82. Your Idea Of Yourself Is Not You: Part 3

Things come and things go, that is the human experience. But we don’t like that.
We want to hold onto things. We hold onto our thoughts and ideas, build on them,
and in so doing create a tapestry of constructs that we define as “I – my – me.” The
sad joke is that they only exist to you and for you.

Your idea of yourself is not you.

If we are lost in our thinking, in our past mind or future mind, then we have lost
that much of our life. As a result, a vast majority of human beings have missed
over 90% of our lives because we are always lost in thoughts about the past or the
future.

Back To Dok Sahn:

After Yong Dam descended from the rostrum, Dok Sahn took out his notes and
commentaries on the Diamond Sutra and in front of the monastery hall held up a
burning torch. He then said, “Even though one may master various profound
philosophies, it is like placing a single strand of hair in the great sky. Even if one
gains all the essential knowledge of the world, it is like throwing a drop of water
into a deep ravine.” Then taking up his notes and commentaries, he burned them
all, and bowed gracefully.

If we rely too much on our constructs – on this tapestry of ideas that we make,
these ideas of who we are – then it is necessary for us to sit and practice. Attaining
“don’t know is very simple. It can happen on the meditation cushion or while
actively engaged in our work or some pleasant pastime. Like putting a snow flake
on a hot oven, your “I – my – me” melts away providing a glimpse into the reality of
impermanence. Your ideas about yourself dissipate, or as Dogen Zenji said “Fall
away body and mind.”

When that happens, everything becomes very simple. The internal dialogue that
constantly weighs opinions either for or against things ceases. Just now, what do
you see, what do you hear? The truth lies there. Maintain total reliance on the
wisdom that is each moment. Everything appears then disappears from our
consciousness. Let it be. Don’t judge or weigh thoughts. It is only a matter of
whether in each moment we are functioning from an awakened mind or not.