Statement trying to understand

shanyin

Can someone explain?

My teacher's friend asked Kalu Rinpoche if there was an end to spiritual developement and he said:

As far as I can see the unfolding is endless.

misecmisc1

my view: Kalu Rinpoche may be talking about the unfolding of reality and as it shall end only on attainment of Nirvana and may be Kalu Rinpoche has not attained Nirvana till that time of saying the above statement, so he said the above statement.

shanyin

Just noticed my statement was slightly off

He asked if he saw an end to spiritual developement and he said

as far as I can see from here the unfolding is endless

shanyin

thank you for your answer

I think he mentioned that it was just before he died, memory is a bit hazy from that retreat however

Arjquad

I think that it means you can never see the end because there is no end. No matter how far you get in your practice, there is always something you have yet to conquer.

Victorious

I was just about to come to the end of my spiritual development but then I took an arrow to the knee.

lol.

No but seriously. Even the Buddhas have not perfected everything.

/Victor

Zero

Can someone explain?
As far as I can see the unfolding is endless.

One can only 'see' as far as the mind can 'see' - the mind's vision (not imagination) is based on what you know in this life - 'as far as I can see' perhaps alludes to the knowns of this life - endless in line with your life (the place where spiritual development occurs) as once life ends who knows what happens.

It's a grounded statement of reality as perceived by the observer during this known lifetime - from this perspective use your hours wisely as each is filled potential for development.

patbb

...arahatship is the culmination of what I think of as vertical development. Horizontal development is learning how to live in the world with or without a completed circuit. This process is infinite.

http://kennethfolkdharma.com/2011/10/the-simile-of-the-hard-drive-vertical-and-horizontal-development/

genkaku

The minute anything ends, you're screwed.

Dakini

I suspect that once one has attained Awakening, it would take time to adjust to the new view of reality, and integrate it into the infinite aspects of one's life and personality.

RichardH

Can someone explain?

My teacher's friend asked Kalu Rinpoche if there was an end to spiritual developement and he said:

As far as I can see the unfolding is endless.

Kalu Rinpoche was a Mahayanist.. it needs a Mahayana lens..

According to what I have been taught ... Zazen ("just sitting") is realization of non-suffering. The absence of greed hatred and delusion..... Nirvana. There is also in due course greed hatred and delusion again.... Samsara. There is Nirvana.. there is Samsara... The way is to see that Nirvana and Samsara , like day and night, are two sides of one coin. To realize and live the true nature of that coin "as such'..... is an endless realization.

This happens not to be the Theravadin way... and it is one of those things that can raise sectarian hackles over the real "right" way . So it is a respect thing. If the teaching doesn't sound right.. leave it be. There are other ways and they are all fine.

maybe someone else can describe or express this better.... because I can only fumble it.