Koans are paradoxical, nonsensical or confusing statements or questions used in Zen Buddhism to provoke deep contemplation and insight into the nature of reality and consciousness. Koans challenge the rational or conventional mind, encourage us to transcend illusions that create dualistic thinking and are a catalyst allowing us to directly experience the true nature and interconnectedness of all things. Through prolonged meditation and reflection on koans, individuals may attain moments of profound awakening or enlightenment where the true nature of reality is glimpsed.
Some of the koans below are discussed and others are left to the reader to contemplate.
What looks like a window is actually a mirror.
In quantum mechanics, light exists as a wave—a boundless flow of possibilities—yet, when observed, it manifests as particles, precise and finite.
This is called “The Observer Effect”. What we see is affected by us seeing it.
We experience reality via our senses but we rarely do.
Somewhere in the center of the now is the space before and after the now.
We experience the now from these spaces.
From the space before the now, the now is many different things.
From the space after the now, the now is a comedy.
“A man of wisdom delights at water” — Confucius
Reflections from slowly stirring water in a pond (as above) are like an everchanging abstract painting. The images we identify are illusions we create.
Water is like the universe: one thing and yet many things.
Water manifests in different shapes (clouds, rivers, oceans) and forms (vapor, liquid, and ice).
Water is interdependent, as a wave cannot be a wave without the sea.
Water is interconnected, from cloud to rain to river to sea.
As drops of water, we fear not rain over us. Together as a flood, water reigns over us.
On water we can calmly float or panic and sink.
While essential to life, water also brings drowning and death.
Sound travels four times faster and further in water than air, though we can’t hear underwater what someone next to us is saying.
Water is odorless and tasteless, yet present in everything that smells and tastes.
Though colorless in a glass, water has a bluish hue which is evident in large bodies of water like the ocean.
Water in lakes and oceans seems impassable, but the easiest path between places is by boat.
Still water is dead-silent. Moving water is alive with sounds.
In a pond, still water is clear and turbulent water opaque.
Seeing ourselves and surroundings in a reflecting pond, we don’t notice the water.
Water is impossible to grasp, but easily captured in cupped hands.
Water is weak, flowing to places of least resistance; unlike fire which destroys all in its way. Yet, water easily extinguishes fire.
While not hard like stone, high-pressure water cuts stone like it’s butter.
Unlike but a few other materials, water expands when it freezes. Thus, a quart of water weighs more than a quart of ice which is why ice floats on water.
Water symbolizes the cycle of life; born as drops of rain, living together in rivers and seas and disappearing as vapor to form clouds for its rebirth.
Water is what it is whatever it is, but how we see it is a reflection of who we are. A man of wisdom sees water variously. That’s the essence of wisdom.
How can we see an infinite number of individual things in the now, yet the now is indivisible?
What makes a man wise is the ability to see the perspectives of others. Yet, a man widely recognized as wise by others never sees himself as wise.
Every it is an illusion, except the it that is is.
Funny is the self that seriously seeks enlightenment, as the serious and seeking self distorts the light.
“Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.” — Voltaire
Every thing is forever changing, but the Everything is forever unchanged.
When our eyes are closed, we see with our ears. When our eyes are open, we can listen to our nose.
“Before you can find God, you must lose your self.” — Ball Shem Tov
Everything happens all at once but in different places or over time in the same place.
ChatGPT responds:
The statement you’ve made touches on some fundamental ideas related to the nature of time and space in physics and philosophy. Let’s break down its implications:
In summary, your statement touches on the complex and often paradoxical nature of time and space. It highlights the interplay between different perspectives, such as the relative nature of simultaneity and the idea of events existing within space-time, while also acknowledging our everyday experience of time as a linear progression. These ideas have fascinated physicists and philosophers for centuries, and they continue to be subjects of exploration and debate.
Though we are wee, yet the infinite and eternal.
Why is accidentally seeing our spiritual guru sexually engaged with a disciple in a meditation room funny, but not when the disciple is our spouse?
It is easy to fall asleep but difficult to awaken unless we know we are sleeping.
“I love to find the good inside everyone, even if that good is only me.” Robert Faithful
Being best is best, but good enough is better.
