SkyPanther

Life as what? A human? Where? For me: Knowledge Wisdom Truth The Pillars you brought up sound about right for people who live in the West, where the focus is usually pursuing material wealth, and pleasure.

I use this app as well, my account on there is skypanther@gmail.com.

*nod*... I was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Not Russia anymore, but used to be... heh... I did visit Odessa with my grandparents when I was 4; Spent time at the beach there. Do not remember too much other than that.

Interesting, I am also Russian, and speak it... hehe... moved to the US with my parents when I was 7, when Russia kicked out the Jews in the late 80's. There are a few Russians and Jews that are doing Enlightenment work. (Labeled "Jewbus" by some... which I find silly.) I wonder if that has to do with WW2. There is also the great example or "shame" of Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky for us to think about... depending on if you think she was a fake or not...

I like how Alan Watts and Albert Einstein put it, (though the Buddha did a great job as well, it's just less accessible in this day and age): All of existence is existence/the cosmos. Including you and I, and everything else. The illusion is that most think they are an "I". Here is the same mindset from Albert Einstein: Source: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2011/11/delusion.html

Sam Harris does actually say that enlightenment happens to people. Though he sees it as the event that happens to people that lose their sense of self. Though I do agree with the essence of what you are saying. The Buddha did say that people should not believe things just because; actually investigate things before putting faith in it. He also mentioned that his teachings should be used as a raft to get across the river of desire and then abandoned (once you reach the other shore) just as all other concepts are. A lot of people make a religion out of his teachings, but I think that is just a human thing to do, it gives some people meaning. Nothing wrong with that, so long as there is no harm to others.

It does not really matter how long it takes to be aware that you are thinking, but as soon as you do notice, you release the thought (do not push it away), and go back to your object of focus . If you stray 50 times and go back 50 times, it was a successful meditation. Do not get angry for losing focus (because the anger is ego), just notice it, release it, and go back to your focus. There is a good guide here as well: http://www.dhammasukha.org/uploads/1/2/8/6/12865490/mindfulness.pdf I have been doing this practice and it has helped me greatly,it can also be applied to any style.

Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJ6ESCWQotBwtJm0Ff_gyQ Bhante Vimalaramsi : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClyJoOstQCuCdIyQU080g2w Closer To Truth : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9StMQ79LtEvlrskzjoYbQ

Taurus. Siddhartha Gautama was also a Taurus hehe....

Yes, egoic attachment for stimuli and against boredom are (among others) the roots of desire. The Buddha called equanimity as the "ideal" mind state. That is the mind state that he was in most of the time. Ditto for people like Tolle. The 4th meditative absorption (called Jhana) is equanimity. You will know when you reach it, because you feel neither happy, nor sad. Your mind is like still water in a pond, or basin. Staying mindful is also very easy in this state, but you can also think, and when you do, your mind is very quick. Things are clearer. Acceptance is not so much the key, but the result. You can thin the ego though, with accepting things that previously upset you. The Buddha was against rituals for ritual sake(thinking that ritual alone will get you to enlightenment), the first step of enlightenment is understanding exactly this: (Not)Clinging to rites and rituals - Eradication of the view that one becomes pure simply through performing rituals (animal sacrifices, ablutions, chanting, etc.) or adhering to rigid moralism or relying on a god for non-causal delivery. Rites and rituals now function more to obscure, than to support the right view of the sotāpanna's now opened dharma eye. The sotāpanna realizes that deliverance can be won only through the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path. It is the elimination of the notion that there are miracles, or shortcuts. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sot%C4%81panna#Three_fetters

Sure, if you want to skip all the ritual, and religious overlay on the teachings, just get this: In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (Teachings of the Buddha) http://www.amazon.com/Buddhas-Words-Anthology-Discourses-Teachings/dp/0861714911 Conversely, the main teachings are just centered around mindfulness, meditation, and seeing how mind moves from one thing to another. My meditation teacher classes mindfulness as: "Mindfulness means “remembering” to observe mind’s attention as it moves moment-to-moment and remembering what to do with any arising phenomena.” Do that throughout the day and during sitting meditation (you don't have to be perfect with it when you are not actually meditating). When you get upset, happy, or whatever other emotion away from "calm", notice it, release it, and move back to calm. The emotion will stay there for a bit and then go away (so long as you are not engaging with it). If you have a habit of doing something negative, be mindful of it, recognize that you are doing it, and stop it. The habit will soon start to fade. All of this is to display that your personality "you"(the ego) are not "self". So anytime you have some egoic attachment, you see it for what it is, and slowly diminish it. That could be anything that you are attached to or crave. So, sex, drugs, looking at your Smartphone every other minute... heh... etc... The Buddha just taught that life is unsatisfactory (sometimes translated as suffering) because things are impermanent. (Entropy). Things and people break, and die. Happy(or sad) moments are fleeting. The reason for the unsatisfactoriness is craving (desire). Desire comes from wanting or not wanting things to be a certain way. So if you want to be happy, stop desiring(and clinging to) things. The way you do that is with the Eightfold Path: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/8foldpath.htm Hope this is helpful.

