Behind the Mind

by Wu Hsin

  A: First realize that your problems exist in your waking state only. Explore that fully and all your answers will be rendered.

  Q: Master, you have students who have been with you for a decade or more and yet they still have not attained? Is it because they have not fully surrendered to you?

  A: Regardless of the form of one’s efforts, sooner or later one's physical and mental resources will come to an end. What is to be done then?

  Wu Hsin does not ask for any surrender to him.

  The suggestion is that there be surrender to the words and allow them to go deeply and establish roots inside. What ensues is a natural process, not done by anyone.

  Q: When will the world change for its betterment?

  A: Whatever can be changed, can be changed again.

  When the attention shifts to the Unchangeable, then what needs changing no longer has any importance.

  Q: Master Wu Hsin: what is enlightenment? I have heard it is like this or like that. But I want to hear from you.

  A: A baby chick's speculating about its shell never breaks the shell. Only pecking will do that.

  Speculating about what enlightenment is like is the same. Suffice it to say that the You without the you is true; it is enlightenment.

  The rest is fantasy.

  Q: How can I rid myself of this identification with the body?

  A: In essence, the question is "how to rid myself of myself"?

  When you borrow a pot from your neighbor, you never refer to it as "mine". When you apperceive this body to be borrowed, you will never again call it "mine".

  Q: What keeps me apart from God-consciousness?

  A: The only thing standing between you and God-consciousness is your infatuation with the world.

  A mere shift in attention is the only medicine needed.

  Q: Master, how can I escape from this always present feeling of being a separate being in the world?

  A: See that there is no separation without the individuality that creates it. In the absence of "me", how can there be "other than me"?

  Q: How is it that you see matters differently than I do?

  A: It is so obvious that you are not what you believe yourself to be. I will concede, however, that these beliefs provide you with the sense of continuity that is required to support the ideas of identity and personality.

  The way I am, this identity and personality, is as it is only because the "I am" arises first.

  The only thing that places limits on Being are these beliefs of your individuality. Assume the stance whereby you stabilize as the observing of the body-mind.

  Then you will know there is no individual.

  Rest in "I am and I know that I am"; this is common to all. Don't venture into "what I am" as this is the trap.

  Q: My consciousness continues its restlessness. How may I make it quiet?

  A: Consciousness is impersonal; there is no "my consciousness".

  The form with a name is the window of Consciousness which It uses to look out onto its expressions.

  Do not concern yourself with its activity; merely observe it.

  Q: Master, my life is in turmoil. When will it end?

  A: You are joking, are you not?

  All that is lacking is acceptance. What is this acceptance?

  The reconciliation of the conflict between the demands of Life and those of "my life" is acceptance.

  Q: What must I do to see things clearly?

  A: It is more than a mere exchange of concepts. Any exchange of concepts will not move you any closer to that space that is prior to all concepts.

  What the sages for hundreds of years have understood has been developed in two ways: One way is they assimilated what they have been taught; they received it externally. The other way is it grew from inside, intuitively. This is apperception.

  The two, when combined, cannot fail.

  As you begin to go within, you will realize that you've always been within, projecting a seeming outside. But, truly, there's nowhere to go. Then, within and without lose all meaning............... and this is the end of mind; it is the end of questions.

  Only the mind questions. That which one really is has no questions.

  Q: Master, any peace of mind continues to elude me. What do you prescribe?

  A: Peace of mind, no peace of mind………….you are, regardless of either.

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, please give me the experience of my true self.

  A: Wu Hsin cannot give you the experience of what you are while you continuously provide yourself with the experience of what you aren't.

  What then remains?

  Q: Must I destroy my sense of being a person in order to be liberated?

  A: Yes and no.

  You needn’t burn down your hut to exit your hut. You can walk out the door.

  Consciousness opens the door for the transcendence of consciousness. Until that occurs, consciousness experiences its manifestation via its instrument, the psychosomatic organism.

  Q: Please tell me once again about my true essence, Master.

  A: Nothing can appear unless there is something there to appear to, a locus of perception.

  How can even void be known at all if there is no one to witness it?

  One is neither the body nor the mind, yet aware of both. When the constant noise of the mental activity is stilled, peace reveals itself as ever-present.

  Q: Beloved Wu Hsin, which practice is best for me to attain enlightenment?

  A: What can an icicle do to return itself to water?

  A human being is only an object, the instrument of experiencing. How could an object transform itself into that which is the essence?

  One is where one is because of everything one has done. One is where one is in spite of everything one has done.

  As such, what one does or doesn't do loses its relevance.

  Q: Master, there is so little time. Soon I will die. How can accelerate my becoming perfect?

