THE PRACTICE OF NON-RESISTANCE

Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead, let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come? - Rumi.

There are, as I see it, a number of important metaphysical laws that govern not only our lives but all of reality. All these laws can be seen to be corollaries of the one, great ‘law of mind’ (also known as the ‘law of life’ and ‘law of being’) that postulates that whatever comes or happens to you will be in accordance with your consciousness. Another way of saying that is, ‘Like Attracts Like.’ Birds of a feather flock together. As you sow, so shall you reap (cf Gal 6:7).

For example, there is the law, ‘What We Think Upon Grows.’ If we continually dwell upon negative thoughts and images, we should not be surprised to find ourselves becoming more and more unhappy, and negative, as time goes by. The maxim, ‘as within, so without’ (that is, ‘the inner determines the outer’), is closely allied to this law. We tend to become more-or-less what we habitually imagine, or ‘image,’ ourselves to be, for ‘as we think so we are’ (Prov 23:7).

Then there’s the metaphysical law that says, ‘Don’t Try, Let.’ That sounds counter-intuitive because we all know that if we want to achieve something that requires hard work, study, and perseverance, we need to try, at the very least. However, when it comes to psycho-spiritual reality---for example, when one desires to be rid of some addiction over which one has no personal or conscious control---the ‘secret’ for success is to … let go … hand over … surrender. There’s a related law here, ‘Effort Defeats Itself.’ Both laws only apply to the psycho-spiritual realm.

Another metaphysical law is, ‘Self Cannot Change Self.’ Readers of my blog know this is to a very familiar theme of mine. ‘Self’ is simply image in a person, and has no separate, independent, permanent reality of its own. Images of self come and go, wax and wane. They are not the real person that you are. Obsession with the ‘self’ is a terrible problem, and we need to find and use a ‘power-not-oneself’ to overcome self-obsession, self-centredness, and self-absorption. There are two reasons why we need the assistance of a ‘power-not-oneself.’ I’ve already referred to the first reason, namely, that self has no separate, independent, permanent reality of its own. It is ‘illusory’ in that sense, and has no power except that which we give it by our attention to it. The second reason why we need the assistance of a ‘power-not-oneself’ is that no effort of the self can ever remove the self … because self is the problem.

Here’s another important metaphysical law, ‘What We Resist Persists.’ This law is sometimes referred to as the ‘law of non-resistance.’ Now, we’ve all had this experience. We are lying in bed at night, trying ever so hard to fall asleep. We hear a tap (faucet) dripping in the bathroom. Drip. Drip. Drip. The more annoyed we get at the dripping noise, the louder---so it seems---the dripping becomes. Of course, the sound of the dripping has not really got any louder, but it certainly seems and sounds like it has---all because we failed to exercise non-resistance. Whatever we resist mentally, we endow with more power---power that the thing or person would not otherwise have, but for the attention we are giving it. Don't give your power away. You need all of it.

True inner mastery---not to mention happiness and peace of mind---occurs only when we let things unfold as they will, that is, when we resist not, cling not, and linger not---when we go with the flow. And while I’m on the subject of water flowing and dripping, have you ever noticed that water always flows according to the line of least resistance? It’s true, you know. New Thought writer Florence Scovel Shinn (pictured left), in her book The Game of Life (and How to Play It), writes: ‘The Chinese say that water is the most powerful element, because it is perfectly non-resistant. It can wear away a rock, and sweep all before it.’ I think there’s an important lesson in that for us as well. Each one of us is a ‘river of life,’ both an inlet and an outlet of the flow and livingness of life. So, the way to live according to our true nature is to go with the flow---the flow of life, that is. I’m not advising you to go with the crowd. That’s not the way to go.

Aristotle (pictured below right) wrote, ‘Resistance is the cause of every monstrosity.’ What did he mean by ‘monstrosity’? Well, it might be an illness, a heartache, a failure in business, a breakdown in a relationship. Resistance is a refusal to change, and as truth is dynamic and never static---it changes from moment to moment---we have only two choices. We either adjust to what is, or we stay as we are---maladjusted. The choice is ours.

