What is Enlightenment? Is it something concrete for all people or is it an individual path? Are there rules for attaining it? Can anybody reach it that tries? What are some other concepts that might be related to this general idea of Enlightenment? Was the European Enlightenment really representative of this sort of Enlightenment? For any who feel they have attained a sort of Enlightenment (either in whole or in part), what are some pieces of wisdom you might offer to someone either not on the path of Enlightenment or interested and pursuing it?
... like goes a couple lines i added to my bebo page (yes, shame on me, i have a bebo page): I am what I am becoming. What you seek is seeking you. to me... enlightenment is but only a word. but what has that label been used to denote... more than one thing or state, thats for sure. i've heard it said many times that it is the path, not the goal. much the sames as has been said of happyness, love, peace. and if it is the path... who's ever heard of ataining a path!? well... it's not something i loose any sleep over. lol. oh alright.... for a difinitive answer ... Enlightenment is.... ... an orange balloon.
I would say that it is the liberation of the mind interfering. Enlightenment has many available paths. There is no 'right' ways. As for rules, I'd say there are techniques to obtain it, not necessarily rules. And yes, I believe anyone who wants to will reach it. I'm no where near enlightenment, but I will offer these pieces of advice: When you look at something, your mind is interfering. When you use all your senses, and things such at speaking or writing, your mind interferes. When you liberate your thoughts when you use your senses or read, write, etc that is enlightenment. You must be free of the mind. Your mind is not 'you', but more of a collection of what you see. Do not think of your actions or thoughts of YOUR self. (Anatta) Be aware that you are thinking. Be aware of what you do. Let go of all attachments. Feel connected with everything and ever body.
1. Thats impossible 2. I completely disagree Nothing can be experienced or discovered if not through the mind. I think the key is to use your mind wisely, dig deep within yourself. Free your mind from the chains of logic, proof, or anything else that will restrain your ability to think freely. You'll find some things that dont make any sense, some things that are completely confusing, and some things that are downright crazy. However, dont dismiss anything....one step (or phase of thinking) will always lead to the next. Continue on the path of free thinking through exploration of the mind without chains and eventually you will find what it is youre looking for. I think the biggest thing to remember is that its a lifelong process. Its something you constantly work towards without really reaching an end point. You get as much out of it as you put into it, as is with most things in this world.
In a metaphorical sense. You took it too literally. You must be free of WHAT the mind can do to your perceived thoughts. You must cleanse the mind. Renew the mind. That is better wording for that. Because your mind can make you perceive something one way, while someone else perceives it complete opposite. When 2 people are enlightened, they perceive the same thing of the same object or whatever.
Stop being so obsessed with the terms and just go get it. You'll never know when you've attained it anyway. . .so just make your journey. There are no medals or awards for attaining enlightenment, so get on with your life.
Right I'll attempt to put this feeling into words. I'm sure it won't come out properly, and I'm also sure I'll get jumped on for huge gaping logical holes but here goes.. Enlightenment, for me anyway, is a point in time when you become aware that we are the brothers and sisters of all of the universe, that each belong to each other and everything to all, that time is merely a human construct, and that there is infinite beauty in everything My further reasoning (bearing in mind I was on shrooms when this occured to me) was that if you have a 'moment' of enlightenment, or more accurately a non-moment, then although you return to normal being you don't really, because by having had this experience beyond the idea of time it'll forever be a part of you. Make any sense?
Enlightenment is when you realize the guys driving the ship are as fucked up as you are. . . Watch this and feel enlightened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUA35XQxxw8
I believe that enlightenment is a level in understanding, that comes from detachment to your life. It is like a third perspective to your understanding. Once you have achieved this, you will find that certainty is far more easy to find; because you understand that both sides of the contradiction are correct, and it is for you to make the choice, as to which side will lead you to the light.
i suppose true enlightenment isnt achieved until that moment before death, when everything *could* be crystal clear. Is it just one step or many? Arent we becoming more enlightened by reading eachothers responses? I feel MORE enlightened on my life than 2 years ago..the journey is more important than the destination.
