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    With agency in mind - on theroad to easy peace

    An SRDS compilation document

    George G ClarkMay 2011http://www.srds.co.uk

    - 1 -

    http://www.srds.co.uk/http://www.srds.co.uk/
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    Preface

    The articles in this compilation first appeared on the website Let it begin with me - a

    rough guide to meditation and mind training.1 The website is now an archive of sixty

    eight articles that are listed in four sections - Classic Eastern, Recent Eastern,

    Western, and Home grown.

    This compilation is of seventeen home-grown articles that were written between 2001

    and 2003. In the website they are listed chronologically; in this 2011 version they

    have been rearranged in a more logical and developmental sequence. See the

    introduction and the two contents pages for details.

    The articles presented here follow the Words of Faith2 collection of articles prepared

    by the author for a local newspaper in Lesotho in the late 1990s. The articles also

    predate his Existential Soft Rock blog

    3

    The articles are offered as they first appeared around 2002 and are thus more technical

    in terms of concepts and vocabulary than more recent plain language materials.

    At the turn of the centuries the author was also writing about change agents and social

    development under the auspices of the Caledonia Centre for Social Development4. In

    more recent times his interests have been in exploring ways of rooting development

    planning in a more spiritual framework.

    George G ClarkB.Sc (Hons), Cert.Ed., MSc, MA

    Email [email protected]

    Twitter http://twitter.com/dodclark

    Facebook http://www.facebook.com/dodclark

    May 2011

    1http://www.srds.co.uk/begin2

    http://www.toonloon.bizland.com/whispers/3http://dodclark.blogspot.com/ (Begun on 17 Nov 2002 and still alive)4http://www.caledonia.org.uk

    - 2 -

    mailto:[email protected]://twitter.com/dodclarkhttp://www.facebook.com/dodclarkhttp://www.srds.co.uk/beginhttp://www.srds.co.uk/beginhttp://www.toonloon.bizland.com/whispers/http://www.toonloon.bizland.com/whispers/http://dodclark.blogspot.com/http://dodclark.blogspot.com/http://www.caledonia.org.uk/http://www.caledonia.org.uk/http://www.srds.co.uk/beginhttp://www.toonloon.bizland.com/whispers/http://dodclark.blogspot.com/http://www.caledonia.org.uk/mailto:[email protected]://twitter.com/dodclarkhttp://www.facebook.com/dodclark
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    Contents

    Preface ............................................................................................................................2

    Contents ..........................................................................................................................3

    Introduction ....................................................................................................................4

    Contents Annotated ........................................................................................................5

    01 Cloud cuckoo land .....................................................................................................7

    02 Heave yourself from the quicksand of treacle ...........................................................9

    03 Attending to Imaginations ....................................................................................... 10

    04 With Peace in Mind .................................................................................................12

    05 Subjectless Contentment a thought on waking .................................................... 1306 EXIJEL - putting the salve back in salvation .......................................................... 16

    07 Renunciant Frugality so easy, so difficult ............................................................ 17

    08 Productive Agents ................................................................................................... 18

    09 Accentuate the positive ........................................................................................... 21

    10 Scratching the existential itch ................................................................................. 22

    11 Steps on the road to bliss .........................................................................................24

    12 On the Primrose Path to Peace ................................................................................ 26

    13 The roller coaster ride to peace of mind .................................................................28

    14 A drop in the ocean ................................................................................................. 31

    15 Five Skandhas are Empty ........................................................................................ 33

    16 Anguising angst .......................................................................................................35

    17 Changed Mind ......................................................................................................... 36

    - 3 -

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    Introduction

    The articles in this compilation reflect the authors ongoing interest in (a) the

    psychology ofperception as it appears in its various western and eastern forms and

    (b) in the parallels that appear to exist between the two.

    The main argument is that it is (a) always possible and (b) never too late, for minds to

    become more peaceful.

    But this raises the question ofagency - what are the causes and conditions for

    change? Why do I want to change this way rather than that, and what is the nature

    of the I who wants when the mind has a mind of its own?

    A taster of each article is presented in the annotated content list on pages 5-6. The

    overall story line is presented here:

    We begin by recognising (a) the possibility of minds changing and (b) the

    need for effort and discipline on the part of the agency of change (Me?).

    We then indicate the possibility of experiencing easy peace as a result of

    mindfulness meditation and of how this leads to an effortless embrace of

    renunciant frugality.

    Some more attention is then given to the nature of agency and this leads to

    thoughts about the roller coaster ride experienced by those who seek the way

    and tread the path.

    The compilation moves on to three rather erudite articles concerning the bliss

    body, rationality, and angst. We can think of them as appendices to help with

    digging deeper.

    The last article is something of a poem that pulls together a few of the authors

    thoughts dealing with the possibility of changed minds.

    - 4 -

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    Contents Annotated01 Cloud Cuckoo Land

    A cloud cuckoo is not a bird. It is a

    cloud formation that looks like a bird.

    Its existence is in your mind rather

    than in the cloud formation. How can

    this be?

    02 Heave yourself from the

    quicksand of treacle

    There is the part option of choosing

    todays circumstances so as to

    influence those of tomorrow. It is a

    part option because old habits die hard.

    Clean breaks on the road to Damascusare not the norm. The task is to heave

    yourself from the quicksand of treacle,

    and he who hesitates is sucked back.

    03 Attending to imaginations

    Recuperating from a hernia operation

    involved just sitting. While doing so

    attention was captured by present

    externalities by feelings from the

    wound, by the sound of traffic in the

    street, by the sight of blue sky throughthe window. What else might capture

    attention? There appear at first to be

    six possibilities

    04 With Peace in Mind

    It is possible through prayer and

    meditation to discipline your mind. It

    is possible to be rid of negative and

    wasteful thoughts and to limit

    necessary thoughts to their appropriate

    time and place. A well disciplinedmind is thus occupied by positive

    (Godly) thoughts. This is how the

    world can become a better place.

    05 Subjectless Contentment

    While there is unease with having

    nothing to do in the evening there is

    none in the morning as the mind flits

    lightly like dappled sunlight on a forest

    floor. Eventually the I will reassert in

    up-front consciousness but, while

    absent, there is subjectless contentment

    ie I am content because there is no I

    to be discontent.

    06 EXIJEL - putting the salve back

    in salvation

    Fearless joy is the ocean into which

    those who know it merge without

    remainder. It is always and everywhere

    like the air we breathe although,

    throughout human history, most poor

    souls have not accepted that even the

    concept makes sense. The crippled

    realists of flat earth. But now ...

    07 Renunciant Frugality

    Renunciant frugality is at once the

    easiest and most difficult lifestyle.

    Easy because you already have

    everything you need the toolbox lies

    within. Difficult because you do not

    know you have everything to hand;

    you know yourself to be both the

    prisoner and the keeper without

    realising that the prison is only in your

    mind.

    08 Productive Agents

    The Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra

    encouraged me to be more aware of

    thought processes. I realised that many

    thoughts and moods were due to blind

    habit and previous conditioning and

    that 'I' was not in control of what

    happens inside my head. This has

    given rise to a greater confidence and

    trust in 'the muse' who/which wasresponsible for the content (if not the

    layout) of this article.

