SANTIAGO, FRANCENE CHIARA C.

INTFILO C32
11344458
Zen Buddhism
Mindful and mind full is truly different from one another; by just looking at the spelling
of the two words, you will surely recognize that it is different from each other but during the talk
I attended by Miss Velasco, it was truly an eye-opener to know the deeper meaning of being
mindful and not just being mind full or being very intelligent. To elaborate this, let me state the
difference between the two. By being Mindful is having a Zen Mind. This means one has still a
lot of things to learn because his mind is empty. This will lead one to experience many
possibilities. This made me think, if your mind is full, will you not be able to experience many
possibilities as well? Reading between the lines, it gave me the answers. Being mind full makes
you close your mind into what you already know and you would not dare to experience other
things because it will me make you unknown to what you are doing then you will not be mind
full if that happens that is why people with this kind of mindset close themselves into the
experiences they already know. In contrast, people who are mindful are curious and they want
to fill up their minds with experiences that allows them to experience many possibilities.
As what Ive said earlier, having a Zen Mind leads one to become curious that allows one
to accept and doubt whatever he is learning from his surroundings. I can say that I am very
curious but I do not know whether I have a Zen Mind or I just want to fill up my mind with so
many details without learning from them. Miss Velasco also mentioned that having a Zen Mind
can be associated with having an empty mind. On the other hand, being to mind full can also
lead one to have no-mind in the sense that one become too confident of what he knows without
even considering the other possibilities that will allow him to know more.
Going further, I also learned that there were three types if fools, namely the simple,
complex and blessed. First kind of fool is the Simple fool who, according to Miss Velasco, is a
person who does not know that he does now know that he does not know. To simplify it more,
this is someone who is very ignorant. These kind of people with this mindset are those who are
capable of experiencing a lot possibilities yet they close their doors that is why experiences are
not allowed to happen thus, they become ignorant.
The second type of fool is the complex fool or the fool that does not know but he thinks that he
knows. These types of people are those who accept the possibilities in their lives yet they do not
know to process it yet. Further in their lives, I think that they will gain the Zen Mind because of
their capability to question the things that are being shown to them. But nonetheless, they are the
type of fools who always accept whatever that is given to them.
The third type of fool is the blessed fool. This one is the last stage of being a fool because
in this type, a person does not know that he knows. From all the possibilities, experiences and
lessons in life that one has encountered, this type of fool, just like the complex fool, is ready to
accept these experiences yet he also has the tendency to question or doubt them. This is what is
good with the third kind of fool. They do not always accept but they know when to doubt and ask
whether there something more to what is given to them. For me, the blessed fools are very
interesting. It seems to me that they are very humble because they have experienced a lot from
things and they have learned so much but they still want to learn more.
Going back, if one has become a blessed fool, soon enough that person will be able to
gain the Zen Mind. Miss Velasco elaborated that having a Zen Mind means that one is ready to
accept, doubt and open to all possibilities. They are ready and open for anything. Then and there,
Ive proved myself right that Zen Mind is connected with the blessed fool. I would just like to
quote what Osho said regarding being mindful, To be mindful means to be aware. To be aware
means not to dream, not to project, not expect nor anticipate. We have this tendency to see
things vaguely because of delusions. There was this question in my head after typing this down.
How in the world do we question almost everything? Most of the times, whenever Im lying
down before I sleep, there are these thoughts in my head like, Is my life even real or did I just
hear myself speak inside my head or am I just imagining these things? Is there even such a thing
called imagining? By the mere fact that I myself is experiencing this delusion is within you, I
can say that in life, we must be sensitive and we must understand what is currently happening in
the now. We must move accordingly to what we know and we should never act as if we know
everything because in life, others may say a lot of things to us but we should never let these
things break us down. We should never try becoming something we are not because living our
life the way we truly are is the way one should live; to be oneself. I like the quote, Awareness is
the key because it brings freedom. Miss Laureen Velasco. I have to repeat this; if one is
aware, one is sensitive, understanding and living hes life according to his own.
Lastly, it was discussed there that there were 3 levels of consciousness namely, the
camel, the lion and the Child. The camel is the yes-sayer and he has no dignity because he just
accepts whatever that it is given to him. He simply imitates. The second is the lion and to simply
explain this, this is when one betrays oneself. Finally, the child is the peak of purity and
sincerity. Once again, I can connect this to the Zen Mind and the Blessed fool. The child contains
innocence, not only obedience but also disobedience, not always belief but also disbelief. The
child for me is the highest level of consciousness; when one is able to give his or her trust not
because of fear but because of true.
At the end of the day, there has been a part of me who has become hungry for the Zen
Mind. I simply hope the soon, I would be able to gain true Knowledge and Wisdom. I hope
I wont end up as the yes-sayer nor the person who always says no. I just want to become aware
of what life can bring. I would also want to become open to the possibilities and the experiences
that will come. I surely hope that I would be able to have the consciousness of a child that is very
much open to the lessons of life. And lastly, I would like to become someone who is not afraid to
trust anyone who I will know is truly worthy of my trust.