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When faith is a hundred percent, so too will be doubt. 
When doubt is a hundred percent, so too will be awakening.

—Dahui

Doubt played no constructive role in the Indian Buddhist spiritual tradition; it was considered an obstacle that must be overcome. In China, however, this “debilitating”mental condition was transformed into the principal force driving one toward enlightenment.

That transformation took some time, and even the 11th Century Chan teacher, Yuanwu—an important figure in the transformation of the literary study of koans into a meditative system—still treats the sensation of doubt as something harmful to faith; something to be diligently avoided at all times.

It was Yuanwu’s disciple Dahui who turned doubt on its head, re-imagining it as the principal force driving one toward awakening. He considered faith the essence of doubt, and awakening the function of doubt. So, to ask what this doubt is about, we first have to ask, What is this faith about?

For Dahui, the faith is that we are awakened from the beginning, innately. He used the tension between faith in our innate awakened nature, and the reality of being human, to drive the inquiry of koan practice.

It reminds me of tantra, the transformation of energy: The energy of doubt is used to fuel inquiry and the cultivation of curiosity, rather than letting that energy become an obstacle.

Curiosity killed the cat, but, satisfaction brought it back. The satisfaction of letting go of—dying to—everything we know, everything we think we are, brings a satisfaction not dependent on anything.

Join us for a koan, meditation, dharma talk, & conversation.
All are welcome. Register to participate.

—David