We can be certain we don’t know what we are looking at when we are certain we know what we are looking at.
We experience reality through our senses but remember it through our emotions.
Nothing is always the same as nothing is nothing, but no thing the same is the same.
All beings are illusions based on the illusion of the self as a being.
When everyone is laughing, there are no selves; just God laughing.
A selfish fool seeks to find God, for God is everywhere when you lose your self.
You cannot love every thing, unless you are the Everything.
When we distinguish our dreams from our memories, we are dreaming.
“Serving yourself is a form of idolatry.” — Kotzker Rebbe
The now is filled with descriptions, yet all descriptions are empty.
What’s odd is funny when it makes things that are not odd funny.
When we are present, we miss nothing until we have it again.
Are we free when we have more money than time or more time than money?
The now begins with M = E/C² and ends with E = MC².
M = Mass
E = Energy
C = Speed of Light
Before the now, all there is is Energy.
When Energy is slowed down by the speed of light squared, energy becomes Mass.
The Mass is the now.
When Mass accelerates to the speed of light squared, it reverts into Energy.
The process of Energy to Mass and back happens in an instant; again and again and again.
It happens so quickly, we don’t sense it happens. The mind creates an illusion of continuity and stability.
Every thing is nothing as it seems, as it is constantly changing.
Only the mind makes it seem otherwise.
Life is a play. It’s purpose is to play.
To play as your self’s various emotions at whatever your roles.
To play as to have fun in the process.
The brilliant reflect the sun’s light.
The wise emanate light to guide the way through the night.
While we are naturally eccentric, it’s difficult to be eccentric.
The universe is an infinite number of things, each with their own center; yet, there is only one center.
Awakening is always the same, all ways different.
No one is getting out of here alive but those emitting unconditional love.
Unconditional love comes only from the soul. The eternal universe is the manifestation of the soul.
Who I am is many things.
What I am is one thing.
The soul is selfish, yet is has no self.
“I don’t mind what happens.” — J. Krishnamurti
The “eternal what” is every thing before and after the now.
The is “what happens”; a temporary expression of the “eternal what”.
The “what happens” is a mirror of the “eternal what”.
The “eternal what” loves seeing itself in the mirror.
The love is divine love, peace beyond understanding.
The mind, the self’s emotions and memories, precludes us from seeing the “what happens”.
Though the mind we see only illusions.
When we don’t mind, we accept “what happens” and the illusions disappear.
Then we realize we are the “eternal what”.
With an infinite number of centers, the universe has no center.
Each thing our eyes focus on is a center.
Each of us is a center.
As the universe is the one and only thing, it has no center.
“He who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak.” — Lao Tzu
He who speaks is an actor in the play of life. He who know is the audience.
For actors, the play is a tragedy; as every actor eventually is scripted out of the play (dies).
For the audience, the play is a comedy. The audience is the Gods. The Gods are forever laughing at the actors (who are also Gods but often don’t remember they are) taking their selves seriously.
He who laughs cannot speak.
He who speaks is in the now. He cannot grasp the now, as a hand cannot grasp itself.
He who knows does not speak as only from the silent space outside the now can one observe and come to know the now.
He who speaks describes that which his consciousness creates; what his foveal vision carves out of peripheral vision.
He who knows does not speak, as peripheral vision defines specific description.
He who speaks creates a photo of the now.
He who knows does not speak, for the now is a movie.
He who speaks is a dot in a painting.
He who knows does not speak, for a painting is an infinite number of interdependent dots.
He who speaks does not know, as descriptions are empty; the now that’s described is now no longer.
He who knows the now does not speak, as the essence of the now is nothing.
A speaker’s words are like the finite and precise space inside a square.
The endless and everchanging now is like the imprecise space inside a circle.
He who knows does not speak, for a circle cannot be squared.
With one eye, we can see.
With two eyes, we have depth perception.
With one mind, we have a view.
With many minds, we have perspective.
Very few things affect us. What we think things are affects us.
How do you know whether you are seeing something through your eyes or mind?
The book with blank pages is only empty if that’s what we see.
Without a different perspective we have no perspective.
God is everywhere the self is not.
The Way to awakening is not to take your self seriously.
