Enlightenment Strategies Here

[joegarland]

 

 

For all who've seen this video and went "OH SHIT" at the ending rant (starting at 48:06).

He said the truth I've known for a while but was too afraid to consider: if you're not making Enlightenment your #1 priority in life, chances are you won't get it. The smartest thing you can do is to make becoming enlightened your only focus in life.

I know I wasn't the only one who was shaken by this message and took it to heart. In this thread, I hope we can share and refine our potential strategies for getting enlightened.

Here's my strategy so far:

This message hit me at a particularly convenient time: I'm finishing college in 3 months and have no future prospects lined up. I have no real obligations, no history, nothing to lose. So in the next few months I'm going to be ditching everything in my current life and putting enlightenment on high gear.

I'm 21 years old, my parents are still paying for everything, but that will be over within 3 months. Right now I have about $2000 in savings.

I've thought about joining a monastery, but I prefer isolation and complete control over my schedule and techniques. So instead, I've decided on living in a cabin or shack or whatever in the middle of nowhere.

Now, I have two means by which I can finance this:

1. Working a high-paying job for a year or two, earning enough to live off of for the next five years before moving to the remote location.

2. Going ahead and moving to the remote location. Getting a high-paying job is less likely, but it will give me more immediate time to meditate. I can work part time 3 days a week, and meditate for the other 4. This will continue indefinitely until I save enough for living.

 

My day-to-day practice would consist of (numbers are arbitrary at this point):

meditation: 3 hours of big mind/vipassana and 10 hours of self-inquiry per day. A few breaks to stretch out.

reading: 1 hour per day to consider new concepts, techniques, etc.

Walking/exercising: about 1 hour per day.

Misc: eating, sleeping, bathing. 9 hours a day.

That's it.

 

 

Anyway, that's a start. I'll be doing more research and development on this. Meanwhile, I thought I'd ask here:

1) any tips on finding a remote place to live, for cheap?

2) any ideas for high-paying, low-experience jobs that I could work in for just a year?

 

feel free to share your stories and thoughts.

[Capethaz]

@joegarland Brother, this is a big life decision. You must think very carefully about this. Being alone all this time and just meditate is very hard. I think you should babystep it. Go to longer retreats, spend some weeks alone to just meditate, but don't go all in because I don't think that is a smart thing to do. You must prepare yourself to this.

[Dodo]

I thought it's a good idea he jumps into it. Any suffering will be helpful to the process.

[theinevitableandi]

just do what ever you want to do ! especially this i would say haha Just keep working on  your mindfulness / Awareness. Everything will come together just do it

[ZenMonkey]

I think it's best to listen to your intuition. To me strategy sounds like your mind that wants to control. But I don't know maybe it is what your intuition tells you.

You can sit in a cabin your whole life but might not become enlightend. In the end the external situation doesn't really matter. Nisargadatta Maharaj got enlightend within three years of practise and he lived in Bombay, one of the most chaotic and busy cities on earths and was also busy selling cigarettes.

Also take care to not put the whole thing off to some point in the future when you'll live in a cabine. Otherwise you'll miss the chances you have now.

Edited April 6, 2016 by ZenMonkey

[joegarland]

I'm not looking for feedback on this decision. I'd be interested in hearing other people's strategies, however.

[Sri McDonald Trump Maharaj]

Personaly I'm going to become a Zen monk in either 6 months or 1 1/2 year so I can sit down and do self inquiry for over 6 hours per day.

[Henri]

Buy a ticket to India, you can live there like an Indian meaning you spent 200 dollars a month.

All your conditioned stuff will naturally blown away by this total different society, that helps already a lot.

You can live in the jungle, the dessert, the city, the Himalaya`s, the beach, it`s all there.

You can study Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikkhism and a thousand different sects.

You`ll be reborn on another planet. 

[nbolt]

Yeah countries like India and Thailand will be incredibly cheap, that two grand will go a long way. I have a friend in Bangalore and was looking at places to stay, told him I found a nice airbnb for $20/night and he was all like, whoa waaay too expensive mate! hahah

Edited April 6, 2016 by Neill Bolton

[SkyPanther]

4 hours ago, Henri said:

Buy a ticket to India, you can live there like an Indian meaning you spent 200 dollars a month.

All your conditioned stuff will naturally blown away by this total different society, that helps already a lot.

You can live in the jungle, the dessert, the city, the Himalaya`s, the beach, it`s all there.

You can study Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikkhism and a thousand different sects.

You`ll be reborn on another planet. 

I second this.

You will need some guidance at the start, otherwise you might have the danger of creating a spiritual ego, akin to Russell Brand.

Once you get the root (or seed planted) of a particular path that makes the best sense to you, go wild. 

[Nic]

On 5 avril 2016 at 1:48 AM, joegarland said:

1) any tips on finding a remote place to live, for cheap?

2) any ideas for high-paying, low-experience jobs that I could work in for just a year?

 

1) Bangladesh

 

 

2) Alaskan crab fishing, or

 

I doubt that you'll make to a year on one of those boats mate, but you'll surely meet interesting people like former prisoners that want to make some serious cash. 

Enjoy the beauty of modern society, sounds like the perfect plan! I hope you'll find peace 

But In my experience, I only found peace in trying to accept what is, not in running away from everything.

Take care!

[Leo Gura]

I met a guy who was employed as a merchant sailor in the Northwest, Seattle area. Requires zero experience to start. Their union trains you. Pays very well for a manual labor job, good promotion opportunities, you get to travel the world, and you get 90 days off the ship several times per year.

A great gig for those who are solitary.

It's also nice in that is gives you an escape from the numerous distractions and enticements of modern American society.

Make the ship your monastery as you save up dough.

$50,000 - $70,000 per year salary is possible within just a few years of work. Most sailors blow it on booze and hookers in Thailand, but you can be smarter than that (I hope )

[joegarland]

@Leo Gura great idea! Looking into this. You wouldn't know any specifics on the company, would you?

[Dash Us Pain]

Where ever you go, there you are.

be skeptical.

question everything.

believe nothing.

[Leo Gura]

@joegarland Nope, that's all I know about it.