Author: LittleKnownMystic

What do I know anyway? Science background with a flair for the "Great Wide Open"(in memory of Tom Petty). Life long meditator with a busy mind.

Spiritual Advice

by LittleKnownMystic

This piece is intrinsically about “spiritual advice for my daughters” but also examines the very depths of what spirituality and spiritual practice means.  It’s a big and deep topic.  This mystic is steeped in Buddhist philosophy and the teachings contained in Buddhism guide my path.  However, the Buddha himself is to have said that people should not abandon their religion or beliefs that provide them with comfort. In other words, there is a profound cultural aspect to spiritual orientation.  Is there a difference between religious practice and spiritual practice? Depends on the person.  This mystic will argue that blindly following a set of beliefs, especially with a “what is in it for me mentality,” is kind of a dead spirituality, whereas being driven by curiosity is the spark that feeds spirituality.  

I think that in the United States we are indeed very influenced by materialism, both from a capitalistic consumer-driven aspect as well as from the impact of living in an advanced technological and scientific society.  Being spiritual, then, for our society might be framed in practices and actions that lean away from material consumption and reliance on technology (?).  Matter of fact, the Cambridge Dictionary defines spirituality as “the quality or state of being concerned with the human spirit, inner life, or transcendent values, distinct from material or purely physical existence.”  Then again, science itself is always striving for objectivity and this mystic has in previous blogs noted that the “eye of science” has allowed expansion of our world view and a glimpse into the vast complex reality of the Cosmos.  From that standpoint, science and certain aspects of spirituality might eventually meet — as the further in we go (into the wacky world of quantum physics) and the further out we go (imagine the Hubble shot of myriad galaxies at the edge of our known universe) we pose more questions, get fewer answers and become less comfortable with our limited world view. 

What is my advice to those seeking a spiritual practice?  First, spirituality fills a void or offers “assistance” to those curious and aware that we live in an amazing and inexplicable world.  It also offers a way to understand and live with difficult situations and suffering.  Existence itself is inexplicable.  One’s character is influenced by karma, effects of causes and conditions, and that in turn will shape and guide one’s spiritual (or not so spiritual) path.  The word, spirituality, comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath or soul.  Thus, spiritual practice is a very personal thing, yet it can be practiced together with like-minded people.  Truly, one person may be best suited for a Christian path whereas another may be best suited to a contemplative life in nature.  This mystic will differ with some in my Zen Buddhist sangha who actively decry the rote and conservative Christian theology.  They tried it, did not like it, turned to Zen and now complain about what they did not like.  Jesus, like other saints was a “heavy hitter” along with the Buddha and other great masters of the past and present.  If we truly give ourselves to “God” we just might be “saved.”  So, let people choose, as I believe that we are each steered gently (and sometimes suddenly) along our own individual paths. 

With all this said, to be spiritual is not something “wishy washy,” although maybe to get to something meaningful we have to go through that phase.  This is where exhaustive reliance on astrological advice, Tarot, or use of crystals, etc. leaves questions for this mystic, although some beings are very sensitive to forces most of us cannot feel.   In general, I will argue that spiritual practice requires thought, experimentation, time and some discipline.   It also requires perseverance and some faith in an eventual positive or beneficial element to one’s effort.  Whether a theistic or non-theistic path develops, there has to be some methodology.  With regard to mindfulness practice and meditation, the term “secular” pops up a lot. 

Secular means not related to religion or spirituality.  Secular mindfulness meditation (MM) apparently is practiced by about 7% of the U.S. population (this seems really like a high number – how often do people practice?) according to this lengthy and scholarly article on the National Center for Biotechnology Information  (NCBI), see https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12416702/ Secular practice does not incorporate ethical or moral guidelines but rather focuses on the individuals ability to focus and relate to phenomena in a non-judgmental way, staying present, with often the breath being the main focus. It can be learned from a therapist or even an app.  Studies suggest that MM can improve physical and mental well being, reduce anxiety and stress and improve health promoting behaviors.  The NCBI article also points out that it can in some cases induce unhealthy behaviors.  Feeling better and healthy is good!  But this mystic will argue that a MM practice or any meditation practice incorporating ethical and moral guidelines might be much more rewarding in the long run.  Both Buddhist, Christian contemplative, Islam and Sufi traditions expand on the basics of secular mindfulness practice.  And yes, mindfulness can include recollecting and using religious or spiritual teachings.

Again, ultimately a spiritual practice is not something all will develop and we can’t make people be “spiritual.”  The danger of strictly a secular practice is that it could be used simply for personal gain, which in the end you have to leave behind anyway.  The term “spiritual materialism” (use this phrase to get the AI discussion) was coined by Trungpa Rinpoche, as a warning against using spiritual practice to gain something “or to reinforce or inflate the ego rather than transcend it” (Gemini AI).  For example, a key point of Zen practice is to sit with no gaining idea with the understanding that there is no permanent self.  This is where spiritual practice and religion converge, as non-secular meditation and other practices always come with a set of teachings, if not beliefs.  We can see the effects of spiritual materialism by the multiple cases of financial and moral scandals withing the Christian community (or maybe even the idea that believing in Jesus rewards us with physical abundance and wealth). The Buddhist community has its own history of scandals of a sexual nature where leaders in power abused their status.  Rinpoche himself in his later career was ironically guilty of that himself. 

A word about Buddhist practice.  The beauty and the danger of this tradition lies in its logic.  One of the fundamental underlying foundations of Buddhism is the concept of impermanence.  You can’t get around it, and along with it have to question the nature of the ego and the self.  There are many teachings in this particular religion. Fortunately, the Buddha taught that you need to confirm the teachings for yourself.  But it also helps to have a community and a teacher to guide us as we hit the rocks on the stream bed.

Ok, my advice to my daughters or anyone seeking spiritual connection: (1) Meditation, simply sitting quietly, initially for a short period of time, anchoring to the breath and being soft and non-judgmental is, IMO an essential ingredient in any practice, secular, theistic or non-theistic.  Meditation, if practiced regularly and over time will leave one with a clearer and quieter mind.  You don’t have to do it for hours, but a daily short practice to start with, maybe even 10 minutes, is a great beginning.  Off the “cushion,” development of mindfulness would be a daily complement.  The idea, at least in Buddhist teachings, is to practice being “free from desires and discontent with regard to the world.”  In this state we develop what is called samadhi – the qualities of concentration, composure, and unification of mind.   Spiritually it allows one to see reality more clearly, called wisdom or Prajna in Sanskrit.  We become more receptive and more joyful.  After all, if prayer is talking to God, then maybe sitting quietly and appreciating our life-breath and the miracle of being alive is listening to God.  Does God talk to us?  An interviewer once asked Mother Teresa what she says to God when she prays. “I don’t say anything,” she replied.  “I just listen.”  Then the interviewer asker her what God says to her.  “He doesn’t say anything,” said Mother Teresa.  “He just listens. And if you don’t understand that.  I can’t explain it to you.” 

All major religions share a component of Love.  Compassion and/or Loving Kindness meditation or practice is an antidote to self-centeredness and can bring rewards by creating a better world.  It starts with compassion for ourselves, which is absolutely essential, but is carried forward and outward by compassionate and loving acts toward others.  It can be developed.  In Buddhism there are a set of four mental and emotional qualities — loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. These are known as the four divine abodes, also known as the four immeasurables, or brahmaviharas in Sanskrit. They basically describe four aspects of Love.  See https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhism/four-divine-abodes-brahmaviharas/

Another reason to incorporate Love and Compassion in our lives (it may seem obvious) is that connection with others increases one’s happiness.  Additionally, practicing in a group of spiritually minded and curious people that are open, non-dogmatic and caring can be very beneficial to one’s practice and I would say an almost essential ingredient to mature spiritually.  There are wonderful teachers out there available to help!

Finally, many people wait until old age to turn to one religion or another (or to go back to an earlier practice).  Zen master Dogen said that studying birth and death is of the greatest importance.  He called it the Great Matter.  Don’t wait!  Sincere practice — whether it be meditation combined with study, or worship and study of scripture — brings increasing rewards over time.  The idea that it is “all settled” in the afterlife may not be true. Effects of our actions are the only traces that stay behind from our brief time in this realm.  Through sustained spiritual practice may you reflect the states of joy, loving kindness, compassion and equanimity and provide yourselves and others peace and wisdom.  Thinking of this spiritual task in context of the efforts of our ancestors, our fellow travelers on earth at the present time, and a wish for a positive state for future generations, is all part of the mix and fuel for gratitude of life. 

