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8/6/2019 With agency in mind - on the road to easy peace
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With agency in mind - on theroad to easy peace
An SRDS compilation document
George G ClarkMay 2011http://www.srds.co.uk
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Preface
The articles in this compilation first appeared on the website Let it begin with me - a
rough guide to meditation and mind training.1 The website is now an archive of sixty
eight articles that are listed in four sections - Classic Eastern, Recent Eastern,
Western, and Home grown.
This compilation is of seventeen home-grown articles that were written between 2001
and 2003. In the website they are listed chronologically; in this 2011 version they
have been rearranged in a more logical and developmental sequence. See the
introduction and the two contents pages for details.
The articles presented here follow the Words of Faith2 collection of articles prepared
by the author for a local newspaper in Lesotho in the late 1990s. The articles also
predate his Existential Soft Rock blog
3
The articles are offered as they first appeared around 2002 and are thus more technical
in terms of concepts and vocabulary than more recent plain language materials.
At the turn of the centuries the author was also writing about change agents and social
development under the auspices of the Caledonia Centre for Social Development4. In
more recent times his interests have been in exploring ways of rooting development
planning in a more spiritual framework.
George G ClarkB.Sc (Hons), Cert.Ed., MSc, MA
Email [email protected]
Twitter http://twitter.com/dodclark
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/dodclark
May 2011
1http://www.srds.co.uk/begin2
http://www.toonloon.bizland.com/whispers/3http://dodclark.blogspot.com/ (Begun on 17 Nov 2002 and still alive)4http://www.caledonia.org.uk
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mailto:[email protected]://twitter.com/dodclarkhttp://www.facebook.com/dodclarkhttp://www.srds.co.uk/beginhttp://www.srds.co.uk/beginhttp://www.toonloon.bizland.com/whispers/http://www.toonloon.bizland.com/whispers/http://dodclark.blogspot.com/http://dodclark.blogspot.com/http://www.caledonia.org.uk/http://www.caledonia.org.uk/http://www.srds.co.uk/beginhttp://www.toonloon.bizland.com/whispers/http://dodclark.blogspot.com/http://www.caledonia.org.uk/mailto:[email protected]://twitter.com/dodclarkhttp://www.facebook.com/dodclark8/6/2019 With agency in mind - on the road to easy peace
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Contents
Preface ............................................................................................................................2
Contents ..........................................................................................................................3
Introduction ....................................................................................................................4
Contents Annotated ........................................................................................................5
01 Cloud cuckoo land .....................................................................................................7
02 Heave yourself from the quicksand of treacle ...........................................................9
03 Attending to Imaginations ....................................................................................... 10
04 With Peace in Mind .................................................................................................12
05 Subjectless Contentment a thought on waking .................................................... 1306 EXIJEL - putting the salve back in salvation .......................................................... 16
07 Renunciant Frugality so easy, so difficult ............................................................ 17
08 Productive Agents ................................................................................................... 18
09 Accentuate the positive ........................................................................................... 21
10 Scratching the existential itch ................................................................................. 22
11 Steps on the road to bliss .........................................................................................24
12 On the Primrose Path to Peace ................................................................................ 26
13 The roller coaster ride to peace of mind .................................................................28
14 A drop in the ocean ................................................................................................. 31
15 Five Skandhas are Empty ........................................................................................ 33
16 Anguising angst .......................................................................................................35
17 Changed Mind ......................................................................................................... 36
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Introduction
The articles in this compilation reflect the authors ongoing interest in (a) the
psychology ofperception as it appears in its various western and eastern forms and
(b) in the parallels that appear to exist between the two.
The main argument is that it is (a) always possible and (b) never too late, for minds to
become more peaceful.
But this raises the question ofagency - what are the causes and conditions for
change? Why do I want to change this way rather than that, and what is the nature
of the I who wants when the mind has a mind of its own?
A taster of each article is presented in the annotated content list on pages 5-6. The
overall story line is presented here:
We begin by recognising (a) the possibility of minds changing and (b) the
need for effort and discipline on the part of the agency of change (Me?).
We then indicate the possibility of experiencing easy peace as a result of
mindfulness meditation and of how this leads to an effortless embrace of
renunciant frugality.
Some more attention is then given to the nature of agency and this leads to
thoughts about the roller coaster ride experienced by those who seek the way
and tread the path.
The compilation moves on to three rather erudite articles concerning the bliss
body, rationality, and angst. We can think of them as appendices to help with
digging deeper.
The last article is something of a poem that pulls together a few of the authors
thoughts dealing with the possibility of changed minds.
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Contents Annotated01 Cloud Cuckoo Land
A cloud cuckoo is not a bird. It is a
cloud formation that looks like a bird.
Its existence is in your mind rather
than in the cloud formation. How can
this be?
02 Heave yourself from the
quicksand of treacle
There is the part option of choosing
todays circumstances so as to
influence those of tomorrow. It is a
part option because old habits die hard.
Clean breaks on the road to Damascusare not the norm. The task is to heave
yourself from the quicksand of treacle,
and he who hesitates is sucked back.
03 Attending to imaginations
Recuperating from a hernia operation
involved just sitting. While doing so
attention was captured by present
externalities by feelings from the
wound, by the sound of traffic in the
street, by the sight of blue sky throughthe window. What else might capture
attention? There appear at first to be
six possibilities
04 With Peace in Mind
It is possible through prayer and
meditation to discipline your mind. It
is possible to be rid of negative and
wasteful thoughts and to limit
necessary thoughts to their appropriate
time and place. A well disciplinedmind is thus occupied by positive
(Godly) thoughts. This is how the
world can become a better place.
05 Subjectless Contentment
While there is unease with having
nothing to do in the evening there is
none in the morning as the mind flits
lightly like dappled sunlight on a forest
floor. Eventually the I will reassert in
up-front consciousness but, while
absent, there is subjectless contentment
ie I am content because there is no I
to be discontent.
06 EXIJEL - putting the salve back
in salvation
Fearless joy is the ocean into which
those who know it merge without
remainder. It is always and everywhere
like the air we breathe although,
throughout human history, most poor
souls have not accepted that even the
concept makes sense. The crippled
realists of flat earth. But now ...
07 Renunciant Frugality
Renunciant frugality is at once the
easiest and most difficult lifestyle.
Easy because you already have
everything you need the toolbox lies
within. Difficult because you do not
know you have everything to hand;
you know yourself to be both the
prisoner and the keeper without
realising that the prison is only in your
mind.
