If you meet Buddha on the road, kill him

“If you meet Buddha on the road, kill him.” ~Zen Proverb

If you’re on the path toward enlightenment for answers, then you’re on the wrong path. The path is more about questions than it is about answers. The journey is the thing. Even when answers happen to arise, they should be a reason to question further rather than an excuse to settle.

This is because any Buddha you “meet” is false. The only true Buddha is healthy transformation. The only true enlightenment is unconditional humor. The only answer is to question. The only absolute is change. Any truth you discover is merely procrastinating compost for some future other-truth. To include that truth. The opposite of truth isn’t untruth, but another profound truth. As Andre Gide said, “Trust those who seek the truth. Doubt those who find it.”

The key is to keep the cycle going. Allow the process to be a flowing process, lest it become a fixed condition. Transform fixed illumination into flexible providence. Hang a question mark on the things you’ve taken for granted. Set a tripwire for your certainty. Dangle a noose for all the things you’ve taken too seriously. Shoot yourself in the daredevil foot from time to time. It will open you up into further opening.

Image by Imaginary Foundation