3 reasons why enlightenment sucks

[3bob]

1. unlimited levels of work that never really end,

 

2. unlimited levels of responsibility that never really end,

 

3. being on call 24/7 x 365 for whatever "the needs of the many or the needs of the one" may be,

 

(although I wouldn't really know )

 

Thus one can forget about most of the fancy mind-candy perks you may read about or come across which at best are only tools to assist with items 1-3

 

Om

[Jeff]

[BaguaKicksAss]

Well if this is the case, you have just confirmed it, I'm most definitely enlightened!

 

or something...

 

lol

[Cheshire Cat]

1. unlimited levels of work that never really end,

 

2. unlimited levels of responsibility that never really end,

 

3. being on call 24/7 x 365 for whatever "the needs of the many or the needs of the one" may be,

 

(although I wouldn't really know )

 

Thus one can forget about most of the fancy mind-candy perks you may read about or come across which at best are only tools to assist with items 1-3

 

Om

 

Please can you give me the telephone number of one of such Buddhas ?

 

I think that the bodhisattva's vow is a sort of formality: I can't see a special attitude to save sentient being.

They act exactly like the gods of other religious system. Need help? Make an offering and hope.

[eye_of_the_storm]

Cat working on Zhan Zhuang!

[GrandmasterP]

As a fully realised being here one fully realises that you guys haven't the first clue.

'Enlightenment' ( other labels are available) isn't a destination; it's a map.

Always.

 

Edited July 29, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[eye_of_the_storm]

Becoming Light

[Silent Answers]

Seems like everyone has been experiencing a bit of negative pressure lately. I've just pulled through one of life's episodes of flatulence...feeling pretty good with how things turned out though...less gassy up in here now.

[idiot_stimpy]

I wouldn't know

[MooNiNite]

are you referring to working for the spiritual world? or am i mistaken haha.

 

 

3. being on call 24/7 x 365 for whatever "the needs of the many or the needs of the one" may be,

 

(although I wouldn't really know )

[3bob]

...haha, dial 777 for info on the nearest enlightened being - located right under our nose on the GPS map

[Jetsun]

My three are

 

1 - It means you as a separate individual will never be special or superior to others

2 - You get absolutely nothing out of enlightenment

3 - You can't get enlightened, you can't bring you with you, there is no having your cake and eating it

[Marblehead]

Ah! The path to enlightenment.

 

Of course, I have yet to see an acceptable definition of what enlightenment is supposed to be.

 

Map? That sucker was drawn by a person who ate too many mushrooms.

[GrandmasterP]

Dogen writes about enlightenment in his 'Bendowa' as cultivation ( zazen for Dogen but any cultivation done daily will do) enfolding enlightenment.

Cultivation even at the outset is all of original enlightenment. So the Teacher , when giving advice to students coaches them not to seek enlightenment without cultivation because the cultivation itself points directly to original enlightenment. Because it is already enlightenment of cultivation , there is no end to enlightenment. Because it is cultivation of enlightenment, there is no beginning to cultivation nor any end either, you just 'do it everyday'.

Sakyamuni Tathagata and Mahakasyapa taught that.. Cultivation similarly informed both Bodhidharma and Hui-neng's coaching and mentoring of their students.. This is all that transmission implies in Buddhism or any other physical/ spiritual cultivation based path such as Yoga.

Disciplined cultivation is inseparable from enlightenment it is the essence of what 'is'.

Butterflies never settle long in one place hence those who chop and change cultivations and are forever chasing after rainbows will never attain.

Those who hit the mat each and every day; come what may; they get there.

Eventually.

Edited July 29, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[Stosh]

Looking at some qugong suggestions last night , I found out I was supposed to do my sets 365 days a year In the dappled light of a pine forest at six AM facing north (to absorb less sun qi)

Well at six am there isnt much sun most of the year, and its not in the south but more or less east ,and at that time in the morning theres going to be them pine trees to deal with,,

So lets say I decide that Im going to pick and choose what advice I take becasue it suits me better, well then Im not actually taking the directions suggested , and so I'd just be waving my arms around.

Statistically if you compared ten folks not doing the qigong, and ten who were, and even one of those doing the qigong was benefitted ,, well the average benefit for all ten of his cohort is going to be better even though nine out of ten of them were just waving their arms around.

So just 'hitting a mat' doesnt clearly indicate that one will be any better off eventually, even if the regimen can work.

