postal scrotum: HK writes in

HK writes in about my post on fat and enlightenment:

hey kevin all that food is delicious looking. can i come over? we could use some pasta sauce. wait. i could use some of that pasta too.

short answer. inka is given to fat people.

enlightenment is different from practice.

practice leads to the ability to control ones karma. enlightenment alone isnt able to change anything. anybody can see the truth at one moment or another. but as you know, it doesnt necessarily last that long.

zen masters have enlightenment and they all practice, but theres definite varying degrees of practice. not all masters practice 10 hours a day. the ones who do practice 10 hours a day probably look a lot healthier than the ones who have to deal with jobs and sitting around at a desk 8 hours a day and cooking and dealing with family.

but whether they sit for 10 hours or sit at a desk for 10 hours, those that have received inka have shown that they can practice, and can teach others how to practice and have enlightenment.

"Can a person who so obviously wears his lack of enlightenment on his sleeve (and, well, everywhere else on his body) legitimately be certified as enlightened?"

sure they can! they were enlightened at one point. lets say youre a black belt in taekwondo. then you gain 50 pounds. just because you gained 50 pounds doesnt mean that youre not a black belt anymore. youre now an overweight black belt. you still have the knowledge and probably the ability to do what you once did. and you can be fat and enlightened too. receiving inka is exactly like receiving a degree. receiving inka just means you can teach.

zen masters dont walk around in a state of enlightenment all the time. theyre just folks with regular problems. what makes them different from us is that because theyve practiced and because they are strong (from practice) they are able to come back to their enlightenment when they want [to] more easily than us (non masters). they have better control over their karma.

hypothetically, suppose people can stay enlightened once they got it. then no zen masters will need to continue practice anymore! what actually happens is that there is a well established tradition for a newly born zen master to be a hermit for a few years before they move on to become a teacher and its called bo-in. and the point is to solidify their enlightenment through practice. and that is not the end of their practice either. they practice for the rest of their life. and some of them lose their enlightenment (ddengcho deul).

thats our (me and my hubby. mostly hubbys) take on this.

a very interesting question! i love this shit.

HK

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