Symbols as Abstractions and Zen

Men feel themselves to be victims or puppets of their experience because they separate "themselves" from their minds, thinking that the nature of the mind-body is something involuntarily thrust upon "them." They think that they did not ask to be born, did not ask to be "given" a sensitive organism to be frustrated by alternating pleasure and pain. But Zen asks us to find out "who" it is that '1las" this mind, and "who" it was that did not ask to be born before father and mother conceived us. ...

 Contaminated with Purity

Hui-neng's position was that a man with an empty consciousness was no better than "a block of wood or a lump of stone." He insisted that the whole idea of purifying the mind was irrelevant and confusing, because "our own nature is fundamentally clear and pure." In other words, there is no analogy between consciousness or mind and a mirror that can be wiped. The true mind is "no-mind" ( wu-hsin ), which is to say that it is not to be regarded as an object of thought or action, as if it were a ...

 Tantric work by Saraha

If it [the Truth] is already manifest, what's the use of meditation? And if it is hidden, one is fust measuring darkness. (20) Mantras and tantras, meditation and concentration, They are all a cause of self-deception. Do not defile in contemplation thought that is pure in its own nature, But abide in the bliss of yourself and cease those torments. (23) Whatever you see, that is it, In front, behind, in all the ten directions. Even today let your master make an end of delusion! (28) The natur...

 Insistence on Impermanence Is not Nihilism

To serve their purpose, names and terms must of necessity be fixed and definite like all other units of measurement. But their use is-up to a point-so satisfactory that man is always in danger of confusing his measures with the world so measured, of identifying money with wealth, fixed convention with fluid reality. But to the degree that he identifies himself and his life with these rigid and hollow frames of definition, he condemn himself to the perpetual frustration of one trying to catch ...

 The Function of Negative Knowledge

...the function of negative knowledge is not unlike the uses of space-the empty page upon which words can be written, the empty jar into which liquid can be poured, the empty window through which light can be admitted, and the empty pipe through which water can Bow. Obviously the value of emptiness lies in the movements it permits or in the substance which it mediates and contains. But the emptiness must come first. This is why Indian philosophy concentrates on negation, on liberating the min...

 Hinduism is the Myth of God Playing Hide-and-Seek with It...

Fundamental to the life and thought of India from the very earliest times is the great mythological theme of atma-ya;na-the act of "self-sacrifice" whereby God gives birth to the world, and whereby men, following the divine pattern, reintegrate themselves with God. The act by which the world is created is the same act by which it is consummated-the giving up of one's lifeas if the whole process of the universe were the type of game in which it is necessary to pass on the ball as soon as it is...

 Confucianism and Taoism

When we tum to ancient Chinese society, we find two "philosophical" traditions playing complementary parts-Confucianism and Taoism. Generally speaking, the former concerns itself with the linguistic, ethical, legal, and ritual conventions which provide the society with its system of communication. Confucianism, in other words, preoccupies itself with conventional knowledge, and under its auspices children are brought up so that their originally wayward and whimsical natures are made to fit th...

 The Meaning of Fasting

To fast means to regulate, to regulate your body and mind so that they're not distracted or disturbed. And to observe means to uphold, to uphold the rules of discipline according to the Dharma. Fasting means guarding against the six attractions^ on the outside and the three poisons on the inside and striving through contemplation to purify your body and mind. Fasting also includes five kinds of food. First there's delight in the Dharma. This is the delight that comes from acting in accordan...

 See Yourself as a Lamp

The eternal lamp represents perfect awareness. Likening the illumination of awareness to that of a lamp, those who seek liberation see their body as the lamp, their mind as its wick, the addition of discipline as its oil, and the power of wisdom as its flame. By lighting this lamp of perfect awareness they dispel all darkness and delusion. And by passing this dharma on to others they're able to use one lamp to light thousands of lamps. And because these lamps likewise light countless ...