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What started your awakening?


janesix

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It seems like I was born Awakened... I didn't think about 'it'. . . I Experienced 'it' . . . and since then life has brought me to the realization that I don't  Know anything.      But, then again, there's a difference between Being..and Knowing.   and If I don't think .. I'm still perfectly happy.  :P

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1 hour ago, Nuclear Wessel said:

Could you elaborate a little more on why you think a "part" of the universe, where we don't live, was/is eternal? We don't really have evidence to suggest that specific parts of the universe were eternal whereas other parts are not. I don't really see how that's physically possible, because that would imply that a part of the universe existed pre-big bang, which wouldn't make sense as the universe is the product of the Big Bang.

Also, I don't want any excerpts from UB. I want your own thoughts on the matter.

 

Obviously, what I posted came from the UB. I didn't dream it up myself. I would never have come up with such an idea on my own. 

But it makes sense to me.

If it's true, that only the center of the universe is eternal and everything now evolving in time surrounding it is not, then it explains something about the natural tension observable in the physical universe plus the personal experiences we go through in life. While at the same time, there's also sublime balance in it all.

 

 

 

Edited by Will Due
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10 hours ago, Freez1 said:

Free will is the one thing humanity has that sets us apart from all other living creatures. We can all believe in what ever we want. However what I don’t believe in is people trying to force religion of any type down someone’s throat. Believe what you want. But when it comes to politics or religion you can bet you’re a$$ if you write on a forum about it someone is going to argue with you on it. Happy trails with your awakening or fire and brimstone of course there again depending on your faith. 

Religion is a tool. like a hammer or a saw.  You can use it for good, or for evil, depending on your inclination.

"The Lord uses the good and the evil use the Lord."

Doug

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19 hours ago, Manwon Lender said:

I don't define life by light and darkness, I define it by pain and peace according to my Buddhist beliefs life is painful, and only each of us can can create the happiness we seek. You can only find happiness in this life by severing attachments to the past that cause you pain. In simple words you must forgive yourself for what has happened or what you have done that you feel guilty about. This is the only way to breaking the cycle of pain, sadness, and guilt. Once you forgive yourself and release your attachments to your past, only then can you move forward to the present and find some happiness and peace of mind.

Peace my friend:tu:

I find this fascinating. 

Why do you believe life is intrinsically  painful ? 

I find it to be pure joy and  wonder.

Even moments( or weeks/months)  of physical pain are indicators of life, and thus to be enjoyed and appreciated 

Emotional pain is a construct.

You can accept or reject it.  ie build, or not build,  the construct of emotional pain, as a response to life. 

It is true  that I am lucky to live in a time and place where people suffer little pain, compared to other times and places.

But, regardless, pain and suffering are perceptions, not realities.  

Can you see any way to live your life without pain? 

in other words, does the philosophy you have outlined here, work for you 

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7 minutes ago, Mr Walker said:

I find this fascinating. 

Why do you believe life is intrinsically  painful ? 

I find it to be pure joy and  wonder.

Even moments( or weeks/months)  of physical pain are indicators of life, and thus to be enjoyed and appreciated 

Emotional pain is a construct.

You can accept or reject it.  ie build, or not build,  the construct of emotional pain, as a response to life. 

It is true  that I am lucky to live in a time and place where people suffer little pain, compared to other times and places.

But, regardless, pain and suffering are perceptions, not realities.  

Can you see any way to live your life without pain? 

in other words, does the philosophy you have outlined here, work for you 

The Philosophy works fine once the Ego is controlled and attachments to guilt for past events are severed. Most people are controlled by there Ego, the problem with this is that the Ego is responsible for selfish and undesirable behavior that places their needs and wants above all others. Releasing attachments to guilt and forgiving yourself for the past will allow you to move forward and leave the past behind. This is the only way to break the endless cycle of sadness and guilt, and everyone has regrets and they feel guilty so by breaking the cycle you can move forward and find happiness and peace of mind.