The way to begin the Way is not to take me seriously.
Life is a play; a tragedy for the actors and a comedy for the audience.
A tragedy as every actor eventually is scripted out of the play and dies.
A comedy as the actors that their selves seriously.
People are the actors and the gods is the audience.
We can always choose who we are, actors or gods.
Nothing, but nothing, is certain.
Those who are enlightened enlight others. Yet, everyone enlights the enlightened.
Seven thousand miles away is 14 hours away by way of flying. Yet, someone 10 feet away is often many years away in different ways; too far away for us to hear each other.
God is in plain sight, just hidden behind the self.
When we are present in the now, we are absent-minded of being in the now.
All things are constantly changing, yet there is nothing new under the sun.
All ways the best time in life can only be now.
“There are no facts, just interpretations.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
Every thing is temporarily unique and forever the same.
Something we see and can’t identify is fascinating.
Once we identify it, it becomes a noun and we relegate it to our peripheral vision.
Life is a game of hide and seek. We win by finding the soul before the soul finds us.
All we see in the now are reflections of light. When the now disappears, all that remains is light.
Time cannot be saved or spent.
We have freedom of speech as long as no one is listening.
However fast a river runs, it’s always in the same place.
When we are one with the universe, we miss nothing until we see it.
When one experience seems like another, we have experienced neither.
Whatever we are certain about is an illusion.
When we don’t forget from where we came we know where we are going.
Those who can’t distinguish between someone loving themselves and selfishness are selfish.
What you see outside your self looks different when you are outside your self.
How can the soul appear to transition into an infinite number of things?
If life is a test, those with more answers than questions are sure to fail.
When seeing something not unique, we are seeing it with our mind.
When the past is real, the present is an illusion.
We can’t open our eyes if we don’t know they are closed.
When we are the person we once were, we are nothing.
Until we know we know nothing, we know nothing.
When we realize everyone is God, we feel everyone loves us.
What was once and is no longer, never was.
No thing is perfect but nothing is perfect.
As there are few who have realized enlightenment, the unenlightened often think an enlightened life is lonely. That’s what makes them unenlightened.
Loving certain people, but not all people, is sentimental. Loving all people is practical.
Enlightenment is simple: one is one with the light. But it’s complicated by the unenlightened who can’t agree on what it is.
Every thing is always beautiful, but not all ways beautiful.
Those who love you, help keep you alive. Those you love are the reason you are alive.
As everyone describes the same thing differently, how can you understand anything unless you understand everyone?
What happens when we die?
What happens when we die!
When we die we transition from “Who” we are when we are in the now to “What” we are in the time before and after the now.
The “Who” is the self, our identity in the now.
The “What” is transcendental. The “What” is God.
In the Bible, God self-describes: “I am what I am.”
In several religious traditions, God is nameless; for if God is this, then God is not that. God is nameless because God is what it is whatever it is.
As every thing in the now is a manifestation of God, the “Who” is an expression of the “What”.
As the “Who” exists only in the now, the “Who” is finite.
Those who view themselves as solely a “Who” die when they are no longer in the now.
Those realizing they are the “What” are eternal beings, constantly transitioning from “What” to “Who” and to “What”.
Sleeping is a state of consciousness based on the illusion of knowledge.
Awakening is the realization we don’t know anything.
Enlightenment is knowing nothing.
When we understand all is One, is 1 + 1 = 1?
What are we thinking when we think we know what someone else is thinking?
The mind can grasp enlightenment as easily as a hand can grasp itself.
How can the now be eternally unchanged, yet the now that’s now is different than the now before now and the now after the now?
As each of us describes the same thing differently, is the same thing the same thing?
How do you know when you are looking at something whether you are seeing it through your eyes or your mind?
Are the brightest those who reflect the brightest light or those who emit light which reflects from everything around them?
When the mind lights the road ahead, day turns into night.
The foundation of wisdom is knowing you know nothing.
“Some things are too important to be taken seriously.” — Oscar Wilde
You find the soul when you lose your self.
When the self is absent, we are present.
Once you know nothing, there is nothing else you need to know.
We transform the now into words, the words become the now.
The senses connect us to reality and the mind disconnects us from reality.
No thing and nothing are both forever.
Every thing, but the Everything, creates duality.
When every thing is enlightening, you are enlightened.
An enlightened man loves every thing equally; though, in selfish moments, some things he likes and some things he doesn’t.
The sound of laughter indicates the truth is near.
There is no time, just space. Every thing that was, is and will be happens at the same time but in different spaces.
The memories we hold onto are real, until we open our hand and see there is nothing there.
A wise man may appear foolish being uncertain of every thing, but only a fool is certain of any thing.
The only thing certain is that we can never be certain of anything.
When we see something familiar, we are seeing it with our mind not our eyes.
As the now is now no longer, what does the mind clutch when it grasps the now?
“He learns so much. When does he have time to know anything?” — Kotzker Rebbe
We can come to know the now by observing the now. We cannot observe the now when we are engaged with the now.
To the curious mind, awareness of its ignorance is bliss.
Life is a test to which we are given the answer before taking the test. We always have a choice: we can remember the answer or take the test seriously.
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” — Heraclitus
You are in harmony with the world when you know who you are.
You are harmony when you know what you are.
“Enlightenment is like everyday consciousness, but two inches above the ground.” — D.T. Suzuki
Enlightenment is proverbially described as “being one with everything.” It is a state associated with the dissolution of the illusory self, transcending duality and realizing our oneness with the Everything.
Consciousness is consciousness. The consciousness of enlightenment is not different from the self’s consciousness in the now.
Describing enlightenment as being two inches above the ground seems the antithesis of enlightenment, as it implies separation/duality. No! Two inches above the ground implies enlightenment is transcendental, beyond our conventional understanding of the material world with forces like gravity.
The “ground” represents the now. When we are on the ground, we are in the now. Through the consciousness of the self, we experience the now as a duality: the self and all that is not the self.
The consciousness of enlightenment is observing the now which can be doing through meditation.
The now is breathing. We can observe the now when we are in the space between exhale and inhale.
In this silent space we realize we create the now and, once created, we are the now.
What do we see everywhere but rarely notice?
Light.
Things we see are not things, just light reflecting off things.
What we don’t see, the essence of all things, is also light. All things are energy slowed by the speed of light squared (E = MC²). Reformulated, mass is energy divided by the spend of light squared (M = E/C²).)
All things, outside and inside, are light.
Perceiving things otherwise, as solid or distinct from other things, is an illusion.
As all things are light, all things are enlightening.
When you see things as things are, what are you?
At the moment our senses awaken us, the mind puts us to sleep.
What separates people is not space but time.
Our days are numbered, but we have less time when we count them.
As every thing is unique, no thing is weird. But the mind is weird, as it sees things as normal or weird.
When we categorize others, we don’t know what they or we are.
To the eyes, every thing is unique because the eyes have no memory.
When you love everyone, it feels like everyone loves you.
Certainty makes us comfortable with reality because it’s not reality.
As enlightenment is so simple and obvious, it’s funny (as in odd) that some people don’t get it.
It’s actually funny when someone tries to explain it; like pointing their finger at the sun, yet the listener keeps looking at their finger.
Awakened, we don’t recognize any thing we see. Enlightened, there are no things, just light.
To the eyes, every thing is beautiful. To the mind, few things are beautiful.
Awakening is the realization that our memories are just dreams.
We move forward by walking backward, experiencing things only after they’ve passed.
Our eyes see things horizontally, but our mind sees things vertically.
The Way to Liberation is a long meal with many courses; some to our liking, some not; some salty, bitter, sour or sweet. The sweet dessert comes not at the end, but when the means and the ends are one.
As the hand cannot grasp itself, how can the mind grasp itself?
Once you know what you are is not your self, what else do you need to know?
“Love is the absence of judgement.” — Dali Lama XIV
“Where does a thought go when it’s forgotten?” — Sigmund Freud
“The most dangerous thing of all is habit.” — Kotzker Rebbe
Habits don’t kill you, but keep you from being alive.
Can you be enlightened if you are not enlightening?
“More important than writing is erasing.” — Kotzker Rebbe
“To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.” — Lao Tzu
“Now that I no longer desire all, I have it all without desire.”– St. John of the Cross
Eureka! All There Is Is Is.
