Psych2Awak3n

May you all be free from the constant analysis and deconstructing and find everlasting truth, which is only found away from thought.

The problem is not the arising of thoughts, it is the mistaking of thoughts as reality, which we do in many ways, some more subtle than others. I see my post was mistaken as a kind attack or childish ploy for recognition, that was not the intention of my post. Who is there to humble? Who is there that would be taught? Psychologically, there is no self. It's all thoughts of which certain words are picked and given meaning. A thought that says "I am learning" is completely void of any meaning because it's foundations are illusory. There is nothing to try, nothing to learn. The very idea that there is something to learn or to gain is what is preventing everyone from seeing what is.

Many of you are digging yourself further and further into delusion. It pains me to see. You see or hear words, create an idea in your mind structured around those words, and you take that as being reality. You think you know all about life, suffering or this idea of awakening. Let me ask you, why do you think this? Because you think your mind's framework of these things has been layered accurately through listening to different people, reading different books etc? You are trying to acquire insight into the truth, which is always changing, which is NOW, and you think you will get there by being stuck in ideas you gathered from the past, or ideas you have about the future? (Eg if I just learn enough, one day I will get it). Can you see the contradiction? It's really right in front of you, you're just running away from it by seeking this and that and running away from this and that... Always stuck in the same loops. Is there anything beyond this loop? Is it possible to step out of this loop? I hope you can find the answer, because nobody can answer it for you. The truth lies in experience, not words.

Tbh seems like you're just here to hate. Why tho?

Explain as best as you can what enlightenment means for you personally, and don't get inspirations from the other comments first. The point of this is to see how many different conceptual versions of enlightenment there are

You could say every inanimate object is already enlightened. As for the minds of animals, you cannot communicate with them, it would be unfair to assume that out of the unimaginably large amount of animals that have lived, not one has gotten enlightened before, although this could be the case.

Are you assuming no other animal is conscious?

What we're all looking for is an experience which cannot be explained, and which is driven further from us the more we theorise about it. Then why do we have a forum like this? Shouldn't it be purely for discussing *experiences* instead of ideas about what consciousness/awakening is or what it should be? I feel like most of the time this is just a bit of a circle jerk (I'm not innocent, I participate in this myself sometimes)

I agree with this, although I will tell you, whether this is a projection of myself onto you or not, you're giving off very strong ego vibes.

I think you don't get the point. You could literally justify genocide and torture with this. Do you think that's okay? Don't use spirituality for the goal of justifying yourself. I get your point, but it doesn't work.

Has it happened before that someone enlightened had to go to a mental hospital? Are there any of such cases anyone knows of?

Would someone truly enlightened be able to endure for example years of intense torture? Does someone like this already exist or has anyone like this ever existed?

I hear this phrase often with some gurus. What do they mean by this? It seems like they mean we are literally enlightened, but wouldn't it make more sense for them to say that our higher self does exists, but we are not actually enlightened AKA we don't realise it?

Your theorising does not negate their suffering. No matter how badly you try to justify yourself.

@sir meowski Gurus, teachings and forums are not the end, they're the means to an end. You can't realise this without having been through the teachings, but *in theory* the truth is indeed that you don't need any of it.