Lists Of Great Enlightened Teachers

[Pierre]

Mâ Anandamayi

Douglas Harding

Arnaud Desjardins

D.T. Suzuki

Karlfried Dürkheim

Swâmi Prâjnânpad

Taisen Deshimaru

[Markus]

Shinzen Young is great. Why? I'd say for the following reasons:
1) He has created a clear and comprehensive system for mindfulness meditation, he has a free e-book called "Five Ways to Know Yourself" which is available on his own website.
2) He is non-dogmatic in his teachings, fully acknowledging his way is just one way to go about the path. While he learned meditation within the context of Buddhism, he has knowledge about the meditative traditions of other cultures and religions, and the parallels they all have.
3) He has meditated for over 40 years and has over 30 years of teaching experience.

I definitely recommend checking out the channels "Shinzen Young" and "expandandcontract" on Youtube.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Markus
Adding some information

[Guivs]

Just an opinion, but what I don't like nowadays is that enlightenment appears to be a business of its own accord. This is a double-edge sword, as people can now have easier access to instructions and insights, but some "teachers" have been discovered to not be so enlightened after all. I am also not comfortable for teachers seeking for "a lot" of money for "special teachings".

Therefore, teachers I am comfortable with are only the ones that are/were not seeking anything from you.

In my "subjective" opinion, those that I found so far are :

-Ramana Maharshi

-Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Feel free to discuss

[Dhana Choko]

On 9.2.2016 at 2:38 AM, Lynnel said:

Why would you say that ?

She is overly spiritual in many topics and makes herself more human to be relatable, but it seems to me that she is enlightened.

Being spiritual or being interested in spiritual topics, does not mean that one has SEEN their ego and been able to live beyond that. Personally I do not think Teal Swan is enlightened (yet) but she is on her way. I doubt that Alan Watts was enlightened as well. 

Actually I believe there are "degrees" of being in the Truth. Maybe it is true that someone can be enlightened or not and it is kind of a black-or-white type of issue, but you can definitely measure the journey somewhat.

[jjer94]

Quote

Actually I believe there are "degrees" of being in the Truth. Maybe it is true that someone can be enlightened or not and it is kind of a black-or-white type of issue, but you can definitely measure the journey somewhat.

I agree...for the most part.

On the way to Truth-realization is discovering the "I Am" (also known as the "witness"), which is the first step to realizing you're not the ego. Jed McKenna aptly calls this stage "Human Adulthood." My guess is that Teal Swan and Alan Watts are here. This is not enlightenment, i.e. truth-realization. 

Truth-realization happens in a flash, and that is the thing that could be considered black-and-white. Truth can't be divided into shades of gray; it just is.

However, having an awakening to the "I Am" or seeing Truth does not magically fix all your ego problems. The ego is seen through, but its conditioning is still there. I would consider this stage post-realization or the deprogramming stage. There was some deprogramming in the previous stages, but this is where the brunt of it takes place. 

After deprogramming, the body and mind will be aligned with Truth. What it feels moved to do after that is up in the air.  Some continue to be a Human Adult and play the human game. Some become hermits. Others have their egos so destroyed to a point where they're unable to function in normal society. UG Krishnamurti was an example of this. You have to keep in mind that after aligning with Truth, the illusion of control is completely destroyed, so it's not like there's any choice as to what the body and mind feel moved to do. 

So here's my rough map of the stages:

Asleep - > Seeker - > Dark Night of Soul - > Human Adulthood -> Deprogramming - > Truth Realization -> Deprogramming -> Truth alignment

HOWEVER...On a more fundamental level, this map is bogus. It only helps give you an idea of where you may be headed. This map is a timeline when there is no time; there is only Now. And in the Now, you're either aligned with Truth, or you're not. 

So on a practical level, you can say there are these stages of delusion, but on a fundamental level, it's binary.

Edited February 12, 2016 by jjer94
Some of what I said was very misleading.

