While, his students were silent within and without the chattering of their sundry ego-jinn composing their operational selves, Rav clicked his heels three times and they arrived at the third point of this journey as to purpose. Shortly, our meditating friends left the eighth jnana and returned to waking awareness and open eyes. No longer were they in a grove of udumbara trees.
They were seated underneath a stain-glass dome supported by hand-hewn pillars of a reddish wood. A soft breeze was blowing, its kinetic energy calling forth musical notes from the many assorted chimes present. To the left and outside the pavilion, water tumbled happily over a granite boulder before joining the clear water of the pond below. If one looked, multicolored koi rested atop the stones lining the bottom of the pond.
To the right of the pine plank floor stood a carefully racked gravel bed mimicking waves moving outward after a stone is dropped into still water. Clearly, the pavilion was standing in a well-tended Japanese garden.
After several minutes a dignified, old man entered into the pavilion wearing the robes of a Zen Roshi. He approached our Rav and bowed respectfully, such bow being returned by Rav. Smiling, he gave Rav a great bear hug exclaiming, “Michael-san, long time no see in past, but visit in future.”
“Ichi-san, old friend, these little ones and I are traveling the Unborn Path and Not-Path so to discover how the universe establishes purpose for itself. The Seven League Time Boots have kicked us into a potential future with you.”
Ichi-san said, “Come Michael-san and sit beside me and ask what questions you may.” Both gentleman went to the east side of the pavilion, bowed together to a gold-leafed Buddha, and turned to sit upon two cushions in front of the Buddha. Ichi-san sat first, smiling as he pushed the meditation cushion away from Rav as he sat down and Rav’s behind plopped onto the wooden planks with a deep thud. Ichi-san broke forth in a great, loud laugh as Rav retrieved his cushion, facing Ichi-san intently, and sat down. The travelers’ eyes almost popped out of their sockets. They did not know what to do.
Adjusting himself, Rav looked sternly at Ichi-san and then broke out in a loud laugh himself. “Old Man, I see you remember our last sitting together some 2000 years ago.” Turning to the travelers, “Don’t be such serious bumpkins. You think enlightenment is stodgy and solemn? Listen carefully for the Roshi is a great neuroscientist.”
Rav began by discussing the significant details of our journey to date. They shared a few more laughs. At last Rav said, “Ichi-san, as we arrived in the future, yet formed or unformed, there is information you possess which these travelers need to understand. I think they need further instruction as to the hint given to them by our old friend, Lord Buddha.”
The Roshi looked each student in his or her eyes and began, “Lord Buddha was a real rascal. But, nice to hear that he finally opened up to share a few more leaves than he can hold in the palm of his right hand. For is it not written in the Samyutta Nikaya,
“Once the Blessed One was staying at Kosambi in the Simsapa forest. Then, picking up a few Simsapa leaves with his hand, he asked the monks, ‘What do you think, monks: Which are more numerous, the few Simsapa leaves in my hand or those overhead in the Simsapa forest?’
‘The leaves in the hand of the Blessed One are few in number, lord. Those overhead in the forest are far more numerous.’
‘In the same way, monks, those things that I have known with direct knowledge but have not taught are far more numerous [than what I have taught]. And why haven’t I taught them? Because they are not connected with the goal, do not relate to the rudiments of the holy life, and do not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. That is why I have not taught them.
(Source: Access to Insight).’”
Ichi-san continued, “The Path of Work is the royal road to understanding the difference between unnecessary and necessary suffering and the cessation of the former. With the Path of Work you have the potential to form an imprint upon the Grand Metric, a beginning point in time after which immortality is yours. But, immortality never belongs to your operation self and its many ego-jinn, for such are artefacts of your brain-mind. ‘True I’ is no more than the simple feeling of continuity and familiarity with your unique line of incarnation. Nothing more. But, immortality is relative and can end when this universe undergoes the grand Deflation-Inflation. At this moment, this universe deflates into a single Planck hypercube and begins anew in the Great Inflation. All structure and matter being decomposed into simple photons so to begin a renewed universe. All order and all information that has not moved into the Unborn is lost irrevocably.
But, enough of the future. Lord Buddha told you a great truth when he said, ‘Āman is and Āman is not; neither is Āman nor is Āman not.’ Remember, quantum mechanics. A quantum is particle and not particle; it is neither particle nor not particle. It is wave and not wave; neither wave nor not wave. Easy enough to understand. It is the same with the mind and the brain. As is the quantum, the brain and mind are complementary sides of your being. True, brain generates mind, but mind speaks with brain. Remember the imago-triad your Rav has taught you about.
When you return to your time, I recommend that each of you read two books by James Austin, MD. The first book is ZEN and the BRAIN and the second is ZEN-BRAIN REFLECTIONS. Roshi Austin does an excellent job showing how each of the Zen states of mind and being are produced by the practitioner’s brain. Nothing supernatural at all.
So I leave you with one more clue to finding an answer to your noble quest. Good luck, I am off the feed the koi. Blessings.” And with that the old man was gone leaving all of us alone in his garden.
Rav spoke, “Let us meditate a moment on this lesson and then we will be off to the nexus ahead.”