Oh, and don’t forget to enjoy the wonder of nature as it is a great place to rest and peer into emptiness and interdependence!  In conclusion, here is an excerpt from a Hermann Hesse story, “What Trees Teach Us About Being Human.”

So, the tree rustles in the evening, when we stand uneasy before our childish thoughts: Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours.  They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them.  But when we have learned to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy.  Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is.  That is home. That is happiness. 

Nagarjuna

by LittleKnownMystic

Nagarjuna was an Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher who lived around the period of 150 – c. 250 CE.  He is known for his unique elaborations on the middle path, emptiness and whether there is a “self” or not. He is also an ancestor in the Soto Zen lineage.  This mystic has told his teacher that Nagarjuna gives him a head ache.  Why?  Because absolute truth in words is only a pointer and can often lead to excessive thinking and mental agitation.  Nevertheless, we must study and inquire.  It is what humans do.  The Master’s verse-comment from Tozan’s five ranks comes to mind in this regard:

How many times has Tokuun, the idle old gimlet, Not come down from the Marvelous Peak! He hires foolish wise men to bring snow, And he and they together fill up the well.

Here there is reference to an enlightened being living beyond duality, who by “not-coming-down” from a state of enlightenment and then performing silly deeds, demonstrates the paradox and dissonance of such a “teaching” endeavor. Maybe that is why we have so much spiritual and religious literature, hundreds of thousands of different books, perhaps millions.  And to think, maybe getting wacked in the head by one of them might be more effective than reading them all!

Actually, Nagarjuna seems more helpful than old Tokuun, or at least more logical.  He was a smart man.  At some point advanced meditators, perhaps after experiencing an initial Kensho, i.e., seeing one’s true nature, have a natural propensity to fear losing their identity.  It might not be different than the fear of physically dying or the fear of losing one’s mental capacity – basically an existential threat.    Nagarjuna has something to say about that. 

On the Middle Path: “The middle path is that while there is no self, there is a causal series of skandhas that is conveniently designated as a person.” Skandhas are the basic building blocks of our experience, namely form, sensation, perception, formation and consciousness.  See Wiki for a detailed explanation of the skandhas.  Nagarjuna further fleshed out the idea of a relative reality of these “persons” that cling to the causal series or patterns of the skandhas, and an absolute, much vaster reality.  There are many names for this “pair”, including Relative/Absolute, Form/Emptiness and Apparent/Real – with the pairs having slightly different “flavors” depending on context.  He argued that the two realities are inseparable, which only makes sense because, well, here we are.  From AI (Gemini): “Absolute truth is realizing [there you have it folks, we are mixing nouns and verbs] the empty [nothing has a sole separate self, rather it is only “present” because of everything else] ungraspable nature of the relative world.”  Of course, most of us are not aware that our “reality” is based on clinging to a causal series of patterns.  If we can only just pry open the door a crack… Perhaps that is why we have spiritual study and spiritual readings, as “conventional reality” is pretty convincing and functions well, that is until we suffer, get sick or die.  Then as they say in Spanish, “no bueno.” 

Nagarjuna takes emptiness a little further by saying that “emptiness is itself empty. Emptiness is not an ultimately real entity nor a property of ultimately real entities.  Emptiness is not more than a useful way of conceptualizing experience.”  One might say emptiness is simply a description (from a dual point of view) of the mechanics of how things actually are, whereas the term, “suchness,” might be used in the context of the Buddhist describers of dependent origination or interdependent co-arising, where due to ever-changing causes and conditions everything occurs and happens in relation to everything else, i.e., how things work.  This kind of softens the line between emptiness and form.  We, beings are caught in the middle.  A line in the Heart Sutra states, “All dharmas are marked by emptiness…”  It does not say that nothing exists, it just does not elaborate on what dharmas truly are.  Yes, again the ungraspable nature of the relative world.  This mystic is convinced that the mystery of the path of awakening includes fully integrating form and emptiness, or as Eihei Dogen put it, dropping mind and body and being actualized by the myriad things.    It’s all about experience and awareness without bias of a conceptualized self!

The above descriptions of form, emptiness and suchness of course are simply provisional describers pointing towards something that goes beyond words and consciousness itself.  Suzuki Roshi brings up the word “nothingness.”  He writes: “I discovered that it is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing.  That is, we have to believe in something that has no form and no color — something which exists before all forms and colors appear.”  He goes on to say: “… if we are always prepared to accept everything we see as something appearing from nothing, knowing that there is some reason why a phenomenal existence of such form and such color appears, then at that moment you will have perfect composure.” This is why sometimes we use the word, “transcendent,” in spiritual contexts referring to outside and beyond the physical universe and time. And yes, composure is a good thing to relieve suffering especially if you allow yourself to believe in nothingness, which after all is just another word that the roshi brought down for us from the Marvelous Peak. 

There are different takes on what Nirvana means.  According to authors in the wiki, Nirvana is the blowing out” or “quenching” of the activity of the grasping mind and its related suffering, stresses, and unease.  Nagarjuna has an interesting write-up with respect to Nirvana.  Quote: “Final Nirvana amounts to utter annihilation, that the liberated one does not exist after death… The response would be mistaken. Since there is no owner of the elements making up the causal series, it would be inappropriate to describe the ceasing of the causal series as ‘I will not exist.’ Hence, neither ‘exists” nor ‘does not exist’ can be said.” This is about as far as language can take us.  You have to laugh a little about this and the cosmic absurdity.  In the meanwhile this mystic will go with the Love and Joy, the present moment and the potential for cessation of suffering.  We know that the world, including our empty selves, at times IS a beautiful place and a mind-blowing complex and curious one at that.

Light from Trungpa Rinpoche

by LittleKnownMystic

In his book, the Path is the Goal, Trungpa Rinpoche lays out some very good, think-out-of-the-box, points regarding meditation and mindfulness that resonated with this old Mystic and that I would like to share.   Chögyam Trungpa (full name, Rinpoche is a word signifying reference to a teacher) was a Tibetan Buddhist monastic who eventually left the monastic life and taught in Europe and later in the United States.  You can read about him here: Wiki.  I titled this piece “Light from Trungpa Rinpoche,” perhaps in recognition that he was very bright, had deep spiritual insight, and presented Buddhist concepts in a way that appealed to western audiences.  The book was based on a series of talks he gave in the early 70’s, before his later years of troubling behavior.  May the positive endure. Note, his quotes are in italics.

“Meditation is a noun, not a verb.” It is just sitting. No “mediate” and no Meditator.”  This sounds very similar to the basic Zen approach of sitting, with no gaining mind and non-thinking. 

We talk about holding things lightly in Buddhism, although that would not seem obvious when observing participants during a Zen retreat.  People often appear serious and solemn.  Trungpa talks about a generic technique which could be applied to sitting or mindfulness (when not sitting.) So, the time is spent 25% paying attention, 25% relaxing, 25% friendship with self and 25% open to the possibility of something happening. This is interesting as long as one does not do active “accounting” during the process. It’s more or less an attitude and the Middle Way between extremes.  

He mentions “awareness” as the end resultant, if you will, of meditation and mindfulness. “Awareness being egoless-ness because there is no object of awareness.  You are aware of the whole thing completely, of you and the other and the activities of the you and the other at the same time.  So, everything is open.  There is no particular object of the awareness.”  This is a nice description of the non-dual state.  Awareness might also be the very fabric of Suchness. See further reference to Suchness (tathata in Pali) Here. 

Trungpa on openness: “Each flower on earth has a personal relationship with the sun, although the sun does not particularly personally direct its attention with any bias, does not actually shine more on the rosebud than the poppy, or anything like that. The whole process depends on how much receptivity there is, how much openness.”  This is similar to the parable of the Medicinal Plants in the Lotus Sutra where each plant gets just the right amount of rain and nutrients with the implication that each being is unique and has a certain capacity (in place and time) for teachings and propensity for “awakening.”  Both the analogy by Trungpa and the parable seem to center on the individual. As a twist, while we could say that the “sun” is awareness or Suchness, masters such as the Buddha and, in general, transmitted Buddhist teachers, use skillful means to teach, recognizing the capacity and karmic stream of their audience. 