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3 hours ago, Manwon Lender said:

The Philosophy works fine once the Ego is controlled and attachments to guilt for past events are severed. Most people are controlled by there Ego, the problem with this is that the Ego is responsible for selfish and undesirable behavior that places their needs and wants above all others. Releasing attachments to guilt and forgiving yourself for the past will allow you to move forward and leave the past behind. This is the only way to break the endless cycle of sadness and guilt, and everyone has regrets and they feel guilty so by breaking the cycle you can move forward and find happiness and peace of mind.

I dont see it in those terms, but in practice this is exactly true 

Maybe we see 'ego"  in different terms 

 In my experience you use the natural abilities of your mind, enhanced by training education and discipline  /practice, to totally reset your mind  eg guilt is a slef construct 

Understand this, understand how you constructed it, and you simply deconstruct it and remove it  You can do this with all negative emotional  responses, while building and enhancing all your positive ones 

IMO because I am "one with the all",  I am no more  (nor no less)  significant than any other element  of existence.  However i have a duty to improve myself and my world  (simply because i can and am privileged in this respect ) 

That begins with ensuring my own  survival longevity and skillsets,  then doing all i can to help others and to improve the world. 

No, not everyone has regrets or guilt,  Not everyone has fears or anxieties, or thinks in catastrophic terms.

  I don't, and to me they are nonproductive, and thus undesirable emotional responses.

  I save my energy, including emotional energies, to build, improve, and  help myself and others.

Life is short, with no time to waste with nonproductive thoughts fears emotions etc.  

I understand  what you are saying, but i have to go back to my early teens for personal  memories of  those things 

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14 hours ago, Mr Walker said:

I dont see it in those terms, but in practice this is exactly true 

Maybe we see 'ego"  in different terms 

 In my experience you use the natural abilities of your mind, enhanced by training education and discipline  /practice, to totally reset your mind  eg guilt is a slef construct 

Understand this, understand how you constructed it, and you simply deconstruct it and remove it  You can do this with all negative emotional  responses, while building and enhancing all your positive ones 

IMO because I am "one with the all",  I am no more  (nor no less)  significant than any other element  of existence.  However i have a duty to improve myself and my world  (simply because i can and am privileged in this respect ) 

That begins with ensuring my own  survival longevity and skillsets,  then doing all i can to help others and to improve the world. 

No, not everyone has regrets or guilt,  Not everyone has fears or anxieties, or thinks in catastrophic terms.

  I don't, and to me they are nonproductive, and thus undesirable emotional responses.

  I save my energy, including emotional energies, to build, improve, and  help myself and others.

Life is short, with no time to waste with nonproductive thoughts fears emotions etc.  

I understand  what you are saying, but i have to go back to my early teens for personal  memories of  those things 

Manwon has an entire thread where he shares his journey go and read it will make sense to you. 
 

No need to derail the thread.

 

 


 

 


 


 

 

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A variety of personal experiences. 

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The Original Post: By janesix

 

For me it was deep meditation, followed by yoga. I think the awakening began immediately after starting meditation, and then I suddenly gained an interest in yoga. From there, an 11 year roller coaster ride.

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On 7/18/2021 at 7:16 AM, Sherapy said:

Manwon has an entire thread where he shares his journey go and read it will make sense to you. 
 

No need to derail the thread.

 

 


 

 


 


 

 

Its not derailing. It goes directly to awakening and consciousness raising   This is not a mystical magical or even religious experience.

it is a learned skill which takes you to a whole new level of cognition and thought 

You can learn it  (the theory at least) from  someone like  the Buddha, or  you  can learn it, in practice,  through self  discipline, practice,  effort, and will 

It is a cognitive skill like logic, speech, or rational thinking.  

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39 minutes ago, Mr Walker said:

Its not derailing. It goes directly to awakening and consciousness raising   This is not a mystical magical or even religious experience.

it is a learned skill which takes you to a whole new level of cognition and thought 

You can learn it  (the theory at least) from  someone like  the Buddha, or  you  can learn it, in practice,  through self  discipline, practice,  effort, and will 

It is a cognitive skill like logic, speech, or rational thinking.  

MW, once again you bring your own make believe trying to pass it off as “something.’
 

