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Enlightenment In One Lifetime--Do-able?

DakiniDakini Veteran
edited March 2011 in Buddhism Today
Is it truly possible to reach Enlightenment in one lifetime? Has anyone here known or heard of anyone achieving that in the last generation or two? Or would we even notice if someone became enlightened? Do the tantric practices really work as a fast-track to Enlightenment, if one is sufficiently prepared and devoted?
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Comments

  • MindGateMindGate United States Veteran
    edited March 2011
    I am not inclined to believe that a lay person could become enlightened, to be honest. Work, money, family, and such are all too many distractions for one to become enlightened, I think. Sure, it is possible, but I believe it is very unlikely. For a monk - possibly.

    Though, in theory, Dakini, come to think of it, what do you mean by "one life-time." Apparently, if reincarnation is true (which I doubt) we have all lived for eons. Buddha lived eons, but he achieved enlightenment in one of his lives (his last). So, elaborate a bit more.
  • edited March 2011
    Vajrayogini – A direct route to enlightenment in one lifetime!

    http://derbyshireyogi.com/?p=134

    (Mr. Google strikes again.)
  • According to Avatamsaka sutra is Amitabha Pure Land. You may work on wisdom or insight through meditation but the destination has to be Pure Land. Pure Land is confirmed enlightenment in one lifetime. Other method is not suitable for all walks of life.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited March 2011
    Vajrayogini – A direct route to enlightenment in one lifetime!
    Thank you, S.Dorje, and Mr. Giggle.

    But do you realize, SD, that the tantric practice involving Vajrayogini involves raising the tummo, and visualizing or practicing union with a consort (as Vajrayogini herself)? Nice rendering of her. Anyway, it does answer some of my questions, thanks again.

  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited March 2011
    The question is completely moot, completely not-applicable.

    Know why? It's always "this lifetime"! If there are past lives, they stretch into the past beyond all counting, and you're always living the present life. Therefore your chances of reaching enlightenment in this life depend as always upon your skillful karma. Your choices. So choose to live rightly by people, see life for what it is, walk the Noble Eightfold Path and wake up.

    Similarly if you only believe in having one lifetime, then everyone who has become enlightened in the past including the Buddha have all done it in one lifetime. So either way, the answer is going to be the same. Look to your karma now, since there's no other time than the present.

    That's all there is to it.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited March 2011
    That's all there is to it.
    But...there's this fast-track that some people choose to take. What about that? If what you say is true, why would a fast-track have been "invented"? (Sorry, Cloud, I'm a little slow...)

  • CloudCloud Veteran
    Isn't there always fast and slow? It doesn't matter, whatever you're experiencing it's always the present moment, the present time, the present life. Are you living a past life now? Are you living a future life? No. It's this life, the present life, always. See? :)
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    See? :)
    No. You said my question was moot, because every lifetime is the current lifetime. but why wouldn't I want to opt for a fast track to get the Enlightenment search over with now, so I can have the option of skipping future rebirths?

  • edited March 2011
    Buddhism is about faith, understanding, realization followed by actualization. Relying upon self-power, realization without actualization is still in the cycle of samsaric realm. Pure Land is extraordinary based on both self & inherent buddha's vow power, and the actualization could either be achieved in Pure Land or in one lifetime before transmigration to Amitabha Pure Land :wow: that's amazing and awesome.
  • MindGateMindGate United States Veteran
    You haven't answered my question, Dakini. What do you mean by "one lifetime?" We have already lived more than one (according to the idea of literal rebirth).
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    I've gotta look up "Pure Land"--note to self.

    One lifetime? (I missed that question.) I mean the space between birth and death.
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited March 2011
    Let's try again.

    Rebirth model
    You've been around since beginningless time, being reborn over and over again, until you realize Nirvana. You've already lived countless lives, and so there's no "one lifetime" to speak of. So naturally enlightenment will only depend on your skillful thoughts, speech and actions in walking the Noble Eightfold Path, and could happen at any time when the conditions are right.

