JAMES MSIEM | Zen Wisdom

First I teach people how to concentrate and strengthen their small sense of self. I teach them how to concentrate the mind and build a focused, strong sense of self. Only when the small self is concentrated can one move beyond it. In kung-an practice, one’s self must be concentrated in order to break through it.

First I teach people how to concentrate and strengthen their small sense of self. If they do not experience enlightenment, at least they will have improved their self-esteem and confidence; and they will not be as scattered as before. The steps one goes through are: scattered small self; concentrated small self; large or universal self; no-self.

STUDENT:
What would one who has reached the level of large, or universal, self think and feel?

SHIH-FU:
Large self is an experience that comes and then goes, like a religious or spiritual revelation. At such a time, people would feel as though they were one with the universe. They would feel as if they were the universe. After the experience leaves, they would again be normal, but the feeling would endure, and they would feel more expansive, more settled, more compassionate, more confident.

STUDENT:
Is it possible for this experience to last for a long time?

SHIH-FU:
The feeling can endure, but the experience will not.

STUDENT:
You said that after liberation, wisdom and merit continue to exist, and that this is no-self. Can you expand on this?

SHIH-FU:
People who are fully enlightened have wisdom and merit, but they do not perceive it as such. If they thought, “We have wisdom and merit, ” then that would mean they are still attached to a self, and they would not be truly liberated. Their wisdom and merit are perceived by others who come to them for guidance. It is the perception of other beings that these people have wisdom and merit, not that of the enlightened beings themselves.

STUDENT:
Why would someone want to go beyond universal self to no-self?

SHIH-FU:
Remember, these terms are invented for us to talk about the experiences of practitioners. If there were actually a “no-self” to attain, it would just be another kind of self. The same is true for large self. Practitioners would spend all their time chasing after attractive false selves.

Who would want to go beyond universal self? People who want to experience Buddhist enlightenment. They want to experience genuine liberation. However, once they reach that stage, they will not feel that they are at that stage. In fact, they return to the everyday world, but with no attachments.

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