What is the Enlightenment
When we think about what is the Enlightenment, it is our real experience that we are, not in the world of mind, or in the world of matter, but we are just living in the real world actually, not only intellectually, or perceptively.
I guess that many people complain that such a simple fact can be recognized by everyone easily. But actually I think that there may be many people, who think that they are living in the world of mind, and at the same time there are many people, who think that they are living in the world of matter. And when we think the reason why such a strange fact occurs, the reason can not be known before the 20th century, and it was known in the 20th century, when the scientific knowledge of
psychology and physiology have developed so much.
However fortunately in 20th century human civilization has developed so much, and so it has become clear that in human body and mind, there is a nervous system, which is called the autonomic nervous system. And the autonomic nervous system is devided into two parts, that is, the sympathetic nervous system, and the parasympathtic nervous system. And the sympathetic nervous system is much related with human ability to think, and the parasympathetic nervous system is much related with human ability to perceive. Therefore a man, who has rather strong sympathetic nervous system, is prone to have an idealistic personality, and so he usually has consciousness, that he is living in the world of mind, and a person, who has rather a stronger parasympathetic nervous system, is prone to have an materialistic personality, and so he usually has consciousness, that he is living in the world of matter. And this facts suggest that whether we have a little stronger sympathetic nervous system, or a little stronger parasympathetic nervous system, decides whether we are idealist or materialist.
I guess that many people complain that such a simple fact can be recognized by everyone easily. But actually I think that there may be many people, who think that they are living in the world of mind, and at the same time there are many people, who think that they are living in the world of matter. And when we think the reason why such a strange fact occurs, the reason can not be known before the 20th century, and it was known in the 20th century, when the scientific knowledge of
psychology and physiology have developed so much.
However fortunately in 20th century human civilization has developed so much, and so it has become clear that in human body and mind, there is a nervous system, which is called the autonomic nervous system. And the autonomic nervous system is devided into two parts, that is, the sympathetic nervous system, and the parasympathtic nervous system. And the sympathetic nervous system is much related with human ability to think, and the parasympathetic nervous system is much related with human ability to perceive. Therefore a man, who has rather strong sympathetic nervous system, is prone to have an idealistic personality, and so he usually has consciousness, that he is living in the world of mind, and a person, who has rather a stronger parasympathetic nervous system, is prone to have an materialistic personality, and so he usually has consciousness, that he is living in the world of matter. And this facts suggest that whether we have a little stronger sympathetic nervous system, or a little stronger parasympathetic nervous system, decides whether we are idealist or materialist.
posted by GUDO NISHIJIMA | 8:05 AM
9 Comments:
Your teaching about enlightment and the nervous system is very interesting to me Nishijima Roshi. Thank you again for creating this blog.
So what is the experience when you balance the nervous system threw Zazen. How do you relate to thoughts? How do you relate to the world of matter? Perceptability also seems to be mental. If I am looking at huge house, my eyes can only see certain parts of the house at a time. My eyes jump back and forth very fast accumilating all the data but my mind actually makes the perception of the house. It seems nothing can be percieved without mental construct.
One person says I only believe what I can see. The otherside says I am religious and live my life by certain "truths" that are not perceptable to the eye. What would be living in enlightment? What is the experience of Middle ways truth? What reality does Zazen practice show?
Nishijima Roshi wrote: "I think that there may be many people, who think that they are living in the world of mind, and at the same time there are many people, who think that they are living in the world of matter."
I would like to point out the existence of a third group: "people who think that they are living in the world of reality." In other words, people who think that they might be enightened, because of understanding Buddhist theory. Even if they don't proclaim "I am enlightened," they issue their commentaries on Shobogenzo in such a way that gives others the impression that they are enlightened. They let it be known that they received the transmission of the Buddha-Dharma. Of course, they do not brag about it. But they let it be known. And so people who have the will to the truth are drawn to them.
Because of Nishjima Roshi's particular way of teaching Buddhism, with its heavy empahsis on clarification of Buddhist theory, he has attracted to him many such people with an arrogant tendency to think they have understood the Buddha's teaching. Yes, of course, I include myself.
I had confidence that I understood Buddhism clearly--just as so-called Zen Masters like Brad Warner, Michael Luetchford, James Cohen and the like, now manifest their own confidence. But the truth turned out to be that my way of sitting was conditioning the way that I saw everything, and my way of sitting was wrong.
Master Dogen's instruction is just to sit upright. My habitual response to this is to stiffen up, to brace, to hold myself. And because of this wrongness in my way of sitting, all my thoughts and feelings about what Buddhism is, and who I am, are upside down.
