Pure Mind or absolute spirit is invisible to the six senses, most notably to the sixth which is manas which includes our imagination and speculations. Thus, what we seek in the way of enlightenment hides and eludes us even while we read about it or contemplate it. It will not show itself to us no matter how hard we try.
Still those who have actually mastered Zen behold this spirit singularly and straightforwardly. It comes suddenly and unexpectedly. Yes, it’s like seeing something that you never thought was possible. Before kenshō all your pathways came to dead ends. The truth which you sought nonstop exceeded your cunning powers. Strangely, it will awaken you.
Even now we, the unawakened, realize that we may have entered into a maze (since our birth) with no exit. Maybe we should call it the maze of samsara. This maze might as well be darkness. Little do we realize that we are creating this maze. Every birth we have experienced brought us into this maze from which there was no escape, only to find ourselves in another maze.
Every Zen koan that you study asks you, fundamentally, who put you in this maze? You draw a blank. You have no answer but lots of diversions. I remember those hopeless nights by the kerosene lamp stuck in this maze. And I also remember the night I broke down and knew I could not obtain enlightenment. How hopeless it was. (I've met deluded people who even fake this crisis.) But, figuratively speaking, the door suddenly opens and there it is.
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