On basic meditation — While this mystic has talked about various meditation techniques, Trungpa’s emphasis is to initially start a practice using “peaceful abiding meditation”, samatha, essentially mindful breathing.  This would be followed or coupled, over time, with vipassana, or insight meditation.  In Zen we sit in shikantaza, having no object (i.e. objectless meditation.)  This might be the hardest and most advanced type of practice, whereas in breath-focused samatha, the object is the breath, which of course all live beings can work with.  Sometimes it’s essential to pause and just breath; be the breath.  Vipassana also has an object, which is examining things as they are.  At the same time, this mystic’s take, vipassana is also like a sword cutting through delusion and seeing things as they are.  My own experience with meditation and interacting with others in the meditation community is that most practitioners have a certain propensity toward a certain technique, based on their abilities/capacity personal characteristics and the point in time.  He uses a tree analogy in that we start with the leaves and eventually find the roots.  Putting shikantaza practice aside, there is always an element of insight or vipassana present in most “meditative” Buddhist traditions. 

This mystic has found it interesting that when one sits in meditation there is no place to go but to fully face one’s internal state. Trungpa provides an analogy to the concept of people putting on a face (my words) when interacting in the world.  That face is then what he calls our portable theatre stage.  It’s full of our persona and always carries a unique “self” identity-history that then interacts with the external world.   It’s like we “radiate” a self.  He says, “in Vipashyana, you as a practitioner experience the game that you are playing in setting up your ‘theatre’… you experience your own radiation, face to face rather than playing with it to impress or overpower your audience.  You have no audience when you sit and meditate, or you are your own audience.”  So, when this old mystic faces a wall, his radiation is all his own.  We face our thoughts, our conceived notion of self, and so much more. We learn from it. 

Even if we practice as a community, the act of meditation is a very solitary one.  He notes that it can be a lonely and boring journey, with both loneliness and boredom being capable of teaching us if we lean into it.  Finally, encouragement is provided to seek a teacher, a spiritual friend.  Unless one just sticks to simple breathing meditation (which is good!) eventually sitting facing a wall leads to many spiritual questions, thus a teacher. A spiritual friend can break the loneliness, if for a while.  

What does Trungpa Rinpoche say about mindfulness practice? The longer this mystic meditates the more it seems that where the rubber hits the road is off the meditation cushion.  Sure, we have our precepts and a plethora of teachings to study but those are only tools, whereas the Mindfulness (or mindfulness goal) that he talks about is in essence equivalent to being Fully Present.  He calls mindfulness a samatha practice.  To practice mindfulness, he explains, we have to take a vow to remember to be present – “recollection.”  “Just being there, very simply, very directly, conducting yourself precisely and relating very thoroughly. The idea is to be precise and direct but without aim or goal [no gaining idea].”  It’s not necessarily a concentration practice and bigger than just simply focusing on one object at a time. 

He talks about developing a memory that you have taken a vow that you were going to be an aware person.  You develop awareness throughout your life.  “A living memory… because of that memory ‘absent-mindedness’ occurs, and from that ‘absent-mindedness’ mindfulness occurs.”  So, what is he saying, really?  It does not mean spacing out or lost in the chatter of our thoughts, fantasies or anxieties.  That is negative absent mindedness.  The kind he is alluding to is “No Mind.”  In deep awareness there would be little ego or calculating self, literally no mind.   Remember, earlier he was quoted saying “Awareness [is] egoless-ness because there is no object of awareness.”  No object, then no subject.  After all, do we really know who we are? 

Some Effective Buddhist Teachings

by LittleKnownMystic

In the last blog, Reflections on Eight Years of Buddhist Practice, this mystic talked about the foundations of a spiritual practice.  I likened the foundation to a three-legged stool, with teachings, precepts and meditation as the three legs.  This blog will discuss the teachings which have resonated with this mystic.  “Teachings” will refer to all three legs, as the stool would not stand without interaction of the three legs.  The Buddha is to have said that one should not accept his teachings and various suggestions for practice with blind faith, rather one should accept and use what one finds effective for oneself.  This makes sense, and it works, because each person is different due to influences of past and ongoing causes and conditions.  With that said, my experience will be and is different from yours; however, some of the most effective teachings resonate and are helpful for many, so hang on. 

Before further specific discussion one has to ask why practice at all?  Again, this is a personal matter but perhaps not, as this mystic will argue that we are all on a spiritual path of one sort or another – we just may not be aware of it.  In his lifetime the Buddha said that his teaching was simply to end suffering.  For this mystic it is simply an inexplicable pull toward “home.”  And, that place is Here. 

From what this mystic understands, the fundamental process toward awakening is to “embody” the emptiness of the self, or to re-frame it, to realize the joy and beauty of existence, our real self.  That’s a mouthful and it reminds me of the famous Zen master Dogen’s quote: “To study the Buddha Way is to study the self; to study the self is to forget the self; to forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the body and mind of others drop away. No trace of realization remains and this no trace continues endlessly.”  Here is an excellent explanation by Sallie Jiko Tisdale: To Study the Self  I will say, that our conditioned or provisional selves seem real enough, and they are the place we practice from.  But there is a lot more to this universe than our little bodies.  

What follows are teachings (or aspects of the teachings when referring to meditation or the precepts) as a series of bullet topics.  On paper (or the screen) these are just words, but actually they are all, if properly “held,” tools to get a glimpse at (and edge toward) true Reality. 

The Three Fires – Greed, Hatred (or aversion) and Delusion The three fires are basically, for this mystic, what we all are tripping over and the underlying cause of our suffering (discomfort, feeling of yuckiness and dissatisfaction, or the Pali word Dukkha).  It goes back to an early Buddhist teaching of the Four Noble Truths.  Suffering occurs (1), suffering is caused and driven by craving (2), there is a cure for suffering (3) and that cure is the Eightfold Path (4).  The Eightfold Path is essentially all of the Buddhist teachings. Greed is not being satisfied with what one has, hatred or aversion is not being satisfied with one’s condition and delusion is not being aware that the self or the “one” is not a permanent and sole separate entity.  There is a lot more to the Four Noble Truths, from the Wiki, Here (Four Noble Truths).

Impermanence – Impermanence is one of the Three Marks of Existence (see the Wiki Here).  This life is fleeting.  An old mystic will verify that nothing lasts, our bodies change, the new becomes old, and the wonderful flavor of a good cookie or ice cream does not last.  It is because of impermanence that we suffer.  The character of this world, this realm we live in, is impermanence.  That is on the Universe and above any individual’s pay grade.  The actions we take, are on us.  Wise, kind, and compassionate actions can be made available if we understand and accept impermanence.  Another way to look at impermanence and its significance is the stark reality of birth and death.  In the Shushogi, under the reason to practice, Zen Master Dogen states, “The most important question for all Buddhists is how to understand birth and death completely, for then, should you be able to find the Buddha within birth and death, they both vanish. All you have to do is realize that birth and death, as such, should not be avoided and they will cease to exist for then, if you can understand that birth and death are Nirvana itself, there is not only no necessity to avoid them but also nothing to search for that is called Nirvana. The understanding of the above breaks the chains that bind one to birth and death. Therefore, this problem, which is the greatest in all Buddhism, must be completely understood.

Meditation, Mindfulness – doors to Samadhi and equanimity.   Sitting in Zazen or other sitting meditation techniques will eventually calm the mind and bring one to a place of stillness.  This stillness where craving and aversion no longer have a pull on us, essentially equanimity or non-opposition, leads to a state known as samadhi.  Samadhi has been described as the ceasing of feeding the conditioned self, thereby allowing the possibility of true seeing. It is not an end state but simply a condition where the ever-present mental chatter of our conditioned selves no longer has a sting.  Mindfulness is a natural counterpart (companion to?) to meditation where any activity can be met with full attention, rather than as rote or in-absentia while daydreaming and living in the past or future.  The beauty of mindfulness is that it can be practiced anywhere and at any time and can be more suitable for seniors and those with disabilities as opposed to disciplined meditation retreats.  Thich Nhat Hahn believed that mindfulness was a very important,  if not the most important, practice tool, since we only have the present moment.   Mindfulness should be done with ease. 

Emptiness – This mystic has talked about emptiness before.  The idea is that no thing in this phenomenal universe can exist by itself. All things, we included, are dependent on all other things.  Emptiness does not mean nothing, nor does it mean “less,” it means that all things are empty of a sole separate self.  Emptiness is fullness in the collective sense.  It is important to study this characteristic of the universe, as it is so true.  On the flip side, the Heart Sutra states that emptiness is form and form is emptiness.  I exist as a body, with a pumping heart and 5, plus, liters of blood. If you cut me, I bleed.  This is form and yet at the same time my blood, my body, even my mind is borrowed, conditioned and collective.  The phenomenal universe is seen by us at the human scale and limited by the mental capacity of humans and their tools.  Science and its tools include descriptions of vastly different places, both big and small.  Compound that with incredible dimensions of time and space and emptiness truly takes on new meaning.  Coming up with some sort of theory of existence or non-existence is not the point.   Contemplating and understanding what emptiness point to, is simply a vehicle to help us break out of our conditioned and very limited view of the world and our “selves.” 

