I heard it was chillin under some bodhi treee in eurasia somewhere. im not going to specify where in eurasia, but im sure its there.
I'm a big believer in the Zen concept of satori, or instantaneous enlightenment. I've been fairly active in trying to achieve personal growth in my own particular way for several years now. I've been studying history, and believe that through the actions of our ancestors we can achieve a better understanding of our current life's journey. During the five or six years that I've been seriously studying history, I've had several "Ah-ha!" moments regarding my ancestry, culture, and expectations for the future. I'm relatively unique amongst my hippy friends in that I place almost no stock in predictions of the future, but I believe that the past holds the key to our future. I guess what I'm saying is that enlightenment is not a gift you receive but rather a process you work towards.
Yeah i was goin towards the whole Zen concept and good point, it is something you work towards i realize.
Enlightenment can't be something you work toward because it is a state of being. Working toward enlightenment utilizes a state of thinking, utilizing the mind to achieve a state of the future denies the being of now. Work comes from the moment you forget being. What sucks is that we forget being, and have to enter into thinking in order to "be" something. Whatever it is that you "try to be" through conscious or subconscious thought can never be complete because there is intent that is not free of ego. The problem with ego is the future orientation that suggests that at some point in the future you will achieve a state that the ego denies you already possess. I don't claim enlightenment, my moments of just being are probably more sporadic now than in past months and years, but I have had moments of enlightenment, I think we all do, it's just to easy to be pulled back into the realm of ego.
That makes sense but now i have a question, why is it so difficult to leave your ego behind and obtain your being? If being is enlightenment in the first place then why would we forget about it soon after experiencing it sometime in our life? I'm sorry for questions just curious:juggle:
To answer the question directly, we're too identified with who we are in relation to the world around us. We fear judgment and crave acceptance, that is ego. First look at desire. 1) You have a desire and you deny yourself the satisfaction of having it fulfilled because of a judgment you or others may hold or 2) You transcend desire through being without thought of judgment. I look at it as a matter of readiness. When you are ready to accept the neutrality of the enlightened condition, the aspects of "good" and "bad" that relate to the ego will not apply. In the meantime, don't worry about a quest for enlightenment, just be true to yourself in the moment without judgement and let enlightenment dawn as it will. If it was easy, we would all just transcend our desires and become enlightened. Just my thoughts, nothing more. Thanks Moony, you reminded me of something that I've recently forgotten Peace
No problem man but really i thank you because your thoughts make sense to me and your helpin me understand and i think my biggest problem is fear of judgment. Everyone else's judgment causes a fear in me that increasingly prevents me from my desires...i just realized that totally sucks lol and the hard part is overcoming that fear. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me man
