period.(19) Although it is somewhat presumptuous  of
　　   me even  to venture  an interpretation  of what this
　　   means, I think that what is extinguished here is not
　　   so much one's personal  or individual  karman as the
　　   transpersonal source of such karman.  As a result of
　　   the enlightenment experience, one sees into the deep
　　   dependence  of posterior  karman on the karman prior
　　   to the world;  one sees into  the emptiness  of will
　　   and agency. This enables one to be at one with one's
　　   personal  karman, because  what produces  separation
　　   from it is the tacit belief that will and agency are
　　   not empty.  The relevant  sense in which to speak of
　　   "purification"   of  karman,  as  far   as  Zen   is
　　   concerned, is ontological  rather  than  moral.  One
　　   purifies  one's  karman  by no  longer  locating  it
　　   outside of oneself.

　　　　  Strictly speaking, the enlightened person stands
　　   in  no  relationship  whatsoever  to  his  posterior
　　   karman because there is no distance  between him and
　　   "it"  at all; and because  there  is no distance, no
　　   relationship  is  possible.   This  is  one  of  the
　　   all-important teachings of the koan in question.(20)
　　   Accordingly  any question  about  the nature  of the
　　   relationship between karman and enlightenment should
　　   be answered-no-relationship.  The enlightened person
　　   is neither  free from  nor subject  to his posterior
　　   karman, because  both  freedom  and  subjection  are
　　   relationships  presupposing  separation between "me"
　　   and "my" karman. The whole point of enlightenment in
　　   this context  is that all relationship  to posterior
　　   karman is abandoned in favor of complete existential
　　   union.

　　　　  The characteristic Zen insistence is that karman
　　   must  be  seen  transpersonally.  But, paradoxically
　　   enough,  this  does  not  involve  transcendence  of
　　   personal  karman;  rather, it comes about  precisely
　　   through  union  with personal  or posterior  karman.
　　   When the enlightened  person  fully unites  with his
　　   karman, his karman and the universe become one.  For
　　   what is meant by "the universe"  here is nothing but
　　   the realization of nonduality, which is exactly what
　　   is effected  through  such union.  Once  this  total
　　   identification has been made, according to Shibayama
　　   Roshi,

　　   the man of real freedom...  lives  in peace whatever
　　   circumstances cause and effect bring about.  Whether
　　   the situation  be favorable  or adverse, he lives it
　　   as the absolute situation with his whole being.(21)