THE MINDFUL MIND OF NO-MIND

THE MINDFUL MIND OF NO-MIND
By Dr Ian Ellis-Jones
An Address to The Blavatsky Lodge of The Theosophical Society in Australia
Sydney, New South Wales, Wednesday, 26 October 2011

As a kid I adored the antics of the American comedy team of Abbott and Costello. I still do. In one scene
of their 1941 film Buck Privates Bud Abbott, who plays the appropriately named Slicker Smith, is trying
hard to be a drill instructor. He gives an order to poor, hapless Herbie Brown, played by patsy Lou
Costello: ‘Throw out your chest! Throw it out!’ Herbie shouts back, ‘I’m not through with it yet!’ Today, I
say to you, ‘Throw out your mind! Throw it out!’ Now, that’s an interesting, if not arresting, thought, isn’t it?
No mind. (Please don’t retort, ‘I’m not through with it yet!’ If that be your thought, you need to hear more.)

One of the greatest books ever written on the subject of Buddhism and, in particular, Zen is The Zen
Doctrine of No-Mind written by the late Zen master Dr D T Suzuki. I’m sure many of you are familiar with
that book, and perhaps others as well written by Dr Suzuki. I first read The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind way
back in 1973 when I was in my first year of Arts/Law at the University of Sydney. I have re-read the book
many times since. It is not an easy book to understand. Indeed, it is a most difficult book to understand,
even for those who know something about its subject-matter. I'll return to the interesting concept of 'no-
mind' later.

I want to share with you this afternoon some fairly basic ‘building-block’ ideas and concepts which I have
found, in my mindfulness practice, to be of assistance to me. These ideas and concepts help me to train
my mind to be fully present in the present moment ... from one moment to the next ... in other words, to
‘fall awake,’ as Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn puts it.

Now, right at the outset, I need to make a couple of things perfectly clear. First, I want you to forget
altogether, and forever, about so-called ‘expanded consciousness’. There's nothing to 'expand' (or
'enlarge'), for there is no ‘consciousness’ whose nature it is to be known. I repeat, there is no
consciousness whose nature it is to be known ... so there can be no degrees of that which does not exist.
Consciousness, as philosophers such as David Hume, William James, Bertrand Russell and (in this
country) John Anderson have pointed out, is not an 'entity' in its own right but simply a name for the
logical relationship between the person who knows and the thing known ... the third necessary element in
the relation being the act of knowing. So-called 'expanded consciousness' means nothing more than
waking up or leaving the cave. Secondly, I want you to forget altogether, and forever, about the supposed
need to ‘elevate’ our ‘self-awareness.’ There is absolutely no need for us to ‘elevate’ our so-called self-
awareness. Indeed, all attempts to do so are bound to end in failure. For starters, there is no 'self' of
which to be or become aware. All we need to do, dear friends, is to become more alert to, and aware of,
what is happening in and around, and as, us. It’s as simple as that. We all need to become more open,
more curious, and more flexible.

I’m worried now. Not only have I probably alienated at least half of my audience – even before I barely
begin my talk – I have also breached an important metaphysical law. You see, I told you to forget a
couple of thinks. Most of you would have heard of the ‘law of indirectness’ (i.e. don't attempt to put a
thought or problem out of one's mind directly but rather let the problem slip from the sphere of conscious
analysis) is the right way to proceed. Don't try ... instead, let. In Zen Buddhism there is the story of the
Zen master who says to his pupil, ‘One must never think of the white monkey,’ if you want enlightenment.
You can guess what happens. Thinking about not thinking about the white monkey is the same as
thinking about the white monkey. Thus, thinking about not stammering is the same as thinking about
stammering. ‘This’ and ‘not this’ are the same thing.

Be that as it may, let’s start with the word ‘awareness,’ for we can all agree that each of us is aware of
something ... well, at least some of the time. Awareness is an integral part of mindfulness, but
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Copyright © Ian Ellis-Jones 2011. All Rights Reserved. The paper may be reproduced for non-profit purposes. Page 1

mindfulness (sati) is not simply awareness (viññāna), but awareness of awareness. Yes, awareness of
awareness .. a ‘two-dimensional awareness’. The Pāli word sati literally means ‘memory’. The word sati
comes from a root meaning ‘to remember’. So, mindfulness is ... remembering what is present ...
remembering to stay present in the present moment from one moment to the next ... as well as
remembering in the present moment what has already happened. In other words, mindfulness is all about
remembering the present ... that is, 'keeping' the present in mind. Put simply, mindfulness is remembering
to be 'here' ... and to stay 'here' ... now. This is what I mean by an ‘awareness of awareness’. Mindfulness
remembers awareness ... as well as the object of awareness. The work of being mindful, of practising
mindfulness, is the work of reminding ourselves, not just to be aware, but also that we are aware ...
indeed, that we are already aware.