Fundamentals of understanding thought and living in the body – We are taught that we have five senses.  Buddhists, at least the Yogacara school, classifies thinking as a sense.  The plant kingdom boasts about twenty-five senses, ways of interpreting and interacting with their environment.  To say that humans only have five is misleading.  Further, are emotions thought or are they bodily sensations?  Together with emotions, thought enables a whole magnitude of sensing ability – so maybe we are more complex than vegetables.  The danger of not including thought as a sense is that we, as humans, tend to live in our heads and thus identify with out thoughts.  This is where the “self” is concretized. Now, it is perfectly normal behavior for humans and a sense of self allows us to provide for this body in this world.  However, if one views thought and that model of the self as being a sense, essentially fleeting and not impermanent, then one can ask the question, who is watching the thinker.  On the cushion, that is one of the things we do.  Another way to lessen the isolated concretized self is to become more aware of the body and live in the body.  For one thing, by focusing on the body and breath, we tend to get out of our heads and less thinking is a result.  Finally, breath is a great gift.  We always have the tool of going back to our breath. It is used to lessen tension and handle pain during childbirth.  Just imagine throughout the day, pausing, taking in a breath and inviting spaciousness to flood our bodies and minds.  Matter of fact think body-mind, rather than mind and body.

We only have the present moment This is true.  Unpleasant existence occurs when re-living unpleasant events or fearing unpleasant future outcomes.  To live in the present is to lessen, and eventually eliminate fear.  The present moment is hard to live in as humans and for some reason, we have a built-in program that keeps us in a state of action — that is distraction.  I mean, see how so many run red lights, even people in motorized wheel chairs!  To live in the present moment is to slow down.  The ability to hone in on the present moment is learned through meditation and mindfulness practice.  Thich Nhat Hahn says: “Life can be found only in the present moment” and “The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence”….”Life is available only in the here and the now, and it is our true home. Mindfulness is the energy that helps us recognize the conditions of happiness that are already present in our lives”. Note, again, just like peeling away the essence of emptiness, Hahn states when mindful we can come back to happiness. 

The Precepts – moral and ethical living The framework of precepts creates a framework, or working tool, to reflect upon, each and every day, our behavior and its influence on others and ourselves.  Certainly, to study the Buddha way is to study the self, so this mystic really appreciates the tools of the precepts.  Research has shown that life-long meditators tend to develop kindness and compassion which is developed by spending long hours looking at the constructed self and, through insight, realizing what human qualities are true and valuable.  One thing that I have learned is that by smiling and being kind to others, say perfect strangers or the grocery clerk, pays forward good vibes.  One point of caution.  I recently read an article where a good Samaritan stopped to help a motorist who had had a fender bender and got immediately attacked by the person he was trying to help.  Kindness may not help the acutely psychotic but it can lessen the likelihood of meeting someone like that if we just practiced more kindness and compassion. 

Positive Mind States and what they may mean.  A bit more on positive states.   So often we mistake happiness for an induced state of temporary excitement.  Happiness and positive mind states tend to be those that do not rely so much on the impermanence of the world.  Part of precept practice, and mindfulness for that matter, is to notice feelings that produce tightness and contraction, often physical but also mental.  These feelings are in themselves not “bad” but can be used as indicators to hone in on what is going on.  The Yogacara school of Buddhism lists 11 wholesome mental factors, or elements of experience.  These are confidence, sense of shame (not guilt but more a recognition that one has done or been involved with something unwholesome), sense of integrity, lack of greed, lack of aversion, lack of ignorance (note the last three are lack of the three fires), vigor, tranquility, vigilance, equanimity and non-injury.  I think that these mind states are cultivated through the concerted effort of practice using techniques (and many more) that this mystic has touched on.  By cultivating the wholesome mental factors, one becomes more capable of giving and receiving Love.  Love in Buddhist teachings is covered by the Brahmaviharas, also known as the Four Immeasurables.  These are characteristics or virtues describing Love, namely Loving Kindness, Sympathetic Joy, Compassion and Equanimity.   They live in us and without us and point to true happiness.  

If there is no permanent self, what about self esteem?  So, the question is posed.  I found this lovely piece on Zen and self-esteem, by Domyo Burke:  https://zenstudiespodcast.com/self-esteem/  She writes, “At the most fundamental level, our sense of self is simply our experience of being an individual.”   There is no getting around being in an inexplicable world as one of the biologically-alive creatures or beings.  Buddhism calls out for a much bigger reality than we can fathom with our limited physical senses.  Yet, here we are.  Using the lotus flower analogy, to study the self is not to wallow in the muddy roots but to actualize the flower.  Self-esteem for this mystic is for the “small self” to strive for physical, mental and spiritual health, embracing the wholesome mental factors and cultivating the Brahmaviharas.  It is also about self-compassion without a big ego and ultimately about treading in this World lightly, lovingly and with gratitude. 

The Middle Way  This goes back to Gautama Buddha.  By practicing too hard we lose the way.  By following the way of Jack Karouac in the Dharma Bums, we just screw around and pretend we are Zen masters. There are many traps in Zen Buddhism that epitomize actions of the concretized self that wants to hang on to a permanent world. This includes being entertained by Buddhists writings.  The goal is to be, as the Buddha taught, like a string properly tuned on an instrument, not too tight and not too lose.  It’s about having a sense of compassion for oneself and others, realizing that we make mistakes, and also enjoying life and appreciating the ever-changing scenery. 

Reflections on Eight Years of Buddhist Practice—Self and Others

by LittleKnownMystic

At age 75 it is time for this mystic to reflect on the Buddhist practice that started about eight years ago.  One of my friends has told me that I have always been a Buddhist!  This piece is about observing aspects of practice, self and others.  It is a broad overview.  My intention is to follow-up, in a part two, addressing in more depth which teachings are “alive” for this mystic and techniques that have changed my view and/or approach to suffering over the years.   It seems like we learn and change each to our own capacity. This is why it has been said that the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, used different approaches of instruction, through skillful means, delivering the “medicine” that each person needed.  Our differences are due to causes and conditions, both recent and stemming back eons.  Eastern disciplines describe our life circumstances and life path as one influenced by “karma,” our past actions as they have intersected with others and the universe.  As there is no current scientific explanation of how karma might work, it is just important to know that our lives are the product of past events, and most essentially, to realize that our actions at any moment propel us forward and shape our “trajectory,” both individually and collectively.

Spiritual curiosity is a deep human trait, and may be expressed by participating in formal religious venues or might simply be woven into many different personal actions and activities without any formal commitment to an institutional religious practice.  People come to the Zen center to which I belong to for a number of reasons.  A primary one, especially in these times, is to seek “relief,” or piece of mind – not that life can’t be amazing and beautiful.   If this mystic may project his own opinion, what they will learn is that this piece of mind or cessation of suffering is relieved by understanding that our own minds cause the suffering (and that does not imply that external shit does not happen, on the contrary does it ever!)  As Shunryu Zuzuki writes in Zen Mind, Beginners Mind: “Nothing outside yourself can cause trouble. You yourself make the waves in your mind.  If you leave your mind as it is, it will become calm.  This mind is called Big Mind.”  One of the Buddhist precept commentaries describes our world as “inexplicable.”  For this mystic and quite a few, the draw to Zen or Buddhism is due to a deep spiritual question regarding the nature of this “inexplicability.”  Additionally, people come to spiritual practice, regardless of the religion, because they sense that there is a certain incompleteness to ordinary life (lack of “real” purpose).  Their spiritual interest may also be due to personal trauma, depression, addiction, etc., or perhaps a desire to expose family to ethics and morality and/or to some combination of cultivating spiritual discipline and calming/enriching their lives. Note that trauma can include aging and all the loses that are associated with that.  Trauma is dynamic and changes over time.   Note that among some social circles, religious affiliation may mainly be about conforming to norms and it is “just done.”