    09 Accentuate the positive

    So what is this 'thing' called boredom?

    It is a frame of mind. Mindfulness can

    be brought to bear on it. Its dimensions

    can be brought into attention and its

    features can be recognised. Know the

    enemy. Then firmly but

    compassionately deal with it.

    - 5 -

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    10 Scratching the Existential Itch

    The mood has changed several times

    since I woke this morning. The change

    drivers were partly internal and partly

    external. Neither will ever go away but

    I can choose to respond to themdifferently. This involves re-

    conditioning my mind.

    11 Steps on the road to bliss

    If you notice what you notice and think

    about what you think, you will

    unshackle yourself from thoughts and

    emotions. You will then inevitably

    detach from the illusion of having a

    self and the stage will be set for the

    state of no thought to well up andmerge into oneness and the peace that

    passes all understanding.

    12 On the primrose path to peace

    The reality which can be described is

    not the real reality. There is only spin

    from human minds. And all human

    minds are erratically conditioned by

    time, place and parents and so are

    chaotic, jumbled and trippling with

    inconsistencies. Pose value and spin,

    even when perpetrated with integrity,

    is all there is. Or is it?

    13 The roller coaster ride to peace of

    mind

    Joy, sorrow and emotional flatness are

    created by your attitude towards

    things. Things appear in your mind

    either as inputs from your sense organs

    (eyes and ear etc) or as imaginations

    from memory or in dreams. First the

    thing, then the reaction to the thing:

    and you choose how to react. But youhave developed a lifetime of bad

    mental habits; can these be broken?

    14 A drop in the ocean

    When an individual mind rises above

    its conditioning and habitual illusions

    it returns like a raindrop to the ocean

    which is the one mind. This is the

    peace that passes all understanding.

    This is the bliss body from which we

    came and to which we will return.

    15 Five skandhas are empty

    This article offers a rational schema to

    blow away rational schemas. This

    might assist compulsive rationalists

    who have difficulty going beyond.

    16 Anguishing Angst

    In the spirit of existential jujitsu the

    anguish of angst is to be welcomed. It

    drives you to the spiritual path more

    effectively than most other frames of

    mind.

    17 Changed Mind

    Then: thing, thought and worry. Now:

    no-thing, no-thought, no-worry

    - 6 -

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    01 Cloud cuckoo landIt would be easy to drift through life on

    a cloud of sex, drugs and rock and roll

    with all gaps in distraction plugged

    from a quality collection of up to date

    consumer products.

    If you are lucky enough to be hidden

    from the worst excesses of disease,

    pollution, poverty, violence, old-age

    and death then why not eat lotuses in

    your cloud cuckoo land?

    A cloud cuckoo is not a bird. It is a

    cloud formation that looks like a bird.Its existence is in your mind rather

    than in the cloud formation. How can

    this be?

    Light from the sky enters your eye.

    Your mind interprets the signal as

    fluffy white things on a blue

    background and, if English speaking,

    labels them as clouds. Then a pattern

    recognition centre associates the shape

    of the cloud with a bird.

    The cloud cuckoo is thus created and is

    immediately linked with other thoughts

    and feelings from your subconscious

    (desire, aversion or neutrality) and a

    dynamic chain of illusion is set in

    motion.

    So it is with all other things/illusions

    which the mind decides to isolate from

    the Flux.

    People, palaces and planets perish.

    There is only the Flux.

    Impermanence.

    No thing exists or lasts.

    An experienced meditator sees the

    world of things (including her

    individuated self) as no more

    substantial than passing clouds.

    All things (which are not things as

    ordinarily understood) are intimately

    connected with all other not-things. It

    becomes apparent that there is only one

    thing which is everything. And there is

    no self conscious subject to whom this

    is apparent the Oneness does not

    know its Self. No knower, no

    knowing and no known.

    Language evolved to deal with the

    world of phenomena and cannot easily

    deal with the end point of mind

    training - the numinous experience ofthe filled emptiness.

    There are options ofrememberingacloud cuckoo that you once saw and of

    imaginingone that has never existed

    and the remembered and imagined

    ones have as much real reality as the

    seen one.

    Mundane people are condemned byrationality, language and cultural

    conditioning to grasp at a meagre

    world of common sense phenomena

    and the latest round of fashions and

    gadgets.

    Poets and mystics pull back the mind

    blinkers and know their non-selves to

    be one with the oceanic Mind which is

    everywhere and always in a state of

    fearless and blissful tranquillity.

    - 7 -

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    "As the senses never and in no

    single instance enable us to know

    things in themselves, but only their

    appearances, and as these are mere

    representations all bodies, together

    with the space in which they are, mustbe held to be nothing but mere

    representations in us, and exist

    nowhere else than merely in our

    thought."

    Emmanuel Kant is his "Prolegomena to

    any Future Metaphysics":

    People, palaces and planets perish

    The reality which can be described

    is not the real reality.

    Whose reality counts?

    - 8 -

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    02 Heave yourself from the quicksand of treacle

    I am as I am. Circumstances dictate.

    There is, however, the part option of

    choosing todays circumstances so as

    to influence those of tomorrow. It is a

    part option because old habits die hard.

    Clean breaks on the road to Damascus

    are not the norm.

    The task is to heave yourself from the

    quicksand of treacle, and he who

    hesitates is sucked back.

    Our life is shaped by our mind;

    we become what we think

    The origin of a thought train is the life

    force that totally unknowable and

    thus unspeakable something-or-other.

    It obviously exists as the source but it

    is impossible to describe in other than

    vague generalisations.

    Suffering follows an evil thought as the

    wheels of a cart follow the oxen that

    draw it.

    Remaining forever in your village you

    do not know the source of the river that

    runs though it. You are aware of water

    flowing. Why concern yourself with

    where it comes from and why? Whenthirsty, drink.

    Joy follows a pure thoughtlike a shadow that never leaves.

    So long as I live there will be thought

    trains and each will have an object as

    its engine. But neither the thought nor

    its object has substance. Both appear

    spontaneously and briefly in my mind.

    OK there may be some concrete

    referent upon which the object is

    based: but I cannot know the concrete

    referent as it is in itself, only as an

    object in my mind.

    As rain seeps through an ill-thatched

    hut, passion will seep through an

    untrained mind.

    The map (object) is not the territory

    (concrete referent).

    I live in a world of home made maps.

    I am free to draw and redraw thosemaps at will. I am also free to ignore

    them.

    So much freedom when you think

    about thinking!

    Those who recite many scriptures but

    fail to practice their teaching are like

    the cowherd counting anothers cows.

    They do not share in the joys of the

    spiritual life.

    Source of quotes: Easwaran, Eknath (1986) The Dhammapada; Arkana;

    ISBN 0 14 019014 7 [Chapter One]

    - 9 -

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    03 Attending to Imaginations

    Recuperating from a hernia operation

    involved just sitting. While doing so

    attention was captured by present

    externalities by feelings from the

    wound, by the sound of traffic in the

    street, by the sight of blue sky through

    the window. What else might capture

    attention? There appear at first to be

    six possibilities:

    Internalities Externalities

    Past 1 4

    Present 2 5Future 3 6

    But the past exists only in memory and

    the future only in imagination: so past

    and future externalities are obviously

    sub sets of their relevant internalities.