08 Productive Agents
The Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra
encouraged me to be more aware of
thought processes. I realised that many
thoughts and moods were due to blind
habit and previous conditioning and
that 'I' was not in control of what
happens inside my head. This has
given rise to a greater confidence and
trust in 'the muse' who/which wasresponsible for the content (if not the
layout) of this article.
09 Accentuate the positive
So what is this 'thing' called boredom?
It is a frame of mind. Mindfulness can
be brought to bear on it. Its dimensions
can be brought into attention and its
features can be recognised. Know the
enemy. Then firmly but
compassionately deal with it.
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10 Scratching the Existential Itch
The mood has changed several times
since I woke this morning. The change
drivers were partly internal and partly
external. Neither will ever go away but
I can choose to respond to themdifferently. This involves re-
conditioning my mind.
11 Steps on the road to bliss
If you notice what you notice and think
about what you think, you will
unshackle yourself from thoughts and
emotions. You will then inevitably
detach from the illusion of having a
self and the stage will be set for the
state of no thought to well up andmerge into oneness and the peace that
passes all understanding.
12 On the primrose path to peace
The reality which can be described is
not the real reality. There is only spin
from human minds. And all human
minds are erratically conditioned by
time, place and parents and so are
chaotic, jumbled and trippling with
inconsistencies. Pose value and spin,
even when perpetrated with integrity,
is all there is. Or is it?
13 The roller coaster ride to peace of
mind
Joy, sorrow and emotional flatness are
created by your attitude towards
things. Things appear in your mind
either as inputs from your sense organs
(eyes and ear etc) or as imaginations
from memory or in dreams. First the
thing, then the reaction to the thing:
and you choose how to react. But youhave developed a lifetime of bad
mental habits; can these be broken?
14 A drop in the ocean
When an individual mind rises above
its conditioning and habitual illusions
it returns like a raindrop to the ocean
which is the one mind. This is the
peace that passes all understanding.
This is the bliss body from which we
came and to which we will return.
15 Five skandhas are empty
This article offers a rational schema to
blow away rational schemas. This
might assist compulsive rationalists
who have difficulty going beyond.
16 Anguishing Angst
In the spirit of existential jujitsu the
anguish of angst is to be welcomed. It
drives you to the spiritual path more
effectively than most other frames of
mind.
17 Changed Mind
Then: thing, thought and worry. Now:
no-thing, no-thought, no-worry
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01 Cloud cuckoo landIt would be easy to drift through life on
a cloud of sex, drugs and rock and roll
with all gaps in distraction plugged
from a quality collection of up to date
consumer products.
If you are lucky enough to be hidden
from the worst excesses of disease,
pollution, poverty, violence, old-age
and death then why not eat lotuses in
your cloud cuckoo land?
A cloud cuckoo is not a bird. It is a
cloud formation that looks like a bird.Its existence is in your mind rather
than in the cloud formation. How can
this be?
Light from the sky enters your eye.
Your mind interprets the signal as
fluffy white things on a blue
background and, if English speaking,
labels them as clouds. Then a pattern
recognition centre associates the shape
of the cloud with a bird.
The cloud cuckoo is thus created and is
immediately linked with other thoughts
and feelings from your subconscious
(desire, aversion or neutrality) and a
dynamic chain of illusion is set in
motion.
So it is with all other things/illusions
which the mind decides to isolate from
the Flux.
People, palaces and planets perish.
There is only the Flux.
Impermanence.
No thing exists or lasts.
An experienced meditator sees the
world of things (including her
individuated self) as no more
substantial than passing clouds.
All things (which are not things as
ordinarily understood) are intimately
connected with all other not-things. It
becomes apparent that there is only one
thing which is everything. And there is
no self conscious subject to whom this
is apparent the Oneness does not
know its Self. No knower, no
knowing and no known.
Language evolved to deal with the
world of phenomena and cannot easily
deal with the end point of mind
training - the numinous experience ofthe filled emptiness.
There are options ofrememberingacloud cuckoo that you once saw and of
imaginingone that has never existed
and the remembered and imagined
ones have as much real reality as the
seen one.
Mundane people are condemned byrationality, language and cultural
conditioning to grasp at a meagre
world of common sense phenomena
and the latest round of fashions and
gadgets.
Poets and mystics pull back the mind
blinkers and know their non-selves to
be one with the oceanic Mind which is
everywhere and always in a state of
fearless and blissful tranquillity.
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"As the senses never and in no
single instance enable us to know
things in themselves, but only their
appearances, and as these are mere
representations all bodies, together
with the space in which they are, mustbe held to be nothing but mere
representations in us, and exist
nowhere else than merely in our
thought."
Emmanuel Kant is his "Prolegomena to
any Future Metaphysics":
People, palaces and planets perish
The reality which can be described
is not the real reality.
Whose reality counts?
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02 Heave yourself from the quicksand of treacle
I am as I am. Circumstances dictate.
There is, however, the part option of
choosing todays circumstances so as
to influence those of tomorrow. It is a
part option because old habits die hard.
Clean breaks on the road to Damascus
are not the norm.
The task is to heave yourself from the
quicksand of treacle, and he who
hesitates is sucked back.
Our life is shaped by our mind;
we become what we think
The origin of a thought train is the life
force that totally unknowable and
thus unspeakable something-or-other.
It obviously exists as the source but it
is impossible to describe in other than
vague generalisations.
Suffering follows an evil thought as the
wheels of a cart follow the oxen that
draw it.
Remaining forever in your village you
do not know the source of the river that
runs though it. You are aware of water
flowing. Why concern yourself with
where it comes from and why? Whenthirsty, drink.
Joy follows a pure thoughtlike a shadow that never leaves.
So long as I live there will be thought
trains and each will have an object as
its engine. But neither the thought nor
its object has substance. Both appear
spontaneously and briefly in my mind.
OK there may be some concrete
referent upon which the object is
based: but I cannot know the concrete
referent as it is in itself, only as an
object in my mind.
As rain seeps through an ill-thatched
hut, passion will seep through an
untrained mind.
The map (object) is not the territory
(concrete referent).
I live in a world of home made maps.
I am free to draw and redraw thosemaps at will. I am also free to ignore
them.
So much freedom when you think
about thinking!
Those who recite many scriptures but
fail to practice their teaching are like
the cowherd counting anothers cows.
They do not share in the joys of the
spiritual life.
Source of quotes: Easwaran, Eknath (1986) The Dhammapada; Arkana;
ISBN 0 14 019014 7 [Chapter One]
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03 Attending to Imaginations
Recuperating from a hernia operation
involved just sitting. While doing so
attention was captured by present
externalities by feelings from the
wound, by the sound of traffic in the
street, by the sight of blue sky through
the window. What else might capture
attention? There appear at first to be
six possibilities:
Internalities Externalities
Past 1 4
Present 2 5Future 3 6
But the past exists only in memory and
the future only in imagination: so past
and future externalities are obviously
sub sets of their relevant internalities.
