IGNORE THE FINE PRINT

One of the terms Zen uses in relation to phenomenology is nen. In a first nen experience, we're relating directly. Like having a tall glass of lemonade on a hot day after we've been tending the garden. It is marvelously refreshing. There is no one doing the drinking and no drink to be had in this moment - there is just revitalization and refreshment.

A second nen experience is when you try relating this to a friend, or even to yourself later. No matter how well you finesse the language, you simply cannot conjure the moment in words. This can be extended to the third nen - perhaps as the friend relates it on to another, or as you try to ruminate about the memory of relating the memory. Ideology, prejudice, and philosophical frameworks are products of the third nen and beyond. This is not to say that these are not useful - only that it is important to recognize that they are not a surrogate for direct experience. As a matter of fact, in many cases, we subscribe so closely to our philosophical idylls that we completely miss the direct experience. This is delusion.

Regular meditation practice gives us the spaciousness required to see and experience directly before the echos of the countless nen. We can live fully and joyfully, without the footnotes and fine print of our discursive mind.