[Felcor]

You can come up with a million reasons why not to practice/study/train. You only need one good reason why you want to, then that should be enough.

 

The first choice in life: Just die or live. If you choose to live you might as well FUCKING LIVE!

[BaguaKicksAss]

1. unlimited levels of work that never really end,

 

2. unlimited levels of responsibility that never really end,

 

3. being on call 24/7 x 365 for whatever "the needs of the many or the needs of the one" may be,

 

(although I wouldn't really know )

 

Thus one can forget about most of the fancy mind-candy perks you may read about or come across which at best are only tools to assist with items 1-3

 

Om

 

Well if this is the case, you have just confirmed it, I'm most definitely enlightened!

 

or something...

 

lol

 

So putting some thought into this.. I was wondering, hmmm are we just training up for one day when we get all enlightened and such, or?

 

Then I thought about people I know who are much further along the path than myself (I have no idea if they are enlightened or not, I just know they are more enlightened than I am ) and the difference between them and myself specifically regarding the 3 things above is... I feel it's a chore, I cringe when I get yet another text message asking yet another question. Well OK not always, I do love helping and teaching, but other times not so much. These enlightened (or at least a good way there) folks on the other hand take immense joy in helping and teaching others, being on call 24X7 even, and the responsibility that comes with with the practice! Yes, yes of course we all do, but I mean they really do, every essence of their being sort of way.

 

Basically enlightened folks (I figure) are past all their crap, as well as past anything being about themselves whatsoever. So none of those things would be a burden.

[ChiForce]

What you don't understand is that in a genuine path, you don't have a choice. Your life circumstances (you are thrown in it more or less) dictate that you must seek and follow the path. Or else, you will die and to disappear into the abyss of the Samsara.

 

I know, in the new age spirit, people think that you can choose to follow the path like a 9 to 5 job or something. Hahahaha......

[BaguaKicksAss]

What you don't understand is that in a genuine path, you don't have a choice. Your life circumstances (you are thrown in it more or less) dictate that you must seek and follow the path. Or else, you will die and to disappear into the abyss of the Samsara.

 

I know, in the new age spirit, people think that you can choose to follow the path like a 9 to 5 job or something. Hahahaha......

 

Nah, read #3, it's a 24X7 job . (even prior to any enlightenment stuff)

[Stosh]

1 , everyone has expectations about you

2 ,there no one to share it with

3 , you dont exist either

[BaguaKicksAss]

Seems like everyone has been experiencing a bit of negative pressure lately. I've just pulled through one of life's episodes of flatulence...feeling pretty good with how things turned out though...less gassy up in here now.

 

Nailed it .

[BaguaKicksAss]

1. What is seen can't be unseen

2. But, but, I was having fun!

3. No more slacking

 

lol

[Stosh]

Fishing wouldnt be allowed I suppose

and likewise I suppose having to chop wood and carry water would suck too.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Stosh

[sasblamthanb]

that suck about enlightenment

 

Enlightenment is not something we can define / distinguish for others from ‘non-enlightenment’. It can only be experienced. Any act, especially ‘verbal’, about it, either by current or historical masters/teachers/guides, - even discussing possible practices, markers and patterns, giving testimonials, making associations, etc - regarding enlightenment is probably more harmful than helpful in the long term. No one can really say what practices are precursors / causes. Ie No one can really say whether choosing and doing various things ‘in’ various ‘bodies’ ‘triggers’ the experience or not …or what ‘practices’ end the experience. It cannot necessarily be accomplished through ‘energy work /therapy. It can’t necessarily be ‘neuroscience-d’, ‘movementscience-d’ , ‘substancescience-d’ into experience… or sought in the ‘empty’ or the ‘full’, or ‘in the world’ or ‘in the void’, in the 'light' or in the 'dark', or even in the unity/'neutralization' of those ‘poles’… etc etc etc… No one can really say how ‘possible’ enlightenment is. No one really knows if it is a natural, ‘normal’ state that is blocked in ‘regular’ humans or if it is an experiential state that emerges when it’s ‘reached’…

 

The clarity and ‘flow’ of enlightenment can only be experienced in a ‘now’. The ‘state’ cannot be grasped or established permanently. It ends… not like it begins… but the experience always ends.

 

… some ‘things’ what sucketh about enlightenment

[GrandmasterP]

Fishing wouldnt be allowed I suppose

and likewise I suppose having to chop wood and carry water would suck too.

 

Fishing definitely.

Angling adepts can even dispense with bait.

There's an old story about that.