  A: At the time of death, what dies? Only the idea of being something in particular.

  Becoming requires time whereas no time is required to be what you are. First see what you really are and then decide if becoming anything else is required.

  Q: Master, is there an end to the discovery of what I really am?

  A: No, because what you really are is infinite.

  Q: My understanding no longer deepens. My frustration grows daily. What do you suggest for me?

  A: Until the psychosomatic identification is released, understanding cannot go beyond the intellectual and intellectual understanding is not Understanding. You can use the intellect to know what you are not. Whatever you are, to know That, the intellect is of no use.

  If you are stuck at this stage, surrender all to your god. In time, you will begin to feel that the god you've been surrendering to is none other than your own self.

  Q: What must I do to reach heaven?

  A: Were you an independent entity, there might be something for you to do. But you are not. All this talk is like believing that the reflection can improve the reflecting surface.

  There is nothing for you to do. Allow that which brought you here to take you there.

  Q: Where is the consciousness located?

  A: When something is everywhere, where is it located?

  As you don’t need to know the location of your eyes in order to see, preoccupation with the location of consciousness is yet another distraction.

  Q: Master, I come here to await your grace.

  A: Why wait for something that has already arrived, for something that never leaves?

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, I have been meditating for more than ten years yet I am still unhappy. Is my practice to be faulted?

  A: Happiness is not determined by the feelings that are experienced. It is in the equanimity of standing apart from the feelings. Happiness is unmoved in the face of whatever negative feelings appear in the same way that the sun is unaffected by clouds.

  It cannot be attained by any "one"
and is self-shining in the presence of no "one". You can be happy in the world only when you are free of it.

  Q: Master, my meditation is quite often fragmentary and frequently interrupted. What do you suggest for me?

  A: Moving attention away from thoughts disempowers them and breaks their trance.

  Q: Master, you are always completely unaffected by whatever happens. How do you do this? Can you teach it to me?

  A: Black smoke may soil walls, but the sky is unaffected.

  You are the sky. See it and be finished.

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, I have been trying to monitor my progress. However, I really have no map, no way to understand if I am progressing. Do you have such a map?

  A: The arrival of clear sight is sudden, like a frayed rope snapping. Whereas the fraying is gradual, the snapping happens in an unexpected instant.

  Q: Master, what does it mean to know something directly?

  A: Every thing known is known through some intermediary, the senses or the mind processes. Only being, I am, is known directly.

  Remain with yourself, don't get lost among objects.

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, my self control is weak. How can I strengthen it?

  A: The idea of self control is yet another egoic delusion. You can never control yourself as there is no second one to control the first.

  The love affair with one's ideas must end. Emptied of all ideas, naked, one sees the Primordial Ground upon which all phenomena take its stand.

  Q: Master, why do you not share with us your own experiences so that we can better come to know you?

  A: They are unimportant. Know the truth of yourself and you will know Wu Hsin intimately.

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, your teaching is most profound. However, are we not merely exchanging new concepts for old?

  A: Any and all concepts are open to question. The only thing that cannot be questioned is existence, this clear sense that I am.

  Disregard all concepts, including those of Wu Hsin, and abide in what cannot be questioned.

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, what is the difference between my reality and the reality of which you speak?

  A: The only reality you have ever known is the reality of your beliefs.

  However, when clear sight occurs, there appears a sudden void where you previously thought you were.

  Q: Master, can you provide me with what I need?

  A: What you need will come to you, if you are not preoccupied with what you don’t need.

  Q: Master, I have had great visions. What meaning should I assign to them?

  A: What appears disappears.

  You are that within which everything appears and disappears. This is their meaning, that they point back to what you are.

  Q: Must my behavior be perfect in every moment of everyday?

  A: To realize That which you are is not dependent on your proper behavior or correct conduct. It is not dependent on any condition: not on becoming and changing, not on some event in time.

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, I want to be a better person. How may this be accomplished?

  A: You have a role to play in the functioning of the world. Don’t be concerned with it.

  If the role needs improvement, adjustment or modification, leave it to the One Who assigned the role to take care of it.

  Q: Master, I am feeling lost; can you provide me with direction?

  A: Whether you are is not open to question. What you are is the direction of the investigation.

  Q: Master, I have endless responsibilities and no time for looking within. What can I do?

  A: Begin by re-examining your responsibilities. Let That which planted the trees provide them with the necessary water.

  Q: Master, I wish to turn away from the world and retreat to the forests for my meditation. May I have your approval?

  A: Retreating to the forest is not turning away from the world. It is merely changing your location in the world.

  The ephemeral feeling of "I Amness" is the gateway to the Self. It is available in every moment, in every location, to those who are not otherwise distracted.

