{"id":1141,"date":"2011-03-14T12:17:07","date_gmt":"2011-03-14T16:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=1141"},"modified":"2011-11-18T21:33:06","modified_gmt":"2011-11-19T02:33:06","slug":"cracking-the-matrix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=1141","title":{"rendered":"Cracking the Matrix"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Root of Daoist Meditation]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cracking the Matrix<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Shifu Michael Rinaldini<\/strong><\/p>\n

(This is a continuation from his previous publication in Qi Dao<\/em> — Daoist Zuowang Meditation<\/a> see http:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=859<\/a>)<\/p>\n

If you know the good visage, do not hold on to externals.<\/em>
\n(Your) mind-spirit is your true teacher.<\/em>
\nThe problems and riddles (gong\u2019an, a Chan Buddhist term) posed by men of old should be investigated,<\/em>
\n(But) your own school (of thinking) must be spread about.<\/em>
\nLittle by little you come to penetrate your past enlightened nature,<\/em>
\nMore and more you show forth your compassion of old.<\/em>
\nWhen your compassion and purity are both (re-) established,<\/em>
\nYou will attain sudden enlightenment and absolutely nothing will bind you.[1]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I have been talking about the experience of cracking the matrix for some time now.\u00a0 I even went back to the movie, The Matrix<\/em> to review the exact words which were said in the movie to describe the matrix.<\/p>\n

Morpheus to Neo:\u00a0 \u201cIt is everywhere. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes, to blind you from the truth.\u201d
\nNeo responds accordingly:\u00a0 \u201cWhat truth?\u201d
\nMorpheus:\u00a0 \u201cYou are a slave in a prison. You can\u2019t be told what the matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, we live in a world of delusion.\u00a0 It is the matrix of separation, I and other, and we don\u2019t even know it.\u00a0 You have to crack the matrix yourself through a direct realization experience<\/em>.\u00a0 It still needs nurturance of many years of daily practice and the step by step transformation of our identities.\u00a0 But then gradually and naturally, we become one with the Dao.\u00a0 A contemporary Catholic mystic Bernadette Roberts describes her experiences of seeing it for yourself:\u00a0 \u201cit is a raw, pure and unadulterated reality without the imposition of concepts and ideas.\u201d[2]<\/a> Indeed, this message confirms the old saying, seeing is believing.\u00a0 And I must emphasize the suddenness of the experience<\/em>.\u00a0 Yes, despite our daily practice of zuowang meditation where we cultivate the virtues of wuwei and doing things naturally, without desires and expectations, there are moments of awakening which transcend our ordinary perceptions of reality.\u00a0 Even Wang Chongyang (Wang Zhe), founder of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) School of Daoism during the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries acknowledged the suddenness of the awakening experience.\u00a0 In one of his poems (the full poem is offered above), he states: \u201cYou will attain sudden enlightenment and absolutely nothing will bind you.\u201d[3]<\/a> These awakenings are sudden, and unpredictable when they occur.\u00a0 And, it is possible for them to occur at a very early stage of spiritual practice, as my following story reveals.<\/p>\n

