Living in the Deeper Mind: Returning to the Realm of the Dao

Living in the deeper mind is one of the core meanings of living in the present.
I. Paradigm:

1. Living in the present, letting everything be as it is, seeking truth from facts.
   Respect the complexity of reality and the interactions and choices of the deeper mind; do not jump to conclusions. Allow all feelings to be as they are. “Embracing Low States”
2. Connection with the unity of nature and humanity.
   These days, I feel better and better when I go for a stroll. Returning to the deeper mind, when I am with nature, I am with the Dao, in the realm of the Dao where nature and humanity are one. I have always been part of nature and the Dao.
3. The deeper mind, metacognition. Rather than thinking from a fixed, substantial self.
4. Naturalness, ease, tranquility, relaxation, rather than tension. A level deeper even than the mindful flow of study and work.
5. Gratitude, being moved, insight, rather than impressions, opinions, and musings.
   The deeper mind, the original self
   Rather than: confused views of the world, life, and values, clinging to convention, such as Zhihu’s culture of praise and blame, Zhihu sociology, and Zhihu’s amateur philosophy and amateur science
   Rather than: the petty ego sinking into illusory, chaotic appearances, such as the worlds of short videos and independent online media
   Rather than: the petty ego’s internal friction, rumination, chewing on shit; self-doubt and confusion; self-blame and self-disparagement, arrogance and inferiority, leading one astray
   Rather than: entanglements in social interaction that dull the mind; excessive talk inevitably takes one outside the realm of the Dao—the more one speaks, the sooner one is exhausted.
   Rather than: using the brain. Thinking from a fixed, substantial self is a single-screen, single-core system that frequently bugs out; the deeper mind is the true mind.
   II. The Realm of the Dao, Rather Than the Demonic Realm
   Stillness–connection–everything as it is–light–accord with the Dao without deliberate intention–the unity of nature and humanity in the natural world
   Disorder–entanglement–turbulent appearances–karmic obstructions–the petty ego entering the demonic realm and clinging to appearances–broken connections within and without
   The demonic consists of the anti-humanist, anti-human factors in human society that prevent people from being fully human, exemplified by private ownership and exploitation.
   Entering either the demonic realm or the Dao happens so seamlessly. It is difficult to notice.
   “Seeking Truth from Facts–One’s Own Demonic Realm”
   Only by seeking truth from facts can one break through the demonic; only by breaking through the demonic can one seek truth from facts. Everyone has their own particular demonic realm.
   Half asleep, half awake
   Between the realm of the Dao and the demonic realm, there is a state of being half benighted and half awakened. Like a child half waking on a summer night, feeling around in bed for their parents. The awareness that one is outside the realm of the Dao is itself already within the realm of the Dao; turning the search for the Dao into self-cultivation and striving takes one away from the Dao and into the demonic.
   III. Oscillation
   Luminous connection–rupture, karmic obstructions, and entanglement; meditative absorption–attachment to appearances; awakening–sinking into delusion; the realm of the Dao–the demonic realm; the human-made realm–the natural realm: continual oscillation, spiraling upward.
   Time spent on a task–time between tasks.
   Awareness of oscillation: after awakening, one becomes more aware of these oscillations. “Returning from Pain to Tranquility, or from Tranquility to Pain”
   Returning to high energy: those distinctly high-energy, tranquil times of unity with nature. They are a focus and an anchor in life—for example, strolling, parks, bathing, swimming, exercise, art, and so on.
   Anchors amid oscillation: some mental anchors that prompt insight in oneself, which look like methods of inner practice. For example: living in the deeper mind, the realm of the Dao, innate wholeness, the unity of nature and humanity, unconditional goodness.
   Oscillations in mental energy: maintaining fullness
   When mental energy is abundant, one flows and adapts smoothly; when mental energy is scarce, enter the Dao; becoming stranded and entangled leads into the demonic. Conversely, entering the demonic consumes much mental energy through internal friction.
   Previous pieces: “Maintaining Fullness: Keeping Mental Energy Abundant Is the First Priority” and “Strolling Is the First Priority Right Now”
   The natural unfolding–question–answer cycle:
   When mental energy is sufficient, the “natural unfolding–question–answer cycle” occurs: good questions relevant to the present naturally arise, followed by good answers naturally arising. Like Cook Ding carving an ox, one moves forward smoothly and responsively, without needing to exert oneself or strive.
   IV. Cycles
   The vicious cycle of karmic obstructions: resonance between external and internal karmic obstructions -> depletion of mental energy -> a low state -> rejecting and disparaging the low state and mindfulness–greed, aversion, and delusion -> all kinds of karmic obstructions of the petty ego
   The virtuous cycle of mental energy: embracing a low state -> narrowing one’s focus, living in the present, doing small things, strolling, keeping a diary -> mental energy naturally recovers -> connection naturally recovers -> letting everything be as it is, seeking truth from facts, identifying the principal contradiction -> a virtuous cycle of internal and external connection, the natural unfolding–question–answer cycle -> healthy connection -> the unity of nature and humanity
   V. Low States and the Negative Self
   Distinguish friend from foe
   Mistaking karmic obstructions—the petty ego and the superego—for oneself, and mistaking oneself—low states and procrastination—for the enemy: taking a thief for one’s father, destroying oneself.
   “Embracing Low States”
   A low state is an outcome, reality, pain, oneself; it is not the enemy.
   Distinguish friend from foe: a low state is not the enemy; the negative self that refuses to allow a low state is the enemy.
   The root of low states is the negative self.
   Coexist with low states.
   Other things: the night-watchman petty ego, a mental-energy asthma situation (mental-energy exhaustion + panicked exertion), libido panic (temporary disorientation), the vicious cycle of scarcity and karmic obstructions
   “All Negative Selves Are Not Me; They Are Karmic Obstructions, They Are the Enemy”:
   Any negative self, any self that is not luminous—self-attack, self-blame, inferiority–arrogance–self-hatred, the petty ego, the superego—is a karmic obstruction, is the enemy, is not me. The original self is luminous; everything outside that light is a karmic obstruction, not the original self.
   The root of low states is the negative self.
   The negative self puts oneself into a low state in order to sustain the negative self.
   “The Real Enemy: Chronic Tension and Mental Torpor”
   Tension, mental torpor, mediocrity–greed, aversion, and delusion, the inability to keep mental energy abundant, becoming stranded. The malady of internal friction under capitalism.
   VI. No-Self
   What is the self? Identification–feeling.
   One is the changing me, the me of the present, the concrete self. It is real, but there is no fixed me; there is neither a possibility nor a basis for clinging to it. Clinging brings only karmic obstructions and pain, and cannot last.
   The other is the me that neither increases nor decreases, the unchanging me. The original self does not change; human beings as the foundation; no-self.
   See oneself as scenery
   “I,” too, am only scenery along the way: the sights seen by the eyes, the words of assent spoken by the mouth. The original self remains unchanged.
   A reflection in water is also part of the water. Karmic obstructions in the water react with external karmic obstructions, and the water becomes turbid. But forms, appearances, and karmic obstructions are not the water’s source.
   There is no “I” at all. No-self; only the Dao.
   Karmic obstructions, too, are the Dao.
   Karmic obstructions are also part of the universe. It is just that, when caught in karmic obstructions, connection with oneself is broken, and pain cannot be held.
   Regard karmic obstructions with awe.

Appendix:
7.1
Today I took a brief look at the core ideas of ACT therapy. They are consistent with the approaches of Zhuangzi and Chan Buddhism: the great ways converge after all. They are also very close to the framework I have worked out and put together myself, all ultimately grounded in awareness and living in the present. It is just that Marx and Zhuangzi offer more support and inspiration for one’s views of the world, life, and values, and more positive connection.

1. Observing cognition, seeing oneself as scenery:
   Reexamine thinking and cognition; observe thoughts and feelings—that is, return to metacognition and experience mindfulness and awareness. This addresses people’s attachment to the self: rigid beliefs about, identification with, and attachment to thinking and the petty ego, experiential avoidance, and cognitive fusion—for example, describing oneself as “I am a person with a phobia” rather than “I am afraid.”
2. Examine and explore one’s views of the world, life, and values; connect with libido;
3. Accept pain and the present;
4. Attend to the present, live in the present: action, narrowing one’s focus, energy.