Will Visualization work for Enlightenment?

[egoless]

@Shanmugam Did it negatively affect your attitude and responsibility towards your family and loved ones? I mean when you realize the unity with everything you tend to love everything equally? 

[Shanmugam]

@egoless No..

I used to have a lot of quarrels with my wife before.. Enlightenment actually removes the aversion towards a person and allows a person to see things the way they really are.. This is actually good for relationship because you can understand any human being more than ever, including the ones you have close relationship with. You also understand that they expect certain things from you. 

But there is one thing what my wife complains about which is not a serious issue. I no longer participate with her the same way I used to, when it comes to worries and fears.. Usually, when you are worried about something, it feels good if there is another person who is also worried just like you...

A simple example would be this: If you are late for school and worried of being punished, you may feel a little better when there is another person who is late and who is also worried just like you... It kind of soothes the worry.

In my family we always run short of money... During those times, my wife used to worry a lot and but I would not be acting the same way... My wife used to scold me saying 'do you have any worry at all about the situation? You seem to not to care'.. I would only tell her this: Is worrying going to change anything?'... The usual tone of complaining and worrying is not there anymore, which might be difficult to accept for some people who are close to you. But this is not really a problem because you can understand your partner more than ever.

But certain things seem to happen effortlessly... It is as if the existence is taking care of everything. You act when you are supposed to act, but you don't ruminate..

Another example would be when I resigned my previous job and moved to my hometown. I was not having a job for about two months. Everybody including my parents started worrying about me.. But I was acting as if nothing has happened.. One day I casually applied for some jobs and forgot about it. In the next week, I got a call and I joined another job which is better for me in every way... Everything that used take more of my energy and time takes much lesser time and energy now.

Edited December 24, 2017 by Shanmugam

[Shanmugam]

@egoless  It is true that you tend to love everyone the same way.. But you also know that the people who are close to you expect more from you.. 

[egoless]

@Shanmugam But the real question is - would you remain so calm and unshakable if you are homeless and hungry? Also the thing that you tend to love everyone equally is great and at the same time “scarry”. Because you love your family members and closed ones the most. You wouldn’t want to change that. 

[Leo Gura]

1 hour ago, Shanmugam said:

But this is not the same as what egoless is talking about.

It is certainly not this: if I visualize my change after Enlightenment and I visualize how powerful my meditation and profound understanding

Of course.

Although it can be helpful to visualize how you might be after enlightenment -- more selfless, more loving, more detached, more profoundly connected to reality -- or to visualize yourself meditating seriously and genuinely. That alone will not enlighten you, but it will make you more serious about your practices, which ultimately will.

That shouldn't be done as a replacement for self-inquiry/meditation, but as a supplement to it. In the same way that all great athletes visualize themselves winning and performing well, which is not a substitute for training.

Spirituality is really a lot like athletics. You train and you get results. No training, no results.

[Shanmugam]

@egoless  When  a person is hungry, it is certainly painful. Any kind of physical discomfort is painful.. If you step on thorns or touch the fire, it is the same for both realized and unrealized people. But the feeling of miserable or victimized is not there...

There is a Buddhist parable called 'The parable of two arrows'.. You can read it here: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.006.than.html

The feeling of unconditional love is not the same as an attachment towards a person. When I say I love everyone, it is a complete acceptance of the way people are and understand them why they behave the way they do. There is a sense of forgiveness.. But you also know that you are playing a role as a person for your family and friends..There is no need to change that role for any reason..

[egoless]

@Shanmugam But do you still love your closed ones the same? Or you become more cold. 

[Shanmugam]

@egoless  I still love them.. The word 'love' has different meaning to different people... For some, it is in the disguise of a need to be loved.. A need to be loved is not the same as love. It is not an attachment either. When you are attached to something because it is 'yours', it is not pure love. Needless to say, it is not a physical attraction. It is also not enjoying someone's company or admiration about a person. Love, when said in spiritual context, is something that is your real nature. It is unconditional and flows automatically just like the scent of a flower. The love between two partners is usually a combination of everything that I just said.

But don't intellectualize it too much or worry about what is going to happen after enlightenment. I remember you saying in another thread (not completely sure if it was you), that you want to make sure that enlightenment is something worth that you have to pursue for... But that is what every human being is already searching for, knowingly or unknowingly. A human being's life is a journey from being limited and bound to being boundless and liberated.

But I understand why people wonder things like 'what is it like to be enlightened'.. This is where logic ends. Because, you can use your logic and reasoning only on things you already know or understand. This is pretty similar to how a 8 year old boy would not understand about orgasm.

 

[Joseph Maynor]

What is Enlightenment?  Give me a paragraph on what the word means to you.