I would say that it's not a matter of striving to be right, for whatever reason, and that acting as if enlightened is probably no different essentially to being enlightened. That's the point. To fully and completely act as if enlightened, is itself enlightenment or realization. Practice and enlightenment aren't separate, and whilst I don't wish to denigrate any so called awakening experiences, day to day practice 'as if enlightened' manifests awakening completely, whether or not we are conscious of it. In other words, we don't practice in order to become awake but to realize (make real) the fact that we are already awake. Practice then is not done 'in order to' and the false distinction between being and doing is dropped.
Zoketsu Norman Fischer puts it this way: "By "undivided practice-enlightenment" Dogen means that our life is always undefiled, always whole. We always have been enlightened beings- this has always been the nature of our minds, the brightness of our cognizing consciousness. But this doesn't get us off the hook; to appreciate it is to know that we have a responsibility, a joyful responsibility, for our living. For Dogen "practice-enlightenment" is one continuous event. It's not that we practice in order to become enlightened. Rather because we are enlightenment already we must practice, and our practice is the full expression of our enlightenment. Enlightenment sounds very lofty but really it is something quite concrete. The enlightened person is simply the person who isn't selfish- who sees things as they, loves them, and acts out of that love. With our zazen practice we see a world that is lovely, and that calls out to us to participate in it. We are glad to do it. We can't not do it." Genryu ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alex Bunard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 12:56 PM Subject: Re: [Zen] Enlightment > In Buddhist terms, it is more desirable to be > enlightened than it is to act as if one is > enlightened. In other words, while one can be right > for the wrong reasons, it is still advisable to strive > to be right for the right reasons. > > Alex ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give hope to a child. Helping a needy child is easier than you think. Click here to meet someone who needs your help. http://us.click.yahoo.com/hq3f6C/iJlJAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