In Buddhism, the teachings fundamentally do this:  they explanation how suffering occurs in our lives and provide a means, a series of practices, to relieve that suffering. Buddhism, has a monastic aspect and a lay aspect.  One of the things that is really important to understand is that lay practitioners will not be exposed to the level or intensity of monastic practice.  Intense practice is correlated with relief from suffering over time.  Of course, sometimes lay practitioners take up residency or monastic pursuits.  At the Zen Center people may show up for only a short period of time. It is said that quite a few leave after a year, other in about three or four years.  Maybe the practice or environment is not what they are looking for, which simply shows that Zen or any religion is not a panacea (and people have preexisting ideas).  Results from suffering are seldom instant.   Looking at some departures, from a positive viewpoint, suggests that they maybe they got what they were looking for and can now move on.  Overall, one can argue that the benefits of intense practice, monastic or dedicated ascetic practice, can lead to greater spiritual “rewards.”  But then again, we are all different and it is only in the external behavior of a person can we begin to ascertain the effect of any sustained spiritual practice.  Stepping back a bit, we can find all sorts of amazing people in this world, regardless of obvious spiritual affiliations, so again, karma or a set of causes and conditions shape the nature of an individual.  One thing this mystic would say is that I have a lot of respect for the monks at the Zen Center who exhibit kind, loving, helpful and calm behavior.  They serve as positive role models and examples of what training can do, at least for this mystic.  We can also study the enlightenment experiences of great masters and the teaching of various saints and masters. That there is something to “awakening to spiritual truths,” and more importantly embodying them or being actualized by them seems clear to this mystic.   

Reflecting, my ego really wanted “enlightenment.”   So, these eight years have been a good lesson.  The “ego” cannot “get” enlightenment! Many of the teaching seemed very exciting when I came to the Zen Center (many still are).  There was lots of intoxication!  Recently, and partially why this piece is being written, I have gone back to examining the basics of the practice.  The basics are not so “sexy” but very important.   Buddhist practice and its teachings have been likened to a three-legged stool. The three legs are the teaching themselves (distilled to the four noble truths and the eight fold path), precepts and meditation. 

Almost all branches of Buddhism have some form of precepts, or ethical and moral guidelines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts. Ironically we discover that they cannot be kept completely and that the refer to not only physical practices but mental ones as well. Do not kill, steal, covet, lie and do not become intoxicated have a much deeper meaning.  In Soto Zen, a Japanese originating form of Mahayana Buddhism, there are sixteen precepts.  Interestingly they include the three refuges (taking refuge in the Buddha, the dharma and the sangha) the three pure precepts (cease from evil or release all self-attachment, do only good, and do good for others), and the ten grave precepts which are an extended take on the five fundamental precepts. 

The third leg of the stool is meditation.  This involves both concentration and mindfulness. In Zen, the type of meditation done is Zazen, also know as “just sitting,” objectless/formless meditation or “serene reflection.”  One of the best description of it is this short recording from the Shasta Abbey:  Serene Reflection Meditation   Rev. Master Meian Elbert   07-26-12   29 min/10 MB.    We can think of meditation as the process of exercising a muscle – the continual letting go of thoughts and distractions, sometimes facing with courage our fundamental fears, regrets and causes of suffering until they vanish, and sometimes forgetting the small self completely.  The goal of meditation itself is not to achieve some great spiritual experience, but if it comes (kensho experience using Japanses Zen terminology) great!   The benefit of meditation over time is a calmer mind, and seeing clearly.  This doubles back to seeing our actions in a clearer, realistic and less judging way which directly links meditation with precept practice.   In turn, one’s wholesome behavior extends out to others.   

With regard to the teaching, since that Buddha’s Parinirvana, some 2500 years ago, the teachings have flourished.  They have evolved and taken on the flavor, culture and philosophy of the places where the teachings have travelled to (think of it as a two-way street or a continued exchange of spiritual teachings between cultures.)  This dynamism is happening in the United States currently. This explains the many so-called flavors or Buddhism.  Here is a wiki link on the schools of Buddhism. Many of the teachings can be spiritually exciting and uplifting.  This is a motivator!  Teachings include Buddhist scripture, called the Sutras (Suttas in Pali) and many brands of teaching, from those in the Pali Canon associated with Theravadan Buddhism to Wisdom Sutras and Mahayana Buddhism (including the Zen and Rinzai School).  Rounding out other main branches of Buddhism, all of which have a Mahayana flavor are Vajrayana (primarily Tibetan originating), Pure Land and Nichirin.  While Vajrayana is more esoteric and metaphysical in nature, the two latter branches are fundamentally devotional.  Probably the easiest to read and perhaps best understood by westerners are the many contemporary Buddhist commentary style books (blogs, videos, etc) including the prolific works of Thich Nhat Hahn and the insightful teachings of Shunryu Suzuki. 

Now a bit about the personal dynamics of practice (approaches to practice).  Quite a few individuals are initially drawn to the Zen Center due to those individuals’ “disappointment” with previous exposure to Christian church practice.  However, many newcomers may initially be quite shocked to see even lay practitioners in black robes and a service that is structured around many rituals and forms, including bowing.  As it turns out the bowing is an expression of humility, surrender and acceptance, not worship of a Buddha.  But regardless, all Buddhist religions have a structure and a set of practices.  The Japanese words, Jiriki and Tariki refer to “self-power” and “other-power” respectively.  The pure practice of Zen, just sitting, just being mindful… is an example of self-power, whereas Tariki invokes help from the outside. Tariki, in its most apparent form would capture the practice approach of the Pure Land Buddhist sect who ubiquitously chant the name of Amitabha Buddha, or “Buddha of Infinite Light and Life,” chanting (in Japanese) “Namu Amida Butsu.”  Shunryu Zuzuki describes Zen practice akin to the continuous and ever refined practice of baking bread, over and over again, until it is just right.  This is Jiriki.  Here is a nice short piece explaining how one Buddhist teacher used both methods. I’d say it is illusion to think we can really do it alone, as even the historic Buddha, while devoted to intense and isolated practice, previously studied under a number of wise teachers and near the moment of his awakening invoked the earth itself as his witness and supporter.

Buddhist practice in America can be all over the place and at times can almost be a form of escapism, which is a trap (says this Mystic).  From this perspective, fundamentals of practice and a grounded understanding of what the heck we are doing can be helpful.  The Shushogi is a compilation of Great Master Dogen’s ideas, put together by the Soto Zen school in Japan early in the last century.  Shushogi is formally recognized as an accepted Soto Zen text by the Japanese Soto Zen community and the title can be translated as The Meaning of Practice and Verification. This relatively short document maps out the basics in five short chapters, namely General introduction to Buddhism (i.e. why practice?), The importance of reflection and repentance or contrition, Taking the precepts and maintaining wholesome conduct, The Aspiration for Enlightenment and Helping Others and Practice and Gratitude.  You can find it here. 

A very helpful commentary providing perspective on this document for western practitioners is in a blog site, subject labeled The Shushogi: the forgotten Zen text.  Here is a quote: “Speaking as someone who is a working parent and lousy meditation-practitioner, the Shushogi is a gentle and welcoming approach to Zen that is at once familiar, and at the same time inspiring. If you’ve been turned off by Zen or meditation in the past, take a step back and read the Shushogi. It’s an odd-duck in the tradition of Zen, yet at the same time, I can see why Zen followers in Japan have so often embraced it.” 

The reason this mystic has introduced the Shushogi, distilled fundamental ideas from Zen master Dogen, is to illustrate that study, practice and aspiration for enlightenment are pretty complex.  We have to return again and again back to the starting point of our practice, like the baking bread analogy from Suzuki.  Certainly, Zen practice, and meditation can be pretty “heady.”  My spouse, a lovely non-Buddhist person points out that from initial observation, Buddhists tend to spend a lot of time in their heads, dealing with their mind.  Maybe stepping back to see the forest for the trees is a good thing. 

Spiritual Encouragement and a Departed Cat

by LittleKnownMystic

All of us, whether we consciously know it or not, at some level continue to hold the great question of existence (the “Great Matter” according to Zen master Dogen.) These inquiries can vary from occasional spiritual pursuits (checking things out here and there) to perhaps basic Sunday, or even just holiday, Christian church worship and then all the way to being a yogi meditating in a cave.  In between lies the everyday dance of seeking the pleasant and avoiding the unpleasant, seeking comfort and avoiding discomfort — for ourselves, our families and others.  Why would this basic trait, common to all conscious beings, be at all connected to spiritual pursuits?   For humans, we could say that this is because once basic physical needs are met, we venture along the slippery slope of seeking happiness, for ourselves and others.  Happiness is not really a physical thing, rather a state of mind or simply a State, much like love is a state.  True happiness is special.  So, this “seeking happiness” or maybe just seeking peace can lead one toward spiritual pursuits, especially if one sees the basic nature of our realm to be forever changing and impermanent.  Once that sinks in, and unfortunately for most only at the end of their lives, the pursuit of happiness through attachment to the things, people, pursuits, accomplishments and other actions we love, loses some of its sweetness, and becomes a “pointer.” Disenchantment arises and we ironically ask, is there more?

