All sentient beings, the great earth, and I have awakened together
This is what Sakyamuni Buddha said upon his awakening, according to the story. And it is one of those statements that are confounding before awakening, and clear as day after.
The main question coming up is: If all beings awoke then, why do they appear so deluded?
When Ground awakens to its own nature, including to being the physical space everything appears within and as, then it is clear that this Ground is the same Ground always and everywhere.
It is also the Ground awakening to its own nature, while functionally connected to a particular human self.
So this means that the Ground awakened to its own nature as the Ground of all sentient beings and the great earth. Yet, this awakening is expressed through only one particular human self.
Labels: buddhism, ground awakening