We all know the Buddha claimed to be enlightened. And most claim in that same regard, Jesus was too. Buddha described it as an end to suffering, Jesus saw it as salvation.
I know it's an apples to oranges comparison, but many who claim to be enlightened say that everyone is capable of this. Along with the process comes compassion, forgiveness, lasting happiness, gratitude for all life, and really every positive emotion without any of the negatives.
So how do you guys feel about the concept?
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[–] Kromulent 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
The world is full of legends. I'd like to meet an enlightened person, or participate with one in an AMA.
If I somehow managed to stumble upon a way to experience extraordinary happiness, with a new and different view of my place in the cosmos that rocked my old perceptions and left them feeling like a tired illusion, I'd like to think that I'd share this with the few million of my fellow citizens who would surely be interested. Why wouldn't I help them to the same satisfaction, and improve society and humanity as well? Isn't this what the ancient masters did, by writing and preaching, for just this reason?
"Guys, here's what I've learned. Here's the way I interpreted all those obscure and conflicting instructions, and this is what the path looked like to my 21st Century American eyes, and this is what it feels like now". I'm here every Monday to answer questions and I have a YouTube channel."
If I was legit, how badly would you want to hear what I had to say?
Now maybe enlightenment does something to people that turns that away from that sort of action, but if it does, that seems to conflict pretty strongly with what my conception of enlightenment is.
There are few religious or spiritual beliefs that offer a demonstrable, physical artifact as proof of their truthfulness. This is a rare example; if following a given path of instruction is said to offer the opportunity of enlightenment, then we should be seeing enlightened individuals, people who started like us, people who would see no reason to hide themselves away.
And I'd also expect that some of the folks who they set out to guide would find enlightenment as well. They would be pretty hard to ignore after a while, if they really managed the trick of it.
[–] middle_path [S] ago
I agree. I think we both feel the same way, I clearly just lean a little more on the hopeful side of things.
I wish you well, synchronicity will show you something I'm sure, as long as you keep an open mind.
Namaste, nigger.
[–] Kromulent 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
There was another commenter here who offered the opinion that it was more of a continuum than a state change. I think that's both reasonable and hopeful; you can always get better, and you can always benefit from trying a little more.
I've been getting a lot of benefit from pursuing a path that is possibly similar to your own. I have really come around to the idea of how our perception of the world is very much a self-generated thing, and surprisingly malleable, too. I've found that frustration is just a sign that one's expectations are not aligned with reality, and that it is entirely the fault of the expectations, not the world. I've found that breaking a concept into words necessarily alters it, and alters my perception of it, sometimes fatally. I've found that experiencing things, without attempting to describe them, can sometimes lead to an innate sort of learning that is otherwise impossible, like how muscle memory can form when a physical action is performed correctly, over and over.
I've become deeply agnostic, in the old-style meaning of the word. I believe that any ideology is necessarily incomplete, there is no algorithm, no set of principles that can offer us any more than a rough and frequently-excepted guide. I don't disbelieve anything, either. It's just not on my radar anymore.
I consider it healthy and good to be unperturbed by things that don't really demand action from me. I consider withdrawal and complacency similarly unhealthy, the same mistake made in a different way. We can engage with the world peacefully, at least most of the time, and if we cannot, then it deserves attention.
I consider a tendency towards kindness, enjoyment, and fulfillment to be good; self-consciousness, self-criticism, and the mind fighting itself as something to grow out of. I think unity of the mind, a dynamic balance of differing but kindly cooperating parts, is a much better approach.
The goal I see ahead is nothing spiritual, just emotional health, borne of a healthy outlook and a healthy self-conception. But I bet we've tread in each other's footsteps more that once along the way.