The Indian spiritual philosopher J. Krishnamurti uttered these immortal words: ‘In the acknowledgement of what is, there is the cessation of all conflict.’ It is not what happens to us that makes or breaks us, it is how we react---or rather respond---to what happens to us that determines who and what we are and will become. There’s more to it, still. If we can ‘acknowledge’---that is, observe, note, notice, but not judge, analyze, criticize or condemn---what happens in and as our life experience from one moment to the next, that is, if we can accept what is as what is, there will be no resistance, conflict or inner turmoil. Then, and only then, can we know peace and have serenity.

We don’t have to ‘like’ what happens to us in order for there to be an ‘acknowledgement.’ That will often not be possible or appropriate. More importantly, forming a ‘liking,’ or a ‘disliking’ for that matter, is an act of judgment, and once we judge something, we are attached to it. The result? Conflict. Resistance. Positive or negative. Just look, observe, note, and notice. But don’t judge or analyze. That is so important.

The law of non-resistance can be found in almost all sacred scriptures. Take the Bible, for instance. We are told to 'judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment' (Jn 7:24), and to 'resist not evil' (Mt 5:39). Then, there’s this wonderful advice: ‘Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison’ (Mt 5:25). The Biblical advice to 'love your enemy' (Mt 5:44) is also directed at what we should do when confronted by internal enemies, for example, negative thoughts in our own mind. They, too, are 'adversaries,' that need to be dealt with properly. And when it comes to external adversaries, the New Thought minister and writer Dr Emmet Fox used to say, ‘God is on both sides of the bargaining table.’ What good advice when it comes to negotiations and bargaining! A consensus-oriented approach and solution is so much better than having some third party dictate the outcome. Here’s some more wisdom, this time from Leo Tolstoy: ‘Do not resist the evil-doer and take no part in doing so … and no one in the world will be able to enslave you.’

There is a deeper meaning to that last mentioned verse. Your ‘adversary,’ spiritually speaking, is your own negative thought or mindset of resistance. You ‘agree’ with your resistance when you cease to resist, and if you do that ‘quickly’ you will not sow the seeds for an adverse judgment (unpleasant manifestation) in your life. In that regard, the American spiritual teacher Vernon Howard, whose writings and lectures have had a big impact on my life, said this: 'Resistance to the disturbance is the disturbance.' Get the picture?

Now, this may come as a shock to some of you. Much resistance takes the form of resentment. Indeed, they all too often go hand-in-hand. We resist something because we would rather feel negative about that thing than positive. The latter---feeling positive---is harder to do, so we take the view, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously, that if we can’t have things exactly as we would like them to be, well, at least we have our anger and resentment to nurture. The English word resentment comes from two Latin words, re and sentire, meaning to re-feel. When you nurture a hurt, and refuse to let it go, you re-feel it over and over again. In the process, you continually re-infect the wound. Resentment is bad news. Nothing blocks psycho-spiritual power more than resentment. It’s the number one offender.

Although it is not always readily discernible, there is a certain ‘rhythm’ to life, and we need to be attuned to it. One of all-time favourite books is In Tune with the Infinite, by the New Thought writer Ralph Waldo Trine (pictured left). The title alone says it all. Here’s some good advice from that book: ‘To be at one with God is to be at peace ... peace is to be found only within, and unless one finds it there he will never find it at all. Peace lies not in the external world. It lies within one's own soul.’

Here are four practical implications that flow from the law of non-resistance. First, the only person each of us can change is ourself, and the only way to change is to change the content of one’s consciousness. When we change our thoughts, we change our attitudes about life, and then our whole outlook upon life will change for the better. Trite but ever so true. Secondly, the more we fight against what is, the unhappier and less successful we will be. Resistance always results in a lack of psycho-spiritual power. Thirdly, it’s not so much what happens to us in life that makes or breaks us, it’s our response to what happens that is truly determinative of happiness and success. Fourthly, live mindfully---as opposed to mindlessly---from one moment to the next, keeping your attention focused on the present moment, where your body is now, lest trouble befall you.

