"I Bear Witness"

Understanding the power of embracing our shadows through the myth of the Buddha's enlightenment

“Wow! To transform a lost moth into a metaphor for the modern human condition is brilliant.

What came to me was how our attempts at "enlightenment" may be blinding us from our goal. Perhaps that is just another 'porch light' distracting us from our shadowy wisdom?”

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Even our demons are sentient beings that possess ‘Buddha nature’. And all sentient beings are worthy of compassion…

When most people think of ‘enlightenment’ they view it as a kind of transcendence of the human condition and its concomitant suffering. Images of an inwardly smiling sage who appears unconcerned and unperturbed by the petty affairs that plague ordinary mortals are conjured in the mind.

We imagine enlightened people don’t worry about the sorts of things we worry about - taxes, relationship conflicts, envy, indecision, doubt and guilt. They appear aloof and above experiencing such trifling emotions. We picture them as having ‘gone beyond’ the limitations of this world, the human mind, the ego and its agendas…

But this is only our projection.