The Power of No Mind

Thoughts. Mind. Thinking. No-thoughts. No-mind. No-thinking. 

Within Zen Buddhist and Taoist thought worlds there are two metaphors: these are those of the mirror and the seashore. They serve similar purposes: to promote ideas of non-attachment to thoughts and the refusal to be bound by any thoughts, ideas or narratives at all. This is not a vision of the mind which is about the attainment or collection of things and so the agglomeration of something denominated ‘knowledge’. Indeed, it is one which privileges the refusal to hold anything at all within something we might call our mind. The mirror, for example, is a reflecting surface. It does not hold what it captures. It simply reflects it back. In a similar way, the seashore is caressed by the sea which may, from time to time, deposit items upon it. But the seashore, in this case, is indifferent and unconcerned about this and is happy to let that which is left upon it stay indefinitely or be just as easily swept away again. The metaphors of mirror and seashore encourage non-attachment, being dispassionate and acting without action.

In his book Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits, towards the end, Friedrich Nietzsche has the following aphorism:

“Life as the yield of life. - No matter how far a man may extend himself with his knowledge, no matter how objectively he may come to view himself, in the end it can yield to him nothing but his own biography.”

I see in this thought a mentality compatible with that of the Zen Buddhists and Taoists above. For what is it to imagine that a path of life yields nothing but the tracings of where it has been, a biography? Is it not to look disapprovingly on the notion that one may have collected up things egotistically regarded as ‘knowledge’ or ‘truths’ and to count them all as vanity? In this aphorism Nietzsche is agreeing with the past, present and future versions of himself that human beings are prey to many powerful illusions and that they should regard them all as exactly that and treat them accordingly. Here it is noteworthy that Nietzsche, in general, did not so much think of thoughts in terms of true or false but in terms of therapeutic valuations: he wanted to know if such things promoted health or disease in the human being and in human culture generally. Already when Nietzsche had written this aphorism in the late 1870s he had written of the human being as that creature which is a matter of will and desire where, for such a being, it doesn’t matter much what illusion they become attached to so long as it gives them a feeling of power and of control.

Yet it is just such power and control that, it seems to me, the Zen Buddhists and the Taoists are looking to give up. They think these things to be some of the “illusions that we have forgotten are illusions” which is what Nietzsche calls those things we denominate truth in an essay he wrote earlier in the 1870s. Taoists, for example, speak of and value the idea of ‘wu wei’ a great deal. ‘Wu wei’ is best translated into English as ‘actionless action’ rather than the often common ‘non-action’ since, so I am led to understand, it is not a concept which means doing nothing. Instead, the Taoist practitioner is imagined as an active participant in the things of life - yet not as someone with micromanaged intentions. This is seen as a matter of genuineness or authenticity in a conception of the whole that is the existence of all things in which ‘emptiness’ is seen as the source of all possibility. From such a point of view desires, will, intentions, attachments, are all barriers to possibility and enemies of becoming because they impose upon people mental structures which limit their abilities to see, to imagine, to participate and to dream. In effect, the Taoist asks why we should put up mental walls or restrict ourselves by means of entirely thought-based schemes when nothing about our universe of experience itself imposes such things or presents them as inherent to life itself. The situation, whatever the situation is, is not limited to the things we immediately, or even reflectively, think about it. There is no equation of thought and reality. This is, in turn, to concede, as the theologian and philosopher Jack Caputo does, that there is nothing we think that is not an interpretation.

But if there is nothing we think that is not an interpretation then this surely also means that there is nothing that we think that is not partial - in at least two senses. First, an interpretation is our’s, and not someone else’s, and, second, because of the first reason it is also much, much less than the whole, the whole which would be all the possible interpretations. Realising this, we now see, once again, how becoming attached to things or desiring things is actually a restriction of possibility. In fact, it is the imposition of a fiction simply because we become attached to it, either because we want to be through desire or will or because we are not sufficiently detached from it to see it as simply an interpretation. It would be like trying to become like a mirror that wants to possess the image it reflects or like a seashore which wants to retain the items the sea spits out onto it. Yet such a seashore, if it did this in reality, would soon become cluttered. Over time, it would cease to be the empty expanse next to the sea upon which things might occasionally be washed and would, instead, become a dumping ground, a tip, a public dustbin. The seashore as mind would actually impair its own ability to be that which it is. In Nietzsche’s terms, we would then be able to diagnose the habits of attachment, will, intention and desire as unhealthy and disease-inducing habits. So, actually, refusing to hold onto things, taking a detached attitude to the action of the sea of life as it sweeps across our minds, turns out to be good for the seashore, the seashore that is mind. The thoughts may come and the thoughts may go, the actions of a mind that is thinking, but we do not need to accept them or be under their tyranny. We are not forced to hold onto them them or take them seriously anymore.

There is another saying that comes from these Eastern philosophies and it is the following: “the no-mind thinks no-thoughts about no-things”. It seems, to me at least, to be a riddle and yet I imagine that in this brief essay I might have had some thoughts which illuminate its meaning. Zen Buddhists and Taoists know well that we have minds and we think thoughts. The Buddha himself, in fact, is said to have said that “we are what we think”. (He also said ‘there is nothing to stick to’ which is relevant but a whole other story!) This, indeed, is why I imagine such philosophies are so concerned with the activity of the mind in the first place. But, that being the case, it suggests that mental hygiene and psychological health are of primary importance for these most therapeutic of spiritualities in which peace and enlightenment are the highest personal goods and the most valuable possessions. This saying, I think, encapsulates the lack of attachment and refusal of imposed narratives that I have already spoken about. It encourages actionless action and loss of intention and a ‘letting things be’ that is hard for people used to ‘gaining knowledge’ or ‘understanding things’ or ‘making things so’ to accept. They only ever do these things to use them in accordance with their own intentions and desires and attachments in the pursuance of some imagined necessity they call “making sense”. This “making sense” is when things are as they require them to be. Rarely, however, do they question the narrative, and the values, which have motivated them to imagine that this was the purpose of thinking or the mind in the first place. We have here, then, in the thoughts and ideas presented in this short essay, a completely different way to see the world. But you should not then think that this Eastern way is ‘the right way’ where the other, more Western, one was not. . .  for then you will only have fallen into the same trap all over again. 

