By: Rebecca Li
In Chan, there is a teaching called the “mind of not knowing.” Some people misunderstand this expression, believing it means not using the mind to think, and thus they consider Chan practice to be about not thinking. That is not what the teaching is about, nor what Silent Illumination is about, and it is not what the Buddha taught. The mind of not knowing doesn’t mean not being discerning, nor does it mean not using our analytical capacity to consider the information we receive to make sound judgments and respond appropriately to situations we encounter in life. What it means is letting go of the unhelpful habit of believing we already know what is still unfolding in the present moment, and what is going to unfold in the next moment. Remember, every moment is the coming together of causes and conditions and is brand-new. This moment has never happened before. We may have experienced similar ones, but we are now a different person, and the exact current conditions are unique. It is an erroneous view to believe that we already know this emerging moment. This belief represents our attachment to conceptual thoughts, and it blocks us from paying close attention and being fully, clearly aware of what is emerging in the present.
From Illumination: A Guide To the Buddhist Method of No-Method