What is the “payoff” of meditation and a disciplined spiritual training program, called “a practice?”   This question applies to many Buddhists and also those pursuing other types of meditation and spiritual work.  If an outsider were to watch what happens during a week-long Buddhist retreat, or sesshin, they might be appalled or very puzzled seeing people gazing motionless toward a wall, doing “nothing” for hours.  They then get up and silently practice walking mediation and later silently eat a communal formal meal (Oryoki) with very prescribed procedures.  The day starts early, 5:00 am.  What would be the payoff for this “self-induced torture?”  Beginners, and even advanced retreat participants will likely experience uncomfortable periods, from physical body pain due to unaccustomed sitting to mental pain of simply doing the discipline and concentration, to mental pain of facing difficult thoughts while sitting.

While Zen Master Dogen describes shikantaza, or just sitting, as the technique of non-thinking and experientially being “enlightenment itself,” a vast majority of those that sit experience a plethora of thoughts and emotions.  Due to our conditioning or karma, it is as if one’s head is a bell experiencing various harmonic levels of mental vibration.  Consider your head to be a cooking pot.  Sitting is all about taking care and being aware just like diligently preparing a savory pot of stew.  A lot of stuff happens while “sitting on the cushion!”  Despite the hardships, after a sesshin most individuals will report to a lesser or greater degree a sense of calmness and an ineffable feeling of being a little closer to the heart of the “Great Matter.”  For some, the whole retreat might be a truly wonderful and peaceful experience.  This might be attributable to their years of training or simply due to fortunate karma, or in other words, the coming together of positive causes and conditions. Below is a description one person’s recent experience at a retreat followed by a story from this mystic.   Sometimes there is unexpected encouragement.

This individual is an advanced practitioner of Soto Zen Buddhism.  His dharma talk and experience can be listened to here.   Understandably, this individual was very concentrated and measured and likely his mind was quite calm, like a lake with few ripples.  He describes a certain period of walking meditation, where he was carefully focusing on making a right angle turn at the end of the meditation hall, when seemingly straight out of the floor, he hears the words “I will help you.”  He describes the words as “articulated, enunciated and said with great authority.”  This experience made a big, energetic, impact on this individual, creating a sense of encouragement, wonder, and tranquility.  These feelings had a staying effect.  He said he “felt cared for.”  Weeks later and after talking with his teacher he felt that the experience was a direct result of his concentration efforts and practice.  In the end he concludes that the words were not important at all; what was important was the openness, viability, receptivity and wisdom brought on by the event.   His talk is entitled; the True Dharma Appears of Itself.   

Prior to formally committing to the practice of Buddhist teachings I routinely meditated, primarily using various Samatha or yogic methods involving breathing techniques and mantras.  About 26 years ago, at the time working in Nevada in a State environmental position, helping support the family, I became increasingly discouraged as to what the benefits of meditation were. There seemed little peace or joy in it at the time and worldly stresses seemed to be piling on. Then, during a certain meditation, clear out of the blue the words “I am” reverberated in my head, and really in the whole body.  The experience was very uplifting and encouraging.  Looking back on this experience, the words “articulated, enunciated and said with great authority,” applied exactly.  A definite feeling or acknowledgement of being cared for, not being alone in the Universe, was present.  I still feel this to be true.   Particularly back then my practice included a certain amount of devotion toward a higher being, so the immediate thought was, “is God speaking to me?”  My answer/response to this was simply curiosity.  Buddhism teaches us emptiness, the essential no separate self of all phenomenon.  The flip side of this is interdependence.  To have a mediation experience with clear words is a blessing as well as a trap, that is, if one overthinks it. Internet research suggests a state where the individual realizes they are the pure, formless “I AM,” beyond the ego or mind. This is a non-dual state and a mystery beyond words.  Finally, as Goldstein and Kornfield write in Seeking the Heart of Wisdom “The greatest of our spiritual experiences become only a memory.  When one Western student described to an Asian teacher all of the important experiences of his years of practice, the only response he got was, ‘Oh, something more to let go of.’”

This mystic will add that everyday can be a spiritual experience, if we just stay mindful.  Our cat, Katy just passed away recently. She had advanced kidney failure, stopped her usual routines and then eventually refused to eat.  She had been sleeping under a chair in the closet for about a week, but on the morning of the day when the vet was to arrive to euthanize her, we found her nestled in the bottom tube of the cat tree.  It was a beautiful and sunny fall morning and Katy staggered to the door, wanting out.  I spent the next hour or so with her, while waiting for the vet, watching her slowly move from spot to spot, sunning herself, sniffing the air, and still interacting with me by gently rubbing up against my legs.  Did she know the end was near? Maybe, but that does not matter so much.  Did she feel the warmth of the sun and the gentle breezes? YES!  I sobbed uncontrollably while holding her as the vet administered the injection. 

Saturday

by LittleKnownMystic

There’s something to being on the highway for this old mystic that is a gateway for insight.  It’s been that way a long time.  Visual stimulation is probably the biggest trigger for human response and the movement while driving and seeing others around you, going and coming, passing and being passed is certainly fascinating and expanding.  It’s Saturday morning and this mystic is on his way to volunteer at the local Buddhist festival, driving down the freeway.  I wonder about my fellow travelers on the road and what they will do for the day, and perhaps most importantly, their experiences for the day.   This includes myself.  Saturday, especially for those that work weekdays, often is a day of errands or a day with special purpose.  The light entering my retina is translated into pictures and this evokes a response.  In Buddhist philosophy, the mind is considered the sixth sense, with thoughts and mental phenomena considered its objects. Just as the five physical senses perceive external objects, the mind perceives internal mental objects like thoughts, memories, and emotions. So, imagine all those people in all those cars, using their senses, including thought.  Now, as it turns out, on this particular Saturday, one of the Zen teachers is also leading a day of Mindfulness, with check in online.  While this mystic is not participating directly, this was in the back of his mind. 

I see “people” on the highway mostly just as cars.  It is thought and past conditioning that opens up an internal dialogue.  How odd, these carbon-based life forms, essentially life-support vehicles (of what, consciousness?), moving in car vehicles, with both being composed of earth elements and ultimately powered by the fossil energy of the sun.  It can get strange in a hurry.  Now, imagine each individual, or individuals, in those cars involved with their own sensory processes, some just grooving on music, others deep in thought about “problems” or maybe just planning lunch.  Some harbor anger, maybe at the big black truck tailgating them, or perhaps someone is having an argument.  There are a myriad possibilities.  Shift scales and move to the small, down to the quantum scale.  The momentary highway scene loses meaning – poof it is gone.  Same if we expand out, until earth is light years away. Again, a whole different world.  But one thing remains at all three scales and every intermediate one, namely the very sense of Being. It is very subtle and in Buddhist philosophy is called suchness.  As it is beyond thought, it is hard to describe.  Mindfulness is the process of being the observer of all six senses and opening up to this suchness.  It is a way to “see” more than the ordinary and very limited world.   Anther technique, Zen meditation or Shikantaza, just sitting, contains an exercise of letting go of thoughts, or non-thinking.  Anything we can think up, at least in terms of philosophy is not direct insight or Kensho, rather a dualistic mode capable of perpetuating a small separate self, even if the thought is a most excellent one!

Within this suchness many things will occur over the 24 hours of the day, both seen and unseen.   Not all of them will be pleasant. For example, due to natural laws one may have a car accident, or perhaps a heart attack – and your car will kill things. There is the ever-present dance within the world of phenomenon.  But for most of us there will be a series of basic experiences triggered by either the sense objects or thoughts that will have the flavor of either neutral, positive or negative.  While we do live in a mysterious world and universe, so much of our “reality” is wrapped up in our mental processes, namely reacting to the sense objects and thought objects and essentially being jerked around by them feeling very small and separate.  This mystic has talked previously about how we fabricate our world and create a mental model of it.  With mindfulness, seeing around the edges and through the cracks opens our perspective.  Just directly seeing the actual thing…. And all the people I see today, including this old mystic, contain and are influenced by a world of conditioning, namely inherited karma and karma we produce every time we react to a sense or thought object.  While I can never know “you” your actions will influence me! It’s a giant pool table of interacting billiard balls!  So, please be kind and considerate! 😊 Suchness can be kind and loving.