And that trap is . . . ?

ANARCHIST LITURGY

What follows in this blog is the brief contents of an anarchist liturgy. Both terms perhaps need some explanation, not least from my perspective in even presenting such a thing. Over at least the past year I have been working on writing three books under the title There is Nothing to Stick to which, as they turned out, became the basis for what I eventually conceived of as a philosophical and spiritual form of anarchism. This was based on a conception of all of existence rather than the political circumstances on one tiny planet, our planet, although, as is the nature of the thinking that went into it, it inevitably connected one with the other intimately. Anarchism, then, is consequently my description for the state of all existence everywhere and not simply a political thing related to human activity. When I describe something as anarchist in this sense, as with the liturgy below, I am using anarchy in this sense, the widest most spiritual and philosophical sense possible. "Liturgy," on the other hand, is used in a religious sense [although in my case not at all religiously] as a form of linguistic ritual and participation in something greater. You can, I hope, already see why this might be useful given my conception of anarchy. The purpose of such liturgy, here certainly spiritual and mysterious, is to give a form of words to our participation in the great anarchy which is existence itself. 

A word about the text. The text itself is not my own words or ideas although, in a few cases, I have rewritten a prior translation for what I regarded as better clarity. The text comes from numerous ancient texts such as the Tao Te Ching, the Zhuangzi, the Dhammapada, the "six words" of Tilopa, some words ascribed to Jesus of Nazareth, and one or two other [Zen] Buddhist texts such as Faith in Mind and the Mind Inscription. Here sources are important in that where something comes from gives it a context and also not important in that things should be judged on their content and not their identity. In short, do not let their provenance in Taoism, in Zen or elsewhere disturb you. What matters, if anything, is what they say and what they mean. They express a worldview, an ethic, an attitude, a practice of life, at once spiritual, philosophical, anarchist. My practice in using them is simply to read through them, which takes a few short minutes, and to silently ponder them. But you may use them as you like. There are no rules. This is offered to readers humbly for their thought and consideration. If it is of use and stimulates further thought and meditation - good! If it does not, also good! You can read how and why I came to such ideas by clicking the link to my more fleshed out thinking above or by reading other articles from this website.

Peace to you all.

It is said that in olden times those who ruled everything under Heaven wanted nothing and the world was fulfilled; they practised non-action and the whole of life was transformed; they were immensely deep in their stillness and the many families of the world were calm.

The action of non-action is called Heaven.

The words of non-action are called Virtue.

To love all humanity and to bring success to them is called benevolence.

To unite that which is not united is called greatness. 

To go beyond barriers and boundaries is called open-handedness. 

To have a vast multitude of diverse things is called wealth. 

To have and to hold Virtue is called guidance. 

To grow in maturity in Virtue is called stability. 

To be aligned with the Tao is called completion. 

To refuse to allow anything external which distracts you is called perfection. 

The one who clearly perceives these ten things will also be magnanimous in their ventures and their actions will benefit all life.

At the great Origin there was nothing, nothing, no name. 

The Whole arose from it; there was One without form. 

In taking different forms, it brought life and became known as Virtue. 

Before any shape was given their roles were assigned, various and diverse but all linked to one another. 

This was their lot. 

The forces worked on and things were created, they grew and took distinct shapes, and these were called ‘bodies’. 

The bodies contained spirits, each distinct and mortal. 

This is what we call the innate nature. 

Train this innate nature and it will return to Virtue; Virtue at its best is identical with the Origin. 

Being of the One is to be ultimately formless and this formlessness is vast. 

This is like the opening and shutting of a bird's beak, where the opening and shutting is like Heaven and Earth united. 

This unity is chaotic and disorderly; it looks stupid or foolish. 

This is known as Mysterious Virtue, being, without knowing it, part of the great Submission. 

Let me tell you about the way: 

There is a way that leads to vision, 

A way that confuses confusion. 

At the end of this way there is no sorrow, 

This way leads away from the world, 

But it is you who must make the effort to walk this way

Because you must follow the way to become free. 

And this is that way: 

Everything is transient, 

Everything is sorrow, 

Everything is unreal: 

This is the way.

Therefore:

Don’t remember, don’t project, don’t think.              

Don’t analyse, don’t control, let go.

No past, no future, no now.

No solution, no intention, no attachment.

This is the way.

Congratulations to the person who has toiled and has found life!

Follow the way of water and not a way of your own!

If you want the way to appear,

Be neither for nor against.

For and against opposing each other - 

This is the mind’s disease.

Without recognising the mysterious principle

It is useless to practice quietude.

Do not seek the real;

Just extinguish your views.

Living and dying while forgetting desire —

This is original nature.

Life is not life

And death is not death. 

The way makes no such distinctions. 

Things are not as they appear;

Yet neither are they otherwise. 

So you should only cease to cherish your opinions. 

In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.

In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.

Less and less is done 

Until actionless action is achieved.

When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

The world is ruled by letting things take their course.

It cannot be ruled by interfering.

Practice non-action.

Work without doing.

There is nothing to stick to.

Be passersby. 

SERENITY AND NOTHING TO STICK TO

Please do not fall into the trap of words.


Without judgment, evaluation or significance what is there to be desired?




Stop trying to change.




Before the word “nihilism,” what is nihilism?

Everything that is?




Without the concept of location, where are you?

Right here?




Why did someone sit staring at a wall for nine years?

