Direction
lobster
Crusty Veteran
From another thread ...
what is mentioned less often is that folks can travel along this path in both directions.
There is an assumption that we are going in the right direction. That our spiritual path involves increased insight, more compassion. More reading. More cushion time, more retreats, more wise quotes etc.
The assumption is we are starting from a capable balance, discernment and emotional maturity. We assume we have the skills and attainments for progress.
Sometimes we need to go back. Sometimes even the residents of the far shore go back. This is very different from going backward which is another possibility ...
It is also true that different parts of our being can be in different locations and travelling in unified chaos (worst case scenario) rather than a disciplined passage.
http://www.londonbuddhistvihara.org/fund_topics/eightfold.htm
What does this journeying mean for you presently?
Comments
@lobster - thank you for the link
Presently= "Now" I would say constant "Observation" and trying to keep to the middle of the path and staying on track
Presently? Just stepping out on the path.
Many thanks guys
From my perspective, I did not start on the path until I realised and accepted that I did not have the balance, commitment and discipline required. In other words, I had never been a genuine seeker just a dabbler and spiritual dilettante. I was a toe dipper. Somebody running away from the self rather than anything else. Oh sure I had read and invested time and effort but had I ever asked what was required or possible for me? I had always assumed enlightenment was possible for everyone. However that seemed as distant as ever ...
Was I prepared to walk the walk, with the requirements the path itself sets? Well I could try ... so I did ... within two years I had reached the far shore ... only then could I journey back as mentioned in the original post ... but that is another story ... and now back to the song and dance ...
http://buddhaimonia.com/10-guideposts-on-your-journey-to-peace-and-enlightenment/
@lobster
I went from toe dipping, to paddling, to jumping in, then I bucked up the courage ( in other words I had reached rock bottom and had nothing to loose) climbed up to the highest board and dived in head first....For me it was all about 'letting go' of fear & hope...Enlightenment is not the goal...It's the journey(ing)
"Don't practice to become Enlightened-Let your practice be the natural expression of your Enlightenment!"
One step forward and two back is typical.
I could spend my whole life seeking enlightenment when the reality is there is no seeker and never was one.
With metta guys n girls
Progress is steady, but not always continuous and point A to point B. It's more like charting territory that is unexplored (by me) rather than taking a jet. Sometimes I think things are going great and I forge ahead, and then I meet an impassable obstacle that I have to find a way through or around, so then I have to back up and see how to deal with it. But overall progress is always one of forward motion, even if it means taking a step back to assess the bigger picture.
It is on the turf that we see a filly's worth, we say in Spanish.
I don't measure my progress (is there such a thing, anyway), I am not aware of being on a path, I don't care if I have the qualifications.
But I reason that if I am able to dwell in equanimity and inner balance when the world is crumbling down around me, or help bring a ray of sunshine in someone else's life, whatever little I am doing, whatever little I have learnt, my practice must be serving me right.
There might be an enlightenment for the dilettante, after all.
What does this journeying mean for you presently?
Entering each new moment with that question.
For me it is about having started out blind, slowly gaining sight and insight, falling to the ground and getting back up over and over again. It is about being buffeted by the gales of fortune and misfortune and continuing on - to persevere. It is about advancing on the wondrous trail and occasionally stubbing my toes and scraping my knees on the rocks and debris strewn along the path. It is about learning to live life happily and with gratitude even when it hurts. It is also about learning to truly care about myself and others, even so called strangers and so called enemies. Finally, it is about always seeking, always questioning and always learning.
Thanks @Lionduck.
Sounds like my plan too.
Remember to help up the straggling, those stumbling along as best they can and those trying to crawl off in other directions ... after all we often fall into those camps ourself (well I do) ... I think there is help and hope for even the crawlers ...
A good point Lobster. There is hope even for the stone throwers and nay-sayers and the nar-do-wells.
No matter our specific discipline, Buddhism is not about just "me". It is, rather about the "Thee and me". It is the duality of practice for oneself and practice for others, remembering the concept of "two but not two".
Many years ago, a friend commented that the most selfish act is being truly selfless.
(Tylenol anyone?)
Thank you for initiating this discussion.
Watch for falling rocks and enjoy the trip.
Progress is a very subtle thing. The Mahamudrans, zeniths and neo-vedanta dharmaists https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Vedanta all focus on sensational momentariness.
Not too tightly of course that would be off course ...
However we heretics [lobster hangs head in shame] go in directions less travelled ... We progress in reverse. We give up the moment. We meditate badly, eat chocolate, dance with strangers, sing to birds in the hope they will be eaten by worms. We seek creatures that do not exist. Feast on Flying Speghetti Monsters and demons no one is abusing.
We are the Neo-Sith Buddhists and we bring balance