I know this is Taoism but

[pickledpadma]

What does one do after becoming enlightened?

[Brian]

What would you like to do?

[pickledpadma]

Nothing

[Brian]

OK

[pickledpadma]

Hahaha how enlightened!

[Brian]

Well...

 

There is a secret handshake but it's...

 

...well...

 

It's a secret, you see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Daeluin]

In taoism we harmonize duality.

 

When we make an attachment to something, be it a feeling, an understanding, a way of being, we create polarity. By distinguishing this from that we separate this and that. This is the direction of creation and separation.

 

In taoism we harmonize opposing forces, dissolving duality back into oneness. Our human lives dance through many layers of duality, and our unique nature dances uniquely. Harmonizing our unique nature with the dance of everything around us in the moment is merging our Te, our inner power and virtue with the Tao of all things in our path. We all express our Te in Tao, but sometimes use force and create separation, etc. Every creation manifests as ripples off into the world that are tied to our karma for good or bad. Only when we harmonize polarity do we dissolve past karma.

 

As we get good at harmonizing, and dissolving karma, we begin to dissolve our very physical bodies and our awareness, as our Te becomes more and more refined and pure and natural in its merging with the tao. At some point we dissolve things so thoroughly that our body and mind are one, and we slip between inside and outside, between self and other, and step out of the way, allowing the inside to merge completely seamlessly with the outside, flowing through change/time in the way that allows our unique inner shape to maintain connection with all around it. This in between state might be called the one opening of the mysterious barrier / mysterious pass / golden elixir, or enlightenment.

 

Somewhere along the way we discover our past life histories and realize that many patterns and challenges from our current life came from past life karmas, which we've already done a good bit of work harmonizing. But now we are aware of all these separate existences and need to harmonize them back into oneness as well.

 

And so we continue following the path of true harmony, never stepping back towards creation as that would again create karma. Yet, even as we take no further control over the actions of self, the seamless integration of self and the outside world acts all on its own, feeding each other in beautiful and mysterious ways, always creating more harmony as more and more magical but invisible means become available through which to maintain harmony.

 

At any point we could stop and go the other direction, creating dissonance again, using power to do whatever we want. But then we would have something bigger to dissolve... and if we should die it would remain as that very big karma, trapping us into further cycles of reincarnation until we could dissolve it. Karma from strange powers might even bring us back in unexpected ways. I don't know. And so we maintain the three treasures of compassion, frugality, and not daring to put ourselves ahead of anything else. Thus we dance between all things, becoming the connection between inside and outside and maintaining it with sincerity.

 

This dance is one of harmonizing the polarity of self and other. Yet there is another polarity - the unfolding dance of change. Time as we know it. As we refine the last remnants of our form, perhaps we slip between time itself, to continue on our journey to..... cannot be understood with words.

[Aetherous]

Ride dragons through the stars and drink peach nectar and stuff.

[silent thunder]

chop wood and carry the water

[Vitalii]

What does one do after becoming enlightened?

 

you can do something only if there are time and space.

Time and space are limitations

Immortal went beyond all possible limitations.

Maximal result is understood herein as transformation of body, life energy and Consciousness/Spirit/Mind, and their merging, which is called as attainment of the Body of Light. Such a level is regarded as ultimate not only in Daoist tradition, but also in some of Buddhist schools. It means that on this level, a person exists in expressed as well as in unexpressed way, is one whole with Dao and, meantime, is individual, went beyond all possible limitations (e.g., of time and space). When such a Master leaves this world, he dissolves in a Clear Light with an iridescent shine. In such a transformation, even a physical body is converted into a clear energy, which means that after the Master passes nothing is left after him.

[Chang]

What does one do after becoming enlightened?

 

My suggestion is that you wait until you become enlightened and see what happens. You will then be able to post back here answering your own question.

[Jetsun]

I heard that the only thing which makes any sort of sense is to be a benevolent force in the world.

[Marblehead]

In taoism we harmonize duality.

I haven't read the rest of your post yet but just wanted to say that I like this!

[Marblehead]

chop wood and carry the water

And don't forget to go back and carry the wood too.

[Stosh]

^{return to innocence, then look for wisdom again}

Edited July 18, 2014 by Stosh

[Marblehead]

Innocence is beyond my grasp after all I've been through in life. But I do try to be nice when I'm allowed to be so.

[Stosh]

Doctor, my eyes have seen the years

And the slow parade of fears without crying

Now I want to understand

 

I have done all that I could

To see the evil and the good without hiding

You must help me if you can

 

Doctor, my eyes

Tell me what is wrong

Was I unwise to leave them open for so long

 

'Cause I have wandered through this world

And as each moment has unfurled

I've been waiting to awaken from these dreams

People go just where there will

I never noticed them until I got this feeling

That it's later than it seems

 

Doctor, my eyes

Tell me what you see

I hear their cries

Just say if it's too late for me

 

Doctor, my eyes

Cannot see the sky

Is this the prize for having learned how not to cry

 

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2014 by Stosh

[GrandmasterP]

chop wood and carry the water

 

Schwing!!!

 

[GrandmasterP]

What does one do after becoming enlightened?

Teaching is an honourable career.

Decent pay, good holidays plus a well subsidised index- liked pension ( in the UK) too.

HTH

 

Edited July 18, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[Marblehead]

Hey Stosh,

 

I've not forgotten how to cry. But I don't do it nearly as often as I did when I was a child.

 

And I still think it is better to see clearly than it would be to see only illusions and delusion.

 

Yeah, the truth of reality is sometimes very hard to go to sleep with. But if we live in illusion and delusion then we might as well be sleeping all the time.

 

I still have my emotions (and my ego too). Reality is what it is. What is important is how I deal with it.

[pickledpadma]

Innocence is beyond my grasp after all I've been through in life. But I do try to be nice when I'm allowed to be so.

What grasps? What is there to grasp?

[pickledpadma]

Chop water, carry wood.

[soaring crane]

What does one do after becoming enlightened?

 

quite probably something that doesn't involve internet forums ...

[Stosh]

Hey Stosh,

 

I've not forgotten how to cry. But I don't do it nearly as often as I did when I was a child.

 

And I still think it is better to see clearly than it would be to see only illusions and delusion.

 

Yeah, the truth of reality is sometimes very hard to go to sleep with. But if we live in illusion and delusion then we might as well be sleeping all the time.

 

I still have my emotions (and my ego too). Reality is what it is. What is important is how I deal with it.

I wasnt intending you entirely as the guy in the song, merely that I consider the the issues linked,,

to be clear

From my school of thought , the guy is freaked out about his peceived loss of an ability to relate in dualistic terms, that hes gone too far into the invulnerable place where good bad etc falls apart entirely , Id say he still has a hump to get over.

Innocence is vulnerable , wisdom protects and so youd have a cycle - the search from innocence to wisdom and then back to innocence again.

 

or anyway , thats a possibility

[Marblehead]

No, we can't remain in innocence. Reality won't allow us. No one is going to pop a tit in your mouth every time you get hungry.

 

But to revisit innocence would be good, I think. Don't know; never tried it.

 

Yes, I think that once we eliminate our emotions we might as well end our life. Life has no purpose except the experiencing of it.

 

Dualities exist in reality. As soon as One gave birth to Two dualities existed.