Because she did.

What was she expecting to get?

Nothing.

And what was she doing?

Staring at a wall.




Anything that happens is the name of a perception.




Right and wrong,

Wrong and right.

Without the illusion of a fiction

How would we know who we were or that we were?




Before words are there teachings?

Before words is there instruction?




Is there a book before the word “book”?




A philosophy or a reality?

What is a philosophy?

What is a reality?

Is a philosophy a reality?

Is a reality a philosophy?




Life is a label.

Death is a label.

But what is a label?

A fiction.

So is there life and death?




Seeing something as a thing

The fiction of “is” persists.

Without perception, the world dissolves.

Who were you before you were born?




Whatever you say something is, it isn’t.

Everything is at least a fiction.




No knower,

No known,

No separation,

No action.

Formless form.

No knowing.

No not knowing.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




You are not a person.

There is no “self”.

If there is no “you”

Then nothing you say about this “you” can be true.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




Appearance through opposites,

Difference an illusion,

Separation a perception,

Oneness a confusion.




Might you be enlightened but not know it?




In your bubble, what happens when the bubble bursts?




Movement, rest.

Rest, movement.




You are called a “you”

But it is not a “you”.

What you call a “you”

Is the name of a perception.




You are a state.

But there is no state.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




If there is no state then where are you?

Right here.

But where is “here”?

The present moment.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




Can you locate the source of a thought?

Can you find the creator?

Where is the start?

What is there before perception?

Imaginary states?

Reflections?




A reflection of an illusion of a metaphor of a fiction.

A reflection of an illusion of a metaphor of a fiction.

A reflection of an illusion of a metaphor of a fiction.




Mind?

No Mind.




Knowing?

Not Knowing.




We call it “the world”

But there is no “world”.

We see the manifestations

But there is no manifestation.

We become drawn in

And become caught up in attachment.




What does believing have to do with anything?




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




Beware of believing.

Beware of attachment.

Beware of what makes sense.




So what is the situation?

What situation?




A speck of dust is necessary for the universe to be.

Words representing that which does not exist.

Fear holds things together

With “I don’t know” and “right and wrong”.




The All takes a shape

But it is still the All.

It hurts

But it is still the All.

Loveless

Still the All.




No difference or sameness

With All no “I”

With death comes the death of

“I am”.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




A speck of dust is All.




What is?

What isn’t?




Neither.




Water has no colour.

What colour is light?

Light is a perception.

What does light depend on?




You add

You take away

Equally zero.




No gain

No loss

All or fact?

Not zero.




No fixed positions

No being

No non-being

In between.




No enlightenment

No unenlightenment

In between.




Examine in between.

Who can know it?

There is no knower.




Teachings teach nothing,

They distract.

Describing what isn’t,

They can overpoint

Until the medicine makes sicker

Instead of healthier.

Dogma becomes fundamentalism

And the flexible becomes rigid.

Blind faith and empty hope

Are a bitter combination.




Teachings do not teach,

They point.

Without rules,

Right or Wrong,

Discrimination.




Dispose of the thorn before its wound

Infects you.




No creation

No destruction

No one to know




With no one to know

What are “same” and “different” anymore?




Who knows what?

What are we talking about?




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




The illusionary world

Consciousness

Neither

No One

Absolute

Without.




Subjectivity is mind.

Objectivity is mind.

It is like looking

In a mirror.




Without form or emptiness

The mirror is smashed.

There is no mind.

There is no mirror.

There is no form.




Beware attachment.




Are you free?

Are you trapped?

Is there mind?

Is there consciousness?




Has your bubble burst?




Unaware

Not aware.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




There is not a thing

That does not depend

On other things,

Mutually supporting.

Everything is everything else.




Interdependent,

Relative,

Reciprocal,

Participatory.




Love,

Hate,

Fear,

Courage,

Holding everything together

Just as they are

So that the universe

Is just as it is.




The blade of grass

Is as important as “I”.




Sometimes the same,

Sometimes different,

Consciousness and

Perceived appearances

Exist as

Constant change.

What is their

Meaning and Significance?




Why discuss it?




The “I” sees endless activity,

A succession of things.

Yet without “I” to depend upon

There is only the Uninterrupted.

Endless flow,

In which “I” partakes,

Is the way of things.




What does it matter if you feel it?

What does it matter if you don’t?

What does it matter if you think it?

What does it matter if you don’t?

What does it matter if you believe it?

What does it matter if you don’t?




Self will not appear from somewhere

Unless you try to stand still.

And then you will get gain and loss,

Like a photograph of reality

That is not real itself,

That is not Endless Flow.




If you want to define things through perception,

Your senses will agree with your decision.

Consciousness, awareness, produce

The “is”, the “was” and the “will be”.

Concepts solidify,

Existence is conjured.




But what is “I-dentity”?

What is “definition”?

What is “perception”?

What is “mind”?




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




The highest Serenity means extinction.

Anatta, Sunyata.

No self, emptiness.

All.

Endless Flow.




Action equals action,

Significances delude.

Organisational structures,

A fiction.




Here, there.

There, here.

What is “location”?




Hate, love.

Love, hate.

Do they exist?




Holy, profane.

Profane, holy.

What?




Lying, truth.

Truth, lying.

Fiction.




Significance,

An idealism.

“Special”,

An illegitimate distinction.




Names given to things,

Names for perceptions.




The All does not need perception,

A perceiver is equally to the side.

Without seeing or hearing it abides,

Without “is” or “is not” it resides.

The All is not awareness.




Past...

Present...

Future...




Now?




There is no “now”

For there is no “you”

Only “That” which isn’t.

“That” which can’t be grasped.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states...




The perceptual apparatus breaks.




What were you

Before you were you?

What were you

Before words came?

Imagine the boundaries,

Impose human form.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.