    One-life model
    The Buddha was enlightened, right? Others have awakened since his time and many during his time, right? So it would definitely be possible to become enlightened if you only had one lifetime.

    So that answers the question, doesn't it? What is left to ask or answer?

    If one form of Buddhism claims to be faster, it must mean in years, because you practice Buddhism in this life. It's always this life.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    arrghh! The question makes sense to me. I can't gain enlightenment in a past life, that's over, so I want to try for this lifetime.
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited March 2011
    Anyway, this life is all you know. You don't know past lives, you don't know future lives, and the Buddha's teachings were meant for the here-and-now that you can try and understand and practice them (how can you know you didn't try in a previous life, but didn't put in enough effort?). Walking the Noble Eightfold Path, experiencing directly the impermanent, ownerless nature of life and the suffering born of the mind's craving, some kind of meditation... everything is meant to awaken the mind in this life, and it all depends on you. On the effort you put in.

    If you prefer one tradition because it claims to be faster, then go for it! Just remember though, it still depends entirely on you, no one can do the work for you! Personally I wouldn't go with a tradition just because it claims to be faster, but because it strikes more of a personal chord with you. The better you can understand the teachings of that tradition, and put them into practice, the greater your chances.
  • If a "faster" tradition encourages one to practice with great courage and effort - the encouragement was successful! One lifetime or one hundred thousand lifetimes - how can it be quantified by other than unsatisfactory means? This lifetime? We are already dead! Wanting to "get enlightenment over with" and "having an option to skip rebirth" is a manifestation of suffering. It is not about wanting options or rapid enlightenment but it is about expending tremendous effort on such a profound path. In a way, wanting to return until all beings have attained enlightenment is attachment too. There is skillful and unskillful selfishness. These pointers are flowers to we bees - meant to attract and nourish.
  • For me it is IMPOSSIBLE in this current life. That is why I have taken the Pure Land route.
  • DaozenDaozen Veteran
    edited March 2011
    In this life, today, NOW!
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    If you prefer one tradition because it claims to be faster, then go for it!
    This isn't about my personal preferences, FYI. Some questions came up on other threads about tummo and tantric practice, so I'm just trying to understand it. According to the tradition, these practices lead to enlightenment in one lifetime, eliminating the need for further rebirth. But I've never heard of anyone gaining lasting enlightenment from these practices; all the practitioners I've read or heard about engage in the tantric rituals on a regular basis, so it seems like a very different thing from what the Buddha experienced as enlightenment. I'm coming to doubt that there is such a thing as a fast track to enlightenment.
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited March 2011
    Okay I think I see where your thinking is going now.

    Some traditions teach that if you enter the stream (stream-entry) within this life but go no further, you will still reach full enlightenment within 7 more lifetimes. And so on.

    The tradition you're talking about may teach that it's so fast, it's almost a guarantee you'll pass through all of the stages of enlightenment all the way to full enlightenment in this very life before you die.

    But... the thing is... if you believe you had past lives etc., you may have entered the stream several lifetimes ago. This might be the lifetime you're supposed to attain full enlightenment anyway. :)

    And of course if you only believe you have one life, then each tradition provides the possibility for full enlightenment within this one life, and any "quicker" would be a matter of years and not lives.

    This is the kind of confusion we get into when we start thinking about past and future lives! I prefer much to just live in the now, assume this is the best time to practice, perhaps my only chance in a long time (perhaps my only chance). There's no good reason to put it off!
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    The tradition you're talking about may teach that it's so fast, it's almost a guarantee you'll pass through all of the stages of enlightenment all the way to full enlightenment in this very life before you die.

    But... the thing is... if you believe you had past lives etc., you may have entered the stream several lifetimes ago. This might be the lifetime you're supposed to attain full enlightenment anyway. :)
    I'm not aware that TB discusses stages, the way Theravada does. And yeah, I thought about that, too; who knows if we're already on the cusp of enlightenment, and might not even need a fast track? (It always sounds so presumptuous, though, to say "we may already be almost there".)
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited March 2011
    I think it's better to find a tradition that you've studied and mostly agree with, and think it'll work for you, and try it out. Even if all you do is enter the stream, attain the first bhumi, whatever the tradition calls the first awakening... that would likely satisfy you enough that you're on the right track. After that the mind would work itself toward enlightenment without nearly the amount of willed effort you had to put in before.

    IMHO, full enlightenment is always possible, regardless of tradition. It's all on how honest you are with yourself, how much effort you put in to understanding and practicing the teachings.
  • I'm not aware that TB discusses stages, the way Theravada do.
    check out the ten bhumis. The first corresponds to stream entry.

  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    Is it truly possible to reach Enlightenment in one lifetime? Has anyone here known or heard of anyone achieving that in the last generation or two? Or would we even notice if someone became enlightened? Do the tantric practices really work as a fast-track to Enlightenment, if one is sufficiently prepared and devoted?
    If the buddha , who was a man, managed to reach enlightenment in his life time, then we all can. All we need is determination and time.
    About our days though, I haven't heard of any man to reach enlightenment. Or at least I haven't seen a man to behave, speak and think like a fully enlightened man.
  • DaozenDaozen Veteran
    What does it matter? Not one bit.

    You can't practice in the future, or the past. You can only practice NOW. So do that.
  • edited March 2011
    There is a sutra mentioned by Buddha Sakyamuni that in the dharma ending era where sentient beings' lack of wisdom to aware Suchness. There is none amongst a Billion and billion of people could possibly achieve complete fruition of Bodhi besides Pure Land. 《大集經》云: 末法億億人修行,罕一得道;唯依念佛,得度生死。 The advice is to learn insight contained in all school but destination towards Pure Land, the higher wisdom you achieve, the higher abode of Pure Land you will be here & there. The highest is Buddha equal enlightenment of Pure Land :thumbsup:

    May the merits be dedicated to all beings to realize Bodhi together
  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    Ummmmm .... if anyone here KNOWS what "enlightenment" is, perhaps they would be willing to share their understanding. On the other hand, if they shared it, could it be enlightenment?
  • DaozenDaozen Veteran
    Genkaku - yes, you don't "know" enlightenment, you simply "are" enlightened.

    Or so i've been told by those more enlightened than myself :)

  • Similarly if you only believe in having one lifetime, then everyone who has become enlightened in the past including the Buddha have all done it in one lifetime. So either way, the answer is going to be the same. Look to your karma now, since there's no other time than the present.

    That's all there is to it.
    Why not bring your reasoning one step further, Cloud. Since there is no other time than the present, enlightenment is instantaneous. Not since yesterday or this morning but as sudden as being hit by a coconut falling on your head. What do you think?
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited March 2011
    No. It can be quick or slow, but that depends upon where you're at now and the amount of effort and honesty you put into it. It's like understanding Einstein. Do you understand Einstein without first learning basic math, then advanced math, algebra, and so on? I don't understand Einstein, and I couldn't unless I did a lot of work. It's the same for enlightenment. Some people are closer than others merely because they pay attention to life more than think/cling to opinions on gods and heavens and hells and the like.

    Just start where you are, drop everything you think you know, and take a close look at what Buddhism teaches. Impermanence, Not-Self, Dukkha, the Four Noble Truths. Come to a basic understanding of how the mind works, of conditionality, of how karma (your choices) lead the mind to doing the same bad actions over and over or leads the mind toward detachment, dispassion, non-craving. Follow the Noble Eightfold Path and keep the precepts 24/7/365.

