A sign we are getting nowhere

When our ordinary mind tries to fathom the transcendent, Buddha Mind, it falsifies it by making such a mind into something  it is not.  

Repeatedly going through this falsification process, eventually we come to realize that we have not arrived at transcendent Mind but, instead, have simply repackaged our mind’s struggle into something that is not transcendent.  

To use Karl Jasper’s term, we have created a "cipher" which supposedly mediates between our all-too-human mind and the sought for Buddha Mind.  In this way, the cipher only acts to withhold gnosis of the Buddha Mind.  Because of this, our ordinary mind never surpasses itself.  It is constantly returning to its limit.  

Secondary to this, I think it can be argued that even our religious figures can easily become ciphers which we have created as a means for dealing with our inability to reach true reality, i.e., Buddha Mind.  On the same track, this includes the practice of zazen.

For those of us who count themselves as being on some kind of spiritual path, we eventually arrive at the sneaking suspicion that we are deluding ourselves while also sensing that we are getting nowhere.  It’s a vicious circle, in other words.  Such an acknowledgment, to be sure, is disheartening.  For no matter how hard we try, our mind ends up being reborn into its original plight.  

Reminiscing, we have created in our spiritual struggle are elaborate ciphers being unable to transcend our finitude.  What should be aimed for is direct communion with the dynamic Buddha Mind that animates our temporal body.  But this can only be accomplished by jettisoning our human predisposition to raise ciphers.

 

Comments

[Coffee Junkie]

"The Dude" is writing a book on Zen :)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/03/the-dude-jeff-bridges-book-zen.html

[Richard Santorum]

The concept-forming mind is the disease. So we can't cure ourselves with poison. If I understand the message, it's all about halting the concept-forming mind.