Freedom in Thought

Freedom in Thought
Posted 2 hours ago

The Power of Doing Nothing

Just as the spaces between words allows us to read more clearly, silence in the mind allows us to perceive more clearly, and when we perceive the world more clearly, we act more effectively.

We get upset when we can’t control our mind. We think, why can’t you just be quiet. But the mind is like a pond, thoughts are like waves, and every attempt to silence the mind is like dropping a pebble into the pond. It is the nature of the mind (pond) to produce thoughts (waves). As Suzuki said,

“Even though waves arise, the essence of your mind is pure; it is just like clear water with a few waves. Actually water always has waves. Waves are the practice of the water.” [1]

You wouldn’t thrash around in a pond and expect it to be still at the same time, yet you thrash about in your mind in an attempt to silence it. You can’t silence mind with mind. You can’t silence mind with action or force. These tactics only stimulate the production of bigger and bigger waves.

To silence your mind, you must not act. You must allow the waves of the pond to still on their own. Without any action or force, they will naturally calm down and lose power. Returning to the wisdom of Suzuki,

“You yourself make the waves in your mind. If you leave your mind as it is, it will become calm. ”[2]

Take a moment today to do nothing. Be still. Be silent. Let your mind calm down. When the waters of your mind are still, you will bring a powerful awareness and freshness to whatever is occurring in front of you, and when you are present to what’s happening in front of you, you will be able to make smarter decisions, and when you make smarter decisions, you build a better future.

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[1] Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, ed. Trudy Dixon (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2020), 19.
[2] Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, ed. Trudy Dixon (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2020), 18.

66 - 3

Freedom in Thought
Posted 2 days ago

In Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, he tells us the key to gaining power over our minds. He writes,

“If you want to obtain perfect calmness in your zazen, you should not be bothered by the various images you find in your mind. Let them come, and let them go. Then they will be under control.” [1]

If you want control over your mind, don’t try to control it at all, but rather, learn to observe it without judgment. Don’t force it into any particular shape.

When you force your mind in a direction, it rebels against you. It protests even harder. For example, try not to think of a pink elephant. The more you try not to think of a pink elephant, the more likely you’ll be to think of one. When you push the mind, it pushes back. It’s like Newton’s third law: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

So if you want to calm your mind, don’t act against it. Learn to observe it without pushing it, without judging anything that arises in it. Without stimulus from you, it will quiet down on its own. The mind solves problems, so once you pose a problem to it, it begins ruminating. And if you make rumination a problem, you will get stuck in an infinite regress, ruminating about rumination.

To calm you mind, practice awareness without judgment. Observe your posture and breathing, just as we discussed in the last two newsletters.

“…to concentrate your mind on something is now the true purpose of Zen. The true purpose is to see things are they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.” [2]

If you want to read more mini-essays like this, subscribe to my daily newsletter in the comments below. This is day 3 of my introduction to zen philosophy series.

[1] Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, ed. Trudy Dixon (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2020), 15.
[2] Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, ed. Trudy Dixon (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2020), 16.

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Freedom in Thought
Posted 6 days ago

CLOSING THE SPACE WHERE UNHAPPINESS ARISES

In Day 2 of my introduction to zen philosophy, I want to discuss the dangers of absent-mindedness and the value of focusing on your breath.

Absent-minded people are aloof. They’re not attentive to the present moment. They’re usually caught up in some sort of rumination involving problem-solving and judgment. This leads to unhappiness.

For example, imagine that you run into an old friend and you say something stupid. Later on, you start ruminating on that encounter. I shouldn’t have said that, you think. I should have said this instead. When you judge the encounter as bad, you start to feel unhappy about it. And if you spend lots of time ruminating and judging things as bad in your life, you’ll start to feel unhappy about your life as a whole.

Unhappiness arises in the space between you and the present moment. In Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki explains this perfectly:

“But when we become tired of our life we may say, ‘I shouldn’t have come to this place. It may have been better to have gone to some other place for lunch. This place is not so good.’ In your mind you create an idea of place separate from an actual time.” [1]

When you want to be somewhere other than you are, you create unhappiness. And if you have no control over your mind’s capacity to ruminate and judge, you have no control over your happiness.

To gain control over your happiness, you have to gain control over your mind, and to gain control over your mind, you must learn to bring it to the present moment at will, and to learn to bring it to the present moment at will, you can practice mediation or focusing on your breathe. As Suzuki explains,

“So when you practice zazen, your mind should be concentrated on your breathing. This kind of activity is the fundamental activity of the universal being. Without this experience, this practice, it is impossible to attain absolute freedom.” [2]

The next time you catch your mind running off into rumination, try to restrain it. Focus on your breaths in and out, and see if you can stop the rumination. See if you can restrain your mind. If you cannot bring your mind to the present moment at will—and it takes a lot of practice—you will always be a slave to it.

Those who learn to bring their mind to the present gain control over their happiness, because they can eliminate the space in which unhappiness arises.

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SOURCES:

[1] Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, ed. Trudy Dixon (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2020), 13.
[2] Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, ed. Trudy Dixon (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2020), 14.

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Freedom in Thought
Posted 1 week ago

I’m currently reading Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. In the first chapter, he talks about the importance of maintaining a good posture. The insight itself is simple, but the logic behind it is profound. He writes,

“The most important part is to own your own physical body. If you slump, you will lose your self. Your mind will be wandering about somewhere else; you will not be in your body. This is not the way. We must exist right here, right now…it is impossible to organize things if you yourself are not in order. When you do things in the right way, at the right time, everything else will be organized.” [1]

Suzuki emphasizes the importance of being totally present—in mind and body. He advises us to pay attention to our posture as a way to ground our minds back in our bodies.

When our minds are not grounded in our bodies, we fall into a divided state. Our body is here, but our mind is elsewhere. We create division around us when we ourselves are divided.

For example, you’re sitting at a cafe with your friend, rethinking about a conversation you had the previous night. Your friend is explaining a conflict they had at work to you, but you’re checked out. Physically you’re there, but mentally you’re reliving the last night. You don’t hear anything your friend is saying, and they sense it. They feel disconnected from you. So now your internal division has created external division.

Our minds ruminate when they’re stuck on a problem. They’re seeking the truth that they need to solve the problem. And they think they can find that truth within.

But if our minds had the truth within themselves, they would not be stuck. They would not be ruminating. The mind must look outside of itself for new truths. It must look to the present moment. The present moment contains the truth, because it’s formed by the laws that govern the world. That is why presence is important.

One of the easiest ways to become present, grounded, and unify your mind and body is to pay attention to your posture. I believe that is what Suzuki is trying to communicate.

“The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment.”[2]

This is from my daily newsletter. If you want to subscribe, link in the comments below.

[1] Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, ed. Trudy Dixon (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2020), 10.
[2] Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, ed. Trudy Dixon (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2020), 11.

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Freedom in Thought
Posted 1 week ago

Socrates: we should fear nothing more than living dishonourably.

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Freedom in Thought
Posted 1 week ago

Everyone has a role in the common good. We’re all meant to work together and succeed together. We’re not self-sufficient entities. We’re all crew members on the same boat. Our success in life depends on working with our crew sufficiently well so that we can all make the journey safely.