UNITY
As some of you know, I have been living and working at the intersection of Christianity and Buddhism for most of my adult life; and as you also know, I am ordained both as an Independent (Ecumenical) Catholic Priest and as a Zen Buddhist Priest. Where possible, then, my goal is to either post on topics that draw on both traditions, or do parallel posts where I feel the topic is best separated out. My post yesterday about Stages of Enlightenment is one such topic where I wanted to address the Zen perspective separately.
Here then my focus is on oneness with God, non-dual thinking and the question of the divine versus the human states of being. And, yes, I know for many these may seem blasphemous or irreligious, but it is in fact in line with Jesus' own teachings.
Apologies to those who have heard me say this before, but perhaps the single most egregious example of bad translation in the New Testament is the word "metanoia." Since an accurate translation of the term did not suit the early church's theology of sin, redemption, Jesus dying for our sins, they decided to mistranslate it. Thus the term found its way into translations of the NT as "repent" or repentance. With it came the invention of a theology that Jesus did not teach: namely, that of our needing to repent our sins so that after we die we will get into heaven. And of course the related invented theology that Jesus died for our sins (which actually is true, but not in the sense it is usually meant).
What the term actually means is meta=above, beyond and noia=thinking, mind. So it translates to above or beyond thinking, indeed one might say before thought. Hence Jesus' actual teaching was that in order to enter the state of being he termed 'heaven on earth' (where heaven, he tells us, is inside us) you must first go beyond thinking, or perhaps more accurately, come from a place of before thought.
In John we learn that Jesus also taught that one can become a son (or daughter) of God by aligning one's will with God's will. And throughout his teaching, Jesus points to this aligning of wills being associated with this coming from a place of before thought, being as a child (child-like, not childish), in order to enter the state of being he called heaven.
His teaching, then, although not often presented in the way he said it, was that we are all both human (ego-based, mind/concept, duality based) and divine (before thought, non-dual thinking, oneness with God). And if this sounds irreligious to you, remember that in his core prayer Jesus taught us to pray to "Our Father," (not his Father), and he referred to all his followers as his brothers and sisters. Indeed, in one superbly clear teaching he even talks of who is his mother? who are his brothers? to which he answers that all present are his brothers, sisters, mothers. But that is a topic for another blog.
In reading about mystical experience you will have noticed a common theme that those who have so-called "mystical experiences" often speak of becoming one with God, one with everything, a dropping away of self, of ego, and a sense of ecstasy and a feeling of all being well. A deep sense of peace that passeth all understanding.
For many, this moment of non-dual thinking, of becoming one with God, is just that -- a fleeting moment that they may then spend the rest of their lives trying to repeat. For others, these moments of oneness happen on a regular basis, and what ensues is the challenge of balancing one's ego-based dualisitic way of being, with the non-dualistic state of who you truly are.
ILLUSION/DELUSION: SEEKING YOUR TRUE SELF
Here, as with the Zen version of my blog, the above visual illusion can be used as a metaphor or parallel. For many, living in the dualistic every day life of the ego, of me-my-I thinking, is the norm represented by the upright staircase that runs from top on the left down the lower step on the right. But once, or perhaps occasionally, there is a glimpse of your true self, which is like getting a glimpse of the inverted staircase that runs the other way upside down.
But when in dualistic mode its hard to also being in the unity mode of your true self: similarly, when in the state of union, which for many can be like a state of ecstasy, its hard to also be in the "regular" ego driven dualistic state. Its either one or the other: seeing either the upright staircase or the inverted one, not both at once.
Entering into a state of non-dual thinking, of the before thought "heaven within" that Jesus taught about, whether by centering prayer or other means, can not only be a challenge but, for some, a scary experience. Unlike Eastern traditions like Zen, Christianity doesn't tend to promote the idea of having a mentor or teacher -- yet it can be vital to have someone walk the path with you.
The path can be a challenging one, and I heartily recommend that you seek a mentor or spiritual director if you are pursuing this path (following the writings of the likes of Richard Rohr, Thomas Merton or Fr Keating). Yet the path is the most important one any of us can take: that toward unity with God and seeking heaven on earth. It is to go beyond ego-based dualistic thinking to non-dualism and unity -- finding your true self -- but to not be deceived into taking on the non-dual experience as some kind of "achievement" or badge of honor. Your true self is love, and here we mean agape of course. It is a very deep state of compassion, for ultimately true selfless love is deep compassion, and vice versa. But beware: as one person recently wrote she thought she had become the most serene peaceful compassionate person ever until someone cut in front of her on the freeway when she was already running late for work :-)
Seek the way that Jesus spoke of but be prepared to discern illusion from the true path, your true self. And if you have not already done so, seek out a mentor or spiritual director to walk the path with you.
peace and blessings.
do well, do no harm, do what you can, remember to truly love yourself, and above all help others.
WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT?
Enlightenment has come up a few times recently in various FaceBook discussions. First, let's put one thing to rest right here: this blog post is not actually about the "stages" of enlightenment. That was hook title I selected to entice you to read further. Enlightenment by its very nature is impossible to discuss in words since by very definition it deals with the ineffable. It is also not some "thing" that you can attain, or that once attained you can then "lose."
But there was a method in my madness in selecting the title, and in selecting the above image of what is known as the "staircase illusion" since this all relates to what we call enlightenment, as I hope to clarify here.
