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I would like to know:
do some people reach enlightenment sooner than others? that is, do they realize the truth in fewer lives than it takes others? OR have they always been, and we just aren't capable of grasping the concept of something without a beginning in the material world?
if you aren't a buddhist, or don't know much about buddhism, you are still welcome to share your thoughts.
Well thats sort of the point of following the monastic life; to attain enlightenment faster.
First of all I believe you only live once. Second enlightenment is just understanding, it can be whatever... It's just in your head too. If you make yourself believe you've reached enlightenment then you've reached it. Thats all there is to it. Its bologna. I personally believe it's a waste of time to try to reach enlightenment and you should just try to be happy.
I don't believe anything blindly, I base my beliefs on strong evidence, and this seems to be very reasonable to me...I don't think you only live once, you can't...nothing can come out of absolute nothingness. therefore you must have always existed, even if only in an unconscious state. and you will always exist. you may become unconscious, but something that is unconscious was inarguably conscious at one time, and must become conscious again at some point. it can't become absolute nothingness, nothing can. it's like I said in another thread: "If nothing existed, nothing would exist."
Xaqaria, my question is, have they always been? because if they have, not any one of them could achieve enlightenment any faster than the others, because that would mean there was a starting point.
thanks for replying guys.
Xaqaria is correct, monastic life is said to help attain enlightenment faster.
Some buddhist techniques are said to help attain enlightenment especially fast, such as tantric techniques such as Vajrayana.
well of course you exist if you actually consider that existing... you'll be dead and unconscious, with no body anymore... how is that existing? plusv if you think of it that way, trillions of other organisms have been created and existed with your same particles, and same energy. Thats the only thing that will exist that is "you" after you die... mere atoms and energy. But those are not you. the only way it could be YOU living again, i would think, is if every single atom in your brain somehow got together in the exact same way, in either another human. The odds of that happening are super slim.Quote:
Originally Posted by paperdoll
you only live once. your energy and particles exist forever, but who cares. after you die it will probably be like it was before you were born. which wasnt so bad as i recall.
"To want is to suffer"
Kind of a catch 22 to "want" to reach enlightenment, no?
I've heard it said that enlightenment could be attained easily by simply following one command successfully: "Don't think about monkeys for 5 minutes". If you could do that you're there.
Also, I've heard it stated that enlightenment simply means living in the moment, intimately.
My opinion is that we keep on "going around" until we get it right.
Thus: "old souls" and "new souls" and that sort of thing. When you finally accumulate enough good kharma and get rid of ALL your bad kharma then you "succeed" and make it to the other side consciously (ie: you get to keep what you've accumulated when you cross over and don't "start over" again).
That's just my 2¢.
I think you are applying your own beliefs, and therefore getting away from the question of buddhist beliefs. In Buddhism, there is no question about whether they "always were" since re-becoming in Buddhism is not exactly a direct continuation of a person in to a new body. Every person is a new person, and so there is no faster or slower when reaching enlightenment, there is only doing or not. Buddhists don't really believe in reincarnation in the sense that you seem to be referring to.
What is Enlightenment?
This is a concept that can vary from one to another, just as "what is truth" varies from one to another. This must first be defined within the individual. One must know definitavely what something is to be able to find it.
What do you see enlightenment as in relation to your question?
wow, this is completely random, but your name is non-dualistic :banana:and your in the religion and spirituality forum with only two posts? that can only make me wonder
as for paperdoll - the reason why some people reach enlightenment faster than others is simple and yet difficult for anyone on this board to understand - its not something you reach. its not a destination. its a state of being that is greater than anything on earth, so even greater than just 'being happy'. yet a state of being where you are always becoming more. but getting there in our perspective seems long and challenging, as if it always has to take hundreds of lifetimes
but it can happen instantly, if you wanted it to
It's only a catch 22 with the wrong logic. The logic of to want is to suffer is that you cannot make yourself the least bit happier by attaining anything you want. The only way to make yourself happier is to live in the moment, and in order to do that you have to give up worries and attachments that make you think about the past and future, because the past and future hold no meaning. It doesn't mean you can't work toward your goals, you just have to put value in the journey, not the destination.Quote:
Originally Posted by Phydeaux_3
Everyone is different and everyone lives their life (lives) differently. There is no universal pattern that people go through - some people develop faster than others, some move backwards. So yes, people can reach enlightenment after a different number of lives.
The Buddha is said to have reached enlightenment after about 550 lifetimes.
where'd you get that information?