No body,

No form.

No “I”.




In the revelation of the All

Things disappear.

The All

Extinguishes

And things

Are forgotten.




Thoughts,

No thoughts.

Reality,

No reality.

Knowing,

No knowing.

I,

No I.

Self,

No self.




The negation is just as important

As the affirmation.

Each is part of the Whole.

When there is only affirmation

You forget you are Nowhere.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.

A portal to Nowhere,

An eternal location.




What is the meaning of the Way?

A tree grows in the yard.

One if you see it,

“One” if you don’t.




Duality, a mistake,

Non-duality, a delusion.

Do not be deceived by language,

Smoke and mirrors.




Does a dead body know what it is?

Without knowing,

Without deceptive consciousness,

Without misleading awareness,

Without the falsehood of right and wrong?

Does a dead body know what it is?




Names given to perceptions

Do not make them so

And by adding an abstraction

It gains or loses no substance.




Here

Now

Is

Was

Will be




Illusory perceptions.

“Wisdom contains no knowledge.”

Without words,

The senses.

Without knowingness,

Can you know yourself?

Without words,

What is there?

The All,

Without words.




An equality of the All.

Form,

Emptiness.

No better,

No worse.

No higher,

No lower.

No senior,

No junior.

No beginning,

No end.

No earlier,

No later.

An equality of the All.




What is.

What isn’t.

Man never went to the moon.

No man.

No moon.

No went.




Form, emptiness.

Emptiness, form.

No “is”.




Asleep, awake.

Awake, asleep.

Which is the dream?

What difference does it make?




Enlightenment means extinction.

Go back the way you came.




I dreamed a world,

And dreamed it wasn’t a dream.

What appeared to be,

Was.

Analysed,

Theorised,

Building out the dream

That wasn’t a dream.

Grounded,

Spiritualised,

The dream that wasn’t a dream.

How to get out

Of the dream that wasn’t a dream?




Place

No Place

Wrong place

No wrong place

No place.




No world,

No place.




How can the world appear without place?




Something,

Not something.

Nothing,

Not nothing.




What is?

What is “is”?




The past becomes a zero

In the light of the present,

Dissolving into zero

Without zero.

Illusory cause becomes

Illusory result.




False conclusion,

False solution.

Blow out the light,

Enlightenment means extinction.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




The dream becomes real,

When you begin to believe it

But it doesn’t thereby

Stop being a dream.

No way out,

Seeking followed by more seeking,

But what cannot be got out of

Cannot be got into either.




No way out,

No way in.

Only dreaming.

Only believing.




Way,

No Way.




What is the cause of causes

When here is as good as anywhere,

When there is no start or finish,

When there is neither activity nor rest?




In the All I do not ever know that I am.




Can you be aware of your own extinction?




No enlightenment,

No delusion.

Who can add wetness

To the sea?




Why is this true?

Beware the deception of words!




Life is like noise

Without meaning.

Sound is like

Meaning without noise.




Do you understand?

What does it matter?




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




Many bodies,

Or one body?

Without noticing,

Or noticer,

The All.




Affirmation,

Negation.

Enlightenment,

Not Enlightenment.

Point of view,

Not point of view.




Do you understand?

What does it matter?




Consciousness is Nothing,

Nothing is consciousness,

And neither are.

What is realisation?

No beings,

No duality,

No non-duality,

No selves,

No things.




The bubble bursts.




Teachers teach the light

But do not know

That what they teach as light

Is not light.

No location,

No space,

No time,

No form.




What is light if what you teach is the bubble?

Not light.




Sentient beings with

A point of view.

Beings who have

A space-time location.

This makes manifest.




The All cannot be manifest.

No point of view.

No life.

No death.

No existence

Or non-existence.




Life being unborn

As if it never was.




No change,

No growth,

No decay.

No hope,

No organisation.

A hazy mist of imaginings.

The mist dissolves.




Making sense is the way

To appearance and the

Imagining “As if”.

But what without

Making sense?




Once more,

A cool mist.

No body,

No point of view.

A cool mist.




The wave and the current

Are in the sea

Before you can

See them.




The granite contains

The statue

Before

It appears.




Extinction is

Waking up

And the rock

Remains untouched.




What is the wetness of water?

What is a sense of place?

What is the appearance of stasis?

A mirage you can’t replace.




Perception is a thorn.

Remove it before its

Wound infects you.




The mirage vanishes.




No mind,

No enlightenment.




What is before

The birth of

Mother and

Father?




A solid circle,

Never filled.

Without zero,

Never filled.




No infinity,

No zero.

No such thing as filled.




In the bubble

All is equal

Although it appears otherwise.

So what?




Who can say equal or unequal?

Of what importance is saying?




Journey

On the path,

Walking in the Way,

Could you take a trip

Without fear of missing the return trip?

No return trip.




Its done.




The illusion of present

Disappears

Becoming past…




Past, though,

Is not present

And neither is it past

For past is always experienced

In the present.




No connection

Which creates the self

In networks

Of time.




What stories will be made up now?




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




No time,

No self.




“The monkey grabs

At the reflection in the moon.”

The sound appears,

Meaning without noise.

The light,

Reveals the bubble

And you say,

“I see!”

The mind perceives…

Its own reflection.




The bubble bursts,

No light,

No sound.




Same,

Without same.




Beware

The delusional light of awareness!




Within the bubble

There is relationship

Yet what has

Anything to do with

Anything else?




Experiences are

Relations

Which lead

From experience to experience

Eternally.




This is a bubble seduction.

Expect nothing from experiences.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




No relations.

No relationships.

No reference point.

The seduction of

The bubble.




A finger.

A hand.

A face.

Without location,

Without space.




There’s no point of view

From no point of view.




Perceiving,

Deceiving,

Illusion,

Delusion.




A stick burns,

Stick, body,

Fire, consciousness.

