It Isn't There.

In 1972 Christmas Humphrey's published a book called,'A Western Approach To Zen'. The book is dedicated to the members of the Zen class of the Buddhist Society in London.Humphreys, who was a High Court Judge,was the founder of this society which is still flourishing today.I knew someone who attended these classes, and I was told that they were very good.

In the book Humphreys has a series of what he calls ' Experiments In Zen .' These experiments were the same ones he had introduced into the Zen classes.
The following is a summary of one of these.

Everyday we are faced with different situations. Imagine a serious situation has arisen. How should you deal with this, in the best possible way ? It is suggested that the following be done.

1. It isn't There.

It's an illusion; a dream; it's not real;

2.It's my Karma.

Because it's my Karma, I can deal with it. I made this situation up, so I accept it, and I can deal with it.

3. It's All Right.

The situation came about under Universal Law, and must be right.
Yes, I know that this is hard to accept, and the members of the Zen class found this the hardest one to swallow.Look at the world- what a mess ! What with the three fires of hatred, lust and illusion burning so brightly, but we have to accept it as it is.It is right and everything else in existence is ' all right. '

4. Only when these three truths has been assimiliated and applied does the 'I' factor appear in relation to the situation. Humphrey asks," Can I see that all three factors in the situation, I, it and the relation between them, are alike the product of my mind, which is Buddha-mind ? Seeing this, can I deliberately raise consciousness so that from a high level ' of my mind ' I can cope with the situation, not in terms of my self, but as a conscious channel of the force of the unborn ? In other words can I look at the ' problem ' or challenge without the ' ego . ' ?

5 It Must Be Impersonal.

As long as I keep the ego and its desires out of the picture, the tension I feel will be gone..

6.Control The response.

Can I face this  moment with a  ' constant, unwavering steadiness of heart, upon the arrival of every event, whether favourable or unfavourable '  as the Bhagavad Gita says ?

7. Awareness Of Non-duality.

I am not different from, nor other from the situation. We are part of one another. If there is some action to be taken, it must be done without thought of ' I ' and without motive.That way there will be no karmic effect.

This experiment was conducted by the Zen classes in London, and the most helpful of the above was," It Isn't There ". The hardest to accept was ' " It's All Right,"

 Mahayana  does not admit the existence of an external world whatever qualities we think of as belonging to the latter are creations and constructions of our own mind.

If the foregoing are done correctly, the following should take place.

' Thought is not permitted to intervene between stimulus and reaction.An almost unimaginable spontaneity is demanded . No second thoughts, not even first thoughts; in fact, no thought at all ; only the most complete immediacy.' This is direct action, not ego action.

I think the above is an excellent way to approach any situation, If you do this with any situation, whether it be serious or not, and you do it all the time, it will transform your life in ways your ego can't even imagine.