An Example of Enlightened Being

An important dynamic in the enlightenment process is the capacity to do two seemingly incongruent things in the same moment: participate fully in an activity while at the same time observing yourself in that action with no sense of need, desire, fear, judgment or goal as to outcome. This means being completely present; that is, with no degree of emotional detachment or withdrawal whatsoever.

A simple example of this might be as follows: you have a new kitten in your home that you have come to adore. Some of your relatives come to visit you bringing with them a large, playful, active dog. You are not sure that he is harmless when it comes to small animals such as kittens. You know for sure that it has caught and killed squirrels. In anticipation of problems between the dog and the kitten, you put the kitten in a bedroom where the dog cannot get at it. 

During the visit someone inadvertently opens the bedroom door and the kitten comes running innocently into the living room. The dog immediately gives chase. Terrified, the kitten runs for its life with the bigger, faster animal on its tail. 

The kitten becomes trapped in a corner and literally starts to climb the wall. You grab the excited, uncontrollable dog and at the same time try to grab and rescue the kitten. It gets free and heads shakily but quickly to the bedroom. You have done an effective job of keeping the kitten and dog apart.

During the whole riotous episode you are aware of something that has never occurred before. While being hands-on to the nth degree the whole time, you are aware of a heightened clarity of every detail of the encounter, especially the fact that at no time did you feel fear for the naïve and vulnerable kitten or anger toward the rowdy and unruly dog. You know very well that in the past you would have felt both of those things. 

You notice also that there is no emotional letdown or sense of relief once the episode ended. There had been no distress to have to make a comeback from. And it was not that you just kept a cool head. There was no conscious thinking or planning involved at all. Your heart rate was unchanged, you breathed normally, and you were never affected by an adrenaline rush. You just intervened as needed until everything was sorted out and then carried on as if nothing had occurred. 

But you know something unusual and remarkable happened. You were entirely immersed in a dramatic moment that cried out for emotion and judgment and instead you watched it as if you were a disinterested bystander, regardless of your love and concern for the animals involved.  You also know that you had nothing to do with how you responded. It is clear that something beyond your personal volition was at work. It is also clear to you that you would not be able to consciously, deliberately replicate what you had just witnessed in yourself.    

When you later recount the experience, you realize that you cannot describe the state you witnessed. The best you are able to muster is a description of what was not there, such as any sense of irritation or distress.  You also note, however, that being able to put what happened into words seems irrelevant. What happened happened, and now something else is going on.