Questions to Master Deshimaru

Question

If there's no such thing as reincarnation, why is one's last moment of consciousness so important?

Answer

The mushotoku attitude is important. "I must go to heaven, I must get born in another life"; you don't need to think like that. If you think of anything, if you have a desire, then you're still hanging on to your past existence. It's better to be mushotoku unconsciously. True calm, true peace. People tend to attach too much importance to the idea of heaven: "If I die I must go to heaven." It is useless to build such images in your subconscious. Non-consciousness is the highest attitude. If you have a thought, it will not be effaced during that day or two of transition; but if you are in harmony with the cosmic system your activity, your consciousness will quickly return to the cosmos. During zazen you can harmonize with the cosmic system. Psychology defines it as non-consciousness. Buddhism calls it the alaya consciousness; and I am always repeating that you must go back to the normal consciousness. Through zazen you can get there unconsciously; it is the transcendent consciousness, out of which right behavior, right actions can spring. All our cells, all our neurons are activated. Each thing you perceive is felt by your neurons. Nervous energy is transmitted directly to them. Desires arise from perceptions: the desire to continue, the desire to possess. This activity, the activity of living, is incessant. Ideas are constantly arising, the consciousness grows complicated. So we must come back and back to the normal condition. Even when we sleep our consciousness is at work, part of the time; when we sleep completely, that is non-consciousness. Two hours of deep sleep, then dreams start again. It's all very complicated. In zazen, the body has just the right tonus. When you are asleep you are completely relaxed, no tonus at all. But during zazen you can see the dreams come out of the subconscious and you can return to the state of non-consciousness, the existence of which has been established by modern physiology and psychology. But you must not say, "Now I have no consciousness!" because that is conscious, and the state I am talking about is not a conscious one. When I say, "Five minutes more! Concentrate hard!" those last five minutes are very important. At the beginning many thoughts come, but after a while one can reach this state. Some people reach it at the end of five minutes, by concentrating on their posture and breathing out. You must not slump over or hang your head; you must keep the back of the neck well-stretched. When people think, their thumbs droop. You must pull yourself up and be very vigilant.