Some psychologists refer to this activity as being that of a so-called ‘witnessing self’ ... a special
relationship of ‘self’ to ‘self’, whatever that means. As already mentioned, I have enormous trouble with
the whole concept of ‘self’ – my power-not-oneself is the power of ‘not-self’ (anattā) – so I like to keep
things simple. (Ha!) In any event, 'un-self-consciousness' (wu-hsin / mushin) or 'no-mindedness' is, for
me, the 'holy grail' of all meditative practice – 'a state of wholeness in which the mind functions freely and
easily, without the sensation of a second mind or ego standing over it with a club' (the immortal words of
the ever-quotable Zen Buddhist Alan Watts).

Having been a student of ‘Andersonian realism,’ I see things like this. First, there is the person who is
aware. Secondly, there is the object of awareness. Thirdly, there is the act of being aware. It just so
happens that the object of awareness can be awareness itself. Remember, it is the person who is doing
the awareness ... not some supposed illusory ‘self’ or 'second mind' ... and mindfulness is all about the
person that you are paying attention to that person ... and not to a 'self' ... within each unfolding moment
and from one such moment to the next. Yes, there are simply different ways of seeing. That is what the
word vipassanā means. The word is composed of two parts – vi, meaning ‘in various ways’, and passanā,
meaning seeing. So, vipassanā means ‘seeing in various ways’ ... as well as seeing things as they really
are.

Now, what are the characteristics of a ‘mindful mind’? In other words, what are the ‘conditions’ for a mind
being ‘mindful’? What are the ‘things’ which permit appreciation, apprehension or recognition of a mind
being ‘mindful’? (Note: These ‘things’ do not constitute ‘mindfulness’ per se. They are not the ‘conditions’
or ‘constituents’ of the state of being and 'living meditation' known as mindfulness.)

The first characteristic of a ‘mindful mind’ is bare attention. Why ‘bare’? Well, we mean just enough
attention to ‘wake up’ to the present moment, to ‘stay awake’ (and 'here and now'), and to observe what is
taking place ... enough attention to be able to 'discern' without discriminating or judging. After all, there is
a world of difference between being aware of a thought and thinking and analyzing that thought. ‘Bare,’ in
this context, means stripped down or nothing added over top. Bare attention is a mode of perception
which, with passive detachment, perceives each moment exactly as it is as opposed to through some
filter of your thoughts, ideas and feelings. (There is a saying in Zen [which, relevantly, means ‘exacting
meditation’, by human effort, so as to reach beyond thought, indeed beyond verbal expression], 'Do not
search for truth. Just stop having opinions.' Love it!)

Bare attention is a way of looking at experience, which adds nothing to, and takes nothing away, from the
raw experience itself. There is no attempt to change things in any way. You interfere with nothing. Bare
attention notices what is being noticed ... and how the noticing is taking place, but involves no comment,
attitude, judgment or deliberation but simply sees and ‘notes’ what is ... without any attachment or
identification (eg ‘There is anger in this body’ as opposed to ‘I am angry, and ‘There is thinking taking
place’ as opposed to ‘I am thinking’). You are not your thoughts. Indeed, you are not even ‘the thinker’.

