Enlightenment and addictions.

[Psyche_92]

Hi,

Can someone explain to me how enlightenment and addictions go together?
I was wondering this, as of today i came across a picture of Nisargadatta smoking. I didn't know he was a smoker, and it kind of got me wondering. I did some research and i found out that he told some people he wasn't aware of his smoking habit.

[Rilles]

So did Alan Watts and Chogyam Trungpa had an alcohol problem which he most likely died from. Its pretty interesting to see how these gurus are just humans after all. 

[Jack River]

@Rilles Allan watts wasn’t a guru my dude

[Jack River]

19 minutes ago, Psyche_92 said:

Hi,

Can someone explain to me how enlightenment and addictions go together?
I was wondering this, as of today i came across a picture of Nisargadatta smoking. I didn't know he was a smoker, and it kind of got me wondering. I did some research and i found out that he told some people he wasn't aware of his smoking habit.

Psychological striving is all the same. An “enlightenment” fix is the same as any other fix. 

[Strikr]

real enlightment involve nothing

[Jack River]

Will someone tie me off so I can get my fix of a lil enlightenment 

[Rilles]

Youre right, Watts was more of a scholar but he should have known better ??

[TheAvatarState]

The ego can abuse spiritual practices and "enlightenment experiences" for its own good, and turn it into an addiction. 

I think you have to make a fine distinction between discipline and addiction. You control disciplined habits, addictions control you. Let's say a century ago, you believed smoking a cigarette a day was good for your health. You smoked a cigarette every evening at the same time, and nothing more. That's not an addiction. The moment you can't control the habit and it infects your daily thought patterns, that's when it becomes an addiction. It's not the content, it's the frequency of unconscious thought patterns. Addiction to "positive" things can be just as negative. 

Just because you're enlightened doesn't mean you're immune to addiction. It takes nuance and constant mindfulness to course correct. Addiction is the status quo of the ego mind.