Piet's Summary

During this second week, I kept using my breath as a tool, a gentle guide to help me focus on the working hypothesis, in the middle of a variety of different situations. This two-step process seemed to work better than a direct one-step process of trying to remember to focus immediately on the wh. Many times during the day I reminded myself to, first, focus on my inhalations and exhalations, and then second, to let that intention blend with a focus on the wh.

During my morning sittings, I noticed a few times my tendency to let everything dissolve into the empty completeness that the wh talks about, while forgetting to include my own sense of self in doing so. When I first noticed this mistake, an image came to mind of my sense of self as using a straw to suck up the emptiness of the world, while still holding on to itself as the unquestioned center of the universe. Whenever I noticed that tendency, I could quickly relax that stubborn sense of self. It seemed to thrive on anonymity, and couldn't very well continue when exposed. Exposure immediately led to a much more relaxed sense of both body and mind.

Gradually, during the week, the sense of `nothing needing to be done' sank in, more and more. Repeatedly I was struck by the enormity of it all: there is nothing to be done, nothing at all. The only thing to do is to not-do, to relax, rest, let go, let go of letting go. Even the web of causality can be dropped as an unnecessary panic reaction. The sense of freedom and relief went hand in hand with a sense of utter simplicity.