My volunteer assignment at the Buddhist festival was directing various Buddhist groups where to drop off and set up their booths.  Now, these are people who have trained in mindfulness.  Over the course of an hour and a half I interacted with everyone from twinkly-eyed masters, to happy hippy Buddhists, to older attentive and kind lay Buddhist practitioners.  Not everyone seemed mindful, however.    A few just drove right by.  Maybe they were so mindful they already knew where to drop off their stuff.  Others came late or exhibited some level of anxiety.  I loved the relaxed ladies who were followed by their non-Buddhist husbands in vans or trucks.  Good karma!  The point here is that all of us are shaped by conditioning developed through living in this realm and this in turn shapes our interactions with others.  It’s a work in progress.  Oh, and suchness includes thought, but don’t label it as suchness.  Who are we, anyway?

Reflections on the Human Condition and Spirituality

by LittleKnownMystic

It’s been about a year since the last post.  I’m OK – still mesmerized by phenomenon. And, yes, we live in dark political times.  The subject of this post breaches the topic of people on a spiritual path — why the path — based mostly on observations/interactions within my Zen sangha (community) and also reflections on some relationships with old (and not so old) friends.  Most of my spare writing time over the last year has been spent working on kind of a personal memoir using an online service called StoryWorth. It was actually a gift from one of my daughters as encouragement to write some stories about life experiences.  A little “nudge” from the kids, as well — better ask questions now, rather than wonder about “Pops” when his physical presence is just ashes. Also, my wife and I have also been traveling (she is not a mystic but a pragmatic down-to-earth person that is not particularly attached to the common “glitz” of the world.)  We have seen some amazing animals and scenery in Costa Rica and most recently in the Galapagos and Peru.  And you know, those creatures, be they sea lions, marine iguanas, giant ancient tortoises or the elusive Quetzal bird—they are like you and me, wanting to bask in the sun and feel the breeze. 

Yup, this mystic is aging, now 74 with some sever arthritis and  slowing senses. But like the wounded black knight in a Monty Python skit I and my suffering will keep moving along the spiritual path (which is not really linear nor is it winding)  — absurd as it may seem at times.

The Buddhist practice continues.  After some years of Zen practice, two things are becoming increasingly clear. First, there is something personally positive and reinforcing about continued meditation and mindfulness along with efforts to follow ethical and moral guidelines and study dharma (the teachings) through literature and interaction with teachers and others.  Secondly, it is hard to gage other beings.  They are a mystery.  People that practice a spiritual tradition, and for that matter those,  that on the surface do not, are each unique and in a “different space” as to mental and physical character, spiritual state, abilities, desired goals and life/work/family/relationship/socioeconomic/political status, etc.  We are all products of causes and conditions.  Using the term karma, it is the past actions of an individual and the effects of the collective interactions of that individual with others (who further share karma with still others –ad infinitum)  that determine the individuals present state and “steer” one in a certain direction in future existences.  For those at my Zen center, including this mystic, as we are all unique, we don’t “start” at the same place, do we?  Matter of fact spiritual paths are not linear. But why practice, e.g., Zen and what is the goal?  What is the payoff? 

Toward the end of his life Buddha reportedly said that all he taught was “suffering and the and of suffering.”  There is a certain, mostly unspoken, tension and confusion regarding a spiritual practice that leads to the end of suffering and whether that is the same as “enlightenment” and whether that should be the goal.  Recognizing the diversity of practitioners, probably the main intention, and not necessarily a “goal” of those who practice is to relieve suffering, whether it be for themselves alone or including others.

This mystic will argue that practice will lead to being less disturbed by suffering and the practice involves work with one’s Mind.  The Oxherding Pictures describe the Zen path of finding the Way and eventually taming the Ox, who in part represents our undisciplined and delusional mind. Even when one has tamed the Ox, and is no longer pulled around by craving, one is only half way along the path.  The Oxherding Pictures include the path that leads to no path and non-duality.  So, there is a lot to practice, but clearly the practice leads toward less suffering by taking us away from being affected or disturbed by our suffering and leading us toward a radical acceptance of our condition.  Hint: if we are working with our minds and the process is one of “taming,” perhaps literally getting out of hour head, where do “we” go.  Suggestion: a place known as the heart. 

My teacher tells me that “Zen is not an improvement project.”  However, Meditation and mindfulness practice, study of teachings and the precepts leads, to what might be called personal improvement and less suffering.  It is an intermediate and ongoing stage of practice, kind of where we sometimes calm the ox down.  There is some payoff in this alone, but as the Oxherding pictures imply the ultimate utility of Zen is more complex and includes a journey away from the small self and eventually a journey back to the everyday.  This mystic finds it sobering that even the wisest monks and senior lay members of my Zen center profess that they are likely “lifetimes” away from complete awakening or enlightenment.  However, no matter the starting point, a momentary glimpse, a momentary shift from the head to the heart, a momentary shift to crystal clear reality or “suchness” can happen at any time and is an important, “mini-payoff” for keeping up the effort in practice. 

To end.  There was an individual at our Zen center, whom this mystic really respected.  He excelled in chanting, was a dedicated meditator, taught and helped others. In the end he took his own life due to substance abuse issues and declining health.  Our karma is strong.  It is vicious and it can be cruel. There are no guarantees.  From Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva, he says “When you look at others think that it will be through them that you will come to Buddha hood.  So look at them with frank and loving hearts.”   Not all beings whom we meet, whether they be people, snakes or trees will always be kind or even appear very lovable.  They will invoke feelings.  But the way does lie in acceptance of not being disturbed by ones suffering.   It is the way of the heart, with suffering lessened when your mind is not trying to tame a wild bull that after all is just a concept.    

The Eight Consciousnesses

by LittleKnownMystic

We just finished up a study group focusing on the book Understanding Our Mind  by Thich Nhat Hahn. It is based on the teachings of, Vasubandhu, a fourth to fifth century Indian Buddhist associated with the founding of the Yogacara school.  Why is it potentially beneficial to understand the facets of the mind?  From this mystic’s perspective it is helpful in the context of seeing how mindfulness, meditation and our mental states give us clues about how we can see things more clearly and consequently how we can lessen suffering for ourselves and others.  Western psychology has plenty to say about the mind, even before Freud. Currently, a very interesting and promising area related to study of the mind are advances in neuroscience. Among therapists and even the public at large there is a growing appreciation and practice of mindfulness — in this case, a secular practice to relieve stress and anxiety with potential to improve creativity, concentration and development of  more positive state of mind.  The Netflix series, Mindfulness Manual is kind of a cute, Korean-authored, short series on the current state of increasing secular acceptance of mindfulness and meditation for relief of suffering.   But in this mystics case, looking at the mind is also a method that provides glimpses into the ultimate nature of reality and an opportunity to better understand how mindfulness and various meditation practices work.

Vasubandhu proposed that the mind has eight aspects, thus the term “eight consciousnesses” was coined. These are  the base consciousness, called storehouse consciousness and also called alaya, manas, or the energy of the “self,” mind, and the five sense consciousnesses, namely eye, ear, smell, taste and touch.  So in summary, alaya, manas, mind and the five senses.  We don’t have to get to “heady” to have an intuitive feel for these eight consciousnesses.  The base consciousness is the foundation and source of all the other consciousnesses; as such, it would fall into the basket of such western concepts as subconscious but also could be simply viewed as the mystery and “substrate” of existence.  Manas is like ego, and besides serving as a survival mechanism (yes, manas is necessary,) is the instigator of much suffering as we “struggle,” seemingly isolated individuals, through this world.  Mind stems from manas and it seems clear that cognitive and emotional functions are closely related to  the brain, thus a plug for neuroscience.  An important point to note is that mind consciousness is considered a sense consciousness, as we reason with our minds regarding phenomena and in effect sense the world with our minds as well as the physical sense organs.  Just as the mind stems or has its base as manas, the five sense consciousnesses stem or have their base from mind. Intuitively, the brain interprets our world based on physical inputs.  The senses work with various energies of our world.

The yogacara school is also known as the mind only or manifestation only school.  As this mystic has noted many times, whatever is out there, or even one’s own body is “sensed.”  We put a picture together based on our consciousness, based on our limitations of our sense organs.  The true essence, for example, of  a table is an approximation, a model, a simulation.  

