Last posts on zen

Choice and Desire

2012-05-21T09:44:49+02:00

Choices are made through desire, and through our choices we can always find a way to become free. Once we no longer desire anything, we become catatonic, and submit to whatever happens to us like a slave. Desire is therefore what makes us free, and if in our desire we are unfree it is not because of our desire for something but because we desire it alone at the cost of everything else, and therefore, because of our lack of desire for anything else. When we desire only one thing at the cost of all else, however, it is because our desires have been separated in their control of one another, whereas to truly choose we must connect all our desires into one. If our desire is for consciousness, it is for everything in the universe and all our desires are one, so that once this is what we desire, all our desires are free.

Forgetfulness and Consciousness

2012-04-25T10:21:00+02:00

Our consciousness must be renewed every moment in order to grow, and as we cannot be conscious of everything at the same time we must therefore let go of our old consciousness for it to move on to a new, and allow ourselves to forget it for the time being. Even a balanced degree of forgetfulness is needed to consciousness. When we are distracted, this distraction may be no more than a way of our unconscious mind to try and make us let go of something in our consciousness we hold on to too much, and we should not repress it but move along with it, not towards anything in particular but back into the whole of our consciousness.

The Impermanence of Love

2012-04-19T20:41:00+02:00

Love is connection, and as we are our consciousness, love between any of us is a connection of our consciousness, and as every perception in our consciousness lasts but for a moment, so does love. Love does not last: it can only be renewed, moment after moment. Only that which causes love, which is consciousness itself, may last, and it is the only thing that lasts as long as we exist. However, consciousness keeps changing every moment, and as it does, it can and will turn into anything, so that to keep loving someone as they change from moment to moment, we have to love all consciousness.

Perfection and Suchness

2012-04-11T12:34:00+02:00

The only thing anything can be perfectly, that is to say, to the highest possible degree, is itself, so that the only way in which anything can be perfect is in being itself. In this sense and this sense alone, everything is perfect, and in any other sense, nothing is, therefore perfection has no other sense than this, than being itself, or suchness.

Reactions to Emotions

2012-04-03T09:20:00+02:00

No emotion is in itself negative, only how we react to them can be. In itself, fear is nothing but vigilance, anger nothing but determination, sadness nothing but relaxation. No emotion in itself can lead to harm.

The Impotent Ego

2012-01-29T18:33:34+01:00

The ego is our sense of separation, meaning that it separates one thing from another in our minds and can do nothing else than this. It can separate what we want from what we don´t want in our minds, but this alone will not get us what we want. Our egos are but a small part of our consciousness and it is up to the whole of our consciousness to make our choices. By separating our consciousness into parts it can keep it from making certain choices, but it cannot actually get it to make choices. All our egos can do once we know what we want is wait for our consciousness to choose it.

The Meaning of Experience

2011-12-28T16:30:00+01:00

Any experience can cause both suffering and enjoyment, even the experience of pain and pleasure itself. Pain and pleasure are, therefore, are not different kinds of experiences as such, and enjoyment and suffering are not part of our experience but ways in which our mind behaves towards it, being either attracted to it or repelled from it. When we are enjoying an experience or suffering from it, and we look at the experience just as it is right then, we will find time and time again that we can’t see just what is right or wrong about the experience in and of itself, because there isn’t: something can only be right or wrong for something outside itself, something in the future, so that if the current were all we knew, we would not even know what right and wrong even meant. All experiences are of the same kind, in themselves neither right or wrong, whether they are in the form of pleasure or pain. If so, then if there is any meaning to any experience in existence it is to all experiences in existence, and the meaning of existence is to experience as much as we can, whether it is painful or pleasurable, not avoiding pain but the problems that cause it. Experience itself all there is to existence, and it makes no sense to ask what is the meaning of existence, as whatever it would be for would itself have to be part of existence in order to exist in the first place. Whatever there is that has meaning is of the same kind of existence as that which there already is, that is, experience, and as we already experience, we have therefore already found meaning, and will not find meaning any other than that we already have. If there is a God, God lets the world be as it is because nothing is in itself right or wrong, and every experience in existence is meaningful. If God were to put an end to every experience anyone ever sees as wrong, there would be nothing left of existence.

Creation through Evolution

2011-12-04T18:26:00+01:00

Nothing has ever arisen in any other way than evolution and nothing ever will, as everything can only come into being from that which is already there, so that everything can only change in and of itself, and no one and nothing can ever change in another’s place. There is nothing that we have to change about ourselves as such, as we can change in and of ourselves, and all we can do is to let ourselves. To let ourselves evolve, however, we must first accept ourselves as we already are so that we can also accept the way we evolve, and so to let others evolve we also have to accept them as they are, so that they might then accept themselves and so the way they evolve as well. We must be our true selves before we can change, as it is the only way our true selves can learn. The only way for anything to grow is through evolution, and we are but a small part of others’ evolution. How we evolve is our own choice that no one can make for us, and in this, on the whole we are always on our own in our own evolution. We are only a very small part of other´s consciousness and as choices are made through consciousness, this means that we have only a very small part in the choices others make. If anything, by trying to control each other to evolve in a particular way we can only keep them from choosing to evolve in their own way. What little we can do to make others evolve further is to accept themselves as they already are so that they would also accept themselves and how they already evolve towards consciousness.