[dystopia]

@jjer94 never heard of this. What do you mean unable to function in society? So you're saying the average person can't reach full enlightenment if they want to live in society, huh. I've never thought about that. I always thought you could be able to switch to accommodate the people you were around or the situation because it's not like you forget what it's like to be human, right? xp I need to look those people up. 

[A way to Actualize]

17 hours ago, jjer94 said:

Asleep - > Seeker - > Dark Night of Soul - > Human Adulthood -> Deprogramming - > Truth Realization -> Deprogramming -> Return to H/A or Full Enlightenment

How mine has gone has some difference. 

Asleep - > Discovering you are not the body (13?-2-2015) - > Dark Night of Soul - > first enlightenment experience - > Dark Night of Soul- > back in the matrix - > *symptoms 5d consciousness - back in the matrix, but really aware while feeling fulfilled (without meditation) -> releasing judgements - > old patterns dissolve -> immense compassion increase - > multiple realizations and awakenings - > 12-2-2016 - > ?

*I followed a teaching of self-love that resulted in results very quickly (in two weeks of vacation). Eventually I was feeling very light, having a deep understanding that everything was one, feeling the empty state of love, loss of passion and being a state were you truly know nothing. I felt it was not really the right time and I consciously stept back. 

I do not think there is a completely accurate model that can be made. 

Edited February 12, 2016 by A way to Actualize

[jjer94]

Quote

I do not think there is a completely accurate model that can be made. 

I edited my map to reflect this point. Thanks for mentioning that.

@shouldnt My map was very misleading due to the phrase "full enlightenment". Forget about what I said before. You can still be fully aligned with Truth and play the human game. I edited my post so that you can get a clearer picture.

[dystopia]

On 2/8/2016 at 5:17 AM, A way to Actualize said:

Matt Kahn, Deepok Chopra

edit: I noticed the bad reputation given because I stated Teal Swan, after some research I do know that her ego is not completely dissolved. But I have to add a point that she helps people increasing their awareness. She does teach people how to feel emotionally better. People think because they read the perspective from Jessica and Camaron that she is completely manipulative etc. Even if that is all true, here are just things to notice about Teal:

• All those things happened a few years ago (if all actually objectively happened in that way), it may have changed
• Everyone who experienced such intense abuse from such a young age, is mostly dysfunctional and gets many dissorders. The fact that Teal can offer teachings and has helped many people with her art, is something that I respect. 

My cousin works with people who had gone trough intense abuse from a young age (just as Teal, mostly less brutal). These people are around age of 15 I think. They manipulate people as they never had trust in their life, and constantly test every relationship in a cruel way to test if they would give them still love. There is simply no hope for their lives. They all have dissorders that will stick to them for the rest of their life.

If you imangined a person that is now 19 year old,  who has stand trough 15 years of abuse. This abused kid would some years later help humanity to awaken to their feelings, and pull people out of their abuse/depression for hundreds of thousands of people. Would you agree to stop that person so she would be unable to teach? It is spiritually immature to write 6+ hours of content how that person acts on their behaviour as a result of the intense abuse. And to say how crappy she is because of that. 

If you read the text above, you will understand why most of humanity respects Teal. Even when her teachings 'would be all stolen from self-help books and Abraham Hicks', does 3-5 hours of work for the AskTeal series and still has some ego. That does not take away that she transformes people their lives.

Besides, Leo his ego is also not completely dissolved, yet he transformed my life and many others. I quit my game addiction as a result of Leo his videos. I installed many great habits. I started meditating because of him. He introduced me to enlightenment, where I got one experience of. I quitted pick-up. He reconnected me to my lifework, which I tried so hard to deny due to emtional pain connected to it.  I got so many insights and changed beliefs because of his videos. I have gone to depression to feeling fulfilled most of my day. Leo helped in it, Teal helped in it. 

