Post by zendancer on Oct 3, 2009 12:59:03 GMT -5
As people progress on the unitive path, and especially after waking up, they look back and laugh at all of the crazy thoughts they were once attached to. They remember what it was like to live in a thought-dominated state of mind, and they feel lucky to have gotten free of it and found Reality. After finding Reality, they try every trick of the trade to show other people how to find it, but they understand how powerful and addictive thoughts can be. They know why people are reluctant to leave the safe thought-cocoon they have been indoctrinated to weave and perceive.
The average person perceives a dreamworld of ideas whereas an awakened person perceives the dynamic, unpredictable, and mysterious real world. The average person thinks he/she is an individual person whereas the awakened person knows that no such thing exists. The average person "think-sees" whereas an awakened person simply sees. The average person imagines the world in terms of various dualities--good/evil, form/void, happy/sad, etc--whereas the awakened person simply sees and responds to what is. An awakened person thinks, but does not become attached to thinking.
The following is a list of common misconceptions and myths about people who have awakened. It is provided to show that any idea ABOUT Reality is just an idea, and is often far from the truth.
1. An enlightened person cannot be an alcoholic. False. Ko Bong, the teacher of ZM Seung Sahn and the student of ZM Mang Gong, was a well-known alcoholic. He was amazingly clear even when drunk, and there are some funny recorded dialogues between he and his teacher that occurred when his teacher was fussing at him for getting loaded.
2. An enlightened person cannot own a gun or kill anything. False. Many enlightened people own guns and at least one of them periodically kills varmints on his father's farm with a shotgun. I've never met any enlightened people who hunt or fish, but there are probably some out there.
3. An enlightened person cares nothing about money and is usually poor. True and false. Enlightened people in the past tended to be monks and mystics who owned little in the way of material possessions, and there are still many people who live in monasteries or are supported by organizations that free them from the workaday world. Today, however, a wide range of people in all walks of life are waking up, and each of their stories varies considerably. There are at least two self-realized multi-millionaires living in the southeast, and many others who continue to be householders earning normal incomes and living alone or with their families. Some of them enjoy playing the stock market and at least one of them is a nationally-known musician and performer (he calls himself "an undercover agent"). Although they may have substantial money or material possessions, they are not attached to them in the usual sense.
4. An enlightened person is peaceful and gentle. Not necessarily. Some enlightened people do not suffer fools lightly and some are downright ruthless. Watch a video of Nisargadatta to get some insight into this.
5. An enlightened person does not get angry. Totally false! Sometimes they get extremely angry, but it is like a passing storm or the way little children get angry. They don't carry anger with them, they don't hold a grudge, and they don't hate. They simply get angry, and then it blows over. Sometimes they feign anger in order to teach a student.
6. An enlightened person cannot commit suicide. False. Ikkyu, the famous Japanese Zen Master who tore up his certificate of enlightenment as a worthless piece of paper and consorted with prostitutes and common people, committed suicide later in life. Perhaps the most unusual case in history is that of Layman Pang, an enlightened fellow who travelled around China in the eighth century engaging in Dharma combat with various Zen Masters. Before his enlightenment, Pang loaded all of his belongings in a boat, rowed out into a lake, and dumped everything overboard because he considered material possessions a hindrance. Subsequently Ma-Tsu awakened Pang, and later, Pang's wife, son, and daughter also became enlightened. His son stayed with Pang's wife and apparently farmed, but his daughter--Ling Chao--travelled around with the Layman weaving bamboo baskets for a living. Many years later, Pang told his daughter that it was time for him to leave the world. He seated himself in the lotus position and prepared to depart. His daughter told him that an eclipse was occurring. Pang went to see the eclipse for himself, but when he returned, his daughter had already seated herself on his cushion and died. Pang reportedly said something like, "That damn daughter of mine always has to be first at everything." He then spent the required seven days cremating her body and performing various Buddhist rites, and then, sitting beside the Prefect Tu Yi, said a few words and then died. When the news reached his wife, she said something like, "That stupid girl and ignorant old man have left without telling me. How unbearable!" She then told her son, who was hoeing in a field, what had happened. He put down his hoe, said one word, and died while still standing. After his cremation, Pang's wife told everyone in the area goodbye and walked off, never to be seen again. The story of Pang, translated by Ruth Fuller Sasaki, is fascinating, and the Dharma combat and anecdotes recorded in it are hilarious and amazing. Is it accurate? Who knows? Today, however, the six-story shrine built in honor of Ling Chao (she was as well-known as her father) still stands at the Nam Wah Sah Temple in southern China, and the story of the Pang family is well-known throughout China.