    Awakening, at least at first, seems instantaneous... but it builds up from the mind heading that way anyway, over time. First you see it, then you continue on and transform the mind to "be" it, which is rather to be nothing special. It takes a while to go from that first awakening to full enlightenment. In Theravada there are 4 stages, in Mahayana there are 10, in Zen there are many satoris. Trust me on this. :)

    It still depends on you and your effort. One example is that Ajahn Chah used to tell his monks that if they do it right, they should obtain the first fruit (first awakening, stream-entry) in 5 years as a monk. Don't take that literally though! As a lay Buddhist your life may be mostly in line with the Noble Eightfold Path before you even come to Buddhism, you may awaken suddenly without even knowing you were close. (It's helpful to note that after stream-entry or the first bhumi, the mind proceeds to the other stages more quickly, knowing which direction to go. It's the mind transforming as it re-evaluates itself and its reality, as a child becoming an adult it's an adult fully seeing and actualizing what it "really is".)
  • FoibleFullFoibleFull Canada Veteran
    I think it is most important to focus on the process of practicing Buddhism, rather than a some-day result. I think it is, in fact, rather "anti-practice" to be focused on where you are hoping to get to.
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited March 2011
    @FoibleFull, I agree. We don't practice Buddhism to "become enlightened", or that's not how we should be thinking of it. We should be practicing Buddhism to "cease suffering", for ourselves and others (as that is the point of the practice). It amounts to the same thing, but the latter is the reality of the situation; it's nothing special, just the cessation of suffering. It's not something you "become", it doesn't make you worth any more than an unawakened person in the grand scheme of things, it just releases you from your suffering in every way.

    Another difference is that right away by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path and following the precepts, our lives can begin to get noticeably better. Just in acting in harmony with nature, our suffering will decrease. We don't have to wait for some stage of enlightenment to come around; it will if it will. Following the Path is the practice.
  • Well, the OP was about tantric practices, in part. That's what Tantric Buddhism is about; it offers the option of reaching Enlightenment in one lifetime, though they say it's potentially dangerous. That's just the nature of that particular tradition, that's how they think of it.
  • Is it truly possible to reach Enlightenment in one lifetime? Do the tantric practices really work as a fast-track to Enlightenment, if one is sufficiently prepared and devoted?
    I've heard this claim too. Of course I don't know for sure, but it stands to reason that any buddhist path practiced over, say, 20 years would bring great results. If it was a lifelong practice, the results could be incredible, regardless of tradition. I see no reason why enlightenment couldn't be reached with a lifelong practice. Maybe once a person enters tantric practice it is quick, because of the long years it took to actually do the practice in earnest.

  • Is this any of our first life times?
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    How would we know?
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    What you say makes a lot of sense, Pearl. It's true that those practices require so many years of preparatory practice, that by the time you get to the final stage, you're a different person, almost, and you've been studying and practicing for a good chunk of your lifetime.
  • Well, if this is my first lifetime, that implies there is a separate self which could have possibly sprung into life at the beginning of "my life," and also implies that there could be a beginning. If you follow the buddha, these are both ideas which the buddha rejected.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    Very interesting, OWF. Where does the "consciousness" come from that imbues the very first life with its awareness? Start a thread on that one.
  • Is there anything besides the five aggregates? If so, what is it? If not, then all there is are the five aggregates. Think about that. All forms are the same in that they are form. All mental formations are the same in their being a mental formation. So, there are not "forms." There is simply form. There are not "consciousness'" there is merely consciousness. All of these aggregates are constantly being recycled. This is impermanence. This process of impermanence, the recycling of the aggregates, is what is. So, your question is flawed in that you purport there is a "very first life," and that there is an "awareness" which is separate from the life.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited March 2011
    Wait, "my" question is flawed? it was your question, your posited first lifetime. So you're saying that if this is your first lifetime, you got somebody's recycled consciousness? Sure, why not?
  • edited March 2011
    The buddha taught not-self. So, "I" didn't get "somebody's" consciousness. There is simply consciousness.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited March 2011
    The buddha taught not-self. So, "I" didn't get "somebody's" consciousness. There is simply consciousness.
    And where did it come from? (It sounds like you're answering your own question.)
    I still think you should post your "first lifetime, separate self" question as a thread topic. i think people would enjoy it. We NEED interesting threat topics, OWF!
    Well, if this is my first lifetime, that implies there is a separate self which could have possibly sprung into life at the beginning of "my life," and also implies that there could be a beginning. If you follow the buddha, these are both ideas which the buddha rejected.
  • edited March 2011
    The buddha taught not-self. So, "I" didn't get "somebody's" consciousness. There is simply consciousness.
    And where did it come from? (It sounds like you're answering your own question.)

