Plato’s theory of recollection

One of the more eccentric ideas in the history of Western philosophy is Plato’s theory that all knowledge is recollection. What he means is that the divine nature is part of you, and it is complete in itself, containing all things. You already have everything.

The same teaching is found in Suzuki—in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. The Buddha-nature is already within you, perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Until you understand this, you’re still in the cave. That is what Plato’s cave is about; until you know what he means when he talks about the Forms, and how all knowledge is remembrance, you’re still in the cave.

That’s Plato pointing upward; Aristotle is beside him, motioning to stay grounded. The West has been more of Aristotle than Plato, he’s actually influenced by Eastern philosophy. He believed in reincarnation.