Something you cannot name, or describe other than light beam tales or Google cut and paste whatever you happen to type into the search box. 

 

There is one way to raise consciousness that we know of in Neurology it is called meditation, there are studies to support it too.  I will offer that thus far you are spouting nonsense. 
 

You do not meditate, and you do not practice Buddhism, Zen or a mindful lifestyle, yoga, nada…the point to these paths is practice, practice, practice and in the practice one will glean something or not and if one wants to go further one seeks out an expert meaning you would be the last person to talk to as you do not have any experience walking these paths. This is what you demonstrate in your posts, if thatg changes and I see evidence of that I will go from there. 
 


 

In the meantime, All the best to you and your wife.
 

 

Edited by Sherapy
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13 hours ago, Sherapy said:

MW, once again you bring your own make believe trying to pass it off as “something.’
 

Something you cannot name, or describe other than light beam tales or Google cut and paste whatever you happen to type into the search box. 

 

There is one way to raise consciousness that we know of in Neurology it is called meditation, there are studies to support it too.  I will offer that thus far you are spouting nonsense. 
 

You do not meditate, and you do not practice Buddhism, Zen or a mindful lifestyle, yoga, nada…the point to these paths is practice, practice, practice and in the practice one will glean something or not and if one wants to go further one seeks out an expert meaning you would be the last person to talk to as you do not have any experience walking these paths. This is what you demonstrate in your posts, if thatg changes and I see evidence of that I will go from there. 
 


 

In the meantime, All the best to you and your wife.
 

 

Just because you dont want to believe anything which makes you uncomfortable does not make t untrue.

Thus s simple  basic psychology and cognitive science 

Research it yourself   rather than remain in denial

It has nothing to do with magic religion or belief.

Its a simple cognitive  skill which anyone can learn, but which requires such time, commitment,  and discipline,  that few bother 

Buddha explains the  reality of it.

You like the concept of Buddhism but don't believe in the basic teaching of Buddha about this 

There are, however, many different practical paths to enlightenment and consciousness raising 

https://lifelessons.co/spirituality/consciousness/

Meditation is but one of many ways Buddhism is but one of many ways

quote

Today, I see self-awareness as a natural competency that we activate, rather than build from scratch. While this activation can happen in meditation, it isn’t limited to it. There are many other setups that you already experience that can foster self-awareness.

https://betterhumans.pub/how-to-increase-your-self-awareness-without-meditation-47a7ab99594

  

Mindfulness, self  reflection, self  analysis; all help., Study of one's own mind and then learning to know and understand your mind, through understanding of human cognition, psychology, and your  mind body interface,  and being able to direct and discipline your mind and body   can be done without meditation

quote

“Self-awareness means the ability to monitor our inner world — our thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness is one method for enhancing this essential capacity — it trains our attention to notice subtle, but important signals, and to see thoughts as they arise rather than just being swept away by them.” — Daniel Goleman

“Our mind is extremely skillful at storing information about how we react to a certain event to form a blueprint of our emotional life. Such information often ends up conditioning our mind to react in a certain way as we encounter a similar event in the future. Self-awareness allows us to be conscious of this conditioning and preconceptions of the mind, which can form the foundation of freeing the mind from it.” — Jessie Zhu, at Positive Psychology

https://betterhumans.pub/how-to-increase-your-self-awareness-without-meditation-47a7ab99594

https://theconsciouslife.com/living-consciously-without-meditation.htm

quote

Mindfulness is most commonly practiced through some form of meditation such as breathing focused activities, focusing on a mantra or guided imagery. However, mindfulness can also be practiced in a more casual way and yield the same benefits. Below are 8 ways to practice mindfulness without meditating.

https://www.cityscapecounseling.com/post/2017/11/17/8-ways-to-practice-mindfulness-without-meditating

 

I spent over   4000 hours, over a decade,  every day,  practicing and learning these mental skills and disciplines 

The difference from  most is that I did it as a child/adolescent, and was self  taught.

As with all things, children learn faster and more effectively /deeply , due to their  superior neural plasticity.  