 

Holy crap, what you said about how abused people act describes me so well. I have decided to stay single over the past year and half (so far) because every guy I would date I would start manipulating and testing them so see if they would leave or to see what they would do. I find it "fun" to test people that way. I don't trust anyone. I know I have these issues and that is why I knew it would be healthier to be single until I could develop myself past that behavior. 

I didn't realize it was common for abused people, though. Tbh that's kind of comforting because it means there is a common pattern that results from this and I can definitely find a way to break it. Thank you for that insight. I was emotionally and physically abused by my mother my entire life, only to run away with a guy, get married to him (at 18 we divorced when I was 23) and (lucky me) he turned out to be abusive too...I basically married the male version of my mother. 

I agree with you. I do believe that everyone, on any level, can something to teach us. I was way less developed than Leo when I found him and therefore he taught me a lot. It doesn't matter that he is not the highest conciousness possible because he still has a lot to offer to so many people, Teal Swan, as well.

As a matter of fact some "masters" tend to have overcome things so far that they almost forget what it feels like to still be struggling at the lower levels so in a way they relate to us less and therefore may not know how to reach us as effectively.

Whoever wrote the blog post about the Truth of No Self was probably some amateur but guess what he saved my life because I went from being suicidal and hopeless to the path of conciousness, giving me the courage to leave my husband and take my life back.

Edited February 12, 2016 by shouldnt

[Emerald]

On February 8, 2016 at 5:17 AM, A way to Actualize said:

Matt Kahn, Deepok Chopra

edit: I noticed the bad reputation given because I stated Teal Swan, after some research I do know that her ego is not completely dissolved. But I have to add a point that she helps people increasing their awareness. She does teach people how to feel emotionally better. People think because they read the perspective from Jessica and Camaron that she is completely manipulative etc. Even if that is all true, here are just things to notice about Teal:

• All those things happened a few years ago (if all actually objectively happened in that way), it may have changed
• Everyone who experienced such intense abuse from such a young age, is mostly dysfunctional and gets many dissorders. The fact that Teal can offer teachings and has helped many people with her art, is something that I respect. 

My cousin works with people who had gone trough intense abuse from a young age (just as Teal, mostly less brutal). These people are around age of 15 I think. They manipulate people as they never had trust in their life, and constantly test every relationship in a cruel way to test if they would give them still love. There is simply no hope for their lives. They all have dissorders that will stick to them for the rest of their life.

If you imangined a person that is now 19 year old,  who has stand trough 15 years of abuse. This abused kid would some years later help humanity to awaken to their feelings, and pull people out of their abuse/depression for hundreds of thousands of people. Would you agree to stop that person so she would be unable to teach? It is spiritually immature to write 6+ hours of content how that person acts on their behaviour as a result of the intense abuse. And to say how crappy she is because of that. 

If you read the text above, you will understand why most of humanity respects Teal. Even when her teachings 'would be all stolen from self-help books and Abraham Hicks', does 3-5 hours of work for the AskTeal series and still has some ego. That does not take away that she transformes people their lives.

Besides, Leo his ego is also not completely dissolved, yet he transformed my life and many others. I quit my game addiction as a result of Leo his videos. I installed many great habits. I started meditating because of him. He introduced me to enlightenment, where I got one experience of. I quitted pick-up. He reconnected me to my lifework, which I tried so hard to deny due to emtional pain connected to it.  I got so many insights and changed beliefs because of his videos. I have gone to depression to feeling fulfilled most of my day. Leo helped in it, Teal helped in it. 

 

I enjoy Teal Swan. I know that I would be in a much worse place than I am now, without having seen her videos. It's a possibility that she's manipulative. Some say that she's lied about her past. Some say she's a cult leader too. It could all be true, but it is irrelevant to me because her work is downright helpful. But if she ever offers me a glass of Koolaid... I might have to pass.