The Bible says, ‘Acquaint now thyself with [the Divine], and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto you’ (Job 22: 21). What that verse is saying is---get in touch right now with the proper rhythm or flow of life, and be ‘at-one’ with that in your consciousness, then things will turn out good for you (‘good’ meaning a state of affairs that satisfies all your real needs). Why? Because you will have established yourself in the true nature and character of life itself. Angels can do no better.

So, resist not---and stay in tune with the infinite.

SEND FORTH YOUR WORD---AND IT SHALL BE DONE

Have you heard of New Thought? It's a self-help movement, and a way of constructive thinking and living. Now, don't get me wrong. I have both feet firmly planted on the ground---well, most of the time---so I am not really into New Age thinking, prosperity consciousness, and the like. However, I have had a long and happy association with a couple of churches that emphasize a metaphysical approach to life and which construe and interpret sacred scripture, not literally, but allegorically and symbolically.

The truth is that all sacred scripture and mythology is written in figurative and symbolical language. Take the Bible, for instance. It's all about you---indeed, every person---and your journey through life. It's all about how you can use your mind to your greatest advantage as well as to the advantage of others. One of the greatest New Thought ministers of all time, Dr Emmet Fox, wrote,  'I wish that every Bible had printed on the cover, “This means ME,” because everything in the Bible is a study in human psychology and metaphysics.' Ditto the Quran and all other sacred books.

In recent times a number of books have been written that espouse the almost heretical view that positive thinking is not the way to go. Rather, we should engage in ‘realistic thinking.’ What these writers don’t seem to realize is that true positive thinking is realistic thinking. I repeat, positive thinking is realistic thinking. The fair dinkum positive thinker does not see the world through rose-colored glasses. No, he or she sees things as they really are, but simply refuses to give power to the negative. Some difficulties and problems in life are insoluble, but there is always a way of responding effectively to them, even if that sometimes means living with the difficulty or problem. Yes, despite what some New Thoughters have asserted, no amount of positive thinking will change some cold, hard facts, but it can nevertheless help you to rise above, or simply accept, the harsh side of life.

In short, I have never found it helpful to engage in negative thinking. As I see it, you can be both positive and realistic at the same time. I will, however, say this. Contrary to what my old spiritual mentor Dr Norman Vincent Peale (pictured above) used to preach, I no longer think it’s necessary to always substitute a positive thought for a negative thought that arises, and as soon as it arises, in consciousness. The regular practice of mindfulness has taught me that it is more often than not sufficient to simply observe and note the negative thought, but refuse to give it any more attention than that---and certainly no power over you. Observe, note, but don't dwell on the negative thought.

Now, when it comes to positive thinking, affirmations, creative visualization, and the like, the really important thing is this---there is nothing to believe 'in', but the act of belief, in and of itself, can be curative and otherwise beneficial. Indeed, without belief in your desire or vision, you will certainly fail. ‘For as you think in your heart [that is, mind], so are you’ (Prov 23:7). We need to rise above our problems and difficulties. Take this Bible verse: ‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth [that is, the problem or difficulty], will draw all men [the various ‘elements’ that go to make up the solution to your problem or difficulty] unto me’ (Jn 12:32). This ‘lifting up’ takes place in your mind. Some refer to it as getting ‘altitude’ on your problem, others call it ‘expanded consciousness.’ It doesn’t really matter what you call it, it’s simply a reference to the creative process.

Here’s something else that is very important. Only felt thought---that is, believed thought---works. There must be a strong feeling-tone or emotional mood to your thought (that is, your desire, vision or intention) for it to 'work.' True, any thought always induces some feeling or emotion, but in order for your thoughts to be truly creative there must be a strong emotional tone to your thought. The thought must be felt as true if it is to impregnate your subconscious. More than that, thought and feeling must become one. You must feel 'at-one' with your thought. That giant of New Thought, Judge Thomas Troward (pictured left), said, ‘Feeling is the law [of mind] and the law is feeling, the law of perfect creativeness.’ In other words, no feeling, no result.

