08 Aug Koan 99

You cannot escape a prison if you don't know you're in one.   The self creates a familiar and comforting world out of an otherwise chaotic and scary universe. We escape to this world, not realizing it imprisons us. The self's prison separates us from the universe. However, there is nothing to fear as we are the universe.   Inside our prison we're engaged with what happens in life and our self's emotional reactions. We rarely disengage to wonder who, where and what we are. Yet, by observing our world and what surrounds it, we realize we know no thing. The illusory knowledge of our self's creation is the foundation of our prison. We can then know nothing; what every thing is before and after it is what it is whatever it is in the now. Nothing is the essence of every thing. As our illusory knowledge lifts like clouds, we see the vastness of the night sky and realize we are the universe....