Ineffable – incapable of being expressed Absolute Tao – “the mother of the world” Tao as creative function – Being comes out of Non-being So, Tao is the arbitrary name for the ineffable absolute and a force dependent on Non-being

Can Non-existence exist? One can conceive of the existence of Non-existence, but not the non- existence of Non-existence “To make Nonbeing effable is to rob it of its only distinguishing characteristic.” BUT, if Being comes from Nonbeing, it is no longer indeterminate

Does the sound of the bell come from the metal casting or the emptiness within? Bell = Being Emptiness = Nonbeing The bell is both the casting and the hollowness The emptiness is eternal, but the metal form is not

Space within the bell is made functional as long as it is delimited by the metal of the bell When released it loses its meaning and becomes nameless again All Being abides within Nonbeing Nonbeing is pre-ontological; it neither exists nor does not exist Despite its nothingness, space is potentiality.

There can be nothing without space Only by understanding Nonbeing as absolute and relative can we understand how it is the source of Being. – ream of paper Taoist aims to become spontaneous and responsive to the flow of events Zen and Taoism try to return to the source of personhood--no delusion

The goal of the Zen monk is to have no goal But no goal is not a negation; it is prior to affirmation or negation Rationally insoluble puzzles and koans Living with “no-mind” The self is the locus of a virtually infinite number of conditioning processes rather than anything permanent, AND …

Doctrine of no-mind is an extension of that idea State of no-mind is natural and spontaneous -- detached from self During zazen, thoughts occur but they should not be chased – completed No-mind is really nothingness-mind The mind is suspended in a state preceding the bestowal of meaning

Difference between non- conceptualized experience and thought Carrying the woman – first monk accepts the simple act for what it is; the second becomes involved in a thought process that leads to problems

“Following Nāgārjuna, it is unjustifiable to see any concept, even no-mind, as a perfect reflection of a non-linguistic entity” “the function of no-mind is to respond immediately to present experiential data” A passive state, but active in 2 ways

1) Act of will to break chain of thought, but can’t think about the effort 2) Full participation in the present Direct experience “Non-dualism is the ground of the everyday world” Gelassenheit reify

There is a true person of no status continually entering and exiting your sense organs “Since the person acquires meaning from the context in which he or she functions, Zen masters try to create a context of mu that eludes specific categorization or delimitation.”

Ah, the ancient pond. A frog makes the plunge; The sound of water. -- Bashō

A person, place or thing is just an idea invented to freeze the fluid flow of the world into objects that can be labeled and manipulated by adroit but shallow modes of mind. Beyond and behind these snapshots we take for ourselves is a vast and unnamable process.

The self (as a noun) is created as the (imaginary) subject of desire through an event that English won't even let us name: selfing. Stone

Batchelor: The 4 Noble Truths are the dogma of Buddhism and are what make it a religion separate from other religions’ beliefs, but they are not dogmas to be believed – “they are challenges to act.” Understand anguish (worry) and it loses its power over us.

Letting go of craving is not rejecting it but allowing it to be itself: a contingent state of mind that once arisen will pass away. Emptiness is the unimpeded contingency of things emerging from conditions only to become conditions for something else.

The realization of emptiness (cessation of craving) lasts only an instant and then we are back in the fog of craving, but we now know it’s possible. Awakening is not a thing but a process – and this process is the path itself. So we must cultivate the path.

Understand Anguish Let go of Craving Realize Cessation Cultivate the Path These are not separate activities – not stages but interrelated Awakening is indeed far away-and readily accessible.