You're enlightened – now what?
Jan Willem van der Wetering &quot;A Glimpse of Nothingness&quot;<p>Would there ever be a time, I thought while I brushed my teeth, when meditation is an accepted general activity?<p>&quot;Where is Father?&quot;
&quot;Father is meditating.&quot;
&quot;Oh.&quot;<p>Father is meditating. He often does. The children meditate too when they have a chance. And Mother. And the neighbors. They are all disciples of the master of the neighborhood. There will be new classes, new ranks. When you want to be a member of the government you have to have solved a certain number of koans, otherwise your insight will not be sufficient to be able to help rule the country. The prime minister is a wise old fellow with a bald shaven head. He doesn&#x27;t want anything. He has no possessions except what he needs for his daily simple routine. He is a high priest who nearly always wears the same clothes.<p>The higher you go the simpler you become. Only the common people are rich, they still want to have property. The more impressive your residence the lower your place in society.<p>Perhaps the prime minister owns a mansion, but it is a gift from the people. He lives there to please his subjects but his bedroom will be a small bare room with white walls and his mattress will be thin and hard.<p>He will get up at 3 a.m. and the ministers will visit him one by one for sanzen. The state will be very rich. The bridges, roads, public buildings, airports, waterworks and national parks will be of the highest quality and well looked after. Nature will be nature again and full of wild life, but the wild animals will be tame.