The Zen Studies Podcast 32 - The Practice of Not-Knowing: Relief, Intimacy, and Ground for Effective Action
Sep 28, 2017
A deep dive into the Zen practice of not-knowing and how it opens present-moment openness. Stories from Buddhist teachers illustrate intimacy and direct experience. Practical discussion on how not-knowing can free compassionate, responsible, and effective action. A guided exercise explores opening to large social issues while warning against using not-knowing to avoid responsibility.
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Not-Knowing Honors The Absolute Dimension
- Not-knowing honors the absolute dimension by stepping back from conceptual views and opening to direct present experience.
- Domyo Burk traces this to the Buddha's freedom-from-views and Bodhidharma's 'don't know' as a lived orientation toward reality.
Bodhidharma's Don't Know Reply
- Bodhidharma answered Emperor Wu’s question about ultimate meaning with 'Vast emptiness, no holiness' and 'don't know.'
- Burk explains this wasn't ignorance but a practiced, rooted don't-know carried by a long lineage and practice.
Hogan's Awakening Through Not Knowing
- Master Jizo asked Hogan where he’d come from and Hogan replied 'I don't know,' prompting Jizo to say 'Not knowing is most intimate' and Hogan's great enlightenment.
- The moment dropped Hogan's preconceptions into direct sensory presence.