The only difference between past and
future internalities (like justice) and
externalities (like the Millennium
Dome) is the extent of their rather
loose (see below) relationship to aconcrete referent. Thus if past and
future referents exist they do so only
in memory and imagination.
How are concrete referents like the
Millennium Dome known? Do we
know them as they are in themselves?
No! Our sense organs receive inputs
(sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) and
send electrical impulses which are
processed in the brain to generateimaginations which link to pre-
existing imaginations including
feelings (magnificent monument
celebrating a thousand years of human
progress v disgraceful waste of
taxpayers money). So where does the
present externality which is the
Millennium Dome exist? Surely, from
the standpoint of human knowledge, it
exists as a widely dispersed set of
diverse present internalities (ie as
imaginations) that may be stored in,
and retrieved from, memories.
This suggests that memory is a
storehouse of those imaginations upon
which the spotlight of attention does
not presently shine. This in turn
suggests the idea of attending to
imaginations. And this begs two
linked and very tough questions,
"Does an imagination exist if
attention is not being given to it? And, if it does, where, and what
form does it take?"
A gentler question would be, "What
are the characteristics of an
imagination to which attention is being
given?"
Dodging answers can approach from
two directions.
The question assumes an imaginer
imagining an imagination a subject, a
verb and an object. But to assume = to
imagine. So the imaginer imagines an
imaginer imagining an imagination.
And there would logically be an
imaginer imagining the imaginer
imagining an imaginer imagining
and so on in infinite regress to First
Cause.
Another approach suggests that the
answer is impossible to capture in
words. It involves a type of knowing
which predates the recent linguistic
incapacities of the naked ape. It is
intuitive rather than rational, poetic
rather than pragmatic, spiritual rather
than scientific, and holistic rather than
reductionist. It is famously said that
those who know do not speak.
Annoying isnt it.
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More people should have to recuperate
from hernias. They might thereby
come to appreciate that their lives are
the creation of their minds.
You are what you think, and it is never
too late to change your mind.
Reality is present internality.
Our life is shaped by our mind; we
become what we think. Suffering
follows an evil thought as the wheels
of a cart follow the oxen that draw it.
Joy follows a pure thought like ashadow that never leaves.
(Dhammapada)
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04 With Peace in Mind
"They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and
their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more." Isaiah 2:4.
There are four types of thought:
Negative thought anger, fear, sadness, regret, unease
Wasteful thought about things that might not happen or
that are beyond your control
Necessary thought "I must not forget to pay the rent". "I
must remember to milk the cow"
Positive thought encourages peace, harmony, creativity,
love and happiness
Most of the thoughts in most peoples
minds most of the time are of the first
three types. This is because theirsenses rush about like a badly raised
child or an untrained horse.
It is possible through prayer and
meditation to discipline your mind.
It is possible to be rid of negative and
wasteful thoughts and to limit
necessary thoughts to their appropriate
time and place.
A well disciplined mind is thus
occupied by positive (Godly) thoughts.
This is how the world can become a
better place.
"First keep peace within yourself, thenyou can also bring peace to others."
Thomas a Kempis
"It is in the (undisciplined) minds of
men that war is created; it is thus inthe (disciplined) minds of men that
peace can be won".
UNESCO Charter
The Devil finds thoughts (andemotions) to fill undisciplined minds
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05 Subjectless Contentment a thought on waking
While there is unease with having
nothing to do in the evening there is
none in the morning as the mind flits
lightly like dappled sunlight on a forest
floor.
Eventually the I will reassert in up-
front consciousness but, while absent,
there is subjectless contentment ie I
am content because there is no I to be
discontent.
Last night I thought to wake with thedawn and did. It is now but slightly
light. No traffic, and bird song just
beginning.
But a concern for the work programme
emerges "What will I do today?" The
I solidifies. Social routines are
recapturing consciousness with duties
and responsibilities which devour
spare time.
Spare Time? The devil finds work for
idle hands to do! This culture is
fiercely material and mundane. Minds
are shackled to a work ethic. First in
the home and community with hard-
working role models and then through
long years of habituation to the forty
minute bells of school. What chance
does a poor soul have?
Every chance! The system islaughably corrupt. It strangles itself. It
breeds dis-ease, forces the search for
solace and then provides media
distractions and mind bending
chemicals. But these shallow joys wear
quickly thin. And then? Despair! And
then? Breakdown and suicide versus
renunciation and rebirth!
angst,anomie,
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alienation,
disaffection from the polity
Rebirth?
A change of mind. You are whatyou think. Think different.
It is never too late to change your
mind.
It may not be easy to break old
habits of thought but it is not
impossible where there is a will.
And Will is ever-present.
Will is the fabric of the true Self. The
sun shines behind the clouds of ego
illusion. Blow the clouds away. The 9to 5 routine is dust on the mirror. Blow
the dust away.
Beneath the thin veneer of the
culturally conditioned self lies the true
Self which moves the air and makes
the grass grow. The dynamic Oneness
flows like self motivated putty.
Endless rounds of creation and
destruction.
Permanent impermanence.
Waves on the ocean of cosmic
mind.
That art thou.
From Hinduism Tat Tvam Asi the
Absolute is in essence one with
yourself
Be still and know
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06 EXIJEL - putting the salve back in salvation
Today I sense the fearless joy of Taoist
simpletons.
Fearless joy is the ocean into which
those who know it merge without
remainder. It is always and everywhere
like the air we breathe although,
throughout human history, most poor
souls have not accepted that even the
concept makes sense. The crippled
realists of flat earth.
But now ...
EXIJEL.
The existential jelly. The fluid that
facilitates transcendence. No mere
worldly elixir like overproof rum or
mushroom tea - this is the metaphorical
salve. Salvation's salve.
EXIJEL
Lubricating the spiritual path
Putting the salve back in salvation.
GOOD NEWS BAD NEWS
You have an in-built store
of EXIJEL
BUT it is locked in the deep recesses of your mind
Keys are everywhere BUT you see the keys as trinkets for new-age hippies
and weirdos
It is never too late tounlock your mind
BUT you cling desperately to your materialistconditioning
Wise up! EXIJEL is awareness.
Make space for quiet times in your day.
That's all.
Just sit, shut up and be aware of what goes on in your head.
All else follows as day follows night.
