Nice discussion of use of pointing questions in Zen

This I thought a very good article by Stuart Lachs on the technique and *experience* of using Hua T'ou which are like pointing questions or self-inquiry sort of questions used in some Zen traditions. The latter half of the 37 page downloadable PDF in particular talks about technique, personal experience, traps, and the wise integration of insight and awakening experiences. Quite well done, I think.

http://zennist.typepad.com/zenfiles/2012/03/hua-tou-a-method-of-zen-meditation-by-stuart-lachs.html

I cross linked that on the other thread, where Mike (hello Mike) was asking about investigation in the context of Zen.

I thought the article was brilliant. It was very much the method that my teacher (and my "inner teacher") used on me (although not in a Zen framework - but same strategy and genre of questions). And it all sounded very much like my own experiences.

What do you mean "what is really at work here"?

No! Not thought **suppression** at all. Teaching you that there are other ways to apprehend, and the unknowable mystery cannot be apprehended via conceptual thought, because conceptual thought is the process of the ego. With recognition, thought is not an obstacle to anything, but merely another activity of the mind. Thoughts do not need to be supressed. But we are so caught up in thinking that intellectualizing will solve all our problems that we try to awaken by thinking about it.

Think about this: when you sit with your eyes open, staring at the wall, how much thinking do you have to do to make your eyes see the wall? How much effort do you have to make to see the wall? The eyes just function by themselves. Even a wordless infant has operational eyes and sees, even if it doesn't have any words or concepts to apply to *what* it sees. It doesn't have to know anything to see. A fly can see.

Our inability to recognize awakening comes in large part from our obsession with the stories and concepts spinning in our minds. We don't have to shut them up. We just have to realize there's another way to see. The questions, because they do not have answers like we want, turn us to the sense of wonder and curiosity and help make that other kind of seeing become apparent.

The practice can be spontaneous/freeform and come from various inspirations. For example, one of them was something like "Who is dragging this corpse around?" but the other day a friend of mine (inspired by the article) changed it to "Who is listening to this music?" It generated the same effect - who *is* listening? who? (rest in experience...) can you find the "who"? (rest in experience...) where? (rest in experience...) how do you know? (rest in experience...) who is listening? (rest in experience...)

and so forth.

That first link has a really nice summary of how to do the practice step by step. Thanks for digging those up.

Tomo, I know Stuart pretty well. We've been corresponding off and on over the last few years via email. I gave the hua-tou practice a concerted effort for a while, and he was a dependable and skillful coach.

Though it's not my specialty, I am familiar with the practice to some degree. One thing Stuart made clear to me was that the purpose of the hua-tou is to cultivate a strong sense of doubt - that feeling of not knowing. It's not investigation leading to any sort of intellectual conclusion. The mind will conjure up all kinds of solutions to the conundrum, but they are to be left by the wayside.

The point is for the doubt to grow and grow, like a snowball rolling down a mountain. It begins to build an immense amount of force, like a freight train speeding toward the edge of a cliff. It can be unsettling. All of the classic dark night symptoms arise. It can get really, realy intense.

You don't want to push too hard, so as to short ciruit your mind and leave yourself in a stupor. But you do want the doubt/not-knowing to build and build...

... and it's best not to speak about what might happen as a result

Another thing Stuart stressed about this practice was not to engage in it while doing something that demands a lot of attention, such as riding a bike or driving a car. He knows of an individual who was not so careful, and crashed their bike. But, when your safety is more assured, keep the questioning mind active persistently, consistently.

Don't try to answer the question. Just build the doubt.

Also, I think it's really cool that you're giving this a shot

Also, Stuart did an interview with John LeKay for Non-duality Magazine a while back. Here's the link:

http://www.nondualitymagazine.org/nonduality_magazine.4.stuartlachs.interview-hua-tou.htm