No-Mind

To transcend separation and realize oneness is the supreme goal of our human evolution, by the power of which we come back to our original state and actualize our eternal identity. True oneness cannot be accessed prior to the awakening of the inner state, for without the inner state there is no existential bridge between self and reality. As we move into the states beyond the mind, our human consciousness gradually begins to surrender to reality as a whole. Expansion into no-mind, the awakening of integral consciousness and the return to the natural state are the various aspects of our enlightenment to complete oneness with existence.

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 this 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? How can we go beyond the mind? What remains when the mind is transcended? 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 conceptualize 'no-mind' through negation alone does not reveal its true meaning. 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, so far beyond the grasp of ordinary language, some traditions choose to emphasize what it isn't, rather than sully it with imperfect understanding. However, if we avoid trying to understand what no-mind actually is, we leave the door open to its false interpretations, 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 any 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, just as we have to experience it before we can grasp its ultimate significance.

Can we think about non-thinking? How can we comprehend the reality beyond the mind if the only instrument to understand it is this very mind? The answer lies in the fact that 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 transcendent to mind.

Beyond the Presence and Absence of Thought

No-mind is both the thought-free dimension of being and the consciousness of the soul. 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, thus 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 expansion into non-thinking. Trying to suppress thinking is a misguided approach to the path, since thinking is a natural part of life. By consciously resting in no-mind, we stop fuelling 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, but 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. We do not calm the mind by restraining its activity, but by awakening our complete presence within the inner state. The mind cannot be pacified directly, because any effort to change the state of the mind only gives it additional energy. Instead, we should remain totally uninvolved in the mind, or allow a relaxed, but 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 embrace the natural mind once again as a part of our multidimensional existence; no-mind itself remains existentially autonomous of both our involvement and non-involvement in the mind.

Levels of No-mind

The dimension of no-mind includes all of the states beyond the mind. The inner state is the gateway beyond the mind, and each of its aspects represents a particular level of expansion within no-mind. The deeper we move into the inner state, the more profound is our realization of no-mind. From awareness we move to being, from being to the absolute, from the absolute to the heart, and from the heart to transparent me, until we reach the state of transcendence - the highest energetic realization of no-mind. Beyond its energetic dimension, the deepest level of no-mind is reached through the complete surrender of our personal intelligence in the impersonal space of being, the state of samadhi.

Personal and Impersonal No-mind

There are two aspects of no-mind: personal and impersonal. Impersonal no-mind is the internal space of the inner state through which the soul abides within totality, the primordial source of the whole creation. An example of impersonal no-mind is the absolute state. No one owns the absolute, as it is the beyond of the beyond, the bottomless ground of existence. Personal no-mind is the essence of I am, the non-conceptual heart of the soul's existence. The presence of the personal aspect reveals how it is possible to know the state of no-mind even though it is beyond knowing. The soul does not need the mind to be conscious of the beyond and herself, for this knowledge is intrinsic to her consciousness. She is the embodiment of the personal no-mind through which the unknown is known.

No-mind is Our True Self

Many seekers are conditioned by the impersonal vision of no-mind, which while not incorrect, is incomplete. For many, it is an unexpected revelation to realize that the state of no-mind is none other than being oneself. Unless we recognize no-mind as our very self, it does not link us to the ground of reality, for it is not founded upon pure subjectivity. The experience of impersonal no-mind cannot be embodied before we realize our personal essence. From the viewpoint of complete realization, we can say that when the soul is bypassed in the realization of no-mind, the state is tainted by objectivity - it is objectified as external to our true nature. To experience universal subjectivity in the absence of personal subjectivity is to externalize the ultimate reality, because the knower has not yet integrated his own subjective essence with the universal subjectivity of the beyond.

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 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 by virtue of 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 next step after the energetic realization of no-mind and our existential shift of identity from ego to I am entails a certain degree of integration between the mind and no-mind. 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 and all grasping from the mind creates a sense of separate self that stands in the way of 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, to live in emptiness and dwell upon nothing.

No-mind is the essence of our liberation from the illusory net of conceptual reality. Nonetheless, we should be careful not to take a superficial view of the non-conceptual state, for we cannot drop the conceptual realm prior to reaching an adequate expansion of understanding. The depth of the non-conceptual state is in fact directly tied to the profundity of our 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

The term no-mind points to the absence of conceptualization within the experience of oneness. Ultimately, 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. We must transcend the ego-construct, which by its very nature can never become one with existence. 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.

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