Kensho Defines My Experiences of the Divine

‘Kensh? (??), literally “seeing the nature” in Japanese, is the experience of enlightenment described in the context of Zen Buddhism. The term is often used to denote an initial awakening experience, seeing one’s buddha nature, that can be enlarged and clarified through further practice in daily life, although the definition is significantly different outside Japanese style Zen.’ Via Wikipedia

I have had about a half-dozen intense insights into the other. Call them mystical experiences. Call them what you will. Transcendence isn’t the best word, but it was my placeholder word. During these experiences, I was able to pierce the curtain.

During these intensely mystical experiences, I knew.

During these experiences, however brief, I saw through the illusory nature into true nature. These experiences were never the same and some were banal and most were unintentional.

One took place while watching a sunset with friends. None of these experiences occurred as the result of deep personal introspection or hours of meditation.

The funny thing about all of them, though, is that each experience fled the moment I became conscious of it. The moment I recognized, editorialized, judged, narrated, or detached is the moment the experience would end. The way I explain it is that there is my Ape Brain in my head and there is my Mind, which is connected to the Universe. The moment my Ape Brain decided to participate in my experience, “wow, this is cool” or “dude, you’re transcending” or, the worst, “look at me, I am so more evolved than you,” I would derail and “normalcy” would return.

I used to refer to these experiences as Satori or Nirvana; however, these words were never right simply because these experiences were glimpses, knowings, and, while fleeting, left a profound aftertaste that I can tap into any time I want.

These experiences were much more than a God-wink, they were a blowing out of cobwebs. They were an experience of “before Enlightenment, cut wood, carry water; after Enlightenment, cut wood, carry water.”

I was wrong. The truly Enlightened do cut wood and carry water before and after, it is true, but what I missed is that they also carry with them Satori in their day-to-day. They have been changed, essentially, and have chosen to remain in the world, a choice that also might have been “linking out” into a reunion with Godhead.

So, with the Enlightened, with the Ascended, this return to “cut wood, carry water” is intentional. It is a Gift to us, that the truly Enlightened stay shoulder-to-shoulder with us. And, it is also my belief, that the truly Enlightened on the earth are probably not our priests, our leaders, or most of our spiritual guides.

There are probably loads and loads of dads, moms, janitors, school teachers, and even soldiers who are in a certain level of constant, walking, meditation, and in a place benevolence, love, acceptance, and connection to the other in a very real, every day, way.

Why do I say that when a Soul finds Enlightenment he or she must choose to participate in the illusion? Well, once you see how the illusion is set up, there is very little reason to “stay” except for continued learnings and teachings. And, out of Love and Compassion, which is sort of par for the course amongst the truly Ascended — they sort of just can’t help themselves — it is in their Nature!

Well, I discovered the perfect word for my experience in the Japanese tradition of Buddhism, the tradition with which I am the most experienced from growing up in Hawaii. Kensho.

The Kensho experience

‘In Kensho, one experiences the illusionary nature of the separate self (“I”). Because of the nature of the mind, any perception seems to involve a perceived object, the process of perception, and a perceiving subject. For example, ‘I see you’: I – the subject (which appears to be separate from the perceived objects), see – the process of perception, you – the object. Trying to find the “I,” the subject, through introspection leads to the realisation that this “I” is completely dependent on the process of perception, the associated thought/feeling complex, and the memories tied to them. Kensho is the direct experiencing of that which is Unborn, Undying, Uncreated, Unchanging; The Eternal Flow/Flux. One knows, with the whole of one’s being, that one was not, is not, and forever will not ever be separate from the whole of the Universe. Afterward, one will always know that one has changed.’

Seeking kensho

‘Working towards this realisation is usually a lengthy process of meditation and introspection under guidance of a Zen or other Buddhist teacher, usually in intensive sesshin retreats.’

‘However, Kensho may also be spontaneous, upon hearing or reading some significant phrase, or as result of a profound dream. For example, Zen lore describes the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng’s spontaneous experience of kensho upon hearing a phrase of the Diamond sutra.’

‘Koans are often used as meditation aids, (particularly in the Rinzai tradition). For example, one koan is known as: ‘Who am I’, since it is this question that guides the enquiry into one’s true nature. The realization that there is no ‘I’ that is doing the thinking, but rather that the thinking process brings forth the illusion of an ‘I’, is a step on the way to Kensho.’

‘It is not unusual for various hallucinations and psychological disturbances to arise prior to true kensho, these are referred to as makyo. Distinguishing these delusions from actual kensho is the primary function of the teacher, as the student may be erroneously convinced they have realized kensho.’

Via Wikipedia

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