Summary by Andrew Ettinger. Edited by Mark Unno. 2/4/02

Katsuki SEKIDA, Zen Training (NY: Weatherhill, 1992) 108-127.

First nen: direct experience - "red flower"

Second nen: thought that objectifies experience - "I see a red flower."

Third nen: thought that objectifies the second nen - "I recognize that I see a red flower."

Samadhi - meditative oneness - continuous realization of first nen*

*One can be engaged with second and third nen while in samadhi as long as one's entire consciousness is transparent to first nen (analogy: talking while driving).

Sekida begins by restating Descarte's postulate, "I think therefore I am," in order to highlight the action of reflecting on our own thoughts, through which we grasp our own consciousness. Katsuki further refines the actions of the mind (nen) into two breeds: the act of thinking (first nen), and of reflection (second nen). Nen alternate from moment to moment, but only one can occupy the mind at a time.

The second Nen, however, doesn't know anything about itself either, so the Third Nen consolidates the first two. "I thought [third nen] of the thought [second nen] which was action [first nen]." This is the subjective nen, in that it cannot see itself and cannot be objectified. The third nen can hold a past memory as a living moment. But we cannot hold this memory for long as the living past via the third nen, so the action of recollection becomes the first nen (action of imagination).

Mood asserts itself in the same way, handed down by the procession of subjective third nen and blended with a variety of memories. This builds continuity of ego, albeit subjectively. Katuki quantifies intuitive judgment in the form of the first nen, after seeping in the unconsciousness for a while.

One Nen, One Eon refers the action (first nen) of being in the moment, so it is the basic form of the other nen-actions. Since it is the beginning, it must be purified through samadhi, then positivized by establishing the Holy Buddhahood, which restructures our consciousness.

Utilizing ONOE, time disappears as we successfully meditate on the moment. This can occur with any type of engaging work. Thus, the reflecting action creates psychological time. Without reflection, there can be no sequences of events, and no causation. The flip-side is that when we provide introspection, we get tangled up in a iterative sequence of thoughts. Thus, we are fenced in by time, only waiting idly to exist.

Katsuki states that without causation there can be no self. Karma is seen as thought-action creating behaviour - it is "the responsibility to your present existence" (123). Ego, then, is the recognition and action of desire. It is also grounded in subjectivity, so it has no real form (and the formlessness of the ego is probably the basis for envy and jealousy as well)