No-Mind

In order to reach complete understanding, we must investigate the state of oneness from several complementary angles. Here we will examine the realization of oneness from the standpoint of the mind’s presence and absence. What is the relationship between enlighten­ment and the transcendence of the mind, and what are the limits of that transcendence? Is the condition of no-mind the same as the state of oneness? Does ‘no-mind’ denote a complete absence of thought or is it an ontological dimension beyond the mind? Is the state beyond the mind a single reality or is it multifaceted and multidimensional? What is no-mind?

beyond the mind

The limitation of the profound concept ‘no-mind’ is that it points to what is not, without indicating in any way what is. To truly under­stand the essence of this term, we must delve into the positive reality that lies behind it.

Since the reality beyond the mind is so subtle, and far beyond the grasp of ordinary language, some traditions choose to emphasize what it isn’t rather than sully it with an imperfect understanding. However, if we avoid trying to understand what no-mind actually is, we leave the door open to its false interpretation and make ourselves vulnerable to numerous dangerous pitfalls.

Many seekers are stuck in their practice precisely because of their confusion about the state of no-mind. They either mistake vari­ous mystical or mental states for no-mind, or unskillfully resist think­ing. They lack the understanding that no-mind is not realized by the negation or repression of thinking, but through a positive expansion into the highly intelligent dimension beyond the mind. We must have a deep intuitive feeling-understanding for what no-mind is in order to realize it, and we have to experience it before we can grasp its ultimate significance.

The knower of the state beyond the mind is in fact not the mind, but the soul. Even though the soul uses the content of the mind to formulate her understanding, she knows no-mind directly without the medium of thought. The aspect of the mind that has the ability to observe the condition of no-mind is not the gross conceptual mind, but the subtle mind that operates as the soul’s intelligence. Thinking about non-thinking does not necessarily interfere with the thought-free state for the very simple reason that no-mind is existentially beyond thinking. No-mind is not the suspension of thought, but an energetic dimension of consciousness and being that transcends the mind itself.

beyond the presence and absence of thought

Since it is beyond the mind, no-mind is independent of both the pres­ence and absence of thinking. If no-mind were based on the absence of thought, it would be confined to the realm of polarities. True no-mind is beyond polarities; it contains both the movement of thought and the stillness beyond thought.

The mechanical mind is transformed not through the suppres­sion of thinking, but through an expansion into non-thinking. Trying to suppress thinking is a misguided approach, since thinking is a natural part of life. By consciously resting in no-mind, we stop fueling the energy of thought, and in due time, the mind becomes pacified and morphs into no-mind. The automatic activity of the mind doesn’t fully stop; it gradually subsides into the tranquility of ‘minimum thinking’. The natural state of mind is this minimum thinking, and no-mind is its existential foundation and container.

In meditation, we rest in a state beyond thinking, while allow­ing thoughts to manifest as they naturally do. The mind cannot be pacified directly, because any effort to change its condition only adds to its energy. Instead, we should remain completely unattached to mental content, or allow a relaxed, yet minimal involvement. Gradually, as we grow roots into the dimension of no-mind, our sense of identity is freed from the mind. Once the state of no-mind is fully established, we can embrace the natural mind as a part of our multidimensional existence.

no-mind is our true self

Many seekers are conditioned by the impersonal vision of no-mind, which while not incorrect, is incomplete. For them, it is an unex­pected revelation to realize that the state of no-mind is none other than being oneself. The understanding that to be in the state of no-mind is to be oneself liberates us. No longer do we strive to experi­ence our state in an artificially impersonal way that conforms to our pre-conceived notions about no-mind. We can just be natural in the space of pure presence, beyond the coming and going of thoughts. Still, we must not limit our experience of no-mind to one of individ­ual subjectivity; personal no-mind must be founded upon universal no-mind. Our pure subjectivity must be actualized in its primordial unity with the impersonal subjectivity of the supreme reality.

It is crucial to understand that the realization of no-mind is beyond the expansion into the inner state. Although the opening of the inner state is a precondition for transcending the mind, true no-mind is embodied in the shift of identity from mind to soul. Many seekers who have awakened the inner state are often still heavily identified with the mind. To be identified with the mind while abid­ing in the inner state does not mean that we are simply attracted to thoughts, but points to the fact that our sense of I am is still ingrained in the thinking intelligence. If this is the case, no matter what state we experience, our identity continues to be of the mind. Unless our iden­tity shifts to the soul, the ego will continue to rule our consciousness as the illusory center of the mind. Prior to soul-awakening, it is the mind that is the primal knower and experiencer of the states beyond the mind; after the true awakening of no-mind occurs through an existential shift from the ego to I am, no-mind is known, experienced and owned by no-mind alone.

the non-conceptual state

The non-conceptual state reflects the surrender of the mind to the purity of no-mind. If the mind conceptualizes its experience of reality in any way, it veils the bare state of oneness. Any mental grasping creates a sense of separate self that obstructs the direct perception of that which is. To live in the freedom of the non-conceptual state is to transcend the fear of not-knowing and dwell upon nothing.

Ironically, the depth of the non-conceptual state is directly tied to the profundity of the previously gained conceptual insight. Intelligence does not become absent in the state of no-mind, but expands, penetrating the dimension beyond thinking with transpar­ent knowing, and flooding it with the light of consciousness and truth. Only after the state of no-mind has been realized and fully comprehended can we move beyond understanding to embody supreme no-mind as the intelligence of the original void. 

no-mind and oneness

True oneness is not realized solely through an energetic expansion beyond the mind, but through the dissolution of the very apparatus that externalizes the undivided reality by means of thought. Only when we are empty of self can all the illusory boundaries of our personal identity dissolve into the infinite space of the one reality. To enter the realm of oneness we must surrender our very existence. This surrender is the highest expression of human wisdom. It begins within our own intelligence, but ends in the beyond.