Overthrowing Eastern and Western Economics: Economics by Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán (Chapter 14)

2006/8/23 17:42:28

All exploration concerning "knowing" cannot escape the cycle of this "knowing." The root of "knowing" is differentiation. What has been discussed repeatedly above—human existence and human differentiation—"knowing" is its most universal manifestation. Any logic that can be logicized by humans, whether theoretical or practical, cannot depart from human existence and human differentiation. And "knowing" is the logical premise about humans built upon human existence and human differentiation.

"Not knowing" must first be "knowing"—one must "know" "not knowing"; otherwise there is no such thing as "not knowing." Of course, we can abstractly hypothesize an absolute "not knowing" from the standpoint of human existence and differentiation, but this hypothesis still must first be "knowing." Without "knowing," even this hypothesis cannot be hypothesized!

"Knowing" is not simply an unveiling—it is not the lifting of cloth from something that already existed. Even if we hypothesize that what "knowing" knows existed beforehand, we still cannot depart from "knowing." And "knowing's" ability to know what it knows—all of it—cannot depart from "knowing." Without "knowing," there is no so-called ability-to-know or object-of-knowing. We cannot even say that "knowing's" ability-to-know and object-of-knowing are constituted in the present moment, because the present moment itself cannot depart from "knowing."

The most pure state of "knowing" is the non-differentiation based on human existence and differentiation. Non-differentiation is not "not knowing." Only this non-differentiation based on human existence and differentiation is the most pure state of "knowing." Most people may never enter this state in their entire lives. In this state, "knowing," the ability-to-know, and the object-of-knowing are all non-differentiated. This is not so-called intuition, because intuition still has that-which-senses and that-which-is-sensed, whereas in the most pure state of "knowing," all is non-differentiated.

But in reality, this most pure state of "knowing" is, at every moment, present within all our states—it is the unchanging fundamental tone in the symphony composed of all our states. We are at every moment within this most pure state of "knowing," yet we are only accustomed to that "knowing" which is contaminated by concepts, prejudices, and perspectives, unaware that within it lies an unchanging ground color!