Mechanics of Mind
The mind is moving... so said some sage or saint. As a poetic observation on the contemplative path, it may catch the eye for a moment, then fade from the memory. As an assessment of the human condition to be integrated into an understanding of the mechanics of mind, however, it stands to spur revolutionary change.
Indeed, the movements of mind and the turnings of thought are themes we've addressed from multiple angles already. Understanding the mechanics of this process, whereby we get lost and tossed about in a mess of our own creation, is the key to unshackling ourselves from it. Understanding the mechanics of mind allows us to harness its potential and re-route, channel, re-orient its power in an adaptive direction.
A bit of background on the mechanics of mind may be helpful, first. We recommend taking a look at another recent article on the "currents of construing" before plunging into this one.
Ordinary Mind
Here, we find ourselves back in Tang dynasty China, this time walking alongside the Sixth Patriarch of the Chan (Chinese Zen) tradition, whose name was Huineng.
Born in southern China to a working class family, Huineng is widely known in the Chan tradition as an "illiterate barbarian" whose kitchen rice threshing and chopping wood for the monastery embodied the spirit of Chan in ordinary activity. As evidenced by its record, the Chan tradition sought to shatter preconceived notions and upset the status quo. By some accounts, it is even said that "ordinary mind is the way," that the everyday, ordinary mind, even in lacking education or embellishment, is the very embodiment of the contemplative path.
Like Hanshan, the "Cold Mountain" poet-recluse, Huineng also composed several famous poems, which completely overturned the conventions of his time. Rather than drawing on literary expertise, the ordinary mind and its capacity to immerse fully in ordinary activity were the basis for Huineng's poetic insights.
Although illiterate, Huineng's "spoken-word" was written down with the aid of a scribe, allowing him to win a poetry contest and prove his worthiness as an heir to the Chan lineage. His teachings were later compiled and recorded in the Sixth Patriarch's Platform Sutra (六祖壇經), which documents major events in his contemplative career as well as teachings from the Chan school on the nature of the mind.
Mind is Moving
On the nature of the mind, Huineng is short but sweet in his reflections.
Telling of his ordinariness and reflecting his on-the-ground approach to contemplative practice, one such teaching unfurls in an exchange with a pair of fellow monks. While observing them squabble over a seemingly trivial question of whether a flag blowing in the wind is moving, or if the wind blowing the flag is moving, Huineng interjects. Their exchange unfolds as such:
At that time there was a [flag] waving in the breeze.
One monk there said, “The wind is moving.”
Another monk said, “The [flag] is moving.”
They argued on this incessantly.
I stepped forward and said, “It is not the wind that is moving, nor is it the [flag] that is moving. It is your minds that are moving, Kind Sirs.”
Everyone was startled.
(Trans. Buddhist Text Translation Society)
In quibbling over whether the wind or flag moves, the monks are swept away and wrapped up in fruitless debate. With precision, Huineng intervenes in order to halt their flailing about. A sort of stillness of mind amidst the flow of experience seems to be in order.
Without further comment, he points at their minds as the source of confusion.
Merely Discussing
But their question was the epitome of ordinary, you may note. They weren't debating the nature of the cosmos or other such lofty topics. What was the issue in their discussion?
Even in being ordinary, flag vs. wind, much like chicken vs. egg, mind vs. matter, nature vs. nurture and other such dichotomies, lends itself to argumentation and debate, seeking to prove one view right and others wrong. Such discussions seldom attend to the ordinary mind. Even ordinary questions may be pursued mindlessly. Perhaps the monks were merely discussing in a casual or playful tone, but they nonetheless lost sight of their own minds. When we engage in idle chatter, whether about the wind or flag, the weather or politics, we, too, often lose track of our own minds. While there's nothing inherently unwholesome about such discussions, they nonetheless tend to lead us astray. Our task is to keep track of the mind that gives rise to these habits.
Importantly, overhearing this remark by Huineng, another more senior monk by the name of Yinzong joins the conversation. Perhaps his interest was piqued, finding Huineng's response impressive. Yinzong cross-questions Huineng's meaning and discovers Huineng's “responses were direct, concise, and did not come from written texts” (Ibid). Meanwhile, Huineng reflects on "merely discussing."
He questioned me further, “How exactly was Huangmei’s [i.e., Hongren’s] teaching transferred?”
I replied, “There was no transfer. We merely discussed seeing the nature. There was no discussion of dhyana Samadhi or liberation.”
Yinzong asked, “Why was there no discussion about dhyana Samadhi or liberation?”
I said, “Because those are dualistic teachings, not the Buddha-Dharma. The Dharma of the Buddha is a non-dual Dharma.” (Ibid)
Here, we are reminded of Huineng's exchange with his teacher Hongren. Upon "receiving transmission," a process whereby a teacher recognizes the student's maturity, Huineng was deemed the "Sixth Patriarch" in the lineage of the Chan school, inheriting the prized robe and bowl from his teacher, the Fifth Patriarch. Yet Huineng recognizes that there is nothing substantial to such a title or attainment. Merely discussing, and seeing, the "nature" (one's innate capacity for enlightenment) is all there is to it.
Discussion of seeing one's capacity for enlightenment, however, differs from pompous claims to already being enlightened, holier-than-thou, or above all others. Not only are discussions of attainments potentially dualistic in assuming a hierarchy of identities which lend themselves to attachment, the concept of transference itself also implies dualism.
Huineng may subtly be pointing to the lack of dualism even between conversational partners. His stating, “We merely discussed seeing the nature,” collapses the duality between “Hongren” and “Huineng,” or “Fifth Patriarch” and “Sixth Patriarch.” Only through their selfless spontaneity can transformation be felt, which characterizes “transmission” more than any literal exchange of robe or bowl.
Ordinary Experience
So what relevance does this exchange have for us?
First, it alerts us to a tendency that undergirds much of our ordinary experience. What tendency? The tendency to spiral in thoughts about trivial matters, which distract us from addressing the more salient issues that plague us today, whether societal unrest, climate change, or others. Perhaps our ordinary experience can be a launching pad for extraordinary action, so long as we don't remain superficially attached to the ordinary. Rather, we may skillfully wield the ordinary and re-route the mind's default tendencies away from maladaptive functions toward adaptive functions for the sake of revolutionary change.
Second, it suggests that one means to overcome such a tendency entails seeing through dual notions, such as subject and object, self versus other. Is there a point, a meaningful point, to engaging in debate over something as trivial as whether the wind or flag moves? Why not both? Does it even matter, ultimately? Yes, they are parts of our ordinary experience, but why take them on face value? What about the winds that spread fires or the flags behind which people build a national identity opposed to those who are deemed "other"? Perhaps it is wiser to look at what gives rise to maladaptive, unwholesome, detrimental habits of mind.
How does one see through dual notions? By recognizing their insubstantiality. How does one recognize their insubstantiality? By attending to the quality of emptiness in every act of identification that begins to creep up on us. We will return to the practices that enable such wisdom soon.
Let us know what you think. Many thanks and good wishes.
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