Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Specs Of Knowing

However deep your knowledge of abstruse philosophy, it is like a piece of hair placed in the vastness of space; and however important your experience in things worldly, it is like a drop of water thrown into a unfathomable abyss.

Tokusan Senkan, the 9th century Chan Zen Master, was also known Te-shan Hsuan-chien when he became the abbot of Te-shan. Tokusan has a point. Esoteric theories and metaphysical philosophies continue to manifest like stepping stones across an infinite desert. A spec of knowing is a hair on the infinite head of our consciousness. Each one is a preview of the wisdom that flows through us. Specs of knowing drip through the cracks of consciousness, and the inner conscious mind as well as the conscious mind attached to the brain expand. Each experience we create is filled with specs of knowing. These wisdom drops are filled with the energy of all consciousness.

Our inner conscious mind is free to roam through the unfathomable abyss of consciousness and gather these specs of knowing. When we realize the energy we have within us, we sense the vastness of the self. Chokei the 10th century philosopher, explains it this way:

How deluded I was! How deluded indeed!
Lift up the screen and come see the world!

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