The 'Father of American Psychology' Professor William James [pictured below right] also understood the vital importance of feeling or emotion. He wrote, ‘Individuality is founded in feeling; and the recesses of feeling, the darker, blinder strata of character, are the only places in the world in which we catch real fact in the making, and directly perceive how events happen, and how work is actually done.’ Yes, it is feeling or emotion that impresses a desire, vision or intention onto the subconscious mind. Indeed, the desire, vision or intention always 'springs' from the feeling or emotion. In the words of the Rev Ike, 'The feeling gets the blessing!' However, it is not enough to simply want something very much. You must believe the object of your desire, vision or intention to be true. So, the thought must be both felt and believed to be true if there is to be any chance of its actualization.

 

Now, this is the real meaning of the Bible verse, 'I have laid up thy word [i.e. desire, vision or intention] in my heart [i.e. mind/especially subconscious mind]' (Ps 119:11). That is where the real power source is located. Then there's this verse---'let it be to me according to your word' (Lk 1:38). Thoughts are creative, and the thoughts we habitually entertain and cultivate  in our minds will to a very large degree determine what happens in our lives. Then there's this gem of wisdom---'by your words you will be justified [a positive or satisfactory outcome], and by your words you will be condemned [a negative or unsatisfactory outcome]' (Mt 12:37). We create our own heaven or hell by our thoughts and mental attitudes, so 'choose whom you will serve' (Josh 24:14). Now, this is one of my favorite verses: ‘he sent forth his word, and healed them, and delivered them from destruction’ (Ps 107:20). All of these verses are about you. You see, the term 'word', when used in the Bible, refers to your inner speech, more particularly, thought with feeling, felt thought, believed thought, awareness, conviction, consciousness, and even mindfulness. After all, a word is simply an articulated thought, whether expressed exteriorly or interiorly.

Here’s another very important word in sacred scripture---‘water’ (or ‘waters’). ‘And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters’ (Gen 1:2). Interpreted metaphysically, this verse of the Bible refers to ‘spirit’---that is, your creative word (namely, felt thought or feeling) passing through your consciousness (‘waters’) and bringing your desire, vision or intention into manifestation. It is the creative process of mind dynamics---working in your mind. In the same way as the Spirit of God is said to have brought the entire world into existence through intention, so we are able to create desired experience in our own lives through our own individualized intentions. The same, single 'logic' (that is, law or principle) applies to all things.

We are because God (Life) is. So, there is one way of being, with thought being creative according to the nature, impulse, emotion, intention, and conviction behind the thought. Now, the Bible says that ‘the words of a person’s mouth [mind] are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook’ (Prov 18:4), and ‘there is a river, the streams of which shall make glad the city of God’ (Ps 46:4). The reference to ‘deep waters’ is a reference to consciousness, in particular, the depths of your mind, especially your subconscious mind, and the term ‘city of God’ refers to a sound mind or state of consciousness.

Having created a positive mental attitude for yourself. live, move, and act in that mental atmosphere as if (the 'act as if' principle of William James [pictured right]) your desire or ideal were already a fact. 'Believe that you have received, and you shall receive' (cf Mk 11:24), says the Bible. And, when it comes to affirmations, here’s a useful Bible verse: ‘Let the weak say, I am strong’ (Joel 3:10).

One more verse from the Bible---'Even the Lord is in the midst of you; you shall not see evil any more' (Zep 3:15). New Thought teaches that there is only one creative Power and Presence active in the world and in our lives. That Power and Presence is the very ground of Be-ing Itself---the All-in-All ... in all things, as all things. The Power and Presence is God (the Good)---and you can use it! Whatever comes to you will be in accordance with your consciousness. So, take charge of your thoughts---and use them wisely.

The Bible verses to which I have referred are misinterpreted by many preachers, especially traditional Christian ones. As I've already mentioned, the Bible is a psychological and metaphysical textbook when properly understood. Of course, you have to study and work hard as well. Positive thinking is never enough on its own. However, without a strong positive mental attitude, you are doomed to fail.

So, send forth your word---and it shall be done for you. The important thing is to accept the ‘it’ … whatever it may be.