Edited by Mr Walker
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58 minutes ago, Mr Walker said:

I spent over   4000 hours, over a decade,  every day,  practicing and learning these mental skills and disciplines 

Hi Walker

Not sure but there are 87,600 hours in a decade so 4000 hours if it is and overall number inclusive of the 10 years or 4000 hours a years over 10 years is a significant difference as it could be anywhere for a couple of minutes to half your day. Playing as a child is a great learning tool and I have used it in that manner all my life so when you say that you were doing all kinds of mental exercises at such an early age I am more inclined that you played with your imagination and fiction and sci-fi have had a great influence in your perspectives that you have demonstrated here. Now I am not saying this to be mean it's just and observation and I am not saying that you did not have experiences just that we perceive and reason differently. Everyone here has a different life and yet many of us from different walks of life with different experiences can and have created a consensus because they intellectually stimulating and spiritual with no religious affiliations as well as many others that do have a religion.

I don't care what anyone believes, my interest in how and why, the what was , is it. What you believe may never have any effect on me because we live in different worlds and I am not looking to believe in anything more than I am here and what will be will be make the best of it I have no intention of trying to change anyone's belief but to share and think about theirs with me and me asking questions is how I understand how well you (generic) understand what you believe.

Edited by closed for business
the usual
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3 hours ago, closed for business said:

Hi Walker

Not sure but there are 87,600 hours in a decade so 4000 hours if it is and overall number inclusive of the 10 years or 4000 hours a years over 10 years is a significant difference as it could be anywhere for a couple of minutes to half your day.

I have over 3200 hours in one single online game I played with friends over the past four years. A friend of mine has over 5000, in the same game.

4000 hours in a decade is like nothing lmao.

That being said, I wasted a lot of time in online games. I don't really play them anymore.

Edited by Nuclear Wessel
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4 hours ago, closed for business said:

Hi Walker

Not sure but there are 87,600 hours in a decade so 4000 hours if it is and overall number inclusive of the 10 years or 4000 hours a years over 10 years is a significant difference as it could be anywhere for a couple of minutes to half your day. Playing as a child is a great learning tool and I have used it in that manner all my life so when you say that you were doing all kinds of mental exercises at such an early age I am more inclined that you played with your imagination and fiction and sci-fi have had a great influence in your perspectives that you have demonstrated here. Now I am not saying this to be mean it's just and observation and I am not saying that you did not have experiences just that we perceive and reason differently. Everyone here has a different life and yet many of us from different walks of life with different experiences can and have created a consensus because they intellectually stimulating and spiritual with no religious affiliations as well as many others that do have a religion.

I don't care what anyone believes, my interest in how and why, the what was , is it. What you believe may never have any effect on me because we live in different worlds and I am not looking to believe in anything more than I am here and what will be will be make the best of it I have no intention of trying to change anyone's belief but to share and think about theirs with me and me asking questions is how I understand how well you (generic) understand what you believe.

I spent at least  an hour and sometimes more each day from  about t he age of 4 to14 working on my conscious and subconscious minds, both to improve my abilty to lucid dream and control/dorect my  dreaming, extend my consciousness from my body    and to improve other cognitive skills and abilities.  

There was no Tv, or radio, or computer games.  We had to go to bed a t 7.30 as young kids and by 930 as teenagers  until about the age of 15/16, so apart form some reading I had a lot of time every night to concentrate on my mind.   I also spent some  time during the day  on it,  although most days were very busy with school/ home work, or work and play. 

so  at least  3650 hours of  mental work  at night over 10 years and another few hundred hours during the day 

Ps as an older teenager i spent this much time on my home work ie 3 hours a night and 8 hours on a weekend  My parents ensured we worked for an hour at time then had a 10 minute break.  They often spent the time with us, discussing problems or issues,  but as a younger  person we had no home work.  

ps yes we also played as kids do, but with a lot of help from my parents as a family group and with large extended neighbour hood groups.   We used imagination and creativity to build, construct and use everything from  billycarts carrying ballista's to invisible coded messages , plus parachute breaks for  our bikes and a variety of wter and land home made craft  We had a  real telephone link (an old ex army paired set of battery operated and cable connected dial phones ) between two tree  forts  and made  a huge variety of weapons/ etc.

