Are You Resting in Zhi?
Sojong Reminder from Anam Thubten 9/2020
Dear Dharma friends,
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There is a verse in Jigme Lingpa’s Dzogchen prayer which says, “It is not existence, Buddhas haven’t seen it. It is not nonexistence, it is the ground of Nirvana and Samsara.” This verse is pointing out a state of reality that cannot be captured easily in logical words. He is describing what is called zhi or primordial ground. Zhi is indescribable. The point is not so much to define it, but to understand that non-dual traditions are teaching us to drop the thinking mind. To know the zhi, we cannot set out to learn about it. Learning is still part of the thinking mind. If we can drop the thinking mind for a while, what remains is the zhi. How simple it is. The path of Dzogchen begins by practicing dropping the mind.
One might wonder, what is the benefit of dropping the thinking mind? When we drop the thinking mind, our “reality” collapses right on the spot. It may seem like most of our problems are gone, or it’s as if they were not even there in the first place. Though problems may arise in this human life, our thinking mind can make them seem more real and solid. It can also constantly interpret many of life’s situations as problematic, when they can actually be blessings in disguise.
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We might like to inquire about what kind of thoughts run through our mind each day. Are they capturing the whole picture of reality or just the part where we’re the center of everything? Our thoughts elate us when they’re flattering, but they often tend to bring a daily, garden-variety of suffering as well. Most thoughts are intrinsically inaccurate from the point view of the big mind, the mind of Buddha. It’s hard to see their falsehood when they’re constantly bombarding us. We need a radical means that can pull us from their trap in an instant. That radical means is to just drop the mind. We already know how to do it. If you’re not sure, just keep trying. It is so simple that it might happen before you even get through the whole process of trying to figure it out.
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This beloved human world is in chaos, not just the outer chaos of the pandemic and natural disasters, but internally as well. This is due to many causes. So it’s time for us to drop the thinking mind here and there. Let’s rest in a state of reality where there are no more story lines. What is then revealed to us is something utterly peaceful and hard to describe. It’s the peace of surrendering to our world as it is. Let’s set the intention to practice this simple, yet liberating dharma during this Sojong.
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With palms joined,
Anam Thubten
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