Answering My Questions. Questioning My Answers.

I cut my hand the other day. It’s almost healed now. Did I heal it and, if so, how did I do it?

You, as the ego-self, most certainly did not do it. The you that beats the heart, grows hair and nails, and breathes life-giving air into the lungs did it. No one can say how they (as the ego-self) heal a wound. Anyone pressed for an explanation will likely respond “It just healed itself”. This is a clue that “you” are something beyond your self.

Who am I outside of my body?

The body is one part of the Whole that I am, including my brain, my environment, other people — everything.

There are sights and sounds. Are they external to you or are they all in your mind?

Seeing is sight. Hearing is sound. My mind and my experience are one; there is no need to differentiate between them.

When I am walking down the street, am I passing from point A to point B or am I stationary while the world is moving beneath me?

Is there a difference? There is no separate external world; there is no separate internal you. The way you view the movement is based on your perception of the body relative to the environment. However, they define each other.

There is a room in my house. I’ve seen it before and know what’s in it. But I don’t see it now. No one does. Is it there now, or will it become real once I am present to experience it?

What is reality beyond the experience of the here and now? You say the room is there. In this moment it only exists as a memory. Not until you are in the room experiencing it does it become a present moment reality.

Is there an edge to the Universe? If so, what’s beyond it?

Again, do the outer edges of the Universe exist unless we are able to observe them? Once we observe farther into space, more space opens up. Once we inspect the smallest particles beyond the atomic level, we find smaller particles, and so on. Try to imagine nothingness. Neither somethingness nor nothingness can exist on their own.

Is there an experience beyond death?

What was your experience before conception? Whose death are we speaking of? Once the experience of the individual ceases, that particular story ends. But the Whole of Existence — that which you really are — continues on. It was there long before the body was born and will be there long after the body has died. When the individual being identifies itself with the One, there is a realization: the death of the limited self gives birth to the immortal Self and there is no need to be concerned with any experience beyond “death”.

What is God?

I cannot say what God is; I can only say what God is not. God isn’t an idol to be worshipped, an anthropomorphic being, a man-made idea, or any thing. God — the Eternal, the One, the True Self — just is.
 

An Introspective Look Outward

Reach out. Look at your hand. Look at the world beyond. Now look down at your body, your legs, your feet. Now, without using a mirror, try to look at your face. Without having it reflected in some way, you cannot see it. Even when you do see it, in a mirror or photograph, it is just a representation. You have never seen your face, and you never will.

Like a sword that cuts, but cannot cut itself;
Like an eye that sees, but cannot see itself. *

Your true “face” is the outward which is reflected back to you in the form of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Looking outward, we see the Self. Looking inward — in terms of thoughts, beliefs, tenets, ideas, concepts, etc. — we see the ego-self.

When we are self-conscious (i.e., ego-conscious), we are aware of this identity we have created playing its part in the drama of life. We can actually picture the ego-face as we interact with others and with whatever situation is unfolding. That image disappears however when we are enraptured by a present moment activity that “absorbs” us completely.

But we also have another way of looking inward; of sensing our being: becoming aware of the Source from which our being and the being of all others arises. This introspection is not concerned with the outward problems of the world. This is a search of Self-discovery.

The irony here is that we cannot find the Self by seeking. What we seek is here and now. It is this moment; whole and complete. Once an attempt — via a thought process — is made, the moment is lost. Therefore, that which is sought is best left unsought and allowed to arise on its own.

You cannot get it by taking thought;
You cannot seek it by not taking thought.*

This is not to dismiss activities such as self-enquiry, meditation, and silent introspection. Many would advocate these as ways to dissolve the illusory dualistic line between the inner self and the outer world. Perhaps. But only in the sense that an illusion can be dispelled by knowledge; by a deep understanding that manifests itself. The illusions of ego and a world separate from “you” cannot be tossed aside or made to disappear by some “technique” or action of the ego-self. Any such attempts are sure to lead to frustration and failure.

Whether we are looking “out” or looking “in”, the activity of that moment is contained in one effortless action — being.

To see the True Face, we need only see. To hear the voice of God, we need just listen.



* from the Zenrin Kushu
 

No Need To Question

There is a life form: a complex being — human. It is conscious. It is aware. The being can formulate thoughts. Thoughts come and go. A question arises out of those thoughts: "Why are we here?" or "What does it all mean?" or "Is there a God?" No matter how hard we try, it seems that no satisfactory answer can be found.

Perhaps there is no answer. Perhaps the question is flawed. Perhaps the real answer is this: There are no words which can fully explain and/or express this unfathomable state of being. The seeker ultimately understands that he or she must go beyond words and thoughts in order to know his or her Highest State.

There is a desire to know. Desire is produced by thoughts. The mind is now preoccupied with this desire. We try to understand through intellect. Intellect is a product of the mind; the capacity to think. So again, we have thoughts preoccupying the mind and clouding awareness of the present moment. In these conditions, we feel removed from the present experience, and the present experience is who we are.

The Self is limitless, and thus, unknowable. It is untouchable; unable to be probed and fully understood by intellect. In the same sense that you do not have the ability to see your own eyes or to touch the tip of your finger with that same finger, the Self cannot be known because it is the Source — the Source from which everything, including intellect, originates.

We use words, concepts, and images in an effort to understand it all. However, we inevitably fail to grasp that which cannot be held. But, paradoxically, when the effort to have it all in your grasp ceases, there is a deep sense of understanding. A knowing beyond intellect arises; on its own.

From the Cheng-tao Ke:

Like the empty sky it has no boundaries,
Yet it is right in this place, ever profound and clear
When you see to know it, you cannot see it
You cannot take hold of it
But you cannot lose it
In not being able to get it, you get it
When you are silent, it speaks;
When you speak, it is silent.
The great gate is wide open to bestow alms,
And no crowd is blocking the way

There is no need to question. The answer is here and now.