J J:
Alan Chapman states in this video: http://vimeo.com/14928107 at around 6:18
"And I think the fact of the matter is that enlightenment is far more common than people are willing to admit." Previously he had said that he had no reason to doubt any of many of the claims to enlightenment that teachers in the public domain had made (listing Ken Wilber, Adi Da, Chogyam Trungpa, Andrew Cohen). Duncan Barford on his OEITH blog states (in his "An Apology for Meditation" article) that he agrees with Bill Joslin that "awakening experiences are not a big deal."
What I'm trying to say is that, awakening is actually extremely common, despite what may seem like a New-Age-y thing, it does seem that awakening is becoming more and more common. From my perspective (which I consider awakened), everyone is awakened.
And I don't mean that in an only absolute sense, I mean that literally, despite whatever training I have done, whatever "distinctions I have attained". I literally see everyone as awakened and having no distinction between myself and them. This is somewhat like the Hongaku doctrine, but that doctrine seems to imply that awakening is actually something special, which it isn't.
There is no expression, no progress, no path, no fruition, the vidya (rigpa) is ever present. But no clouded or shrouded either. It's a koan.
Even Hakuin opined that the tales of seekers and masters taking 10 or 20 years for their quest to end must have surely been made up by them! Stating: "The Way is not far from man."
Peace.
JJ,
Um, I don't know about this sort of stuff. Maybe it is a poor choice of words but awakening is not an experience as Bill Joslin said. Maybe they confuse awakening/enlightenment with something else. Certainly for me, my late teacher as well as to each one who has awakened in my guidance awakening is a "big deal", a turning point. By big deal, I mean a definite shift that is permanent, dropping of I from the place of subject. That is how the gang of robbers looses it's boss, in a psychological sense, and that is never an insignificant thing. If it was an insignificant thing I doubt people of the past or present would be interested in it.
If awakening is something that makes the person better, higher or more precious than others, then we are not talking about awakening as how I understand it. For me awakening hasn't brought an "aura of mystery", a higher position in relation to others or something like that but the contrary, naturalness and simplicity.
I certainly don't think that awakenings are "extremely common". If they were, the world society and the planet would be in a very different place. Sure, awakenings do occur these days much more often than for example 10, 50 or 100 years ago but still, I think, it will be perhaps hundreds of years before we can talk about "mass awakenings" that will have a direct effect on the society. That is simple not the situation at the moment.
Hakuin's quote "The Way is not far from man" is spot on. He does say that there is some distance between man and the Way which in practical terms means that everyone is not already awakened. Surely Hakuin wasn't before he had first breakthrough. I think he wrote in his diary that he had 18 breakthroughs which made him the most respected zen-master of the modern times.