ALADDIN AND HIS WONDERFUL LAMP---OR HOW TO USE YOUR MIND

Fairy tales are a sub-genre of the artistic and literary genre known as ‘fantasy,’ the latter being a genre in which life---or at least some aspect of life---is depicted in a highly imaginative manner. Now, most fairy tales are not about 'fairies' at all but are mythological in nature, and their inner or more esoteric meaning is cloaked in allegory, parable and symbolism.

Nearly all fairy tales are encoded spiritual and moral lessons (‘road maps’) of great importance---just like the parables of Jesus in the New Testament---and they almost invariably incorporate more than a few fragments (‘gems’) of spiritual wisdom. Take, for example, the story of ‘Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp’---or, more correctly, ‘The Story of Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp.’ Most of you will know that this very Eastern tale can be found in a wonderful collection of ancient tales entitled Tales from the Arabian Nights---or One Thousand and One Nights. It is said that these tales were written down by the ancient Arabians who had heard them from the ancient Persians, who had heard them from the ancient Hindus in India.

The young man Aladdin (‘servant of Allah’) is recruited by a sorcerer. This sorcerer passes himself off as Aladdin's uncle, for he wants to get his hands on a wonderful oil lamp. Aladdin finds himself trapped in a cave but he manages to escape by using a magic ring lent to him by the sorcerer as protection. When he rubs his hands in despair, he inadvertently rubs the ring, and a genie---the genie of the ring---appears who takes Aladdin home to his mother. When Aladdin’s mother tries to clean the lamp a second, far more powerful, genie appears---the genie of the lamp---who is bound to do the bidding of the person holding the lamp. With the aid of that genie Aladdin becomes rich and powerful and even marries a princess. That’s not all. The genie builds Aladdin a wonderful palace. 

However, the nasty ‘uncle’ returns, and, with the help of some trickery, manages to get hold of the lamp. He orders the genie of the lamp to take the palace along with all its contents to his home. Fortunately, Aladdin still has the magic ring and is able to summon the lesser genie. Although the genie of the ring cannot directly undo any of the magic of the genie of the lamp, Aladdin is able to recover his wife and the lamp and defeat the sorcerer. There’s a lot more to the story than that, but things all turn out okay in the end, with Aladdin eventually succeeding to his father-in-law's throne.

On one interpretation of this tale, Aladdin represents our ‘true self,’ that is, the real person each of us is. All too often we identify with, and live in bondage to, the many false selves that we create and present to the world. We have literally hundreds and thousands of these false selves---these ‘I’s’ and ‘me’s’---that we constantly manufacture in our consciousness from one moment to the next, and that we mistakenly and foolishly identify with and take to be our the real person each of us truly is. The supposed uncle, and the cave in which Aladdin finds himself entombed as a result of the sorcerer’s magic, represents the prison-house of self---that is, bondage to self.

Like the supposed uncle, these false selves are not truly related to us, although they claim to be. They want all the riches, the treasure, that rightfully belongs to a person who works for them by the proper use of one’s mind. That treasure is not the ‘uncle’s’ by right of consciousness. That is why the ‘uncle’ cannot truly possess the lamp---nor will the ‘lamp’ be ours, for so long as we live from and according to our false or illusory selves.

In the tale there are, as already mentioned, two genies. There is the genie of the ring, and there is the genie of the lamp. The first mentioned genie can be seen to represent the law of karma, that is, the law of cause and effect---the law of reaping what one sows. When it comes to the use of our own mind, we are 'cause' to our own 'effect' through our thinking---in particular, through our strongest, or most dominant, desire.

Now, this law of cause and effect is a mental or psychological one---that is, a law of, and for, mind only, and the good news is that it is possible to rise above this law. You see, there are other laws and principles that are metaphysical or spiritual in nature---that is, they work when we apply the spiritual principle of ‘letting go’ of self, the latter (that is, 'self') being purely a mental or psychological image in our mind that is never the real person each one of us is. A mental or psychological law is deductive and reactive only, that is, it simply receives the impression of thought and acts upon it---a matter I will further discuss below. It is akin to a blind force. Not so a metaphysical or spiritual law, which is much more than a law of mind.

