You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?
What is Four-Fold Thought?
I tried to find references for you. I heard about this idea when I studied William Blake in college. No one explained it to me, so I guessed. I like what I guessed.
If you look at the taijitu (the yin and yang symbol) you will see four folds. So four-fold thought may be taoist.
What are the Four Folds?
In the taijitu, the large white region and the white eye in the black region comprise one fold.
The large black region and the black eye in the white region also comprise one fold.
The whole image taken together makes a second fold.
If you only see the borders between black and white, and the borders have no color, you see a third fold.
If you know the taijitu does not exist or mean anything, you have the fourth fold.
Four-Fold Thought and Numbers
I realized I could explain four-fold thought using numbers. I'll use the number two.
One-Fold Thought and the Number Two
If you have one-fold thought, you say, "Two is a single number. The only thing that means two is 'two' itself. Nothing else means 'two.'"
I think most people move past one-fold thought on abstract concepts like "two." One-fold thought grips us more when it involves things we need.
"I need to eat now."
"They are terrorists. Terrorists are evil. We must destroy evil. We must destroy them. They must die."
Two-Fold Thought and the Number Two
If you have two-fold thought, you say, "I can make two many different ways. I will choose to make the number two however I want to at the moment."
1 + 1
2
two
zwei
number of eyes on a person's face
I think most people find two-fold thought sufficient. If you can create a dualism, you can rank things. You may have a huge, theoretically infinite, set. Still you can find a "good enough" threshold. Above that, you have the "good stuff." Below it live representations you rejected. You still admit they have meaning, just not good meaning.
Two-fold thought equals dualism. It means conflict. Even if it comes to harmony, the harmony fidgets in a state of unstable equilibrium. The slightest push makes it tumble.
Two-fold thought prevails over most of our thinking. Mostly we accept that bad things exist; we just try to avoid them. If we obliterated them for sake of survival, that would be one-fold thought.
"I need to eat, but I want spaghetti, not a hamburger."
"They think they can fight a war by murdering people. We will probably kill innocent people too if we fight back. But fighting back feels better than sitting still and taking it."
Three-Fold Thought and the Number Two
If you have three-fold thought, you say, "The concept of 'two' admits all references. Just as we have infinite ways to represent it, we have infinite ways to limit it, and infinite ways for it to represent other symbolic structures."
Now you're getting very esoteric.
I think most people do not have three-fold thought. Three-fold thought transcends utility. It stretches into possibility. It seeks a special kind of harmonious equilibrium - not a peak but a saddle point.
I think, because three-fold thought rejects dualism, it demands holism. Three-fold thought pushes toward transcendent awareness.
"I believe I need to eat, but I recognize that belief as part of the organism in which I exist. I do not obey or disobey hunger. I notice and accept it as part of me."
"They murder in service to an immortal law, that all creation exists to fall. I exist in each victim slain and each man who gave his life to kill them. They live because I live."
Four-Fold Thought and the Number Two
If you have four-fold thought, you deny the number two.
You do not quibble with "meaning" and "essence." You deny the number two.
Do not ask me to explain this. If you understand, great. If not, listen to this story.
Enlightening Zhaozhou
I walked to the temple of Lady Guan Yin. I sat at the feet of the great teacher Zhaozhou Congshen. I waited. I meditated. I listened. I ate, slept, excreted, cleaned myself. I lived in a room with forty men who never spoke to each other. I followed their example. I prayed beside them. I watched Zhaozhou. When would he speak?
I had enough. One morning I rose. I ate my porridge as fast as I could. Then I approached the great teacher. I sat at his feet. Thus I showed him proper respect. When his eyes fell to me, I asked him, "Great teacher, months ago I came to this temple. I hoped you would teach me. So teach me."
"Have you had breakfast yet?"
"Yes."
"Then go wash your bowl."
I left the temple before the sun rose a finger's breadth.
Westerners
I tracked down this koan from the Gateless Gate on the Internet. I first heard it in high school. Many people try to interpret it. I think they have no clue. Interpretation defeats the koan.
A Riddle
When is a bowl not a bowl?
A Clue
Check out this blog.
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