unlockthedoortolearning

The subtle source is clear and bright,
The branching streams flow in the dark.
To be attached to things is primordial illusion;
To encounter the absolute is not yet enlightenment.

For me the first verse is clear that no matter what or where our inner Buddha is it is clear and bright at all times regardless of whether we feel as though we are in the darkness or the light of the situation. How many times have we thought that we were in the pit of hell emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically and yet soon we pulled ourselves up and out and discovered that what we experienced gave us some power or insight that we would not otherwise have gained.

Life is a system of “branching streams” in which one branch may lead us to Zen, another to a good job or relationship, and yet another to a disastrous situation in our lives. Each has a lesson for us to absorb as we encounter the ups and downs of living on planet earth. Each is a teacher, a revealer, a mentor, a friend, or an enemy. All, in Zen, are there for our enlightenment. And yet “to be attached to any of them is “primordial illusion.” And when we have had that “kensho” or enlightenment experience we are still the same person.

Regardless of what we think or feel about the experience when it is over we still have to do the dishes!

Many years ago I had a “kensho” experience when doing a fire walk during a weekend retreat with Rev. Edwene Gaines and it was magnificent. For a second I was everything—the trees, the grass, the sky, the moon, the stars, the wind, everything. But when that nanosecond was over there I was—me and my physical body standing with all of my faults and foibles—in the forest beneath the trees. And I still had to walk back to the sleeping quarters and brush my teeth before I went to bed. Da gone it!

The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen describes this experience thus:

Kensho “seeing nature;” Zen expression for the experience of awakening (enlightenment). Since the meaning is “seeing one’s own true nature,” “kensho” is usually translated “self-realization.” Like all words that try to reduce the conceptually ungraspable experience of enlightenment to a concept, this one is also not entirely accurate and is even misleading since the experience contains no duality of “seer” and “seen” because there is no “nature of self” as an object that is seen by a subject separate from it (page 115).[1]

For that nanosecond there was no “seer” or “seen.” And yet my life went on with its ups and downs, its many branches and streams leading me to Buddhism and my subsequent ordination as a Zen Priest. So each day I sit quietly calming my mind, body, and spirit. Not to seek another “kensho” but to find a place within me where peace, love, and compassion exists without me thinking about it, looking for it, or waiting upon it. Just This! Knowing that whatever “This” is will be right and perfect for the moment. And if not right and perfect so what! Because to be attached to things is primordial illusion and to encounter “the absolute is not yet enlightenment” as my experience in the forest all those many years ago demonstrated. I’ve been a fool many times since and may be again soon, maybe even right now.

Take some time, when you can, to think about these verses and make a plan for some actions that will help you to be a little less foolish today.  My plan begins right now…I hope you’ll join me.
MY PLAN OF ACTION:

In gassho,

Shokai

[1] The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, (1991) Shambhala Dragon Editions: Boston, MA