Master Beiko of Keicho City told a monk to go to Master Kyozan Ejaku and ask this question: Does a man who lives in the moment of the present need enlightenment or not?
Master Kyozan Ejaku said: It is not true if I say that there is no enlightenment, but I cannot avoid falling into a dual consciousness.
Coming back to Master Beiko, the monk told him what Master Kyozan has said.
Master Beiko strongly affirmed Master Kyozan's words.
1 comments:
Buddhist practice is realising the conduct where we drop the implied divisions of 'me' as opposed to 'other', 'inside' as opposed to 'exterior' etc etc.
Nishijima Roshi considers that Master Kyozan Ejaku's statement is a very honest and realistic admission of the fact that there is no perfect state of enlightenment where such dualistic thinking is avoided or completely transcended on an on-going basis. There is no such state that conforms to the ideal.
The Master's response in the Tanahashi/ Loori rendering lends itself to other possibilities:
"It is not that there is no enlightenment, but how can we deal with falling into the secondary? [or 'dual' consciousness]"
As Loori Roshi comments, this points the direction of the relationship between delusion and realisation/enlightenment.
I'm reminded of Master Dogen's famous statement: 'buddhas greatly realise delusion. Ordinary beings are greatly deluded about realisation'.
Enlightenment itself may be 'dealing with falling into the secondary'; dropping off 'delusion', dropping off 'realisation', dropping off even the realisation of delusion and any traces of some body/mind to be deluded or realised.
Regards,
Harry.
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