So I come back to my original question: How to sit? How to liberate myself from this prison of habitual reaction? How to shed this wrong pattern I have been practising for 45 years? How to drop off body and mind?
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An interesting vehicle for dialogue.
One of my personal challenges in life is a long-standing disconnect between my mind and body. (I can get a note from my shrink if necessary to back up this statement. The whole personal/professional opinion thingy.) :o)
"But actually I think that there may be many people, who think that they are living in the world of mind, and at the same time there are many people, who think that they are living in the world of matter."
Once upon a time, I existed without questioning my assumptions about how I live in the world. Now that's a recipe of suffering. I recognize those around me sometimes in that shadowland - exquisite in a cloud of certainty; the cloud still sneaks up on me on occasion. It's the cloud's job, after all.
Inquiry ROCKS!
3468 you might be interested in this:
(based on scientific research of zazen)
FRONTAL CORTEX – This is the most highly evolved part of the brain, responsible for reasoning, planning, emotions and self-conscious awareness. During meditation the frontal cortex tends to go off.
PARIETAL LOBE – This part of the brain processes sensory information orienting you in time and space. During meditation activity in parietal lobe slows down.
THALAMUS – The gatekeeper for the senses, this organ focuses your attention on by funneling some sensory data deeper in the brain and stopping other signals in their tracks. Meditation reduces the flow of incoming information to a trickle.
RETICULAR FORMATION – As the brain’s sentry, this structure receives incoming stimuli and puts the brain on alert, ready to respond. Meditating dials back the arousal signal.
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I do not see why people keep seeking a way to equate enlightenment with a physical explanation in current terms of understanding the world.
Attempting to render Now in terms of some transient nervous system or apparent chemical interactions flies right in the face of the original realisation.
Right now is who you are, right now is where you are, right now is what you do.
The perceived explanations as what passes as tangible reality is not relevant, it also is who, where and now.
Enlightenment is not what one gains by way of following practises and precepts but what one can apprehend by way of doing so.
"thirty years on the death row and I walked,
past a rose and life
so close!"
Jouni
For grim San
It is the human state for everyone to keep the equality between idealistic and materialistic consciousness.
There are two kinds of Enlightenment. The one is the balnced autonomic nervous system, and the other is the total grasp of the whole Buddhist philosophical system after the practice of Zazen everyday for more than 30 years.
I understand your state.
For philbob-squarehead San
I am very careful to utilize medicine. I think that modern medicine is like a sharp nife, and if the sharp nife has cut the physical and mental parts of body and mind, it might influence our body and mind so seriously.
For J&J San
Please ask a doctor.
For Lone Wolf San
Thank you very much for your estimation.
When I threw Zazen away, I would lose my confidence that I am balanced, and my thoughts are sometime idealistic, sometimes materialistic, and sometimes realistic. Sometimes I have a relation with matter, and sometimes I forget the existence of matter. Yes, perception is also a mental function, I think. I think what you said about perception is true.
Everyone can be sometimes materialist and sometimes can be idealist. In the enlightenment there is the balanced state.
For ReallyNotImportant San
Yes, what you expressed is true. We get the Truth intuitively with body and mind. I guess that you have experienced for your autonomic nervous system to become balanced. I do not know the biological reason, and so I would like to know it.
Congratulations for you overcoming acne! When our physical and mental conditions have become balanced, many kinds of healthy conditions appear. Even though I am not a doctor, I guess that your theory may be true.
Thank you very much for your explanations.
For Mike Cross San
Please do not worry about such a problem. Just to sit is the solution.
For 3468 San
Thank you very much for your professional knowledge as a doctor.
I do not have any intention to invade the physiological area.
However I hope you will have the idea of oneness between body and mind. Buddhism believe in the theory that body and mind are two faces of one real fact. Therfore body and mind do not exist separately, and so body and mind do not exist in the relation between cause and effect, but they are not two facts, which occur at the the same moment. They are just only one fact at the present moment.
I am a Buddhist monk, and so my physical knowledge is very poor, therefore I hope sincerely to have many friends, who have a lot of exact knowledge about physiological schiences.
For Harry Fishcake San
I sit everyday for only 30 minute each in the morning and at night, that's all.
For alanpitt San
Thank you very much for you to practice zazen everyday.
For DisheartenedGirl San
I think that it is very important for us to recognize that we are just living on the surface of the Earth actually.
For ryunin San
Thank you very much for your professional knowledge, but it is a little difficult for me.
For Ken San
It is also rather difficult for me.
For jilola San
The reason, why I want to combine Buddhism with Euro-Americah Civilization comes from my strong hope for the World to establish the Ultimate World Civilization.
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