There are several concepts taught by Buddhism that I find problematic. Chapter 27 brings us the question of “original face,” from the Zen Buddhist tradition. A Zen master raises the question in the form on a koan to a student. A koan is a statement, story, or short poem which is a puzzle that the student is required to contemplate over and over again until they reach some kind of understanding of the concept being studied. There are apparently several different forms that this koan presents as a question of an “original face.” “When you're not thinking of anything good and anything bad, at that moment, what is your original face?” "Without thinking of good or evil, what is your original face before your mother and father were born?" "What was your original face before you were born?”
Levine shares that our original face is our faceless presence, that which experiences thought and feeling. It is the “face” beyond the physical mask, beyond thought and thinking, beyond the known, beyond impermanence. It is the ever-present unnameable essence of being. It is our timeless, deathless, energetic essence. For me, this brings us back to our exploration in the last blog when we discussed once again what it means to be conscious, aware, resting in the silence that is beyond the physical. When we meditate, we explore this silence, this awareness − the awareness of being aware. Is this what is meant by the “original face?”
Sometimes I wonder why we humans have to come up with new phrases such as “original face”, rather than just recognize that this “faceless presence” is what is eternal, unnameable. Maybe it is what might be called soul or spirit—the essence of life that creates all that is.
Certain strange events called “out-of-body” experiences seem to prove the existence of life outside or beyond the physical body. They have been reported when the physical body is in extreme trauma such as in a severe accident, or during surgery, and when close to death. The person finds themselves hovering above their body, looking down at themselves and/or moving away from the physical body through a tunnel and into a bright light. It is usually a startling and disorientating experience. I remember a woman named Mary with whom I had established a deep personal relationship in the nursing home where I worked as a physical therapist. After she had completed her therapy and could still not go home, but was in fact dying, I sat by her bedside, whenever I had time, and we talked. When her husband was present we talked about their life together; and when he was not, she shared experiences with death of family members. Mary was Catholic and believed in heaven and hell; she believed that her soul would return to God; she did not seem to be afraid of dying. However, one day, she said to me, “This dying is hard. It is taking so long. I wish I knew what was going to happen. Too bad there is not a rehearsal.” And then a couple of days later, she said, “The strangest thing happened. I was up on the ceiling looking down at my body.” I thought it was an “out-of-body” experience and I said to her, “Well, Mary, that was your rehearsal.”
Levine states that people who have these kinds of experience often notice that there seems to be a lighter body, even a body of light, within the physical body that is independent of the heavy outer shell. He says, “They are reassured that they do not have to depend upon their disintegrating bodies for existence.” (Pg.119) In other words, there is an awareness that is not physical—that is consciousness.
Another Buddhist and Hindu concept that is not so easy to accept is the belief in reincarnation. In my understanding, reincarnation means that we leave one life, we “die,” and are reborn, reincarnate, into another lifetime, another body. It is presumably for the purpose of soul development and spiritual growth. The soul may take the form of human, animal, or plant depending on the moral quality of the previous life's actions. This doctrine is ancient, coming from the Vedas in India 5,000 years ago.
So, what does reincarnation have to do the idea of an “original face”? Do we have to believe in reincarnation to accept the concept of an “original face”? Is it OK if we call it something else, something that makes sense to us now, such as stream of consciousness? And then how do we define consciousness? It begins to seem like an “original face” is an impossible thing to think about, talk about, make sense of. Perhaps, it is beyond the pale for my consciousness!
In my meditation practice with Deepak Chopra we explore reality with a small “r” and a capital “R”. Chopra states that the reality of the physical /material world is made up of thoughts, feelings, emotions, sensations, experiences that create and sustain our egos and allow us to live in the physical/material world. Beyond that is a realm, Reality, of the non-physical that is Pure Consciousness, Pure Awareness. This Reality is a realm of Life and Love that lives before and after the birth and death of the physical body. Perhaps this is what Levine is naming as an ‘original face.”
Years ago when I studied and explored consciousness at The Monroe Institute, we began each exploration exercise with the words: “I am more than my physical body. Because I am more than physical matter I deeply desire to experience, to explore, to understand, to control, to use, those energies and energy systems as might be useful and beneficial to me and to those who follow me.” Saying this over and over again before each exercise made it real in my mind, my consciousness. We were then led into deep meditative states and explored whatever appeared in those states. One day we explored a level of consciousness where I met my son Bobby who had died several years before. It was an amazing adventure and helped me to “know” not just “believe” that life continues after death. It was a remarkable learning and I came away in wonder at the universe we live in. Monroe stated that we can move from “believing” to “knowing” about consciousness; and that is what seemed to happen for me in those exploration exercises.
So, even though the concept of an “original face” continues to remain just beyond my comprehension, it seems to be connected with experiences I have had in meditation and exploring consciousness that relates to that. And when I remember those experiences, and use that information in my daily meditations, I know that I can choose once again to still my skeptical mind and accept that I can connect with a consciousness that is greater than my own ego consciousness. This brings more love, kindness, and joy into my life, and that is a good thing. May that be true for you as well.
Self-inquiry questions:
1. How does the concept of “original face” fit with your knowledge and experience?
2. What does “reincarnation” mean to you? How do you understand its place in your life?
3. Have you had a “near-death experience?” or do you know someone who has? If so, how did it affect your life, or theirs, and approach to dying and death?
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