Jonathan Harrison's Blog

“The wind cannot shake a mountain. Neither praise nor blame moves the wise man.”

– Buddha

It is easy to find out what you really are. You are not what you think. If you think you are not what you think, you are not that either.

You are also not what others think you are. If you eliminate everything you and others think about you, what is left is really you. Some people may think you are clever and others may think you are stupid. In both cases you are still what you are. That is all.

It is like standing in a hall of mirrors. Depending on which mirror you look in, you seem tall, short, fat, thin or distorted in other ways. But there is a real you which is none of these, standing there looking in the mirrors.

Your opinion about yourself is an expression of your mental history. Whether you feel strong or weak, optimistic or pessimistic, these are traces of the habitual ways you have internalized your life experiences, a process starting long before your birth, even before your mother’s birth.

Research shows that a fetus, sharing its mother’s bloodstream, reacts to its mother’s hormonal changes and moods. Learning the nature of things started long ago.

Other people’s opinions about you are similarly expressions of their mental history. Can you watch these histories expressing themselves? They do not tell you who you are but they do tell you something about the historical conditioning of whoever holds these opinions.

When you realize this, both your and others’ opinions cease to disturb you. You watch them as you watch the waves on the beach.

In India there was a tradition of standing in the presence of a teacher out of respect. Two friends approached a group of students sitting with their teacher. One of them was shocked by this sight and asked his friend, “What is this? Why are they sitting?” His friend answered, “You say they are sitting only because you are standing.”

All opinions exist only through their opposites. The Tao Te Ching states:

“Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.

All can know good as good only because there is evil.

Therefore having and not having arise together.

Difficult and easy complement each other.

Long and short contrast each other;

High and low rest upon each other;

Voice and sound harmonize each other;

Front and back follow one another.

Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.

The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,

Creating, yet not possessing;

Working, yet not taking credit.

Work is done, then forgotten.

Therefore it lasts forever.”

– Translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, 1972

When you clearly see the difference between opinions and reality, you are immune to both praise and criticism. Opinions are opinions. You are what you are.

Write a one-page personal profile of yourself. Describe yourself and list your opinions about who and what you are.

Ask someone else to write a one-page profile of you. Ask them to describe you and list their opinions about you.

Compare them.

Write down who you really are, if not what you think and not what the other person thinks you are.

What are you if not that either?

Where does this end?

What are you really?

…?

A student, filled with emotion and crying, implored, “Why is there so much suffering?”

Suzuki Roshi replied, “No reason.”

When things are not the way we want them we want to know why. We do not equally demand an explanation when things are the way we want them.

Things are always as they are. You have no idea how little the world cares what you think of it.

Although things happen, that does not necessarily mean that someone is doing them.

Just as rain falls without needing to invent a “rainer”, so our bodies and minds respond to conditions and behavior occurs without a need to invent an “I” who is doing it.

When you understand this deeply, there is no success and no failure, no criticism or guilt, just a calm, happy ongoing, tension-free learning process fueled by your biology and nature.

Life is easier.

Although both physical and mental pain seem to be unavoidable in life, discomfort – the mental tension of trying to avoid it – is avoidable.

The Buddha explained that if we are hit by an arrow there is pain. If we are angry there is a second pain. The wise person makes do with the original pain.

The discomfort I refer to is the the secondary, avoidable mental pain, the demand for reality to be different now from what it is in fact, which is clearly impossible.

What happens happens. Nothing else ever happens.

It is enough to realize this fully in order to live in peace and happiness independently of circumstances.

The moment you have an opinion, an idea about how things should or should not be or how you want or do not want them to be, you are in potential trouble.

This is because the real world does not necessarily match your opinions.

In fact, you have no idea how little reality cares what you think about it.

Keep well,

Jonathan

If you meet the Buddha, kill him

- Zen Master Linji, founder of the Rinzai sect

The Buddha is awareness, enlightenment.

You cannot meet these. Whatever you meet is not that.

Thus there are two stages to enlightenment:

It is important to look directly at [the nature of] thoughts when they arise.

It is important to remain in [the nature] when you are certain of it.

It is important to have the meditation-less meditation as your meditation.

Without wavering, maintain it: this is my heart advice.- Longchen Rabjam, “Longchenpa” (1308–1364), a major Dzogchen yogi teacher in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

You cannot solve all your problems in life.

You cannot close all the gaps.

The only real threat to your peace of mind is believing that you can.

You have been educated by your parents, teachers and society to believe you should fix everything you do not like, that everything should be the way you want it. If it is not, then something is wrong, either with you or with somebody or something else.

This erroneous education in omnipotence is highly destructive to your peace of mind, simply because it is not in accordance with reality.

Sometimes things are the way you want and sometimes not. It is difficult to find any reason why one of these is more natural than the other.

What you want is a reflection of your physical and mental makeup and so-called external stimuli.

Reality, what is, reflects the way the world really works. Part of reality is your desires.

There is no inherent reason why they should, or should not, coincide at any moment.

Through study with a teacher who understands this deeply, through accurate meditation, and through associating with people of like mind who support your growing awareness, you become ever more familiar with things as they are.

Both the gaps and the absence of gaps between reality and your desires disturb you less.

When you can close a gap, you do.

When you cannot, you do not.

Either way, your inner peace and happiness are unaffected.

Life is easier.

Keep a notebook with you.

Each time things are the way you want, note the time and place.

Each time things are not the way you want, note the time and place.

Note the alternations with no obvious pattern.

Keep well,

Jonathan

Look around you. Listen to the sounds. Notice what seems to be happening.

This is not what is really happening but the picture your brain has constructed out of the sounds, sights and other sense information your body receives.

Now ask yourself, “What is really happening, if not what I think is happening?”

Immediately you will touch reality, emptiness. Not really empty, but empty only of everything you think is happening.

No clutter.

Simultaneously watch both the picture and reality.

There is peace, happiness flowing from the complete absence of anything that can disturb you.

Whatever is defined is unreal. Its apparent existence depends on its definition.

Whatever is real does not need to be defined – it already exists.

If you want a list of things that have no real existence, look in a dictionary. Every word in a dictionary has its definition. A dictionary with just a list of words would be useless.

Everything you know is defined, otherwise you could not recognize it.

Since whatever troubles you is known, when you realize it is also unreal the trouble is not found.

Sit in a quiet, comfortable, pleasant place.

Notice the sensation of your breathing.

The air goes in and out.

You can sense it as your chest moves.

You can feel it in your diaphragm.

You can sense the cool air entering your nostrils and the warm air leaving.

Just feel it…

Now watch your thoughts.

Your thoughts come and go.

The thoughts create structures, stories, films and dreams.

All your troubles are in these.

But none of them are real.

Keep well,

Jonathan