Zen Inertia

[JohnsonCM]

Re: Zen Inertia

Yes, exactly. I would only add that it takes time to fill that "void," and those efforts to fill it are our practice off the cushion as we try to live up to what we discover on the cushion.

Perhaps, then, the inertia is necessary. Maybe we need the gradual alignment in order to fully experience it. It seems to me, especially after this thread, that maybe the idea of a sudden "kensho" experience would leave out the multitude of degrees of experience that this gradual 'inertia' or 'mind as battleship turning' would give us.

[Shokai]

Re: Zen Inertia

I received a sudden jolt forty-two years ago, under a build up of stress. Back then it was explained as an unusual altered state that could hold one in good stead if and when you returned. The jolt was a sudden letting go followed by a night of dreams that took me back over every experience up to that moment; a fascinating and scary night. I returned to "normal" after a few days and the inertia kicked back in. It's taken at least this forty years for the pieces to begin to fall into place and I don't ever expect for it to end. If that had happened today i think the psychiatric response would be much different, as I believe we have learned tremendous amount of how the brain operates since then.

[Heisoku]

Re: Zen Inertia

It seems to me, especially after this thread, that maybe the idea of a sudden "kensho" experience would leave out the multitude of degrees of experience that this gradual 'inertia' or 'mind as battleship turning' would give us.

Sudden and gradual are temporal....perhaps that which is beyond sudden and gradual is the frictionless, inertia free-dom. And since all reactions to either are just phenomena, where does the battleship turn or turn in to?

Come on Al mix some more metaphors into this!!! :twisted:

[AlanLa]

Re: Zen Inertia

I will take up Nigel's mixed metaphor challenge.

As the dharma wheel turns it picks up speed, but do our other gears ever grind to a halt? Or do we become One Body?
Yes :mrgreen:

(It's a serious Q/A that I admit to having fun with :wink: )

[JohnsonCM]

Re: Zen Inertia

The Wheel of the Dharma turns as it turns, the hem of my robe merely caught on a spoke.

[Heisoku]

Re: Zen Inertia

Good one Al and Heitetsu...here's my effort..

The Dharma Wheel turns, freewheeling into a freewheeling universe, but who moves?

[AlanLa]

Re: Zen Inertia

It appears this thread has created its own metaphorical inertia :lol:
Oh, where will it end?

[Heisoku]

Re: Zen Inertia

[AlanLa]

Re: Zen Inertia

MIxed metaphors seem right at home in zen, don't they? Very zennie, they are.

But seriously,

As the dharma wheel turns it picks up speed, but do our other gears ever grind to a halt? Or do we become One Body?

I feel there are two inertial processes going on in us zennists. First, as we progress along the Way the dharma wheel picks up speed. We gather momentum, the inertia of a "non-self" body in motion wanting to stay in motion. But, second, we also have a "self" that has probably been around a lot longer than our dharma wheel and thus has lots more momentum and inertial desire to stay in motion. To try and make things clearer, let's call this inertial self "samsara" and give him gears instead of a dharma wheel. So, at some point, if you practice long enough and diligently enough, the dharma wheel force will begin to be stronger than the force of samsara's gears. But do samsara's gears ever grind to a halt? Maybe not, but they do slow down. More importantly, there is no need for those gears to stop because we are One Body where far beyond delusion nirvana is already here. But it takes many trials for us to truly learn that and live within that knowledge, just as it took many trials (lessons) before the dharma wheel overtook samsara gears.

Personally, the more I practice the more good days I have than bad. Though bad days still happen, the dharma wheel momentum is clearly outpacing samsara's gears. As for the wholeness of the One Body, it is getting clearer all the time as the dharma wheel picks up speed. And somewhere in all that space/time is where I sit....

[Heisoku]

Re: Zen Inertia

Al in this analogy would the synchromesh be the 5 skandas?

But do samsara's gears ever grind to a halt?

Would that be only when the synchromesh becomes disfunctional or with no synchromesh? Or does a gear change happen? One that is too subtle for us to first recognise? One that reprogrammesthe synchromesh to make the gears and wheel move more harmoniously?

But at a deeper level everything has changed because my perspective has changed.

Maybe you have shifted into a more subtle gear ratio?

Maybe enlightenment is a continuous refinement of this harmony rather than a single event producing a constant state. Perhaps the natural harmonious adjustment to flux is the enlightenment within since we all have to produce our own gear shifts and harmonious adjustments?