Eureka means “I have found it.” Yet, there is nothing to be found as all there is is being and becoming; the Everything that is eternal and everchanging.
Acronym: EATIII (pronounced as “80”)
“8” is the symbol of infinity (∞) drawn vertically, reflecting the human form. Graphically, an endless knot constantly twisting and turning in different directions.
“8” is consciousness; infinite in time and everchanging as it is manifesting in the now.
“0” is a hole with two separate sides, inside and outside. However, their separateness is an illusion as they are interdependent; one cannot exist without the other. Together they are a whole, not a hole.
“0” is our experience of the now: an illusion of separate things that are actually one thing.
Both “8”and “0” are continuous, a flow with no beginning and no end.
Eureka! All there is is the flow of eternal consciousness; everchanging as it creates the now.
“Water is the face of fire.” — Kanako Iiyama
The appearance of things is unlike their true nature.
Water, like most things, slowly changes its form. Yet, beneath the surface, all things are rapidly and constantly changing, like fire.
Water is transparent and reflective. When we don’t see the fire within water, what we see is a reflection of our self.
We perceive the world as discrete things, like water and fire. However, all things are aspects of the same interconnected thing, the Everything.
This koan is Kanako’s family motto: how the family presents itself to others:
We are like water: calm, nourishing and practical. Yet, like fire, we can cause great destruction.
Time is like water, drink it or it evaporates.
Before and after the now, there is no time.
The now comes and goes in an instant, yet the now is eternal.
What is time?
The light we see disappears in an instant. The light itself is forever.
When you know what you are, you always appreciate who you are.
Everything is in the now. When you feel something is missing, the thing that’s missing is you.
You are what you are forever. Who you are is subject to change.
What is your Way:
Earth, fire, air or water?
Earth is physical.
Fire is emotional.
Air is conceptual.
Water is practical.
Rock, paper, or scissors?
Rock is nature.
Paper is civilization
Scissors is technology.
Red, yellow or blue?
Red is emotional.
Yellow is intuitive..
Blue is conceptual.
Knife, fork, spoon or chopsticks?
The soul and the self are complimentary. The soul emits energy. The self absorbs energy. What then happens with the energy?
The self that thinks it knows, only knows illusions.
“Speech and silence are one and the same.” — Fuketsu Ensho
It’s easy to equally divide a pie without knowing math, but impossible when you know the math of pi.
Those who seek will not find for what they are seeking is seeking.
The it is an illusion, but not when the it is what it is whatever it is. What is it?
When we choose to be loved over loving, we will surely die.
Love is connectedness that dispels the duality of self and not self.
When connected by love, our finite self merges with what we love, creating a “beyond self.”
The “beyond self” continues beyond the lifespan of our finite self.
The self that prioritizes being loved cannot be loving. It is a powerful and controlling self, but not powerful enough to survive death.
“Whoever gets angry, it is as if he worshipped idols” — Zohar 1:27b
Getting angry at some one or thing presumes it has an independent existence, like an idol. That denies the existence of God which is the interconnected oneness of every thing.
Love your self to escape from your self.
The devil is in the details.
Without details, all things are one thing: God.
We see “its” everywhere and rarely notice “is”, though all there is is is.
There are two types of vision, foveal and peripheral.
Foveal vision is when our eyes focus and we mentally create static images of seemingly independent things (“its”).
Peripheral vision is unfocused, where all things are one undifferentiable flow; the “is”. The “is” is reality; an ambiguous flow of interdependent and everchanging things beyond description, other than that it is what it is whatever it is.
While 99% of our visual field is peripheral vision, we think the illusions we create through foveal vision are reality.
The mind easily convinces us of the illusion that we can square a circle.
It’s impossible to construct a square with the same area as a given circle.
The space inside a circle is the product of multiplying the squared radius of the circle and π (pi)
π is a transcendental number; an infinite, non-repeating decimal expansion. That means the knowable space inside a circle is imprecise.
The space inside a square is precise.
As an imprecise space cannot precisely fill a precise space, a circle cannot be squared.
