Liberation
of imprisonment
"awakening" and "understanding"
Someone who is awakened has gained insight into / seen
into the workings of the mind which keeps us imprisoned in thirsting,
hungering, craving, suffering and rebirth, and has also gained insight into the
way that leads to nirvana, the liberation of oneself from this imprisonment.
The Buddha describes nirvāṇa as the perfect peace of mind possessed by one who is liberated.
It is to be
distinguished from peaceful moods arising from a temporary absence of anger,
sensual desire, anxiety and other afflicting states.
Nirvāṇa is an 'ultimate' peace that is
achieved after a lengthy process of mind-body transformation during which the
uprooting and final dissolution of the volitional formations, structures within
the unconscious mind that form the underlying basis for psychological
dispositions takes place.
Zen
A nun asked a Zen patriarch for help in understanding
the Mahanirvana Sutra. The master answered that he could not read, but if the
nun would read it aloud for him, he would do his best to help her.
The nun then asked, "If you can't even read the
words, how can you understand the truth behind them?"
"Truth and words are unrelated. Truth can be
compared to the moon," answered Hui Neng, pointing to the moon with his
finger, "And words can be compared to a finger. I can use my finger to
point out the moon, but my finger is not the moon, and you don't need my finger
in order to be able to see the moon".
Zen
emphasizes/ stresses/accents the attainment/accomplishment/
acquirement of enlightenment and the personal expression of direct insight in
the Buddhist teachings.
As such, it de-emphasizes mere/bare/simple knowledge
of sutras and doctrine and favors direct understanding through zazen and
interaction with an accomplished/completed/finished teacher.
strolling up and down wikipedia 2012
