Q. What does enlightenment have to with our happiness?
A. As I have mentioned previously, we are living in a world of memory that is called the realm of form. Form means the imaginary lines produced by us. We are living in a world of countless complicated imaginary lines that we have drawn and are drawing constantly. The problem is that we often stumble over the imaginary lines and can’t move freely because we are caught by the lines.
Attaining enlightenment is to realise that everything is an imaginary line, an illusion. When we can clearly realise that all things are just imaginary lines, we don’t stumble over or are not caught by the lines any longer. We can erase all the lines at will, and draw our own lines for the sake of our convenience, instead of struggling to fit into the lines drawn by others. In other words, we can enjoy our life by drawing the lines that suit us best.
So, enlightenment enables us to enjoy much more happiness than before.
Student: “What is the difference in my life before and after enlightenment?”
Master: “Before enlightenment, your life leads you, but after enlightenment you lead your life.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/vB4Bs
Zen Fools 