so, /his/torians, where are you at on the path to enlightenment?
I recently had a bit of an epiphany about how i have been living my life, leading do a path of destruction.
i had read about the teachings of Buddha in the past, and after more current research, am embarking on a journey to end suffering, and live a better life.
What's your story? and currently practicing Buddhists on here?
achieved it a while ago
now its reinforced every now and then at varying levels of intensity, other enlightened beings will understand
>>56723
Actually I don't understand since Enlightenment is a 0-point where there is no improvement or degrading whatsoever, just 1 standard of mindset in which everything is at peace so if there's any varying levels of intensity you're not doing it right.
>>56816
you're not doing it right
i cant just be enlightened and sit around doing nothing, change is dynamic
>>56816
i've been reading What the Buddha Taught by Dr. Walpola Rahula. In it he says Nirvana (enlightenment) is not the result of anything. Nirvana is. Truth is. It is not the effect of a cause. You may get to the mountain from a path, but the mountain is not the result, or an effect of the path.
Really clarified things for me in a sense, hopefully it helps you
also no IDs on this board yet?
>>56663
You white hipster fuck.
What's your goddamn tradition you ass?
>>57771
Mahayana or Therevada or none really
The Buddha said that one must not take his teaching as doctorine, but as a path or guidance for one to take at his own will.
you
>>57814
Good, but you also need a fundamental understanding of the religion first. Going with 1 single school to the end will give you lot more insight than pick/choose from all schools without specific school.
I'd recommend learn 1 tradition first and then branch out if needed.
>>56663
Getting interesed in buddhism at the moment, reading up on it, anyone have books/resources they wanna share?
>>58205
Thank you for the guidance. I'm thinking Zen. Ive been studying and i've accepted the 4 Noble Truths. I've been trying to use the eightfold path as a guidance tool living my life. I meditate daily, and focus on mindfulness as well.
Im intrigued by Zen, because it seems like the most back to basics, stripped down, un ritualistic traditions. I feel getting caught up in rituals takes away from what the true purpose is
>>56663
Yep, should have done a /rel/ board first.
>>58294
I'm telling ya, What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula
9 bucks on amazon, and it's the best read i've had so far. Short, simple chapters that convey what the Buddha actually said and meant
>>58317
You'll need to re-understand the meaning of ritual. Zen proper is ritualistic. What you might have heard/seen is the westernized romanticized view of Zen. Clear your mind of preconceived notion of Buddhist schools and you'll get a lot more understanding that way. Trust me, all you're doing is limiting your mind.
>>56663
Goes like this
Sri Lankan and Thailander etc westernize Buddhism in response to Protestant missionaries
Later gets picked up by West
Buddhists missionaries later make it more palatable to the west new age type by removing dogmatic elements
Finally it is watered down by rich white suburbanites who don't know jack("Reincarnation is a metaphor, Buddhism is not a religion/a peaceful religion).
Buddhism is a mind virus that tries to convert lazy people to anti-intellectualism. Its concept of "enlightenment" is nothing more than striving to weaken one's mind until only the most superficial kind of consciousness remains. I think it's probably even worse than suicide.
It's pretty easy to get into it because it mostly doesn't make any sense, you just have to "contemplate" supposed paradoxes, which are in fact simple puns.
Enlightenment, at least, is the buddhist sense, is free yourself of desire, but then again, the desire of enlightenment is a desire of itself, but one will not achieve enlightenment if one does not desire for it, so in the end, you do not escape from desire, you are just letting the desire of no desire controlling your state of mind.
It is quite paradoxical, like nothingness does not exist, because even if it does, then we lose everything, we still have nothingness because it belongs outside of that everything, which is contradictory.
>>58392
“Enlightenment is a destructive process. It
has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the
crumbling away of untruth. It's seeing
through the facade of pretence. It's the
complete eradication of everything we
imagined to be true.”
―Adyashanti
>>58376
i've needed an excuse to renew my library card, so it looks like i will be doing some research.
>>56663
Buddhism is a paradoxically imperfect belief because it is a human creation and humans are not perfect.
>>58425
Right Understanding, seeing the world for what it truly is, regardless of your emotions or opinions on it. Seeing Truth for yourself
>>58392
>the desire of enlightenment is a desire of itself
You brought up a good point. There had been many debated within the buddhist community about this. The debate was about whether enlightenment is a gradual process or whether its a sudden occurrence. The gradual proponents say that by building your mental fortitude/habits/karma (same meaning), your mind will become more and more sharper and it will be clearer and clearer with wisdom. The sudden enlightenment school emphases on awakening through removal of preconceived notions of reality with everyday habits. Needless to say, both went along with their route and intermingled with each other. They recognize the need/desire for enlightenment is a first step towards enlightenment. Buddhist notion of "sin" is called "wholesome" and "unwholesome" acts. Basically things that help toward the path of enlightenment are considered wholesome and those that deter from it are unwholesome acts. Desire for enlightenment is seen as a wholesome act because it acts as a gateway to enlightenment.
>>58467
You might be mistaken. There are no "hidden" reality behind what you see. Your emotions/opinions are the reality. However you can take note of that understanding and better yourself.
Nirvana = Samsara, they are not separate.
>>58651
but being mindful of how those emotions and opinions change and affect the way you perceive reality can help you to see the actual reality, the Truth. Am i right?
I've come the conclusion that we need a revolution to overtake the system that purposely divides us. We need to move past hate and money to achieve that brighter tomorrow we all want. Life is not a business.
>>58689
All insights leads to change in perception/understanding. Be it mindfulness or otherwise. :^)
>>58767
i have much to learn, and look forward to exploring this path even further
>>56923
I said you didn't get it; or if you're pitch-hitting then it doesn't matter since you don't get it. You can't quantify Enlightenment but you're doing it. There are no analogies to speak of but it's not even a path. Like I said, it's a 0-point of no measure. There's nothing to search for or path analogy once you get it - it's a done deal. A complete after effect of existence, and you don't understand, so don't pitch hit for anybody else. You're quantifying it and thus you end up with varying degrees of something that doesn't have it and thus you lose it before you even find it. Sorry about that.
>>58966
thank you, no need to apologize. I am learning about the religion, the philosophy. I can only learn so much from books and the internet, that's why i came here, seeing if there were any practicing Buddhists.
>>56663
before enlightenment, chop wood, collect water, after enlightenment, chop wood, collect water.
>>59129
i've come across that phrase a few times in my reading. once you reach something, keep doing what you were doing
>>59129
I've read that phrase several times. Pretty meaningful
>>59164
i am an idiot, disregard my double post
