DOT TO DOT ZEN
A Primer of Buddhist Psychology
DOT TO DOT ZEN
A Primer of Buddhist Psychology
Gerald L. Ericksen
Published in the United States in 1993 by
Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc. of Rutland, Vermont Tokyo, Japan,
with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759 U.S.A
Copyright © 1993 Gerald L. Ericksen
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
prior permission from the publisher.
Libraiy of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ericksen, Gerald L., 1931-
Dot to dot Zen : a primer of Buddhist psychology / Gerald L.
Ericksen.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4629-0109-8
1. Buddhism—Psychology.
I. Title BQ4570.P76E75 1993
294.3'422—dc20
92-5665
CIP
Cover design by Mary Ericksen
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES ON ACID-FREE PAPER
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Connected moments of insight are gratefully acknowledged: forms of expression from Linda Smith, quiet feelings from Godwin Samaratna's Meditation Center, new perceptions from John Holt's Fulbright program, supportive volition from my family, and a heightened consciousness of Zen from Padmasiri de Silva.
Preface
The following pages may be viewed as a small mirror, reflecting ancient Asian concepts of mind and body. Repeated three part segments are interwoven in the spirit of Buddhist psychology which is, simultaneously, an act of direct experience and a perception of the act: both doer and observer; both the understanding mind and the mind understood.
Visual koans in the form of dot-to-dots, together with brief excerpts or reflections of classical Oriental aphorisms and metaphors which the images represent; a brief interpretation of the teachings; and an integrated sequence of practical meditational thoughts are the repetitive forms selected for this interaction of hand, eye and mind.
Each set represents a step on an ordered path, leading from confusion to a centering of the self.
THE DEVIL OF CONFUSION
— The Path, Dhammapada
Our path begins with a realization that suffering arises from confusion. The nature of this confusion is not knowing where to begin to understand the reality of our self.
Focus on the breath passing through your nose...
What is the boundary between then and now? If now touches the future, is it before? If time flees everywhere, to where does it return? If forms are one at their center, are centers everything? From endless speculations about time and space, shifting uncertainties arise in our mind. Such speculations do not lie on our path of direct experience that leads away from mental anguish.
Don't force breathing, just focus on it.
The degree to which we are bent with suffering changes with the observer. Our task is to let go of old perspectives and to let fall away enslaving attachments with prescribed beginnings and endings. Our own thoughts are what make us suffer for our weaknesses. By understanding our thoughts and our weaknesses, we can learn from them. In this way, enemies become teachers.
If your mind wanders, bring it back to breathing...
Meditation, as a technique, is a clearing of our vision to see reality as it presents itself, from unifying moment to unifying moment. In this way, specks of imperfection in perceptions of our self, as well as of others, tend to dissolve in a flow of choiceless awareness, undistorted by our own emotions.
If there is outside noise, note it, and return to breathing...
Meditation, as a technique, is a calming and centering of our complex mind. We attempt to focus our mind in order to experience an ever changing reality.
Just breathe...
The experienced reality of breathing is taken as a first line of attack on the suffering of the mind, for, without breath, the mind cannot work; feelings, perceptions, emotions and ideas vanish. Resting upon such an insubstantial, impermanent reality as breath, the seemingly complex mind bares its hollow core.
If thoughts arise, let them arise and fall away...
If sensations arise, let them arise and fall away...
THE MIND IS FICKLE AND FLIGHTY
AND IT FLEES AFTER FANCIES
WHEREVER IT LIKES
— The Mind, Dhammapada
The senses of eye, ear, nose, tongue and touch never vote with the mind on the issue of attachment. Each goes its own way, seeking its own ends. An old proverb relates how, if bound together by ropes with a common knot, the crocodile tries to run to water, the dog to a village, the fox to a cemetery, the monkey to a forest, and the snake to an anthill, while the bird tries to fly into the sky. The ultimate goal of this path is a vanishing, a complete disappearance of anguish brought on by the baffling array of sense attachments. In this way, the goal is no goal.
Reducing thoughts makes intervals between thoughts...
Guilt driven suffering is viewed as a thought from the past, no more substantial than any other mental component or sense impression. The changing components of our mind do not belong to any permanent self and certainly not to anyone else. Thus, we can free our mind from pain brought on by others. By flying, the swan becomes swan-like; and, by watching, the changing mind is freed.
Use your intervals to concentrate on breathing...