I glide along the footpath. Trent river. Swans. Shaft of sunlight. Water high after the rains. Could bull my way straight on through It’s almost here. It’s on my Outlook calendar. As soon as I finish writing this blog entry, I become self-realized. I have been waiting for a long time! Gururaj Ananda Yogi used to talk about preparing for realization and used the analogy of properly lighting a cigarette. One couldn’t just casually flip open the Zippo lighter, thumb the wheel, and ignite the cigarette. (You can picture the Marlboro man on his horse head tucked down so that the brim of his Stetson shielded the flame from the wind. You know, before he gave up riding the range due to lung cancer.) Nope, one was supposed to bring the flame slowly toward the target zone – the end of the cigarette not stuck between one’s lips – and allow the heat of the flame to warm and prepare the tobacco to ignite. Slowly one moved the flame to the right spot just below and a bit out from the end of the cigarette. Then as one gently sucked air through the cigarette, the flame naturally bent toward the tobacco in a passionate kiss of fire to fuel. And voila, the cigarette was lit and fully engaged. It was a kind of Harlequin romance parable of the way one prepared for the moment of enlightenment. Of course hidden in Gururaj’s little parable was a certain degree of uncertainty. The preparer (read here: average non-enlightened, struggling meditator) never knew when Divinity would finally bless all the years of preparation and allow the passionate kiss of realization to ignite the prepared mind. There are many old sayings that capture this sense of being at Divinity’s mercy. Tom Lehrer wrote a memorable song lyric, “Be prepared! That’s the Boy Scout marching song. // “Be prepared as through life you march along.” Or this saying built into every mother’s repertoire, “Always wear clean undies in case you are in an accident, and the hospital nurse has to…” Well, you get it. So I was really elated to see realization show up as an event coming sometime this week. I just have to finish this blog entry, kick back, and light up a cigarette. That last could be problem as I don’t smoke cigarettes. I even try to avoid second-hand smoke. Still I have done a lot of preparing in my day. I’ve read a lot of books on spirituality, various religions, all kinds of meditation techniques, lots of great descriptions that describe what cannot – according to most recognized sages – be described. I understand the stuff. Give me a good Zen anecdote with a koan and its answer, and I understand the story. Give me a good religious debate, and I understand the viewpoints. I even know which ones are wrong. Well, not wrong exactly because that would be a judgment on my part. So let’s say I even know the viewpoint that has serious limitations regarding correctness. Here’s a good Buddhist story to understand: Zhaozhou’s Buddha The Main Case: Once a monastic bid farewell to Zhaozhou. Zhaozhou said, "Where are you going?"1 The monastic said, "I will visit various places to study the Buddha-dharma."2 Zhaozhou picked up his whisk and said, "Do not abide in a place where there is a Buddha.3 Pass by quickly a place where there is no Buddha.4 Upon meeting someone do not misguide that person."5 The monastic said, "That being the case, I will stay here."6 Zhaozhou said, "Pick up the willow blossoms."7 The Commentary: Zhaozhou, seeing this monastic teetering on the edge, lost no time in precipitating the situation. Finding no place to abide, the monastic was stopped dead in his tracks. Again the old bodhisattva pulled the rug out from under him. Do you understand? There are no side roads along the great way, yet there is no place that it does not reach. The truth of the way is not in seeing or hearing nor is it in words and ideas. If you can cut through the entanglements and untie the bonds of the Buddhas and ancestors, you have discovered the land of clarity and peace where even heaven and hell cannot reach. If you seek it from others, you go astray. If you seek it within, you are far removed from it. What will you do? The Capping Verse: This old Buddha has a way of teaching: Thirty blows of the stick without raising a hand. Directing yourself toward it, you move away from it. What person’s life is lacking? Dharma Discourse by John Daido Loori, Roshi True Dharma Eye, Case 80 Featured in Mountain Record 18.3, Spring 2000 You see? Understanding is just not good enough. With understanding one can glide along the towpath next to the river, but it’s not the same as flowing as the water. So I think I need to think some more about this whole blog entry. To be continued.