Song of Mind of Niu-t'ou Fa-jung by Master Sheng-yen A lecture given during retreat at the the Ch'an Meditation Center, Elmhurst, Queens, New York. For ordinary people, thoughts never stop, and they never appear from nowhere. One thought arises after another thought passes away. It is a continual flow. In samadhi, thoughts stop moving. They do not arise and perish. However, once the power of samadhi subsides, thoughts resume their normal movement. In practice, we use a thought to watch other thoughts. We use a consciously picked preceding thought to watch succeeding thoughts rise and fall. It's important that we are clear and aware of the arising and passing away of each thought. If we are clear and exercise will power, then there is no opportunity for wandering thoughts to pull us from the method. We will stay on our methods of practice. For example, when using the counting breath method, these three thoughts should revolve in a cyclic manner: the self, the self counting the breath, and the number. At the very least, these three thoughts must arise one after the other in counting the breath method, otherwise it would be impossible to use the method. If you can use the method so that these three thoughts are like links in a chain, then other thoughts will not interrupt the flow of concentration and awareness. Eventually, you will enter samadhi. If there are only these three thoughts, there will be no sense of time or space. The breath will be smooth and the body will feel light. Can you turn your method into an uninterrupted chain? It works the same for a all methods of practice. Most of us cannot do it for a prolonged period of time. If you feel sleepy, the chain will break apart or disappear altogether. It will be like tiny lengths of a chain floating in the sky. The verses which speak of thoughts arising and passing away, of the preceding not being different from the succeeding, have a deeper meaning as well. Thoughts will also arise and pass away for an enlightened person. However, for such a person, there will be no discrimination between one thought and another. There will be no attachment toward one and aversion toward another. All thoughts are dealt with equally. One is not more important or better than another. Therefore, for an enlightened person, many thoughts can arise and pass away, but the individual's attitude remains uninfluenced. An enlightened person, like an ordinary person, sees a woman as a woman, a man as a man, gold as gold, rock as rock. However, for ordinary people, different things lead to different emotions, feelings and reactions. Sometimes they will be happy, sad, angry, or worried. The enlightened person, on the other hand, is not swayed and manipulated by thoughts. The thoughts are just as they are and do not evoke accompanying emotions. Therefore, an enlightened person deals directly and equally with all preceding and succeeding thoughts. Someone said, "Shih-fu, I heard so and so saying bad things about you behind your back. Does it bother you, or do you not perceive this as criticism?" I replied, "I'd be a fool or a liar if I did not recognize these words as criticism. On the other hand, if this person wants to criticize me, then so be it. What can I do about it? It would be wrong of me to criticize this person in turn." It is normal for dogs to sometimes bite humans, but it does not mean that we should turn around and bite dogs. I am not saying that this person who criticizes me is like a dog. What I am saying is if people want to be petty and criticize or bad-mouth you, then let them. If it makes them feel better, fine. But it would be petty of you to return fire with fire. If the succeeding thought does not arise, The preceding thought cuts itself off. We are aware of a thought because a new thought arises and replaces it. Successive thoughts enable us to be aware of previous thoughts. If you are counting breaths and your mind settles on the thought of "number one" and does not move, then there is no conception at all, and you will not be aware of any thoughts, including the number one. On the other hand, if thoughts of the same number arise and replace themselves over and over, then awareness of the number will remain. This is true for any thought. If your mind stops on a thought, then you will be unaware of that thought. Killing is considered wrong, but if your mind stops on a killing thought and nothing comes after -- no object to kill -- then the thought of killing will have lost its meaning. Therefore, if a thought arises in your mind and no other thought comes after it, the first thought will disappear. Usually, in our minds, succeeding thoughts arise and replace previous thoughts in a continuous cycle. The purpose of a method of practice is to collect the scattered mind, to unify it. Even when you are practicing correctly and well, the three thoughts of self, self counting, and number remain in an ongoing, cyclical pattern. Eventually, the method should leave you. It does not work the other way around. You should not purposely leave the method. If the method naturally leaves you, that is good. It means that the three thoughts have reduced to one, that of the self. In this condition, you are no longer aware of a number, the breath, or a method. Even if you are aware of breathing, you will be unable to count breaths. The method has not left you; rather, it has accomplished its purpose: to bring you to the condition where the mind is on one thought. Actually, you are still on the method, and your mind is clear, calm and tranquil. It is not blank. Some practitioners hear me talk of the method going away and they figure they should be at that point already, so they stop using it. I ask them, "Did you drop the method or did the method drop you?" There's a big difference. If you have dropped the method, then I advise you to pick it up again. If the method has dropped you, in fact it has not. It is still there, so there is nothing to pick up. The two lines of verse above describe enlightenment, not necessarily samadhi. In samadhi, the previous thought does not cut itself off naturally; the mind stays on one thought. This occurs in deeper levels of samadhi. In shallow samadhi, the mind still moves in a fine, subtle manner. There are sensations of happiness and pleasure. Enlightenment is different. Succeeding thought and preceding thought refer to attachment. With enlightenment, there is no attachment to or aversion toward any particular thought, so there is no need for one thought to arise and another to pass away. If there is no need for a thought to arise, then there is no need for a thought