    The only difference between past and

    future internalities (like justice) and

    externalities (like the Millennium

    Dome) is the extent of their rather

    loose (see below) relationship to aconcrete referent. Thus if past and

    future referents exist they do so only

    in memory and imagination.

    How are concrete referents like the

    Millennium Dome known? Do we

    know them as they are in themselves?

    No! Our sense organs receive inputs

    (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) and

    send electrical impulses which are

    processed in the brain to generateimaginations which link to pre-

    existing imaginations including

    feelings (magnificent monument

    celebrating a thousand years of human

    progress v disgraceful waste of

    taxpayers money). So where does the

    present externality which is the

    Millennium Dome exist? Surely, from

    the standpoint of human knowledge, it

    exists as a widely dispersed set of

    diverse present internalities (ie as

    imaginations) that may be stored in,

    and retrieved from, memories.

    This suggests that memory is a

    storehouse of those imaginations upon

    which the spotlight of attention does

    not presently shine. This in turn

    suggests the idea of attending to

    imaginations. And this begs two

    linked and very tough questions,

    "Does an imagination exist if

    attention is not being given to it? And, if it does, where, and what

    form does it take?"

    A gentler question would be, "What

    are the characteristics of an

    imagination to which attention is being

    given?"

    Dodging answers can approach from

    two directions.

    The question assumes an imaginer

    imagining an imagination a subject, a

    verb and an object. But to assume = to

    imagine. So the imaginer imagines an

    imaginer imagining an imagination.

    And there would logically be an

    imaginer imagining the imaginer

    imagining an imaginer imagining

    and so on in infinite regress to First

    Cause.

    Another approach suggests that the

    answer is impossible to capture in

    words. It involves a type of knowing

    which predates the recent linguistic

    incapacities of the naked ape. It is

    intuitive rather than rational, poetic

    rather than pragmatic, spiritual rather

    than scientific, and holistic rather than

    reductionist. It is famously said that

    those who know do not speak.

    Annoying isnt it.

    - 10 -

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    More people should have to recuperate

    from hernias. They might thereby

    come to appreciate that their lives are

    the creation of their minds.

    You are what you think, and it is never

    too late to change your mind.

    Reality is present internality.

    Our life is shaped by our mind; we

    become what we think. Suffering

    follows an evil thought as the wheels

    of a cart follow the oxen that draw it.

    Joy follows a pure thought like ashadow that never leaves.

    (Dhammapada)

    - 11 -

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    04 With Peace in Mind

    "They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and

    their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up

    sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any

    more." Isaiah 2:4.

    There are four types of thought:

    Negative thought anger, fear, sadness, regret, unease

    Wasteful thought about things that might not happen or

    that are beyond your control

    Necessary thought "I must not forget to pay the rent". "I

    must remember to milk the cow"

    Positive thought encourages peace, harmony, creativity,

    love and happiness

    Most of the thoughts in most peoples

    minds most of the time are of the first

    three types. This is because theirsenses rush about like a badly raised

    child or an untrained horse.

    It is possible through prayer and

    meditation to discipline your mind.

    It is possible to be rid of negative and

    wasteful thoughts and to limit

    necessary thoughts to their appropriate

    time and place.

    A well disciplined mind is thus

    occupied by positive (Godly) thoughts.

    This is how the world can become a

    better place.

    "First keep peace within yourself, thenyou can also bring peace to others."

    Thomas a Kempis

    "It is in the (undisciplined) minds of

    men that war is created; it is thus inthe (disciplined) minds of men that

    peace can be won".

    UNESCO Charter

    The Devil finds thoughts (andemotions) to fill undisciplined minds

    - 12 -

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    05 Subjectless Contentment a thought on waking

    While there is unease with having

    nothing to do in the evening there is

    none in the morning as the mind flits

    lightly like dappled sunlight on a forest

    floor.

    Eventually the I will reassert in up-

    front consciousness but, while absent,

    there is subjectless contentment ie I

    am content because there is no I to be

    discontent.

    Last night I thought to wake with thedawn and did. It is now but slightly

    light. No traffic, and bird song just

    beginning.

    But a concern for the work programme

    emerges "What will I do today?" The

    I solidifies. Social routines are

    recapturing consciousness with duties

    and responsibilities which devour

    spare time.

    Spare Time? The devil finds work for

    idle hands to do! This culture is

    fiercely material and mundane. Minds

    are shackled to a work ethic. First in

    the home and community with hard-

    working role models and then through

    long years of habituation to the forty

    minute bells of school. What chance

    does a poor soul have?

    Every chance! The system islaughably corrupt. It strangles itself. It

    breeds dis-ease, forces the search for

    solace and then provides media

    distractions and mind bending

    chemicals. But these shallow joys wear

    quickly thin. And then? Despair! And

    then? Breakdown and suicide versus

    renunciation and rebirth!

    angst,anomie,

    - 13 -

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    - 14 -

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    alienation,

    disaffection from the polity

    Rebirth?

    A change of mind. You are whatyou think. Think different.

    It is never too late to change your

    mind.

    It may not be easy to break old

    habits of thought but it is not

    impossible where there is a will.

    And Will is ever-present.

    Will is the fabric of the true Self. The

    sun shines behind the clouds of ego

    illusion. Blow the clouds away. The 9to 5 routine is dust on the mirror. Blow

    the dust away.

    Beneath the thin veneer of the

    culturally conditioned self lies the true

    Self which moves the air and makes

    the grass grow. The dynamic Oneness

    flows like self motivated putty.

    Endless rounds of creation and

    destruction.

    Permanent impermanence.

    Waves on the ocean of cosmic

    mind.

    That art thou.

    From Hinduism Tat Tvam Asi the

    Absolute is in essence one with

    yourself

    Be still and know

    - 15 -

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    06 EXIJEL - putting the salve back in salvation

    Today I sense the fearless joy of Taoist

    simpletons.

    Fearless joy is the ocean into which

    those who know it merge without

    remainder. It is always and everywhere

    like the air we breathe although,

    throughout human history, most poor

    souls have not accepted that even the

    concept makes sense. The crippled

    realists of flat earth.

    But now ...

    EXIJEL.

    The existential jelly. The fluid that

    facilitates transcendence. No mere

    worldly elixir like overproof rum or

    mushroom tea - this is the metaphorical

    salve. Salvation's salve.

    EXIJEL

    Lubricating the spiritual path

    Putting the salve back in salvation.

    GOOD NEWS BAD NEWS

    You have an in-built store

    of EXIJEL

    BUT it is locked in the deep recesses of your mind

    Keys are everywhere BUT you see the keys as trinkets for new-age hippies

    and weirdos

    It is never too late tounlock your mind

    BUT you cling desperately to your materialistconditioning

    Wise up! EXIJEL is awareness.

    Make space for quiet times in your day.

    That's all.

    Just sit, shut up and be aware of what goes on in your head.