When the stick burns

Where does the smoke go?

The answer is everywhere

And nowhere.




Without a point of view,

Without a point to view.

Who knows anything of this?

Without a point of view,

Without a point to view from?




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




With nowhere to see from

What is there to see?

With nowhere to know from

What is there to know?

Without a position,

Or fixed point of view?

Who sees,

Sees what?




Not knowing.




No inside,

No outside.

No ground?

Unseen but hard not to

Imagine the illusioned

Existence,

Hard to stop

The dream.




Without space

And time

What is being perceived?

What can be taught?

What can be said?




Everything a no,

Not,

Nothing,

Without.

Not applicable.

The dream illusion,

No dream illusion.

The root is without.

Before emptiness and form,

No thing [nothing],




Before nature,

No thing [nothing].




Before experience and knowing?

No thing [nothing].




That which comes and goes

Is an illusion.

That which perceives and is perceived,

The same.

That which explains and understands,

Illusion.

Treasure hunts are fictions

Even if they are entertaining

And fools gold has no value

Even if one of the words is gold.

Awareness resides in

Unawareness,

An actionless action.




Not applicable, no, without.




That which cannot be negated.

Not this.

No such thing as.




The point of view which

Confuses

And hides that which

Never was.




Perceptions,

Fictions,

Illusions,

Imaginary states.




A you which

Recognises you are

Not you

Hiding that which

Never was.




Actions in pursuit of reward,

A vicious cycle.

Realisation cannot

Be earned.

It cannot be

Had,

Possessed,

Or experienced.

Enlightenment means Extinction.

Exact all your effort

To learn:

Effort gets you

Nowhere!

You come from

Consciousness.

Consciousness does not come

From you!




Before you leave,

Turn off the light!

Enlightenment means extinction!

Without a soul to know it,

What is?

What isn’t?




A perceiver,

And a body appears.

A perceiver,

And an atom appears.

A perceiver,

And science appears.




Can you “see” without considering?

Can you mean without words?

Do problems appear by themselves?




Made

Is

Being

Now

Was

Am

Will be.




The assumptions never end.




Teach me a word that has never existed.

Exist without existing.

No such thing as zero.




Please do not fall into the trap of words.

POETIC WISDOM AND NOTHING TO STICK TO: TWO TEXTS AND SIX WORDS

Over the centuries and now millennia of Taoist and Buddhist thought there have, of course, been numerous texts produced. Neither of these paths, however, has a single canonical text or mandated scripture. Rather, what they do have is libraries of collected wisdom in various texts from various times and places which anyone can read and contemplate. In this section I have given examples of just three of them. The first is a Ch’an Buddhist text [this is Chinese in origin, Ch’an Buddhism being a form of Buddhism as influenced by Taoist beliefs as it moved into China 1500 years ago. When it then moved to Japan it became Zen] which addresses “believing in mind”, mental hygiene and that sort of thing. Here we see the central concepts of emptiness, lack of dualistic thinking and oneness. The second is selections from the Dhammapada, a well-known Buddhist text that is reputed to be the words of the Buddha [which means “enlightened one” and is not a name] Gautama himself. This poetic text, set out in verse, covers many aspects of thinking and behaviour. The third and final text is the most famous utterance of the Buddhist practitioner, Tilopa, and is just six words in its communicated form.  Read and enjoy!

ON BELIEVING IN MIND (SHINJIN-NO-MEI)

1. The Perfect Way knows no difficulties

Except that it refuses to make preferences;

Only when freed from hate and love,

It reveals itself fully and without disguise;

A tenth of an inch's difference,

And heaven and earth are set apart;

If you wish to see it before your own eyes,

Have no fixed thoughts either for or against it.

2. To set up what you like against what you dislike - 

This is the disease of the mind:

When the deep meaning [of the Way] is not understood

Peace of mind is disturbed to no purpose.

3. [The Way is] perfect like unto vast space,

With nothing wanting, nothing superfluous:

It is indeed due to making choice

That its suchness is lost sight of.

4. Pursue not the outer entanglements,

Dwell not in the inner void;

Be serene in the oneness of things,

And [dualism] vanishes by itself.

5. When you strive to gain quiescence by stopping motion,

The quiescence thus gained is ever in motion;

As long as you tarry in the dualism,

How can you realise oneness?

6. And when oneness is not thoroughly understood,

In two ways loss is sustained:

The denying of reality is the asserting of it,

And the asserting of emptiness is the denying of it. 

7. Wordiness and intellection--

The more with them the further astray we go;

Away therefore with wordiness and intellection,

And there is no place where we cannot pass freely.

8. When we return to the root, we gain the meaning;

When we pursue external objects, we lose the reason.

The moment we are enlightened within,

We go beyond the voidness of a world confronting us.

9. Transformations going on in an empty world which confronts us

Appear real all because of Ignorance:

Try not to seek after the true,

Only cease to cherish opinions.

10. Abide not with dualism,

Carefully avoid pursuing it;

As soon as you have right and wrong,

Confusion ensues, and Mind is lost.

11. The two exist because of the One,

But hold not even to this One;

When a mind is not disturbed,

The ten thousand things offer no offence.

12. No offence offered, and no ten thousand things;

No disturbance going, and no mind set up to work:

The subject is quieted when the object ceases,

The object ceases when the subject is quieted.

13. The object is an object for the subject,

The subject is a subject for the object:

Know that the relativity of the two

Rests ultimately on one Emptiness.

14. In one Emptiness the two are not distinguished,

And each contains in itself all the ten thousand things;

When no discrimination is made between this and that.

How can a one-sided and prejudiced view arise?

15. The Great Way is calm and large-hearted,

For it nothing is easy, nothing is hard;

Small views are irresolute,

The more in haste the tardier they go.

