21 Jul Koan 23
“Enlightenment is like everyday consciousness, but two inches above the ground.” -- D.T. Suzuki Enlightenment is proverbially described as "being one with everything." It is a state associated with the dissolution of the illusory self, transcending duality and realizing our oneness with the Everything. Consciousness is consciousness. The consciousness of enlightenment is not different from everyday consciousness. Describing enlightenment as being two inches above the ground seems the antithesis of enlightenment, as it implies separation/duality. On the contrary, two inches above the ground implies enlightenment is above the material world; unaffected by gravity, our conventional understanding of how the material world functions. The "ground" represents the now. On the ground, when we are in the now, we experience the now through the self; a duality, the self and all that is not the self. Enlightenment can be triggered when we are above the now; when we distance ourselves from the now to observe the now. This can be done through meditation. The now is the breathing and when we are in the space between breaths we can observe the now. In this space, we realize the now is one thing (breathing) and we are the consciousness that creates the now. As we create the now, we become the now....
21 Jul Koan 7
What do we see everywhere but rarely notice? Light. Things we see are not things, just light reflecting off things. Moreover, the essence of all things is light, as all things are energy slowed by the speed of light squared. Energy is mass times the speed of light squared (E = MC²). Reconfigured, mass is energy divided by the spend of light squared (M = E/C²). All things, inside and outside, are light. Perceiving things otherwise, as solid or distinct from other things, is an illusion. As all things are light, all things are enlightening. When you see things as things are, what are you? ...