    All else follows as day follows night.

    Unplug from the poisonous drip feed of media distraction.

    Be still and know.

    - 16 -

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    07 Renunciant Frugality so easy, so difficult

    Notice what you are noticing and the effect it is having on you.

    Mindful awareness leads inevitably to renunciant frugality.

    The highest language art is in

    expressing the inexpressible. Thus are

    road signs erected for the spiritual

    travellers wishing to change their

    mind. Homage then to those who have

    gone before and left these signs.

    Renunciant frugality is at once the

    easiest and most difficult lifestyle.

    Easy because you already have

    everything you need the toolbox lies

    within. Difficult because you do not

    know you have everything to hand;

    you know yourself to be both the

    prisoner and the keeper without

    realising that the prison is only in your

    mind.

    Renunciant Frugality is

    easy because ... difficult because it appears that ...

    regarding perception

    the sun shines behind the curtain of

    ignorance

    there are no curtains and even if there

    were they are pulled tight shut

    once beyond the gate, the gate is known

    to be illusory

    the road leading to the gate is much too

    long, winding and arduous

    all blockages (phenomena) are creations

    of imagination and can safely be ignored

    the blockages are out there and real

    regarding Will

    the pleasures of the senses and the flesh

    are fleeting and easily foregone for the

    bliss of fearless equanimity

    the pleasures of the senses and the flesh

    are the only things that make life worth

    living

    the mind has a mind of its own which

    chooses equanimity

    the mind has a mind of its own which

    craves distraction

    if you are still you will know you cannot sit still for more than a few

    minutes at a time

    The only sin is mindlessness.

    The only rule is to be aware

    ie notice what you are noticing and the effect it is having on you.

    Mindful awareness leads inevitably to renunciant frugality.

    - 17 -

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    08 Productive Agents

    The following train of thought arrived

    while reading the Vimalakirti Nirdesa

    Sutra.

    The sutra encouraged me to be more

    aware of thought processes. I realised

    that many thoughts and moods were

    due to blind habit and previous

    conditioning and that 'I' was not in

    control of what happens inside my

    head.

    This has given rise to a greaterconfidence and trust in 'the muse'

    who/which was responsible for the

    content (if not the layout) of this

    article.

    Sometimes I feel that I should be more

    focused and productive. Is it a good or

    bad feeling? This is a subtle point but

    Vimalakirti was quite clear about it:

    The Dharma is ultimately without

    formulation and without verbalisation.

    Who verbalises: "Suffering should be

    recognised, origination should be

    eliminated, cessation should be

    realised, the path should be practiced,"

    is not interested in the Dharma but is

    interested in verbalisation.

    the Dharma is calm and peaceful.

    Those who are engaged in production

    and destruction are not interested in the

    Dharma, are not interested in solitude,

    but are interested in production and

    destruction.

    if you are interested in the Dharma

    you should take no interest in anything.

    The subtlety has to do with the idea of

    'agent'.

    Language requires a subject for every

    sentence, an 'I'. But the conscious 'I' is

    an illusion and is the source of the

    problem and cannot be part of its cure.

    There is thus another concept of agent

    - wu-wei. This means something along

    the lines of non-action where this

    implies that things get done without a

    conscious 'I' being involved.

    Everyday examples include

    automatically snatching up a baby thatis about to fall into a well (innate reflex

    (instinct) - nature) and riding a bicycle

    once you have learned how

    (conditioned reflex (learned behaviour)

    - nurture).

    So what does it mean to say that, "'I'should be more focused and

    productive"?

    Two levels ofagency can be seen to beat work :

    Conventional agentWhen 'I' is the conventional 'I' then it is

    involved with formulation and

    verbalisation and with production and

    destruction. This is obviously missing

    the grander Buddhist point.

    Liberated agentThe second level of agency involves

    non-egoic-action. There is focus, and

    productive work is done, but the actor

    is not self-aware of the action. Ego

    consciousness is not involved.

    The liberated agent is more active than

    most people realise. A name can be on

    the tip of your tongue but will not

    appear until 'you' stop trying to

    remember - so who remembers?

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    Most poets and writers appreciate that

    they are but instruments for their muse.

    "The words and ideas appear alreadyformed and all that 'I' do is write them

    down."

    It is as if the subconscious part of your

    brain was another 'you'. The familiar

    conscious part knows little about it.

    The subconscious part is the source of

    your dreams and nightmares when you

    are asleep and of daydreams and

    moods when you are awake.

    Most people, when they bother to think

    about it, realise that the content of theirconsciousness is a very small part of

    what goes on inside their head. And,

    more significantly, 'they' are not in

    control.

    The subconscious has a mind of its

    own and dictates what ideas and

    emotions get tossed into

    consciousness.

    The 'I' of consciousness is a tiny cork

    on the vast swelling ocean of

    unconsciousness.

    So can the unconscious mind be

    trained and brought under control? Can

    it be more focussed and productive?

    Yes. This is the purpose of Buddhism.

    It sees the conventional agent as the

    root of spiritual sickness. 'I' havedifficulty getting my head round the

    solution but wu-wei goes with the flow.

    Vimalakirti is an eloquent spokesman

    for the Buddhist cure when he notes

    that sickness arises from total

    involvement in the process of

    misunderstanding from beginninglesstime.

    It arises from the passions that result

    from unreal mental constructions, and

    hence ultimately nothing is perceived

    which can be said to be sick.

    Why? ... There is no self in this body,and, except for arbitrary insistence on

    self, ultimately no 'I' which can be said

    to be sick can be apprehended.

    Therefore, thinking, "'I' should not

    adhere to any self, and 'I' should rest in

    the knowledge of the root of illness,"

    you should abandon the conception of

    yourself as a personality and produce

    the conception of yourself as a thing,

    thinking, "This body is an aggregate ofmany things; when it is born only

    things are born; when it ceases only

    things cease"

    The table on the next page sets out the

    logic of the argument.

    Vimalakirtis counter intuitive

    conclusion is that "When you achievethis equality you are free from all

    illnesses but there remains the conceptof voidness which also is an illusion

    and should be wiped out as well."

    So there can/should be focus, and a

    productive move towards liberation;

    but it will be successful only if 'I' do

    not focus and try to move productively

    towards liberation.

    The productive and liberated agency

    that is wu-wei

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    What is the elimination of this sickness? It is the elimination of egoism and

    possessiveness.

    What is the elimination of egoism and

    possessiveness?

    It is the freedom from dualism.

    What is the freedom from dualism? It is the absence of involvement with

    either the external or the internal.

    What is the absence of involvement with

    either the external or the internal?

    It is non deviation, non fluctuation, and

    non distraction from equanimity.

    What is equanimity? It is the equality of everything from self to

    liberation.

    Why? Because both self and liberation are void.

    How can both be void? Because they exist only by names which

    have no independent nature of their own

    Sources of quotations:

    Thurman R A F (1976,1991) The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti - a Mahayana

    scripture; Motilal Banarsidass Publishers; ISBN 8120808746

    Luk, Charles (1972) Ordinary Enlightenment - a translation of the Vimalakirti Nirdesa

    Sutra; Shambala; ISBN 1570629714

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    09 Accentuate the positive

    I am at a loose end. No distractions in

    the post or in the email. I am on the

    morning's second cup of tea. There is

    an urge 'to fill the void'. I am

    programmed for 'doing' and am

    bewildered by the lack of 'projects'.

