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CONNECTING TO THE WORLD

PERHAPS IT IS only a legend, but I like the story of Buddha attaining enlightenment when he saw a shooting star, recounted in the early Buddhist text, the Transmission of the Lamp. It’s very Chan—the sudden illumination blazing across the sky in a brilliant, breathtaking flash. Then gone.

Sitting itself will not give you enlightenment. Meditation will not give it to you. It will only lead you to the brink. Retreating from the world will not liberate you. Happiness is not found in a secluded forest hut or an isolated cave. Enlightenment comes when you connect to the world. Only when you truly connect with everyone and everything else do you become enlightened. Only by going deeply and fully into the world do you attain liberation. This is the meaning of the star—the sudden illumination of our connection to the rest of the universe.