to disappear. Here is an analogy. Have you seen monkeys climbing trees? As they climb, three of their limbs usually support them while the fourth limb extends to climb. As the fourth limb moves, the other three soon follow. But if the monkey has no intention of climbing further, the fourth leg stops, and the other three legs also rest. There is no subsequent movement for the three legs. In the same way, if the mind does not anticipate a next thought, then previous thoughts and attachments naturally disappear. Someone said to me, "I have to think of a good way to combat my vexations." There is no need to combat vexations. If, while meditating, you are aware of vexations, go back to the method of practice. Once you know they are vexations, the vexations lose their power. For example, once you realize that you are angry, the emotion subsides quickly. You may think that it is not the case, and that anger remains for a while. Thoughts, emotions and feelings continue because of succeeding thoughts replacing previous thoughts. If angry thought after angry thought rise and pass away, then you are lost in the vexation of anger, and in fact you are unaware of it. You are identifying with and attached to that angry emotion. Subsequently, anger keeps manifesting. At that these times you are unaware. When you are truly and clearly aware of your angry condition, it will vanish. When vexations arise, do not struggle with them. Also, do not run with your vexations. Letting go is the best method. If you have the thought to steal, and you think, "I've never done it. I know it's wrong, but I wonder what it would be like to steal. Let me try it and I'll see what happens. I'll worry about it later." That is running with your vexation. There are many thoughts involved in this process. You usually don't act on the first or even the second thought. These thoughts continue for some time because you are attached to the vexation. If the attachment is strong enough, you may act on your thoughts. If, on the other hand, you think that the thought to steal is ridiculous, you will drop it. In past, present and future there is nothing; No mind, no Buddha. Buddhadharma says there is no past, present, or future. There is also no vexations, no mind, no enlightenment, no Buddha. In Chinese, the song literally translates past, present and future as the three worlds. It can be understood as past life, present life and future life, but this is not what the author is talking about. Niu-t'ou is referring to previous thought, present thought and successive thought. If the previous thought is gone and the next thought has not yet arisen, that is precisely no thought, no mind. If there is no thought, there is also no vexation, no enlightenment, no Buddha. When we have vexations, we are plagued by thoughts. When we want to get enlightened or become Buddhas, we are entertaining thoughts. But when we have no thoughts, there is no mind. That is enlightenment. Yet, we speak of enlightenment and Buddhahood. If we didn't, no one would feel compelled to practice. That is why I urge everyone to attain Buddhahood. For us, enlightenment exists and is something to strive for. For enlightened beings, there is no enlightenment. The song speaks from the point of view of enlightenment. We, however, must adopt the other point of view. These may seem like abstract concepts for most of you. I'm talking about no past, present and future, and you're grappling with sleepiness and scattered mind. Sleepiness will pass. Scattered mind is precisely your mind dwelling in the past and future. Scattered mind is never in the present moment. If we use a string to represent time, one end being past and the other future, what do we call the present? Really, there is no present moment that we can isolate. As soon as we hold a present moment to the light to inspect it, it is in the past. If we look ahead waiting for a moment to come, it is still in the future. Past is gone, future is not yet here. They have no real existence. All that exists is the present moment, yet the present moment does not exist. Point to the present moment. It cannot be done. The present moment, which is in-between past and future, is also in the past and future. It, too, has no real existence. What I speak of is a sequence, or continuum, of past, present and future. When you say your back hurts, it is already in the past. Then you anticipate future pain. But if the pain is in the past and future, why bother with it? Easier said than done. We are still aware of pain, and it seems to be in the present moment. Working on this understanding is practice. It is a method with which to approach pain, or anything else for that matter. Whatever vexations you may have, use this method. See things clearly as being in the past, present and future. Then see that past and future do not exist. Nothing is there. If nothing is there, then how can there be vexations? However, it is difficult to separate from pain and vexations. I never said practice was easy. On the other hand, practice is not complicated. You don't have to watch every vexation and apply the "past, present, future test" to it. Just work with and stay on your method. When the mind is completely and smoothly on the method, the method will disappear naturally. It may seem as if you are not practicing, but, in fact, it is true practice. I have been wearing these eyeglasses for many years. I'm not even aware they are on my face. Some doctors say that a good sign of health is a feeling of lightness. When part of your body feels heavy, it is a sign that something is wrong with it. It is the same with practice. If the method is smooth and the mind light, it seems as if there is no work to be done, nothing to be gained, nothing to be lost. This is practice at its best: relaxed, light, with no expectations. Most people, however, come to retreat hoping to gain something or get rid of something. They want miraculous physical improvements; they want to solve long-time problems; they want to rid themselves of vexations. Many find moderate success, but their attitudes are wrong. They are coming in with heavy minds and bodies and leaving the same way. Expectation and vexation get in the way. During retreat, during practice, do not concern yourself with your body. Do not concern yourself with what happened before retreat and what will happen after retreat. Put your mind on the present moment in the most pleasant and down-to-earth manner you can muster. This is practicing without using your mind. When you practice without using your mind, there is no idea of attaining Buddhahood. There is only practice.