When we use the genie of the ring we are working to, or toward, mental or psychological principle. That is certainly not a bad thing, but there is another more powerful way of working which is capable of producing much deeper change in a person. That is when we apply the spiritual principle of ‘letting go’ of self. When we use the genie of the lamp we are working from that very principle---from a ‘higher’ law, so to speak.

In the fairy tale, the genie of the ring is a lesser genie, being unable to undo any of the magic of the genie of the lamp. In that regard, I am reminded of these words from Albert Einstein: ‘We can’t solve our problems by the same kind of thinking we used when we created them’ Wise words. Well, collectively the genie represents law---both mental and spiritual.

Rubbing the genie refers to spiritual practice of various kinds including prayer and meditation. So, we either experience---‘suffer’---the consequences of our actions or we wipe them out by invoking the above mentioned spiritual principle, sometimes referred to as the ‘law of love.’ The choice is ours. In the words of the New Thought minister and writer Dr Emmet Fox (pictured left), it is a case of ‘Christ or Karma.’ (Note. The reference to ‘Christ’ is a reference, not so much to Jesus, but to what is known in metaphysics as either the ‘Christ principle’ or the 'Christ Power,' that is, our innate ‘divine’ potential and spiritual ‘reality.’ Another prominent New Thought minister and writer of yesteryear Dr Harry Gaze wrote that this power is expressed when one's consciousness has 'sufficiently unfolded to know its own divine attributes', that is, one's full potentiality as a human being.)

There are many interpretations of the tale of ‘Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp.’ Here’s another one---a little more mundane, but no less important. Aladdin can be seen to represent our conscious mind. The genie represents our subconscious (also known as unconscious) mind. The lamp, and the action of rubbing the lamp, refer to the proper actions and working of the mind. We all know that over ninety per cent of our mental activity occurs in the subconscious mind. Professor William James wrote, ‘The power to move the world is in the subsconscious mind.’ Indeed. In the tale of Aladdin, the genie says, ‘Your wish is my command.’ The creative process---movement of consciousness---starts with a certain mindset, which then brings forth some thought. Thought originates as cause in the conscious mind, and then proceeds to move through the subconscious mind. That is the way the so-called 'law of mind' works.

Yes, as William James also pointed out, we tend to do whatever is our strongest, or most dominant, desire. Never forget that. For example, say you are trying to give up smoking). You will not smoke for so long as your strongest desire is not to smoke. So, do all you can, for as long as you can, to keep that desire strong and dominant in your consciousness. ‘Rubbing the lamp,’ so to speak, sets the dominant conscious thought into action, so as to influence the genie (that is, the unconscious or subconscious mind). Thus, in this interpretation of the tale, Aladdin’s lamp represents the intelligent utilisation of our mind and thoughts and, perhaps more importantly, our creative imagination.

Whatever interpretation we adopt---and I am sure there are others as well---the important message is this. We must make the mind---our mind---the obedient ‘slave’ of our true self, that is, the real person that each one of us is.

A TOUGH-MINDED FAITH FOR THE LIVING OF THESE DAYS

Is there any place for ‘faith’ in today’s world? Do we need faith? If so, what sort of faith? When all is said and done, can we really ‘trust’ anyone’s word on anything? Is one person’s opinion on any given matter as good---or as bad---as that of anyone else?

The word ‘faith’ is ordinarily associated with another familiar but often misunderstood word. That word is ‘religion.’ Now, many religious people---even many religious liberals---talk about a ‘journey of faith.’ What do they actually mean by that?

Well, for starters, most religions require their adherents to have faith in something or someone. For example, in Christianity one has faith in God and Jesus Christ, faith being a combination of two things---belief and trust. Belief is largely, but not entirely, intellectual. Trust has been described---particularly by Christian commentators---as ‘belief activated,’ such that the basis for action is the level of trust one has in any particular belief. Trust is said to involve a confidence of a very special kind, namely, a resting on the testimony of a God, and perhaps also a Bible (or some other ‘holy book’), both of which, one believes, cannot lie or be wrong. So, in trust, and thus faith, there is a leaning of one’s whole weight on certain beliefs which largely take the form of certain ‘promises’ and ‘assurances,’ which are accepted as true---even though one has no empirical proof of the same.

