(untitled)

Do you believe in the concept of enlightenment?

I'll start off with a question. In your own words; What is the definition of enlightenment?

>>26232 >>26231 some derivation of knowledge. i think that it is that feeling of "just knowing". having a firm grasp on reality is probably another point about enlightenment

yes, I usually feel enlightened by a few pounds after I drop a fat dookie

I dislike the term enlightenment, but yes. I find insight far more fitting; knowledge and or understanding of the self and the external reality. It certainly isnt an on/off switch as conveyed in many tales, we each possess different amounts of insight or enlightenment within our reflections upon our surroundings.

>>26231 >enlightenment I think people who claim to be enlightened are, on average, the soykaftiest soykafheads. But is it possible for someone to actually be "enlightened"? Probably.

>>26234 >having a firm grasp on reality I'm not sure if I see this as possible. We're more than capable of making models and theories to describe what we see in the universe, like science, and to comprehend a situation well enough to make "absolutely certain" predictions without doubt, but if you mean some higher, complete and universal enlightenment then I don't believe that a real life being is capable of it. Life copes with the world by abstracting it, not by complete and total understanding. In fact, a fundamental theme of Erisianism is realizing reality is a delusion we construct to comprehend things. I believe enlightenment would at least require the deconstruction of the intelligent experience so that we can start again without the false assumptions we make that are necessary for basic survival. A consciousness transplant. Unless, by a firm grasp on reality, you simply mean sanity and a reasonable amount of practical knowledge. That's obviously within our reach.

>>26314 "Some say he is a holy man. Others say he is a soykafhead."

Yes, but it's not a bunch of magic hippie woo nonsense. It is the state of perfect understanding of one's exact place in the universe, both spatially and temporally, as simply a piece of the universe, completely wrapping one's mind around it. I'm not sure it can be completely attained, only approached asymptotically.

enlightenment is when you grok the whole world

No. A person could reach somewhat "deep" understanding of the world and of life itself, such as the transient nature of everything and the constant flux of states, the interdependency of all things, the discrepancy between ideal and reality, and many more things. But when you see the old people and you can see in their faces the hardship they have gone through it's plain how even some abstract knowledge that should make us more resilient cannot shield us from the pain delivered by the vicissitudes of life. I see in old people somethint close to what you might call enlightenment, but it's not like a switch that is flipped at some point, certainly not by sitting in silent meditation.

>>28622 >But when you see the old people and you can see in their faces the hardship they have gone through it's plain how even some abstract knowledge that should make us more resilient cannot shield us from the pain delivered by the vicissitudes of life. And yet some old people remain stupid and petulent, while others adapt to hardship and still laugh and smile at every opportunity.

>>28623 I suspect that's more related to character than to some vaguely defined notion of "enlightenment"

Woah look at that monk, he's like all detached from the suffering of existence! Craaazy. Take a hit of this... he said, "The capacity to measure my experience amongst the infinite posibility of subjectivity has been rendered absurd." ...He gets it, maan.

I believe in enlightenment as "something you learn that makes you morally unable to go back on your steps", or sort of a science assisted evolution idk.

>>26403 I was implying something more along the lines of a strong presence of mind and the ability to reason effectively. I think a part of enlightenment is seeing a given situation calm and clearly

Yes, although there are differing definitions. The original yogic tradition focused on self-identification with the universe as a whole, while in the Buddhist tradition a monk is identifying themselves with nothingness/void. Yoga literally means "yoking", you are attaching your concept of self to a pantheistic concept of god, while nirvana means "blowing out" in the sense of blowing out the flame of the worldly self. Neuroscience research has pointed to all forms of meditation essentially strengthening the bits of the prefrontal cortex that govern attentional task switching, especially in regards to shutting down the Default Mode Network at the drop of the hat, a network known to be obsessed with the self. So I could easily see someone habituate their mind to form a lasting sense of non-self consciousness. Whether what's left behind in the mind is nothing or everything, dissolution of self remains the defining factor. Now, does this perpetual no-mind state somehow lead to an intuitively perfect and peaceful moral being? fuarrrk no. Most of the ethical garbage attached to ideals like this are just your standard ascetic Slave Morality sage class stuff. But I could easily see a permanently selfless consciousness being more empathetic to those around you, and extremely content.

Yes. Shingon Buddhism teaches that all beings can attain enlightenment within this very lifetime.