Those started as simple things like bows and arrows, crossbows, shanghaies,  ninja stars,   etc  as younger kids and evolved to pipe mortars, big catapults and ballista , home made  explosive devices and rockets as 14-16 year olds  Our parents constructed mysteries and treasure hunts for us tosolve and find Then we spent a lot of time hunting, trapping, fishing including spear fishing,   and diving for shell fish and lobsters  to get food for the family.  

My father encouraged us a lot. He had read every science fiction magazine from  the golden age and gave them to us to read.  he could design and build almost anything (in 1965 he built possibly  the first A frame house  in our state, to replace our old shack  having designed it and built it almost entirely by himself.

I haven't got a photo of it available online,  (it is not even on google earth) but this site is the shack right next door to it  It borders a large national park and is a few yards from the beach  door  https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Beach+House/@-34.6160767,135.4815306,3a,75y/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipNjnr_hm3I5UlMm74RFscWZMQJoiZuvPxnwc2UP!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNjnr_hm3I5UlMm74RFscWZMQJoiZuvPxnwc2UP%3Dw172-h86-k-no!7i4608!8i2304!4m16!1m7!3m6!1s0x6aaa37b13f78942b:0x9548802bd77d350!2sParadise+Ct,+Coffin+Bay+SA+5607!3b1!8m2!3d-34.6163389!4d135.4814924!3m7!1s0x6aaa37b11516b49d:0xbefaa7f11ce18f6!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d-34.616057!4d135.4815137

 

 and taught us how to do the same  As a kid he used real gelignite in his games and constructed boats to cross Boston bay and go fishing from  He built us boats surf boards  and a form of Kalamazoo until we learned to build them for ourselves.     

 

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3 hours ago, Nuclear Wessel said:

I have over 3200 hours in one single online game I played with friends over the past four years. A friend of mine has over 5000, in the same game.

4000 hours in a decade is like nothing lmao.

That being said, I wasted a lot of time in online games. I don't really play them anymore.

4000 hours isn't much. At 2 hours per day, every day, for 10 years is 7300 hours. I got almost that much in a game over the multiple accounts I created. Then if you take the sheer amount of time people spend on watching tv, are online, etc. That's quite a lot of time spent. 

Edited by XenoFish
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6 hours ago, Mr Walker said:

Just because you dont want to believe anything which makes you uncomfortable does not make t untrue.

Thus s simple  basic psychology and cognitive science 

Research it yourself   rather than remain in denial

It has nothing to do with magic religion or belief.

Its a simple cognitive  skill which anyone can learn, but which requires such time, commitment,  and discipline,  that few bother 

Buddha explains the  reality of it.

You like the concept of Buddhism but don't believe in the basic teaching of Buddha about this 

There are, however, many different practical paths to enlightenment and consciousness raising 

https://lifelessons.co/spirituality/consciousness/

Meditation is but one of many ways Buddhism is but one of many ways

quote

Today, I see self-awareness as a natural competency that we activate, rather than build from scratch. While this activation can happen in meditation, it isn’t limited to it. There are many other setups that you already experience that can foster self-awareness.

https://betterhumans.pub/how-to-increase-your-self-awareness-without-meditation-47a7ab99594

  

Mindfulness, self  reflection, self  analysis; all help., Study of one's own mind and then learning to know and understand your mind, through understanding of human cognition, psychology, and your  mind body interface,  and being able to direct and discipline your mind and body   can be done without meditation

quote

“Self-awareness means the ability to monitor our inner world — our thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness is one method for enhancing this essential capacity — it trains our attention to notice subtle, but important signals, and to see thoughts as they arise rather than just being swept away by them.” — Daniel Goleman

