As the seasons have passed, I have observed many changes to the concepts of Buddhism and Zen as they have made their journey to becoming “westernized.” Like many changes that occur, there is a prevalent thought process that leans towards creating strict rules to follow. These new rules materialized from the thoughts of humankind and have structured themselves to an invented reality on the subjects of mindfulness and the present moment.
As a human observer of this, there is a tendency to stay out of the way if a person is doing something that works for them and harms no one. You wish them well in their happiness and go about your day. There is a point, however, where it might be time for a gentle nudge towards the truth of the matter.
Having been involved in discussions of these topics for many years, I have seen many a finger-wagging by those who “understand” to indicate that many people are shooting the arrow but missing the target. There is no desire here to speak with authority over anyone; there is only a wish to help those on the path to avoid the pitfalls that are being created for them.
The mind cannot search the mind
Mindfulness is mindfulness. No matter how it is mutated, misunderstood or used for personal gain, the original process does not change. There is a belief propagated by many and believed by many more, that being mindful is, in essence, a narration of your day. A technique is taught so that one can use their mind to control their mind and then direct it into thinking what “you” want “your” mind to concentrate on.
This is an absurd thought process. The sheer dualism of this should be an indicator that it is not natural. The mind cannot conduct a successful search for the mind. Any effort from the mind towards the mind is an invented reality inventing another reality in which there is a problem to be solved. This invented problem, and the constant desire to solve it, is where anxiety comes from.
Original mindfulness is the observation that the mind has no authority whatsoever. It is the discovery of consciousness.
Mindfulness is the exact opposite of what many people have been taught that it is! Original mindfulness is the observation that the mind has no authority whatsoever. It is the discovery of consciousness.
For example, when you are sleeping, there is a ruling force directing your body. If you are fortunate to be healthy, all your bodily processes continue to operate fully without any input from “YOUR” mind. There are a lot of descriptions of this force, depending on one’s religious and spiritual beliefs, along with preconceived notions. No matter the direction of these notions, these are all invented by…? That is correct, your mind.
If you take it down to biology, the brain is sending the appropriate signals to keep the body functioning without any input from the mind. To put a finer point on it: Mindfulness is not about focusing the mind on how a cup of tea tastes; it is a removal of the mind from the process of how the tea tastes. It is being mindful of your mind!
The mind is a very powerful invention. It has tricked you into thinking that it has the answers or that it can be used with it as the driver and your body as the vehicle. Other than its use as a very poor, unstable recording device and for calculations, the mind has no use. It just forms your ego which, in turn, keeps you inventing the reality you are believing that you face.
If you wish to be mindful, realize that there is nothing wrong with you, observe the thoughts that pass through, realize they are not your thoughts, and go about your life by existing in it rather than trying to fit it into a small box you refer to as your mind. That, my friends, is Mindfulness.
The present moment
Another term that has become very popular, and profitable, is the all-encompassing “present moment.” There are no shortages of blogs, books and gurus expounding on how important it is to get yourself into the precious present moment.
The present moment is where we all should aspire to live, correct? It is crucial that you pay for this program or take this course or donate to this facility so that you can sit at the feet of an expert on getting you into the present moment, and you want it. You need it. You have been told so! Money must be spent. Years must be spent on cushions in deep Zazen. Seminars and retreats must be taken as often as possible in order to get into the present moment.
Please allow me to pose a question: How could you ever possibly get out of the present moment? This is rhetorical, of course, as it is impossible to ever be out of the present moment. Unless you have achieved a sort of magical power or deciphered time travel, being out of the present moment cannot happen.
Go ahead, try to get out of the present moment. I will wait. Any luck? It is safe to assume no one reading this got out of the present moment. Since you cannot get out of the present moment, one must start wondering why this theory has inundated nearly anything spiritual or peace-related in the Western world.
It is simple, really. It is a never-ending invented problem that must be worked on and corrected constantly. If anyone can convince you of this, they can keep you coming back. Keep you listening. Keep your attention. Keep you in the disease that only they hold the cure for. Just like earlier with Mindfulness, this is all about ego and dualism.
The only way you can be tricked into believing the impossible could happen (that you could escape the present moment) is that you believe the mind’s thoughts (that aren’t yours) when they distract you from reality by inventing a problem that has to be solved. Can a person be distracted? Of course. What is a person usually distracted by? Their own mind.
You are fine just the way you are
This is why Mindfulness and the present moment need to go hand in hand. One can be used to understand the complete absurdity of the other. Unfortunately, the misconception of these terms is where true anxiety and suffering come from: Listening to your mind when it tells you (or allows someone else to tell you) that you are not enough, not adequate or that there is something wrong with you is what invents the reality that there is something wrong with you.
There is nothing wrong with you. If you want to sit Zazen, meditate, then do so. Doing so won’t correct imaginary conditions. Sitting in and of itself is the truth. There is no end game from it. If you wish to go on retreats and visit with people, then by all means, do so. Just realize, as you do, that there is nothing wrong with you that can be corrected by it. If you can realize this, then you can do those things and enjoy what is right about you.
In parting, Robert M. Pirsig once wrote: “The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.” You are just fine the way you are. Whatever you give meaning to is all the meaning it has. That is being mindful of the mind and realizing the present moment.
"СВЯЗАННОЕ ЧТЕНИЕ" A SHIFT IN MINDSET: From doing to being»
image 1 Gerd Altmann с Pixabay 2 изображение за jplenio с Pixabay 3 изображение за Andrew Martin с Pixabay
