The Science of Enlightenment: How Meditation Works
by Shinzen Young
Contents
Chapter 10: Return to the Source
Overview
Young unpacks Joshu’s koan to show two valid doors to nonduality: wholehearted affirmation of form and the neutralizing No of Zero. He reframes impermanence as simultaneous expansion–contraction, ties this to noting Start/Gone, and warns of the observer trap. Practical methods track dissolution’s bliss and difficulty, culminating in re-identifying with the Source and living in service.
Summary
Young begins with Master Joshu’s “Does a dog have Buddha-nature?” koan, explaining that both a playful “woof” and Joshu’s “noooo” can transcend duality. He frames the koan’s aim as manifesting Buddha-nature beyond yes/no by either fully affirming form or revealing the no that is neither yes nor no.
He links koan practice to mindfulness: noting “Gone” clarifies Joshu’s no, while noting the instant of arising (“start”) reveals expansion paired with micro-cancellations. Overwhelm—felt as flooding and rug-pulled decentering—can be re-seen as expansion and contraction pointing to freedom when met with concentration, clarity, and equanimity.
Young proposes a dialectic model: every moment is molded by simultaneous expansion and contraction that neutralize into Gone/Zero, then repolarize. He speculates on parallels with thermodynamics and binary information but keeps it tentative. Zero is not bleak nihilism; its human meaning is path-dependent richness discovered by mystics through repeated arising and digesting of phenomena into Nothing.
He offers concrete practice: investigate pain, a smile, and the breath to feel concurrent push–pull; observe thought as scattering (expansion) and urge-to-center (contraction). Tracking cycles—polarizing, vibrating, canceling—shifts identification from mind–body contents to the field of impermanence, a return to the Source. Zero itself is never experienced; only its afterglow is known, so wisdom is a clear representation of the formless just-before.
Addressing dissolution (bhanga), he describes blissful vibratory flow and harsh disorientation, advising equanimity and surrender to the underlying forces. He names the “awkward intermediate zone,” quoting T. S. Eliot to illustrate purgatorial transformation that mixes agony and ecstasy. The chapter closes with ethics: realizing the shared formless womb makes all beings siblings; contact with the Source naturally expresses as spontaneous care and service.
Who Appears
- Shinzen YoungNarrator-teacher; interprets Joshu’s koan, maps nonduality to expansion–contraction and Zero, offers practice and guidance through dissolution.
- Master Joshu (Zhaozhou)Zen master of the koan; his “noooo” exemplifies the neutralizing side of Buddha-nature beyond duality.
- The Monk in Joshu’s koanPoses the dualistic challenge about Buddha-nature, prompting Joshu’s response and the chapter’s inquiry.
- T. S. EliotPoet quoted to illustrate subtle stillness, dissolution, and the intermediate zone on the contemplative path.
- Bertrand RussellPhilosopher cited to caution against overextending mystical claims about objective reality.