# Baltimore Zen Center Discussion:  "What's In Your Head?"



## Errant108 (Sep 24, 2009)

_Former & later Buddhas have transmitted mind to mind without depending on the written word. - Bodhidharma, "On Lineage"_​Have you ever gotten into a debate with someone, on politics, sports, religion, anything, really...and after hours and hours of argument, realized that you were both talking about the same thing, just coming at it from completely different angles?

Or have you ever read a book about a subject, and thought you had a good grasp of it, only to talk to someone who is an expert on that subject and realized you completely misunderstood what it was you were reading?

We come at the world with everything we "know", everything we've "learned", all of our "experience". We like to think we "keep an open mind".

Let's look at that argument that you and your friend were in. You were in agreement on the subject, but came at from different angles. The problem wasn't the subject matter. It was you. Coming at something from different angles means you aren't starting from the subject itself, but from your own preconceived notions of the subject. Your grasp of the subject isn't the subject itself. Your words are not the subject. They are your attempts to communicate your point of view of the subject.

Your friend has the same problem. He is only communicating his point of view of the subject. However, you both run into an additional problem. When your friend presents his argument, you aren't actually grasping what he's saying. You are taking in his words, not his thoughts, not his understanding. You hear what he says, and you run those words through your own perceptions and conceptual ideas. You judge them based not on the subject itself, but your conception of the subject.

It's a miracle we can communicate anything at all.

This is the same with our Zen practice. I cannot teach you Zen. I cannot explain Zen to you. You can read all the books, go to all the Dharma talks, meet with all the great teachers out there. None of it will give you any knowledge of Zen.

Although I encourage you to purchase my book when it is published next year, and please, stop by the Baltimore Zen Center some time soon. I'd love the company.

So, when Bodhidharma said that former and later Buddhas have transmitted mind to mind without depending on the written word...why did he say that?

Next time you find yourself in one of those debates, or in an argument with a friend or a loved one, stop and ask yourself, "Why did they say that?"

Don't look for the intellectual answer, don't look for understanding.

Look for your friend.  Look for your loved one.

Then answer.

Original post:  Here


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