[mercuryrising]

John,

I thought you might appreciate this. It's from an Zen newsletter I used to subscribe to:

The entire path of Buddhism takes place in the world of mind. There is no path to liberation outside of mind. What is more, awakening or Buddhahood is the realization of the very nature and substance of mind by itself. This awakening of mind to mind is the direct acquaintance of mind with itself. In meditation, this called "ekakara-samadhi ciitassa" which can be rendered as "of mind the concentration of making [mind] itself or single".

Modern Buddhism is really adrift when it comes to grasping the importance of mind and awakening. It is as if there is nothing really to do in Buddhism except become a skeptic or an agnostic. Skepticism, of course, leads nowhere. The Buddha, as a matter of record, was dead set against the skeptics of his day because they rejected a basis for true knowledge.

The Buddha also would have rejected agnosticism because the agnostic assertion "we cannot know" is, on the face of it, contradictory. If someone knows they cannot know-- then they at least know that. Thus, they are no longer consistent agnostics. In fact, they are asserting an incredible kind of knowledge. Nor can they rule out that they really have no wish to know.

To take up the journey of mind, it is first important to know what are some objects of mind. Objects of mind include internal thinking, judging, forming hypotheses, attention, and determination. Perhaps more importantly, the effective activity of mind controls the senses which means it engages in self restraint. As we can see, mind is both its own object and an effective activity. At its highest point, in which mind is the object of itself, mind contains the absolute proof of its own being which is Buddhahood where all doubt vanishes.

And I responded to one of your posts in this thread and was looking forward to an answer. Since this thing is growing like a weed, just thought I'd bring it to your attention.