Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Blake Cothron

“Invite not the future

Prolong not the past

Alter not your innate wakefulness

Don’t fear appearances.

There is nothing more than that.”

The Zen Buddhist tradition is based largely on wakefulness in the reality we are experiencing in this very moment.  This powerful Zen Buddhist sutra is a call for us to be awake and mindful in daily life.  When we are awake and conscious of the moment we are in, we can deal with what is actually at hand.  Let’s dive in deeper and see what happens…

Invite not the future.  This is a call to BE HERE NOW as Ram Dass explored years ago in his book of the same title.  We “invite” the future through day-dreaming, worrying, speculation, planning and scheming; all those things we do in an attempt to guarantee we get what we want in some imagined future moment.  In Zen Buddhism, most any thing our mind does besides purely witness things is called a formation.  It is something formed by our minds and is probably not actually there, not relevant and creates suffering and distress.  Be here now.  What would it be like to be here now?  How good could life be just being?  How could it be?  Can we be here now?  But what about tomorrow?  Next week, later tonight, next year?  Can our minds let go of that and not “invite the future”? 

Prolong not the past.  Oh, how much pain and strife comes from prolonging the past … this Zen call is for us to let that go, and again, be here now.  Sometimes we get catch ourselves re-enacting in our minds that rude waitress scene, that guy cutting us off on the highway, that fight with our partner last week.  Through this Zen philosophy we can snap ourselves back into reality and deal with what is at hand.  In this way we can reduce stress and harness awareness that would be leaking into re-enactments of the past. 

It’s important to fully integrate what has happened to us and of course at times we’ll go back to those memories for various reasons.  At times it’s very useful to plan things and consider moments other than what is going on now, but we shouldn’t be slaves to or dwell on the past.  Be here now, again, not in the past but right here.

Alter not your innate wakefulness.  What does this mean?  What is our “innate wakefulness”?  Wakefulness is paying clear attention to things, to being alert, conscious and here.  It’s being in the moment, now, focused on what is happening before you.  And this philosophy suggests that this is “innate.”   That suggests that we are born this way, it is natural.  A baby possesses wakefulness that is clear like a crystal.  A baby’s mind is probably not going into the past or thinking about tomorrow.  But we of course cannot know … it would be a formation to think we do know. 

How does this wakefulness get altered?  It gets altered by thinking about anything besides what is happening now.  It is altered by going into the past or exploring the future.  It is altered in the ways described earlier.  When our wakefulness is altered, we are not experiencing the reality before us.  It’s like a thick fog covers our eyes and deludes us with dreams.          

Why is this important?  It is important because all we really have is now.  When our wakefulness is altered, we are not living in the now, so we are not really experiencing “now” deeply.  When wakefulness is altered, we are experiencing an illusory dream in our minds of another moment, one we experienced already or possibly could be experiencing.  We are living in fantasy instead of reality as it is.  And often those dreams are scary, worry-filled, stressful, or full of desire.  Those things bring pain, suffering, stress, and heartache.  Sometimes they might be fun or exciting dreams, but those also lead to desires and, according to Zen, unfulfilled (or even fulfilled) desires bring suffering.  We can live with less suffering by being alert in our now reality, appreciating its infinitely rich depth and intensity.

Don’t fear appearances.  This line is deeper, more specific and more complex.  What are appearances?  An appearance could be defined as an outward or visible aspect of a person or thing.  In Zen we would simply notice this outward appearance, and not base an inference on it or analyze it deeply.  An appearance can also be an event or object coming into sight, like the sun appearing behind the clouds.  So where does fear come into this?  If we create a story about something based on its appearance, we can get into trouble.  For example, we return from the store and see our back door open.  We might feel a shock of fear and internally create a scenario of someone having broken into our house, robbed us, trashed the place, oh no, oh no!  Upon closer inspection we enter the house and see that our spouse unexpectedly got home early from work and left the door open.  If we are a witness, we might just note that the door is open.  Then in the next moment, see our loving partner inside the house.  Just seeing things as they appear to be and not creating stories and scenarios about them can help us live with more ease and be more present.

I’ve caught myself creating formations about things, such as a mess being left out in the yard.  I started blaming someone internally and creating this whole scenario about how irresponsible and disrespectful they are.  Later on I found out a dog made the mess, and the person I blamed was in no way responsible.  I just laugh at myself and try to be more present now.

There is nothing more than that.  Now this is a bold, profound statement.  How can there be nothing more than awareness?  Is this saying that everything is in our minds?  Perhaps.  Quantum physics is more and more exploring this very possibility with very surprising results that hint that this may be so.  Or is this statement meant only as advice for living in the present moment? 

If we are living fully in this moment, not rehashing the past or dreaming of the future, and not fearing how things appear, is that all there is?  It sounds so simple, yet is ever elusive. 

Bit by bit we can teach ourselves to be more present, more aware, and more at peace, by focusing our minds on the present and witnessing.  This can be a mantra for achieving that peace and awareness in daily life.  Use it often, explore it, and see if it helps you live with less fear and more peace.       

“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life … I think that what we’re really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive.”
-Joseph Campbell

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