Who is actually Enlightened?

[Ora]

Could you guys tell me who is generally considered "Noble Ones" in the west? I'm not well versed with western teachers as i mostly follow the eastern theravada teachers, but i want to expand my view and not have any prejudices. At first i disregarded westerners as being able to actually attain Nibbana while living a life in society, but if there are teachers out there who can genuinely talk about their experience of either Nibanna states or what its like being a Noble One, and not from study or books but from experience, i would like to listen or read their accounts. I think there is a fine line of someone who makes claims of their experience of Nibbana in relation to what they've read or mistakenly thought they've experienced "emptiness" (like from taking a psychedelic and experiencing "emptiness") to someone who talks about it from direct experience and enters the state at will.

[Raze]

Eckhart Tolle

Adyashanti 

Shinzen Young

Gary Weber 

[VeganAwake]

6 hours ago, Ora said:

Could you guys tell me who is generally considered "Noble Ones" in the west? I'm not well versed with western teachers as i mostly follow the eastern theravada teachers, but i want to expand my view and not have any prejudices. At first i disregarded westerners as being able to actually attain Nibbana while living a life in society, but if there are teachers out there who can genuinely talk about their experience of either Nibanna states or what its like being a Noble One, and not from study or books but from experience, i would like to listen or read their accounts. I think there is a fine line of someone who makes claims of their experience of Nibbana in relation to what they've read or mistakenly thought they've experienced "emptiness" (like from taking a psychedelic and experiencing "emptiness") to someone who talks about it from direct experience and enters the state at will.

The apparent issue with this question is there are already dozens of preconceived notions/ideas/concepts/beliefs being held there about what nibbana is or isn't.

In other words 'you' showed up to the party gun fully loaded and glass overflowing.

Its just not a something attained for a someone.

It's not a state which is entered either. It's the end of state chasing for an individual.

It has nothing to do with becoming, gaining or attaining.

Rather its a loss of something that never actually happened. 

It's complete freedom for nobody due to the revelation that this socially conditioned individual identified as 'ME'......is completely unreal!!

The 'ME' so desperately wants to be there to reap all the benefits which it imagines enlightenment to be like.

But this is an impossibility because nibbana is the death of the illusory 'ME' which wants to attain or have nibbana for itself. 

❤ 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by VeganAwake

[r0ckyreed]

Nobody.
 

The only person who can awaken is You. The question already assumes duality to be true and other selves existing.

There is only the One Self.

[The0Self]

A quick few examples:

 

Living:

Adyashanti

Angelo Dilullo MD

John Butler

Eckhart Tolle

 

No longer living:

Jed McKenna (Peder Sweeney)

Rob Burbea

Edited May 4, 2022 by The0Self

[BipolarGrowth]

@Ora well, to start, how do you personally define Nibbana? There are plenty of different ways of viewing this term.