There seems to be two types of "enlightenment", and within them, further steps. The most well known is "ego death". This is what is discussed by people like Mooji, Alan Watts, The Buddha, Tolle, Jesus... etc... Then you have the egoic development path, which is discussed by Ken Wilber. Depending on the person one may appeal more than the other. Personally, I like the "ego death" path. It feels more intuitive to me. If you are pursuing ego death, there are a few paths after you get it. One is the Buddhist, which emphasizes emptiness and impermanence, and the other is the Advaita Vedanta path which emphasizes fullness and eternity. Neither are "wrong", they are different perspectives and will appeal to different people. If you choose the Buddhist path, there are 4 steps, starting with "Stream Winner" (Sotapanna) which is a person right after realizing that the self is an illusion. There are steps you take to further remove the "taints" of the ego. Until you get "Arhant". With each step (even Stream Winner) there are a lot of personality changes. Including to some people thinking you have not personality at all. @Henri will have more information on Advaita Vedanta, I am not as well versed in that path. And yes, it depends on the person because some people take change in personality better than others and can adapt to how you are changing as you progress.

I pretty much agree with this. Action is worth more than nice thoughts. Thinking nice thoughts is better than "nothing", but it is not much better... heh... giving money to charities, or joining the peace corps, or just working in a soup kitchen will actually be a lot more helpful than praying. But again, this is just my opinion, and others may disagree.

Yes, and no. It depends on the type of enlightenment, and the person you are with.

San Diego, CA

That is outside my area of experience. I grew up in a secular home, and do not believe in a God (or ever had to recite prayer, etc).

The Dalai Lama, the Buddha, Jesus, Tolle and other exemplars of enlightenment have all stated that finding the things in yourself that cause you distress or the labeling of other people as "difficult", are things coming from your ego. The thing that gets upset is the ego, it is the thing that is not accepting. So if you are working toward the goal of "ego death" practicing your patience, acceptance and seeing the non-personal nature of phenomena is the way to go. Of course a lot of people also opt out of society and become hermits. And you can be happy doing either. The Buddha recommended renunciation of the home/work life into asceticism because it is a much easier path. But there were/are "laypeople" that become enlightened, it is harder though. You have to worry about kids, work, making your house payments, etc. Also, once you get the realization, disenchantment with "things" also comes about, so you have to deal with that as well, which is easier when you are a Monk or Ascetic.

@Nic There is more info about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Bodies_Doctrine_(Vedanta) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosha These also come up when talking about astral projection, and the subtle bodies... In Buddhism there are five: http://www.dharma-friends.org.il/wp-content/uploads/The-Kayas-Bodies-of-a-Buddha.pdf I studied both, but my focus was the Buddhist version. So Henri may have more information than the wiki page in regards to that perspective.

It could be, yes. You could be priming them as well, and that is "good". I think, generally being there for people, letting them know you have them on your mind, and are wishing them well, etc, helps people more than most think.

There have been reports of bacteria/fungus growing faster/bigger when it was "prayed" for, or when "good" thoughts were sent its way. But the results are usually very small. There is a project that tracks this: http://global-mind.org/ So I would say the evidence shows that there is some change, but it's statistically small. I have heard monks saying that sending Metta to crying children will sometimes make them stop crying and get happy... etc... but it's nothing like miracle cures. And there is something called the "placebo effect", but that, again, just speaks for the power of the mind. Sometimes it is powerful enough to cure things that medical science cannot touch (yet).

Sex and Food, and other things, are all chemical stimuli, and can be seen as "drugs". When you get the realization, the cravings, and desire you had will diminish by a lot. And if you keep meditating, and resolving the ego, breaking habits, and "fetters" you could eventually get to a state where any stimuli becomes irrelevant, and you won't go out of your way to do it. This includes sex, food, or any other activity you used to take pleasure in. But, on the bright side, you will feel equanimity doing nothing, and eating only when you are hungry, etc.

Personally, I see prayer as talking to yourself (the universe, or literally "you), making affirmations, and creating a cue in your mind to act a certain way when the cue is spotted. For instance, you pray for help getting a job. You are then primed to spot job opportunities out in the world. You may take risks taking a job or talking to someone thinking this was "fate" or "god sent", when in reality you primed your mind and ignored any fear or reservations you would normally have because you think it's providence. That's just my opinion though.

Depending on who you ask, and at what stage they are at in their path, purpose could either be really meaningful, or meaningless. Ultimately there is no "purpose", it is all relative to you. To you, your purpose is meaningful, to others it might be completely meaningless or silly. Does it make you happy? Is it helpful to others? Is it "useful" to others and to yourself? If so, then that could be your purpose. But it could be one of many.

These are common for people that start getting deeper into trance (which is what meditation is). Sometimes they are weird, or cool, or interesting, but they are not the "goal" of meditation... a meditation teacher once called them "twinkies"; Interesting but not really meaningful. Ignore them and continue with the mindfulness, they will eventually fade.

This; also walking meditation helps a lot, you can get into the same mind state as sitting meditation when you do walking.