    Boredom threatens.

    So what is this 'thing' called boredom?

    It is a frame of mind. Mindfulness can

    be brought to bear on it. Its dimensions

    can be brought into attention and its

    features can be recognised. Know theenemy. Then firmly but

    compassionately deal with it.

    But this is one of those issues that

    torture common sense. When boredom

    arrives the task is not to 'push it away'

    but rather to 'let it go'. This is more

    than two ways of saying the same

    thing. The former is an active process

    with an assertive ego. The latter is a

    passive process born of mindfulness.

    There is talk of watering seeds5. The

    subconscious is full of seeds. Those

    that are watered get bigger those that

    are not watered remain small. There is

    also talk of good seeds and not so good

    seeds. The good seeds (kindness,

    compassion, generosity etc) should be

    given space in attention while the not

    so good ones (anger, greed, boredom

    etc) should be passed over. The task isto accentuate the positive.

    Language begs for an agent of this

    process. Using the passive voice skirts

    the issue. The process includes

    discrimination (this is not that) and

    judgement (this is good and that is not

    so good). Language thus demands a

    discriminator and a judge. He is

    commonly thought of as 'I'. But the 'I'

    5 This article was written after listening to a

    talk by Thich Nhat Hahn

    is illusory. So who or what is the

    agent?

    The agent (or is it the agency?) is

    rooted in the subconscious. It is one

    seed amongst many while, at the same

    time, being the source of all seeds.

    There is talk of the host and the guests

    (where the guests are offspring of the

    host). When the guests have been

    watered by culture and worldly

    experience they are loud and brash andthe host rarely appears in up front

    consciousness. Note, however, that the

    host is still there; he is the foundation

    of all the guests; he is the root from

    which all else springs; he occupies the

    basement.

    There are, however, occasions when

    circumstances (with multiple and

    subtle causes) conspire to briefly

    quieten the guests with numinousexperiences eg death of a loved one,

    the brilliance of a sunset etc. The host

    then emerges to suffuse up front

    consciousness. There is at-one-ment.

    This is a 'good' experience. Those who

    notice it want more. Some want more

    urgently than others. The most eager

    become shamans and mystics. Through

    the centuries they have charted

    roadmaps for the host to rise above theclamour of the noisy guests.

    The various cultural corridors lead to a

    single peak pathway. This is the royal

    road to the bliss of reunion. The

    essence is to be still and know. Know

    what? Know 'reality' as it is in itself

    (an interpenetrating oneness) and thus

    know the peace that passes all

    (common sense) understanding.

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    10 Scratching the existential itch

    The mood has changed several times

    since I woke this morning. The change

    drivers were partly internal and partlyexternal. Neither will ever go away but

    I can choose to respond to them

    differently. This involves re-

    conditioning my mind.

    Two phrases capture the method -

    'notice what you are noticing' and

    'think about thinking'.

    Action verbs - 'to notice' and 'to think'.

    They involve using my mind in an

    extra-ordinary way. I have to break old

    habits - I must stop seeking

    distractions and responding to them

    automatically and without thinking.

    notice what you're noticing

    think about thinking

    Sit quiet doing nothing and the green grass

    growsLilies born to bloom and die unseen

    Sit quiet doing nothing and the tree leaves fall

    Theres nothing moving but my mind

    SO the BIG questions

    Why should somebody want to

    change their mind and,

    how can they do it?

    Let's begin with 'dissatisfaction'. Not

    enough of what you want and too

    much of what you don't want. This

    drives the urge for change. How can

    we use it?

    Simplify, simplify, simplify

    Cut out distractions that don't satisfy

    you. Enter your secular monastery.

    Early to bed and early to rise,

    withdraw from the media,

    keep to a plain diet, and

    use 'leisure' time for 'just sitting'

    and reading wisdom books.

    If you must give it a name, call it

    'renunciant frugality'.

    With a simple life you begin to notice

    what 'really' happens in your head. It

    comes as a shock to many people and

    is more than most can handle.

    T S Elliot said that, "Mankind cannot

    stand too much reality" and most

    adolescents rush to switch the tellyback on because, "This is boring".

    BUT those who are genuinely

    'dissatisfied' will initially stay with

    simplicity because it is 'different'. Then

    the wisdom literature begins to make

    sense. The crazy words begin to

    describe what happens in your head.

    You realise that there is a well-

    established, alternative road through

    life. Large parts are still lost in the

    clouds of earlier conditioning but now

    you know: there is another way; it is

    the royal way; it is the only road worth

    travelling.

    You might at this point give up the day

    job and re-arrange your life; or you

    might go on living in what looks like

    the same old way but, from inside, it

    will be a world transformed.

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    Illusory blues are a thief in the night

    Who steals away what you thought was right

    Cmon, wise up, get real, notice what you feel

    So why bother?

    What's in it for me?

    It depends on where you stand. A long

    and winding road leads to freedom's

    gate. When you pass through and look

    back, however, there is no gate. The

    sun shines behind the clouds. Yourburdens are illusions. See them for

    what they are. Let them go. That is all.

    Words cannot do it justice. Be still and

    know that 'you' do not exist and that

    the answer lies within.

    If you have the existential itch

    - scratch it.

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    11 Steps on the road to bliss

    If you are like most people you will

    have no control over the thoughts and

    emotions that appear in your mind.

    You will be tossed like a withered leaf

    in a squalling gale by whatever

    happens to come along.

    However, if you notice what you

    notice and think about what you think,

    you will unshackle yourself from

    thoughts and emotions. You will then

    inevitably detach from the illusion of

    having a self and the stage will be set

    for the state ofno thoughtto well upand merge into oneness and the peace

    that passes all understanding.

    The following table charts seven states

    of mind. If you arrange your life with

    quiet times to just sit, you will come

    to know them all.

    withemotion

    withoutemotion

    1. unobserved thought 1a 1b

    2. observed thought 2a 2b

    3. observer with no thought 3a 3b

    4. no thought 4

    1a unobserved thought withemotion.

    This is the common, human condition

    of a mind out of conscious control and

    swayed in excitement (love or hate) by

    whatever happens to enter

    consciousness. Life is full of

    uncontrollable ups and downs.

    1b unobserved thought without

    emotion.

    This is another, common, human

    condition where life has lost its

    flavours. Reality seems dull and grey

    rather than depressing. There is still a

    constant flow of thoughts entering

    consciousness but they lack colour.

    Life is boring and flat

    2a observed thought with emotion.

    That makes me so angry. You are

    aware that your heart strings are being

    plucked by particular thoughts but

    there is nothing you can do about it.

    2b observed thought without

    emotion.

    In this state you are aware of your

    string being pulled and the awareness

    dampens the effect. You learn to smile

    at the simple ways you normally react.

    With practice this method makes it

    increasingly easy to lower your highs

    and heighten your lows.

