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Before enlightenment

chopping wood

carrying water.

After enlightenment

chopping wood

carrying water.

ZEN PROVERB

Founded in China in the sixth century and widespread in Japan by the twelfth century, Zen Buddhism emphasizes achieving enlightenment by the most direct possible means.

As I study the phenomena of higher states of awareness and what is generally referred to as being enlightened, this simple Zen proverb is always a great source of pleasure for me. When we think of the elusive thing called enlightenment, generally we are referring to a state of consciousness that we will someday achieve if we adopt the right spiritual practices and work diligently toward becoming enlightened. The expectation is that when we are once fully awakened all our problems will disappear and we will live a life of pure bliss.

But the message of this famous proverb is that enlightenment is not an attainment, it is a realization. Once you reach this realization, everything appears to have changed, yet no change has taken place. It is as if you had been going through life with your eyes closed and suddenly opened them. Now you can see, but the world hasn’t changed; you simply see it with new eyes. This proverb about chopping wood and carrying water says to me that enlightenment does not begin in a lotus position in a cave high atop the Himalayas. It is not something that you will get from a guru or a book or a course of study. Enlightenment is an attitude toward everything that you do.

The state of being enlightened, for me, involves a very basic idea of being immersed in and surrounded by peace at all moments in my life. If I am anxious, stressed, fearful, or tense, I am not realizing the potential I have for enlightenment right in that moment. I believe that becoming aware of these nonpeaceful moments is one of the ways to being an enlightened person. I have heard it said that the difference between an enlightened person and an ignorant one is that one realizes he is ignorant, while the other is unaware of his ignorance.

I have felt a deeper sense of inner peace and enlightenment in recent years, and still I chop wood and carry water as I did when I was a teenager. Every day I still do the work that will pay the bills, even though the work has changed. Each day I exercise to stay healthy, eat properly, brush my teeth, and wipe my own behind. In the past thirty years since my first child was born and right until now with seven more children to raise, I have the same basic concerns: how to protect, feed, advise, and deal with them I continue to chop wood and carry water as a family member concerned with their lives. Enlightenment is not a means to eliminate life’s daily tasks. So what does an enlightened outlook on life do for you if it doesn’t eliminate daily chores and lead you to a contemplative, problem-free life?

In general enlightenment will not change your outer world, but you will change your way of processing the world. For instance, as I go about the business of parenting, I see my children with an absence of ownership and attachment, whereas previously their behavior could rule my emotional life. Now I see my eight-year-old’s tantrum as what she has to do right now to get attention. I don’t feel compelled to join her in her emotionally juvenile conduct. I also see the successes that all my children experience from this more detached perspective.

My realization of detachment is not an attitude of indifference. It is one of knowing that I have the power to choose peace for myself in all moments, and that I will still have all the same activities, problems, and events cropping up each day. As long as I am in a physical body I will have some chopping and carrying to do. But the way of approaching it is what constitutes enlightenment.

I can recall the horror that I once experienced when having to change a particularly messy dirty diaper or, heaven forbid, having to clean up the floor after one of the children decorated it with throw-up. I would say, “I simply can’t do those things. They’ll make me sick,” and either I avoided them or, if that was impossible, I literally responded to the olfactory insult by getting sick myself. It is amazing how such an attitude affects your physical reactions as well as making the tougher duties of parenting unpleasant.

Today I can approach a dirty diaper or a pile of noxious throw-up with a completely different attitude. And the most amazing thing is that I no longer have the same physical reactions as I once did, strictly because I changed my thoughts. The diapers are there before and after enlightenment, as is the barf. But in post-enlightenment times, you can bring to the task an air of detachment, and peace is your result. I love this affirmation from A Course in Miracles: “I can choose peace rather than this!” To me, that one affirmation sums up this whole business of enlightenment: being able to choose peace while carrying, chopping, cleaning, delivering, hammering, or any of a zillion “ings” you could add to this list.

Enlightenment is not something that will set you free, rather you become freedom itself. You do not become an eagle in the sky; you become the sky itself. You no longer define yourself by the boundaries of your body; the universe itself becomes your body. You are connected in a profoundly spiritual way to all that you see and do. You begin to treat all your tasks, even the most mundane, as opportunities to know God. You bring peace to everything since in your own mind, you are everything and everyone. You become less preoccupied with labeling the flowers and trees and more involved in experiencing them.

This simple little Zen proverb, which has been handed down to seekers of enlightenment for thousands of years, is a great gift. Inside or outside yourself you never have to change what you see, only the way you see it. That is enlightenment!

To put this simple Zen proverb to work in your life here are a few equally simple strategies to practice:

 Become aware of your “ignorance” as it reveals itself each day when you have allowed yourself to slip away from being at peace. Note who you blamed for your moments of despair, what the occasion was, and how frequently you fell into this trap. The recognition of your unenlightened moments is the way to begin turning them around. Remember that those who are ignorant are generally unaware of their ignorance. Become aware.

 Let go of your inclination to see enlightenment as something that you will achieve at some future time when your life circumstances change for the better. You will always have some form of chopping and carrying to do. Your choice is in how you elect to see it.

 Practice making specific changes in your personal approach to things that take you away from your peace. For example, if you find yourself being excessively annoyed in heavy traffic, or in long lines, use these ordinary circumstances of modern life to shift around your inner world. Reserve a space within yourself for enlightenment to appear in the moments when you typically opt for anguish.

 And finally, never make announcements about being enlightened. The person who says, “I’m enlightened” is definitely not. Choose not to engage in conversation about your enlightenment. One Zen teaching says that only after a sincere seeker has asked you more than three times should you respond. The sages are silent on the subject of their own level of God realization.