[Frankie]

I'm wondering why noone mentioned Gary Weber. Really great more scientific approach to the enlightment theme:

 

 

Together with Rich Doyle he is doing some great dialogues as well:

 

 

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't call Deepak Chopra enlightened. He'd be more convincing if he actually had tried learning physics. He's just BSing off the cuff with his "quantum healing."

I am not trying to be a hater,but I think skepticism is incredibly important. What gives you guys the impression that any of these people are enlightened? 

 

According to Leo, the enlightened person is incredibly rare. Most of the people listed here just( correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm not super familiar with everyone) are just people who help others work through their emotional issues. Appearing to have some peace of mind is a far cry from what enlightenment is purported to be. 

 

Edited February 14, 2016 by Saitama

[Dilmi_91]

Eckhart tolle, Krishnamurti, osho, 

[Gazic]

It's interesting to hear people's opinions on this, but ultimately isn't it a bit pointless to reel off a list of people whose presentation of the teachings resonates with you and say "they're enlightened, while this other person is not"?

I'm new to all this, but how do we even know that anyone is enlightened until we've at least had a glimpse of it ourselves? A more relevant question would perhaps be "whose teachings do you personally find helpful"?

Still, I've got a few new names to check out so thanks everyone

[Emerald]

On ‎2‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 8:41 AM, Pinocchio said:

Jed McKenna: http://www.wisefoolpress.com/
Bart Marshall: http://selfinquiry.org/
Art Ticknor: http://www.selfdiscoveryportal.com/
Greg Goode: http://heartofnow.com/
Peter Ralston: http://www.chenghsin.com/
Adyashanti: http://www.adyashanti.org/
Ramesh Balsekar: http://www.rameshbalsekar.com/
Clara Llum Ibanez: https://www.youtube.com/user/cl1008
Joel Morwood: http://www.centerforsacredsciences.org/
Francis Lucille: http://advaitachannel.francislucille.com/
Goran Backlund: http://www.uncoveringlife.com/
Nisargadatta (books)
Wei Wu Wei (books)
David Carse (book)

Thank you. I'll definitely check out this list.  

[Natasha]

35 minutes ago, Pinocchio said:

Not sure but think you might like Clara Llum Ibanez.

Her teaching is very basic, nothing a regular member of this forum already doesn't know.

[step1]

On ‎08‎/‎02‎/‎2016 at 11:02 AM, Makis said:

Lisa Cairns, Tony Parsons, Naho Owada. All three are "radical" on enlightenment / non-duality. Some people don't like them, because they say that there is nothing "you" can do, because there is no you. Tony Parsons also says that seeking enlightenment is not only futile, it actually is the main hindrance to enlightenment. Some people feel offended by statements like this. I like Tony Parsons.  But my favorite is Lisa Cairns. <3 

Lisa Cairns: 

 

 

Tony Parsons:

 

Naho Owada:

 

 

I also like Mooji and a quite unknown teacher called Amrit (from Denmark I think), who gives talks in German. There are many others I like but I usually don't watch their videos. 

I spent last night watching lisa cairns video channel on youtube.  Some of the stuff she talks about is mind boggling.  She seems to be at a very high level of consciousness.  Quite eerie the way she goes off into thought sporadically and doesn't talk for a few minutes..  I'm really intrigued by her.

[Pierre]

@step1

3 minutes ago, step1 said:

I spent last night watching lisa cairns video channel on youtube.  Some of the stuff she talks about is mind boggling.  She seems to be at a very high level of consciousness.  Quite eerie the way she goes off into thought sporadically and doesn't talk for a few minutes..  I'm really intrigued by her.

Absolutely the same for me.

[Natasha]

@step1 Agreed. Those three are the real deal for sure.

[Klaudia]

I'm just reading Deepak Chopra's The Book of Secrets. I am sceptic about if he is enlightened or not, however he describes the real self in a very similar way like Leo describes it.

The biggest difference is that Chopra believes that our reality can be controlled by our real self - the pure awareness. 

Has anyone read this book?