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    3a observer with no thought but

    with emotion.

    Here you are aware of being in an

    emotional state (a mood) but you do

    not know why. You still have someawareness of self, but other thoughts

    are flimsy and short lived; they

    channel hop in an emotionally tinged

    mist.

    3b observer without thought or

    emotion.

    In this case there is still some

    awareness of self but there are no

    noticeable moods or emotions and suchthoughts as appear are unsubstantial

    quick channel hops in a thick and

    distant mist.

    4 no thought.

    The essence of this state is no sense of

    self. There is no one to think or feel

    so there are no thoughts or feelings.

    Significantly, when there is no self

    there is no other. There is thus theOneness, the not two. Because the

    illusion of self has been transcended

    there is Bliss, and Consciousness is

    suffused with the peace that passes all

    understanding.

    Only when we have removed the harm in

    ourselves can we become truly useful toothers.

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    12 On the Primrose Path to Peace

    The reality which can be described is

    not the real reality. There is only spin

    from human minds. And all human

    minds are erratically conditioned by

    time, place and parents and so are

    chaotic, jumbled and trippling with

    inconsistencies. Pose value and spin,

    even when perpetrated with integrity,

    is all there is. Or is it?

    What about the absolute and the

    eternal? Some matters cannot be

    rationally and mechanically knownbut can be sensed by the spiritually

    mature.

    Those who insist on only one way of

    knowing are blinded by knowing in

    only one way. Those who only know

    are merely rational. Those who sense

    that which lies beyond mere knowing

    are supra-rational.

    Question:

    When is it rational to be merely

    rational?

    Answer:

    On most occasions when engaged with

    the detailed working of real machines

    ie on those happy occasions when

    responses to stimuli are totally

    predictable

    Question:When is it rational to be supra-

    rational?

    Answer:

    On all occasions when living things

    (including people) are involved ie on

    any occasion when the second

    response to a given stimulus is likely to

    be different from the first.

    For most of the 20th century the

    conventional wisdom of the dominant

    group (cowdung) was rational

    reductionism analogous to a clockwork

    machine.

    In the 21st century the brilliant,

    universally legitimate, standardized,

    ICT enhanced, truth (bullshit) seems

    set to be supra-rational, holism

    analogous to a self regulating, complex

    ecosystem.

    Underlying the past cowdung and

    future bullshit is the popular reality

    intuitively mirroring reactions to

    sensory experience (primrose). But, atall times, the so-called intuitive

    aspects of the primroses will be

    radically conditioned by the cowdung

    and bullshit from which they emerge.

    Why should this be?

    The planet congealed 5 billion years

    ago. Hominids appeared 3 million

    years ago but did not engage in

    conversation till about 75,000 years

    ago.

    Language is as yet a speechless babe.

    Informed opinion has yet to gel as to

    its significance. It is clear, however,

    that language makes reality rather than

    the reverse. We each live in a worldcreated by the vocabulary and dialect

    which we learn. Eskimos have 18

    words for snow and who but a Doric

    speaker could point to the localitys

    feel gype?

    So spin is the only option? Yes and

    No.

    Yes amongst the cowdung and

    primroses of yesteryear.

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    No, at least potentially, amongst the

    bullshit and primroses of tomorrow.

    The latter depends on the growth and

    diffusion of mind sets attuned to

    perfectly emancipated and carefree

    existence (peace).

    You are not what you have been

    programmed to believe you are. You

    are/are not what you think.

    Veils of language prevent you

    appreciating that you are everything

    and everything is you. You have the

    freedom to think (sense) that the

    linguistic illusion of an individuated

    ego rests mirage-like on the dynamicflux of interpenetrating oneness.

    Such sensing brings the peace which

    passes all understanding; the peace

    known throughout history to that virile

    minority of existential entrepreneurs

    known as mystics

    the fools for God,

    the Taoist simpletons,

    the real people.

    How can the mind be changed?

    Take time to avoid external

    distractions. For five minutes each day

    just sit. Notice what you notice when

    there is no thing to notice. Be still

    and know the fearless equanimity of

    being. Peace will appear like second

    teeth.

    So difficult and yet so easy.

    The answer lies within.

    Be still and know.

    Five minutes a day is all it takes to

    tread the primrose path to peace.

    Glossary

    Cowdung conventional wisdom of the dominant group

    Bullshit brilliant, universally legitimate, standardized, ICT enhanced, truth

    Primrose popular reality intuitively mirroring reactions to sensory experience

    Peace perfectly emancipated and carefree existence

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    13 The roller coaster ride to peace of mind

    Joy, sorrow and emotional flatness are

    created by your attitude towards

    things.

    Things appear in your mind either as

    inputs from your sense organs (eyes

    and ear etc) or as imaginations from

    memory or in dreams.

    First the thing, then the reaction to the

    thing: and you choose how to react.

    But you have developed a lifetime of

    bad mental habits; can these bebroken?

    Some external events can be

    influenced, others not. Attempts to

    influence may succeed or fail. Those

    are the stark realities. To worry about

    them does not add value or increase

    efficiency; neither do feelings of

    desire, indifference or aversion.

    Is it possible to be free of such uselessand debilitating habits of mind?

    When there are no thoughts of an I

    and when attention thus rests securely

    in the here and now there is peace of

    mind.

    You may have known fleeting

    moments of such peace6 you may have

    been lost in a book or a movie or

    stunned by the beauty of a sunset.Precious moments when you didnt

    know who or where you were but you

    were inspired.

    Peaceful minds are free from illusions

    such as I exist, time exists, or indeed

    6 In the western tradition these moments of

    peace have been variously called cosmic

    consciousness (Richard Bucke), oceanicfeelings (Sigmund Freud) or peak experiences

    (Abraham Maslow)

    that any thing exists in any

    permanent and unchanging way.

    A deep appreciation that the only

    constant thing is change frees the mind

    from its ordinary pattern of thinking.

    Then the life force, from which natural

    and spontaneous action springs7, is free

    to make a difference in the world. The

    self-less forces of nature will be

    unleashed. Can the minds of ordinary

    people become like this?

    Good news - you already have peace

    of mind and it cannot be taken from

    you. Your task is simply to remove the

    impediments to your knowing it - like

    blowing dust from a mirror. You must

    stop your mind from wandering; you

    must learn to centre your attention.

    Reality is the jagged zig zag of

    attention hopping from one thoughttrain to another

    7this involves what from ancient times theChinese call Wu-wei (non contrived action). St

    Augustine was referring to it when he said, "Ifyou only love God enough you may do as you

    please."

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    The following diagram illustrates three phases in the process of bringing attention to

    the still centre.

    The flat line is the ever-present and unwavering equanimity that is the bedrock of

    mind.

    The curved line represents the hobo mind riding thought trains loaded with

    emotional baggage.

    The fleeting moments of peace are glimpsed when the lines cross.

    Phase 1 Riding the Roller Coaster

    Phase 1 illustrates the ego-besotted anduncontrolled mind in which attention is

    easily led to the imagined past or

    future on thought trains as endless as

    waves upon the shore.

