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IS CALLED "RETURN TO THE ORIGIN" OR "REBIRTH IN PARADISE." IT IS THE KIND OF INNER REALIZATION THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH SOME TRAINING.
VIRTUALLY ALL WHO LIKE ZAZEN AND MAKE AN EFFORT IN PRACTICE, BE THEY LAYMEN OR MONKS, CAN EXPERIENCE TO THIS DEGREE. BUT EVEN SUCH PARTIAL AWAKENING CANNOT BE ATTAINED EXCEPT THROUGH THE PRACTICE OF ZAZEN. YOU WOULD BE MAKING A SERIOUS ERROR, HOWEVER, WERE YOU TO ASSUME THAT THIS WAS TRUE ENLIGHTENMENT IN WHICH THERE IS NO DOUBT ABOUT THE NATURE OF REALITY. YOU WOULD BE LIKE A MAN WHO, HAVING FOUND COPPER, GIVES UP THE SEARCH FOR GOLD.
Basui seems to be a man who is awakened but is not articulate enough to transfer inwardly what he has experienced. There have been three kinds of masters. The first kind never speaks, knowing perfectly well that he is not articulate enough to use words for a wordless experience. It is better to be silent than to say anything that is not rightly directing to the moon. He knows his incapacity; he remains silent. He is called the arhata; He has conquered the enemy. Arhata means one who has conquered the enemy, the ignorance, the unconsciousness, but one who is not able to transmit the lamp to anyone else.
The second category is of the bodhisattva, one who is articulate enough to manage words in such a way that they start indicating towards something beyond the words, who is capable of arbitrary devices so that you can become awakened.
The third category has not been recognized in the ancient scriptures anywhere, but I want you to know that Basui belongs to the third category. It would have been better for him to be silent and be an arhat. Rather than being silent he is trying to be a bodhisattva. That's why he is committing so many mistakes. Although he knows, he is not able to express it, or even to indicate it in a correct and adequate way.
This category has not been recognized, but certainly there have been many, and I will tell you who the people are who belong to this category. It would have been better for them to remain silent like the arhatas, but perhaps out of compassion they tried their best. Intentions don't matter; their expression is childish. They cannot
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