    I would say that consciousness is merely one aspect of the nature of existence. Therefore, it is inseparable from existence, and therefore it could not come from anything except non-existence, which by definition doesn't exist. That's the complicated answer. The simple answer is: who cares? Why speculate? There is consciousness. Any speculation of a beginning is dukkha. No?
  • I agree with Dakini's suggestion to start another thread about the supposed origin of consciousness. This thread is about reaching enlightenment in one lifetime, at it looks to me like the vagaries of the past few posts are taking this off topic.

    Yes, I know I'm a pretentious ass and "if I were a moderator I'd be very heavy-handed". But to say "The simple answer is: who cares? Why speculate? There is consciousness. Any further speculation is dukkha. No?" doesn't add anything to the discussion at hand, which is about reaching enlightenment in one lifetime.
  • My apologies. Back to the topic at hand :)
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited March 2011
    I agree with Dakini's suggestion to start another thread about the supposed origin of consciousness. This thread is about reaching enlightenment in one lifetime, at it looks to me like the vagaries of the past few posts are taking this off topic.

    Yes, I know I'm a pretentious ass and "if I were a moderator I'd be very heavy-handed". But to say "The simple answer is: who cares? Why speculate? There is consciousness. Any further speculation is dukkha. No?" doesn't add anything to the discussion at hand, which is about reaching enlightenment in one lifetime.
    Thank you, SD. I think it's potentially a good topic, but I don't understand why ask the question if the answer is "who cares"? Oh well.
    Back to Enlightenment in One Lifetime....
    I'd hoped some experienced Vajrayana practitioners who know something of these tantric "fast-track" practices would join in but, we don't have too many of those at the moment.(And they might be bound by secrecy requirements.) Vajraheart is still recovering from his traffic accident and can't join us. But I'm suspecting that the spiritual high that comes from some of these practices doesn't produce lasting Enlightenment. I'm tending towards thinking it only produces a temporary spiritual high.

  • jj5jj5 Medford Lakes, N.J. U.S.A. Veteran
    i guess the question should have been... "Is enlightenment possible in this lifetime?"
  • i guess the question should have been... "Is enlightenment possible in this lifetime?"
    If not this lifetime, what lifetime? If you doubt yourself in this lifetime, who's to say you won't doubt yourself in futue lifetimes?
  • edited March 2011
    If someone was to say, Yes, of course it is doable! Then some would question what does he or she meant by enlightenment, and by what authority is this person was making such a claim. So, we end up going back to other threads about what is enlightenment. I have contributed earlier that there is no such thing as a permanent state of enlightenment, nor Buddhahood, nor anything else to achieve ... these are just words. Look up from your computer with an open heart and recognise your face in the world, that is ten thousand times better than becoming a totally enlighted Mega-Buddha whose radiance can be felt for miles! I know people who had big experiences within hours of meditating, but few stay with it and let it sink into their bones. Why, becasue it is such a simple thing and it is with us all our lives - just pay attention - there is no higher truth possible. This very place is the lotus land, this very body the Buddha...everything else is fantasy.
  • 'there is no such thing as a permanent state of enlightenment, nor Buddhahood'
    Who was Buddha?
    Just another bloke down the street?
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