Category Archives: Buddhism

Mindfulness as Healing Involvement in the Cosmic Process

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Tetsunori Koizumi, Director

Whether we are ready to admit or not, we are involved in the web of eco-systemic interactions among all beings and things in the universe. While being involved is unavoidable, there is no guarantee that our involvement is of a healing kind that nurtures friendship and harmony in our relationship with our fellow humans, and promotes the balance and viability of our living environment. The sad fact of the matter is that healing involvement is sorely needed in the world today, as it is full of hateful speeches, political oppressions, ethnic conflicts, and environmental disasters.

If healing involvement is sorely needed, how do we make sure that our involvement in the web of eco-systemic interactions among all beings and things in the universe is a healing kind? We might as well start with the review of the meaning of the two words: “involvement” and “healing.”

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines “involvement” as “the act or process of taking part in something.” What is “something,” which is not spelled out in this definition? It can be a variety of things—an activity, an event, a relationship, or a situation. Thus, “involvement” can be more explicitly defined as “the act of engaging in an activity, an event, a relationship, or a situation.” However, the way we engage in an activity, an event, a relationship, or a situation, or “the mode of involvement”, is not unique and can be varied. The varied ways in which we get involved can be summarized as the four archetypal modes of involvement: (1) passive involvement, (2) aggressive, or commanding, involvement, (3) interactive involvement, and (4) systemic involvement.

Passive involvement is, in a way, no involvement in that we are not directly engaged in the act of communication, or interaction, with others. A person who is merely observing an event evolving around him/her as a bystander is passively involved in that event.

Aggressive, or commanding, involvement, unlike passive involvement, is the act of engagement in a manner that overwhelms others in a relationship, or a situation. It is the mode of involvement often seen in the leader of an organization, or a social system, as is summarized in the phrase: commander-in-chief.

Interactive involvement is the mode of involvement typically seen in the doctor-patient, or the teacher-student, relationship. The Buddha is well known for having employed the mode of interactive involvement when he was giving discourses to his disciples and lay followers. A typical example of this is his advice to Sujata, a young lady from a rich family who refuses to obey her husband because of her pride, to choose among seven kinds of wives: “There are seven kinds of wives, Sujata. … One like a slayer, one like a thief, one like a tyrant, one like a mother, one like a sister, one like a friend, and one like a handmaid. … Now which of these seven are you?” (Anguttara Nikaya 7: 63)

Systemic involvement is the mode of involvement as a member of a species in the evolving natural environment. In the case of humans, systemic involvement comes from a firm realization that one is a member of humanity, not just of a family, a group, or a nation. John Donne, an English poet, expresses such realization in the following lines: “No man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind.” (Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, 1624) Needless to say, the mode of systemic involvement must be extended to all living and non-living systems in the universe if we are to preserve Earth as a hospitable environment for humanity and other species.

As for the word “healing,” the Cambridge English Dictionary defines it as “the process of becoming well again.” Just as with the word “involvement,” we need to fill in the context as to who/what becomes well again, and how. As the context in which healing takes place can vary, it may be useful to redefine it as “the restoration of wholeness.” As for the manner in which healing takes place, or wholeness is restored, we can distinguish among the four archetypal modalities: (1) spontaneous healing, (2) forced healing, (3) interactive healing, and (4) systemic healing. These four modalities of healing roughly correspond to the four modes of involvement discussed above.

Spontaneous healing refers to the restoration of wholeness through the self-restorative process. We humans are endowed with the self-restorative physiology that restores our health from disease. In some cases, no involvement by the doctor is needed, for just taking it easy for a few days may be enough to recover the normal functioning of the body. Spontaneous healing also takes place in a damaged human relationship such as a dispute between friends, or neighbors, when they are given time to cool off.

Forced healing by intervention becomes necessary when spontaneous healing fails to restore wholeness. In the case of diseases, we are talking about the use of surgery to remove cancerous tissues, for example. In the case of a damaged human relationship, forced healing may take the form of a mediator in a dispute between friends and neighbors, or a judge in the court of justice in a legal battle.

Interactive healing refers to the restoration of wholeness through dialogue, or communication. As Haruki Murakami writes in one of his novels, “What happens when people open their hearts? They get better.” (Norwegian Wood, 1987) Indeed, opening up to share pain and suffering is a key to interactive healing, which is employed by psychologists and social workers in dealing with their clients. In some cases, just listening with caring attention to what the client has to say is enough to heal the psychological wound he/she suffers. The peace of mind we regain by playing with a pet, or looking at a flower, can also be included as interactive healing.

Systemic healing refers to the restoration of wholeness of the entire system, be it a social system, or a natural system. It is achieved by gradually expanding the circle of interactive involvement to include all members, or parts, of the system. As a system is composed of interacting members, or parts, healing the entire system is needed to heal its component members, or parts. Systemic healing is sorely needed to restore the wholeness of the natural environment, for, as David Orr, an American environmentalist, states: “When we heal the Earth, we heal ourselves.” (Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect, 1994)

All of us are involved in the cosmic process as members of humanity. However, our involvement would not be healing involvement unless we act as responsible members in the mode of eco-systemic interaction with all beings and things in the universe. To the extent that we conduct our living tainted by the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion, our involvement would not be healing involvement. Healing involvement in the cosmic process requires that we conduct our living with mindfulness in every aspect of our interaction with beings and things in the universe.