Consciousness and Time

2011-11-14T18:41:49+01:00

All consciousness is current, even that about future and past, but our consciousness of the current is only small part of our consciousness, and to focus only on it can therefore only reduce our consciousness. Instead, we should focus on all our consciousness if we are to become more conscious. In consciousness time does not exist, as every moment we are conscious of is part of our current consciousness.

Consciousness and Connection

2011-11-02T18:17:00+01:00

Distraction is nothing but the disconnection of different parts of our consciousness, so that they are no longer conscious of each other, causing us to become less conscious. There is no form of consciousness that can in itself be a distraction, but if, in thinking it is, we try to separate it from our consciousness, we will only cause further distraction. When you become conscious of a distraction, this means that a disconnected part of your consciousness has reconnected to the whole of your consciousness and the distraction is actually already over: just let it reconnect to your mind without separating it again, and you will become more conscious over time. Perhaps we ourselves are a disconnected part of a greater consciousness, and we reconnect with it when we die, only to be distracted again when we do not accept ourselves as part of it.

Creativity and Inspiration

2011-11-02T08:28:08+01:00

It takes creativity to know how to find inspiration, but all inspiration comes through experience, and so experience is part of creativity.

The Identity of Time

2011-10-30T00:06:24+02:00

Much of what we do is an attempt to have something as our own, so that it would seem somehow to remain with us, yet as soon as we look away from it, it is already gone, so that everything in life moment after moment must always go away almost as soon as it is there. All we are is a moment of consciousness, so that we can never go beyond what there is in this moment, and we have to let go of everything there is to us every moment. It can be so hard to accept that there really is only one moment we can have at a time that we try to reach beyond it, by putting our identity in something beyond this moment, and thereby beyond our consciousness itself, in something that lasts longer than our consciousness and which we therefore do not have to let go, but being beyond our consciousness it is beyond everything that exists to us, and therefore can only be a distraction.

Transience and Xenophobia

2011-10-28T11:59:21+02:00

People identify with anything that appears constant so as not to feel how everything is transient, and fear anything beyond their identity because it makes them feel how their identity is but part of a transient whole and therefore itself transient, and so they try to focus on nothing else but their own identity, so that they would feel that it is all that exists, and therefore that it will exist forever. This is why people fear differences.

The Only Way To Go

2011-10-26T19:06:00+02:00

We always choose what we do, no matter how we may feel, for our feelings just give us options, and while they may bring us to choose for a way out of them, this too is a choice, and it is not our only choice, for if we accept our feelings rather than distracting ourselves from them, we will find a way through them instead, and if we distract ourselves from them they will still be there, so that in the end there is no way around our feelings, and the only way to go is through. Distraction will not only increase our sufferings: suffering is distraction.

Accept to Make Others Accept

2011-10-24T20:58:10+02:00

Accept others and they will accept themselves and therefore their consciousness, and this being all that is needed to become conscious, this is all one can to do to make them become conscious.

Extremism, Nihilism, and Existentialism

2011-10-12T13:10:00+02:00

Extremism is the thought that there is one particular part of life that has meaning, and this makes our lives simple because it means we never have to make more than one choice in life, so that we never have to be faced with the unknown which comes before our next choice. Extremism becomes nihilism not through the thought that everything is meaningless but through the thought that everything in life is as meaningful and therefore nothing is more meaningful than anything else, which make it seem that we could never make a choice for anything in particular in life. At least the nihilist at least has the one choice to despair, but the existentialist has no choice that will last him for longer than one moment, so that he is to make a new choice every moment of his life and all that time, to make the unknown. Rather than to accept it, then, we often choose instead to think that as nothing is more meaningful than anything else, nothing has any meaning at all. The only way to overcome nihilism without moving back into extremism is to choose not for anything in particular in life, but for all life and everything there is in life, even though we know almost nothing of life, and in this it is to choose to live with the unknown. Existentialism is to face all one’s fears and yet choose that that no matter what could ever happen in life, we will always accept it as best as we can as part of life.

Distraction in Identification

2011-05-11T12:49:00+02:00

Distraction is identification with something less than what we really are, which is the whole of consciousness, as we thereby limit ourselves to just part of our consciousness.

Sensory Meditation

2011-04-24T23:39:00+02:00

In some way or other, meditation should be focussed on sensations, as our every form of consciousness consists of sensations either of an external or internal kind. Most of the time, sight, sound and touch will be the only we can focus on. Sight is the more cognitive of the senses, touch, the most physical, and hearing, the most emotional, and if we are imbalanced between cognition, physique and emotions, we should focus most on the sensation of whichever is most lacking, or, should that be too hard, with whichever is least lacking. If our imbalance lies in the lack of emotions, however, then this will almost always be because of a lack of either cognition or physique, as emotion lies in between. If the imbalance is towards the cognitive, focus firstly on touch and then on hearing. If the imbalance is towards the physical, firstly on sight and then on hearing. The senses should not be seen merely as different entities in themselves, however, but as different aspects of the sensorium.