The Bible says that faith is ‘the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’ (Heb 11:1) [KJV]. Well, as I see it, if the word ‘substance’ has any sensible meaning at all it must mean something that is tangibly and objectively real, even if that reality is not presently visible. Still, I have great problems in believing anything that I really don’t know to be the case, simply on the basis that I ‘hope’ it will come to pass. There is too much idealistic fantasy in that for my liking.

Buddhism is quite different from all other religions. Indeed, at least in some of its manifestations, Buddhism is arguably not a religion at all. The Buddha said, ‘Do not believe, for if you believe, you will never know. If you really want to know, don't believe.’ Ordinarily, we tend to believe when we don’t know or understand. If we know something to be true, there is no need for belief at all. But why believe anyway? If the sky is blue, it is the case that the sky does not become any bluer because we believe it to be blue. Further, the proposition---‘the sky is blue’---does not become any truer because we believe it to be true.

That is not the end of the matter. Beliefs, by their very nature, take the form of prejudices or biases of various kinds and dissipate energy which is otherwise needed to remain mindfully aware at all times. Buddha referred to beliefs as being in the nature of thought coverings or veils (āvarnas). Beliefs are barriers to truth and realization. Consequently, my advice has always been---choose a religion or philosophy that doesn’t require you to believe or disbelieve anything. Life is truth, and life is never static but forever open-ended and dynamic.

So, then, what about faith? Can there be faith without belief? Well, let me quote the Buddha again. He is said to have given this advice, which has served me well over many decades:

Believe nothing because a so-called wise person said it.

Believe nothing because a belief is generally held.

Believe nothing because it is written in ancient books.

Believe nothing because it is said to be of divine origin.

Believe nothing because someone else believes it.

Believe only what you yourself judge to be true.

Something is not true because it is written in some ‘holy book.’ It is not true because it was spoken by Jesus or Muhammad or someone else. It is not true because it is believed to be true. A thing is true only if it is---well, true. Truth means occurrence---it either is or is not the case.

I have faith in certain convictions that I have found out to be empirically true as a result of careful observation, choiceless awareness, mindfulness, critical thinking, firsthand experience, and analytical investigation. Despite what some people assert, there are certain truths that we can affirm to be true in an objective sense. These are truths we can experience and then come to know and understand.

There is another important meaning of the word 'faith,' and none other than the great Christian evangelist Dr Billy Graham, in his landmark book Peace with God, has given it this meaning. The word 'faith,' writes Graham, literally means 'to give up, surrender, or commit.' I have written elsewhere on this blog, in several of my posts, of the imperative need, when one is faced with certain difficulties and problems where 'self' is the root trouble, to find and rely upon a 'power-not-oneself' of some sort for deliverance. Addiction and other forms of mental, emotional and spiritual 'bondage' or 'imprisonment' are largely problems of self-obession, self-centredness, and self-absorption. The solution is to 'let go' of self entirely and seek the assistance of a power-not-oneself that is able to relieve you of the bondage of self. This power-not-oneself may or may not be a traditional god or other religious figure or image. The power may simply be the 'person' that one is---a 'person among persons.' One other thing---in order to 'let go,' one must first 'let be,' and the latter requires that the person first admit and acknowledge that they have a problem over which 'self' is powerless and then commit themselves to an entirely new way of thinking, acting and living, fixed, focused and grounded in that power-not-oneself.

 

In short, as I see it, faith is not some supposed ‘supernatural’ gift that some have and others don’t, but rather a firm affirmation of what we, individually, have come to know to be the case. So, never accept ‘on faith’ that which you have not already experienced, nor accept ‘on faith’ that which you would like to be true, or that which others whose opinion you greatly respect tell you is true. Only believe---that is, affirm---what you yourself have found to be true, that is, the case.

