This last section of the manuscript for The Book of Chen Jen is broken down into several posts. To see all the posts in chronological order, go to the Book of Chen Jen Index Page (scroll down to Section 3). For the sake of these posts, the questions posed by the interviewer, Sue-tzu, will be in bold and the answers by the author will appear as regular text.
Can I come back to ‘the heart of your way’? You have Chen Jen say a great deal about not-believing and not-knowing as a . . . I want to say ‘means to harmony with Tao’, but I know you don’t recognize a distinction between means and ends.
To tell you the truth, I feel more like Chen Jen had me say these things rather than the other way around.
You mean you ‘channeled’ Chen Jen?
God help us!! I don’t know what this ‘channeling’ is, nor do I want to. Is there no end to all this hocus-pocus?! I can think of nothing scarier than browsing through the New Age section of my local bookstore. No, I meant that the words which Chen Jen wrote arose without my intention. They arose in spontaneity. This pre-empts the question why I wrote Chen Jen. There is no ‘why.’
Can you tell me then about ‘the heart of your way’?
Is there no escape? Okay, let me tell you about what Chen Jen said and I will keep it within that context — that is, he speaks, not I. Do you understand what I mean?
You do not want to teach or espouse a teaching?
Correct. Chen Jen has realized harmony with ‘Tao’. This harmony might be described as emptiness. Emptiness is a way of being in which consciousness, though self-aware, has transcended ego-self. Ego-self is an illusion created by self and is expressed primarily in a sense of personal identity. This sense of personal identity is sustained through belief. The exposure of this and all belief to the light of emptiness burns them away. One is empty. To be empty is to have no beliefs, including the belief that one knows something about the nature of ultimate reality. But to be empty is also to be full. Emptiness is freedom. It is freedom from fear — fear of death or of any event that might overtake one. It is freedom from need — the need to know, to achieve, ‘to be someone’, to have a purpose, or meaning in life. And because self-awareness remains, emptiness is full of thankfulness and joy and the serendipitous freedom of being.
There are many ways I can say the same thing though with different emphasis. Chen Jen has realized harmony with ‘Tao’ through letting go of everything within himself that is in conflict with the flow of what IS. He does not contend with death, the absence of meaning or understanding, or the hazards of life. All is affirmed. Nothing exists outside the all-encompassing embrace of ‘Tao.’ Everything is part of the great flow of ‘Tao’. Everything returns to the Source.
Or I could say: Chen Jen has transcended the captivity of self-identity. He has realized a transcendent view in which he is free of the burden of a belief in his own existence. For him, ‘self’ is awareness which neither has nor needs a reason to be. It Is, and is accepted as such.
Can I come back to ‘the heart of your way’? You have Chen Jen say a great deal about not-believing and not-knowing as a . . . I want to say ‘means to harmony with Tao’, but I know you don’t recognize a distinction between means and ends.
To tell you the truth, I feel more like Chen Jen had me say these things rather than the other way around.
You mean you ‘channeled’ Chen Jen?
God help us!! I don’t know what this ‘channeling’ is, nor do I want to. Is there no end to all this hocus-pocus?! I can think of nothing scarier than browsing through the New Age section of my local bookstore. No, I meant that the words which Chen Jen wrote arose without my intention. They arose in spontaneity. This pre-empts the question why I wrote Chen Jen. There is no ‘why.’
Can you tell me then about ‘the heart of your way’?
Is there no escape? Okay, let me tell you about what Chen Jen said and I will keep it within that context — that is, he speaks, not I. Do you understand what I mean?
You do not want to teach or espouse a teaching?
Correct. Chen Jen has realized harmony with ‘Tao’. This harmony might be described as emptiness. Emptiness is a way of being in which consciousness, though self-aware, has transcended ego-self. Ego-self is an illusion created by self and is expressed primarily in a sense of personal identity. This sense of personal identity is sustained through belief. The exposure of this and all belief to the light of emptiness burns them away. One is empty. To be empty is to have no beliefs, including the belief that one knows something about the nature of ultimate reality. But to be empty is also to be full. Emptiness is freedom. It is freedom from fear — fear of death or of any event that might overtake one. It is freedom from need — the need to know, to achieve, ‘to be someone’, to have a purpose, or meaning in life. And because self-awareness remains, emptiness is full of thankfulness and joy and the serendipitous freedom of being.
There are many ways I can say the same thing though with different emphasis. Chen Jen has realized harmony with ‘Tao’ through letting go of everything within himself that is in conflict with the flow of what IS. He does not contend with death, the absence of meaning or understanding, or the hazards of life. All is affirmed. Nothing exists outside the all-encompassing embrace of ‘Tao.’ Everything is part of the great flow of ‘Tao’. Everything returns to the Source.
Or I could say: Chen Jen has transcended the captivity of self-identity. He has realized a transcendent view in which he is free of the burden of a belief in his own existence. For him, ‘self’ is awareness which neither has nor needs a reason to be. It Is, and is accepted as such.
Bear in mind that I have truly enjoyed this series, but I would like to ask Scott/Chen Jen a question in light of:
ReplyDelete"Chen Jen has realized harmony with ‘Tao’ "
Did he (or Scott) come to this harmony by any practice (like meditation or the traditional Taoist physical arts like qigong or tai chi) or was it by sheer application of logic? Or what?