Smashing the Mask, Losing One's Head

[Guest guest]

Hmm...don't know where 'previous post' went to but as it happens I have tattered copy of

ON HAVING NO HEAD - Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious

(D.E.Harding) on the desk beside me. Nice syncronicity.

I met Douglas years ago when I was an earnest Zen student and he came

to visit our sangha. He did and said many interesting things, one of

which was to take my glasses off my nose and then slowly put them

back again telling me to "let your eye be single and full of light".

It was quite a while before I got it.

Most of his exercises are on the nice Headless web site. Takes

practice but works. Hard to believe you get it because it is so

obvious. Or that something so essential and wonderful is so

accessible, especially if one has been a 'practitioner" for many

years and knows a lot..laugh. Sometimes people get it and then say,

hey, that's dangerous. And then one needs to keep practicing. He

says:

"The Headless Way - in contrast to those that combine Eastern

spirituality with Western psychotherapy - is not concerned with

deliberately watching the porcesses of the mind, or with

psychological probing as such, or with meditation aimed at raising

repressed material to the surface: or (for that matter) with stilling

the mind. Rather it takes the line of Ramana Maharshi, who taught: "To

adhere in the Self is the thing, Never mind the mind." And of Chang

Chen Chi, who (in his valuable guide The Practice of Zen) points out

that zen isn't interested in the aspects and strata of the mind but

in penetrating to its core, "for it holds that once this core is

grasped, all else will become relatively insignificant and crystal

clear."

And so on. The chapter on the eight stages of the Headless Way is

interesting, How did we get from nondual (very early childhood) to

dual and then go back again -and I can post from if anyone is

curious.

Now to do some work..gotta get 'ahead' ya know.

Love Joyce

, Greg Goode <goode@D...> wrote:

> His most famous book (now out of print) is ON HAVING NO HEAD. Many

of the

> seeing techniques and exercises can be seen on their website,

> www.headless.org. I use things like these in the last part of my 6-

month

> Advaita Vedanta class.

Thanks for the link, I'll keep that.

I found Harding's writings to be puzzling at first but he does

present them with a lot of humor and wit.

I think it's good to see something like his writings which do not

carry spiritual ovetones or the common trappings of non dual

teachings.

A.

[Guest guest]

Hi Joyce,

 

Thanks for the info on the Headless Way and for sharing the

story about your glasses.

 

This site has an interesting opening - you need the 'flash'

plug -in to view it.

 

http://www.headless.org/

 

Love,

james

 

 

, "Joyce Short" <insight@s...> wrote:

> Hmm...don't know where 'previous post' went to but as it happens I

have

> tattered copy of

>

> ON HAVING NO HEAD - Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious

(D.E.Harding) on

> the desk beside me. Nice syncronicity.

>

> I met Douglas years ago when I was an earnest Zen student and he

came to

> visit our sangha. He did and said many interesting things, one of

which was

> to take my glasses off my nose and then slowly put them back again

telling

> me to "let your eye be single and full of light". It was quite a

while

> before I got it.

>

> Most of his exercises are on the nice Headless web site. Takes

practice but

> works. Hard to believe you get it because it is so obvious. Or that

> something so essential and wonderful is so accessible, especially if

one has

> been a 'practitioner" for many years and knows a lot..laugh.

Sometimes

> people get it and then say, hey, that's dangerous. And then one

needs to

> keep practicing. He says:

>

> "The Headless Way - in contrast to those that combine Eastern

spirituality

> with Western psychotherapy - is not concerned with deliberately

watching the

> porcesses of the mind, or with psychological probing as such, or

with

> meditation aimed at raising repressed material to the surface: or

(for that

> matter) with stilling the mind. Rather it takes the line of Ramana

Maharshi,

> who taught: "To adhere in the Self is the thing, Never mind the

mind." And

> of Chang Chen Chi, who (in his valuable guide The Practice of Zen)

points

> out that zen isn't interested in the aspects and strata of the mind

but in

> penetrating to its core, "for it holds that once this core is

grasped, all

> else will become relatively insignificant and crystal clear."

>

> And so on. The chapter on the eight stages of the Headless Way is

> interesting, How did we get from nondual (very early childhood) to

dual and

> then go back again -and I can post from if anyone is curious.

>

> Now to do some work..gotta get 'ahead' ya know.

>

> Love Joyce

>

>

>

> , Greg Goode <goode@D...> wrote:

>

> > His most famous book (now out of print) is ON HAVING NO HEAD.

Many

> of the

> > seeing techniques and exercises can be seen on their website,

> > www.headless.org. I use things like these in the last part of my

6-

> month

> > Advaita Vedanta class.

>

> Thanks for the link, I'll keep that.

>

> I found Harding's writings to be puzzling at first but he does

> present them with a lot of humor and wit.

>

> I think it's good to see something like his writings which do not

> carry spiritual ovetones or the common trappings of non dual

> teachings.

>

>

> A.

[Guest guest]

, "Joyce Short" <insight@s...> wrote:

> ON HAVING NO HEAD - Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious

(D.E.Harding) on

> the desk beside me. Nice syncronicity.

 

Neat The stars must be right for a common experience of utter

headlessness. Sleppy Hollow.

> I met Douglas years ago when I was an earnest Zen student and he

came to

> visit our sangha. He did and said many interesting things, one of

which was

> to take my glasses off my nose and then slowly put them back again

telling

> me to "let your eye be single and full of light". It was quite a

while

> before I got it.

 

That sounds like an interesting meeting.

 

The earnestness of your past practice touches me even though you may

have had some second thoughts about it later on.

>Hard to believe you get it because it is so obvious. Or that

> something so essential and wonderful is so accessible, especially

if one has

> been a 'practitioner" for many years and knows a lot..laugh.

 

Isn't that usually the case ? The natural way is the best. So many

times it's best not to decide before looking.

>Sometimes

> people get it and then say, hey, that's dangerous. And then one

needs to

> keep practicing. He says:

>

>Rather it takes the line of Ramana Maharshi,

> who taught: "To adhere in the Self is the thing, Never mind the

mind." And

> of Chang Chen Chi, who (in his valuable guide The Practice of Zen)

points

> out that zen isn't interested in the aspects and strata of the mind

but in

> penetrating to its core, "for it holds that once this core is

grasped, all

> else will become relatively insignificant and crystal clear."

>

> And so on. The chapter on the eight stages of the Headless Way is

> interesting, How did we get from nondual (very early childhood) to

dual and

> then go back again -and I can post from if anyone is curious.

 

Please post some when you have time. I'd be curious to see more.

 

It's a bit funny ppl feel the headless approach is "dangerous"

but I can see why. I've only found it to be dangerous while running

too fast down the stairs. The loss of depth perception does seem to

be interfering at first.

 

I remember the headlessness from even late childhood and thinking I

had the faces of everyone when looking at others. I can vaguely

remember that being lost some time in the early teens, so I think the

little excerpt was interesting.

 

 

Am.