Unplug from the poisonous drip feed of media distraction.
Be still and know.
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07 Renunciant Frugality so easy, so difficult
Notice what you are noticing and the effect it is having on you.
Mindful awareness leads inevitably to renunciant frugality.
The highest language art is in
expressing the inexpressible. Thus are
road signs erected for the spiritual
travellers wishing to change their
mind. Homage then to those who have
gone before and left these signs.
Renunciant frugality is at once the
easiest and most difficult lifestyle.
Easy because you already have
everything you need the toolbox lies
within. Difficult because you do not
know you have everything to hand;
you know yourself to be both the
prisoner and the keeper without
realising that the prison is only in your
mind.
Renunciant Frugality is
easy because ... difficult because it appears that ...
regarding perception
the sun shines behind the curtain of
ignorance
there are no curtains and even if there
were they are pulled tight shut
once beyond the gate, the gate is known
to be illusory
the road leading to the gate is much too
long, winding and arduous
all blockages (phenomena) are creations
of imagination and can safely be ignored
the blockages are out there and real
regarding Will
the pleasures of the senses and the flesh
are fleeting and easily foregone for the
bliss of fearless equanimity
the pleasures of the senses and the flesh
are the only things that make life worth
living
the mind has a mind of its own which
chooses equanimity
the mind has a mind of its own which
craves distraction
if you are still you will know you cannot sit still for more than a few
minutes at a time
The only sin is mindlessness.
The only rule is to be aware
ie notice what you are noticing and the effect it is having on you.
Mindful awareness leads inevitably to renunciant frugality.
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08 Productive Agents
The following train of thought arrived
while reading the Vimalakirti Nirdesa
Sutra.
The sutra encouraged me to be more
aware of thought processes. I realised
that many thoughts and moods were
due to blind habit and previous
conditioning and that 'I' was not in
control of what happens inside my
head.
This has given rise to a greaterconfidence and trust in 'the muse'
who/which was responsible for the
content (if not the layout) of this
article.
Sometimes I feel that I should be more
focused and productive. Is it a good or
bad feeling? This is a subtle point but
Vimalakirti was quite clear about it:
The Dharma is ultimately without
formulation and without verbalisation.
Who verbalises: "Suffering should be
recognised, origination should be
eliminated, cessation should be
realised, the path should be practiced,"
is not interested in the Dharma but is
interested in verbalisation.
the Dharma is calm and peaceful.
Those who are engaged in production
and destruction are not interested in the
Dharma, are not interested in solitude,
but are interested in production and
destruction.
if you are interested in the Dharma
you should take no interest in anything.
The subtlety has to do with the idea of
'agent'.
Language requires a subject for every
sentence, an 'I'. But the conscious 'I' is
an illusion and is the source of the
problem and cannot be part of its cure.
There is thus another concept of agent
- wu-wei. This means something along
the lines of non-action where this
implies that things get done without a
conscious 'I' being involved.
Everyday examples include
automatically snatching up a baby thatis about to fall into a well (innate reflex
(instinct) - nature) and riding a bicycle
once you have learned how
(conditioned reflex (learned behaviour)
- nurture).
So what does it mean to say that, "'I'should be more focused and
productive"?
Two levels ofagency can be seen to beat work :
Conventional agentWhen 'I' is the conventional 'I' then it is
involved with formulation and
verbalisation and with production and
destruction. This is obviously missing
the grander Buddhist point.
Liberated agentThe second level of agency involves
non-egoic-action. There is focus, and
productive work is done, but the actor
is not self-aware of the action. Ego
consciousness is not involved.
The liberated agent is more active than
most people realise. A name can be on
the tip of your tongue but will not
appear until 'you' stop trying to
remember - so who remembers?
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Most poets and writers appreciate that
they are but instruments for their muse.
"The words and ideas appear alreadyformed and all that 'I' do is write them
down."
It is as if the subconscious part of your
brain was another 'you'. The familiar
conscious part knows little about it.
The subconscious part is the source of
your dreams and nightmares when you
are asleep and of daydreams and
moods when you are awake.
Most people, when they bother to think
about it, realise that the content of theirconsciousness is a very small part of
what goes on inside their head. And,
more significantly, 'they' are not in
control.
The subconscious has a mind of its
own and dictates what ideas and
emotions get tossed into
consciousness.
The 'I' of consciousness is a tiny cork
on the vast swelling ocean of
unconsciousness.
So can the unconscious mind be
trained and brought under control? Can
it be more focussed and productive?
Yes. This is the purpose of Buddhism.
It sees the conventional agent as the
root of spiritual sickness. 'I' havedifficulty getting my head round the
solution but wu-wei goes with the flow.
Vimalakirti is an eloquent spokesman
for the Buddhist cure when he notes
that sickness arises from total
involvement in the process of
misunderstanding from beginninglesstime.
It arises from the passions that result
from unreal mental constructions, and
hence ultimately nothing is perceived
which can be said to be sick.
Why? ... There is no self in this body,and, except for arbitrary insistence on
self, ultimately no 'I' which can be said
to be sick can be apprehended.
Therefore, thinking, "'I' should not
adhere to any self, and 'I' should rest in
the knowledge of the root of illness,"
you should abandon the conception of
yourself as a personality and produce
the conception of yourself as a thing,
thinking, "This body is an aggregate ofmany things; when it is born only
things are born; when it ceases only
things cease"
The table on the next page sets out the
logic of the argument.
Vimalakirtis counter intuitive
conclusion is that "When you achievethis equality you are free from all
illnesses but there remains the conceptof voidness which also is an illusion
and should be wiped out as well."
So there can/should be focus, and a
productive move towards liberation;
but it will be successful only if 'I' do
not focus and try to move productively
towards liberation.
The productive and liberated agency
that is wu-wei
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What is the elimination of this sickness? It is the elimination of egoism and
possessiveness.
What is the elimination of egoism and
possessiveness?
It is the freedom from dualism.
What is the freedom from dualism? It is the absence of involvement with
either the external or the internal.
What is the absence of involvement with
either the external or the internal?
It is non deviation, non fluctuation, and
non distraction from equanimity.
What is equanimity? It is the equality of everything from self to
liberation.
Why? Because both self and liberation are void.
How can both be void? Because they exist only by names which
have no independent nature of their own
Sources of quotations:
Thurman R A F (1976,1991) The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti - a Mahayana
scripture; Motilal Banarsidass Publishers; ISBN 8120808746
Luk, Charles (1972) Ordinary Enlightenment - a translation of the Vimalakirti Nirdesa
Sutra; Shambala; ISBN 1570629714
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09 Accentuate the positive
I am at a loose end. No distractions in
the post or in the email. I am on the
morning's second cup of tea. There is
an urge 'to fill the void'. I am
programmed for 'doing' and am
bewildered by the lack of 'projects'.
