as for enlightenment. /shrug/ there are a fair number of definitions that seem reasonable "I am everything/nothing", Jiva-mukti (end of new conditioning), the dissolving and reassembly of sense data, etc... Not sure which is "enlightenment". Am sure I am not enlightened.
-
-
Replying to @iwelsh @Failed_Buddhist and
however, other people use the words in other ways, and I am not saying they are wrong. This is just how I used them. I will say that this causes problem. My first main teacher told me I was enlightened. I said "uh, don't think so". He meant what I mean by awakened.
2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @iwelsh @OortCloudAtlas and
Let's not forget that "enlightenment" is a late western translation of "bodhi", which is also exactly where the term "awakening" comes from. So the distinction is, at best, a little murky. There isn't even a consensus among Buddhists as to what the Buddha "woke up" from (or to).
3 replies 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @Failed_Buddhist @iwelsh and
Personally I don't like these terms. They only start Buddhist flame wars and confuse people. Seems to me that "enlightenment" is just a placeholder for some vague notion of an "ultimate" attainment. The meaning changes depending on a tradition's language, culture, or metaphysics.
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @Failed_Buddhist @iwelsh and
Trying to get enlightened is a fool's errand, because it's a completely arbitrary goal. If you want insight into impermanence, do the specific practices that bring about that insight. If you want to glimpse emptiness or no-self, do the respective practices for these insights.
2 replies 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @Failed_Buddhist @iwelsh and
Obviously it's a bit more complicated than that, but it's much more useful than lumping together 2,500 years of spiritual development across a variety of cultures.
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @Failed_Buddhist @iwelsh and
Much as I agree with many of your points, I think you are falling victim to some of the same language games here: the usefulness of wanting to get enlightened is entirely dependent on what is meant by it, and the awareness one has of the ramifications *in context* - which varies.
2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @Triquetrea @Failed_Buddhist and
It's true & worth entertaining that most of the traditions find "seeking" or wanting to get enlightened problematic, but there are pretty clear reasons why - and not of the "starts Buddhist flame wars" variety, since that's more of an opt-in sort of problem, at least on this end.
2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @Triquetrea @iwelsh and
By flame wars I didn't literally mean internet wars (clear evidence that I'm not immune to misusing terminology). I meant just people from varying traditions arguing over what enlightenment is, who's more enlightened than who, etc, as if they're all talking about the same thing.
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @Failed_Buddhist @iwelsh and
Well, indeed, no need to label that as flame wars. Actual wars have been fought over that.
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.