Becoming A Zen Devil - The Dangers Of Half-Assing Enlightenment

Modern Interpretations of Non-duality: Leo Gura discusses the concept of neo-advaita, a Western interpretation of ancient non-duality traditions. This adaptation strips away the cultural and religious aspects of these traditions in an attempt to present a direct path to enlightenment. While this can remove some outdated beliefs, it can also lead to a superficial understanding and practice of non-duality.
Example of Mount Hiei: Leo uses the example of Mount Hiei, a thousand-year-old non-dual school in Japan, to highlight potential issues with half-hearted non-duality practices. The school, which was initially founded on strict principles and reverence, grew corrupt over time, as the monastic factions became more concerned with power and commercialism than spiritual growth.
Simplistic Notions of Enlightenment: Leo critiques the simplistic understanding of enlightenment where enlightenment is seen as a single event or insight after which no further self-improvement or learning is needed. He suggests that such views overlook the depth and complexity of various mystical traditions around the world, that involve rigorous practices, teachings, and rituals indicating that enlightenment is not simply a one-time affair.
Misuse of Non-duality: He warns viewers of the risk of swinging to the opposite extreme and misusing non-duality teachings to dismiss the significance of values, principles, passion, commitment, goals, purpose, and relationships. The true masters of non-duality have demonstrated a balance of these values along with their spiritual insights.
The Importance of Meeting a Master: Having direct experience with a master of non-duality is important because it goes beyond intellectual understanding. In traditional Zen temples, a monk claiming enlightenment without following the rigorous schedule and disciplines of the temple is disciplined and reprimanded. This demonstrates the value placed on growth and discipline in the enlightenment process.
The Concept of Small and Big Non-duality: Leo introduces the concepts of small (narrow, divisive) and big (inclusive, integrative) non-duality. Both aspects exist within Zen teachings, and the aim should be to integrate them rather than focusing only on one.
Risks of Half-Assing Enlightenment: The enlightenment process is not a quick and easy path but requires significant time, effort, discipline, and dedication, akin to achieving mastery in any other field. Overstating minor insights as full enlightenment or neglecting the need for emotional mastery, mental transformation, and the development of unconditional love can lead to a shallow misunderstanding of reality. He warns against using enlightenment as an excuse to bypass emotional or ethical issues, or to perpetuate harmful behaviour.
Importance of Ethical Behaviour and Development alongside Enlightenment: Enlightenment should be accompanied by personal development, ethical conduct, and contribution to society. Racism, negative habits, and ignorance of the practical aspects of life such as politics and environmental concerns have no place in a genuinely enlightened being's life. Enlightenment should involve transcending biases and dogmas, expanding global consciousness, and developing a broad-ranging understanding.
Continuous Practice and Compassionate Functioning in Enlightenment: True enlightenment is a continuous practice involving compassionate functioning, breaking free from negative patterns, attentive living, fostering healthy relationships, and cultivating personal development. Enlightenment should not lead to a disregard for values and principles but should promote good deeds driven by higher consciousness and compassionate living.
Numerous Traps in the Enlightenment Path: The path to full enlightenment is complicated and littered with potential traps, each capable of sabotaging the seeker's journey. Seeking balance between extremes, practicing strong discipline, and avoiding twisting spiritual teachings for personal benefit are crucial lessons to remember on this path.
Understanding of Non-Duality: Non-duality goes beyond intellectual learning and requires direct experience and embodiment. The Zen tradition, for example, places strong emphasis on discipline and maintaining values. Enlightenment is not an excuse for complacency or disregard for principles and ethics.
Engagement with the World Post-Enlightenment: Enlightenment should encourage individuals to be more caring, hardworking, and engaged with society. It is important to maintain strong principles and values. Masters in history demonstrate a striking balance between insight into the nature of reality and an active role in society.
Face-to-Face with a Great Master: Meeting a great master has remarkable significance, as it provides a touchstone for understanding enlightenment. These figures embody non-duality through a combination of rigorous personal discipline and a profound understanding of the nature of reality
Tradition and Wisdom: Tradition, despite often being seen as dogma, carries deep wisdom. Discarding all tradition may overlook important ethical and emotional elements necessary on the enlightenment journey.
Differentiating between Small and Big Non-Duality: Small non-duality refers to a simplistic understanding of non-duality often leading to feelings of superiority and cockiness. Big non-duality, on the other hand, is the humble and generous integration of the dual and the non-dual. It acknowledges and appreciates the coexistence of good and evil in the world and values techniques unrelated to non-duality, such as therapy and self-help.
Big Non-Duality Versus Small Non-duality: Big non-duality is inclusive and less competitive, focusing on understanding that some people may take years to achieve enlightenment and should not be rushed into the process. Small non-duality focuses solely on achieving enlightenment, disregarding other spiritual work.
Zen Devil and Wild Fox Zen: In Zen philosophy, a Zen Devil refers to a person who has experienced enlightenment, but has not studied the literature or expanded their overall understanding, while Wild Fox Zen refers to someone who only understands the theory but lacks practical insights. Both extremes can lead to problems, and ideally, one should walk the middle path between direct experience and broader understanding.
