page of the 850,000 items in their listing.

 Really ? —- is this an Art ?

 Isn’t any better art work or painting of

 St. Lucia exist in the world such as the 

 Spanish old masters religious paintings ?

 —– I have no idea how the algorithm of google,

 worked-out to select an image of a twisted wire.

 Never the less, this is the Google certified “Art”

 on top of the million items.    😀 😀

 Even more peculiar phenomenon was, the artist

can recognize this as an art in one glance,

while holding the breath.   (If you think otherwise, you are not the artist.  😀 )

[]

The same question again.    Is this an art or even a sculpture ?    If this was a

sculpture, where IS the sculpted substance ?   We are seeing a mere contour of

something.   Something of What ?

—– to see, it was a frightened woman while she was hit by a blue line (purported

to be a lightning from the God)  🙂    was in fact in the mind of the viewer.

—– otherwise it was just a twisted wire.  —– And in its contour, we are seeing a

woman’s body — are we ?   Where is the body. = it IS just an empty space between 

the wire isn’t it ?  —– You believe this or not, this is the very ZEN Buddhism.

(In the term of the liberated mind and the eyes,  the mind of complete selfless 

Buddhist is very close to the complete open minded artist. — and the children.)

[]

What you are seeing is the wire and the VOID between.   Seeing the twisted wire and

in the same time, to see it was a figure of the woman in one glance. (Without hear or

read any explanation still capture the meaning instant, by a naked subconscious.)

To know the meanings in one glance while seeing its twisted wire as it is.  = This is 

the clear eyes and the mind.   Indeed, this is what the Buddhism teaches.  We might

be seeing just a contour or shadow, and the substance may there or may not =

Who can see everything anyway ? = and, does it a matter ?

—– as long as we can see its clear face and the meaning, we know what we have to do

and how to live without being bothered by a wrong thinking.

This IS the very enlightenment.   (You may say what is the difference between a wrong

thinking or delusion to the clear mind. = the former was a result of the thinking with  

a lots of desire and the greed kind so on, and the later will come only on the moment, 

without thinking, like as an intuitive, spontaneous reflection.

(= this is the reason why, Zen never give a second thought or negotiation.) =

The interaction of the million factors in the Karma gave very reflection of very moment.

And that was what the Dharma gave the person to pick.  —– this Confidence “To be with

the Dharma” is the core of the Enlightenment, hence no hindrance in the life though,

on the face, it looks the life just as it IS = it’s mean no fancy magic or mysterious

supernatural manifestation = hence it was described as common and ubiquitous

as a Dog Shit. = if anybody was saying something “Special Enlightenment” it is a sign

of that the person haven’t learnt what the Zen Buddhism IS.)

[]

So, look at the photo again.   What do you think of this. —– do you see, is the VOID

between the wire, still a meaningful existence ?  (or the illusion ? = Did the Google too,

saw the illusion and said that this IS the Art ? ? ?     Ha ha ha ! )

___/\___

PS[]

Poetry Contest (2)

Not necessary having a thought, I suddenly realized that the story of the Poetry Contest of Huineng and Shenxui was not right.    Its contest was the 5^th patriarch, Hongren try to find who should succeed him and become 6^th patriarch of the Zen.   Unlike the other sect of Buddhism, Zen does their learning without rely on the words. = the action in the practice or a thing or phenomenon trigger the understanding.

So, the founder of Rinzai Zen, Rinzai said to have uttered that, “On the way, (may mean Pathway) when you saw the scriptures, through them away.  When you saw the monks kill them or met Lord Buddha, kill him too.” —– (this advice was meant be getting rid of any notion, and empty the mind.) 

[]On the said Poetry Contest, for the answer to the Hongren’s request to show the Zen mind, well-learned top-rank monk, Shenxui wrote “Mind is like a mirror, I polish the mirror diligently for no dust to settle on it” —– opposing to this, one low rank monk, Huineng wrote “Since Mirror is not exists in the first place, where could dust settle”

—– Hongren found that Huineng has much deeper understanding in Zen, he chose Huineng to be his successor.

[]Zen teaching was started by Bodhidharma on 5^th century.   Though, as a matter of fact, there were numerous legend and myth about Bodhidharma but little historical facts were known, therefore any story has to be treated with a pinch of salt.

—–When Bodhidharma wanted to choose his successor, there was a similar story.   He asked his disciples  “Can each of you say something to demonstrate your understanding ?”

Dao Fu stepped forward and said, “It is not bound by words and phrases, nor is it separate from words and phrases. This is the function of the Tao.”

Bodhidharma: “You have attained my skin.” 

The nun Zong Chi stepped up and said, “It is like a glorious glimpse of the realm  of Akshobhya Buddha. Seen once, it need not be seen again.”

Bodhidharma; “You have attained my flesh.” 

Dao Yu said, “The four elements are all empty. The five skandhas are without actual existence. Not a single dharma can be grasped.”

Bodhidharma: “You have attained my bones.” 

Finally, Huike came forth, bowed deeply in silence and stood up straight. 

Bodhidharma said, “You have attained my marrow.”

Bodhidharma passed on the symbolic robe and bowl of dharma succession to  Huike and, some texts claim, a copy of the Lankavatara Sutra. 

Bodhidharma then either returned to India or died. (This story from Wikipedia)

(There was the conflicting stories, —– He might returned to Persia.  Or even killed in the mass execution at Heyin in 528.) []

My doubt was that why Shenxui, studying under Hongren did have such poor understanding ?  (While Huineng who was working in the kitchen could still pick up the Zen understanding from overheard conversation of other monks.)   

And the same question goes to the colleagues of Huike too. = they were no ordinary monks, THE direct disciples of  Bodhidarma.   As they lives together, they must have  lots of discussion even arguments. —– still keep maintaining such variety of idea = quite logical and full of blah blah, but where the “Teachings of the Master” which was supposedly on the principle of Void and abhorrence to the words, has gone ?

 And, what was the 5th Patriarch, Hongren’s understanding and the teachings of “mind” ? —– (Was he thinking, “There is Zen Mind” ? )  

— Who recorded those stories ?  — Was that came from the diary of Hongren ?  — weren’t those stories made-up to glorify each Huineng and Huike ? ? ?

While making others looks fool = makes stories interesting.  And this kind of practice was behind of all those compilation of “Sutra” or scriptures.  It’s mean, we need very critical sharp eyes to distinguish what was the true teachings.    🙂

___/\___  

[]