Impossible Enlightenment: Impossible not to know

New Agers and Buddhists, in particular, view Enlightenment as a largely supernatural event. Not so with Zen Masters.

For Zen Masters, it's like finding a favorite flavor: you know right away.

Knowing

https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/famous_cases#wiki_deshan.27s_candle

At this point, Te-shan was completely enlightened, and did obeisance to the master. The master asked, “What have you seen?” Te-shan said, “From now on, I have no more doubt about the tongues of the old monks of the whole world.”

Something clicked for Deshan, and whatever it was, he knew it was all he required.

For New Agers and Buddhists, the supernatural faith-based experience is always fleeting, and not meaningful beyond the intensity of faith.

But for Deshan, "I HAVE NO MORE DOUBT".

Nothing Greater

https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/famous_cases#wiki_tortoise_mountain_picnic

Feng said, "Then what should I do?" T'ou said, "In the future, if you want to propagate the great teaching, let each point flow out from your own breast, to come out and cover heaven and earth for me." At these words Hsueh Feng was greatly enlightened. Then he bowed, crying out again and again, "Today on Tortoise Mountain I've finally achieved the Way! Today on Tortoise Mountain I've finally achieved the Way!"

The dude was not "hmmm I wonder if this is the Way". Nope. "I FOUND IT". Whatever he thought it was, whatever it is, he had no more doubts. Certainty.

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µ ^Yo͞ok  Welcome! ^{Meet me}  My comment: It's okay with me if somebody decides to dismiss the 1,000 year Zen historical record and believe in Buddha-Jesus or Zazen prayer-meditation or whatever... choose your poison, that's fine.

But what New Agers and Buddhists try to do is claim that "Zen" is something other than what is recorded in the 1,000 year historical record. New Agers and Buddhists try to claim that Enlightenment in Zen is like the supernatural experiences they chase with mushrooming and cross legged trances and all that whatnot, rather than a state of certainty.

To be an honest person, to respect other traditions, requires that we acknowledge that Zen Master talk about sudden certainty, not some kind of transient good vibe that you may not know was enlightenment.

You'll know. If you don't know, then you weren't enlightened.

If you know, then you'll AMA anytime, all the time, because why not?

Submitted February 19, 2023 at 12:50PM by ewk https://ift.tt/FLGTwOJ