Bring Me Your Mind

We might think that there is something called “mind” in control of our actions. Knowing this Koan will be a good chance to doubt this unconscious belief and break free of our habits related to the illusion springing from that belief. Then we could say never mind the mind!

The main characters of this Koan are Boddhidharma, the first patriarch of Zen who is said to have brought Zen to China, and Dazu Huike, the future second patriarch, who was a sheer novice monk at that time. The story goes like this …

One day, Huike comes to Boddhidharma (I’ll call him Dharma for it is simply convenient to write so) and asks him to give him peace of mind, as Huike is feeling very much uneasy. Then, Dharma tells him to bring his own mind, so that Dharma can do something with it to give Huike peace of mind.

Huike is naive enough to leave that place in a quest for his own mind. He literally looks everywhere to find out where his mind is. Can you guess what the result of his endeavor was? Now, to know the result, you could pretend you were Huike and try the same thing as he did: look for your own mind, or more straightforwardly, look for what you call “I,” “me,“ or “myself.“

Start from your body. Is there any specific location in the body where your mind, or some kind of essence of your being, “you,” resides? Don’t haste, and go slowly from the top of your head to the tip of your toe; then, search also the sensations inside your body. Did you find “yourself” anywhere in the body? Also, you could apply the same process to external objects such as the books on your bookshelf.

Then, move on to thoughts (internal monologue) and images (such sort of visual images that you mentally create when, for example, you are daydreaming) about yourself, and ask whether that is yourself. Are they thoughts and images ABOUT yourself, or you yourself?

Lastly, be conscious about the state of being conscious, be aware of the state of being aware, or be attentive to the state of being attentive. Ask whether that state relates to yourself, or if that is you yourself (Please note that I am NOT saying you are awareness, as some non-dual hardcore believers put it with so much fervishness). Is that you?

If you inquire earnestly and with a tint of curiosity, you would be able to know what Dharma and Huike came to know. Why not try? It won’t hurt to do so.