Edgar, I agree with you that consciousness is the essence of zen. I prefer the word 'awareness' instead of 'consciousness', but I assume we're speaking about the same thing. For me, 'Buddha Mind' is analogous to pure consciousness or pure awareness, as opposed to the illusions of self-consciousness or self-awareness.
I disagree with your statements about 'understanding' pure consciousness/awareness. I do not believe we can 'understand' this quality because 'understanding' is a function of our rational mind, our dualistic mind, or self-aware mind. I believe any notions of understanding pure consciousness/awareness we do have are illusions and possible even detrimental in experiencing pure consciousness/awareness. I do know we can experience pure consciousness/awareness, and for me that is the essence of zen - experiencing, not understanding. I haven't thought much about non-human consciousness, so don't have an opinion on that; except the very fact that you divide consciousness into human and non-human is suspect to me. I would like to read your papers on this subject. You could post the links here or send them directly to me at my email address. Thanks...Bill! From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Edgar Owen Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 6:07 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: [evol-psych] Essay: The Shy Computer Hi Bill, I posted it here because consciousness is the essence of Zen. Zen is precisely pure consciousness. So the more we understand about the true nature of consciousness the more we understand about Zen. I believe we can get some good insights by considering non-human consciousnesses. I have a couple of papers on the nature of consciousness and the 'true nature of things' if anyone is interested I could provide links to. Best, Edgar ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
