The enlightenment stories of the ancient masters are confounding to conventional mind. Their truth, says Melissa Myozen Blacker, is revealed only when our whole being becomes the koan. Koans represent the sayings and doings of Zen masters and their friends and students, as collected many centuries ago. Koan (Japanese) literally means “public case” (as in a legal precedent), [...]
Who Was the Buddha?
"Buddha" means "one who is awake." The Buddha who lived 2,600 years ago was not a god. He was an ordinary person, named Siddhartha Gautama, whose profound insights inspired the world. Contents Who Was Buddha? What Do We Know About the Historical Buddha? Have There Been Other Buddhas? What About the Buddhas in Buddhist Art? Do Buddhists Worship the Buddha? [...]
Just When You Think You’re Enlightened
Temporary spiritual experiences, such as flashes of bliss or clarity, can be helpful signs of progress if you know how to handle them, says Andrew Holecek. But if you don't, beware. They can be traps. Sooner or later it’s going to happen— it might be the very first time you meditate or only after years of dedicated practice, but someday you’re going to have a spiritual [...]
Forum: What Is Enlightenment?
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Ayya Tathaaloka, Setsuan Gaelyn Godwin, and David Matsumoto explore their traditions' different perspectives on awakening. Introduction by Josh Bartok For me, one of the great bait and switches of dharma practice was this: I came to the dharma wanting enlightenment, and what I found was awakening. I think I imagined that enlightenment was a thing I [...]
You Are Already Enlightened
Guo Gu, a longtime student of the late Master Sheng Yen, presents an experiential look at the Chan practice of silent illumination. Silent illumination is a Buddhist practice that can be traced back not only to Huineng (638–713), the sixth patriarch of Chan, and other Chinese masters but also to the early teachings of the Buddha. In the Chan tradition, silent illumination is [...]
The Dharma of Distraction
It goes a lot deeper than how many times a day you check your phone. According to Buddhist teacher Judy Lief, distraction is the very foundation of ego, the way we protect ourselves against both the pain of life and the open space of awakened mind. You could even say that letting go of all distraction is the path to enlightenment. Distractions are everywhere, all the [...]
Six Kinds of Loneliness
To be without a reference point is the ultimate loneliness. It is also called enlightenment. In the middle way, there is no reference point. The mind with no reference point does not resolve itself, does not fixate or grasp. How could we possibly have no reference point? To have no reference point would be to change a deep-seated habitual response to the world: wanting to [...]
The Whole Way
Is Buddhism a transcendent path to enlightenment or a practical aid to everyday life? The Way cannot be divided like that, Joan Sutherland tells us. Like the water system of the high desert, it flows in every direction and is found wherever we decide to tap into it. Being human is a complicated affair, and Buddhism began and continues to evolve as a response to this [...]
Practice Like Your Hair’s on Fire
Enlightenment is possible in this lifetime, says Gelek Rimpoche, but time is running out. We have to make the most of this rare and fleeting opportunity to wake up. All sentient beings, including myself, have gone through continuous ups and downs, life after life, experiencing the sufferings of samsara. The reason we keep having all of these problems is because we haven’t [...]
Beyond Present, Past, and Future Is The Fourth Moment
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche on meditation, the spiritual path, and a sense of basic being beyond relative time. When we talk about stages on the path, in relationship to our meditation practice, we have a problem with the terminology. We tend to think of a staircase: We take the first step, and then we take the next step and the step after that. We think meditation practice is [...]