Transcendental numbers arise naturally in exponential growth and decay processes. They are used extensively in calculus, probability, and mathematical analysis.
Transcendental is also the nature of the universe; infinite expansion and everchanging.
The mind is a square and the universe is a circle.
The mind convinces us of the illusion that we know the universe. Yet, the universe is transcendental. It cannot be precisely known.
“Crow with no mouth” — Ikkyu, 1394 – 1481
Can a crow with no mouth caw?
Does a crow with no mouth have a craw?
Is a crow with no mouth a crow?
A crow with no mouth is a crow with no mouth; it is what it is whatever it is.
Crows are exceptionally intelligent birds. They can solve complex problems, use tools, and even recognize human faces. They are also highly adaptable and thrive in various environments. They are keen observers and can consider alternative strategies to realizing their goals.
Crows represent wisdom.
“He who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak.” — Lao Tzu.
As wisdom cannot be conveyed with words, a crow has no mouth.
How were my parents and I born at the same time?
When I was born on Earth, my parents were born somewhere 25 light years from Earth.
I am time.
An “enlightened master” with many students is a powerful illusion.
Enlightenment is realization every thing is essentially light.
What is calmer, the sea or me?
When we can’t identify what we are seeing, we are experiencing reality.
How can the now be infinitesimally small, yet contain an infinite number of things?
Is that so?
The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.
A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. One day, her parents discovered she was pregnant.
This angered her parents, especially as she refused to tell them who got her pregnant. Eventually, she told them Hakuin was the father.
Furious, the parents told everyone in the community what Hakuin had done and confronted the master.
“Is that so?” was all he said.
After the child was born, the parents gave it to Hakuin. By then, he had lost his reputation as a righteous man, but that did not trouble him. He accepted the child and took very good care of it as if it was his.
A year later, the baby’s mother could no longer hold back the truth. She told her parents the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fish market.
The girl’s parents immediately went to Hakuin. They asked for forgiveness and to have the child back.
Hakuin willingly gave them the child and all he said was: “Is that so?”
“Is that so?” encourages self-reflection and the questioning of assumptions we hold without doubts.
“Is that so?” Hakuin asks the girl’s parents to question their initial certainty that Hakuin fathered their daughter’s baby and their later certainty that he did not. Ultimately, no one knows who fathered the baby; even the mother might not know.
“Is that so?” simply suggests we consider things from many perspectives. This is the essence of wisdom.
Wisdom is knowing that perceived truths change (like the girl’s claim as to who fathered her baby) and that, ultimately, no thing is truly knowable.
The girl’s parents lack wisdom.
They also lack compassion as they carelessly ruin Hakuin’s reputation.
Hakuin, a man of wisdom and compassion, knows what he is and is unfazed by who others think he is.
Embodying wisdom and compassion, we gracefully accept what comes our way and make the best of it.
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
The Pope: “It depends on the size of the pin.”
The Zen master: “What’s a pin?”
“Does a dog have Buddha nature?”
This is the first and perhaps most famous of 48 Zen koans compiled in the early 13th century in “The Gateless Gate.”
To the question, the Zen Master Zhaozhou responded: “Mu.”
Mu means “nothing.”
A dog is a dog. Buddha nature, the innate potential for enlightenment, is a concept. Two seemingly independent things in the now.
Yet, all things before and after the now are one thing: nothing, mu.
What is it now?*
One day, a Zen master with a clay pot on a wooden table before him asked several students: “What is this?”
Some said it was a clay pot. Another said that it was an artifact. Another said it was an assemblage of clay and wood. Soon there were other perspectives as well. A lively debate ensued, while the Zen master shook his head and laughed.
One student approached the table and threw the pot to the ground, shattering it into many pieces. An audible silence enveloped the room, until the student asked: “What is it now?”
Silence again filled the room. Some students were shocked and others embarrassed by the aggressive arrogance of the student who shattered their master’s clay pot. Then the silence was shattered by laughter from the Zen master and the student.
The Zen master and student laughed as they recognized the other students were like the blind men in the “Ten Men and the Elephant” parable. Each certain of a their individual identification of the pot and the collective view that breaking the pot was disrespectful.
