In the analects of ancient Zen we find recounted the satori of a young monk. Discouraged by lack of progress in his pursuit of Enlightenment he resolved to repair to a secluded mountain hut and there pursue his illusive quarry. In tidying up around his hut a rock tossed off to the side struck a stalk of bamboo and suddenly all became clear to our young monk.
This move to Enlightenment did not happen in a vacuum. This young man was steeped in in the silence of meditation and saturated with the spirit of inquiry resulting from the koan exercise. He recognized in the sound of the struck bamboo a mirror to the receptive emptiness of Awareness: the true Self behind the noise of mind. He saw his "true face before born of his parents" and awoke to the the fact that his Awareness was "the sound of one hand clapping"
The receptive stillness of the eardrum is the source of sound, and a cacophony of noise breeds incoherence. Just so the effects of consciousness upon that Awareness which is the signal characteristic of all life. Throw some thought into the mix and we find a humanity hypnotized by the noise of existence and therefor living in darkness.
And that's why it's called Enlightenment.
No comments:
Post a Comment