5. WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THIS PURE MIND?

We describe often this pure mind as being "the uncarved wood".

This simile comes from Dao sources and refers to the Celtis sinensis, which is similar to the Cherry tree, the wood of which was very much appreciated for carpentry work.

This simile gives us a better idea of its nature as pure mind, for it brings all ideas down from the clouds of esoteric nonsense into the apparent real world of illusion. It allows us to see that this mind is a natural phenomenon and that the cognitive mind of man is neither carved into its trunk nor can it cut its leaves and branches. At the same time it gives us the idea of something alive, for the wood is not a dead branch lying around in stained Samsara, but a vital entity, although far from the access of normal human consciousness.

However, the human mind is constantly trying to trim the leaves of the uncarved wood and destroy its fruit. Quoting Huangbo once more we declare:

"This mind, pure at the source, is intrinsically always completely clear and fully aware, but worldly people do not realize it; they only recognize perception and cognition as mind, so they are shrouded by perception and cognition. That is why they do not see the very essence of their spiritual luminosity. If they would just directly be mindless, that very essence would appear of itself, like the sun rising into the sky, lighting up everywhere, with no further obstruction."

What we can say is that the uncarved wood has the unadulterated nature of wood. We can then deduce that the pure mind has the unadulterated nature of the pure mind.

It, we have declared, cannot be diminished nor added to, so what are its unalterable elements? It cannot be like the mind that is conscious intellect, molded and spoiled by Identity. But all things are subject to change and the Pure mind, like a tree, can grow and change, but only in accord with the seeds of its own nature.

Now I will give away a secret. The human pure mind was germinated, grew and developed within the evolutionary process, and as such is susceptible to evolutionary change.

However, since in a general sense it seems protected from radical immediate staining, what Dharma can then be received?

There does not seem to be an easy answer.

In order to understand more about this uncarved wood we must go to the Dao.

Unfortunately almost all translations have been made without original Dao understanding and interpreted without the direct experience.

This original translation may help in this understanding.

In the Dao, most of the time the character 樸, pǔ, with the sense “things in the raw”, has been translated as “uncarved wood”, obeying the desire to impart to the sage a transcendental brightness. This "uncarved wood" is a simile for the original state of the mind of the human creature before the cognitive mind carved its forms (albeit useful in the world of illusion).

While it is true that that this primordial state is akin to awakening, know that this uncarved wood is not Awakening in and of itself.

Knowing this Pure Mind, returning thus to the pure and simple, is at best an experience in which one becomes conscious of the natural influence of the Feminine Principle when it is liberated upon the Masculine expression of the Life Force. When the Pure mind is revealed, it only shows that nothing is hidden in this superior consciousness. It has only great simplicity and posseses the great richness that allows us to see how far away our dominating consciousness is from access to any absolute or relative Truth.

This then is the only fruit of Awakening.

When our stained consciousness touches in any way or form this unstained wood, its virgin message is transformed into concrete things and is destroyed and forms and names become dominant. When we remove the stains from cognitive consciousness, what then is revealed? Nothing at all.

However something does happen. The cognitive mind becomes just a tool which serves the Life Force.

What happens to the human creature? He becomes no more than a living cane of bamboo. He does not act.

Now the great problem with all these teachings is that the words will be digested and your cognitive mind will think it knows when really it knows not a damned thing. All I want to do is awaken that uncarved wood so that you do nothing.