Buddhism teaches that there are three worlds: The world of sense desire (the crude one we’re in now; it has six realms and is often referred to as the six worlds), the world of form (a much more subtle world where sense desires have ended but the desire for bodily existence has not), and the world of formlessness (a still more subtle world where the desire for existence has ended but where ignorance has not).
We leave behind the world of sense desire when we visit the four jhanas (which we encounter in step six, Taming the Ox) and we leave behind the world of form when we visit the four immaterial attainments (which we encounter in step seven, Self Alone, Ox Forgotten).
But we don’t awaken fully until our outflows have ceased. In the words of Ch’an Master Hsuan Hua:
People who have become enlightened are free of outflows: The outflows of desire, the outflows of existence, and the outflows of ignorance. Because they are free of outflows, they do not fall into the realm of desire, the realm of forms, and the realm beyond form. We people now dwell in the realm of desire…it is called the realm of desire because the people in it have desires for material things and for sex, desires which they cannot put a stop to…The outflows of existence are suffered by beings who are beyond these desires and who dwell in the heavens of the world of forms…These beings cannot control their desire for bodily existence…Beyond these two outflows, and the greatest of the three, is the outflow of ignorance, which is the source of all afflictions. When this outflow has ended, the other two are ended also. Commentary, The Surangama Sutra.
As we progress through the ten steps of this programmed course in Zen practice, we will experience for ourselves the truth of the great master’s words. Blind belief and accumulated knowledge will get us nowhere. We have to actually perform the steps as taught by the Buddha; it is not enough just to read the steps. Just reading about the practices is the same as not reading about them.
But if we throw ourselves into the practice with beginner’s mind, we will experience the moment we leave the world of desire, the world of form, and the world beyond form. Nirvana is not the fourth world; it is ineffable. But when we practice every day, our doubts lessen and our commitment to practice grows. Nirvana is not unreachable.
With practice, we learn that nothing is outside us. There is no reason to flow outward because the kingdom is already within us – how stupid to look elsewhere, to flow out!
So whenever we notice we are fascinated by the outside world, where desire and ignorance roam freely, we turn on our powers of mindfulness and shine the light inward, stopping the outflow of sense desire. We never left the Garden of Eden. It’s still right here for those who cultivate. It’s the Garden of Zen, the Garden of Zen practice, the Still Forest Pool.
