For the last three decades or so, the motto of the United Negro College Fund has been "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." I used to think that was a darn good slogan...until I started immersing myself in the world of Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi). In some ways, I imagine that the second sage of philosophical Taoism might suggest that the mind itself is a bit of a waste!
Alan Watts has written that we humans tend to confuse the mind for the brain. The former thinks, while the latter does. The mind is weighed down by feelings, emotions, sentiments, thoughts, concepts, ideas and prejudices. In the words of Lao Tzu, the mind is the mechanism that creates and maintains distinctions.
The brain, on the other hand, isn't encumbered by these layers of distraction. It doesn't try to distill the theological or political implications of one heartbeat to the next. It doesn't take the time to conceptualize the need to breath. It merely coordinates what needs to happen in order for each of us to live.
This got me to thinking that many of our common phrases in regards to the mind would be understood by Chuang Tzu in a radically different way. For example, if I tell you that "You're out of your mind," that phrase indicates something negative. I'm telling you that your thoughts, deeds or actions are crazy or untenable.
But Chuang Tzu would think that being told he was "out of his mind" was a good thing! When we are able to climb beyond the confines of the mind, we can come out into an open field to meet Tao.
In this same vein, Chuang Tzu would rejoice if someone said he had "lost his mind." And me thinks he would sing a song and do a merry jig if you told him that his "idle mind was the devil's workshop!"
I'm not suggesting that anyone -- me included -- rush out today to order a lobotomy. I'm also not suggesting that the human mind hasn't led our species to great technological leaps and bounds. No, this post is more of a reminder that losing one's mind can, at times, be very beneficial. It is when we wipe our minds clean that they become open to receive the Great Mystery, the flow of life, the One without definition.
Alan Watts has written that we humans tend to confuse the mind for the brain. The former thinks, while the latter does. The mind is weighed down by feelings, emotions, sentiments, thoughts, concepts, ideas and prejudices. In the words of Lao Tzu, the mind is the mechanism that creates and maintains distinctions.
The brain, on the other hand, isn't encumbered by these layers of distraction. It doesn't try to distill the theological or political implications of one heartbeat to the next. It doesn't take the time to conceptualize the need to breath. It merely coordinates what needs to happen in order for each of us to live.
This got me to thinking that many of our common phrases in regards to the mind would be understood by Chuang Tzu in a radically different way. For example, if I tell you that "You're out of your mind," that phrase indicates something negative. I'm telling you that your thoughts, deeds or actions are crazy or untenable.
But Chuang Tzu would think that being told he was "out of his mind" was a good thing! When we are able to climb beyond the confines of the mind, we can come out into an open field to meet Tao.
In this same vein, Chuang Tzu would rejoice if someone said he had "lost his mind." And me thinks he would sing a song and do a merry jig if you told him that his "idle mind was the devil's workshop!"
I'm not suggesting that anyone -- me included -- rush out today to order a lobotomy. I'm also not suggesting that the human mind hasn't led our species to great technological leaps and bounds. No, this post is more of a reminder that losing one's mind can, at times, be very beneficial. It is when we wipe our minds clean that they become open to receive the Great Mystery, the flow of life, the One without definition.
When I feel especially at odds with the Tao I sometimes say that "I am not in my right mind". I suspect that if I ever truely get in my "right mind" that others will say that I have "lost my mind"/
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