"awake"

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The word "Buddha" means "awake."

One of the first things the mind congers up when hearing the word "awake" is "asleep." In Buddhism, for example, "Nirvana" invariably conjures up "Samsara."

But, sticking with the "awake" bit for a moment, if you weren't already "awake," how could you possibly know anything about being "asleep?"

And that kind of makes you wonder if being "asleep" isn't a prerequisite for being "awake."

Which makes me wonder if the principle isn't the same for being "awake" and being "asleep."

For example, being, or, perhaps, just -ing ....

As in ty-ing your shoe or eat-ing your breakfast or worry-ing where the next dollar was coming from.
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