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We often hear people use such expressions as: "I've woken up to reality", "It all becomes clear" or: "I've seen the light."
It may or may not be real: more often it is something said along the way to an understanding.
"We can't say anything in a definitive, immutable way". But isn't this sentence itself inherently definitive? Well, the question and the sentence it refers to do not share the same frame of meaning or angle of reference, and we had better not ask it.
We often feel we have seen the light: I might for instance get flashes once a month, each term, every year or even daily. However, seen from a chronological angle, we are just talking about what we feel or understand at a given moment. In reality, everything can change with the passing of time. It would seem to be true of a person's love. You tell someone "I will love you forever". In fact this sentence describes what you experienced or understood, and even promised at the time. But time marches on relentlessly, life is so random, and at a different time and in another situation you might deny or play down what you originally said, or completely betray your own words.
I think it is more appropriate to understand enlightenment as a process. We are in an ongoing process of awakening. Awakenings which constantly bring new awareness of our individual life, of our collective existence, of the workplace, of the nation's culture, of the natural universe, of strangers and people we do not usually pay attention to. In general, our awakenings depend on the development of our methodology, our changing perspectives, linguistic changes, the endless shifts of language, exchanges between opposites, the practice of silent observation and so on. Our awakenings take place in a chronological context.
We often hear people say that they have reached some kind of awakening, epiphany, or something of the sort. Perhaps they have. Or not. More often than not they are only making a statement from their particular position. It is impossible for us to make a statement that is absolute and not subject to change. How about this statement itself? Is it absolute? This statement and the statements that it refers to are not uttered in the same sense. It is only a perspective. It is better that we don’t ask such questions. We often think that we have reached an awakening. For example, I feel some kind of awakening every month, every semester, every year, or even everyday. However, from a historical perspective, we are only expressing our feelings and understanding of the moment. As a matter of fact, everything changes with time. This seems to even apply to our love for a person. You say to someone, I love you to eternity. This statement actually conveys your experience, understanding, or promise at that moment. And yet life is as contingent as the passage of time is certain. At another moment, under another circumstance, you might put aside what you said, make light of it, or even betray it entirely. I think it is better to understand “awakening” as a process. In our lives we are constantly experiencing moments of awakening, which occur regarding our individual lives, communities, institutions, national culture, nature and the cosmos, the unknown, and what we normally fail to pay attention to. With every moment of awakening a new consciousness arises. Generally speaking our awakening relies upon a variety of things, such as the development of methodology, change of positions and language, exchange between things formerly alien to each other, fluctuation of words, and the practice of meditation. Our awakening is always situated within history.
People are often heard saying, “I have come to my senses,” “I can see the whole picture now,” “I have seen the light” or something to that effect.
When they say that, they may or may not actually have that self-declared realization. More often than not, it is just a casual remark made at some point of their journeys in life.
Our utterances can never be the final, unalterable word on the subjects they seek to address. In this very sense, is this observation guilty of proclaiming itself the ultimate direction on how we should view our utterances? No, this observation and the utterances it aims to address are not spoken with the same frame of reference in mind. Thus, we had better not bother ourselves with such a question.
Very often we feel that we have awakened to something, believing that something becomes clear to us every year, every academic term, every month, or even every single day. However, viewed in the context of history, these instances of ‘realization’ are nothing more than one’s comments on one’s feelings and understanding at the moments of the perceived realization. In fact, everything changes with the passage of time. So does one’s love for someone, it seems. When you say to someone, “I love you forever and ever,” it is but your personal experience, understanding or even commitment at that particular moment. Time is so serious while life, so full of twists and turns. At a different time and given a different set of conditions, you are likely to pay no attention to, think lightly of, or even go back completely on what you have said earlier.
I feel that it is more appropriate to see awakenings as a process. We live in constant awakenings to life - - we awaken to and develop new awareness about our personal and community lives, organizations, ethnic cultures, nature and the universe, the unknown and the neglected. As a rule, how we see the light depends on the development of our methodology, the change in our perspectives and languages, the interactions between things or people of different natures, the repeated motions of our languages and the practice of contemplative life. We see the light in the awakenings of our history.
We often hear people say they have been awakened, informed, enlightened, and that sort of thing. Whether true or not, such things are usually said while still in the midst of one's journey. None of us can ever make an absolute, enduring declaration. Then again, is this not also an absolute declaration? This question and the statement to which it refers do not bear comparable significance; it is a matter of perspective, and we had better not to ask such a thing. We often feel that we have been awakened. As for myself, every month, every semester, every year, and even every day, I feel a certain awakening. However, considering it from a historical perspective, we see that we have only been talking about the feelings and the discernment of the moment. Actually, as time elapses, everything will change. This is seemingly true for one's love of another person, also. You tell someone, "I will love you forever," but this is actually just an utterance--a promise, even--that is based on your experience and understanding at that time. However, time is so harsh and life is so unpredictable that, at a different time and under different circumstances, you will abandon your original declaration--or you will water it down to the point of betraying it completely. As for awakening, I feel it is more appropriate to think of it as a process. In life, we are in a constant state of awakening. Our personal lives, our social interactions, the organizations to which we belong, our cultural sympathies, the natural universe, the people we have yet to meet, and the people we tend to ignore all exist in a constant state of awakening and of new realizations. Generally, our awakening is reliant upon the development of our methodology, the changing of our perspectives, the gradual shift of language, the heterogeneous exchange of ideas, linguistic revolution, the tacit implementation of principles, etc. Our awakening is an awakening that occurs throughout the grand course of history.
We have often heard people say that they have awakened, understood, become conscious, and so on.
Maybe, maybe not, these things were said more in passing.
We are unlikely to make definitive statements that will not change. Is, then, this last sentence itself definitive? This sentence and its meaning do not rest upon the same levels of understanding. It is a difference in point of view. We had better not ask why.
We often feel that we are awakened, for instance, every month, every school term, every year, even every day I can feel that I am awakened. However, from a historical perspective, we have only stated our feelings and understandings of the moment. In reality, as time goes by, anything could change. For loving someone, it seems the same. You say to them, ‘I love you forever’. These words in fact only express your current sensation and comprehension as well as a commitment; but time is so unforgiving and life is so easily changeable that you may, at another time or under different circumstances, abandon your previous promises or dilute them or even betray them.
Awakening, in my opinion, would be more appropriate to consider as a process. We live in perpetual awakening to the wonders of life, perpetual awakening of personal life, group life, organizational units, national cultures, nature of the universe, unknown peoples and the people who are not usually given attention to by others. All these bring us new awareness. Generally speaking, our awakening relies on the development of our methodology, the changing of our standpoint, the evolution of our language, the interchange between heterogeneous materials, the constant flux of the language, the practice of silent prayer with meditation, etc. Our awakening is awakening in the passing of history.
