The One Turning

Gasses compressing under their own weight become stars which ultimately explode forming the cosmic dust that condenses into planets.

Amorphous goo mutates into protoplasm that endlessly self consumes in an unbroken chain of ever changing life forms.

The caterpillar morphs into the butterfly just as the protosimian evolves into the human being. What was once one thing simply transmutes into another.

All beginnings spring from terminal remains in a rhythmic continuum, endlessly converting each imagined ending into something new.

The birth of a child seems to us to be nothing like the spontaneous ignition of a new born star, but these are all aspects of one continuous event, the one turning we call the universe.

Contrary to what we perceive as disjoined pieces of an enormous puzzle, the whole universe is woven together like a sweater knitted from a single yarn.

What is the meaning of this?

To Kill the Buddha

When the famous Tea Master Sen-no Riku was to commit ritual suicide he wrote in his death poem: "With this sword I kill all Buddhas and Patriarchs!" as an admonishment to his preconceived notions of enlightenment. Only at his death did he openly admit that what had kept him from realizing himself as Buddha was his conceptualizations of what a Buddha was. Any image of the Buddha that is not our self as Buddha is a mistaken image, an idol in any form is an obstruction to our awakening.

This includes anyone who we feel is in some way superior to us. By elevating others we submit ourselves to another form of enslavement. This is not to say that we shouldn’t respect others, their positions or their accomplishments, but we should not see their knowledge or status as anything superior to our own. The notion of superiority is concept that limits both parties. Those who feel superior have defined themselves by the limits of others and those who feel inferior have limited themselves through self imposed restrictions.

One only needs to understand that everyone is a manifestation of Buddha consciousness, I am Buddha consciousness, you are Buddha consciousness, we are Buddha consciousness. Superiority and inferiority are limiting concepts that have no bearing on Buddha consciousness and therefore no bearing on anything real. To kill the Buddha is to annihilate even the most cherished of concepts- ideals, these are among the last barriers to awakening.

Beware Buddha!

If you see the Buddha, kill him!

There is danger in Zen - the danger of being trapped by non-duality.
Sometimes be Great Mind. Sometimes be an individual.

Live the moment to the full, whoever it demands.

become a raindrop in the ocean

The moment a raindrop touches the ocean it becomes the ocean, without hesitation the ocean and raindrop each accept becoming one, to awaken to our Buddha consciousness is exactly like this. What appears at one moment to be the consciousness of the individual is suddenly recognized as boundless ocean of consciousness, all perception of separate identity is instantly lost to the realization of universal awareness, the boundless Buddha Mind.

When we break through the barriers of conceptual thinking we have awakened to our Buddha Consciousness, this is not something achieved but rather something realized. Just like our eyes, our mind cannot see when it is closed. To become Buddha is to awaken, all we need do is open our minds and allow the ocean of consciousness to flow in.

We may think we see things as they are, but the diaphanous constructs of our ego centric identity become barriers as impenetrable as concrete walls. As long as we believe that we are separate, we have imprisoned ourselves. We become like a sealed bottle of water floating in the ocean, wondering why we feel trapped. Those of us who have not awakened are not alone in this delusion, most of humanity is likewise bottled up and bobbing about helplessly in an ocean of desolation.

Conceptual thinking is the barrier. To conceptualize is to interpret what we experience and make conclusions, which by definition are endings. Every concept is a portion separated from the whole by the conclusions that frame it, artificially bound by what we define as its limits. Without conceptual thinking everything returns to its original state which is boundless and complete. The awakened mind sees everything as it is, without concepts, without boundaries. By letting go of our self imposed boundaries we allow our minds to become boundless and our self identification becomes unlimited.

Those who identify with boundless awareness perceive the non-duality of reality and recognize themselves and all of nature as both singular and omnipresent, individual yet undifferentiated from the whole of existence. This is the root of mystical awareness and the Mystic is recognized by this identification. Unfettered by the gossamer tethers of conceptual thinking the Mystic awakens to boundless Buddha Mind and is set free.