Knowledge acquired by our ordinary common sense understanding is by means of concepts. In a conversation with others or in thought with ourselves we are always matching acquired concepts with what they represent including also activities. This is language that is useful. This we might call discursive which is different than intuitive knowledge.
Zen Buddhism is about intuitive knowledge. No amount of acquired discursive knowledge is going to help us to realize our Buddha-nature because it is beyond our normal ken of concepts. For the average person, Buddha-nature might consist of an image of the Buddha. But this is still a concept. No matter how many times we say "Buddha" in our head or try to picture our Buddha-nature, we come up empty. If concepts are like the ripples on a pool of clear water, then seeing our Buddha-nature would be something akin to seeing water that is limpid, without the disturbance of ripples. This limpid state never comes for most sentient beings.
With intuitive knowledge which is first-person, I am trying to see my self, directly, without the interference of concepts. But my mind has never been to such a place. I have never seen, so to speak, the seer. I have only managed to form images/concepts of him. There are always ripples, in other words. I find that in the end I have only amassed discursive knowledge.
All of us are under the reign of conceptions. Even when we sit in meditation, the concept of stilling our thoughts comes up and what it means. We even form the concept of what a thought is or isn't. It is much easier to blur the boundaries between discursive thought and intuition which leads to a kind of inchoate or beginner's Zen. And so we stay here, sitting on our zafu never coming to intuitive knowledge except to experience one's human suffering in a cross legged position.
Yes. But why not urge people to stop doing this? It's always just ourselves that are creating needless calamity and confusion of all sorts. It is always just ourselves that are using Mind's miraculous powers to paint both beautiful and horrific images of ignorance out of thin air, or to clutter our minds and confuse ourselves with internal monologues and dialogues. The Mind we use to create mental images, or any other form of activity, out of sheer compulsion, is the same Mind we use to picture gold as a butterfly, or Buddha-nature as just a mental image of some object, be it a Buddha or what have you.
Our compulsive ignorance is rooted in dealing with self-created objects, but Mind is not one of these vapor-like mental images we are used to, so this won't cut it when it comes to Zen.
The ability to conjure up mental images or sparc up internal commentary are just gross functions of Mind, and these functions are not applicable in cultivating dhyana and recognizing the essence of Mind itself. These miraculous powers that we are unable to wield are the only hindrances, really. Without the compulsive conjuring up of mental images and various other phenomena, suffering would have no root out of which to spring forth, and abiding in brightness would be accomplished without effort.
Posted by: Adasatala | June 15, 2015 at 12:12 PM