Kenshō
7Kenshō (見性) is a Japanese term from the Zen tradition. Ken means "seeing," shō means "nature, essence".
Kenshō is an initial insight or awakening, (not full Buddhahood). The term kenshō is often used interchangeably with satori, which means "comprehension; understanding".
Mike Winkelmann (AKA "Beeple" - http://www.beeple-crap.com) is an amazing visual artist that many of us at my company follow very closely.
Recently, he provided animation for the following short film by Aaron Paradox (a visual artist living in London).
Enjoy.
It may change your life.
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Wow, @Pavlov. This is inspiring on many levels. Is it something Alan Watts wrote before he died? If I may ask, were you tuned to this before your brush with death, or is the visual creativity your focus?
@KDemo
Alan's death was in November of 1973 and someone I cared for very deeply turned me on to him years later . . .
I experienced satori spontaneously after my first wife left me in 1998. I was driving on I-90 after midnight on a cloudless and frigid September mad dash to Seattle and suddenly I noticed the stars through the window. It was a crazy time in my life, and I was emotionally fucked . . . but as I drove higher, those stars - they were amazing . . . I found myself slowing down, just staring out of the car window in complete awe . . . and I stopped at the summit at Lookout Pass where Montana meets Idaho. I got out of my car, and there was no one around for miles, no one was on the road that night . . . and I stood there, and screamed at the universe. I was in pain, and the sky was so beautiful - I couldn't make sense how I could feel so bad, and yet everything around me be so perfect. These screams, this was not a long rambling "fuck you" - just a wailing. One long wail after another. And with each outburst, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the night sky was, and how magical the Milky way looked there, away from the lights and at that elevation. And how perfect it all seemed.
Well, something just clicked inside me, audibly, and I felt it. Suddenly, I just stopped yelling.
In that instant, everything I was feeling just drifted off. In that instant, as I stood there shaking from cold, I was suddenly warm. I felt all my emotion drain away, I felt the pain go - but most importantly in that moment, I had no fear. I became one with the cosmos, one with the universe, one with all things. I knew in that moment that wherever I am, that is home. That home is everywhere. And, I also knew who I was, beyond any description I can offer.
An hour later, I felt my fingers numbing from the cold and climbed back in the car.
But I digress . . . I believe Alan recorded this in 1971 as part of a pilot episode for a new show which was titled A Conversation with Myself for NET, which was swallowed by PBS.
I came across this the other day - someone sent me an email from the office and said Beeple had hit another one out of the park. I found this by following the visual artist.
I found satori by allowing myself to know I am exactly who I am supposed to be, and letting go of the fear which was telling me otherwise.
@Pavlov - Sounds like an incredible meeting of circumstances - pain and beauty, but you had to have enough openness to accept the insight, and ultimately peace. People spend lifetimes in search of such knowledge. Great story, thank you for explaining.
PS I clicked the star, but it seems so trivial now.
Edit: I apologize for any inaccuracy in my statement above, as it was not recorded for A Conversation with Myself, by Alan, it is from The Nature of Consciousness; which was also published as What Is Reality? (1989).
The full quote (they drop the final sentences from the video): [What you are basically, deep, deep down, far, far in, is simply the fabric and structure of existence itself] . . . "So, say in Hindu mythology, they say that the world is the drama of God. God is not something in Hindu mythology with a white beard that sits on a throne, that has royal prerogatives. God in Indian mythology is the self, Satcitananda. Which means sat, that which is, chit, that which is consciousness; that which is ananda is bliss. In other words, what exists, reality itself is gorgeous, it is the fullness of total joy".
@Pavlov wow. just wow. i figured you were a deep person, but that story is pretty amazing. i'm adding you to the list of people i'd like to eventually meet. i'll be the guy at the airport with my middle finger in the air.
@Pavlov however, i'm not sure you're supposed to find satori based on this simpsons clip:
Amazing .. I am usually, the quiet voyeur on here, but had to say something to you, after experiencing that illuminating visual wonder, that you so graciously shared. Thank you for that, a range of emotions & unexplainable sensations are running through both mind & body, a shift somehow, in this universe I hold myself in & I feel lighter .. open & willing to embrace what lies ahead. What an incredibly beautiful experience, that you have so freely given. While I didn't have the stars, on that cold September night to vent & expel (?) all that was inside me, I somehow feel similar, cleansed somehow & free & clear of the proverbial ties that have binded me & the perpetual clatter that normally ruminates 24/7 through my head. Incredibly timely experience & one, that was most welcome & definitely needed. Dare I say that I am so grateful for whatever forces, brought me to this wild, wonderful & wacky site ! It gives me great pleasure, on a daily basis & is so much more than just some daily deal site, bravo to those behind it's creation & bravo to you for sharing that gem, that I think, quite possibly, might have, as you said, changed my life. (A definite shift anyway, so this wandering J, will celebrate the temporary & move on .. back to my daily slice of Meh & that which will help me w/ my meals, in the very near future.)
@Amila99
I'm not a fan of Alan Watts. He does have a soothing voice but when you listen to what he has to say, it's usually utter crap. This particular one is better than usual though.
@cengland0 Alan misinterprets several key Zen Buddhist concepts, IMHO. I find the worldview lectures prior to his death from alcoholism related complications to be very insightful - his writings and lectures from the 50's and early to mid-60's are almost like the ramblings of someone with a dissociative identity disorder . . . But, there are a few gems there. I don't really pop with him until his lectures filmed in '71 - for me, that was when he began hitting a stride similar to my own, and I could identify a lot with his concepts.
I find the short film provocative while taken as a whole, in its intent to relate to the viewer a definition of Kenshō, regardless.
Not entirely sure why but I feel like sharing this here. It's one of my very favorite videos ever. The writer's (Shane Koyczan) ability to put concepts into words absolutely amazes me. I love this video and the message he puts out there
@Bingo He's amazing. I noticed this on his Website - "Sometimes people tell me, "I couldn't be happier." I get sad because they believe they've found the limit to their joy."
Thanks for sharing.
I think there's a time in everyone's life when they need to hear this, but I'm a few decades along, I guess. It's not a bad thing to be reminded -- I hope it's understood that this is not disrespect, just asynchronicity in my case. On the other hand, I had a great time poking around Beeple's site. IV.10 made me hope the Simpsons team gives him an opening credits gig soon.
I have the same problem here at work, where HR is very aggressive about creating an annual skills-building plan, and I try to explain that all I really need in my repertoire is "coasting until retirement."