Boredom threatens.
So what is this 'thing' called boredom?
It is a frame of mind. Mindfulness can
be brought to bear on it. Its dimensions
can be brought into attention and its
features can be recognised. Know theenemy. Then firmly but
compassionately deal with it.
But this is one of those issues that
torture common sense. When boredom
arrives the task is not to 'push it away'
but rather to 'let it go'. This is more
than two ways of saying the same
thing. The former is an active process
with an assertive ego. The latter is a
passive process born of mindfulness.
There is talk of watering seeds5. The
subconscious is full of seeds. Those
that are watered get bigger those that
are not watered remain small. There is
also talk of good seeds and not so good
seeds. The good seeds (kindness,
compassion, generosity etc) should be
given space in attention while the not
so good ones (anger, greed, boredom
etc) should be passed over. The task isto accentuate the positive.
Language begs for an agent of this
process. Using the passive voice skirts
the issue. The process includes
discrimination (this is not that) and
judgement (this is good and that is not
so good). Language thus demands a
discriminator and a judge. He is
commonly thought of as 'I'. But the 'I'
5 This article was written after listening to a
talk by Thich Nhat Hahn
is illusory. So who or what is the
agent?
The agent (or is it the agency?) is
rooted in the subconscious. It is one
seed amongst many while, at the same
time, being the source of all seeds.
There is talk of the host and the guests
(where the guests are offspring of the
host). When the guests have been
watered by culture and worldly
experience they are loud and brash andthe host rarely appears in up front
consciousness. Note, however, that the
host is still there; he is the foundation
of all the guests; he is the root from
which all else springs; he occupies the
basement.
There are, however, occasions when
circumstances (with multiple and
subtle causes) conspire to briefly
quieten the guests with numinousexperiences eg death of a loved one,
the brilliance of a sunset etc. The host
then emerges to suffuse up front
consciousness. There is at-one-ment.
This is a 'good' experience. Those who
notice it want more. Some want more
urgently than others. The most eager
become shamans and mystics. Through
the centuries they have charted
roadmaps for the host to rise above theclamour of the noisy guests.
The various cultural corridors lead to a
single peak pathway. This is the royal
road to the bliss of reunion. The
essence is to be still and know. Know
what? Know 'reality' as it is in itself
(an interpenetrating oneness) and thus
know the peace that passes all
(common sense) understanding.
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10 Scratching the existential itch
The mood has changed several times
since I woke this morning. The change
drivers were partly internal and partlyexternal. Neither will ever go away but
I can choose to respond to them
differently. This involves re-
conditioning my mind.
Two phrases capture the method -
'notice what you are noticing' and
'think about thinking'.
Action verbs - 'to notice' and 'to think'.
They involve using my mind in an
extra-ordinary way. I have to break old
habits - I must stop seeking
distractions and responding to them
automatically and without thinking.
notice what you're noticing
think about thinking
Sit quiet doing nothing and the green grass
growsLilies born to bloom and die unseen
Sit quiet doing nothing and the tree leaves fall
Theres nothing moving but my mind
SO the BIG questions
Why should somebody want to
change their mind and,
how can they do it?
Let's begin with 'dissatisfaction'. Not
enough of what you want and too
much of what you don't want. This
drives the urge for change. How can
we use it?
Simplify, simplify, simplify
Cut out distractions that don't satisfy
you. Enter your secular monastery.
Early to bed and early to rise,
withdraw from the media,
keep to a plain diet, and
use 'leisure' time for 'just sitting'
and reading wisdom books.
If you must give it a name, call it
'renunciant frugality'.
With a simple life you begin to notice
what 'really' happens in your head. It
comes as a shock to many people and
is more than most can handle.
T S Elliot said that, "Mankind cannot
stand too much reality" and most
adolescents rush to switch the tellyback on because, "This is boring".
BUT those who are genuinely
'dissatisfied' will initially stay with
simplicity because it is 'different'. Then
the wisdom literature begins to make
sense. The crazy words begin to
describe what happens in your head.
You realise that there is a well-
established, alternative road through
life. Large parts are still lost in the
clouds of earlier conditioning but now
you know: there is another way; it is
the royal way; it is the only road worth
travelling.
You might at this point give up the day
job and re-arrange your life; or you
might go on living in what looks like
the same old way but, from inside, it
will be a world transformed.
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Illusory blues are a thief in the night
Who steals away what you thought was right
Cmon, wise up, get real, notice what you feel
So why bother?
What's in it for me?
It depends on where you stand. A long
and winding road leads to freedom's
gate. When you pass through and look
back, however, there is no gate. The
sun shines behind the clouds. Yourburdens are illusions. See them for
what they are. Let them go. That is all.
Words cannot do it justice. Be still and
know that 'you' do not exist and that
the answer lies within.
If you have the existential itch
- scratch it.
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11 Steps on the road to bliss
If you are like most people you will
have no control over the thoughts and
emotions that appear in your mind.
You will be tossed like a withered leaf
in a squalling gale by whatever
happens to come along.
However, if you notice what you
notice and think about what you think,
you will unshackle yourself from
thoughts and emotions. You will then
inevitably detach from the illusion of
having a self and the stage will be set
for the state ofno thoughtto well upand merge into oneness and the peace
that passes all understanding.
The following table charts seven states
of mind. If you arrange your life with
quiet times to just sit, you will come
to know them all.
withemotion
withoutemotion
1. unobserved thought 1a 1b
2. observed thought 2a 2b
3. observer with no thought 3a 3b
4. no thought 4
1a unobserved thought withemotion.
This is the common, human condition
of a mind out of conscious control and
swayed in excitement (love or hate) by
whatever happens to enter
consciousness. Life is full of
uncontrollable ups and downs.
1b unobserved thought without
emotion.
This is another, common, human
condition where life has lost its
flavours. Reality seems dull and grey
rather than depressing. There is still a
constant flow of thoughts entering
consciousness but they lack colour.
Life is boring and flat
2a observed thought with emotion.
That makes me so angry. You are
aware that your heart strings are being
plucked by particular thoughts but
there is nothing you can do about it.
2b observed thought without
emotion.
In this state you are aware of your
string being pulled and the awareness
dampens the effect. You learn to smile
at the simple ways you normally react.
With practice this method makes it
increasingly easy to lower your highs
and heighten your lows.
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3a observer with no thought but
with emotion.