The Difficulty of Consciousness

2011-04-11T18:43:52+02:00

In some way or other, all difficulties in life come down to the difficulty of dealing with our consciousness.

Measure of Personal Growth

2011-03-07T16:16:00+01:00

Personal growth should be measured not by achievement but by consciousness.

Thought Kamikaze

2010-12-03T20:57:00+01:00

Zen seeks experience over knowledge, and koans are therefore not supposed to make sense but to be as nonsensical as possible. According to Zen, all knowledge begins from experience, so that when we seek the answer to a question we must first experience the question itself. If, however, the question is unanswerable, whenever we try to answer it we are brought back time and time again to our experience, which is the actual goal of koans. Because the mind cannot understand koans, it also cannot think about them and therefore whenever it tries to do so, it ends up thinking of nothing at all.

The Repetitiveness of Existence

2010-11-25T12:44:00+01:00

If we cannot accept repetition, then we will destroy everything as soon as soon as we first experience it, as nothing will last longer than a first time, so that eventually, when every first time will have occurred, we will have destroyed everything. No matter how often we find something new, we cannot avoid repetition, as, even as specific things may vary, more general things will always keep repeating. All existence is necessarily a repetition of itself, in its own continuation to exist.

Emotion and Motion

2010-11-18T18:38:00+01:00

Emotion is nothing more or less than a kind of movement of what we feel; it is itself not what we feel but rather something which may affect how we feel. Emotion is a process, feelings are a form of consciousness. Thus, it is not always so that the more emotions one has, the more feelings, as in the process of that motion feelings may be both increased or decreased.

Habituation and Hyperfocus

2010-11-10T08:43:00+01:00

Habituation is caused by hyperfocus on utility. The more we become habituated to a stimulus, the better we learn how to use it to whatever end we have for it, so that we so focus on its use that we can no longer focus on what it is for itself. Only if the end is consciousness itself, and not just something which might cause consciousness in the end, will habituation not occur.

In Itself

2010-06-17T21:02:00+02:00

To feel the beauty of something, we must first get to know what kind of beauty it has, for everything has its own kind of beauty, which may be different from the kinds of beauty we may know. To do this, we must feel the things as they are in themselves, rather than just try to feel in what way they are alike other things.

On Again, Off Again

2008-10-24T06:14:26+02:00

I'm developing an on again, off again relationship with China, it seems. As in, some days (today, for instance), our power is on. Other days (the first half of this week, for instance), the power is completely cut off. From Sunday morning to Wednesday around midnight. Snip--no power. In all fairness, though, we were warned it would happen. Monday afternoon, I believe it was, a day and a half in, we received a phone call--yes, the phone still worked--from Robert, one of the other foreign teachers, informing us that he had just been informed by the Vice Dean of the Foreign Language Department that we would be out of power till Wednesday.Room-temperature refrigerator, the coldest showers I can remember, no reading after 7pm, not till we got some candles--candles from Robert, coincidentally, the nearest stores being out--it was a joyous start to the week.What really astounded me, though--is astounded the right word? yes, well . . . I'll use it--what really astounded me was the reaction from the people. The Chinese, that is, who also lost power. Calm as Hindu cows. Did it bother them at all? I don't know. But there weren't the riots I was expect. Imagine, if you will, the power being cut--with no warning--to an entire city block for three days in America. Pick whichever city you would like.Christina said to me, "China had to've been the birthplace of Zen philosophy," as we walked down the dark sidewalk to our apartment building's gate, Chinese people gathering with chairs from their apartments to huddle underneath the few random building lights that still, miraculously had power. Children laughed, shining flashlights in each others' faces. None of the frustration and annoyance that we felt evident at all in them.Robert tells us, "This is just how things get done in China." The people don't get mad, they can't get mad, because this is just how things are done. Cultural indignation wells inside of me, and I have to fight it down, unclench my fists, find a way to distract myself from the stress.Should they be pissed? Should I learn to just go with the flow? This is perhaps the biggest cultural difference between America and China that I have noticed--improvisational business. The Chinese, it seems, are unable to make plans. Like a puppy at a garbage heap, they sift through the waste of the day until they spot something shiny and go chasing after it, dragging you and anyone else they need along with them. And I get mad at the Chinese for not getting mad about it. A Chinese rule of thumb: Anyone with any kind of power sets the agenda and everyone else has to fall in line.Americans have a reputation for being self-centered, egotistical, etc. The Chinese, on the other hand, supposedly stress a communal agenda. This has not been my experience. Here we just get a different flavor of self-centeredness. Whether it's random strangers walking up to me and asking for anything from a photo to private English lessons or university leaders who call twenty minutes before a meeting that I knew nothing about twenty seconds before, there is a common thread, and it is not efficiency or the communal good--it's convenience. Convenience to them.I met the other day a foreign teacher, named Ian, at another university. He's from New Zealand and has been teaching in Asia for five years (two in Thailand, two somewhere else I can't remember). "You hear the stories about the Chinese," he said, "and you think you know what you're in for, but that hasn't been my experience at all. I have a totally different opinion of them from when I first arrived."Funny thing, Ian. Me too.