Self-Evident Truths

Self-Evident Truths

 

 

Whether you are a Zen practitioner of not, a number of basic Zen axioms can be verified as self-evident by utilizing your normal thinking capacity to give some focused attention to the following points in light of your own actual knowledge and experience:

 

·         It is impossible to experience an ‘object’ independent of a ‘subject’ – if it is experienced it is experienced by a subject, if it is not experienced it cannot be called an ‘object.’

·         Therefore, consciousness is an inherent quality of every object – no object has been, or could be encountered apart from consciousness.

·         The same applies to subjects; consciousness is an inherent quality of every subjective experience – no subject has been, or could be encountered apart from consciousness.

·         Every instance of consciousness consists of both objective and subjective elements – consciousness, by nature, is someone conscious of something.

·         Therefore, every assertion or belief that something ‘exists’ independent of ‘experience,’ is false.*

·         Finally, any claim or view that anything independent of experience could be verified to exist, or could have any influence on us whatsoever, is false.

 

The truth of these points are self-evident – these are obvious facts taken for granted in our everyday life, plain and simple truths that inform (if tacitly) our natural understanding (‘self-evidence’) of reality. In short this means that the nondual nature of reality, which is presupposed by these points, is already evident for anyone to verify – more, it is not only evident, but functional in the actual conduct of our daily lives.

*The fact that every assertion or belief in the ‘nonexistence’ of anything independent of ‘experience’ is also false does not deny the accuracy of this observation. Any concept or notion not grounded on experiential evidence is, by definition, hypothetical. A claim or belief that treats a hypothesis as a verified truth or fact is, by default, false.

Thinking, Not-thinking, Nonthinking

Our body-mind is the universe arraying itself as our direct immediate experience here and now. Illuminating and clarifying this experience is one aspect of Zen practice and enlightenment, the aspect of thinking. Thinking is the analytic activity of immediate experience. Analytic consideration involves discrimination; contrasting and comparing various components of the unity of reality. As each instance of immediate experience is one with the totality of existence-time (uji), discrimination itself, as well as each of the various components are the true nature of immediate experience.

The reality that Dogen underscores with one of his favorite sayings, “nothing is hidden in the whole universe” constantly advances in and as each instance of immediate experience, whether it is verified in study and practice or not. Out thinking, communicating, and activity arises in harmony with our own actual state of enlightenment/delusion, which is, in a sense, our own unique form of systematic knowledge and understanding.

The structure or form of this systematic knowledge and understanding defines our characteristic attitude toward and response to the world. The accuracy of our understanding and the skillfulness of our speech, thoughts, and actions are exactly proportionate to our own self-awareness or lack thereof. The authenticity of our Zen practice is dependent on the degree to which “Zen” has become “our Zen,” this “our” is, of course, not the “our” of ego, but that of our true self. Any systematic knowledge and understanding that is not ours in this sense is only an idol.

Any system that does not arise from our true self is only an object of attachment that leads to bondage, stagnation, and ignorance. For Zen students, systems often become objects of attachment due to inadequate intellectual effort encouraged by dogmatic zealots and sectarian idolatry; any system that asserts its doctrines, truths, laws, or methods in “absolute” terms usurps the true self (Buddha) by halting the ceaseless advance into novelty.

Through my body, I have manifested the look of the Full Moon,
Thereby displaying the physical presence of all Buddhas.
My voicing of the Dharma has no fixed form,
For Its real functioning is beyond what is said, or how.

You need to realize that the genuine functioning of the Dharma is beyond any immediate display of what is said or how It is put. A genuine voicing of the Dharma has no set form.
Shobogenzo, Bussho, Hubert Nearman

If systems are dogmatized they become immune to logic, creativity, and common sense. Authentic Zen practice is always open-ended and fluid, never fixed and rigid. Zen realization, expression, and activity flows with and as the never-ceasing advance of the universe into novelty, Zen flows from the pivot-point of the true body-mind here and now; refusing to affirm the absolute significance of even the most revered doctrine or method. The true Zen system of actualizing enlightened wisdom is not a doctrine or a method, it is realized by thinking, not thinking, and nonthinking.

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Peace,

Ted Biringer

Dogen's instructions on what to do while sitting zazen

I have read some things by "Zen teachers" lately implying that Dogen taught people a kind of "objectless" meditation, urging students to "let go" of thoughts. Some even suggest that Dogen's teaching exalted some kind of detached state of "pure awareness" and that Dogen exhorted students not to employ their intellect during sitting meditation.

I would like to ask Dogen himself about it.

Master Dogen, what should we do during the very time of our sitting?

"At the very time of your sitting, you should examine exhaustively whether the total world is vertical or horizontal. At that very time, what is the sitting itself? Is it wheeling about in perfect freedom? Is it like the spontaneous vigor of a leaping fish? Is it thinking? Or not thinking? Is it doing? Is it non-doing? Is it sitting within sitting? Is it sitting within body and mind? Or is it sitting that has cast off sitting within sitting, sitting within body and mind, and the like?"
Dogen, Shobogenzo, Sammai-O-Zammai, Waddell & Abe, p.100

Okay, thank you for clearing that up.

To read this passage in the context of the whole essay, please follow this link to the translation by Carl Bielefeldt:

Sammai-O-Zammai