Koans and No-Thought

Two of the the most interesting facets of Zen buddhism are “Koans” and the concept of “no thought”. “Sakyamuni Holds Up a Flower” is a passage entailing the development of Koans in zen practice, in which a perplexing story, statement, or action provokes a knee-jerk response from one’s mind. Koans are designed to be paradoxical and confusing, and only when one exhausts thought or doesn’t delve deep into what they mean can they understand what is said. Sakyamuni held up the flower and displayed it as being the truth. By abstaining from attaching words or concepts to the truth, and presenting it as this simple manifestation of complex life, Sakyamuni relayed the message without relaying anything at all. The transmission of zen’s teachings from teacher to disciple is assessed by mutual recognition of awareness, whereby the teacher sees that the student is fully engaged in understanding, and that the student sees that the teacher can present nothing more. Koans serve as a quick jolt to the mind which may elicit a degree of enlightenment or understanding depending on how one grasps (or doesn’t grasp) the concept. 

The concept of “No Thought” is ironically very intriguing to think about. It is amusing to me to think about not thinking because it just sounds so convoluted. Ideas surrounding “No Thought” put forth the proposition that total and pure awareness is not possible while one attaches ideas, cognitions, and conventions to their surroundings. While surveying surroundings and seeing the environment, one must refrain from utilizing the mind to process what it is they are taking in and just take it in as it is, without any abstractions or distinctions. Freezing thought to work in a way which allows no discriminating ideas empowers one to view the purity of all which surrounds them.

Buddhism: The Middle Way

The middle way is an approach to thought and life which is a balance between rejecting and accepting the dogmatisms of materialism and spirituality. I see it as taking on the ideas of existence and nonexistence and placing them not at odds with each other, but recognizing the relationship between the two, and how they are in fact two sides of the same coin. Finding oneself enveloped favoring one side over the other will put one in a state of confusion because one may become too involved in that realm, and disregard the implications of ignoring the other. The middle way was discovered by the Buddha when he realized that neither asceticism nor self-indulgence could lead one to enlightenment. The connection between each method became apparent, and the illusion that ideas or happenings could be separate from others was also elucidated. The middle way is a frame of thought which is open to any and all ideas, forming sound conclusions based on comprehensive analysis of (or lack thereof) the whole, rejecting only ideas which are processed without regard for the context that goes with it.

“When you enter a village, think of it as an empty village. The forms you see there should appear as they would to a blind man, the sounds you hear should be mere echoes. The aromas you inhale should be so much thin air, the flavors you taste should be undifferentiated. Accept all sensations in accordance with the enlightenment of wisdom, and understand that all phenomena are no more than phantom forms. They have no intrinsic nature, nor do they take on any other nature.”

I think this particular passage from Vimalakirti does well to illustrate the attitude one should have when surveying their surroundings. No real effort should be made to perceive one's surroundings, because they are as they are without any evaluation. Attempting to separate these “phantom forms” is an exercise in futility, and inhibits one from viewing the whole of the situation that they may find themselves in. Seeing the nothingness in its entirety is the purest view one can take, and in taking in the whole as nothing, one can see all that is. The middle way is not a third concept between the two extremes because they are only reference points without any actual continuum existing between them. A genuine middle cannot occur between dualities, and because of this, the concept seems elusive or illusory in the way that enlightenment seems to be. One must first generate their own concept of what the middle way means in order to gravitate toward genuine understanding.

Words as Vessels

Ideas purporting the totality of everything existing as one singular function are made very clear by Tzu-Chi in his passage “Discussion on Making All Things Equal”. He began simply by discussing the implications of cramped understanding, highlighting ways in which an objectifying perspective may leave one’s mind disconcerted. Seeing people, places, events, or things as disparate or disconnected scorns the true nature of those phenomena, because if they came to fruition, there is surely a variety of reasons which led to that occurrence. Tzu-Chi utilizes his body as an example, stating that no organ is more his body than any other, and that these organs exist and function outside of his control, perhaps dictated by a god, but no matter, because they continue to operate regardless. The dividedness which we see in objects can only be discerned when viewed in relation to other, and since object and other are innately related when making assessments, separation between the objects in existence cannot really exist. Tzu-Chi then discusses the convention of words, and how they work to convey messages which are really nothing at all. Words are created and conceptualized in the mind, and have no tangible nature. They rely upon nothing to exist, have no baseline for what they could mean, yet they have something which they say. This alludes to ideas supporting the recognition of “the Middle Way.” The idea of words as a convention, which may carry as much meaning as meaning can have, all whilst remaining as hollow as empty space, represents a duality. If we recognize this thorough emptiness of meaning, we can utilize words to our wholesome advantage as we lend them their significance, and further reject their usage as we see unfit.

The Impermanence of Life

The idea of impermanence as defined by Tibetan Buddhist culture stresses a very humbling theme into the mind of man. The essential core of impermanence resides in the fact that nothing that has, can, does, or will exist, will ever do so forever. Every tangible entity will one day cease to exist due to the natural laws of the universe under which we operate. We don’t always recognize the face value of what we can gather from this timeless observation. Aging is constant, and the rate at which we can accept and deal with the never ending cycle of change determines our perception of what the world around us means to us.

  When we as humans recognize that we will one day cease to be a living member of our world, we are doing ourselves a favor. We are recognizing that we will at some point or another move on and leave this life, which is seemingly all we know, behind. This may be difficult for many to digest and many people feel an unwillingness to discuss such issues because they may carry such a profound burden, even though this is actually a crucial issue which we can seek benefit from by recognizing its significant lesson.

  In realizing that we are in a constant state of motion and nothing at any given time is ever the same moment to moment, we are bracing ourselves for change. We recognize this change and welcome it for we know that it is imminent, and therefore manage it as if it were any other typical part of our daily lives. This makes adjusting to the many shifts we see throughout the course of our lives much more simple. When one acknowledges change, they are doing themselves a favor in allowing for their mind to acclimate into a more serene state with their environment due to their awareness of changes occurring within this environment at any given moment. By being predisposed to change, one can effectively train themselves to be prepared for any issues that may arise, knowing that it is only a development in the ever-progressing expedition of life. Keeping a simple attitude is an extremely effective means of coping with life's many changes. By having a reasonable outlook and sensible conjecture, managing and adjusting to change subconsciously becomes a much more mild task to handle.

  Our happiness and feelings are defined entirely by our own thought, and originate not from the existence of the people and objects, but from within our own minds. The seemingly non-perishable entity that we possess within our lives is our conscious mind. The thoughts they produce are contingent on the inner attitude of the self and can only be affected if the mind lets it. The discernible materials with which we pad the mind hold little value in comparison to the immaterial wisdom and knowledge we gain throughout our development as people. The experiences we gain hold firm in the mind for as long as the brain is in good health, and these occurrences are what shape our scope of thought entirely. In recognizing that one day, all that which exists now, will at some point cease to exist, a mental virtue is instilled and the enigma that is our conscious evolves to become more cognizant and receptive, as we follow suit.