Here you are aware of being in an
emotional state (a mood) but you do
not know why. You still have someawareness of self, but other thoughts
are flimsy and short lived; they
channel hop in an emotionally tinged
mist.
3b observer without thought or
emotion.
In this case there is still some
awareness of self but there are no
noticeable moods or emotions and suchthoughts as appear are unsubstantial
quick channel hops in a thick and
distant mist.
4 no thought.
The essence of this state is no sense of
self. There is no one to think or feel
so there are no thoughts or feelings.
Significantly, when there is no self
there is no other. There is thus theOneness, the not two. Because the
illusion of self has been transcended
there is Bliss, and Consciousness is
suffused with the peace that passes all
understanding.
Only when we have removed the harm in
ourselves can we become truly useful toothers.
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12 On the Primrose Path to Peace
The reality which can be described is
not the real reality. There is only spin
from human minds. And all human
minds are erratically conditioned by
time, place and parents and so are
chaotic, jumbled and trippling with
inconsistencies. Pose value and spin,
even when perpetrated with integrity,
is all there is. Or is it?
What about the absolute and the
eternal? Some matters cannot be
rationally and mechanically knownbut can be sensed by the spiritually
mature.
Those who insist on only one way of
knowing are blinded by knowing in
only one way. Those who only know
are merely rational. Those who sense
that which lies beyond mere knowing
are supra-rational.
Question:
When is it rational to be merely
rational?
Answer:
On most occasions when engaged with
the detailed working of real machines
ie on those happy occasions when
responses to stimuli are totally
predictable
Question:When is it rational to be supra-
rational?
Answer:
On all occasions when living things
(including people) are involved ie on
any occasion when the second
response to a given stimulus is likely to
be different from the first.
For most of the 20th century the
conventional wisdom of the dominant
group (cowdung) was rational
reductionism analogous to a clockwork
machine.
In the 21st century the brilliant,
universally legitimate, standardized,
ICT enhanced, truth (bullshit) seems
set to be supra-rational, holism
analogous to a self regulating, complex
ecosystem.
Underlying the past cowdung and
future bullshit is the popular reality
intuitively mirroring reactions to
sensory experience (primrose). But, atall times, the so-called intuitive
aspects of the primroses will be
radically conditioned by the cowdung
and bullshit from which they emerge.
Why should this be?
The planet congealed 5 billion years
ago. Hominids appeared 3 million
years ago but did not engage in
conversation till about 75,000 years
ago.
Language is as yet a speechless babe.
Informed opinion has yet to gel as to
its significance. It is clear, however,
that language makes reality rather than
the reverse. We each live in a worldcreated by the vocabulary and dialect
which we learn. Eskimos have 18
words for snow and who but a Doric
speaker could point to the localitys
feel gype?
So spin is the only option? Yes and
No.
Yes amongst the cowdung and
primroses of yesteryear.
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No, at least potentially, amongst the
bullshit and primroses of tomorrow.
The latter depends on the growth and
diffusion of mind sets attuned to
perfectly emancipated and carefree
existence (peace).
You are not what you have been
programmed to believe you are. You
are/are not what you think.
Veils of language prevent you
appreciating that you are everything
and everything is you. You have the
freedom to think (sense) that the
linguistic illusion of an individuated
ego rests mirage-like on the dynamicflux of interpenetrating oneness.
Such sensing brings the peace which
passes all understanding; the peace
known throughout history to that virile
minority of existential entrepreneurs
known as mystics
the fools for God,
the Taoist simpletons,
the real people.
How can the mind be changed?
Take time to avoid external
distractions. For five minutes each day
just sit. Notice what you notice when
there is no thing to notice. Be still
and know the fearless equanimity of
being. Peace will appear like second
teeth.
So difficult and yet so easy.
The answer lies within.
Be still and know.
Five minutes a day is all it takes to
tread the primrose path to peace.
Glossary
Cowdung conventional wisdom of the dominant group
Bullshit brilliant, universally legitimate, standardized, ICT enhanced, truth
Primrose popular reality intuitively mirroring reactions to sensory experience
Peace perfectly emancipated and carefree existence
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13 The roller coaster ride to peace of mind
Joy, sorrow and emotional flatness are
created by your attitude towards
things.
Things appear in your mind either as
inputs from your sense organs (eyes
and ear etc) or as imaginations from
memory or in dreams.
First the thing, then the reaction to the
thing: and you choose how to react.
But you have developed a lifetime of
bad mental habits; can these bebroken?
Some external events can be
influenced, others not. Attempts to
influence may succeed or fail. Those
are the stark realities. To worry about
them does not add value or increase
efficiency; neither do feelings of
desire, indifference or aversion.
Is it possible to be free of such uselessand debilitating habits of mind?
When there are no thoughts of an I
and when attention thus rests securely
in the here and now there is peace of
mind.
You may have known fleeting
moments of such peace6 you may have
been lost in a book or a movie or
stunned by the beauty of a sunset.Precious moments when you didnt
know who or where you were but you
were inspired.
Peaceful minds are free from illusions
such as I exist, time exists, or indeed
6 In the western tradition these moments of
peace have been variously called cosmic
consciousness (Richard Bucke), oceanicfeelings (Sigmund Freud) or peak experiences
(Abraham Maslow)
that any thing exists in any
permanent and unchanging way.
A deep appreciation that the only
constant thing is change frees the mind
from its ordinary pattern of thinking.
Then the life force, from which natural
and spontaneous action springs7, is free
to make a difference in the world. The
self-less forces of nature will be
unleashed. Can the minds of ordinary
people become like this?
Good news - you already have peace
of mind and it cannot be taken from
you. Your task is simply to remove the
impediments to your knowing it - like
blowing dust from a mirror. You must
stop your mind from wandering; you
must learn to centre your attention.
Reality is the jagged zig zag of
attention hopping from one thoughttrain to another
7this involves what from ancient times theChinese call Wu-wei (non contrived action). St
Augustine was referring to it when he said, "Ifyou only love God enough you may do as you
please."
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The following diagram illustrates three phases in the process of bringing attention to
the still centre.
The flat line is the ever-present and unwavering equanimity that is the bedrock of
mind.
The curved line represents the hobo mind riding thought trains loaded with
emotional baggage.
The fleeting moments of peace are glimpsed when the lines cross.
Phase 1 Riding the Roller Coaster
Phase 1 illustrates the ego-besotted anduncontrolled mind in which attention is
easily led to the imagined past or
future on thought trains as endless as
waves upon the shore.
