Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Awake! Some Aphorisms by Wei Wu Wei

During the late sixties, Master Wei Wu Wei (really a wealthy Irishman nobleman named Terence Gray who was mainly known for his experimental theater) set out to give a syncretic summary of Zen, Tao and Vedanta dwelling on their common Source. Wei Wu Wei speaks of perceiving, which is instantaneous, as almost always falsified by conceiving, which leads to concepts and "objects." By returning to naked perceiving, we rejoin our Source and resolve all conceptual problems. This is exactly the same point made by Master Huang-Po, but Wei Wu Wei used more "up to date" philosophical language.

Master Wei Wu Wei's aphorisms and short essays were widely published in small Buddhist magazines in the United States at a time before "Zen" became the marketing tool it is now. In any case, it's doubtful that Wei Wu Wei ever did "Zazen." He simply woke up -- it seems this happened one night when he was looking at the starry sky. He used Taoist, Vedanta, Tibetan and Zen terminology to elucidate this Enlightenment, but without ever choosing one over the other. Anyway, the Vedic Rishis already knew all about Consciousness manifesting AS "everything." "Buddhism" introduced nothing new in this.

"No difference exists between sentient beings and Buddhas, Samsara and Nirvana, delusion and bodhi. Drop all forms to wake up!" Huang Po, quoted by Wei Wu Wei.

THAT which seeks to conceive and to name the unmanifested source of manifestation is precisely THIS: it is itself what it seeks.

Without Here or There, Was or Will be, When or Why, Who or What, Suchness is Such.

We are the perceiving and conceiving which as perceptions conceived are then so-labelled as objects.

Do we exist or do we not exist? There has never been anyone either to exist or not to exist. Or "anyone" to answer such a question.

Don't call it "meditation" if it is not, but if it is -- don't do it!

Return every thing to its source, to which it belongs, and which it has never left! That is the practice of non-practice.

That which hearing is -- is beyond thought, mind and body. Surangama Sutra, quoted by Wei Wu Wei.

All judgements and "problems" vanish when split-mind is made whole.

I am it, it is I. How, then, can I "see" it? There is no object there: therefore there cannot be any subject here.

Sentient beings are not there at all as such, as the Buddha pointed out in the Diamond Sutra, so how can they wake up?

If you suppose that anything is NOT Prajna, let me hear what it is. - Master Ta-chu Hui Ha, quoted by Wei Wu Wei.

"I" am not conscious of anything: never. "Consciousness" as such is all that I am.

I am no thing.

Everything cognised is just what is called "mind,"
And what is called "mind" is just the cognising of everything.

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