While rare, people do stumble upon awakening / stream entry time to time. At least some of these people (there’s no way to know how many) get confused, go looking for help, and eventually find their way to Zen. That said, I’ve never heard of someone being born into this condition.
As to your actual question: There are a few different types of maps. Some kinds of maps would apply to your hypothetical person. Others wouldn’t.
Trait-based maps based on questions like “do you feel a sense of self?” would apply to the person. We could use these maps to locate the person’s stage of awakening. Here is my favorite trait-based map.
Insight cycle maps would not apply to the person, because insight cycle maps are about the process of becoming awakened and a person who was always awakened need not have gone through the process. Here is an example of a simple insight cycle map and a complicated insight cycle map.
Direction-based maps like “just sit” are more useful as a compass than a map because they don’t tell you where you are—just what direction to go.
It can be difficult to figure out how you differ from other people due to internal mental experiences, but it can be done. I’m autistic, for example, and it wasn’t until my late 20s that I pieced together exactly how I differed from the baseline.
People who are highly awakened have small tells if you know what to look for. One woman I know, for example, has her hands failing from arthritis. She barely talks about it. I’ve never even seen a trace of hurt or tension on her face.
That said, I’ve never heard of someone being born into this condition.
I didn’t find any case of someone being born with it, but there’s something called athymhormic syndrome which sounds a lot like something like enlightenment, and is acquired by having a stroke or injury. See also Shinzen Young on the syndrome.
While rare, people do stumble upon awakening / stream entry time to time. At least some of these people (there’s no way to know how many) get confused, go looking for help, and eventually find their way to Zen. That said, I’ve never heard of someone being born into this condition.
As to your actual question: There are a few different types of maps. Some kinds of maps would apply to your hypothetical person. Others wouldn’t.
Trait-based maps based on questions like “do you feel a sense of self?” would apply to the person. We could use these maps to locate the person’s stage of awakening. Here is my favorite trait-based map.
Insight cycle maps would not apply to the person, because insight cycle maps are about the process of becoming awakened and a person who was always awakened need not have gone through the process. Here is an example of a simple insight cycle map and a complicated insight cycle map.
Direction-based maps like “just sit” are more useful as a compass than a map because they don’t tell you where you are—just what direction to go.
How would they, and therefore you, know?
It can be difficult to figure out how you differ from other people due to internal mental experiences, but it can be done. I’m autistic, for example, and it wasn’t until my late 20s that I pieced together exactly how I differed from the baseline.
People who are highly awakened have small tells if you know what to look for. One woman I know, for example, has her hands failing from arthritis. She barely talks about it. I’ve never even seen a trace of hurt or tension on her face.
I didn’t find any case of someone being born with it, but there’s something called athymhormic syndrome which sounds a lot like something like enlightenment, and is acquired by having a stroke or injury. See also Shinzen Young on the syndrome.