16. Clinging is never kept within bounds,

It is sure to go the wrong way;

Quit it, and things follow their own courses,

While the Essence neither departs nor abides.

17. Obey the nature of things, and you are in concord with the Way,

Calm and easy and free from annoyance;

But when your thoughts are tied, you turn away from the truth,

They grow heavier and duller and are not at all sound.

18. When they are not sound, the spirit is troubled;

What is the use of being partial and one-sided then?

If you want to walk the course of the One Vehicle,

Be not prejudiced against the six sense-objects.

19. When you are not prejudiced against the six sense-objects,

You are then one with the Enlightenment;

The wise are non-active,

While the ignorant bind themselves up;

While in the law itself there is no individuation,

They ignorantly attach themselves to particular objects.

It is their own mind that creates illusions--

Is this not the greatest of all self-contradictions?

20. The ignorant cherish the idea of rest and unrest,

The enlightened have no likes and dislikes:

All forms of dualism

Are contrived by the ignorant themselves.

They are like unto visions and flowers in the air;

Why should we trouble ourselves to take hold of them?

Gain and loss, right and wrong -

Away with them once for all!

21. If an eye never falls asleep,

All dreams will by themselves cease:

If the Mind retains its absoluteness,

The ten thousand things are of one Suchness. 

22. When the deep mystery of one Suchness is fathomed,

All of a sudden we forget the external entanglements;

When the ten thousand things are viewed in their oneness,

We return to the origin and remain where we always have been.

23. Forget the wherefore of things,

And we attain to a state beyond analogy;

Movement stopped and there is no movement,

Rest set in motion and there is no rest;

When dualism does no more obtain,

Oneness itself abides not.

24. The ultimate end of things where they cannot go any further

Is not bound by rules and measures:

In the Mind harmonious [with the Way] we have the principle of identity,

In which we find all strivings quieted;

Doubts and irresolutions are completely done away with,

And the right faith is straightened;

There is nothing left behind, There is nothing retained,

All is void, lucid, and self-illuminating;

There is no exertion, no waste of energy -

This is where thinking never attains,

This is where the imagination fails to measure.

25. In the higher realm of true Suchness

There is neither "self" nor "other":

When direct identification is sought,

We can only say, "Not two". 

26. In being "not two" all is the same,

All that is is comprehended in it;

The wise in the ten quarters,

They all enter into this Absolute Reason.

27. This Absolute Reason is beyond time and space,

For it one instant is ten thousand years;

Whether we see it or not,

It is manifest everywhere in all the ten quarters.

28. Infinitely small things are as large as large things can be,

For here no external conditions obtain;

Infinitely large things are as small as small things can be,

For objective limits are here of no consideration.

29. What is is the same as what is not,

What is not is the same as what is:

Where this state of things fails to obtain,

Indeed, no tarrying there.

30. One in All,

All in One -

If only this is realised,

No more worry about your not being perfect!

31. Where Mind and each believing mind are not divided,

And undivided are each believing mind and Mind,

This is where words fail;

For it is not of the past, present, and future.

TRACES OF THE DHAMMAPADA

Chapter I

The Twin-Verses

1. All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a person speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows them, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

2. All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a person speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows them, like a shadow that never leaves them.

3. "He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me," - in those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease.

4. "He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me," - in those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred will cease.

5. For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.

6. The world does not know that we must all come to an end here; - but those who know it, their quarrels cease at once.

7. Those who live looking for pleasures only, their senses uncontrolled, immoderate in their food, idle and weak, the tempter will certainly overthrow them, as the wind throws down a weak tree.

8. Those who live without looking for pleasures, their senses well controlled, moderate in their food, faithful and strong, them the tempter will certainly not overthrow, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain.

11. They who imagine truth in untruth, and see untruth in truth, never arrive at truth, but follow vain desires.

12. They who know truth in truth, and untruth in untruth, arrive at truth, and follow true desires.

13. As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind.

14. As rain does not break through a well-thatched house, passion will not break through a well-reflecting mind.

15. The evil-doer mourns in this world, and they mourn in the next; they mourn in both. They mourn and suffer when they see the evil of their own work.

16. The virtuous one delights in this world, and they delight in the next; they delight in both. They delight and rejoice, when they see the purity of their own work.

17. The evil-doer suffers in this world, and they suffer in the next; they suffer in both. They suffer when they think of the evil they have done; they suffer more when going on the evil path.

18. The virtuous one is happy in this world, and they are happy in the next; they are happy in both. They are happy when they think of the good they have done; they are still more happy when going on the good path.

19. The thoughtless person, even if they can recite a large portion (of the law), but is not a doer of it, has no share in the priesthood, but is like a cowherd counting the cows of others.

20. The follower of the law, even if they can recite only a small portion (of the law), but, having forsaken passion and hatred and foolishness, possesses true knowledge and serenity of mind, they, caring for nothing in this world or that to come, have indeed a share in the priesthood.

Chapter II

On Earnestness

21. Earnestness is the path of immortality (Nirvana), thoughtlessness the path of death. Those who are in earnest do not die, those who are thoughtless are as if dead already.

22. Those who are advanced in earnestness, having understood this clearly, delight in earnestness, and rejoice in the knowledge of the elect.

23. These wise people, meditative, steady, always possessed of strong powers, attain to Nirvana, the highest happiness.

24. If an earnest person has roused themselves, if they are not forgetful, if their deeds are pure, if they act with consideration, if they restrain themselves, and live according to law, - then their glory will increase.

31. A mendicant who delights in earnestness, who looks with fear on thoughtlessness, moves about like fire, burning all their fetters, small or large.

32. A mendicant who delights in reflection, who looks with fear on thoughtlessness, cannot fall away (from his perfect state) - they are close upon Nirvana.

Chapter III

Thought

33. As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise person makes straight their trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back.

