Enlightenment - is it the key to joy and peace?

Hi all. I am becoming slightly obsessed with Enlightenment. Has anyone else read anything about it? There are so many books out there about it but the ones that have reached me most are ‘As It Is’ by Tony Parsons and ‘The Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle. I am fascinated to think that there is a way of losing your thoughts and being at ease with your ‘being’. I don’t understand a lot of the concepts but apparently it can’t be understood on an intellectual level (which is always helpful!). :?

Has anyone here ever had any kind of Enlightenment experience? Does anyone know any more about it? I have dedicated my own website to it too which can be found below. I would be interested to hear anyone’s thoughts on the subject.

Lynsey

Welcome Lynsey ;)

I've been scratching around your site, and it has some interesting topics on it - albeit a little thin right now :)

On the subject of enlightenment, my approach thus far has been to practice being aware of my thoughts, emotions and environment at a higher level of consciousness. As much as possible, 24/7 if possible... but I'm still finding that difficult :)

I also believe in finding the enlightenment yourself. Its understandable for someone to guide you and help you, but I tend to be sceptical of books and gurus. Thats just me perhaps.

You'll find that there is a lot in common with lucid dreams and enlightenment by the way. For example, the most long term effective method for many (me included) is to also be aware of yourself and your surroundings at a higher mental awareness.
This is what allows the chance to notice the 'reality' or lack of it in the world around you.

Unfortunately I don't have any particular books to suggest :)

To choose one book, I would recommend The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche. I've read a fair amount of Buddhist teaching and had a little direct instruction from people trained in Tibetan and Southeast Asian lineages, and this book was the most helpful single source for me.

I'll second Placebo's advice to be attentive as possible to the inner and outer environment, and add that the best way I've found to do that is to meditate every day. Myself, I haven't been meditating regularly lately, but when I do set aside some time to "zero my scale," I find it much easier to maintain my attention throughout the day, and I'm more likely to become lucid at night.

I hope this helps.

Taosaur, I read a little into the philosophy of Taoism. Quite exquisite :)
http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm

*edit
"People are compassionate by nature...left to their own devices they will show this compassion without expecting a reward."

Collective consciousness at work. I knew this before I read it :)

Yes, I think enlightenment is the key to joy and peace. I wouldn't say I subscribe to any specific religions but I think if I had to choose it would be Zen Buddhism. But of course these words are just formalisations.

Here are a few of my beliefs, which have really brought peace into my life. I hope you read them:

Enlightenment is a state where doing and being become the same: Introspection. Looking inside your self. The reason it is so special is because the OBJECT and the SUBJECT are one.

Another important thing to focus on is that pretty much all human activity is an attempt to formalise and conceptualise the universe. This is an impossible thing to do. There is no objective truth, whatsoever. If I talk about complex ideas like "arrogance", I am really describing something that is very abstract. But the amazing thing to realise is that everything, absolutely everything, is an abstraction from reality. Reality itself is an abstract.

So the person who tries to achieve enlightenment, when meditating, tries to view the world without words, without ideas, without thoughts. He looks at a tree, or a car or a person and doesn't criticise/analyse/formalise/reduce it.

When I meditate I close my eyes and breathe. Thoughts may enter my mind but I brush them aside. Its about changing your brainwaves from beta (logical/analytical) to alpha. As far as I know, changing your brainwaves is healthy, unless done too often. An hour per day is fine. In fact, daydreaming is remarkably similar in nature to meditation. So you could say perhaps that meditation is just controlled daydreaming.

Buddhists favour holism to reductionism. This is hard to put into words, and I'm sorry if you don't know what I mean. You just have to find out for yourself.

Try not to be obsessed with enlightment, do not focus on enlightment, rather, keep your eye on the path to enlightment, which is, just as important, if not more important then enlightment itself.

An enlighted individual can escape the circle on reincarnation on this plane, I wish to achieve it, but I do not wish to escape here, too much burns the desire to help others, ease their suffering and teach them, deep inside I feel asif achieving enlightment and escaping this plane is a selfish action, thats why I choose, even when I reach enlightment to remain on this plane, even after death I want to return.

I feel like enlightment itself should never be your ultimate and highest goal, that should be, walking the path towards it, and walking it the best way possible, and helping every single being that is in need you come across, even if that means slowing down or even pausing your journey towards the end. At least, that is what I want to do.

