I used to wonder why nearly all of my Zen teachers we psychologists or psychotherapists. A little. I wondered a little. Later, however, in practice, it becomes obvious that one must acquire extremely uncommon forms of discrimination and expertise in working with the nature of the mind. One cannot understand birth, death, life, or reality ... in the abject absence of understanding the living mirror in which these matters arise and depart. That is the mind. With no understanding of the mind, pretending understanding of metaphysics or its lack... is absurd. In fact, most things are absurd... because the real basis of what we are first endowed with is mind. It is this we must become familiar with and, in careful ways, capable of speaking toward. Unlike our systems and models. Because those are its exhaust. The path requires ever-more careful reclarification or cleansing. Over time, this becomes an array of perspectival intelligences that are available to us as new options, new developmental invitations, new experiences of mind, intelligence, roles and nature. The vehicle becomes the careful disestablishment of its mimics. And this requires a deep intimacy with the actual natures of consciousness, thought and the mind. So, too, the emotions.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 20:26:29 +0000