A Personal Account of Cracking the Matrix<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grant me the self-indulgence to tell you about my first \u201csudden\u201d awakening experience.\u00a0 The story begins when I was 21 years old and attending the University of Oklahoma during the early 1970\u2019s.\u00a0 I had been studying and meditating in the Zen tradition for less than six months.\u00a0 One afternoon, I was reading Zen Mind, Beginner\u2019s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki out loud to my roommate.\u00a0 The words about Buddhanature, enlightenment, etc., suddenly<\/span> hit me like a sledgehammer, cracking my ordinary consciousness into something else.\u00a0 I excused myself from my roommate, not knowing what was happening to me.\u00a0 I decided to walk over to my Zen teacher\u2019s house for the evening meditation session.\u00a0 But, on the way out of the building, passing a window on the second floor, I got a glimpse of the large oak tree in front of the house.\u00a0 It stopped me in my tracks.\u00a0 Every branch, every leaf of the tree was shining brightly in the afternoon sun. <\/em>It wasn\u2019t simply that I was seeing all the leaves, there was more.\u00a0 I was seeing all the leaves simultaneously in a heightened awareness.\u00a0 There was no separation between them, like the net of Indra, all interconnected.\u00a0 This experience was so overwhelming that it brought tears to my eyes, and I remember thinking to myself, I better get out of here before someone sees me.\u00a0 I immediately left the house and started walking down the street.\u00a0 The next thing which happened was equally remarkable.\u00a0 The neighborhood I lived in had a sizable number of unfriendly country dogs.\u00a0 More than once I had close encounters with them, and didn\u2019t care to walk alone in the area.\u00a0 But now, something was different.\u00a0 Perhaps the energy I was radiating was sensed by the dogs because all of a sudden a pack of them came out of nowhere and they were all heading for me.\u00a0 Due to the state of mind I was in, I wasn\u2019t affected by the sight of these dogs merging on me.\u00a0 I walked, and they followed, immediately behind me, as if I commanded them to do so.\u00a0 As I walked on, they gradually left my presence.\u00a0 Next, arriving at my Zen teacher\u2019s house, I said nothing, and sat with the others for the evening\u2019s meditation.\u00a0 Nothing Special.\u00a0 Except that it was the most perfect session of \u201cjust sitting.\u201d\u00a0 No leg problems, no distractions, no-mind.\u00a0 Afterwards, I left without saying anything to the teacher, I thought, why bother, everything was perfect.\u00a0 This direct experience of everything lasted until I went to sleep.\u00a0 Waking in the morning, my old consciousness returned.\u00a0 However, the experience left its mark permanently on a deep level.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

It is this experience and several others I\u2019ve encountered over the years which make me believe in the necessity of seeing through the surface appearance of things.\u00a0 I love the essence of the zuowang approach, but I feel it runs the risk of deluding the practitioner into thinking that the gradual path is all there is.\u00a0 I really love this next quote by a Zen Master on the need for the awakening experience:<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil we realize the Way (Dao) by satori, we cannot help but be agonized by our own delusions.\u00a0 It is like binding ourselves with rope.\u00a0 To free ourselves from the agonies of the dualistic world, we must forget ourselves in Samadhi at least once in our lives.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Here is another example of cracking the matrix by a well-known writer on Buddhist and Daoist spiritual practices.\u00a0 This is an interesting account taken from the book on the life and experiences of John Blofeld, My Journey in Mystic China: Old Pu\u2019s Travel Diary<\/em>.\u00a0 This book was written by Blofeld in Chinese during the last years of his life while living in Thailand.\u00a0 Daniel Reid, a qigong and Daoist author, and also a great lover of Chinese teas, living in Australia, translated it into English, it was published in 2008.\u00a0 It\u2019s a revealing story of the real man John Blofeld who wrote so extensively about Chinese Daoism and Buddhism, but yet, struggled so intensely with his own worldly passions.\u00a0\u00a0 Below is a rather lengthy quote on his experience of cracking the matrix. This may have been Blofeld\u2019s only direct experience of the really real:<\/p>\n

Blofeld\u2019s Cracking the Matrix<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAt that moment, a very peculiar sensation suddenly arose within me.\u00a0 All of a sudden, he, I and everything in the space between us, while still retaining their external appearance, seemed to condense into an inseparable singularity, as though we had suddenly dissolved into one amorphous entity.\u00a0 This dimension of existence gave me a feeling of great joy.\u00a0 For a short while, my mind was mesmerized and my spirit was lost, but at the same time, I knew that this condition was definitely not a distorted fantasy.\u00a0 The strange thing was that although I felt very happy and at ease in that state, I also felt that I could not withstand this man\u2019s spiritual power much longer, and that if I did not soon break free of his gaze, I might never return to the normal world, and so I quickly lowered my eyes and terminated that mysterious sensation.<\/p>\n