The diagram is a deliberate
oversimplification. Reality is the
jagged zig zag of attention hopping
from one thought train to another; and
resting on each for varying times and
degrees of joy or sorrow. The briefestthought moment is but a fraction of a
second. Thoughts and moods transform
instantly in a mind swayed byexternalities.
Media and advertising engineers are
expert at flicking the conditioned
switches of desire/aversion in we
capitalist consumers. So with
politicians, false prophets and the
psyche police. Without rigorous mind
training we are as brain dead puppets
on their tinselled cords of steel.
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Phase 2 Observing the Roller
Coaster
In Phase 2 attention is split and the
mood swings are less severe. If Phase
1 involved noticing then Phase 2
involves noticing what you notice.There is a Hindu image of two birds
sitting on a branch. The first eats fruit
and the second watches. In Phase 1 the
thought was "I am happy" in Phase 2
the thought is I seem to be happy
because This process of splitting
gradually removes the sorrows and
joys of living.
A rider on the roller coaster might see
this as a puritanical and spoilsporttechnique leading to a flat and soulless
existence. However, those who no
longer ride the roller coaster know that
mindfulness and self watching are
the only way to control your mind and
thus manage more than a fleeting
glimpse of its true nature.
Again the diagram is oversimple. In
the early stages of Phase 2 it is difficult
to remember to split attention and you
drop back to Phase 1. To encourage
mindfulness you may sprinkle your
dwelling with objects which, when you
see them, remind you to notice what
you are thinking and feeling at that
moment.
The human mind slips easily into ruts
and routines and it needs patience and
determination to re-programme it.Good news -
the process is self perpetuating
having tasted a little you will want
more and
the further you go the easier it gets
the closer to home (your true
nature) the more familiar the
territory.
Phase 3 being off the Roller
Coaster
Phase 3 is ineffable there is nothing
that can be meaningfully said about it.
There is a Zen concept of the gateless
gate. Only when through the gate is itobvious that the gate does not exist.
Words deal with things like the gate
of Phases 1 and 2. In Phase 3 there is
only the interpenetrating oneness
which is everything all in one. In the
diagram the gateless gate is/is not8 at
the point where the roller coaster ends
and the smooth ride begins.
In Phase 3 there is a kind of knowing
that involves more than a mere rationalunderstanding of the hard facts.
There is an awareness that people and
things come and go in much the same
way as thoughts; and that everything
connects to everything and is
constantly changing. There is an
ongoing steady state of bliss rather
than the wild excesses of joy and
sorrow. There is the fearless freedom
and compassion of a prodigal son
home again to his true nature. There is
the peace that passes all understanding.
Centre your
attention and
unleash the self-
less force of
nature
8 delete as appropriate to your present level of
understanding
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14 A drop in the ocean
It is useful to think of an enlightened
person having three bodies although it
is really only one body seen in threedifferent ways. (see Box 1)
Box 1 three bodies
Body 1 Bliss body.
Having turned the mind around there is
only the Oneness. No more particular
things; nor feelings of love, hate or
indifference. There is the peace that
passes all understanding, but also
compassion for those still living in themessy world.
Body 2 Particular body.
This is the body seen from its own
point of view - as if it existed in the
ordinary sense.
As the vehicle which carries us through
the ordinary world we must attend to
its physical and psychological needs.
Body 3 Social body.
To see ourselves as others see us.
Those who are skilful in helping others
to see the light present themselves
differently to different people.
Different strokes for different folks
An enlightened person is no longer a
person as ordinarily understood.When an individual mind rises above
its conditioning and habitual illusions
it returns like a raindrop to the ocean
which is the one mind. This is the
peace that passes all understanding.
This is the bliss body from which we
came and to which we will return. (see
Box 2)
Box 2 everlasting bliss
We speak of coming and returning but,given the Oneness, these are illusory
notions. Particular and social bodies
are different ways of viewing the bliss
body there is only the oneness which
is everything and always.
Clouds may hide the sun but it is still
there. Illusions may prevent people
from knowing their bliss body but it is
still there. When there are no clouds
the sun can be seen. When there are noillusions the bliss body is apparent.
The one-mind of the bliss-body is
compassionate. It also lives happily
with the paradoxes created by language
(see Box 3). Although it appreciates
that there is only one thing which is
everything it also appreciates that the
one thing gave rise to the many things
and that there is much sufferingamongst the many things.
Box 3 enlightenment is like jazz
People have been in the world for more
than six million years but language has
been around for only about 25,000
years.
Language is useful for dealing with the
practicalities of day to day living but ithas not yet evolved to deal with the
insights of shamans, mystics and other
existential champions.
Enlightenment is like Jazz youll
know it when you find it. Talking
about it is a waste of time. Be cool. Be
still, and know!
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People suffer because of how they
think. Think different and end
suffering. The UNESCO Charter
reckons that, It is in the minds of men
that war is created and it is in the
minds of men that peace must bewon.
How to win the peace?
Just sit. Be still and know. Unhook
yourself from the constant drip feed of
media messages and come to know
your mind as it is in itself. You willbecome more open to the numinous.
The one-mind of the bliss-body will
then lead you home. It will teach you
to see infinity in a grain of sand and
eternity in an hour.
This article is based very loosely on ideas expressed in Suzuki's argument that thebeginnings of the Mahayana concept of the Triple Body is to be found in the
Lankavatara Sutra.
Suzuki D T (1930,1999) Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra; Motilal Banarsidass; ISBN
8120816560
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15 Five Skandhas are Empty
"These four words (five skandhas are
empty) are the essence of the earliest
Buddhist teachings".
There follows a rational schema to
blow away rational schemas. This
might assist compulsive rationalists
who have difficulty going beyond.
A Picture
First a branching diagram which you
might care to draw on a piece of paper.
Begin at the middle of the top of apage.
Write the word 'entities'.
Make two branches. Label the left
branch 'physical' and the right
branch 'mental'.
Make two branches down from the
physical branch. Label the left
branch 'quantum impermanent' and
the right branch 'newtonian
permanent'.
Make two branches down from the
mental branch. Label the left one
'subjective' and the right one
'objective ? but impermanent'.
Make two branches down from the
subjective branch. Label the left
one 'psychological newtons (five
skandhas)' and the left one
'enlightened quantum mystical
(five skandhas are empty)'
The Illusory Nature of the
Newtonian Permanent
Newton's laws are pragmatically
useful. They work as long as you donot look too closely. If you look in
quantum close up you realise that
solidity and substance are illusions;
there are no 'things' at the subatomic
level, only energy fields. So, despite
common sense appearance, no thing
exists. There is only energy.