I also think you cannot achieve enlightment by intense training and meditation and the like, in order to achieve it you must just let your soul flow naturally and try not hasten the process, it will come, look at it as walking a certain distance, if you rush and hasten and run as fast as you can you will arrive wrecked, but if you walk calmly, smell the roses, stop sometimes to rest, your soul wil arrive in perfect state, if not better then before. And you will have assisted others to walk the road in peace aswell.(Im not saying you should not meditate)

I know enlightment will come for me someday,perhaps this life, perhaps not, it doesnt matter, I have the roses along the road, and the satisfaction of knowing that I helped others smell some of them aswell. ^_^

Thanks for all your replies. Placebo, I have really been concentrating on being aware of my thoughts and everything else. It can be quite frustrating at times! I get annoyed that I drift off so much but I suppose it’s good that I can at least recognise when I have drifted off. I also notice how often I hunch my shoulders up!! This is bad! I am so self-conscious!

I am also beginning to see that it may be best to find enlightenment own my own rather than through books or teachers, but I have had to read a lot to start with otherwise I wouldn’t have even heard of enlightenment or known what I was looking for! In saying that, I’m still not quite sure what I’m looking for but never mind! I think I will find my own methods for quietening my mind etc. I am still curious to meet some kind of guru though.

Hi Neil, I agree with what you say about how we have conceptualised everything. It is funny how we ‘all’ just accept all of these concepts as the truth, or how there are wars between religions when all are just concepts and nothing can be proven. We seem to have been conditioned to believe that life is what we can describe in words, and maybe this is why some of us have become a little lost along the way as life cannot be confined by language.

I will stick at being aware anyway and hopefully I will gradually see a change and feel happier!

Lynsey :D

Quote:

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Originally posted by Neil

So the person who tries to achieve enlightenment, when meditating, tries to view the world without words, without ideas, without thoughts. He looks at a tree, or a car or a person and doesn't criticise/analyse/formalise/reduce it.

When I meditate I close my eyes and breathe. Thoughts may enter my mind but I brush them aside. Its about changing your brainwaves from beta (logical/analytical) to alpha. As far as I know, changing your brainwaves is healthy, unless done too often. An hour per day is fine. In fact, daydreaming is remarkably similar in nature to meditation. So you could say perhaps that meditation is just controlled daydreaming.

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Neil I really love your description. This is just like me. I'm VERY non-judgmental. Someone could tell me something most people would find absolutely horrid, and I'd simply ask for more information. I've been made to realize that not all is what it seems, NO matter what it is...

In regards to daydreaming, I did this a LOT in school. I mean, a LOT! There were times when I would be reading a book and the teacher would get everyone to line up to go outside and I wouldn't even notice! And other times the teacher would be talking about something and I'd be off in my own little world. Happened ALL the time, every day, many many times a day :)

I was always made to think there was something wrong with me, that I would never make it in life if I wasn't able to concentrate perfectly with my logical mind. Man I'm happy I turned out the way I did :) I love my right-brain ;)

Quote:

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Originally posted by Lucius
Try not to be obsessed with enlightment, do not focus on enlightment, rather, keep your eye on the path to enlightment, which is, just as important, if not more important then enlightment itself.

An enlighted individual can escape the circle on reincarnation on this plane, I wish to achieve it, but I do not wish to escape here, too much burns the desire to help others, ease their suffering and teach them, deep inside I feel asif achieving enlightment and escaping this plane is a selfish action, thats why I choose, even when I reach enlightment to remain on this plane, even after death I want to return.

I feel like enlightment itself should never be your ultimate and highest goal, that should be, walking the path towards it, and walking it the best way possible, and helping every single being that is in need you come across, even if that means slowing down or even pausing your journey towards the end. At least, that is what I want to do.

I also think you cannot achieve enlightment by intense training and meditation and the like, in order to achieve it you must just let your soul flow naturally and try not hasten the process, it will come, look at it as walking a certain distance, if you rush and hasten and run as fast as you can you will arrive wrecked, but if you walk calmly, smell the roses, stop sometimes to rest, your soul wil arrive in perfect state, if not better then before. And you will have assisted others to walk the road in peace aswell.(Im not saying you should not meditate)

I know enlightment will come for me someday,perhaps this life, perhaps not, it doesnt matter, I have the roses along the road, and the satisfaction of knowing that I helped others smell some of them aswell. ^_^

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You are a true saint. I absolutely love your view on the world, and your desire to help people. I feel the same way because I have become many things which have made me question what most people take for granted. Initially, as a kid, I bought into all this 'stuff', and cursed it, which I later found out I was actually a part of! The irony which sets the mind free... :)

I also love to take life as it comes. I don't like rushing things - girlfriend, 'good' job, car, house, etc...I just let things happen naturally and I couldn't be happier...Thanks for sharing your thoughts.