Is the goal for every Buddhist to some day become enlightened? It would seem to me that if I could not attain enlightenment, I would feel like I was wasting so much time with Buddhism. Are there those who commit themselves to Buddhism, but are unable to attain enlightenment? Why would this be?
The goal? I suffer, what must I do to end samsara? The endless cycle of conflict? The sorrow? There must be hope. I suffer, and I wish not to suffer. . . How can I find peace? Enlightenment? Just sit.
I know what the goal is. Im asking if everyone who is Buddhist does/ wants to achieve this goal someday, or if some become Buddhists simply for the meditation aspects.
Supposedly most people become enlightened at the time of death. But then it is too late. Enlightenment can't really be desired because it means death. Can the ego desire its own death? Inconceivable. The ego is desire, but it is hard for it to desire death, not when it actually faces its own demise. So, are you will to invest your whole life to become Enlightened? You're 20 now, are you willing to wait another 80 years for it to come? Forget about Enlightenment, just watch your thoughts all the time. Allow yourself to become more Aware. That's all you can do. Or as U. G. Krishnamurti would say, it only happens by chance, out of the blue. One cannot will Enlightenment, one can only make one self a more receptive vessel. Besides, if you became Enlightened, what would you do? What exactly do you think being Enlightened is? If you know that your ego will die, that everything you identify with will die, are you prepared?
Sure im ready . Im just wondering if all those, especially those where Buddhism is a major religion, go into Buddhism expecting to become enlightened, kind of like Christians expect to go to heaven? Or do most subscribe to the religion of Buddhism, rather than the philosophy?
I became Buddhist because I understood that within it was a peer group for the sort of yogic and meditative background that I had gained through 20 years of practice of Hindu teachings, but also an intellectual rigour that most Hindu gurus seemed to lack. As for enlightenment, some schools such as Dzogchen and Zen teach sudden enlightenment where one is expected to understand what nirvana means very quickly. Other schools of Buddhism throw out the concept of a final nirvana entirely. There is no one school of Buddhism or one Buddhist methodology. that said, Buddhism isn't also an anything goes religion. Most likely for most people it will serve as a set of pointers or sign posts on the path to show one where they are and where they can go.
I put this to you- is it selfish of a buddhist to seek enlightenment? does it seem like its quite alot of time being rather selfish? or is it a necessary step to take if u want to understand how to keep a harmony in nature?
thats where the load of traps are!!! you've hit the nail on the head... becuase if you were 'getting close' to emlightenment...and you maybe thought wahoo.. im going to be so great and all powerful....you'd not get enlightened.. if you thought..wow,every one will love me, again.. it woudnt happen... i suggest that if you thought... whe im enlightened ill be able to help so many suffering beings.. that that would bless you with the enligtenment.
i think that, in the end, is what i would expect from enlightenment. I dont mean to say that id want to be like jesus or buddha , but id want to be able to bring happiness to people, and maybe teach others about life.
The idea that enlightenment brings mystical powers, fame, wealth or any specific thing besides mere awakening to the present and the present awareness is a myth perpetuated by those who merely want people to aspire to a greater now. There is no enlightenment besides that of recognizing ones basic unconditioned natural mind which is already free of bondage and limitation, including the bondage and limitation of power, wealth, fame, knowledge, and so on... Enlightenment is understanding the simple truth of the innate divinity which is what we all are a part of, and which requires nothing on our parts to be so. The world is a temple and requires no other artifice to be so. So also we are already liberated from all small mindedness the very second that we let it go. The liberated, awakened, or enlightened, have all merely made the thorough study of what life experiencially is, have concluded what it is not, and have left all that it isn't as mere mental delusion. Then working with the remainder, they have simplified things to their essence, which is very very simple. Therefore, those looking high or low for the obvious cannot see it. Those seeking strange powers or controls have left it far behind. Those contriving complex systems of thought are mere thinkers. The liberated have merely generated a simple golden rule of understanding things the way they are, like how water runs downhill. And then they live like that.
It may be a big deal if it becomes necessary to watch the mind die, to physically go through the pangs of death. So while anyone can achieve it, very few decide to.
let´s say you "tried and tried" (tricky word to use, i know) to achieve enlightenment for all of this life. then when you´re reborn into another life, you´d probably be in a better position (somehow) to achieve enlightenment. and when faced with "enlightenment/physical death" or "suffering/life," i think that if you chose death, there wouldnt be the same sense of suffering associated with it as there is with "life" and rebirths. so when you´re truely enlightened, accepting death wouldnt be a hard decision. this is all kind of an after-the-fact thought. now to deal with THIS life... it does sound kind of selfish to desire enlightenment, but it all depends on the ENLIGHTENMENT aspect of it. the bodhisattva vow is taken by those who have achieved enlightenment, but vow to remain within the cycle of rebirths (therefore, continuing to suffer) until all sentient beings are released from samsara. i dont think there could really exist any sort of enlightenment that doesnt produce some sort of practical result that would help others.
Well, even though nirvana is a state of no desire, so l guess that you would have to give up the desire to arrive there, but in several old sutras (lotus, diamond, surangama) it says that the Buddha had to have his desire to acheive this enlightenment.