Why is mindfulness important? In the first place, mindfulness, when cultivated, enables us to see things and activities as they really are, for, as Thich Nhat Hanh explains: “Mindfulness is the energy that sheds light on all things and all activities, producing the power of concentration, bringing forth deep insight and awakening.” (Zen Keys, 1974)

To see things and activities as they really are means to see them in the context of interconnectedness and interdependence of all things and beings in the evolving universe. As Bhante Henepola Gunaratana explains, with mindfulness “We see, not only with the eye of wisdom but even with our everyday awareness, that all things and beings depend for their existence on constantly changing causes and conditions.” (Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness, 2001)

It is because we see all things and beings in the context of interconnectedness and interdependence that mindfulness in every act of our living translates into healing involvement in the cosmic process. As Master Sheng Yen explains, mindfulness leads us to a solid understanding of our role in the cosmic process: “The entire Earth is a possession of all sentient beings. But it is not ours to keep and abuse. It is ours to care for, to honor, and to pass on to future generations.” (Zen Wisdom: Conversations on Buddhism, 2001)

Regardless of the mode of involvement employed, involvement in an activity, an event, a relationship, or a situation has the dual aspects of inner involvement with our own mental world and outer involvement with the world of beings and things. Mindfulness is a comprehensive mode of involvement that leads to healing because it combines these dual aspects of involvement. Healing involvement through mindfulness is desperately needed today as Earth, our home in the universe, is suffering from all kinds of environmental disasters, brought about by the way we have been conducting our living for the past couple of centuries since the Industrial Revolution, often referred to as the Carbon Age because of our excessive dependence on carbons. Mindful living is the path of healing involvement we need to take if we are to heal Earth and ourselves.

Silence in Zen Practice: From Noble Silence to Illuminating Silence

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Tetsunori Koizumi, Director

What was in the beginning? “In the beginning was the Word,” would be the statement that immediately comes to our mind in the case of Christianity, as these words open the Gospel According to St. John. In the case of Islam, the corresponding statement would be: “In the beginning was the Voice,” for it was the voice of Gabriel that Muhammad heard on the Night of Power, urging him to “Iqraa (Recite)!”

What was in the beginning in the case of Buddhism? We might say, “In the beginning was the Silence,” recalling how the Buddha accomplished Enlightenment while sitting in silence under a Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya. The statement, “In the beginning was the Silence,” applies more specifically to Zen Buddhism, for, according to the Chinese Chan tradition, Zen Buddhism started with Mahakasyapa’s silent smile of understanding when the Buddha on one occasion, instead of using words, silently held up a lotus flower to begin his discourse.

With such beginning, it is not surprising that silence has come to play an important role in Buddhism, especially in Zen practice. Keeping silence is recommended not just while we are sitting in meditation but also while we are engaged in other types of daily activities such as eating, washing, standing, walking, and lying down. Silence we keep during our daily activities is known as “noble silence,” which, according to Thich Nhat Hanh, is “conscious, intentional quiet.” (Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise, 2015, p.81) By keeping noble silence while we are engaged in these daily activities, we are, the Buddha tells us, trying to calm our thoughts, which is needed if we are to reach enlightenment: “One who, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, has calmed his thoughts and delights in the stilling of thought: a bhikkhu such as this can reach the highest enlightenment.” (Anguttara Nikaya IV.11)

Calming our thoughts to take delight in the stilling of thought is not an easy task for us today, as we are living in the world full of noise, not just the noise around us but also the noise inside of us. Since we have little control over the noise around us, our practice of silence must begin with stilling the noise inside of us, as Thich Nhat Hanh recommends us to do: “When you’ve been able to still all the noise inside of you, when you’ve been able to establish silence, a thundering silence, in you, you begin to hear the deepest kind of calling from within yourself.” (Silence, p.12) By stilling the noise inside of us, we will begin to hear the inner voice prompting us to find answers to such questions as who we are, why we are here, and what we are going to do with our life. Since Zen does not rely on letters and words for transmission of the Dhamma, it is not in the suttas that we will find answers to these questions. We will begin to see the true nature of reality in the world around us only when we are able to recover silence within us by stilling the noise inside of us.

When we are able to recover silence within us, we will begin to enjoy listening to a sound as well: “You can just hear a sound, and listen deeply, and enjoy that sound. There is peace and joy in your listening, and your silence is an empowered silence. That kind of silence is dynamic and constructive. It’s not he kind of silence that represses you. In Buddhism we call this kind of silence thundering silence.” (Silence, p. 80)

Here again, Thich Nhat Hanh refers to the term: “thundering silence.” We all know that thunder is not silent. If so, what is this “thundering silence”? Most of us tend to treat it as an oxymoron, or a rhetorical device that prompts us to gain insight into some phenomenon by combining two contradictory terms. As a matter of fact, Thich Nhat Hanh seems to find no contradiction in the expression, “The Sound of Silence,” which Paul Simon used as the title of his 1964 song, when he says: “Silence is often described as the absence of sound, yet it’s also a very powerful sound.” (Silence, p.8)

In the context of Zen practice, “thundering silence” could be treated as a koan, which is employed to guide us towards enlightenment. Reflecting on a koan, as we all know, does not mean to figure out its meaning through logical reasoning. Rather, it means to employ the kind of reflection called prajna, which will illuminate the true nature of reality. By reflecting on thundering silence while listening to the sound of a bell, or the chirping of a bird, we will be led into the mental state which Master Sheng Yen calls “silent illumination”: “Silence is samadhi, and illumination is prajna. When samadhi and prajna are not two separate things, this is silent illumination.” (Attaining the Way: A Guide to the Practice of Chan Buddhism, 2006, p.126) By stilling the noise inside of us through Zen practice of noble silence and thundering silence, we will thus be able to reach the highest enlightenment the Buddha teaches us we can, for the silence we find by calming our thoughts is “illuminating silence.”