The Importance of Mastery: The 10,000-hour rule applies to the field of non-duality, possibly even more so. Mastery in this field is considered significant, and most great masters have committed over 10,000 hours to their practice. This hard work is not due to masochism, religious tradition, or dogma, but a commitment to understanding non-duality beyond a few enlightenment insights.
Different Depths and Components of Enlightenment: Enlightenment varies in depth and has different components. Some occur in a single moment, but these are rare instances. Minor insights are as important as full enlightenment experiences. Emotional mastery, transformation of mind structure, and changing emotional reactions are a significant part of enlightenment, which does not happen instantly.
Transformation Post-Enlightenment: Post-enlightenment involves transforming bad habits in relationships and cultivating unconditional love in all situations. The patterns learned throughout one's life can carry over post-enlightenment and need to be addressed to ensure enlightened relationships.
Enlightenment and Human Brain: Even after achieving enlightenment, the human brain takes time to rewire and align itself with this new understanding. It is crucial to integrate the lofty existential insight into the mind for everyday functioning.
Habits and Enlightenment: Just because you have a breakthrough into existential truth doesn't mean bad habits and negative patterns (e.g., bad eating habits, medication dependency, alcohol consumption) stop. These are rooted in the mind's control over the body and need to be actively addressed and changed.
Education and Enlightenment: Knowledge of the world and practical skills are still necessary and important, even after enlightenment. One can understand existential truths but still be ignorant of many worldly matters.
Community and Enlightened Citizenship: Enlightened individuals should care for, contribute to, and participate in their community. Enlightenment does not absolve responsibility to society, and neglecting societal duties shows a lack of embodiment of enlightenment principles.
Ethical Career Half-assed enlightenment might lead to unethical career choices that harm others and the environment. A conscious, positively contributing career that helps raise global consciousness should be sought.
Transcending One's Culture: Enlightenment doesn't automatically mean you've transcended negative aspects of your culture, such as racism. Effort must be made to become more multicultural and cosmopolitan in understanding, by letting go of biases and dogmas.
Additional Aspects of Enlightenment: True enlightenment covers various areas, including maintaining physical health, developing good character and ethics, being concerned for the environment and other beings, and even developing spiritual powers.
Value of Understanding: Understanding is considered more important than one mere enlightenment experience. Having broadened perspectives enriches the insight about existential truths and can cover fields from business to biology.
Continuous Practice After Enlightenment: Psychological work and emotional healing should not be overlooked after becoming enlightened. True enlightenment involves endless practice and compassionate functioning.
Goodness and Enlightenment: Being a "good person" is separate from enlightenment. Although good and bad may be illusory from a non-dual perspective, they have practical significance that should not be disregarded.
Consequences of Actions and Enlightenment: Enlightened individuals have the choice of how to behave but must consider the consequences of their actions and the social contract to maintain a good community.
Misuse of Enlightenment: Some people misuse enlightenment to justify harmful actions. A truly enlightened person should not turn a blind eye to the suffering of others.
Addressing Character Division: Its important to address and heal character divisions that might exist post-enlightenment to avoid creating a split between the idealized self and the shadow self.
Care for Self and Environment: Personal development, psychological work, caring for relationships, and cultivating compassion are essential. Attaining enlightenment doesn't absolve one of these responsibilities.
Finding Balance: Navigating the path of non-duality involves finding balance and avoiding pits on both sides of extremism. Emphasizing either non-duality or practical worldly wisdom more can create imbalance.
Implications of non-duality: Non-duality can give rise to a paradox where, while there are no objective values from an existential perspective, our daily actions and choices do matter in a practical sense. We are responsible for the consequences of our actions, even in the context of the non-dual understanding that everything is an illusion.
Ethics beyond obligation: Truly ethical behavior does not spring from obligation or the feeling of 'should', but from understanding and aligning with higher degrees of consciousness. However, Leo warns against misusing non-dual teachings to justify harmful actions, citing the potential danger of becoming a 'Zen devil.'
Non-dual compassion: True enlightenment entails recognizing and being compassionate for the suffering of others, even when one's own suffering has ended. This encompasses acknowledging their suffering as an aspect of your non-separate self and responding in a mindful, sustainable, and compassionate manner.
Caution against misuse of teachings: All of Leo's teachings are meant to be used for personal embodiment of non-duality, conscious living, and alignment with higher ideals, rather than as weapons against other people, traditions, religions, ideologies, or teachers.
The path of development: Personal and psychological development, taking responsibility for one's life, building compassionate relationships, and seeking enlightenment are all important aspects of spiritual growth. Leo cautions against rushing towards enlightenment while ignoring these aspects, which provide immediate benefits and rewards.
Balancing between extremes: True mastery in non-duality involves finding a balance between extremes and avoiding the many traps that exist on either side. Leo emphasizes that he is also on this journey and shares the traps he has experienced, in order to help his viewers navigate the path to non-duality.