“Our mind is extremely skillful at storing information about how we react to a certain event to form a blueprint of our emotional life. Such information often ends up conditioning our mind to react in a certain way as we encounter a similar event in the future. Self-awareness allows us to be conscious of this conditioning and preconceptions of the mind, which can form the foundation of freeing the mind from it.” — Jessie Zhu, at Positive Psychology

https://betterhumans.pub/how-to-increase-your-self-awareness-without-meditation-47a7ab99594

https://theconsciouslife.com/living-consciously-without-meditation.htm

quote

Mindfulness is most commonly practiced through some form of meditation such as breathing focused activities, focusing on a mantra or guided imagery. However, mindfulness can also be practiced in a more casual way and yield the same benefits. Below are 8 ways to practice mindfulness without meditating.

https://www.cityscapecounseling.com/post/2017/11/17/8-ways-to-practice-mindfulness-without-meditating

 

I spent over   4000 hours, over a decade,  every day,  practicing and learning these mental skills and disciplines 

The difference from  most is that I did it as a child/adolescent, and was self  taught.

As with all things, children learn faster and more effectively /deeply , due to their  superior neural plasticity.  

Ahahaha, and down the rabbit Google hole you go.

I am not impressed, with that being said, all the best to you and your wife. 

 

 

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22 minutes ago, Sherapy said:

Ahahaha, and down the rabbit Google hole you go.

I am not impressed, with that being said, all the best to you and your wife. 

It's hilarious that he thinks he knows more about Buddhism than you. It's like he can't stand that you're more knowledgeable in an area than he is.

Just by his very responses he is nowhere close to being enlightened, in a Buddhist sense.

@Mr Walker We can copy and paste from Google, too.

Edited by Nuclear Wessel
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11 minutes ago, Nuclear Wessel said:

It's hilarious that he thinks he knows more about Buddhism than you. It's like he can't stand that you're more knowledgeable in an area than he is.

Just by his very responses he is nowhere close to being enlightened, in a Buddhist sense.

@Mr Walker We can copy and paste from Google, too.


‘There is no companionship with a fool, it is best he/she walk alone’  ~Buddha 

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You're never alone in an imaginary world... 

Quote

7c6

~

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6 hours ago, third_eye said:

You're never alone in an imaginary world... 

~

What is even funnier is his offering of Google cut and paste as  a non practitioner on any kind of mindful path and still manages to skeewhomp it. 
 

 

Edited by Sherapy
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20 hours ago, Nuclear Wessel said:

I have over 3200 hours in one single online game I played with friends over the past four years. A friend of mine has over 5000, in the same game.

4000 hours in a decade is like nothing lmao.

That being said, I wasted a lot of time in online games. I don't really play them anymore.

You are right It wasn't a lot, but it was available in my childhood,  between going to bed and going to sleep.  It had gradual, but also considerable eventual, benefits

I couldn't say how many hours I've spent gaming, but beginning with the very first video game  which I played  back in the 70s (Atari's Pong )  it's probably  tens of thousands of hours including bout 5000 hours on "World of Warcraft online " (most immersive game ive ever played outside of the original form of Dungeons and  Dragons. In both those games i would play for up to12 hours a t time, with real peole or online.   

I spend about an hour and a half these days every day gaming  online and a few hours every Monday  night,   with family, playing modern board games (managed to win "Terraforming mars this week :) )

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17 hours ago, Nuclear Wessel said:

It's hilarious that he thinks he knows more about Buddhism than you. It's like he can't stand that you're more knowledgeable in an area than he is.

Just by his very responses he is nowhere close to being enlightened, in a Buddhist sense.

@Mr Walker We can copy and paste from Google, too.

Its not hilarious, but irrelevant 

I studied and taught  Buddhism for many years as part of comparative religious studies  Thus I have a wider and deeper academic knowledge of it than her.

I also have integrated many of its beliefs and practices into my life for decades while she has only done so for a few years 

However its clear that Sherapy (as with everything) only sees what fits her own needs and world view 

My sources show that i was correct  If you dont like google sources what else can you recommend?)  

I am not sure that you or many western practitioners really understand  Buddha's core and original  teachings, and what enlightenment actually means 

However that is fair  enough as there are as many interpretations of Buddhism by its practitioners as there are for Christianity There are big national and regional variations in  its  teaching and practice . 