So scholars write lengthy books on these eight aspects.  Here are a few fundamental points about each of the consciousnesses.  Store consciousness is called that because it contains, or stores infinite potential of the cosmos.  In verse 11 of Thich Nhat Hahn’s interpretation of Vasubandhu, Hahn states: “Although impermanent and without a separate self, store consciousness contains [has the potential] all phenomena in the cosmos, both conditioned and unconditioned, in the form of seeds.”  Now along comes manas.  Hahn explains the presence of manas by noting that our habit energies, delusions and craving come together and create a tremendous source of energy that condition our actions, speech and thinking.  This energy is called manas.  Here is an important point: Somehow the very apparent existence and life in this realm and we as living beings originate from the fact that a complex energy field clings to a certain aspect of alaya.  In effect it is the manifestation of a separate self, often tied up in knots, living in a big, big world.  While alaya, by definition, can “see” things as they are, manas always sees things only as mere representations and always erroneously because manas is always in dual mode,  craving after the perceiver aspect of alaya, making it into an object and thus manifesting a “self.” 

Here are a few more important points regarding manas.: The activity of manas is thinking, cognizing, measuring, reasoning, grasping and clinging. The objects of mind (thoughts, cognition) do not arise from the external world as the objects of our senses do.  Instead, they come from the working of manas with the seeds in our storehouse consciousness.  Thus, the dilemma of not seeing things as they truly are and the potential therefore for unwholesome states that do not lead to happiness. 

The beauty and the promise of the five sense consciousnesses is that they can see things directly if the mind or manas stays out of the way.  Thus the impetus for mindfulness of the body and phenomenon.  But even when sense consciousness is fully engaged it can only be focused on a very limited scale or aspect of reality.  Think of it as the physical limitation of, e.g. eye consciousness. We can only see a certain spectrum of EM radiation.  Further, we are limited by our location, and the very limits of our brain’s and (now) external computational power’s capacity.  This seemingly limited ability to see takes us to the edge of the Buddhist concept of emptiness, and its flip side, interdependence.  Yet, our very presence in this realm is also very precise, meaningful and, well, here! 

While mind stems from manas, it has the capability of seeing things directly, without coloring them and adding a self.  This takes practice, so enter meditation as well as mindfulness of mental aspects (feeling and formations).  Mind acts as the observer during meditation or mindfulness practice. Mind also can “tame” manas and when we meditate it is possible to set manas aside.

Circling back to storehouse consciousness or alaya.  In his book Vasubandhus Three Natures, Ben Connelly points out that alaya is the “cause” and the rest of the consciousness aspects are the “effect.”  What he is referring to are all the seeds in the storehouse, collectively called karma, that perpetuate the cycle of samsara (cycle of birth and death.)  It is not this mystic’s place or ability to intuitively go much further right now to explain or ponder how karma drives the cycle of perpetual birth and death or how karma actually works from a scientific, technical, perspective.  Let’s just say it is a very cosmic energy dance. It is worthy to note that the cycle originates from alaya, which is way mysterious and that act of liberation or nirvana is the circling back, by the mind, to the roots within alaya, without the attachment of manas.  And none of the eight consciousnesses are permanent. 

We can look at the three natures another time but suffice to say we do have a choice to move outside the lane, peer around a corner and venture into the possibility of something past this normal world which ends up in only one seemingly inevitable way, death and birth.  I’ll admit there are times when the ride is enjoyable.  What is that?

What About Evil?

by LittleKnownMystic

It is the beginning of 2024 and many people have a heavy heart due to an increasingly unstable world situation.   Imagine a person, a civilian, caught up in a war.  At that moment she is engulfed in flames as shrapnel and debris mutilate her body.  Now, imagine the very small, orders of magnitude smaller than the realm of this tragedy.  At that scale there is a lot of space. Things are different.  Sub-atomic particles are dancing everywhere.  Is her consciousness “present” in there? Do subatomic particles know pain and suffering? And what about the war, a type of evil.  Is that present?  Now imagine the relevance of this event  just after the big bang, as the universe begins to expand.  Was evil going along for the ride?  Again, in a few billion years from now imagine the sun becoming a giant dwarf and imagine the whole world burning up with all life vaporized.  Take the same event and look at the whole Cosmos by comparison.  Does this person’s suffering become lost in the vastness? 

This mystic has mentioned two key words that require elaboration.  “Evil” and “suffering.”  We all experiencing suffering.  It is those times of distress where we experience physical or mental  strain and stress, including physical pain and mental “pain.”  Suffering is actually a very broad category both in intensity of discomfort and duration.  From a practical point of view most people’s life path includes attempting to move away from suffering.  Call it seeking comfort, stability, pleasure, love, etc. It’s a biologic thing, as our pets behave the same way.  The trouble begins when we try to create a perfect world where there can never be one and the joy begins when we can let go of that concept.

So we want to be happy.  What about Evil?  Our hypothetical character’s death would inevitably create suffering  for surviving family and friends as well.  Evil, in this case, is a war that did not have to be fought, initiated by individual and collective actions of people.  It’s unnecessary suffering!

One wording or translation of the first pure precept in Soto Zen is “Cease from evil.  Release all self attachment.”  It is a fundamental Buddhist belief that suffering, in general, is caused by grasping or craving, being attached to things and concepts including  the idea of being a permanent separate “self.” 

Evil, from this mystics perspective, is causing suffering for oneself and others (the two are inseparable) by selfish acts of volition.  Logically, good then would imply being selfless and helping others.  We don’t have to create a mental division between self and other.  Evil acts happen because we don’t see the other as our selves.  One group separates itself from another.  One side is right and the other wrong.  One country is stronger and the other weaker and it is their destiny and right to eliminate  or disenfranchise the weaker.  It is the individual and collective grasping or striving for satisfaction and happiness at the expense of another person or group that is the dynamic that creates evil, or unnecessary suffering.  It’s been going on for a very long time.

Moving to a scientific perspective, there is natural selection, or putting it bluntly, the survival of the fittest.   But is that really the whole story? Here is an article from the New Scientist titled How did complex life evolve?  For nearly 2 billion years of earth history organic life consisted of a variety of very simple unicellular organisms called prokaryotes.  Then, for reasons unknown, perhaps a freak accident, one cell invaded another one.  Here is the quote from  the article:

“So what happened? The critical event appears to have occurred about 2 billion years ago, when one simple cell somehow ended up inside another. The identity of the host cell isn’t clear, but we know it engulfed a bacterium, which began to live and divide within it, like a squatter. The two somehow found a way to live together amicably, and eventually formed a symbiotic relationship called endosymbiosis.”

Who was the “fittest?”  The Engulfer or the engulfed?  Now, humans write words and “engulfed” could be a neutral term but if some alien organism engulfed us, or gobbled us up, we might considered that an evil act.  Intent plays in here as well.  This mystic likes the way that this hypothesized event turned out, resulting in symbiosis, essentially cooperation.  It says something about sentient beings and also dulls the “right and wrong” or  Judeo Christian good vs. evil paradigm.   And it provides a clue about the ultimate nature of reality. 

In this piece from  the Lion’s Roar, everything is buddha nature, we are taught that our fundamental nature is non-dual and beyond good and evil.  The non-dual has been called God, even by some Buddhist scholars, and that is fine.  But this still does not resolve the fundamental matter. While some great souls can be heroes, others start wars.  My mind can become tangled reflecting on those suffering currently or remembering that during World War II 60 million people perished.  In that war, the decisions made by the leaders of the Axis powers, in their delusion, eventually lead to infliction of great pain on others and their own people as well.  Both sides, Axis and Allies, had so much hate for each other and celebrated with great joy, when victorious in a battle.   Even if the “good” side won the war, we are far from a world at peace currently.  Evil and wars start with ideas of separateness. 

A sudden ray of sunshine through the Pacific Northwest mist and the ineffable feeling that beauty induces, suggests a fundamental reality beyond pain and suffering but also implies a paradox and a sort of obligation to delve further into the mystery of existence, both the beautiful and the ugly.   So in the end, evil is part of Buddha nature if “everything” is Buddha nature.  Suffering is not glossed over and Joy is not forgotten.  Keep asking questions!  Is a single person’s suffering from an evil act relevant in ultimate scales of time and space? We don’t have much of a handle on what “everything” really is, nor can we control others.  But we do have a choice to be less selfish, level headed, authentic and helpful.  This matters.  Meditation and spiritual practice can move us toward that direction.  The second and third pure precepts in Soto Zen say “Do good for others” and “Do only good.”  The kind of world we live in is reflected in the individual and collective actions of its inhabitants and the individual and collective actions of its inhabitants to some extent determines the kind of world they live in. So if you ask this mystic, is that person’s suffering relevant in all scales and dimensions, I’d answer with a resounding yes!  Also, all that space and time and cosmology leave out Love.  What is that? Here is a perspective from

Shantideva:

                                                          When you look at others think

                                                          That it will be through them

                                                          That you will come to Buddhahood.

                                                          So look on them with frank and loving hearts