Thinking No Thing

What the Method Is

The method “Thinking no thing” refers to the ultimate aim of Tantric meditation: to transcend the mind and thought processes to reach a state of pure consciousness, often referred to as no-mind or emptiness (shunya). While listed as a meditation heading, the provided sources do not present a specific, two-line sutra directly titled “Thinking no thing” in the way other techniques are presented. Instead, it embodies the fundamental purpose behind many Tantric techniques designed to lead one beyond verbalisation, ideas, and concepts into a state of pure being.

How It Is Done

Achieving the state of “thinking no thing” involves various practical techniques, all aiming to stop the continuous internal monologue and mental activity that defines the “mind”. These methods serve as keys to unlock the door beyond the mind:

  • Sudden Stop Exercises:
    • “Just as you have the impulse to do something, stop.” This involves instantly halting an action or an impulse to act, without any conscious effort to stop, becoming motionless like a statue. This sudden cessation separates the awareness from the ongoing activity and its momentum.
    • “When some desire comes, consider it. Then, suddenly, quit it.” Instead of suppressing or indulging a desire, one is to fully observe it without interpretation, becoming completely involved in its sensation, then suddenly drop it. This total consideration, followed by an immediate cessation, can dissolve the desire and lead to a meditative state rather than suppression.
    • “Roam about until exhausted and then, dropping to the ground, in this dropping be whole.” Engage in strenuous physical activity like running or dancing until the body collapses from exhaustion, rather than consciously stopping. At the moment of dropping, become intensely aware and witness the body falling like a dead weight, without falling with it. This can lead to a sudden separation of consciousness from the body and mind.
  • Sensory and Body-Based Techniques:
    • “Close your senses, become stone-like.” When a physical sensation occurs (e.g., cold sheets, an ant creeping), consciously close off all senses, as if becoming completely unresponsive and stone-like. This includes closing off the body, as it is part of the world. By doing so, consciousness is thrown back to its centre.
    • “Close all the openings of your head with your hands, a space between your eyes becomes all inclusive.” By closing the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, the outward flow of consciousness is stopped, forcing it inwards and concentrating it at the third eye centre (between the eyebrows). This inner space can then become “all inclusive” of existence.
    • “Close the eyes and stop their movement.” With eyes completely closed, consciously halt all eye movements, preventing the perception of both external objects and internal images. Remaining in this “stony” state of the eyes can turn the gaze inwards, allowing one to observe the inner being (body and mind) and realise one’s separation from them.
    • “Let yourself become weightless.” While sitting or lying, feel that the body is losing all weight. Persistence in this feeling can lead to a moment of genuine weightlessness, where the practitioner realises they are not the body, as weight belongs to the physical form, not to pure being.
    • “Imagine yourself losing all energy.” Lie down and imagine the body gradually losing all strength, becoming heavy like lead, as if dying or having all energy sucked out by existence. At the instant of this “deprivation,” suddenly forget the body and become the observer of the “dead” or energy-less form. This can lead to transcendence, where the mind, which is needed for life, ceases its activity.
    • “Concentrate on a pain in your body.” When experiencing pain, focus entirely on the painful area, ignoring all else. As concentration deepens, the pain will shrink to a pinpoint and then dissolve, replaced by bliss. This technique creates a distance between the observer and the body, breaking identification.
    • “Focus your mind on the tongue.” With the mouth slightly open, keep the mind focused on the middle of the tongue. This point has a connection to the speech centre, and since thinking is an inner form of speech, focusing here can stop the flow of thoughts and create inner solidity.
  • Awareness-Based Techniques:
    • “Self-remembering (‘I am’).” While engaged in any activity (singing, seeing, tasting, walking), maintain a continuous, non-verbal feeling of “you are” – a pure sense of existence. This cultivates constant inner presence and separates consciousness from external activities and thoughts.
