Completes and Enlightenment
Originally posted 21/4/2005
"In the true teaching of Lord Buddha, Complete Enlightenment is made of incomplete enlightenments. This means that in the heart of your daily mindful actions, thoughts and speech, complete enlightenment is already there, you should not strive to look for Complete Enlightenment anywhere else." —Thich Nhat Hanh, foreword to Complete Enlightenment by Ch’an Master Sheng Yen
My life, I have come to realize, has always been a series of incompletes. During my college years, I was constantly reminded of this by my mentor, the late Bill Prevetti of the UWGB Art faculty. My final diploma still carries one or two incompletes that cost me my grade point average. I am not proud of these weaknesses of character, and to this day, I still struggle to bring many of my projects to a successful completion. It's like a curse that has haunted my life ever since I became aware of it.
Now, older and (hopefully) wiser, I have made it my practice to see through whatever I begin. Even if Complete Enlightenment is contained within the incomplete enlightenments of our daily words, thoughts, and deeds, it still matters that we occasionally touch its essence—even if only for a moment of Satori.
The Buddha is said to have taught that we are all enlightened beings, even before we were conceived in our mothers' wombs. But in living, we forget. We succumb to greed, hatred, and ignorance. In the process of being born, raised, and leaping through this so-called life, we accumulate these negative traits, forgetting how to be charitable, compassionate, and wise. Many of us rediscover these virtues only when it’s too late, when the damage is done and the die cast. We then spend the twilight of our lives regretting what we could have done differently. In Buddhist belief, we return as cats or dogs instead of attaining further realization.
In the Judeo-Christian-Islamic traditions, we are granted the option to repent, and a Compassionate Creator is always ready to forgive—if we are sincere. Our afterlife depends not only on what we do in this life, but how deeply we regret our wrongdoings. Angels are said to record our every act, and in Islam, this awareness is embedded in our daily practice. Praying five times a day helps remind us to be grateful and to atone. If done with awareness, these moments anchor us, reduce our chances of repeating wrongs, and bring our egos into perspective.
Early this morning, as I sat facing the rising sun over the South China Sea, I discovered a new Koan—or Zikrullah: Inna Lillah hi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. As the blazing light pierced the space between my eyes, I imagined committing suicide—not of the body, but of the discursive, nagging mind. That voice that endlessly spins stories, complaints, regrets. I envisioned the sunlight burning away that self-sabotaging chatter as I chanted: From Him I come, to Him I return.
Does it work? Hell no! I’m still here, scribbling down these thoughts, justifying every act, trying to make sense out of nonsense. But repeating the phrase helps. In Islam, it is said each time someone passes away: From Him we come, to Him we return. It reminds us of our source—and our impermanence.
To be aware of our eventual death is a sobering gift. Knowing we all end up six feet under, food for worms and bugs, might just bring us back down to earth—literally and spiritually. If we're even slightly awakened, we pause to smell the roses while we still can. Or at least, we check our ego that thinks it will live forever, as though this world owes it everything.
And so I return, again and again, not only to these remote places like the Aleutians or to lost moments at sea, but also to myself—trying each time to complete the incomplete. Maybe that’s all Enlightenment ever is: the effort to return, to remember, and to be awake—even if only for a breath."
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