I think enlightenment is the recognition of your higher conciousness. It's becoming one with your environment. It is the realization of God within. It is becoming born again; not by your faith, but by the state of your heart and mind. It is something that you can ask for, and you will most certainly receive it; as long as you know how to ask the question, and are willing to listen to the response. Great teachers can lead you to enlightenment because they teach you how to look at things. Marshall McLuhan is somebody who teaches this. Their are many others. But I thought his name was worth mentioning.
my 2 cents (kind of long) enlightenment is - the working towards 'enlightenment'. when i say working, i mean just that: the full head sprint, entirety of your being involved, with utter care to see things as they are and as they are with you seeing them as they are (and so on, and so on). the former (entirety of your being involved) seems to be part of the goal of meditation or philosophy, in the training of your mind to focus with such commitment. the latter (the sort of seeing that always involves a relationship between yourself and your object that takes both into account and grows circularly 'upwards') is something like what i see when i read about circularity in life and paradoxical formulations of sentences (when i think of this i get reminded of those zen formulations - these passages grow with you in that to figure it out you must be in the process of figuring it out - the paradoxes pile onto each other because they are fundamentally their teaching, ie, growth). when i say 'enlightenment' with the quotes, i mean that goal towards which, in the work you do and in being the work you do, consistently shows up as a goal. the content of the goal, or like, how you'd state what the goal is specifically, certainly always does change (why there mustn't be dogmas, but we can still love our truths), but it as goal doesn't. maybe what i mean is that which is a possibility. these two things, 'working towards' and 'enlightenment' come onto the scene together when 'enlightened', i think. the working itself is the goal, and the 'enlightenment' is one into which, when enlightened, one is fully within by virtue of working towards it. this also seems like where ideas about death come to the fore - when one is consistently moving towards a goal which, in the moving, always changes, and when that moving/goal combination is one which one already is, when the goal changes, the whole scene changes, and you've effectively died. thus, enlightenment is charactarized by dying and being born at the same time. oh, and edit: if this has been realized (ie, you are it), it seems the reason it must stick is because there is no moving or goal beyond or after your current state which is not driven from your current state. how COULD you get out of it?
when i first began to accept and understan concepts such as meta physics, collective unconscious, existentialism, etc etc, i felt as though i was walking a path of some sort. maybe not so much towards enlightenment as toward awakening. i always would refer to it asprying open my Third Eye (yes like the Tool song). besides anyone who says they are enlightened is most likely the farthest from it. if my understanding is such, thus is the nature of that concept.
There is no enlightenment without the understanding of purpose EDIT: Thought I'd add one more thing. I think enlightenment has many levels. You could call enlightenment spiritual awareness (the opening of the third eye). After the opening of the third eye you are enlightened by your ability to see far more than you could before. And for this reason you can then see what is important and what isn't, because your seeing with 'new eyes'. After you have opened the third eye you are then capable of perceiving the collective conciousness; so it is essentially a prerequisite. I was just thinking about physical fitness, and there is a relationship between your body and your mind. If your body is in good physical condition, your mind is more likely to follow suit. That isn't to say that you can't be fat and wise; but it is to say that it is very difficult to empathize with the problems of others, if you still have your own vises to worry about. To explain that more fully, you will be able to reach self realization while you still have vises, however after you have realized that the vises exist, you will be given a choice, that if you do not remove the vises, they will drag you down. (and that would be a long way to fall)
No one can really tell you the path of enlightenment as enlightenment is an entirely personal experience. There is no map, no data, nothing. Enlightenment is realizing the truth, it is knowing simultaneously that you are neither right nor wrong about anything. A koan for you: The Thief Who Became a Disciple One evening as Shichiri Kojun was reciting sutras a thief with a sharp sword entered, demanding wither his money or his life. Shichiri told him: "Do not disturb me. You can find the money in that drawer." Then he resumed his recitation. A little while afterwards he stopped and called: "Don't take it all. I need some to pay taxes with tomorrow." The intruder gathered up most of the money and started to leave. "Thank a person when you receive a gift," Shichiri added. The man thanked him and made off. A few days afterwards the fellow was caught and confessed, among others, the offense against Shichiri. When Shichiri was called as a witness he said: "This man is no thief, at least as far as I am concerned. I gave him the money and he thanked me for it." After he had finished his prison term, the man went to Shichiri and became his disciple. That's enlightenment. It really isn't a tangible thing so far as tangible things go, it just happens.
you helped me reach partial enlightenment. "i see the world for what it is beyond the white and the black" its as if i can see right through people. i can tell if someone is a good person within the first 5 minutes of talking to them like digit said...i realize what is important in life and what isnt. i just choose not to always make the right decisions.