View Single Post
Old 06-18-2009, 10:12 AM   #1
mathewjgano
 
mathewjgano's Avatar
Dojo: Tsubaki Kannagara Jinja Aikidojo; Himeji Shodokan Dojo
Location: Renton
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,276
United_States
Offline
"No Mind" - What is it?

I'm sure this has been explained a million times, but being that this is a forum, a meeting place, more than an archive, I thought I'd ask: No-mind: what is it?

I don't train enough to feel like an expert, but my impression (for the purpose of critical review) is that no-mind denotes a state of mind in which "word"-thinking and emotion approaches 0; the effect being so attention and intention can approach their maximum. Abstract thinking like concepts of morality become almost a complete tangent to the awareness which is geared purely toward acting and sensing.
Some would say this is a purely instinctive level, but I'm guessing it is not because instinct implies a sub-conscious operator, while no-mind as I've assumed it to be implies a conscious operator, but one purely focused on the task at hand. Times when I was in the zone often revolved around math though, so maybe abstract thinking isn't necessarily as removed as I thought...is it (no-mind) the same as being in the middle of now (naka-ima)? Or, what's different between the two?
Ok, babbling aside: what is no-mind; what is naka ima? And what are their implications?
Dozo yoroshiku onegaitaishimasu,
Matthew

Gambarimashyo!
  Reply With Quote