I should say first that I am writing this part of this blog from the perspective of Zen Buddhism, and some of the ideas and views are not accepted even in other branches of Buddhism.
In Zen we have a term "kensho" which can be variously translated as "seeing into nature" or "seeing into essence," and is most often used to describe a glimpse of enlightenment. Some may say it is a glimpse of your Buddha Nature or a glimpse of emptiness. Yet others -- and I would say they are mistaken -- equate kensho with enlightenment as such, and then proceed to conclude that having had a kensho experience the person is thus "enlightened" or now qualifies to become a teacher, senior teacher, Zen Master or Roshi. Indeed, we've had some lively discussion recently on FB as to the importance of verifying a kensho experience as a precondition to granting dharma transmission, and if so how many kensho experiences must be affirmed before transmission is granted (or if already granted, is recognized as "valid"). Yet to play devil's advocate, one might say do you wish someone who has only had a glimpse -- a kensho experience -- teaching others as if they have some deep appreciation? I'll return to this below.
Then there is the term "satori" which some equate to kensho, and yet others equate to enlightenment. Other still draw a distinction and say that satori, like kensho, is a glimpse of non-duality, of emptiness, but is not a complete enlightenment, yet is a deeper state or experience than kensho. Already we are splitting hairs, counting angels dancing on the head of a pin, and being drawn into the very condition that "enlightenment" is meant to be freedom from. Oh the irony! The idea thus arises in discussions and attempts to define these terms of levels of enlightenment, or stages of it, or degrees of it. Hence my title for this blog post. But all this itself is illusion, all is construct and condition: the mind doing what it does best.
But to complete this summary of terms, some then might say that beyond kensho and satori is daigo tettei, which is the true, final, enlightenment. This, they would say, is the final and absolute enlightenment, from which the person does not go back. It is the "great realization." So, to summarize, there are no levels of enlightenment and these levels are kensho, satori and daigo. Welcome to the wonderful world of zen.
Yet there is something to what these terms refer to: experience and listening to the experiences of those following the Zen path, reveals that there are commonalities of experience that in some sense align with terms such as these. That is, the term "kensho experience" to identify a glimpse of non-duality or emptiness seems to be a valid term with genuine usefulness.
THE ILLUSION
In simplistic mass market discussions of Zen its not uncommon for people to talk of overcoming the ego, defeating the ego, of realizing non-duality as the only true reality, of everything being illusionary, and so on. As many have pointed out before, realizing the Mack truck hurtling toward you on the road is in a sense an illusion, a fabrication of mind, is all very well, but if you step out in front of it you'll soon have a serious teaching moment about what illusion means. In this instance, one might say you get the 1, but not the 2. Getting the 1, getting non-duality, getting a glimpse of emptiness, is all very well and good but then you need to get the 2. Then both 1 and 2, and then neither 1 nor 2. Let me expand on that.
As I mentioned above, enlightenment is by its nature ineffable, and neither words nor pictures can do better than a finger pointing at the moon. But perhaps the staircase illusion can stand as a reasonable metaphor. Most people looking at the illusion tend to see a set of stairs that goes down from the top left to the bottom right. A simple staircase, nothing special.
But then when you are asked to try to see the upside down staircase that goes from a low step on the upper left to a high step on the lower right, for many you transition to seeing this alternative. Again, it is often the case that when you concentrate you can switch back and forth between the two views of the staircases, and eventually you may be able to see both at once, or perhaps even see neither. But I get ahead of myself. Suffice to say, here we have a parallel to 1, then 2, then 1 and 2 then not 1 not 2.
Consider everyday ego-based, dualistic reality as the regular staircase most people see on first looking at the illusion. Then consider that having a glimpse of emptiness and non-duality is like momentarily being able to see the inverted stairway. It flashes before you, but then you cant grasp it again. Kensho can be exactly like this.
Satori, by contrast, might be likened to being able to switch back and forth at will between the two views of the staircase, switching between ego based, dualistic perception and non-dualistic direct perception of emptiness. And for some it is rather like this: in every day life they find the slip back into an ego-based dualistic worldview, and then while sitting zazen, or perhaps for some period of time after sitting, entering a deeply peaceful, centered non-dualistic state that then dissipates over time. Perhaps it rises to a kensho glimpse, perhaps its just samadhi (yes, I know I said "just" -- this is a topic for another blog post).
In this analogy, letting go and just being in the moment = fully embodying "what's this? don't know" - is a parallel to both being able to see both versions of the staircase at the same time, and seeing neither staircase (1 and 2, neither 1 nor 2) and that this then equates to daigo.
There is some merit to this analogy or metaphor since like the visual illusion, equally the self is an illusion just as the non-self is.
CONSEQUENCES
I have watched as those who have had kensho experiences, or perhaps satori, have got stuck with "So this is it? That's all there is to it?" What ensues in too many instances is a cynicism or resort to alcohol, drugs, or in some cases it seems to aberrant sexual relations with students. They get the 1 and get the 2, they intellectually grasp 1 and 2 as well as not 1, not 2 (e.g. Alan Watts), but the feeling that "Is this really all there is?" consumes them. Perhaps not publicly, but privately.
But this too, along with samadhi, are topics for further blog posts. A Christian version of this blog post based on Jesus' non-dual teachings will follow.
do well, do no harm, do what you can, remember to truly love yourself, and above all help others.
bows
