No Discipline, No Doing; Just Here

Confusion happened when achieving a thoughtless state became more important than just being. Especially where meditation is concerned, thoughtlessness became the end all be all. This is a huge misunderstanding. Some teachers, and I was one, have prescribed "dissolution of mind," which the ego hears as, "stop thoughts." How is there to be any realization, ie. the realization that you are not, if you are under the impression that you are stopping something. Stopping may happen, but it is this idea, "I am doing it" that keeps the illusion going.

Practice may be useful for achieving a thoughtless state, but as far as waking up is concerned, it is a postponement. The truth is: even if you achieve a thoughtless state through discipline, you are still under the impression that you did something, and that you were successful. Then the story begins, "If I was reasonably successful at this, what other things can I achieve?" "How about enlightenment?" Consequently, striving and seeking begin.

It was so simple that it was missed. The zen cane, the koans, all of it, were not trying to create a thoughtless state, but were pointing to here and now. It is here and now that is the jewel. It is here and now, that you are seen to not be separate. The mind cannot do anything with here now. It can only do something with future. Here and now, there is no ego. Ego is an afterthought. No dissolution is required. See for yourself.

When a thoughtless state becomes more important than here, The ego undertakes a spiritual practices to get there, which is a fantasy. Simple teachings, like those given by a gong, a bird, raindrops, a rose, are all misunderstood. They all are pointing to the same thing, "here and now." The problem is that teachings like the eightfold path, the ten commandments, etc. become more important than waking up. At best, the mind simplifies the teaching into one command that it can follow. "Be here." Then the individual struggles to be more here. The simplicity of hereness is missed. It has become about "me" being here. It was never about you.

The masters point to just here. They do not point to you're ego being here. They don't point to your practicing being here. They fully understand that "I" is the illusion. They just point to here.