Kids Being Enlightened Is Probably A Myth

[BHL_20]

Childhood is often glorified and people like to see kids as wise (in their own way). I've noticed that people pursuing enlightenment take this to the next level. It's a kind of "we used to be enlightened so all we're doing is returning to our natural state" reasoning. Looking at the behavior of kids however, it doesn't make sense.

- Young kids don't know that other people matter at all. Concern for others and empathy are developed gradually.

- They have almost no tolerance for pain or physical discomfort.

- Kids have a very low tolerance for boredom. And enlightened people, almost by definition do not get bored. A kid would not be able to just sit still and do nothing. They need attention and stimulation.

- At elementary school age kids tend to fantasize a lot about want to be and these fantasies tend to be very unrealistic and over-the-top. Some people treat this as something to try to emulate - "they have no fears or limiting beliefs. we must learn to think like them." But really these fantasies are just a means of compensating for feeling small, powerless and insignificant. They are a way for the child's ego to make itself feel special.

The only argument for kids being enlightened is the "life felt magical back then" memory. But instead of attributing that feeling to a higher state of consciousness why not just use Occam's Razor and attribute it to life having been a novel experience. If I were to go to an exotic country I never seen before, or date a person unlike anyone I encountered before, it would also feel magical to some extent. And I already have some notion of things like travel and dating. As a baby we had no previous notions about life so it's understandable that the newness was overwhelming.

[FindingPeace]

I have to agree to some extent - children are likely no more englightened than most animals. But, however, before they are old enough to learn language and become 'programmed' by society, they don't have much of an ego to speak of. So in a sense they are pseudo-enlightened because they have an undeveloped ego. But my understanding of enlightenment is that you first need to pass through having an ego before you can break it down and reach the 'no-self' state. That said, young children who have yet to develop an ego and yet to take on all the stories and BS that society feeds them, have a clear view of reality around them as it is, without any story to tell about it or ego/agenda to distort it.

[Frogfucius]

Kids don't have an ego until they hit, oh, 2 or 3, when the "Me! Me! Me! Mine!" phase kicks in. 

But yeah, society's grip on us as children really sucks the magic out of just being. We go from blissfully ignorant beings, to developing into jaded, bitter individuals over time. We are always wanting more material goods and 'success'.

Society really bones our psychological development. We're manufactured into the system, processed and packaged into having a life of mediocrity and/or unfulfillment.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Frogfucius

[Eelco1981]

@BHL_20 I think you could say that a fetus and a baby are enlightened. They see the world as one; non dual. But already whilst being a baby, grown ups are injecting the kid with duality: giving it a name, saying they are mom and that...labeling EVERYTHING around the kid. So from that moment on, the kid gets more and more separated from it's essential being. It sees itself as being separated from everything else. It thinks it is the ego. It has become an ego. This ego builts up and up, until you get enlightened.

[Sri McDonald Trump Maharaj]

Try to notice the increadible precence a baby has and how it facinates the people around them. It's caled shaktipat. It's not a fucking baby. It's a little Roshi you have with you. 

 

[Leo Gura]

The real difference is that kids don't yet have an elaborate ego structure, full of dogmas and thousands of concepts. So life is much simpler and freer.

No one is saying being a kid was the perfect state and that you should return to being a kid. Being a kid is a phase of development, and you're NEVER going back there. As an adult, life will be different, even if you dismantle the ego and achieve full enlightenment.

But there are some lessons you can glean from looking back at childhood.

[Emerald]

This was a mistake that I made after I had my experiences. I was trying to replicate them, and the only thing I'd ever experienced in life that was similar to those experiences was childhood. So, I tried to make myself act like a child would in as many ways as I could get away with. Needless to say, it didn't work and I just ended up seeming weird and doing foolish things. 

[Key Elements]

A myth? Although I do understand your point, there is something called indigo children. Ralph Smart from Infinite Waters covered that. Maybe the indigo child wasn't aware of his/her wisdom (enlightenment experience) until much later in life. They have to discover that and not pass it off as a dream. 

There's a difference between being enlightened and having enlightenment experiences. Being enlightened have different levels. Basically, it means that a person is aware of what is an ego, and is aware that he/she is already whole and is the peace (aka peace of mind) no matter what. It goes beyond this at different levels when one starts training himself / herself to 'be enlightened.'

Indigo children are more likely to be aware of their enlightenment experiences than train themselves to be enlightened. Enlightenment  (Riding the Ox Backwards type of experience, according to Shinzen Young) does help in understanding the ego.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Key Elements

[Leo Gura]

 

[Extreme Z7]

2 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

LOL Definitely subscribing to this guy.

 

[Key Elements]

6 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

 

Lol, interesting example of an indigo child. If he really is an indigo child, he needs to level up his behaviour and work toward being enlightened. Otherwise, he's a good actor.