Teaching You Zazen 10: Do Not Believe Anything You Can See, Think, or Feel

2007-09-28 20:06:56

Internal Renovation

Closed for Nine Days

Public Notice

When seeing meets seeing, what is seen is not the seeing. The "seeing" spoken of here is of course not limited to visual seeing alone — it includes everything within the scope of the six consciousnesses. Everything you see, hear, think, feel, taste, and smell — all of it is untrustworthy, all of it unreliable.

Some people enjoy sitting there seeing this and that, feeling this and feeling that — all pointless games. Don't believe any of it. Here's the simplest standard of judgment: the things you see — will they be there when you die? If not, then they're false. The things you see — will they be there when you're asleep? When you're having a fling? When greed, anger, delusion, doubt, and arrogance erupt? If not, it's all nonsense.

What the title says is a most fundamental principle of zazen: anything related to the six consciousnesses must not be clung to. Any clinging whatsoever is nothing but self-created evil karma.

The truth is often cruel. Even the slightest stirring of thought is creating karma. Karma of speech, karma of body, karma of mind — everyone's destiny and circumstances are self-created karma. Of course, karma includes good karma and evil karma. But even good karma, once you become infatuated with it, simultaneously plants the seeds of evil karma.

Therefore, zazen must first establish right mindfulness. What is right mindfulness? It is not grasping a single thought — and not even grasping the thought of not grasping a single thought. All thoughts, including anything related to the six consciousnesses, are not grasped. Not thinking of good, not thinking of evil, not thinking of not-thinking — only then does it begin to have the appearance of correspondence.

But what's even more important is: while not grasping a single thought, every thought must be clearly discerned. Otherwise, it's the great torpor — and torpor is actually still a thought, just one you've completely sunk into without realizing it. Even this one thought of torpor must be clearly discerned — only then does it begin to look right. Someone says: what if I'm completely empty — surely that's okay? Is your so-called emptiness not itself a thought? Many who play word games haven't even emptied that single thought of emptiness — and in that case, there's nothing more to discuss.

Someone asks: in zazen one may not grasp a single thought, but when not in zazen, how is that possible? For example, one has to work, has to live — surely one can't be thoughtless? This is yet another colossal error. Zazen versus not-zazen — isn't that self-generated distinction itself a thought? If you still maintain the self-generated distinction between zazen and not-zazen, how can your zazen be "not grasping a single thought"? If your zazen still has entry and exit, it's nothing but a pointless trick.

Someone says: that's too difficult — how is it possible? Why wouldn't it be possible? You yourself have always been in a state of not grasping a single thought. Every person has always been in a state of not grasping a single thought. Even when you think you've grasped this thought or that thought, when you die, you'll realize those thoughts never grasped you — you were merely being sentimental.

You are inherently liberated — no liberation is necessary. But if you truly feel that you are inherently liberated and no liberation is needed and therefore act accordingly, that becomes the great bondage.

Modern people cannot bear the truth that you are inherently liberated, so this ID can put it another way — let's see how you are bound. What binds you is nothing more than these layers: First, all social relationships. Second, your body. Third, your thoughts. Fourth, the birth and death of your life.

All social relationships constitute the outermost layer of a person — this layer is like wearing a mask. This mask must conform to social norms; otherwise, one will be punished by society. Some people feel that jostling within this layer is pointless, so they retreat to the so-called inner self, seeking so-called inner balance, attaining so-called cultivation, earning a so-called reputation for purity, being called so-called lofty scholars. These people are merely another kind of fool, no different from those who jostle within social relationships — and perhaps even worse.

Those who jostle at the first level are morally distrusted to an extreme degree; they can hardly maintain any good reputation, so they can't deceive many people. But those so-called lofty scholars — still fools themselves — use their so-called learning and pure reputation to deceive people, planting their own evil karma without even knowing it. Seeking profit, seeking fame — they're all jackals from the same hill. In reality, they're all just muddling about at the first level. Among modern people, out of 100 million, probably 99,999,999 belong to this type.

Of course, we can't rule out the existence of people today who have abandoned all fame, profit, power, and sensual desire, retreating to deep mountains for austere practice, attempting through various bodily tricks to escape something or attain something — to become immortals or Buddhas. These people have completely freed themselves from the bondage of social relationships, but what they cannot free themselves from is their own bodies.

Both types above, at their root, cannot free themselves from their own thoughts. All thoughts share the same structure: affirming something — the body, power, fame, profit, sensual desire, critical spirit, God's love, and so on. To put it plainly, it's all just human greed, anger, delusion, doubt, and arrogance.

One may free oneself from all social relationships, from the body, from thoughts — but you still cannot free yourself from birth and death. All people are essentially gasping for survival within these four great nets, coming and going through birth and death, without end.

In truth, you need not exert the slightest effort to break through these four great nets. But modern people are so deluded that it must still be done layer by layer.

Standing from the perspective of your body, all social relationships are external. If you treat your body as a single thought, then all the changes in social relationships become the endless, tumultuous entanglement of thought after thought, kicking that one thought of your body around, endlessly. Similarly, the relationship between your thoughts and your body works the same way. Treat your thoughts as a single thought, and your body's blood, internal organs, yin and yang spirits, five sense organs, brainwaves, genes, and such all constitute the endless, tumultuous entanglement of thought after thought.

Many so-called masters and gurus teach people to fix on or not fix on the body or its parts, to observe thoughts — complete nonsense. Others teach inner gazing, outer gazing, listening to this, hearing that — equally nonsense. Whether it's your body or your thoughts, from the standpoint of birth and death as a single thought, all of it is just the endless, tumultuous entanglement of thought after thought — completely useless.

Modern people still need to proceed step by step. First, untie the knot of social relationships. Otherwise, if someone praises you, you fly high; if someone curses you, your eyes bulge out. Rushing about for this and that every day, only to end up with nothing — like fetching water in a bamboo basket. See through all of this, see through this game of endless, tumultuous entanglement of thought after thought. Note: this doesn't mean escaping — it means playing within the game, playing the game of games, and through the game finding freedom and liberation.

Prostrate to all who curse you, harm you, praise you, and support you. All of this is merely part of the game. If you cannot see through all of this, it's fundamentally impossible to find freedom and liberation within the game. Finding freedom in this — then you are not confused by your karma, not bound within it, like wind over water, like a wild goose across the sky.

You should pray for blessings and the dissolution of karma for all who curse and harm you. These people are deluded and have generated evil karma. You should dedicate all your own merit and good karma to these people and to all sentient beings in the dharma realm — may their evil karma be forever dissolved, may they ultimately attain wisdom and be forever free from the cycle of reincarnation.

Note: there is absolutely no notion here of anyone being higher than anyone else. Everyone is Buddha. No one is higher than anyone. The only question is whether one is bound within it, turned by greed, anger, delusion, doubt, and arrogance. If the game plays you, you are turned and bound by greed, anger, delusion, doubt, and arrogance. If you play the game, you turn greed, anger, delusion, doubt, and arrogance into accomplishment. Karma follows the body through birth and death and cannot be resolved. Creating karma of speech, body, and mind within it, flowing through birth and death — fools do not fear this, yet the retribution of cause and effect is unerring.

Speaking of karmic retribution — this is something very few modern people believe in. But this too is like the sun: believe it or not, it will still rise tomorrow and no one can stop it.

Finding freedom through social relationships — by the same principle, one must find freedom through the body, through thoughts, and through birth and death. These four nets must each be unraveled one by one. So-called freedom is freedom within bondage, not apart from it; freedom within affliction, not apart from it. The attempt to escape bondage is itself the great bondage; the attempt to escape affliction is itself the great affliction.