    • “Look at your past, dis-identified.” When recalling past events, observe them as if they happened to someone else, remaining detached and aloof. This trains the mind to create distance from experiences, which can then be applied to present moments.
    • “Watch your moods.” When a mood (e.g., anger, love, hate) arises, do not project it onto a person or object. Instead, recognise yourself as the source and move inwards to that source. This uses the energy of the mood to turn consciousness back to its centre.
    • “Listen to a fading sound.” Focus on a sound, either external (like a gong or bell) or internal (a chanted mantra). Listen intently as the sound gradually becomes subtler and eventually dissolves into silence. This requires intense alertness, which, at its peak, leads to soundlessness and total awareness where the mind ceases.
    • “Wherever your mind is wandering, internally or externally, at this very place, this.” Instead of trying to control or stop the mind from wandering, simply bring awareness to wherever the mind is. This technique leverages the mind’s constant activity as a door to the present moment, where the mind cannot exist in its usual form.
Commentaries and Insights
  • Mind as the Barrier and Disease: Osho frequently asserts that the mind is the fundamental disease and the source of all human misery, not merely a disturbed faculty. It is a constant process of “minding” (chitta in Sanskrit), a continuous flow of thoughts, words, and concepts. This ceaseless mental activity creates illusions, complexities, and problems, and identifies consciousness with the physical body and its processes, obscuring one’s true nature. The purpose of “thinking no thing” is to dissolve this identification.
  • The State of No-Mind (Shunya): When the mind stops, what remains is not an absence, but a profound nothingness or emptiness (shunya) that is paradoxically full of being. This state is beyond dualities like conscious/unconscious, good/bad, or pleasure/pain. It is the original, pure, undifferentiated consciousness – the true self. This state is not created; it is already present and merely needs to be uncovered or discovered by removing the “dust” of accumulated thoughts, memories, and identifications.
  • Awareness as the Key: The core principle underlying all “thinking no thing” methods is total, uninterrupted alertness or awareness. It’s about bringing full, non-judgmental presence to any act, sensation, or mental process. When awareness intensifies, the mind’s activity naturally ceases, allowing consciousness to function without mental interference.
  • Simplicity and Ego: Many of these techniques appear deceptively simple, which can lead the ego-driven mind to dismiss them. The ego prefers arduous challenges that offer a sense of accomplishment. However, Osho stresses that their simplicity allows them to directly access fundamental realities, and that true spiritual growth often happens through unappealingly simple methods that do not inflate the ego.
  • Gradual Preparation for Sudden Enlightenment: While the ultimate experience of “thinking no thing” and enlightenment is a sudden, non-causal explosion, the path of preparation leading to it can be gradual. Techniques often involve a “sudden” element (like a sharp stop or jerking awareness) to break mental patterns and create glimpses of the unmoving centre.
  • Tantra’s Amoral and Affirmative Stance: Tantra is an amoral science, unconcerned with conventional morality or ideals. It accepts everything as it is, including perceived “negative” aspects like anger, sex, or greed. By fully accepting and bringing awareness to these energies, they can be transformed and integrated, rather than suppressed, which only creates inner conflict and neuroses.
  • Transformation, Not Adjustment: These methods are not about adjusting to external conditions or societal norms. They are about achieving a profound inner transformation that breaks identification with the false self. This transformation can initially be disturbing, bringing inner chaos to light, but it leads to authentic freedom.
  • Danger of Borrowed Knowledge: Intellectual understanding and borrowed beliefs (e.g., from scriptures or gurus) are considered barriers. True transformation comes from direct doing and experience, not from mere knowledge or verbalisation. Trying to intellectualise or verbalise the experience while practising can be counterproductive.
  • Importance of Completion and Guidance: Some powerful techniques, especially those involving energy movement (like Kundalini rising), require completion to avoid harm. If energy is left “in the middle,” it can be problematic. Osho suggests trusting techniques that feel harmonious and warns against forcing oneself through unbearable discomfort. The guidance of a master can be invaluable for personalising methods and providing support through the transformative process.