shel wrote:For what it's worth, there's another topic about what a Zen master is and isn't here: http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=12285
Long (14 pages to date) story short, a Zen master is someone who's had a glimpse of Buddha nature, in addition to knowing some measure of Buddhist teachings and rituals, etc. A glimpse of Buddha nature essentially means having had a kensho experience.
So for the Zen tradition, "mastery" doesn't appear to necessarily mean enlightenment. In other words, a Zen master is not necessarily enlightened. No one seems to know exactly what a Zen master has mastered.
That's not actually true. This is just a common misunderstanding of the term.
Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett had this to say on the subject:
-Source: Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett on enlightenment and kenshō, fromWhen I was quite young I can remember talking about
kenshōs with D. T. Suzuki in London and wondering exactly
why, since enlightenment is one and undivided, it was neces-
sary to have more than one kenshō. I remember asking him if,
since a Zen master is said to never say he is enlightened, he
knew he had a kenshō, and he assured me he did. I
also remember asking him, "Have you ever had this experience
yourself?" and he admitted that he had. Later that same year he
said openly and clearly, "Once or twice I have had the great
experience but a million times the little moments that make one
dance." Between the great kenshōs come the millions of "little
moments that make one dance" that make up the On-Going
Fūgen kenshō,—the moments that remind you, at any time you
get really down, that you have experienced the Penetration of
Heaven kenshō. I myself have experienced them many times; I
know them well. I also know that D. T. Suzuki did not mind
openly admitting that he had had kenshō experience nor did any
of the great Zen masters I met in the east. It is perfectly true that
they did not, however, say that they were enlightened. They
only admitted to having experienced kenshō. There is a great
deal of difference in saying that you have experienced kenshō
and in saying that you are enlightened; I would like to make
this point very clear. Kenshō experience, even the second type
through it's tiny moments, can be fixed, dated, in time; en-
lightenment is an on-going process, ever-flowing like a river.
You cannot hold a river within your hand but you can trail your
hand in the river. By grasping you loose all; by letting the flow
continue you possess all whilst possessing nothing. My own
master did make an announcement concerning my kenshō the
day after my Transmission Ceremony. This is quite customary
in Zen monasteries especially if the master intends to train the
person as a future teacher of Zen. I make these comments be-
cause I know there is a prevalent belief, or there was, certainly,
some years ago when I was in England, that this subject must
never, or should never, be talked about. I do not know from
whence this idea came; I certainly did not find it anywhere in
the east.
the introduction of How to Grow a Lotus Blossom ©1993. (2'nd Ed.)
Mt. Shasta, California. Shasta Abbey Press. All Rights Reserved
In Gassho,
Sara