Objective Mental Entities
Not yet! The task would be to write a
chemical formula for a thought patternor a wave equation for an emotion - but
this cannot be done. The only thing
that can be safely said at present is
that, from the objective point of view,
mental entities are likely to be fuzzy
edged and ever changing.
Unenlightened Subjectivity - The
Five Skandhas
Any reasonably intelligent person, by
taking thought, will be able to go alongwith the Buddha's concept of the five
skandhas. The first two could be said
to 'exist' as newtonian permanent
entities and the last three could be said
to 'exist' in the mentally subjective
category which is labelled as
psychological newtons.
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NAMA-RUPA (Corporeal Form).
Compound things are made up of
elemental things eg molecules are
made from atoms. VIJNANA (Sensation). When light
from an object reaches the eye a
sight 'sensation' results. The same
pattern applies for the other sense
organs.
SAMJNA (Perception). When a
physical sensation has been located
within the fields of impulse and
feeling (see below) then a
'perception' can be said to have
been created.
SAMSKARA (Impulse). Impulses
are subjective mental entities
which dictate in broad terms the
manner in which sensations
become perceptions. The impulses
derive from the culturally given
world-view-with-pigeon-holes into
which sensations are routinely and
conveniently slotted.
VEDANA (Feelings). Feelings aresubjective mental entities which
have been created as a result of
personal (rather than broad
cultural) experience. They serve to
label sensations on their way to
becoming perceptions as pleasant,
unpleasant or neutral.
Enlightened Subjectivity - The Five
Skandhas are Empty
Solving the quantum koan means
arrival on the other shore where no
words are spoken and action is taken
without the awareness that, "I amacting".
Imagine yourself as a quantum
physicist looking inside your own
brain. The microscope is on full power
and there is nothing to be seen but
minute swirls of substanceless energy.
OK, now look back up through the
microscope - what is the quantum
physicist made of? Who is looking at
what? Aargh!
Gone Beyond
The Shamans figured it out pretty soon
after language came into being. The
guys who wrote the Upanishads had it
twigged more than 2500 years ago.
Everybody goes there at least once a
day - where do 'you' go to during deep,
dreamless sleep? What difference is
there between the self concept when
dreaming and the self concept when
awake? Did Chaung Tzu dream he was
a butterfly or was it the butterfly's
dream?
I drift into the deep-dreamless-sleep-
while-awake state now and again and I
know the selfless peace of it. But I
cannot enter it at will. What to do?
Based on: Mu Soeng Sunim (1991) Heart Sutra: Ancient Buddhist Wisdom in the
light of Quantum Reality; Primary Point Press
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16 Anguising angst
In the spirit of existential jujitsu the
anguish of angst is to be welcomed.
It drives you to the spiritual path more
effectively than most other frames of
mind. The concept points to a feeling
of anxiety, especially one about the
general state of things rather than
anything specific; a profound feeling
of generalised anxiety or dread (origin
1920s: from Ger., fear)
Angst - a term introduced into
philosophy by existentialist thinkers. It
denotes the state of mind produced
when a person becomes aware of being
finite in a world that is infinite. The
source of this feeling of apprehension
is ultimately the infinite nature of
nothingness (or the void). (Collins
Dictionary of Philosophy, ISBN
0004343700)
Angst - (German for: anxiety, anguish)
In existentialist philosophy, the dreadoccasioned by mans realization that
his existence is open towards an
undetermined future, the emptiness of
which must be filled by his freely
chosen actions. Anxiety characterises
the human state, which entails constant
confrontation with possibility and the
need for decision, with the
concomitant burden of responsibility.
(see also bad faith; existentialism)
(A Dictionary of Philosophy (Pan),ISBN 0330283596)
(existential anguish) The horrible
feeling the existentialists suppose we
have when we are confronted with our
own complete and irremovable
freedom and responsibility. (Robert M
Martin (1991) The Philosophers
Dictionary, ISBN 0921149751)
Angst - Variously translated asanxiety, anguish, dread. It was first
used in an existential sense by Soren
Kierkegaard in The Concept of
Anxiety (1844), where he describes the
terrifying reality of the state of
splitness, indecisiveness and
responsibility in front of choice
Heidegger, in Being and Time (1927),
freely paraphrases Kierkegaard and
does not add anything significant to
Kierkegaards analysis Sartre, in
Being and Nothingness (1943), again
follows Kierkegaard but adds an
element of determinism by makinganguish a state of bad faith in which
the conscious subject tries to renege on
his unalienable freedom to choose.
(The New Fontana Dictionary of
Modern Thought, ISBN 0002558718)
Angst - A recurrent state of disquiet
concerning ones life which
Existentialists interpret as evidence
that human life has a dimension which
a purely naturalistic psychology cannotcomprehend The term was
introduced by Kierkegaard, who held
that angst (usually translated here as
dread) concerning the contingencies
of fortune should show us that we can
only gain a secure sense of our identity
by taking the leap of faith and entering
into a relationship with God
Heidegger uses the same term (here
usually translated as Anxiety) to
describe a sense of unease concerningthe structure of ones life which,
because it does not arise from any
specific threat, is to be diagnosed as a
manifestation of our own responsibility
for this structure Sartre uses the
term angoisse (usually translated as
anguish) for much the same
phenomenon as Heidegger describes.
(The Oxford Companion to
Philosophy, ISBN 019866132)
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17 Changed MindThen: thing, thought and worry.
Now: no-thing, no-thought, no-worry
Between then and now:see the goal, hold it in mind, work
towards it.
Then, of itself, effort ceases and the
journey ends.
Then there was like and dislike, friend
and foe.
Now there is no argument or
contention.
The goal is: to know yourself;
to know the illusory nature of
common sense;
to know the source of perception,
thought and feeling;
to know the limitation of words;
to know the impermanence of
created things;
to know the process of
creation/destruction;
to know the futility of knowing
The road to the goal involves:
watching the creation of self;
noting the origin of thought;
letting thought go.
Thoughts flow like a waterfall;
some fly out and involve you.
Notice this. Throw them back.The waterfall is background noise;
ignore it.
Deep in the jungle is a still clearingwith no earth, sky or horizon.
No edges or limitations on the changed
mind.
Beyond the power of words;
inconceivable, unspeakable.
The unchanging Oneness is the source
of ten thousand no-things.
doubtless Doubt.
unchanging Change.
It is said:
"When the mind has changed
you may do as you please."
It is said:
"The angels simply live, getting what
they give, not brash enough to have an
understanding."
It is said:
"When walking walk,
when sitting sit."
Only when we have removed the harm
in ourselves can we become trulyuseful to others