A pot is a pot, temporarily. All things are ever-changing. The pot cannot be described, as it is different now than it was in the now upon which the description is based. Those who know it can only say that it is what it is whatever it is.
*Courtesy of Bill Wisher.
Does a rock have consciousness?
Consciousness generally refers to the state of being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts, feelings, and sensations. It is the subjective experience of being alive and having a sense of self as separate from that which is not one’s self. However, what exactly is consciousness has been long debated by philosophers, theologians, linguists, and scientists and no consensus has emerged.
While a rock is a rock, what is a rock?
Is a rock an independent thing or something given agency by our consciousness?
If a rock is an independent thing, it may have consciousness that is beyond our general understanding of consciousness.
Alternatively, if a rock is an illusion created by our mind, a rock does not have consciousness.
Every thing in the now is interdependent and interconnected. That is, every thing is not a thing, but a facet of one ever-changing thing, the Everything. Things in the now that appear independent, like a rock, are illusions created by the mind.
As a rock is an illusion, it does not have consciousness.
If we don’t recognize our consciousness has created the things in the Everything, we have the consciousness of a rock.
Who are you?
I am a mountain range. I am the sea.
I am the Everything, but not specifically me.
I am everchanging, that’s what I be,
not who you think you see.
I am what I am. There’s nothing else to me.
Now is forever. Everything else is out of time.
“What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
Mu! (nothing). Sound, hand and clapping do not exist as independent things; as all things are interdependent; essentially one everchanging thing.
Sound, hand and clapping are illusions our consciousness creates. They appear in foveal vision which is what consciousness carves out of the flow that is peripheral vision.
The sound of one hand clapping is the sound of one hand clapping. It is what it is whatever it is.
How old is Buddha?
Which Buddha are you asking about?
How (in what way) is Buddha old?
How old is Buddha at which point in Buddha’s life?
How old is Buddha now or at another time?
Isn’t Buddha now one day older than Buddha was yesterday?
How old is Buddha where; on Earth or some place light years away?
How can Buddha be different in age than the Everything of which the Buddha is just a facet?
How can we know how old is Buddha as all things are forever changing, including the Buddha’s age as we speak?
Buddha is as old as Buddha is, whatever that is.
“The child is father of the man.” — William Wordsworth
Both those who think they are rich or poor are poor.
In the past and future are an infinite number of things. The now is only one thing.
The way forward is clear when looking backward from the end of days.
“There is nothing new under the sun.” — Ecclesiastes
As every thing is unique and everchanging, there is nothing new as newness doesn’t differentiate one thing from another.
There is nothing new as there are no things; just the Everything. The Everything is timeless, not old or new.
There is nothing new under the sun as the unchanging essence of all things is light. In Genesis, “In the beginning…God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light.” Everything else is a derivative of light or an illusion.
“Growing old, man’s sight worsens, but this allow him to see more.” Jewish proverb
The now is always the same, always new.
“Man plans, God laughs.” — Jewish proverb
“If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.” — Linji Yixuan
In the now, there is only one thing: the Everything.
The Everything is manifested as an infinite number of seemingly independent things.
Yet, as all things are interdependent, essentially all things are one thing.
Thinking of things (like the Buddha) as independent is an illusion.
Illusionary things create duality, the thing and all that is not the thing.
On the road to enlightenment, we need to vanquish all illusions to realize the oneness of the Everything.
What does the universe look like from the other side of the mind, where there is no mind?
“There is only one mind to which we are all connected. But that mind has its own mind.” — Simon Stark
“You already are what you want to become.” — Thich Nhat Hahn
Love is selfless. But when the self expresses love, that’s selfish.
As all here is is is, what is is?
I am nothing and here and now. What am I?
As God is the Everything, why is God rarely noticed in every thing?
As the now moves at incomprehensible speeds, how can our senses inform us of the now?”
The Earth is rotating at 1,037 miles/hour and revolving around the sun at 66,616 miles/hour. Our solar system is revolving around the center of the Milky Way galaxy on average at 514,000 miles/hour. The Milky Way is moving towards the Andromeda Galaxy at 1,339,200 miles/hour.
At these speeds, our senses cannot inform us of the now, yet the now seems stable and continuous.