The second characteristic of a ‘mindful mind’ is choiceless awareness. Now, awareness is something
you 'bring', effortlessly, and continuously, to each moment of the day. Awareness is also something 'in'
which you 'live', in the sense of living in awareness of the present moment. We are talking about an
awareness of all that the present moment 'contains' (thoughts, perceptions, assumptions, tendencies,
memories, feelings, bodily sensations, sounds, etc). You are ‘choicelessly’ aware when you are aware of
whatever is ... when you objectively sees things-as-they-are ... things both inner and outer ... and without
becoming attached to anything.
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Just as importantly, there is no choosing to be aware of one thing but not another. In other words, there is
no discriminating (that is, no decisions, no choices, no exercise of the will) ... and there are no demands
... not even preferences. You are simply ‘aware’ of whatever presents itself from one moment to the next
as your experience ... that is, you simply look, watch and observe ... without identifying too closely with
any elements of the experience ... and without judging anything that arises as 'good' or 'bad'. Thus, there
is no 'I like this,' or 'I don't like that,' sort of thing. That's right - there should be no analysis, comment,
judgment, evaluation or condemnation ... and no 'abiding of thought' anywhere on anything ... just a
constant, continuous, pliable, effortless and ever-present (and thus unconditioned) state of impartial,
objective inquiry in which there is no 'conclusion'. Hence, there can be no room for 'beliefs' of any kind, for
belief is just another form of conclusion.

This is what Krishnamurti means when he says there needs to be observation 'without the observer' ... for
where there is an 'observer' there is a conditioned mind and a conditioned point of view ... which is the
past ... and where there is the past, there can be no mindfulness. Of course, in an empirical sense
there will always be an observer, in the form of the 'person' that each one of us is, but that is about the
extent of it. Shakyamuni Buddha had much to say about meditation and mindfulness. One of his reported
sayings is, "When the mind wanders, observe it as it is." What could be simpler than that?

There is a saying in Zen along these lines: ‘Using the mind to look for reality is delusion. Not using the
mind to look for reality is awareness. Freeing oneself from the mind is total liberation.’ Get the picture?
We need to see the ego apart. We need to see the body, our thoughts, our feelings, and so on, as
separate. How can we do that? Never ask how. Just do it. Observe. Watch. See those things coming and
going ... and don’t associate the so-called ‘me’ or ‘I’ of you with any of those things. This will break down
the very foundation of your thinking.

The third characteristic of a ‘mindful mind’ is curiosity. A mindful mind is a curious and energetic mind ...
not one which is dull or bored, but one which is living, moving and vital. It is a mind which
is patient, flexible, open, even open-ended, receptive, and ever interested in whatever is the experience
of the moment. Yes, an inquisitive (but non-clinging, indeed detached) mind, by means of which we
become conscious of what was previously unconscious.

However, we must be careful not to allow our curiosity to deflect us from our ‘staying on track’. We all
know what can happen when we follow a thought through to its supposedly logical conclusion. The
result? 'Mental movies' complete with the 'latest sound system'. Ongoing internal dialogue. The ‘answer’?
Stay fixed and focused, and fully present, in the finitude of the present moment ... without being rigid.
That is why it helps to focus one’s attention on one’s breath. It takes the focus of attention away from
one’s thinking and directs it into the body. That leads on to the next characteristic of a ‘mindful mind’.

The fourth characteristic of a ‘mindful mind’ is purposefulness. Mindfulness is paying attention ... in the
present moment ... on purpose. That means that we consciously, deliberately and vigilantly direct and
focus (not forcibly, but in a ‘soft focus’, gentle and kind sort of way) our attention and awareness to
whatever be our experience from one moment to the next. Of course, mindfulness takes meditation and
applies it to one’s entire life. Hence, Zen says, when you’re eating, just eat; when you’re walking, just
walk; when you’re sitting, just sit, and so forth.

The fifth characteristic of a ‘mindful mind’ is spontaneity. A mindful mind is one which responds
effortlessly, receptively and spontaneously ... without discrimination ... whilst resisting the temptation to
respond unthinkingly ... that is, mindlessly.

The sixth, and final, characteristic of a ‘mindful mind’ is detachment. We 'feel' as if we were watching
ourselves from the 'inside', so to speak. In other words, we are aware of what is happening from one
moment to the next ... without 'feeling' involved in what is happening.

Now, let's bring all those things together and look at the doctrine or concept of ‘no-mind’ (Jpn mushin). A
mindful mind is a mind of no-mind (Jpn mushin no shin). Yes, pure Zen, but it does make sense in a Zen
sort of way. The doctrine or concept of ‘no-mind’ means no deliberate mind of one’s own. It does not
mean the absence of mind, or absentmindedness, but rather a mind which is non-discriminating,
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uncoloured, fluid, unbound and free from deluded thought ... indeed, a mind where there is no conditioned
thinking, desiring or controlling ... a spontaneous and detached state of mind characterised by inward
silence and no knowing awareness ... a mind which effortlessly thinks what it thinks ... without there being
any interference (judgment, analysis, etc) by some 'thinker' or 'ego' within the mind.