I'm riding the clutch on my car at the moment so every drive is a continuous copnstant stream of adjustments? Do I mind..well it's getting really boring but it's finding time to get to the garage.. a bit like some days when the zafu is far from top priority!
I will be on one tomorrow morning!!
Thanks Al for this stimulus!

[AlanLa]

Re: Zen Inertia

:? Oh NIgel, you English and your English. I had to look up synchromesh :? But I'm good to go now...

I'm not sure that five gears corresponding to speed also correspond to different phenomenon, though it does seem sort of close. Maybe you can clarify that a bit more. I suppose it could, but that's not how I see it or was trying to explain it. I was trying to keep it simple ( :shock: ) and relate life to momentum, consisting of force, mass, and that sort of thing. But I think you gave me a new twist on an old Jundo analogy, and I will try hard not to mix my metaphors here.

Our "self" creates lots of force and mass and momentum, and thus an "I" gets created. The older you get the greater that force and mass and momentum can become. Then one day you encounter Mount Zen (insert dramatic music here). Curious, self-involved, and desirous (perhaps to the point of desperation), you decide to climb this mountain. You then use all that force and mass and momentous self to try and climb that mountain, but it is really steep so you have to keep downshifting those gears (synchromesh ) in order to make any progress. Your self finds this very frustrating. Plus, it's a very cloudy mountain, so you don't ever get a very good view of the top, though you have heard GREAT things about it. Unfortunately, this combination of fog and steep climb that requires tremendous effort combined with a promise of GREATNESS at the top just means you expend more of your self to try and get there. You begin to realize that the mountain has its own force, mass, and momentum. Mount Zen does not give up easy. (Though it could just as easily be a river valley you climb down, for in the fog who knows where you are going or what is up and down?)

You climb and climb and then you suddenly level out and hit a downslope. "WOW! Yeah! WooHoo!!" you exclaim. The work is suddenly easy and clear, so you think you are done. Naturally, you coast; you relax all your gears. The mountain lets up on you, and for a moment you can see through the fog, or so it seems. This is it! I reached the top, you think. But as you celebrate you look around and notice that you can't really see any actual top of the mountain, just more trail. You get confused. Wait a minute, you say to your self, "I thought this was it. What's this? There's more to go? Shit! Damn! What was the f*&% point of this damn climb anyway!" Chaos hits you. The mountain has its way with you for a while. Maybe you say the hell with it and ride back down, or maybe you rest a while and then say, "Hmm, I like this climb. I think I'll try some more. It's been a hell of a ride but I came this far so I may as well go further. I am beginning to like this mountain. I am getting the feel of it. I get the idea that it has more to offer than just this supposedly great view at the top."

Repeat ad infinitum...

What gets lost in all this is that you (self) and the mountain (samsara) are ONE. There is no mountain without a rider to climb it, nor is there any one without a mountain to climb. The mountain is just as empty as the self that climbs it; each depends on the other. The only way to the top of the mountain is to realize that it's just the ride that counts, because then the top is also empty, and so is the ride

But DAMN, don't we make it a BITCH

[Heisoku]

Re: Zen Inertia

Hi Al...you are right in that I was mixing analaogies and metaphors. I will think about the gears/ skandas one another time! :roll:

As for momentum, mass and force...yup I can see the 'I' being created from this and how inertia will cause us to find gear changes to enable this self to continue (in its deluded way). I can also sense the frustration of how our manual gearbox gets frustrating ( in repeating the shifts) and tiring to keep adjusting!
However somewhere on Mount Zen we meet a mechanic, who tells us about an easier way to drive...where uphill struggles and downhill acceleration can be taken in one's stride (the Gateless Gate). We sit and wait and suddenly..but not necessarily at the top of the mountain....we are told that we have a new gearbox(!) ..it's an automatic.. now all we have to do is focus on making steering decisions...wow this seems so much easier than clunking through gears!
Thanks zen mechanic...why couldn't I see this option before? :|

[Shokai]

Re: Zen Inertia

Not an "automatic transmission!" I don't think my donkey has one of those

[Heisoku]

Re: Zen Inertia

Oh no I'm mixing analogies, metaphors and modes of transport !!!!!! :shock:

[AlanLa]

Re: Zen Inertia

Wasn't there a book about this? Yes, I think it was called "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Synchromesh" :roll: :lol:

Actually, now that I did that whole mountain and gears parable I don't like it so much. I was trying to fit what I've been talking about with the synchromesh because it's such a fun word and concept to play with. Anyway, I might come up with another story that fits better, but it will not be the above title.