  Q: Master, I am dissatisfied with my progress. My understanding does not deepen. Can you advise me?

  A: There is no progress in what is real. What is there to progress to?

  All notions of progress belong to the imagined world. It is like building a road to a town which doesn't exist.

  Releasing them constitutes what you call progress.

  Q: Master, how can you suggest that no practice is required? How can one progress without practice?

  A: Regardless of the practice, when someone practices, it reinforces the notion of there being "someone". In the absence of practice, in the absence of any mental or physical movement, what are you?

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, I have been told that you can help me become unlimited. If this is so, please instruct me in your ways.

  A: First, find who it is who assigned limitation to you. You will find it is only yourself, as you have defined yourself. Limitation is the very essence of personality.

  Investigate whether or not you have been lying to yourself. That is all.

  Q: Master, my feelings of being something separate and apart are quite strong. I want to feel the essential unity but I don't. Am I doomed to this small existence?

  A: Separation is the thought "I am this body and this mind". Relinquish this thought and then see if you remain separate.

  Q: Master, why do I not see what you see?

  A: You have accepted your mind as your teacher. You listen to it and obey its instructions. Little wonder you have gone so far from your true nature.

  Q: Your reputation is known far and wide. May I humbly ask you, Master, why should I believe what you advise?

  A: Wu Hsin does not ask you to believe.

  Behave as if what I say is true and judge Wu Hsin by what actually ensues. Then, if belief is necessary, it will flower.

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, this is the first time I am here with you. My life knows no happiness. Can you help me?

  A: Wu Hsin helps no one.

  If you give a bowl of rice to a starving man and he refuses to eat it, have you helped him? In eating the rice, he helps himself.

  Here too, you help yourself when you take what has been given. Understanding this, are you ready to help yourself?

  Q: Master, why don’t more people come to be with you? Does the lack of attendance trouble you?

  A: Those who are thirsty come to the water. The water doesn't worry about how many come or do not come.

  Q: Master, what is meant by "apperception"?

  A: Everyone is ensnared in a net of concepts. Tearing holes in the net is accomplished by eliminating concepts. The fewer the concepts, the larger the hole.

  Apperception is understanding in the absence of concepts.

  Q: Master, how do I remove this sense of "mine" which pervades so much?

  A: When Wu Hsin has a brief stay in a guest house, he dare not claim the water pitcher beside the bed as “mine”.

  In much the same way, when one understands that this seeming life is merely a brief stay, the notion of “mine” will not arise.

  Q: Can you show me that of which you teach?

  A: Like the wind can only be seen by its effects, this force can be seen as thoughts, speech and actions.

  It has no requirement for continuity. It is indestructible and untouchable.

  Understand that only the false wants to insure that it goes on.

  Q: Master, what is duality?

  A: Duality is the mingling of I and not-I.

  Q: Master, how am I to reach the Beyond?

  A: Give up your fascination with your imaginary creations and then see if anything more is required.

  Q: Master, I have listened to you give instruction to many others, each suitable to their dispositions. What is your instruction for me?

  A: Return to that state prior to the arising of self consciousness.

  Examine the view there and then see if anything else is requi
red.

  Q: Please look into my heart, Master Wu Hsin, and tell me what is yet to be seen clearly that holds me back.

  A: You have not yet come far enough to understand that you are the subject of all phenomena.

  You have yet to see that object-entity you have created to be yourself is yet another phenomenon to be known, but not the knower.

  Q: Master, my understanding is that the goal is to abide as the seer. Is this correct?

  A: When one looks at the triad of the seer, the seeing and the seen, one mistakes the seer for the subjectivity.

  This is not so. The seer is the instrument of the subjectivity, which is the seeing.

  It is in this Seeing that the triad is reduced to unity.

  Q: Master, why do advise removing the attention from names and forms?

  A: Finite bodies all come to an end, but that which possesses and uses the body, is infinite, without limit, eternal, indestructible.

  Q: Master, how can a student recognize the Infinite?

  A: It cannot be recognized because it cannot be cognized.

  It cannot be remembered because it is never not now.

  Q: Master, why is consciousness so important?

  A: Just as light is required to see shadows, consciousness is required for the perception of the world.

  The absence of one is the absence of both. Yet, even this is not final.

  That which watches the stream of one's consciousness must be prior to said consciousness. What is that?

  Q: Master Wu Hsin, I come before you because I am not seeing any results from my efforts. What do you advise me to do?

  A: As sunlight hitting an object creates a shadow, the light of consciousness hitting the form of its instrument creates what in essence is also a shadow, the seeming self.