    The diagram is a deliberate

    oversimplification. Reality is the

    jagged zig zag of attention hopping

    from one thought train to another; and

    resting on each for varying times and

    degrees of joy or sorrow. The briefestthought moment is but a fraction of a

    second. Thoughts and moods transform

    instantly in a mind swayed byexternalities.

    Media and advertising engineers are

    expert at flicking the conditioned

    switches of desire/aversion in we

    capitalist consumers. So with

    politicians, false prophets and the

    psyche police. Without rigorous mind

    training we are as brain dead puppets

    on their tinselled cords of steel.

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    Phase 2 Observing the Roller

    Coaster

    In Phase 2 attention is split and the

    mood swings are less severe. If Phase

    1 involved noticing then Phase 2

    involves noticing what you notice.There is a Hindu image of two birds

    sitting on a branch. The first eats fruit

    and the second watches. In Phase 1 the

    thought was "I am happy" in Phase 2

    the thought is I seem to be happy

    because This process of splitting

    gradually removes the sorrows and

    joys of living.

    A rider on the roller coaster might see

    this as a puritanical and spoilsporttechnique leading to a flat and soulless

    existence. However, those who no

    longer ride the roller coaster know that

    mindfulness and self watching are

    the only way to control your mind and

    thus manage more than a fleeting

    glimpse of its true nature.

    Again the diagram is oversimple. In

    the early stages of Phase 2 it is difficult

    to remember to split attention and you

    drop back to Phase 1. To encourage

    mindfulness you may sprinkle your

    dwelling with objects which, when you

    see them, remind you to notice what

    you are thinking and feeling at that

    moment.

    The human mind slips easily into ruts

    and routines and it needs patience and

    determination to re-programme it.Good news -

    the process is self perpetuating

    having tasted a little you will want

    more and

    the further you go the easier it gets

    the closer to home (your true

    nature) the more familiar the

    territory.

    Phase 3 being off the Roller

    Coaster

    Phase 3 is ineffable there is nothing

    that can be meaningfully said about it.

    There is a Zen concept of the gateless

    gate. Only when through the gate is itobvious that the gate does not exist.

    Words deal with things like the gate

    of Phases 1 and 2. In Phase 3 there is

    only the interpenetrating oneness

    which is everything all in one. In the

    diagram the gateless gate is/is not8 at

    the point where the roller coaster ends

    and the smooth ride begins.

    In Phase 3 there is a kind of knowing

    that involves more than a mere rationalunderstanding of the hard facts.

    There is an awareness that people and

    things come and go in much the same

    way as thoughts; and that everything

    connects to everything and is

    constantly changing. There is an

    ongoing steady state of bliss rather

    than the wild excesses of joy and

    sorrow. There is the fearless freedom

    and compassion of a prodigal son

    home again to his true nature. There is

    the peace that passes all understanding.

    Centre your

    attention and

    unleash the self-

    less force of

    nature

    8 delete as appropriate to your present level of

    understanding

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    14 A drop in the ocean

    It is useful to think of an enlightened

    person having three bodies although it

    is really only one body seen in threedifferent ways. (see Box 1)

    Box 1 three bodies

    Body 1 Bliss body.

    Having turned the mind around there is

    only the Oneness. No more particular

    things; nor feelings of love, hate or

    indifference. There is the peace that

    passes all understanding, but also

    compassion for those still living in themessy world.

    Body 2 Particular body.

    This is the body seen from its own

    point of view - as if it existed in the

    ordinary sense.

    As the vehicle which carries us through

    the ordinary world we must attend to

    its physical and psychological needs.

    Body 3 Social body.

    To see ourselves as others see us.

    Those who are skilful in helping others

    to see the light present themselves

    differently to different people.

    Different strokes for different folks

    An enlightened person is no longer a

    person as ordinarily understood.When an individual mind rises above

    its conditioning and habitual illusions

    it returns like a raindrop to the ocean

    which is the one mind. This is the

    peace that passes all understanding.

    This is the bliss body from which we

    came and to which we will return. (see

    Box 2)

    Box 2 everlasting bliss

    We speak of coming and returning but,given the Oneness, these are illusory

    notions. Particular and social bodies

    are different ways of viewing the bliss

    body there is only the oneness which

    is everything and always.

    Clouds may hide the sun but it is still

    there. Illusions may prevent people

    from knowing their bliss body but it is

    still there. When there are no clouds

    the sun can be seen. When there are noillusions the bliss body is apparent.

    The one-mind of the bliss-body is

    compassionate. It also lives happily

    with the paradoxes created by language

    (see Box 3). Although it appreciates

    that there is only one thing which is

    everything it also appreciates that the

    one thing gave rise to the many things

    and that there is much sufferingamongst the many things.

    Box 3 enlightenment is like jazz

    People have been in the world for more

    than six million years but language has

    been around for only about 25,000

    years.

    Language is useful for dealing with the

    practicalities of day to day living but ithas not yet evolved to deal with the

    insights of shamans, mystics and other

    existential champions.

    Enlightenment is like Jazz youll

    know it when you find it. Talking

    about it is a waste of time. Be cool. Be

    still, and know!

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    People suffer because of how they

    think. Think different and end

    suffering. The UNESCO Charter

    reckons that, It is in the minds of men

    that war is created and it is in the

    minds of men that peace must bewon.

    How to win the peace?

    Just sit. Be still and know. Unhook

    yourself from the constant drip feed of

    media messages and come to know

    your mind as it is in itself. You willbecome more open to the numinous.

    The one-mind of the bliss-body will

    then lead you home. It will teach you

    to see infinity in a grain of sand and

    eternity in an hour.

    This article is based very loosely on ideas expressed in Suzuki's argument that thebeginnings of the Mahayana concept of the Triple Body is to be found in the

    Lankavatara Sutra.

    Suzuki D T (1930,1999) Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra; Motilal Banarsidass; ISBN

    8120816560

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    15 Five Skandhas are Empty

    "These four words (five skandhas are

    empty) are the essence of the earliest

    Buddhist teachings".

    There follows a rational schema to

    blow away rational schemas. This

    might assist compulsive rationalists

    who have difficulty going beyond.

    A Picture

    First a branching diagram which you

    might care to draw on a piece of paper.

    Begin at the middle of the top of apage.

    Write the word 'entities'.

    Make two branches. Label the left

    branch 'physical' and the right

    branch 'mental'.

    Make two branches down from the

    physical branch. Label the left

    branch 'quantum impermanent' and

    the right branch 'newtonian

    permanent'.

    Make two branches down from the

    mental branch. Label the left one

    'subjective' and the right one

    'objective ? but impermanent'.

    Make two branches down from the

    subjective branch. Label the left

    one 'psychological newtons (five

    skandhas)' and the left one

    'enlightened quantum mystical

    (five skandhas are empty)'

    The Illusory Nature of the

    Newtonian Permanent

    Newton's laws are pragmatically

    useful. They work as long as you donot look too closely. If you look in

    quantum close up you realise that

    solidity and substance are illusions;

    there are no 'things' at the subatomic

    level, only energy fields. So, despite

    common sense appearance, no thing

    exists. There is only energy.

