An adventure is different than a quest. It is more of an undertaking that can be risky or even dangerous. An adventure always involves facing the uncertain or the unknown. It is anticipated that luck will oversee the adventure. The adventures of Marco Polo and Huckleberry Finn come to mind.
A quest, in the spiritual use of the term, is an investigation that is tied to an inward seeking, culminating in a discovery. It may first involve finding a spiritual guide or teacher, one who is willing to challenge us and call into question all of our beliefs and point us in the right direction.
For some people their interest in Zen is closer to an adventure and that is well and good. But then sometimes the adventure turns into a serious quest which is what happened to me. I am inclined to believe that youth needs an adventure, a way to test their wits and their inner strength and powers. They may want to go mountaineering, for example, which is not without severe penalties where luck can soon turn into misfortune. But given time, eventually, some turn to the quest who then take up seeking what Gautama sought who awakened to the unconditioned, i.e., nirvana.
The quest is a whole different ballgame. The quest is not so much concerned with opinions, or science, as it is with illumination. Illumination is like bringing a light into darkness (our avidya or nescience) the source of the illumination being the One Mind. Here the quest is lofty and far reaching; not something that can be appreciated by the many for they have no interest in leaving their darkness; who suffer from hubris.
“For those enveloped there is darkness (avidya); [there is] blindness for those who cannot see. But for the wise who see there is an illumination, like a light” (Sutta-Nipāta 763).
The world truly lives in darkness. And it should not be surprising to learn that those who lead us demand obedience to darkness, that all should remain blind and not speak of this mystic illumination with its quest. Of this generation the Buddha likened them to a dog tied by a leash that keeps running around and circling a post.
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