In my days as an evangelical Christian---by the way, those days are gone---I was told repeatedly that faith involved a ‘believing in,’ a ‘coming to,’ a ‘receiving,’ and a ‘standing firm’ (also known as a ‘holding fast’). If those words mean anything at all they must refer to a state of mind in which one becomes more and more convinced of the truth of some state of affairs. At first, we may need to assume the truth of certain things---for the sake of testing and investigation. In time, we may---or may not---come to affirm the truth of some proposition. We may even be able to ‘receive’ it as true---that is, affirm it to be true, knowing that it is true. We can stand firm, and hold fast, in such truth---but not otherwise.

Please remember this---nothing, absolutely nothing, is superior to facts. Never believe, or have faith in, anything that, after careful examination and investigation, you don’t know to be true. Indeed, cherish and rejoice in your doubts and reservations, for the latter are in my view much more important than faith and belief.

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BETTER TO NOT BELIEVE AT ALL

TO GET BETTER, AND BE HAPPY, GIVE UP ALL BELIEFS!

 

 

 

LET YOUR MIND TURN ALONG WITH MYRIAD SITUATIONS

So many of our problems arise---and stick---because we get stuck in the moment and refuse to move on. But things can be different. We can change.

The Reverend Manora (Manorhita), was the twenty-second Zen patriarch in India. He is perhaps most famous for having written this gem of wisdom:

Mind turns along with myriad situations;
Its turning point is truly recondite.
When you recognize nature and accord with its flow,
There is no more elation,
And no more sorrow.

The first line may, to some of you, suggest the exact opposite of what you might think to be the ‘way to go.’ Why let your mind ‘turn along with myriad situations’?

Well, a mind that is truly aware, that is focused on the action of each moment as it quickly becomes the next moment, and then the next, and then the next, is a mind that moves with that action. It does not get stuck in the moment, unable to move on to the next. Such a mind-set does not even start to analyse, criticise, react to, or recoil from, the action of the moment. That, my friends, is the way to go.

In The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War, by Yagyū Munenori (pictured left), we get this helpful interpretation of Manora’s advice:

In the context of martial arts, 'myriad conditions' means all the actions of adversaries; the mind turns with each and every action. For example, when an opponent raises his sword, your mind turns to the sword. If he whirls to the right, your mind turns to the right; if he whirls to the left, your mind turns to the left. This is called 'turning along with myriad situations.'

‘The turning point is truly recondite.’ This is the eye of martial arts. When the mind does not leave any traces in any particular place, but turns to what lies ahead, with the past dying out like the wake of a boat, not lingering at all, this should be understood as the turning point being truly recondite.

To be recondite is to be subtle and imperceptible; this means the mind not lingering on any particular point. If your mind stops and stays somewhere, you will be defeated in martial arts. If you linger where you turn, you will be crushed.

Needless to say, this is not just good advice as respects the martial arts. Whether we engage in the martial arts or not doesn’t matter---although there is much to be gained from such an involvement. The way to ‘ride the waves,’ and respond to one’s inner ‘adversaries,’ is to let---note that word ‘let’---the mind turn with each and every action, whether that action be internal (eg in the form of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, etc) or external. Let your mind turn to whatever be the action of the moment, and then turn to the action of the next moment, and so on, but don’t let the mind ‘stop,’ so to speak, let alone ‘cling.’ Instead, turn along with myriad situations.  

That’s not the end of the matter. We are to let the turning point be ‘truly recondite.’ The turning point is ‘recondite’---that word means, among other things, hidden from sight or virtually imperceptible---when the mind leaves no ‘traces’ in any particular place. We leave no ‘traces’ when there is a soft focus sort of awareness, when we refuse to analyse or judge the content of any action or occurrence. We note, and immediately move on. We turn to ‘what lies ahead, with the past dying out like the wake of a boat.’ We do not linger at all---not at any particular point. If we let the mind ‘stop’ and ‘stay somewhere,’ we will be  defeated, even crushed, by life in the sense that events will overtake and overwhelm us.

It’s all about mastery, especially mastery of self, but true inner mastery occurs when we let things unfold as they will, when we resist not, when we cling not and linger not, when we go with the flow.

That is the way to go.

RELATED POSTS

BE NOT DETAINED: DON’T LET YOUR MIND STOP

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MINDFULNESS AS SOFT FOCUS AWARENESS