Enlightenment is the realization that we are pure awareness, prior to the arising of thought. It manifests as a state of presence, love, and boundless freedom.
Once we see that we are not this ego "I" we've believed ourselves it be, everything flows naturally - in and out from the silence that is always here...
I must humbly disagree with the Dalai Lama. We don't have to "strive" for happiness - we have
to simply discover it as our true nature.
Identification with your “I” or “me” thought is all that’s in the way of your experiencing inner peace, happiness, and unconditional love—essentially 24/7. You must see that you are not this “me” character that you’ve “believed” yourself to be. Indeed, you are not any “story.”
Why not? Because your “story,” along with the “I” or “me” thought, the “story-teller,” as well as the feelings and emotions generated in your body, comes and goes. However “you”—as clear, relaxed awareness or presence—are always here.
When you have an emotional reaction, you learn to love your triggers because they show you where you’re not yet free. You realize you got caught in an old “story” and its emotion. The past was real when it happened but is not real now.
So you come back to this moment now. The more you let the wisdom and creative spontaneity of this moment guide you, the more joy, meaning, and fulfillment you experience.
On Jun 4, 2024 Jim Dreaver wrote on Genjo Koan, by Dogen Zenji: