ANINTRODUCTION TO ZENBUDDHISM
self,thatcomesfromthedelusionthatitismine,orthatIam
Good.Thatisalwaysasignofimperfectionandfolly.WereI
consciousofthetruth,IwouldalsobeawarethatIamnotGood,
thatGoodisnot mineandisnotofme.""Mansays, 'Poor
foolthat Iam, IwasunderthedelusionthatIwasit,butI
finditisandwastrulyGod'."
Thatalready statesa considerableamount regardingthe
contentsofenlightenment.Theoccurrenceofsatoriisinterpreted
andformulatedasa break-throughofaconsciousnesslimited
totheego-formintheformofthenon-ego-likeself.Thiscon-
ceptionanswerstothenatureofZen,butalsotothemysticism
ofMasterEckehart.^Themastersays,inhissermonon"Blessed
arethepoorinspirit":"WhenIcameoutfromGod,allthings
said,'ThereisaGod!'But thatcannotmakemeblissful,for
withitIconceivemyselftobeacreature.Butinthebreak-
through,^whenIwishtoremainemptyinthewillofGod,and
emptyalsoofthiswillofGodandofallhisworks,andofGod
himself—thenIammorethanallcreatures,forIamneither
Godnorcreature:/amwhatIam,andwhatIwillremain,now
andforever!ThenIreceiveajerk,whichraisesmeaboveall
theangels.InthisjerkIbecomesorichthatGodcannotsuffice
me,inspiteofallthatheisasGod, inspiteofallhisGodly
works;forin thisbreak-through I perceivewhatGodand I
areincommon./amthenwhatIwas,^ Igrowneitherlessnor
more,for I amanimmovable beingwho movesall things.
HereGodnolongerabidesinman,formanthroughhispoverty
haswonbackwhathehasalwaysbeenandwillalwaysbe."
Herethemasterisactually describingasatoriexperience,
areleaseoftheegothroughself,towhich"Buddha-Nature",or
godlyuniversality, isadded. Since, out ofscientificmodesty,
Idonotherepresumetomakeanymetaphysicaldeclaration,
butmeanachangeofconsciousnessthatcanbeexperienced,
MeisUrEckehart'sSckrifUnundPredigUn.PublishedbyH.Buttner,1912.
ThereisasimilarimageinZen:whenamasterwasaskedofwhat
Buddhahoodconsisted,heanswered, "Thebottomofapitcherisbroken
through."(Suzuki:Essaysin^enBuddhism,I,p.217.)Anotheranalog^'isthe
"burstingopenofthesack".(Suzuki:EssaysinJ^enBuddhism,II,p.100.)
*Cf.Suzuki:EssaysinZ"^Buddhism,pp.220,241.Zensignifiesaglimpse
intotheoriginalnatureofmankind,ortherecognitionoforiginalman.(Sec
alsop.144.)
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