Thought and the ten thousand things
Prior to thought, all is one - of a single essence. It is the presence of thought which defines the boundaries of things, which breaks up the world into pieces. If all is one, there can be no conflict - there is peace and harmony - for only two separate things can be in conflict. When thought is present, so is “the other”, and conflict is possible.
If the mind makes no discriminations,
The ten thousand things,
Are as they are, of single essence.
Hsin-Hsin Ming
Take your current visual field. If you can, name nothing in it - stay in this state for as long as possible. Afterwards, take note - in this state of “no-naming” was there any joints or edges in your field of vision? Or was it all an integrated, single, field?
The same goes for all experience - if you can remain in a state which is absent of mental categorisation, you may receive the insight that, in truth, there are no separate things.
The same goes for the self-thing. The self-thing is also a categorisation of the discriminating mind. It is a function of the mind trying to find a category for that which experiences. It is the mind trying to encapsulate that from which it arises. But, of course, whatever gives rise to the mind and thoughts is beyond the categorisation of the mind and thought.
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