The experience of silence is presented as equivalent to the absence of thinking. But where, then, is the fruit of practice during daily life when noise and thinking are present? Many students start to judge how good their sitting has been by how free from thinking it was. Dissatisfaction then becomes the rule.
By Angel Roberto Puente
In a synchronistic moment, I was given Zen as a practice.
I’ve practiced for decades and sometimes surprise myself with the serenity of my responses even in the face of death. I have a hard time appeasing the people around me who are freaking out. It’s difficult for them to understand that when thoughts have no hold on us, life is very different.
I’ve read extensively about Zen and its development since the arrival of Bodhidharma to China. The simplicity of the Tang era masters, when the influence of Taoism was more apparent, is very much at odds with modern Zen.
In the stories told about these practitioners of old, I have found echoes of my own.
The main influence on modern Zen today comes from Hakuin with Koan Zen, and Dogen with Shikantaza. I don’t subscribe to any of them. My spiritual master is Bankei, almost forgotten if not for the revival brought by D.T. Suzuki.
Reading Bankei’s sermons for the first time I felt a connection and devotion that, with my Catholic upbringing, made me refer to him as St. Bankei. I’m absolutely sure he is part of the Communion of Saints. He was actually accused of being a Christian at a time in Japan when he could have been killed for it.
Bankei’s main teaching is that our being since birth is the Unborn. The Unborn is always operating, if we know it or not. Buddha would agree:
“There is monks, an unborn–unbecome–unmade–unfabricated. If there were not that unborn–unbecome–unmade–unfabricated, there would not be the case that escape from the born–become–made–fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an unborn–unbecome–unmade–unfabricated, escape from the born–become–made–fabricated is thus discerned.”
The teachings of Christ accord:
“God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love—He has given you a mind that has been delivered, rescued, revived, salvaged, protected, and brought into a place of safety and security so that it is no longer affected by illogical, unfounded, and absurd thoughts.”
This teaching is not widespread.
One of the observations I’ve made is that many teachers mention silence as something to pursue. It’s confusing because the awakened condition is beyond silence or noise, thinking or non-thinking, good or bad. Repeating this directive just misleads students and keeps them chasing after an unsustainable goal.
The experience of silence is presented as equivalent to the absence of thinking. But where, then, is the fruit of practice during daily life when noise and thinking are present? Many students start to judge how good their sitting has been by how free from thinking it was. Dissatisfaction then becomes the rule.
The aim of the practice is to recognize the, given from birth, and always present “Buddha Mind” or “Christ Mind.” The “Unborn” or “Kingdom of God” that has always been near.
To “see” it is to find the only immaterial force that is operating all the time. The one that doesn’t depend on conditions and is beyond any description because concepts are insufficient to describe it. Yet, it is fused to every perception we have and illuminates its meaning.
When we hear a dog bark we don’t have to decide to identify what it is. The illuminating attention will—without intervention—say dog. This will happen regardless of whatever else we are doing at the moment, like watching a movie or reading this. And when whatever appears in the senses is unidentifiable, attention will stay with the original input and say thump, bright, shadow, rough, or hmmmm?
We train to recognize this open, clear, always-functioning attention and to avoid the narrowing of its all-encompassing reach.
When we fixate on any object of perception attention narrows. This is a necessary aspect of attention. It’s the inability to simultaneously not lose sight of, as Michael Taft describes it: “the spaciousness of this awareness, it is tremendously awake, bright and clear, very crisp, always wide awake.” His instructions about thinking can be applied to all the senses:
“Begin to notice if attention is being stimulated into grabbing onto thinking. Certainly, thinking can be happening, and that’s fine, but don’t let attention grab onto it, allow attention to be as broad as awareness, and allow the attention to be like the sky, almost no attention at all because it’s so broad. It’s wide awake, it’s very clear, it’s very sharp, but it’s incredibly broad. If it begins to constrict down and grab onto thought, just let that go, don’t grab on, or if you do grab on, just let go. We’re not engaging with thinking, neither are we fighting it, trying to control it, trying to make it go away, judging it, or anything else. Simply not engaging. Just push in the clutch and the motor of the mind can just run, but it’s not turning the wheels at all.”
Paying attention includes moments when the mind doesn’t produce thoughts. These are peaceful interludes and it’s easy to become attracted to them. An insistence on them will hinder growth.
It’s like the stories about genies.
The genie will always find a way to twist the wish. “I wish for free food and housing forever”, means you wake up in jail. Wish for a serene, uneventful, silent sitting, and you fall asleep.
On some occasions, we will find ourselves paying attention to attention. This is normally a fleeting moment that escapes the quantifying of time. It’s to this profound encounter that most people refer to as Silence. The more precise description would be Stillness.
Because all the senses are quieted, and, “Only the tremendously broad, tremendously spacious, tremendously boundless” mind is present at that moment.
When we accept that boundless mind as our true being and we learn to live from it, life is much easier.
Photo: Pixabay
Editor: Dana Gornall
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El amor de Ángel Roberto Puente por la investigación comenzó desde su infancia cuando desarmaba los juguetes que recibía en Navidad. Lo único que consiguió después fueron juegos de montaje. Una experiencia temprana de lo no conceptual lo llevó a un viaje para reconciliar una educación cristiana con la práctica de Zazen y los estudios de Psicología. Habiendo logrado una solución cómoda, ahora se sienta con Morning Star Zendo. Un grupo zen dirigido por un sacerdote jesuita/Roshi. Como introvertido maduro, todavía separa las cosas, y ahora los conceptos y las creencias. Check out his site here.
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