    Objective Mental Entities

    Not yet! The task would be to write a

    chemical formula for a thought patternor a wave equation for an emotion - but

    this cannot be done. The only thing

    that can be safely said at present is

    that, from the objective point of view,

    mental entities are likely to be fuzzy

    edged and ever changing.

    Unenlightened Subjectivity - The

    Five Skandhas

    Any reasonably intelligent person, by

    taking thought, will be able to go alongwith the Buddha's concept of the five

    skandhas. The first two could be said

    to 'exist' as newtonian permanent

    entities and the last three could be said

    to 'exist' in the mentally subjective

    category which is labelled as

    psychological newtons.

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    NAMA-RUPA (Corporeal Form).

    Compound things are made up of

    elemental things eg molecules are

    made from atoms. VIJNANA (Sensation). When light

    from an object reaches the eye a

    sight 'sensation' results. The same

    pattern applies for the other sense

    organs.

    SAMJNA (Perception). When a

    physical sensation has been located

    within the fields of impulse and

    feeling (see below) then a

    'perception' can be said to have

    been created.

    SAMSKARA (Impulse). Impulses

    are subjective mental entities

    which dictate in broad terms the

    manner in which sensations

    become perceptions. The impulses

    derive from the culturally given

    world-view-with-pigeon-holes into

    which sensations are routinely and

    conveniently slotted.

    VEDANA (Feelings). Feelings aresubjective mental entities which

    have been created as a result of

    personal (rather than broad

    cultural) experience. They serve to

    label sensations on their way to

    becoming perceptions as pleasant,

    unpleasant or neutral.

    Enlightened Subjectivity - The Five

    Skandhas are Empty

    Solving the quantum koan means

    arrival on the other shore where no

    words are spoken and action is taken

    without the awareness that, "I amacting".

    Imagine yourself as a quantum

    physicist looking inside your own

    brain. The microscope is on full power

    and there is nothing to be seen but

    minute swirls of substanceless energy.

    OK, now look back up through the

    microscope - what is the quantum

    physicist made of? Who is looking at

    what? Aargh!

    Gone Beyond

    The Shamans figured it out pretty soon

    after language came into being. The

    guys who wrote the Upanishads had it

    twigged more than 2500 years ago.

    Everybody goes there at least once a

    day - where do 'you' go to during deep,

    dreamless sleep? What difference is

    there between the self concept when

    dreaming and the self concept when

    awake? Did Chaung Tzu dream he was

    a butterfly or was it the butterfly's

    dream?

    I drift into the deep-dreamless-sleep-

    while-awake state now and again and I

    know the selfless peace of it. But I

    cannot enter it at will. What to do?

    Based on: Mu Soeng Sunim (1991) Heart Sutra: Ancient Buddhist Wisdom in the

    light of Quantum Reality; Primary Point Press

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    16 Anguising angst

    In the spirit of existential jujitsu the

    anguish of angst is to be welcomed.

    It drives you to the spiritual path more

    effectively than most other frames of

    mind. The concept points to a feeling

    of anxiety, especially one about the

    general state of things rather than

    anything specific; a profound feeling

    of generalised anxiety or dread (origin

    1920s: from Ger., fear)

    Angst - a term introduced into

    philosophy by existentialist thinkers. It

    denotes the state of mind produced

    when a person becomes aware of being

    finite in a world that is infinite. The

    source of this feeling of apprehension

    is ultimately the infinite nature of

    nothingness (or the void). (Collins

    Dictionary of Philosophy, ISBN

    0004343700)

    Angst - (German for: anxiety, anguish)

    In existentialist philosophy, the dreadoccasioned by mans realization that

    his existence is open towards an

    undetermined future, the emptiness of

    which must be filled by his freely

    chosen actions. Anxiety characterises

    the human state, which entails constant

    confrontation with possibility and the

    need for decision, with the

    concomitant burden of responsibility.

    (see also bad faith; existentialism)

    (A Dictionary of Philosophy (Pan),ISBN 0330283596)

    (existential anguish) The horrible

    feeling the existentialists suppose we

    have when we are confronted with our

    own complete and irremovable

    freedom and responsibility. (Robert M

    Martin (1991) The Philosophers

    Dictionary, ISBN 0921149751)

    Angst - Variously translated asanxiety, anguish, dread. It was first

    used in an existential sense by Soren

    Kierkegaard in The Concept of

    Anxiety (1844), where he describes the

    terrifying reality of the state of

    splitness, indecisiveness and

    responsibility in front of choice

    Heidegger, in Being and Time (1927),

    freely paraphrases Kierkegaard and

    does not add anything significant to

    Kierkegaards analysis Sartre, in

    Being and Nothingness (1943), again

    follows Kierkegaard but adds an

    element of determinism by makinganguish a state of bad faith in which

    the conscious subject tries to renege on

    his unalienable freedom to choose.

    (The New Fontana Dictionary of

    Modern Thought, ISBN 0002558718)

    Angst - A recurrent state of disquiet

    concerning ones life which

    Existentialists interpret as evidence

    that human life has a dimension which

    a purely naturalistic psychology cannotcomprehend The term was

    introduced by Kierkegaard, who held

    that angst (usually translated here as

    dread) concerning the contingencies

    of fortune should show us that we can

    only gain a secure sense of our identity

    by taking the leap of faith and entering

    into a relationship with God

    Heidegger uses the same term (here

    usually translated as Anxiety) to

    describe a sense of unease concerningthe structure of ones life which,

    because it does not arise from any

    specific threat, is to be diagnosed as a

    manifestation of our own responsibility

    for this structure Sartre uses the

    term angoisse (usually translated as

    anguish) for much the same

    phenomenon as Heidegger describes.

    (The Oxford Companion to

    Philosophy, ISBN 019866132)

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    17 Changed MindThen: thing, thought and worry.

    Now: no-thing, no-thought, no-worry

    Between then and now:see the goal, hold it in mind, work

    towards it.

    Then, of itself, effort ceases and the

    journey ends.

    Then there was like and dislike, friend

    and foe.

    Now there is no argument or

    contention.

    The goal is: to know yourself;

    to know the illusory nature of

    common sense;

    to know the source of perception,

    thought and feeling;

    to know the limitation of words;

    to know the impermanence of

    created things;

    to know the process of

    creation/destruction;

    to know the futility of knowing

    The road to the goal involves:

    watching the creation of self;

    noting the origin of thought;

    letting thought go.

    Thoughts flow like a waterfall;

    some fly out and involve you.

    Notice this. Throw them back.The waterfall is background noise;

    ignore it.

    Deep in the jungle is a still clearingwith no earth, sky or horizon.

    No edges or limitations on the changed

    mind.

    Beyond the power of words;

    inconceivable, unspeakable.

    The unchanging Oneness is the source

    of ten thousand no-things.

    doubtless Doubt.

    unchanging Change.

    It is said:

    "When the mind has changed

    you may do as you please."

    It is said:

    "The angels simply live, getting what

    they give, not brash enough to have an

    understanding."

    It is said:

    "When walking walk,

    when sitting sit."

    Only when we have removed the harm

    in ourselves can we become trulyuseful to others