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Show 108 Muir like Moses had seen the devouring fire on the top of the mount. (Exodus, 24.17) In his isolation, "cut off from all affinity," he had received The Law. Muir was not satisfied with any single answer, and stressed in the phrase "call it what you will" that an explanation was not so important as the actuality. An unknown region in his consciousness had been awakened in this unknown region on Mount Ritter. Do I dare call this satori, " . . . the unfolding of a new world hitherto unperceived in the confusion of the dualistically-trained mind?" I don't see why not. The very difficulty of language Muir wrestled with in explaining his awakening is in harmony with the idea that "Satori is the most intimate individual experience and therefore cannot be expressed in words or described in any manner." In any case, the whole structure of Muir's narrative lends credence to his own belief that he had achieved a true awakening. This was no mere athletic event. There is a particular part of his awakening which I find most significant. It has to do with forgetting one's self and losing all self-interest. It was one thing to receive this blessing while standing in the woods, where Muir once described the peace of forgetting his own existence. It was quite another thing to do so in the midst of intense effort and tension. This process began even while Muir was walking toward Ritter, "limbs moving of themselves, every sense unfolding like the thawing flowers, to take part in the new day harmony." Especially in the beginning of his essay, he tried to capture |