Enlightenment – The spiritual Journey risking everything to gain true Life!

The members of this zen meditation retreat are diverse. Their ages range from sixteen to seventy comprising three generations. They represent all provinces and often reminisced about their hometowns. Some had formal education but others not. Some zen practitioners are from upper-class families and some are poor. This is no problem in the zen meditation hall. Such a mixed membership  might lead to conflict in the secular world but it is not a problem for us in the Honora Zen Monastery. Because we all strive for enlightenment.

Spiritual Achievement - Enlightenment

Although we are living together communally, our focus is on our personal spiritual achievement. You must take the first step to the last by yourself in order to attain Enlightenment. The means and purpose derive from inner resolve, too. Any talk of the "big I" is inauthentic without having already attained Entlightenment.

It may seem uncaring to lead such a self-centered life. This is understandable because the slightest deviation can bring a zen practitioner's pursuit of the Way to an end, and he simply becomes a lazy freeloader. The way to Enlightenment opens only with adamant resolution. No matter how much I think about this, I always reach at the same conclusion:

The spiritual Journey risking everything to gain true Life

The pursuit of Enlightenment begins with the "I" in chaos and ends with the "I" in order, from the "I" in turbulence to the "I" in tranquility.

Restless when he begins on the path, the zen monk struggles to escape that anxiety forever. The spiritual journey is risking everything to gain true life - this is the ecology of the zen monks in a meditation hall. To be altruistic, you should be extremely egoistic. Isn't it paradoxical?