34. As a fish taken from its watery home and thrown on dry ground, our thought trembles all over in order to escape the dominion of the tempter.

35. It is good to tame the mind, which is difficult to hold in and flighty, rushing wherever it lists; a tamed mind brings happiness.

36. Let the wise one guard their thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive, very artful, and they rush wherever they list: thoughts well guarded bring happiness.

39. If someone's thoughts are not dissipated, if their mind is not perplexed, if they have ceased to think of good or evil, then there is no fear for them while they are watchful.

41. Before long, alas! this body will lie on the earth, despised, without understanding, like a useless log.

42. Whatever a hater may do to a hater, or an enemy to an enemy, a wrongly directed mind will do us greater mischief.

43. Not a mother, not a father, will do so much, nor any other relative; a well-directed mind will do us greater service.

Chapter IV

Flowers

46. The one who knows that this body is like froth, and has learnt that it is as insubstantial as a mirage, will break the flower-pointed arrow of the tempter, and never see the king of death.

47. Death carries off the one who is gathering flowers and whose mind is distracted, as a flood carries off a sleeping village.

50. Not the perversities of others, not their sins of commission or omission, but their own misdeeds and negligences should a sage take notice of.

51. Like a beautiful flower, full of colour, but without scent, are the fine but fruitless words of the one who does not act accordingly.

52. But, like a beautiful flower, full of colour and full of scent, are the fine and fruitful words of the one who acts accordingly.

Chapter V

The Fool

60. Long is the night to the one who is awake; long is a mile to the one who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

61. If a traveller does not meet with one who is their better, or their equal, let them firmly keep to their solitary journey; there is no companionship with a fool.

62. "These sons belong to me, and this wealth belongs to me," with such thoughts a fool is tormented. They do not belong to themselves; how much less sons and wealth?

64. If a fool be associated with the wise one even all his life, they will perceive the truth as little as a spoon perceives the taste of soup.

65. If an intelligent person be associated for one minute only with a wise one, he will soon perceive the truth, as the tongue perceives the taste of soup.

75. "One is the road that leads to wealth, another the road that leads to Nirvana;" if the mendicant, the disciple of enlightenment, has learnt this, they will not yearn for honour, they will strive after separation from the world.

Chapter VI

The Wise Person

76. If you see an intelligent person who tells you where true treasures are to be found, who shows what is to be avoided, and administers reproofs, follow that wise person; it will be better, not worse, for those who follow them.

78. Do not have evil-doers for friends, do not have low people for friends: have virtuous people for friends, have for friends the best of human beings.

80. Well-makers lead the water (wherever they like); fletchers bend the arrow; carpenters bend a log of wood; wise people fashion themselves.

81. As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, wise people falter not amidst blame and praise.

82. Wise people, after they have listened to the laws, become serene, like a deep, smooth, and still lake.

83. Good people walk on whatever happens, the good do not prattle, longing for pleasure; whether touched by happiness or sorrow wise people never appear elated or depressed.

Chapter VII

The Venerable

90. There is no suffering for the one who has finished their journey, and abandoned grief, who has freed themselves on all sides, and thrown off all fetters.

92. Those who have no riches, who live on recognised food, who have perceived void and unconditioned freedom (Nirvana), their path is difficult to understand, like that of birds in the air.

96. Their thought is quiet, quiet are their words and deeds, when they have obtained freedom by true knowledge, when they have thus become quiet people.

99. Forests are delightful; where the world finds no delight, there the passionless will find delight, for they look not for pleasures.

Chapter IX

Evil

116. If a person would hasten towards the good, they should keep their thought away from evil; if a person does what is good slothfully, their mind delights in evil.

117. If a person commits a sin, let them not do it again; let them not delight in sin: pain is the outcome of evil.

118. If a person does what is good, let them do it again; let them delight in it: happiness is the outcome of good.

119. Even an evil-doer sees happiness as long as the evil deed has not ripened; but when the evil deed has ripened, then does the evil-doer see evil.

120. Even a good person sees evil days, as long as the good deed has not ripened; but when the good deed has ripened, then does the good person see happy days.

121. Let no person think lightly of evil, saying in their heart, It will not come nigh unto me. Even by the falling of water-drops a water-pot is filled; the fool becomes full of evil, even if it is gathered little by little.

122. Let no person think lightly of good, saying in their heart, It will not come nigh unto me. Even by the falling of water-drops a water-pot is filled; the wise person becomes full of good, even if it is gathered little by little.

Chapter X

Punishment

141. Not nakedness, not plaited hair, not dirt, not fasting, or lying on the earth, not rubbing with dust, not sitting motionless, can purify a mortal who has not overcome desires.

143. Is there in this world any person so restrained by humility that they do not mind reproof, as a well-trained horse the whip?

145. Well-makers lead the water (wherever they like); fletchers bend the arrow; carpenters bend a log of wood; good people fashion themselves.

Chapter XII

Self

158. Let each person direct themselves first to what is proper, then let them teach others; thus a wise person will not suffer.

159. If a person make themselves as they teach others to be, then, being themselves well subdued, they may subdue (others); one's own self is indeed difficult to subdue.

163. Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy to do; what is beneficial and good, that is very difficult to do.

165. By oneself the evil is done, by oneself one suffers; by oneself evil is left undone, by oneself one is purified. Purity and impurity belong to oneself, no one can purify another.

Chapter XIII

The World

170. Look upon the world as a bubble, look upon it as a mirage: the king of death does not see him who looks down upon the world thusly.

Chapter XIV

The Enlightened

180. The one whom no desire with its snares and poisons can lead astray, by what track can you lead them, the Enlightened, the Omniscient, the trackless?

187. Even in heavenly pleasures they find no satisfaction, the disciple who is fully enlightened delights only in the destruction of all desires.