In order for a mind to be free from deluded thought it needs to be kept fully engaged in the present from
moment to moment ... without there being any subjective evaluation or interpretation. Once we start
evaluating and subjectively interpreting what is, we cease to experience life instantaneously and
spontaneously. (Trying not to think, as opposed to forgetting to think altogether, is, of course, doomed to
failure.) Alan Watts described 'no-mindedness' as a 'state of wholeness in which the mind functions freely
and easily, without the sensation of a second mind or ego standing over it with a club'. Whatever comes
up, moment by moment, is accepted without being embraced ... even non-acceptance.

So, a mind of no-mind is a mind which is unconscious of itself and empty of itself (yes, that supposed
'ego-self' which we mistakenly believe is us!) ... a mind which is ever imperturbable, that is, undisturbed
by affects of any kind ... a mind which is effortlessly engaged in being here now ... a mind where there is
no-effort and no-thought ... a mind which is present only to that which is happening now ... a mind which
is, yes, ‘empty’ but whole (cf the ensō [circle]) ... a mind which is 'nowhere in particular' (Takuan Sōhō).

Wow! A state of ‘no-mind-ness’ or ‘no-mindedness’ ... that is, a state of ‘no-thing-ness’ ... characterised by
effortlessness and a constant non-discriminating yet gentle-on-oneself 'unbinding' of the mind and letting
go of all mental effluents and other ‘traffic’. You are ‘no-minded’ when you let life live out its self-livingness
in and as you ... and as all other things and persons. You are 'no-minded' when you let go of all self-
identification, self-absorption, self-obsession and self-centredness. You are 'no-minded' when you let go
of all attachments, presuppositions, assumptions and stories ... when you leave the mind empty of all
greed, anger and delusion (ignorance). You are ‘no-minded’ when you cut down the ego at its source.
How do you do that? Again, don’t ask how. Just stop generating it – the ego, that is. Heaven forbid, don’t
try to suppress the ego. We are talking about its complete eradication – what Krishnamurti would refer to
as a ‘total revolution.’

Where, then, do we begin? Many start by trying to deactivate what Buddhists refer to as the ‘five
hindrances’ (viz sense desire, aversion, restlessness and worry, sloth and torpor, and doubt). However,
the roots of the hindrances are the underlying tendencies in the mind – in Buddhism, the ‘ten fetters’ –
which include such things as belief in a permanent self, dependence upon rituals, ill will, material and
sensual cravings, and conceit. However, we need to go deeper still. The fetters grow in something else,
namely the base soil of the ‘three poisons’ (greed, anger/hatred, and delusion/ignorance).

Most of us engage in compulsive, and generally useless, thinking. We never stop thinking, and most of
our thinking is of a totally useless and mindless kind. Indeed, we find that our minds take up all of our
attention! We identify ourselves with our minds, and so find ourselves trapped in time, ‘living’ (if you can
call it that) exclusively through memory, evaluation, interpretation, judgment, analysis, and anticipation ...
anything but actually living purposefully and consciously from one moment to the next. Our minds have
become so conditioned that they are very good at denying, and seeking to escape from, the present
moment ... which is the only moment we have. Remember the immortal words of Omar Khayyám? ‘Be
happy for this moment. This moment is your life.’ But how can we possibly be happy when we constantly
allow our mind to run in its habitual ways?

Fellow Theosophists, we live in a new ‘Dark Age.’ We have the dual menaces of materialism and religious
fundamentalism. I submit that the sanest way to respond to this sad state of affairs is to develop a 'mind
of no-mind'. So, dear friends, let us cultivate an ‘empty’ mind ... a mind of no-mind ... a mind of no-thing-
ness ... a mind which is empty, but also full and luminous! It is said in Zen, ‘Know that only the empty
mind can see the Buddha.’ If you are not a Buddhist, you can easily rephrase that to, ‘Know that only the
empty mind can see Reality ... know Truth ... and experience Life as it really is.’ Same thing.

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THE MINDFUL MIND OF NO-MIND

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