No-mindedness
No-mindedness(Wu-hsin) is not a blank mind that excludes all emotions; nor is it simply callousness and quietness of mind. Although quietude and calmness are necessary, it is the "non-graspiness" of the mind that mainly constitutes the principle of no-mindedness. A gung fu man employs his mind as a mirror - it grasps nothing, yet it refuses nothing; it receives but it does not keep.
As Alan Watts puts it, the no-mindedness is "A state of wholeness in which the mind functions freely and easily, without the sensation of a second mind or ego standing over it with a club."
What he means is that one lets the mind think what it likes without the interference by the separate thinker or ego within oneself. So long as it thinks what it wants, there is absolutely no effort in letting go; and the disappearance of the effort to let go is precisely the disappearance of the separate thinker. There is nothing to try to do, for whatever comes up moment by moment is accepted, including non-acceptance.
No-mindedness is then not being without emotion or feeling, but being one in whom feeling is not sticky or blocked. It is a mind immune to emotional influences.
"Like this river, everything is flowing on ceaselessly without cessation or standing still."
No-mindedness is employing the whole mind as we use the eyes when we rest them upon various objects but make no special effort to take them in.
"The baby looks at things all day without winking, that is because his eyes are not focused on any particular object. He goes without knowing where he is going, and stops without knowing what he is doing. He merges himself with the surroundings and moves along with it. These are the principles of mental hygiene." (Chuang-tzu)
A gung fu man's mind is present everywhere because it is nowhere attached to any particular object. And it can remain present because even when related to this or that object, it does not cling to it.
The flow of thought is like water filling a pond, which is always ready to flow off again. It can work its inexhaustible power because it is free, and it can be open to everything because it is empty.
Bruce Lee, No-mindedness
As Alan Watts puts it, the no-mindedness is "A state of wholeness in which the mind functions freely and easily, without the sensation of a second mind or ego standing over it with a club."
What he means is that one lets the mind think what it likes without the interference by the separate thinker or ego within oneself. So long as it thinks what it wants, there is absolutely no effort in letting go; and the disappearance of the effort to let go is precisely the disappearance of the separate thinker. There is nothing to try to do, for whatever comes up moment by moment is accepted, including non-acceptance.
No-mindedness is then not being without emotion or feeling, but being one in whom feeling is not sticky or blocked. It is a mind immune to emotional influences.
"Like this river, everything is flowing on ceaselessly without cessation or standing still."
No-mindedness is employing the whole mind as we use the eyes when we rest them upon various objects but make no special effort to take them in.
"The baby looks at things all day without winking, that is because his eyes are not focused on any particular object. He goes without knowing where he is going, and stops without knowing what he is doing. He merges himself with the surroundings and moves along with it. These are the principles of mental hygiene." (Chuang-tzu)
A gung fu man's mind is present everywhere because it is nowhere attached to any particular object. And it can remain present because even when related to this or that object, it does not cling to it.
The flow of thought is like water filling a pond, which is always ready to flow off again. It can work its inexhaustible power because it is free, and it can be open to everything because it is empty.
Bruce Lee, No-mindedness
