Start-Up Koan

The scene appears simple enough. One man alone sitting under a tree.  Yet, the serenity of this moment was the equivalent of a spiritual earthquake in the history of mankind. There was a Great Awakening and the tree itself was transformed so much so that it became the parent of its own lineage of Sacred Banyan Fig trees and bore its own taxonomy — ficus religiosa.  There could be no other Bodhi trees elsewhere in the world if such trees could not be traced to the single tree that Siddhartha had sat under. So, what happened to Siddhartha himself? After the defeat of Mara, Siddhartha was no more. He had ceased. Instead, he was a transient being who neared the light. His understanding swelled and as he felt the final remnants of his mental struggles and doubts disintegrate, he passed through the light and he could see the world now from the light’s vantage point.  He understood the world as it truly was and realized the cause of suffering and how to remove it.  There were specific truths that were revealed to him and these truths formed the foundation of the steps one had to follow in order to eliminate suffering.  These truths were the answers to his quest. How simple they were!  They were right before him all along, but he could not see them because of the chains of ignorance and attachment that kept him in the dark. As he embraced this supreme knowledge, the light seeped through all his pores and consumed his body.  He had meditated under the tree for 49 days.  But, he did not thirst or hunger. His senses were not dulled. He was satiated and ebullient. When he at last opened his eyes, it was as if he was a newborn looking upon the world for the first time. There were no longer any flickering shadows or other earthly distractions. Feelings of pride, greed, covetousness, or worry that plague all people were unknown notions belonging to the someone he used to be.  He was free of these, but not completely.  He believed in the middle way and that included grappling with doubt from time to time. Was it his duty to teach?  Look how his companions had so easily turned their backs on him. Would he find anyone receptive to what he had discovered? Was the world ready? He was not convinced of this right away. He debated with himself and in so doing realized that was why he had to teach. There had to be exchange and discourse.  For what was the point of attaining Enlightenment if he was not willing to then demonstrate the perfections of what he had learned?  He thought of his 5 companions. They would need to see him and he would let them prod their doubting fingers into what he had to say. Only then would they understand how he had Awakened. Only then would they know him as the Buddha.

Tags: 49 days, awakening, Banyan, banyan tree, becoming Buddha, bodhi tree, Buddha, enlightenment, ficus religiosa, fig, lineage, mahabodhi, Mara, meditation, sacred tree, Siddhartha