...THIS, does what it does while the mind flutters about on each side of the track so to speak. Reality is, to a larger degree than most of us realize, unknowable in advance. We can say that its probable that we'll do thus and so tomorrow, but its only a probability; the truth might be quite different than we expect. This is why we set ourselves up for potential disappointment and unhappiness when we get attached to ideas about what will happen in the future. Our ideas may or may not coincide with reality. Often, they do not coincide at all.
I can't tell you how many times I've had the thought, "I think it'll be fun to meditate or spend a few hours looking at the world in silence today," and then watch with amusement when the body/mind does something else. "Whoops, reality had an idea, but the idea didn't conform to the actual agenda. Ha ha ha." How do I know that reality had a different agenda? Because what actually happened was different than what I thought was going to happen.
Does this mean that we have no volition? No. It means that any idea we have about volition is just an idea, and no idea can capture the truth. On this forum many people say, "Volition is an illusion." Well, this statement, like all other statements ABOUT reality is both true and false at the same time. The Truth is alive and unified, so language and thought (which is dualistic) can never capture it. The best it can do is point toward the truth (as in this post). If we hold out a fist and ask a Zen Master, "Do I have a choice whether or not to open this fist?" the ZM will never reply with a yes or no. She will answer in an entirely different way without using words.
I can't tell you how many times I've had the thought, "I think it'll be fun to meditate or spend a few hours looking at the world in silence today," and then watch with amusement when the body/mind does something else. "Whoops, reality had an idea, but the idea didn't conform to the actual agenda. Ha ha ha." How do I know that reality had a different agenda? Because what actually happened was different than what I thought was going to happen.
Does this mean that we have no volition? No. It means that any idea we have about volition is just an idea, and no idea can capture the truth. On this forum many people say, "Volition is an illusion." Well, this statement, like all other statements ABOUT reality is both true and false at the same time. The Truth is alive and unified, so language and thought (which is dualistic) can never capture it. The best it can do is point toward the truth (as in this post). If we hold out a fist and ask a Zen Master, "Do I have a choice whether or not to open this fist?" the ZM will never reply with a yes or no. She will answer in an entirely different way without using words.
