Okay, time to finally let this particular rumination free. Yet another case of my friend Melissa giving me things to think about, putting these little birds in my mind that flit about and make me pay attention. Pondering their flight paths, if you will.
She wrote: (and I hope she’ll forgive me for editing this down)
I read somewhere that Buddhists akin enlightenment to glimpsing a Unicorn. We go along in our daily lives, then out of nowhere, we have a profound moment — ‘hearing’ something with our bellies, or ‘seeing’ something with our third eye — and this thing touches us so deeply that we are moved beyond words. We have glimpsed the Unicorn.
And later… (again, sorry for the truncation)
I have realized how blessed I am, because every single person I know has glimpsed the Unicorn — time and again! I’ve seen them glimpse it — I’ve followed the lines and connected the dots of their words — and time and again, there it is — staring down at me like a constellation viewed from atop a mountain!
This got me to thinking about whether or not I’ve “glimpsed the unicorn”. Not that I’m trying to prove her wrong or anything, I very much doubt my name was in her mind or heart when she wrote that (there, I gave you a loophole Mel!) but it seemed an interesting thing to meditate on.
So I did.
I’ve come to realize that, no, I haven’t seen it yet. At least not firsthand. I’ve seen it’s silhouette in the writings of men like Thich Nhat Hanh or The Dalai Lama. I’ve seen the shadow it casts in the afternoon sun when listening to Gil Fronsdal’s Zencast. I’ve seen it’s form through Mel’s eyes. Heck, I saw it in her eyes the first time I saw her (something that, sadly, will probably never happen again.) But firsthand, through my own eyes? No.
The thing is, I’m not sure that the Point B on my path is that unicorn. I don’t know that enlightenment is my ultimate goal here, so I don’t think I’m terribly concerned that I haven’t had that revelation. It’s hard to find things you’re not looking for. I’m happy with the perspective and clarity my studies and practices have blessed me with, and wouldn’t trade them for the world, but I don’t know that I plan on walking the length of that particular road to it’s end.
So, don’t cry for me, Argentina. While I may not have glimpsed it, I do believe in it. I’ve seen the periphery of it’s power. But it’s not what I seek right now, and find comfort just in the knowledge of it’s existence.