Touching Sanctity

A monk asked Seppo, "How can one touch Sanctity?" Seppo replied, "A simple innocent cannot do it." The monk asked, "If he forgets himself, can he touch Sanctity?" Seppo replied, "He may do so only insofar as he is concerned." "Then," the monk continued, "what happens to him?" "A bee never returns to his abandoned hive," Seppo answered.

Is a child, a simpleton, or a thoughtless person enlightened? Seppo says no. But, the monk persists, if an individual is completed un-self-conscious, immersed in the moment (as a child totally immersed in play), is her not, in fact, at one with the universe? Yes, Seppo replies, but only in a limited way. Such one-ness lacks awareness.

Look what eloquence:

Little flowers blooming wild

All along the fence!

                             --- Basho