The present

[James Field]

I'm not the most familiar with Buddhism's finer points, but exactly how are we always changing and being reborn moment to moment if there is only the now ?

 

[Jeff Strehlow]

Yep you are right; there is a seeming contradiction in these two statements. I will try to answer as best I can. You must realize that many statements in Zen aim to get people to understand/experience the real nature of the world. The statements are a type of pointing that can help people understand but shouldn't always be taken literally. Let's examine both statements and see what they mean.

"we always changing and being reborn moment to moment" - This means that everything is impermanent and doesn't stay the same even for a moment. But if you think carefully about this, you will realize that this also means that there is no self in things, because we see the self in things as something that lasts. If everything is impermanent, there can be no such thing. When we see the world without seeing a self in things we are seeing the world without interpreting it through our ideas. In other words we are experiencing the suchness of the world.

"there is only the now" - Surprisingly, this means much the same thing as the other statement. It indicates impermanence.

 

[James Field]

I see what you're saying about the first part, but how does there is only the now indicates impermanence. I Certainly see the value of not taking these sayings to literale, and thanka for the reply.

 

[Jeff Strehlow]

I'm sorry James: I would have explained the second part better on my first post, but couldn't think of a good way to put my thoughts into words. I have come up with something now.

"there is only the now" - When you say something is happening now, you are referring to this instance of time. That is where your sense perception is; it is always happening at the present time. In that sense, you can say that there is only the now. When you focus entirely on the your senses and experience the world, there is no idea of past, present or future in your experience of the world. But even if you think about these things, your experience is still there.

But that doesn't mean that it is wrong to think about the past or future. In Zen, experiencing what is happening at this moment is important, but we also recognize cause and effect that take place over time.

 

[Vishvavajra]

It helps to know that the teachings of Buddhadharma are all tools, but that they are also often responses to rival teachings. For example, the insistence that only the present moment exists can be understood in terms of the Mahayana/Yogacara refutation of the Sarvastivada, whose members argued that the elemental phenomena of the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously. The standard Mahayana view is that the past and the future don't strictly exist--they're mental constructs that arise by a combination of memory and inference, based on knowledge of and in the present. The Yogacara (a major influence on Zen) framed reality as a series of single moments, the contents of which are always different, but all of which are really the same fundamental reality that in a sense is not really changing at all.

The ironic thing about Zen is that there's a long and complex philosophical tradition behind its seemingly pithy, off-the-cuff assertions.

There's also the fact that the present is the only time when you can actually do things, whereas obsessing over the past and future is a distraction, so from a practical perspective it's best to focus on the now. if you do the right thing right now, then the future will probably turn out OK. A level deeper than that, you also have the Yogacara assertion, which is at the core of Zen, that cutting through delusion to the true nature of things is only possible when you are completely grounded in the present moment, since the past and future are both abstractions.

 

[James Field]

I wasn't aware of a rivalry between the Buddhist traditions. The yogacara notion of time and the present seems to make a lot of sense

 

[Twilight Hue]

It helps to know that the teachings of Buddhadharma are all tools, but that they are also often responses to rival teachings. For example, the insistence that only the present moment exists can be understood in terms of the Mahayana/Yogacara refutation of the Sarvastivada, whose members argued that the elemental phenomena of the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously. The standard Mahayana view is that the past and the future don't strictly exist--they're mental constructs that arise by a combination of memory and inference, based on knowledge of and in the present. The Yogacara (a major influence on Zen) framed reality as a series of single moments, the contents of which are always different, but all of which are really the same fundamental reality that in a sense is not really changing at all.

The ironic thing about Zen is that there's a long and complex philosophical tradition behind its seemingly pithy, off-the-cuff assertions.

There's also the fact that the present is the only time when you can actually do things, whereas obsessing over the past and future is a distraction, so from a practical perspective it's best to focus on the now. if you do the right thing right now, then the future will probably turn out OK. A level deeper than that, you also have the Yogacara assertion, which is at the core of Zen, that cutting through delusion to the true nature of things is only possible when you are completely grounded in the present moment, since the past and future are both abstractions.

I would be interested in what Zen tradition by which this applies.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I'm not the most familiar with Buddhism's finer points, but exactly how are we always changing and being reborn moment to moment if there is only the now ?

It's like focusing, and suddenly you get whacked on the head.

 

[Vishvavajra]

I would be interested in what Zen tradition by which this applies.

Not sure I understand the question.

If by "tradition" you mean practice, it's at the heart of the methods used in meditation. The Chan tradition strongly favors shamatha methods for the most part, at least at the basic levels, which means focused concentration on concrete sensations and experiences, without indulging in abstract or conceptual thought. That trains the mind to exercise non-judgmental awareness of what is happening in the present moment. And the Chan tradition pretty much follows the Yogacara in regarding the non-conceptual as the true nature of reality, so that seeing without concepts is equivalent to manifesting enlightened mind. In other words, our true nature is enlightened mind, but it is obscured by habitual mental constructs and discursive thinking, and meditation trains us to see past all that. And since the past and the future are ultimately conceptual rather than immediately real, dwelling in them just puts you one step further removed from directly seeing your true nature.

If by "tradition" you mean lineage, it's pretty much universal to Chinese Chan, both Caodong and Linji--the founder of Dharma Drum Mt., Sheng Yen, was certified in both, and that's the lineage I've been instructed in. I imagine it's still the case for the Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese offshoots of Chan.

 

[Christopher Sly]

I see what you're saying about the first part, but how does there is only the now indicates impermanence. I Certainly see the value of not taking these sayings to literale, and thanka for the reply.

I'm more of a natural Taoist. I create my own models from my own experience, and I do not know if they are of any value to anyone else. Some of what the others had said here fit with both my experience and my models. When I began my practice 20 years ago, I was living in a tent in the woods and I was highly motivated to stay alert.I had just discovered the Taoist alchemists and had some of their texts with me. Among them I found what appeared to be an algorithm for becoming more present. It began with stop thought. So I did.

How I looked at it then was that the Now was in motion, a wave propagating through time, and the object was to catch it and ride it. I invented an exercise called "dropping in", the term surfers use to describe the point of commitment. I ripped my awareness away from my thoughts and thrust into touch, to grab a hold of reality with my sense of touch and hang on. With determined practice, it reveals what is preventing you from being present.

I actually drew a state change diagram of "awakening". There are three concentric circles -

• Outer Circle - The Sense Field where awareness can interface the the raw data of vibration
• Middle Circle - The Holodeck/Fantasyland A sensory simulation chamber (if you have ever had a lucid dream)
• Inner Circle - The Ego Character, Imaginary Me

The journey begins with Awareness/Spirit trapped inside imaginary me, tripping on some fantasy on the Holodeck, with only brief and fragmented connection to real data in the Sense Field. The goal is to abandon the Ego and escape the Holodeck by wiring awareness directly to the Sense Field in the present.

The center diagram of the state change is just the outer circle. At some point, as I grew stronger, I realized that I could think and still remain "awake". This is the third diagram of the state change. There is both the Sense Field and the Holodeck, but awareness remains anchored to the Sense Field in the present, and does not get lost in the show. The Taoists have two saying I think apply.

The Master must take charge of the servant.
You build a trap to catch a rabbit. When the rabbit is caught, you no longer need the trap. (Of stopping thought, I believe)

I don't know if any of this answers your question, but I wanted to share it with the others who are drawn here by the topic title.

 

[Banjankri]

I'm not the most familiar with Buddhism's finer points, but exactly how are we always changing and being reborn moment to moment if there is only the now ?

The present can only be seen through change, because mind cannot perceive stillness.