bill... thank you for your good advice
can one "over polish".? i spy with my little eye.... over polishing may lead to certain arrogance .. merle Merle, I agree with Mike. Additionally a teacher can make first guide you to a realization and sure you're not deceiving yourself along the way. I don't know how many times I thought I had the 'answer' to Mu and went into the dokusan room (private interview with the teacher) full of confidence only to be unceremoniously rung out (the teacher rings a little bell notifying you that the dokusan is over). But like Mike says when I finally 'got it' there was really no need for validation, just a profound feeling of gratitude and need to thank my teacher for sticking with me and guiding me while I floundered around. And then there of course is the start of the polishing, the real start of your zen practice. ...Bill! --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, uerusuboyo@... wrote: > > Merle,<br/><br/>You'll know because you won't have to ask anyone if you've > awakened. Of course, a teacher can gauge the depth of awakening and what will > help you deepen it. But just like you don't need someone to tell you if that > McDonalds coffee is hot - with the same certainty you'll know your perception > of the world has changed.<br/><br/>Just as reality is experienced moment to > moment, so is enlightenment. Our conditioning and beliefs etc. go deep and > even though our initial awakening might have blown much of the dust from our > eyes, some of that conditioning still remains. It's very much a work in > progress! The biggest mistake to be made would be to believe that the first > glimpse of our true nature is *it* and no further practice is necessary (you > can see here that some people still cling to their cherished beliefs of what > enlightenment is). Before awakening 'letting go' is a struggle. After > awakening you simply realise there is nothing to let go > of.<br/><br/>Mike<br/><br/><br/>Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad >
