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Enlightened, Are You?

ajani_mgoajani_mgo Veteran
edited October 2010 in Buddhism Today
Alright, this is a daring question. But I'd just like to know, is there anyone on this forum who has been FULLY ENLIGHTENED, either known as an arhat or a buddha?

Comments

  • FrizzerFrizzer
    edited September 2005
    From a zen perspective we are ALL fully enlightened, it's just that we don't realise it.
  • ajani_mgoajani_mgo Veteran
    edited September 2005
    Oh ya... I mean from a Thereveda pespective, or from the Zen, whether you have realized it yet.
  • FrizzerFrizzer
    edited September 2005
    I'm a long long way from realising anything! :grin:
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    edited September 2005
    :lol:

    Yea, I'm an arahant!

    I also have this beautiful bridge for sale.......

    No, really. It's in this quaint town called Brooklyn.

    :)
  • comicallyinsanecomicallyinsane Veteran
    edited September 2005
    I am as enlightened as I am.
  • thebatmanthebatman
    edited September 2005
    It's not so much that I am enlightened as it is that i have less non-enlightenment touching me than I did before.
  • KBuckKBuck
    edited October 2005
    I belive the best the average guy can hope for are small "mini-bursts" of enlightenment. I think most people get these duing meditation after some experience. My experience is they quickly fade once normal life resumes.
  • ajani_mgoajani_mgo Veteran
    edited October 2005
    For me, I get it through life experiences... And sitting down and letting my thoughts go wild... Something me and Argon call "defragmenting", after the computer jargon... Very Zen it is... And it sticks.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited October 2005
    KBuck wrote:
    I belive the best the average guy can hope for are small "mini-bursts" of enlightenment. I think most people get these duing meditation after some experience. My experience is they quickly fade once normal life resumes.

    Then it isn't 'enlightenment'. Even small mini-bursts - or "Ahhaaaah!!" moments, as I call them - stay with you, as a gentle reminder nudging you forward. Maybe what you experience is a new realisation, but they're ineffective if not remembered, integrated and actively used in your practise.....
    Would you agree....? :)
  • ajani_mgoajani_mgo Veteran
    edited October 2005
    Yeah... It's more of realisations... Realisations don't stick with me actually, but they automatically surface when I need them... The way the mind works... Wonders!
  • KBuckKBuck
    edited October 2005
    I agree that what I said isn't enlightenment. I don't literally forget these moments of insight, I only meant that sometimes they are remembered to late when dealing with others or difficult situations in day to day existence. A truly enlightened being would be constantly aware of the true nature of reality in every moment. I'm just glad for the few times I am able to stop (in the buddhist sense) and react correctly.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited October 2005
    bang on, Kbuck, bang on! :thumbsup:
  • ajani_mgoajani_mgo Veteran
    edited October 2005
    Excellent! :rockon:
  • IronRabbitIronRabbit Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I have taken bodhisattva precepts and intend to forego my enlightenment and keep returning until all sentient beings have achieved enlightenment. Does that qualify as enlightened? Mebbe not......
    yet.......
  • ZendoLord84ZendoLord84 Veteran
    edited August 2010
    I don't care if i'm enlightened or not...I'll know it when it hits me..
  • ThusThus
    edited August 2010
    Well considering I don't know what enlightenment is, and I don't know who "I" is...I'm gonna say, maybe.
  • justmejustme
    edited August 2010
    I think being an arhat is like being a famous poet. It only happens post-mortem.
  • PieterPieter
    edited August 2010
    Thich Nhat Hanh once said 'We're all part-time buddha's' and that's how I feel it. One day, for instance after a mistake, you say 'Hmm, I've a long way to go yet' and on another day, on a moment of insight or complete mindfulness, you might think 'Yes, this is it! This could be enlightenment! And it all belongs to your life...
  • kurrakurra
    edited August 2010
    Just how enlightened are you thinking of?
  • nanimonanimo
    edited August 2010
    If I am enlightened then it's my little secret, because to say so would violate right speech.

    If I am not, and only think I am then I am delusional, and violating right speech.

    Chew on that one! :D
  • DazzleDazzle
    edited August 2010
    .

    I highly recommend listening to a talk by Ajahn Sumedho entitled:


    Who Needs Enlightenment When I Have My Opinions 08 Aug 2010
    Sunday Talk

    http://www.amaravati.org/abmnew/index.php/teachings/audio


    and then the question and answer session with the same title.



    Kind regards,


    Dazzle
  • treederwrighttreederwright
    edited August 2010
    I don't think anyone here is free from suffering.
  • ZendoLord84ZendoLord84 Veteran
    edited August 2010
    recently i've developed the ability to levitate tough....it's awsome :)
  • FoibleFullFoibleFull Canada Veteran
    edited August 2010
    The path is not straight ... it is a vertical spiral.
    You take the teachings, you practice, you go "Ah-hah!"
    Then some years later you look at the same teachings, and you go "Ah-hah!"
    This is the point at which you start to question your past level of wisdom ... and your current level as well.
    I've decided to just take the teachings and do my practice and not worry about my level of wisdom or my distance from enlightenment.

    But in direct answer to your question, oh no, I am most certainly NOT enlightened!
  • ThaoThao Veteran
    edited August 2010
    Frizzer wrote: »
    I'm a long long way from realising anything! :grin:

    That truly is a great comment. I am with you on that one.
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited September 2010
    Still an Idiot here :)
  • mugzymugzy Veteran
    edited September 2010
    If anyone here was enlightened, they certainly wouldn't proclaim it on an internet message board. (Or would they?)

    I believe we all possess the enlightened mind but cannot see it, like a clear sky obscured by clouds.
  • treederwrighttreederwright
    edited September 2010
    I believe we all possess the enlightened mind but cannot see it, like a clear sky obscured by clouds.

    Correct.

    Dogen said " i have seen the mirror is free of dust". That makes me cry because i was brought up christian and "original sin" . According to buddhism there is NO original sin.

    Alas
  • ZendoLord84ZendoLord84 Veteran
    edited September 2010
    next to levitation I've now developed the skill to 'phase' through solid objects....

    still no enlightenment tough :(
  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    edited September 2010
    Nibbana, enlightenment is possible in this lifetime for anyone
  • punkmonkpunkmonk
    edited September 2010
    I think enlightenment is a much more boring experience then everyone hopes it will be. I certainly don't think you wake up one day and you're let in on this big secret that no one else knows, but hopes to learn. I like to think of it as simple. I offer you this small passage from a liturgical meditation that we use at our Sangha:

    Since it is the practice of enlightenment,
    That practice has no beginning,
    And since it is enlightenment within the practice,
    That realization has no end.

    Hope that was helpful.
  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    edited September 2010
    Actually insights can be quite interesting but granted, experiences are not in themself 'it'. But they are also not not.

    Since it is the practice of enlightenment,
    That practice has no beginning,
    And since it is enlightenment within the practice,
    That realization has no end.

    Thanks. _/\_
  • TravisMagoTravisMago Explorer
    edited September 2010
    I'm sharp as a knife but constantly distracted.
  • shenpennangwashenpennangwa
    edited September 2010
    Most people wont even realize the preciousness of their lives before its too late, let alone Buddhahood.
  • zidanguszidangus Veteran
    edited September 2010
    I believe that I am on the right path, however I know I am far from my goal. But to quote a famous phrase
    "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"




    Metta to all sentient beings
  • CristinaCristina
    edited October 2010
    FoibleFull wrote: »
    The path is not straight ... it is a vertical spiral.
    You take the teachings, you practice, you go "Ah-hah!"
    Then some years later you look at the same teachings, and you go "Ah-hah!"
    This is the point at which you start to question your past level of wisdom ... and your current level as well.
    I've decided to just take the teachings and do my practice and not worry about my level of wisdom or my distance from enlightenment.

    But in direct answer to your question, oh no, I am most certainly NOT enlightened!

    Great post. Totally agree. (Especially about the not being enlightened part.) :D Except I do worry about my level of wisdom...constantly... :/
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