7. Enlightened people always become teachers after awakening. Not always. While it is true that most self-realized folks enjoy teaching or feel some responsibility for helping others wake up, not all do. Some awakened people are introverts who enjoy their solitude and have virtually no interest in teaching.
8. Enlightenment brings bliss. False. Bliss is a temporary state that may last from fifteen minutes to several years, but it eventually dissipates.
9. Enlightenment brings an end to human problems. False. Although psychological problems and psychological suffering disappears, enlightened people are still human, and they experience the entire gamut of human issues and conflicts.
10. Enlightened people become asexual. Hardly. They often have torrid affairs with students and others (causing many to be kicked out of their teaching positions). Others remain happily married, or fall in love and get married, or live with someone.
11. Enlightened people become vegetarians after enlightenment. Sorry. Even the Dalai Lama eats meat, as do most teachers in the West.
People who wake up and find out who they are beyond thoughts and ideas are changed by their experiences, but exactly how they are changed varies from individual to individual. In general, they exchange cognitive thinking for direct sensory perception as a primary mode of being. They live in the present moment and do not waste much time fantasizing or reflecting. They know that there is only Oneness manifesting as multiplicity. They do not worry about death because they know that who they are was never born. They see their body as if it were a rental car, something that God is temporarily using. The main thing that distinguishes their daily life is a full acceptance of isness as it is. They do not resist Reality; they simply go with the flow. They see conundrums like "free will versus determinism" as tricks of the intellect. In their world there is neither free will nor determinism; there is only isness. They tend to be apolitical because ideas like "capitalism" or "socialism" are highly abstract and far from the truth. They do not worry about world hunger; they focus on feeding any hungry people they encounter. They don't worry about "world peace" because that, too, is a highly abstract concept; they focus on activities that bring peace to those they interact with. They don't see roadside litter as horrible; they understand why it is there, and they either pick up the trash in front of them or they don't. They don;t worry about the human race blowing itself up because they know that who they are is what the human race is contained within. They know that if the entire universe blows up, they will still be here. Except in cultures that teach reincarnation, they generally laugh at all ideas about the continuation of selfhood in any form. They know that they are appearing and disappearing in a trillion life forms every day, so there is no attachment to the idea that anything personal needs to continue into the future. They live in an empty fullness--a suchness-- beyond all words and ideas. Tra la la and booble-die-oop-see-day. Or, as Layman Pang put it so appropriately:
My daily activities are not unusual,
I'm just naturally in harmony with them.
Grasping nothing, discarding nothing,
In every place there's no hindrance, no conflict.
Who assigns the ranks of vermillion and purple>--
The hill's and mountain's last speck of dust
is extinguished.
My supernatural power and marvelous activity--
Drawing water and carrying firewood.
The average person perceives a dreamworld of ideas whereas an awakened person perceives the dynamic, unpredictable, and mysterious real world. The average person thinks he/she is an individual person whereas the awakened person knows that no such thing exists. The average person "think-sees" whereas an awakened person simply sees. The average person imagines the world in terms of various dualities--good/evil, form/void, happy/sad, etc--whereas the awakened person simply sees and responds to what is. An awakened person thinks, but does not become attached to thinking.
The following is a list of common misconceptions and myths about people who have awakened. It is provided to show that any idea ABOUT Reality is just an idea, and is often far from the truth.
1. An enlightened person cannot be an alcoholic. False. Ko Bong, the teacher of ZM Seung Sahn and the student of ZM Mang Gong, was a well-known alcoholic. He was amazingly clear even when drunk, and there are some funny recorded dialogues between he and his teacher that occurred when his teacher was fussing at him for getting loaded.
2. An enlightened person cannot own a gun or kill anything. False. Many enlightened people own guns and at least one of them periodically kills varmints on his father's farm with a shotgun. I've never met any enlightened people who hunt or fish, but there are probably some out there.
3. An enlightened person cares nothing about money and is usually poor. True and false. Enlightened people in the past tended to be monks and mystics who owned little in the way of material possessions, and there are still many people who live in monasteries or are supported by organizations that free them from the workaday world. Today, however, a wide range of people in all walks of life are waking up, and each of their stories varies considerably. There are at least two self-realized multi-millionaires living in the southeast, and many others who continue to be householders earning normal incomes and living alone or with their families. Some of them enjoy playing the stock market and at least one of them is a nationally-known musician and performer (he calls himself "an undercover agent"). Although they may have substantial money or material possessions, they are not attached to them in the usual sense.
4. An enlightened person is peaceful and gentle. Not necessarily. Some enlightened people do not suffer fools lightly and some are downright ruthless. Watch a video of Nisargadatta to get some insight into this.
5. An enlightened person does not get angry. Totally false! Sometimes they get extremely angry, but it is like a passing storm or the way little children get angry. They don't carry anger with them, they don't hold a grudge, and they don't hate. They simply get angry, and then it blows over. Sometimes they feign anger in order to teach a student.