Very basically, like christian teaching, it is, at heart, very simple.

quote

 In Buddhism, enlightenment (called bodhi in Indian Buddhism, or satori in Zen Buddhism) is when a Buddhist finds the truth about life and stops being reborn because they have reached Nirvana. Once you get to Nirvana you are not born again into samsara (which is suffering). Buddhists believe a person can become enlightened by following the Middle Way; the Middle Way is not too extreme in either way of living, neither an extremely luxurious life of ease and enjoyment nor an extremely harsh life on living on the minimum of the most basic necessities. One develops Sila (morality), Samadhi (concentration), and Prajna (insight or wisdom). This is thought to take a very long time, according to many buddhist monks and nuns.

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightenment_(Buddhism)

idont know what you consider a long time, but i spent 10 years learning, and the rest of my life living by,  those  last 3 abilies 

There is no fear anger or suffering in my life No pain grief or sadness 

Like Buddha I haver tried hard to show people how living like this  is a simple practical abilty we all have,  but most peole don't believe, dont care, or lack the time and discipline to achieve it. Some find it incredibly hard to let go of past hurts, injustices etc. 

It is much harder in the west to find the middle way because we are surrounded by material luxuries and attachment s  and are taught tha t we are important individuals 

Basically, as with Christianity, the message is that peace lack of suffering etc  and other states come from  within you, by right thoughts right actions etc.

Thats an absolute truth which most people cant accept 

quote

Nirvana literally means “quenching” or “blowing out,” in the way that the flame of a candle is blown out. But what are we blowing out, here? Is it one’s soul, one’s ego, one’s identity? It cannot be the soul that is blown out, since Buddhism denies that any such thing exists. Nor is it the ego or one’s sense of identity that disappears, although nirvana certainly involves a radically transformed state of consciousness which is free of the obsession with “me and mine.”

What is extinguished, in fact, is the triple fire of greed, hatred, and delusion which leads to rebirth. Indeed, the simplest definition of nirvana-in-this-life is “the end of greed, hatred, and delusion”. It is clear that nirvana-in-this-life is a psychological and ethical reality. It’s a transformed state of personality characterized by peace, deep spiritual joy, compassion, and a refined and subtle awareness. Negative mental states and emotions such as doubt, worry, anxiety, and fear are absent from the enlightened mind.

https://tricycle.org/magazine/nirvana-2/

By that definition I have existed in a state of nirvana for much of my life a t least to a very significant extent  You can believe it or not but every day of my life  is lived  in the state i have bolded and underlined while i have felt physical pain i haven't "suffered" for decades. Suffering no longer exists in my life . I no longer choose to construct it.    

Awareness of this state of mind  came through gnosis or enlightenment. A short but powerful connection to the universal consciousness made me aware of the true nature of life, consciousness, existence, and our place in it. 

 Achieving such a state of mind  (and associated behaviours ) in  practice required years of  study, practice,  effort, and discipline.  I began with fear which took a few years to eliminate  and went on to the more complex emotional responses over time. 

This does not mean a lack of care  about your life, or prudence, or caring  for others.  Indeed, those are a part of nirvana .

  Joy, peace  and compassion, for example,  are attachments and constructs, but positive ones. 

Edited by Mr Walker
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17 hours ago, Sherapy said:


‘There is no companionship with a fool, it is best he/she walk alone’  ~Buddha 

and yet Buddha was concerned enough for others, to preach and teach his way of reaching peace, and his understanding of the world  . 

He didn't achieve nirvana and then just sit back and enjoy it 

He shared his knowledge and understandings with anyone who would listen.  

Why do you suppose he did this ?

He didn't walk alone, and he probably shared a lot of his knowledge with fools who wouldn't listen :) 

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4 hours ago, Mr Walker said:

I studied and taught  Buddhism for many years as part of comparative religious studies  Thus I have a wider and deeper academic knowledge of it than her.

I also have integrated many of its beliefs and practices into my life for decades while she has only done so for a few years 

Somehow, "My enlightenment is bigger than yours" doesn't sound enlightened.

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