I think people misunderstand the concept of sudden enlightenment. Satori itself is sudden and fully transformative, but getting to that point can take lifetimes. Buddha himself after making his vow when he first saw Dipankara took a number of lifetimes.

To think that people don’t stumble along the path is naive. We do, we say things that are cutting, we entertain selfish thoughts, we eat things it would be best not to, etc. etc. And that is one of the reasons we must generate compassion towards ourselves, not just towards others.

The other problem is the idea that we are perfecting our nature. In Zen we are not perfecting anything, just preparing the ground for enlightenment.

As a parting thought try this, in the enlightened mind the universe is already whole. There is no difference between you and the universe. As Alan Watts put it The inside and the outside are one. Where is there not Alaya?

Forgive yourself and be free.

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When the sun is in the sign of Sagittarius, the evenings darken and the rain season in Greece starts, creating swampland from previously dry areas. The constellations Cygnus the Swan, Aquila the Eagle, and Lyra rise during this time period.

In this story Hercules task is to rid the marshes of the Stymphalian birds. Cruel, fearce and large with beaks and talons made of brass, they were consuming the crops and killing the inhabitants. And the noise they made was overwhelming. Athena asked Hephaestos to make divine cymbals for Hercules. Covering his ears with pads, he clashed the cymbals together. The din was so loud and awful to the birds that they left in confusion.

I think the point is this. The noise they were making was the noise of the unquieted mind, producing thought forms. Apparently, there were three major birds and lots of smaller ones. The birds were the various thought forms. The major birds were cruel gossip; talk of the self, selfish talk; and casting of pearls before swine.

Paradoxically, the sound that Hercules produced to combat them was the sound of the silence. Sagittarius is the sign of silence.

Before the soul can hear, it must first become deaf to roaring and whispers. Before the soul can comprehend, it must first be united with the silent speaker. For then the soul will hear and remember, and then the inner ear will speak.

The Voice of the Silence, H P Blavatsky

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