But Old Dzeng had definitely caused me to experience the phenomenon known as \u201cmyriad objects uniting into one whole,\u201d and for a very short time I had entered into this mysterious dimension.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to discuss in more detail the meaning of this so-called \u201cuniting as one whole\u201d phenomenon, both from the perspective of Taoist teaching as well as modern science.\u00a0 When Old Dzeng fixed his penetrating gaze on me, I definitely and very clearly, perceived the inseparable and boundless nature of all phenomena.\u00a0 That is to say, my perception at the time was that even though all objects had their own separate relative identity, at the same time they were also all completely unified as one primordial entity.\u00a0 That of course defies logic, and is a principle that lies beyond rational debate.\u00a0 I had long ago learned from my Buddhist and Taoist studies about the relative nature of reality, and that only through a higher level of wisdom could one really understand the true nature of phenomena.\u00a0 And yet, in only a few fleeting moments, Old Dzeng had given me a direct experiential perception of the fundamental nature of reality.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

The words that Blofeld uses to describe his experience are so similar to my own story.\u00a0 And, I am sure that Blofeld (if he were alive) would agree with me when I say that the experience of cracking the matrix leaves a residue on one\u2019s psyche never to be forgotten.\u00a0 This reminds me of a long time ago when I had several Catholic monk friends, and we talked about these kinds of things.\u00a0 They said they know many fellow monks who had similar powerful experiences as youths.\u00a0 And it was those early experiences which motivated them to live the rest of their lives as monks.\u00a0 Perhaps the sudden awakening experience is the fuel for the long gradual work of refining the spirit.<\/p>\n

What method am I proposing to break open \u201cconscious activity and sensory involvement\u201d as Livia Kohn calls it in her new translation of the Zuowang Lun: Sitting in Oblivion, The Heart of Daoist Meditation<\/span><\/em>? \u00a0If I am not content with the mere practice of sitting in oblivion, (which I highly value as the essence of Daoist meditation) what am I offering, suggesting as an alternative?\u00a0 I like what Livia Kohn, perhaps suggests, in her chapter on the Buddhist Dimension in the practice of Daoist Zuowang meditation.\u00a0 She talks about the \u201cbreakthrough\u201d effort required for the experience of \u201ca sudden opening of conscious\u201d and even admits that this is different from the \u201cDaoists who emphasize the slow, one-by-one overcoming of inherent patterns in gradual progress.\u201d[6]<\/a> And then, this is where it gets interesting, for me.\u00a0 Livia explores the Chan (Zen) practice of solving riddles or koans to \u201cbreak open the conscious mind and let universal mind come to the fore.\u201d[7]<\/a> Livia also points out that Daoists never developed this method as deeply as the Buddhists, but some similarities exist in the Chuang Tzu, for instance, \u201cWhat is really me?\u00a0 Am I Zhuang Zhou dreaming that he is a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he is Zhuang Zhou?\u201d[8]<\/a> And let\u2019s go back to Wang Zhe and the poem I quoted from earlier.\u00a0 He also recommended the study of Buddhist koans as a cultivation method: \u201cThe problems and riddles (gong\u2019an, a Chan Buddhist term) posed by men of old should be investigated.\u201d[9]<\/a> This is a reference to the Sudden school of Zen practice, known as Rinzai, and still practiced today. And if you are not familiar with Wang Zhe and Quanzhen Daoism, it was this school of Daoism which sparked a revival in Daoist interests in the Middle Ages, and continues to this day in its many sects, for example the Longmen Dragon Gate sect, and outside of China, the recently formed American Dragon Gate Lineage.\u00a0 So, is there a Daoist koan that is capable of cracking open the conscious mind, and at the same time, remain faithful to the Zuowang practice?\u00a0 I suggest the koan of asking: what is the direct experience of Not Two?\u00a0 Or, more simply, just ask: Not Two?\u00a0 References to Not Two as a core Daoist principle are found throughout the Daoist and Buddhist scriptures, as well as within the writings and sayings of masters.\u00a0 Below is one of my favorite quotes on not two things.<\/p>\n

Bill Porter in his most inspiring book, Road to Heaven<\/em>, asks a prominent Daoist master, Jen Fa-jung, the abbot of Loukuantai Temple:\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s the goal of Daoist practice?<\/p>\n

