The context of Zen it could be argued lies in the world of first-person realization in the example of Siddhartha sitting under the Bodhi tree. Just what exactly this realization was we cannot know unless we personally become awakened. And this pretty much becomes in impossible challenge to overcome from a personal standpoint.
Even with this realization it cannot be handed to another as if it were some kind of material object. Our scholars can write about Zen but direct intuition of Zen ever remains outside of normal human communication whether in academic circles or in religious circles. Realization transcends the human being most notably consciousness or in Sanskrit vijñāna (lit. in two parts knowing).
A more accurate interpretation of Zen will show that Zen is essentially mystical dealing exclusively with intuition. The term intuition has been used to describe any process of acquiring first-knowledge that differs from conscious thought and bypasses the six senses and various modes of thought. For the modern mind this is terra incognita. In that regard one must be cautious but not overly cautious. And one must be prepared to give up their hastily drawn maps of Zen's territory.
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