THE WITNESS
by Sensei Robert Joshin Althouse (c) 2005

"So in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, conception, discrimination, awareness;
No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind;
No color, sound, smell, taste, touch, phenomena;
No realm of sight, no realm of consciousness;
No ignorance, and no end to ignorance;
No old age and death, and no end to old age and death;
No suffering, no cause of suffering, no extinguishing, no path;
No wisdom and no gain.
No gain and thus the Bodhisattva lives Prajna Paramita."
from Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra is probably the most common sutra that is chanted at Zen Centers all over the world because it is such a skillful expression of reality. Negatives abound. "No this, no that", Or we could say, "Just this, Just that." The negatives help remind us not to solidify meaning around words. So if we use words like emptiness, Buddha Nature, Big Mind, True Self, Enlightenment or The Witness, we do so knowing they are provisional.

Notice that right now, someone is reading these words. Someone talks, eats, stands, sits, and washes the dishes. Someone may even be doubting that this is what's happening. Who is this one? Some awareness, intelligence or witnessing is taking place. Can you locate this? Does it have a color or form? Can you say when it is born or when it dies? Does it have a size? No matter how much you doubt that this is so, you are still aware of the doubt itself. In your immediate awareness as The Witness there is certainty, even if it is the certainty that you are doubting.

This seems to be a self-existing situation that requires no effort. In fact, if you try to manufacture it or turn it into a program you are further away from it. This witnessing does not compare this to that, nor does it establish further reference points or credentials to defend your small self. It's nature is non-dualistic. Any meaning you try to make of it, short circuits the awareness.

So perhaps you are asking yourself, why don't I notice this all the time? Because you are fascinated and absorbed in your own drama; you live your life as if you were in a movie, but you forget that it is just a movie. You think your thoughts are real and become very attached to them. When you actually watch a movie, you get completely involved in the story. But at some moment, if the movie is very scary, you pull yourself back with the thought, "Oh, this is just a movie" and you feel an immediate sense of relief.

So practice is taking the backward step, disengaging from the movie. With this comes a sense of equanimity because nothing really surprises you anymore and the movie loses it's power to overwhelm you. You are suffering, but you do not suffer. You are anger, but you are not angry.

As The Witness you are truly yourself. You are everything and everyone, not separate, not one, not large, not small, not enlightened, not deluded. If you think you will experience something special as The Witness, you are preparing to watch another movie.

We are not inclined to dwell in this no-man's land for long. It doesn't take much for us to jump back into the movie. A remark from a friend, a perceived judgment or slight from a colleague and we are more than willing to take up the fight. Our defensive reaction instantly re-constructs all the armor of "me". This self-importance and seriousness is so familiar; so tiring and tedious. We are broken records playing bit parts in a B movie. So it's hardly surprising that as the protagonist, we end up disappointed.

It we can see what the Heart Sutra is pointing at, there is nothing and nobody to defend. There is nothing here and this nothingness is pure awakenness. We call it Buddha nature, your True Self and many other names such as The Witness. Of course, it is the great cosmic joke of Zen that the absolute is no absolute at all. Therefore, it is the absolute. Or as the Diamond Sutra says, "Dwell nowhere and bring forth that mind." Practice is enlightenment. When we defend or make excuses for ourselves we are blocking practice. We are back in a movie or our own making, unaware of who the director really is.

The Heart Sutra says, "No gain and thus the Bodhisattva lives Prajna Paramita". When you dwell nowhere as The Witness, you see that nothing is to be gained or lost. Enlightenment is not hard to attain. It's impossible to avoid. Seeing this you are the Bodhisattva living in the place of non-dual wisdom or Prajna Paramita. So now, do you know who that Bodhisattva is? As in the Matrix movie, you may be asking yourself, "Am I the one?" Who is asking the question?