Too much thinking
Brad's response prompted these thoughts -
Zensters tend to emphasise not thinking or at least not getting lost in thinking. Yet there is nothing written in books or online which is not thinking including the many admonishments not to think so much. And there are great Buddhist thinkers such as Nagarjuna who are as abstract as any western philosopher. So, where do we draw the line? When does thinking become 'too much' thinking?
My Godo, Guy Mercier, doesn't teach that we should stop thoughts, just always to pay attention, so when there is thinking, there is just that thinking without absorption into that thinking. I like the idea of thoughts as just another bodily function.
I would suggest that too much thinking is when thought is treated as if it was reality, when we 'enter the Matrix' as it were. The purpose of Nagarjuna's abstract thoughts is not to believe a philosophy of emptiness, but to direct us back to emptiness, to reality, by showing the emptiness of all phenomena including his own views.
posted by Shonin @ Friday, March 24, 2006
6 comments
6 Comments:
I agree totally. I particularly like the idea of thoughts as just another bodily function.
If there was some 'ban' on thoughts or verbal communication about Buddhist realization such that all we had was zazen alone with no books, lectures, or blogs. etc., I'm certain the realizations would never have gotten out. Buddhism would be extinct.
I see it as perception is heavily influenced by one's perspective. You can't really have pure perception - all sensory input must be processed so some degree. The 'perspective' that one uses to process these inputs is built in part from one's intellectual understanding of reality - thus thoughts are necessary.
Zen (and science for that matter) provide a perspective that has a VERY tight fit to reality.
I guess we could return to the idea of balance. When does thinking generate an unbalanced state? Is this idea of balance just that - an idea? or is there some reality to it?
I can no more stop my mind from thinking than I can stop my lungs from breathing; both will happen when I die. But I am no more my thoughts than I am my breath.
I'm not saying these are "bad thoughts" or anything. In fact, I agree with some of what was written in that last post. But the problem with it was also pretty easy to see. It's like any "Eureka!" moment. It has its value. But we tend to fixate on those moments. You need to be very careful about this. ALL INSIGHTS are ultimately just moments of mental excitement. They are not the real point. Don't back into the garbage cans at the end of the driveway while revelling in your marvelous insights.
Thanks Brad. Maybe I should find a teacher... you demonstrate their value perfectly.
Sounds about right to me.
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