Man\u2019s nature is the same as the nature of heaven.\u00a0 Heaven gives birth to all creatures, and they all go different directions.\u00a0 But sooner or later they return to the same place.\u00a0 The goal of\u00a0 this universe, its highest goal, is nothingness.\u00a0 Nothingness means return.\u00a0 Nothingness is the body of the Dao.\u00a0 Everything is one with nothingness.\u00a0 There aren\u2019t two <\/span>things in this universe.\u00a0 To realize this is the goal not only of Daoism but also of Buddhism.\u00a0 They seek only the Dao, which is the nothingness of which we are all created and to which we all return.\u00a0 Our goal is to be one with this natural process.\u201d<\/em>[10]<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

And here is a quote from a Buddhist and Daoist text which makes clear references to saying Not Two as part of a spiritual practice.<\/p>\n

The Faith Mind Sutra<\/em>\"\"<\/a>
\nIn the mind without effort
\nThinking cannot take root.
\nIn the true Dharma world
\nThere is no self or other.<\/p>\n

To abide in this world
\nJust say \u201cNot Two.\u201d
\n\u201cNot Two\u201d includes everything.
\nExcludes nothing.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

In responding to the koan of Not Two, it is tempting to respond with similar examples as above.\u00a0 But this would miss the point.\u00a0 It would be like the Zen story of pointing at the moon\u2019s reflection in the puddle and call out, \u201clook there\u2019s the moon.\u201d\u00a0 Not Two doesn\u2019t point out at the illusionary moon either, it points directly to the formless Dao, and without words.\u00a0 Blofeld in his book, The Secret and Sublime: Taoist Mysteries and Magic, <\/em>further highlights the importance of not relying on the intellect to know these things: \u201cThe Tao and the myriad objects are not two!\u201d\u00a0 He says it\u2019s \u201ca mystery that can be apprehended but not explained.\u00a0 It is not enough for you to suppose (with the intellect) that you know these things.\u00a0 You must perceive them directly.\u201d[12]<\/a> And what is it that Blofeld says we should know directly?\u00a0 \u201cThe Buddhist doctrine is that the spotless, illimitable Void perceived during mystical illumination is pure mind in its quiescent state, while the unending flow of appearances falsely conceived to be separate objects is pure mind engaged in the play of thought.\u00a0 To use a telling Taoist expression, these are not two!\u201d[13]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Working with Sitting in Oblivion …. Working with Not Two!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThings just arise and pass away one after the other, one is fully merged with the natural processes and completely free from all reactions, feelings, classifications, and evaluations.\u201d[14]<\/a> This is the heart of Zuowang.\u00a0 In the silence of the mind, the question naturally arises, what is the true meaning of Not Two?\u00a0 Free from concepts, the mind in all its clarity and purity stays with that deep yearning to know the Dao intimately.\u00a0 The mind turns away from the superficial answers which tease you into thinking that you know what Not Two means.\u00a0 You say to yourself-stop being a fool by listening to your thinking mind.\u00a0 Instead, rest in the open space of freedom from thought, freedom from reactions to seeing, hearing, feeling. Even freedom from mechanically asking, what is Not Two.\u00a0 It is not a mantra, repeatedly asked.\u00a0 And, we are not trying to forget one kind of thinking, merely to replace it with something else.\u00a0 The important point is \u201cto sustain the sense of questioning, not the repetition of the words.\u201d[15]<\/a> Allow the questioning to \u201cpenetrate deeply\u201d into the quiet mind.[16]<\/a> And, just as in Zuowang, forget the past, forget the future, just \u201csit on the meditation cushion, investigate\u201d Not Two \u201cand awaken to its meaning.\u201d[17]<\/a><\/p>\n

Postscripts<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 You are no longer a slave in a prison. The Matrix.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 \u201cAt the time of the Great Awakening, \u00a0we will all wake up and see that it has all been just a dream.\u201d\u00a0 Chuang Tzu[18]<\/a><\/p>\n