The Hands of Zen
This ℤ∈ℕn Diagram is an evolution of two predecessors. See the links below to understand more about what the diagram means and how it came to be:
This Two Hands of Zen diagram emerged from a new combination of words that came to me one day: “Feminine Zen.” I wrote a series of as-yet-unpublished articles exploring this inquiry. Here is an excerpt from one of them, which specifically relates to the diagrams:
What’s In a Word?
I could write a commentary on practically every word of this diagram, but I’ll leave most of that inquiry in your hands. I will also leave it up to you to rearrange the words as you see fit because you’re the one who knows what each word means to you.
After sharing this nearly-completed diagram with a few friends, I became more clear about this important point: As with all words of depth, the terms in this diagram have multiple definitions and nuanced meanings. Depending on the context, many of them can alternatively point to awakened, healthy, unhealthy, or even toxic qualities of experience.
For example, the word transcendent can refer to a quality of the ground of Silence that remains unchanging through our wide range of human experience. It is very healthy to be awake to and aware of this ever-present aspect of being that is prior to all experience. It is on the basis of this meaning that I include this word in the diagram.
Transcendent can also refer to a place of detachment where people go when they have trouble facing the reality of their own (or others’) emotional or physical pain. This coping mechanism can be necessary or helpful at times, but if it remains unaddressed, I would classify it as unhealthy.
Transcendent can also refer to a place of primordial dissociation, where people go to completely deny aspects of human experience and simultaneously conflate this emotional numbness with “not-suffering.” People with this capacity for transcendence will inevitably use it for spiritual one-up-manship as they look down upon other’s suffering and deny responsibility for the impact of their own actions. And they will be convincing in their no-self self-justifications. I would classify this extreme transcendence as toxic. I would also classify it as deeply wounded.
So, it bears repeating: I’ve chosen to include words that represent true and beautiful qualities in the big picture of awakening human consciousness. At the same time, many of these words can also point toward unhealthy, imbalanced versions of the qualities they represent. I invite you to notice how you tend to classify each word, and how you see these qualities in and out of balance in your experience and observation.
Let me know if you are interested in the topic of Feminine Zen.
ℤ∈ℕn Diagrams ⊙ 2023-2025 by Maja Apolonia Rode