Chapter XV

Happiness

197. Let us live happily then, not hating those who hate us! Among people who hate us let us dwell free from hatred!

198. Let us live happily then, free from ailments among the ailing! Among people who are ailing let us dwell free from ailments!

199. Let us live happily then, free from greed among the greedy! Among people who are greedy let us dwell free from greed!

200. Let us live happily then, though we call nothing our own! We shall be like the bright gods, feeding on happiness!

201. Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. The one who has given up both victory and defeat, they, the contented, are happy.

204. Health is the greatest of gifts, contentedness the best riches; trust is the best of relationships, Nirvana the highest happiness.

Chapter XVI

Pleasure

210. Let no one ever look for what is pleasant, or what is unpleasant. Not to see what is pleasant is pain, and it is pain to see what is unpleasant.

211. Let, therefore, no one love anything; loss of the beloved is evil. Those who love nothing and hate nothing, have no fetters.

217. The one who possesses virtue and intelligence, who is just, speaks the truth, and does what is their own business, that one the world will hold dear.

218. The one in whom a desire for the Ineffable (Nirvana) has sprung up, who is satisfied in their mind, and whose thoughts are not bewildered by love, that one is called “carried upwards by the stream”.

Chapter XVII

Anger

221. Let a person leave anger, let a person forsake pride, let a person overcome all bondage! No sufferings befall the person who is not attached to name and form, and who calls nothing their own.

222. The person who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot, that one I call a real driver; other people are but holding the reins.

223. Let a person overcome anger by love, let them overcome evil by good; let them overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth!

226. Those who are ever watchful, who study day and night, and who strive after Nirvana, their passions will come to an end.

228. There never was, there never will be, nor is there now, a person who is always blamed, or a person who is always praised.

Chapter XIX

The Just

256, 257. A person is not just if they pursue a matter by violence; no, they who distinguish both right and wrong, who are learned and lead others, not by violence, but by law and equity, and who are guarded by the law and act intelligently, that one is called just.

258. A person is not learned because they talk much; the one who is patient, free from hatred and fear, that one is called learned.

261. The one in whom there is truth, virtue, love, restraint, moderation, the one who is free from impurity and is wise, that one is called an elder.

262. An envious greedy, dishonest person does not become respectable by means of much talking alone, or by the beauty of their complexion.

Chapter XX

The Way

277. `All created things perish,' the one who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way to purity.

278. `All created things are grief and pain,' the one who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way that leads to purity.

279. `All forms are unreal,' the one who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way that leads to purity.

280. The one who does not rouse themselves when it is time to rise, who, though young and strong, is full of sloth, whose will and thought are weak, that lazy and idle person will never find the way to knowledge.

Chapter XXI

Miscellaneous

304. Good people shine from afar, like the snowy mountains; bad people are not seen, like arrows shot by night.

305. The one alone who, without ceasing, practises the duty of sitting alone and sleeping alone, that one, subduing themselves, will rejoice in the destruction of all desires alone, as if living in a forest.

Chapter XXV

The Mendicant 

360. Restraint in the eye is good, good is restraint in the ear, in the nose restraint is good, good is restraint in the tongue.

361. In the body restraint is good, good is restraint in speech, in thought restraint is good, good is restraint in all things. A mendicant, restrained in all things, is freed from all pain.

362. He who controls his hand, he who controls his feet, he who controls his speech, he who is well controlled, he who delights inwardly, who is collected, who is solitary and content, him they call mendicant.

363. The mendicant who controls his mouth, who speaks wisely and calmly, who teaches the meaning and the law, his word is sweet.

364. He who dwells in the law, delights in the law, meditates on the law, follows the law, that mendicant will never fall away from the true law.

365. Let him not despise what he has received, nor ever envy others: a mendicant who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.

366. A mendicant who, though he receives little, does not despise what he has received, even the gods will praise him, if his life is pure, and if he is not slothful.

367. He who never identifies himself with name and form, and does not grieve over what is no more, he indeed is called a mendicant.

368. The mendicant who acts with kindness, who is calm in the doctrine of enlightenment, will reach the quiet place (Nirvana), cessation of natural desires, and happiness.

380. For self is the lord of self, self is the refuge of self; therefore curb thyself as the merchant curbs a good horse.

SIX PRECEPTS by Tilopa

No thought, 

no reflection, 

no analysis,

No cultivation, 

no intention;

Let it settle itself.

That concludes my initial appraisal of the notion “there is nothing to stick to”, otherwise referred to in this first part of my project as “anarchy,” ahead of the next part which will address morality more explicitly and exclusively before developing into other areas. I have covered the idea in spiritual, philosophical, artistic or aesthetic, cultural and political senses. There are, between these senses, connections, continuities and discontinuities, as well as the fundamental matter of an interpenetration of each into the others, which I have not been able to draw out, even in such a large project as this, due to space considerations. But this is no bad thing for, as philosophers, or merely as intellectual animals with the ability to think, our primary duty is to utilise that faculty rather than to be those who read things to be told what to think. This is what being a thinking human being is whilst the latter process seems to view human beings more as machines in need of instructions. None of the examples I have detailed in this first part of the project, in 13 articles, are examples of people who would want to tell you what to think in detail, as I myself am not either. But they, as I, would all expect that you did think, became fully human beings and so took responsibility for your own lives and the thoughts which direct them and, through them, by a process of aggregation, the societies and so the world we all live in. This, it may be seen, is actually the logical conclusion of the belief “there is nothing to stick to.“ For is that idea not, in fact, the radical conclusion that you are responsible for yourself yet, in that, responsible for or to NOTHING AT ALL? And so is our conclusion not that human life and existence is ever a Something human beings make out of Nothing and, being that, that it can always be made and remade and remade again? Truly, there IS nothing to stick to and, in acknowledging that, is human life not actually more about an innocence than an epistemology we can be blamed for?