What is Satori?
As opposed to what many people think, Buddhist Enlightenment is not a special state of mind. It is simply a return to the original, natural condition of the human mind.
Spiritual awakening, also know as ‘Buddhist Enlightenment’ or Nirvana in Sanscrit is not something that can be understood by using the brain. In Zen Buddhism, Satori is an experience; it is a state of mind. The posture of Zazen itself is Satori, and only through the harmony of body and mind, one can discover the nature of Satori.
Awakening exists in us long before we are born. Animals are Enlightened, being constantly in their original condition, totally immersed in the present and connected to the Cosmos.
Only human beings have lost this original condition of the consciousness and have thus become more complicated.
To have true inner peace, human beings must regain this original condition of Enlightenment. However, in your journey to regain Satori, don’t tell yourself, “I have to become Buddha. I’ve got to achieve satori.” This is a waste of time and energy because this attitude reinforces the mistaken idea that Satori is some kind of goal to be achieved.
Only human beings have lost this original condition of the consciousness, and have thus become more complicated.
Simply live your daily life normally, practice meditation, and let go of everything. Do not try too hard to understand what Satori is, or how to achieve it. Again, this is a waste of time.
When we start trying to explain it what Satori is, we start putting it into limiting categories, saying, “Satori is this, Satori is not that.” In Zen, there are no categories; nothing can be separate.
The only way to truly have Satori is by practicing Zazen in the here and now.
