In the study and practice of Zen, one tenth of a second is plenty of time to see something extraordinarily profound—something that you’ve never seen before and maybe even thought it was impossible to realize. In Zen this is seeing our own true nature or in Japanese kenshō 見性. It is the only way that you can become awakened or a Buddha according to the legendary wall-contemplating 壁觀 Bodhidharma.
Researchers have found that it takes about 1/10 of a second or about 100 milliseconds to judge the human face as to its attractiveness and likability, for example, or even its aggressiveness. This is very important because, in my own example, that is about how long it took to recognize pure Mind after years of trying to see it and failing.
If a serious student of Zen has been searching for their true nature, which is the same as pure Mind, we might expect that they have also gone through the preliminary trouble learning what pure Mind is not. Over time, all their presuppositions get dumped by the wayside.
Hopefully, in their endeavor, the negative begins to turn towards the positive as if really trying to see it but knowing, at the same time, they still fall short. Overtime, the student still hopes to discover this pristine state, personally, which is somehow mysteriously embedded within them.
This search could last for five or maybe even twenty years which, mainly, consists of looking for clues as to what this spiritual mind might be like, which involves a lot of reading and thought including a lot of disappointments.
For the serious Zen student, at times, it almost seems like they are on a wild goose chase. Maybe it is all a big joke. Surprisingly, for many students of Zen this thought has come across their minds several times. For those Zennists who have concluded that Zen is some kind of spiritual joke to teach people to accept this world they live in and one day will die in as the true world means that they have failed Zen, miserably.
Such people are little more than what the Buddha called them a long time ago, namely, a pṛthagjana which can mean a fool or in general, worldlings. This is only to suggest that when one takes up the study of Zen they must have great faith and great courage to support their faith. For without such, no kenshō will come in a tenth of a second, a point at which one sees the true nature of reality in contrast with the illusory world of birth and death that seems so real.
The blogs I read are fun, because they are often a lesson in knowledge vs understanding.
You have understanding, but people like this? Only some knowledge that they make sound like understanding.
https://www.ianwelsh.net/the-essential-spiritual-insight-about-happiness-part-i/
His spiritual path for happiness? Hedonism with a twist of Buddhism!
The juxtaposition of both being posted on the same day is priceless.
Posted by: Krystyn | February 19, 2019 at 11:16 AM