6. An enlightened person cannot commit suicide. False. Ikkyu, the famous Japanese Zen Master who tore up his certificate of enlightenment as a worthless piece of paper and consorted with prostitutes and common people, committed suicide later in life. Perhaps the most unusual case in history is that of Layman Pang, an enlightened fellow who travelled around China in the eighth century engaging in Dharma combat with various Zen Masters. Before his enlightenment, Pang loaded all of his belongings in a boat, rowed out into a lake, and dumped everything overboard because he considered material possessions a hindrance. Subsequently Ma-Tsu awakened Pang, and later, Pang's wife, son, and daughter also became enlightened. His son stayed with Pang's wife and apparently farmed, but his daughter--Ling Chao--travelled around with the Layman weaving bamboo baskets for a living. Many years later, Pang told his daughter that it was time for him to leave the world. He seated himself in the lotus position and prepared to depart. His daughter told him that an eclipse was occurring. Pang went to see the eclipse for himself, but when he returned, his daughter had already seated herself on his cushion and died. Pang reportedly said something like, "That damn daughter of mine always has to be first at everything." He then spent the required seven days cremating her body and performing various Buddhist rites, and then, sitting beside the Prefect Tu Yi, said a few words and then died. When the news reached his wife, she said something like, "That stupid girl and ignorant old man have left without telling me. How unbearable!" She then told her son, who was hoeing in a field, what had happened. He put down his hoe, said one word, and died while still standing. After his cremation, Pang's wife told everyone in the area goodbye and walked off, never to be seen again. The story of Pang, translated by Ruth Fuller Sasaki, is fascinating, and the Dharma combat and anecdotes recorded in it are hilarious and amazing. Is it accurate? Who knows? Today, however, the six-story shrine built in honor of Ling Chao (she was as well-known as her father) still stands at the Nam Wah Sah Temple in southern China, and the story of the Pang family is well-known throughout China.
7. Enlightened people always become teachers after awakening. Not always. While it is true that most self-realized folks enjoy teaching or feel some responsibility for helping others wake up, not all do. Some awakened people are introverts who enjoy their solitude and have virtually no interest in teaching.
8. Enlightenment brings bliss. False. Bliss is a temporary state that may last from fifteen minutes to several years, but it eventually dissipates.
9. Enlightenment brings an end to human problems. False. Although psychological problems and psychological suffering disappears, enlightened people are still human, and they experience the entire gamut of human issues and conflicts.
10. Enlightened people become asexual. Hardly. They often have torrid affairs with students and others (causing many to be kicked out of their teaching positions). Others remain happily married, or fall in love and get married, or live with someone.
11. Enlightened people become vegetarians after enlightenment. Sorry. Even the Dalai Lama eats meat, as do most teachers in the West.
People who wake up and find out who they are beyond thoughts and ideas are changed by their experiences, but exactly how they are changed varies from individual to individual. In general, they exchange cognitive thinking for direct sensory perception as a primary mode of being. They live in the present moment and do not waste much time fantasizing or reflecting. They know that there is only Oneness manifesting as multiplicity. They do not worry about death because they know that who they are was never born. They see their body as if it were a rental car, something that God is temporarily using. The main thing that distinguishes their daily life is a full acceptance of isness as it is. They do not resist Reality; they simply go with the flow. They see conundrums like "free will versus determinism" as tricks of the intellect. In their world there is neither free will nor determinism; there is only isness. They tend to be apolitical because ideas like "capitalism" or "socialism" are highly abstract and far from the truth. They do not worry about world hunger; they focus on feeding any hungry people they encounter. They don't worry about "world peace" because that, too, is a highly abstract concept; they focus on activities that bring peace to those they interact with. They don't see roadside litter as horrible; they understand why it is there, and they either pick up the trash in front of them or they don't. They don;t worry about the human race blowing itself up because they know that who they are is what the human race is contained within. They know that if the entire universe blows up, they will still be here. Except in cultures that teach reincarnation, they generally laugh at all ideas about the continuation of selfhood in any form. They know that they are appearing and disappearing in a trillion life forms every day, so there is no attachment to the idea that anything personal needs to continue into the future. They live in an empty fullness--a suchness-- beyond all words and ideas. Tra la la and booble-die-oop-see-day. Or, as Layman Pang put it so appropriately:
My daily activities are not unusual,
I'm just naturally in harmony with them.
Grasping nothing, discarding nothing,
In every place there's no hindrance, no conflict.
Who assigns the ranks of vermillion and purple>--
The hill's and mountain's last speck of dust
is extinguished.
My supernatural power and marvelous activity--
Drawing water and carrying firewood.
