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BUDDHA’S FLOWERNEWTON’S APPLE
One Person’s Exploration of Enlightenment in a Material World
For many people the term enlightenment carries a particular significance. It may mean a specific behavior, an exclusive knowledge, an overall understanding of the human condition of life and death, or a state of true happiness and peace. For many Buddhists, enlightenment means all of these, together with the possibility of attaining such a goal over many lifetimes or waking up to it within one’s present life. I heard about this prospect of knowing the true nature of the universe and everlasting happiness when I was in my late twenties. After seven years of arduous Zen training I finally experienced kensho, “a glimpse of enlightenment,” as the usual translation carefully words it.
This book is my account of some forty years spent trying to cultivate, integrate, and make sense of this condition, often called non-dual awareness. It is a paradox for me that, after so many years of experiencing the vanishing of self or of dissolving the division between self and world, the best way to address the questions and explain my thoughts seems to be through telling my own life and my very personal findings. My interest and intent is not to proclaim some new truth or discount other people’s personal creeds, but rather to initiate a dialogue and provide the basis for further exchange. For those with an open mind and an interest in the nature of consciousness, in how we perceive reality, and in how the physical world of Newton relates to the metaphysical realm of Buddha, I want to share one person’s journey.