This,That and Something Else

I think it's helpful when studying zen to be aware of our own biology and how our biology influences our thoughts. 

There is a lot of discussion in zen, buddhism and the tao about opposites. Opposites like ying and yang, form and emptiness, black and white,  consciousness and unconsciousness, this and that. What's the opposite of a turnip?

Over time I've noticed that zen masters have played with the notion, our perception of this or that. 
Typical zen stories are:
A zen student comments " I am above such notions of self". 
The zen master gives the zen student's nose a painful twist and says "who's nose is this!"

From one perspective every thing's connected. We often associate the "every thing's connected" perception with enlightenment. We know we are connected yet we most often act as though we are not connected. Why?

It's worth a look at our own biology, anatomy. We are bilaterally symmetrical, left hand, right hand. Our brain is divided into left and right hemispheres. We seek balance and symmetry. Someone that is mentally disturbed is "out of balance". We can detect slight differences in someone's face. If their nose isn't straight or one eye is bigger than the other. No wonder we think in terms of left and right, wrong and right. We are balance centric beings living in a symmetric and asymmetric world.

We perceive our hand as consisting of two parts, a front  hand and a back hand. Yet, where does the front of your hand end and the back of your hand start?

I suggest that we consider "awareness" as a word to represent the perception we have that everything is connected, not separate. That awareness is the "something else" of this and that and something else. That awareness is what's cultivated when we sit in meditation. 


All fine art comes from awareness. All art comes from the place between this and that.