Our mind slows everything down, creating the illusion of the now.
The mind is like a hand, only open when it lets go of whatever it holds tight.
The mind is an addicting medicine. It’s good for solving problems, but in doing so it creates other problems.
“The Universe is the everchanging expression of the Ever-Changeless Is.” — Joe Bruno
When a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Mu (nothing). There is no tree, forest or sound, as they are all manifestations of our consciousness.
The universe is not an infinite number of things; only one thing: the universe. Consciousness creates an infinite number of things out of the universe.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” — Shunryu Suzuki
Experts think of possibilities based on their experience. The inexperienced are not likewise constrained.
The universe is made up of matter. Our world is made up of stories.
“Having no destination, I am never lost.” — Ikkyu
Every thing is fascinating, but the mind can make it boring.
“You can not escape a prison if you do not know you’re in one.”
The mind creates a familiar and comforting world out of the seemingly chaotic universe. In so doing, it separates us, imprisoning us, from directly connecting with the universe as it is and, ultimately, realizing we are the universe. Unless we come to know we are prisoners of mind, we can never escape. To recognize we are in mind’s prison, we need to realize we don’t know anything. That’s scary, or at least our mind makes us feel it is.
“You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.” — Vernon Howard
The mind galvanizes in us desires that can never be satisfied but temporarily. This is how the mind distracts us from recognizing we are in its prison.
A good death defines a good life.
“When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose.” — Bob Dylan
When we have something we think we can lose, the something has us and to it we have lost our freedom.
“The way to live eternal life is in a state of perpetual orgasm.” — Karen Uppal
Orgasm is like the Big Bang, the moment when nothing transitioned into an infinite number of things; when we are one with the Everything.
Few words are every said at the moment of orgasm, other than: “Oh my God.”
“[I]t is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth.” — Matthew 15:10-20
When the inside becomes the outside, we are the creator. When there is no outside or inside, we are creation.
“Anyone who thinks they’re stupid is not as stupid as they think.” — Lee Moncho
As all things are everchanging, no thing is perfect but nothing is perfect.
Judging someone reveals less about who they are than who we are.
“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” — Lao Tzu
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
*Misattributed to Mark Twain but not inconsistent with Twain’s insights generally.
When we closely hold tight to who we think we are, we cannot be open to what we are.
“We don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are.” — Anais Nin
We don’t see things as they are, we only see light reflecting off things. Light is 0.0035% of the electromagnetic spectrum. Things look quite different when viewed from other parts of the spectrum (e.g., X-Rays).
Our eyes see the reflections. Our mind reflects on the reflections. Our mind’s reflections are a function of definitions and stories we’ve created about what we see.
Your life is a fascinating story. Perhaps you could imagine a better one, but then you would miss out on your life.
“Life goes on within you and without you.” — George Harrison
Why can’t a self-identifying vegetarian become enlightened?
“He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears.” — Michel de Montaigne
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean.” — Rumi
The enlightened experience life very differently than others, but know they are not different which is what makes them different.
“He who knows enough is enough will always have enough.” — Lao Tzu
It’s easy to satisfy our needs, but not our desires.
The right questions are more important than the right answers.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” — John 1:1, The Gospel of John.
God is the Everything; the now and before and after the now.
In the space before the now, there are no things; only energy, the invisible face of God.
The word is sound/vibration/energy: God.
In the beginning was energy, the energy was with God, the energy was God.
“What we see everywhere but rarely notice is our selves.” — Masako Nishi
“If I am I because I am I, and you are you because you are you, then I am I and you are you. But if I am I because you are you and you are you because I am I, then I am not I and you are not you!” — Kotzker Rebbe
When Moses encountered God in the desert, Moses asked God who he was. God said: “I am what I am.” That is, God is indescribable because God is the Everything. Any other description implies God is one thing and not another; the antithesis of God.
If I am what I am and you are what you are, I and you are God. However, if I define myself in terms of what I am not (you), I am not God.
If you are God, I treat you accordingly; as I treat myself.
A clear mind sees every thing and understands nothing.
The more you look the less you see.
We are all unique and the same, simultaneously.
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” — George Bernard Shaw
