What is enlightenment?

Buddhism and many other new age groups speak about the state of enlightenment, but nobody actually states what the state implies. Terms like emptiness and oneness are frequently mentioned, but even these terms are never really explained in full.

There are tests that Buddhist priests use to establish whether the monk/disciple has achieved enlightenment. Koans are asked like "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" or "What did your face look like before you were born?"

I would like to hear what people think or have experienced as far as enlightenment , emptiness and oneness. Or is this just a theoretical state of being?

A smile in the face of the enlightened.


Deep

Originally posted by Mynaeris
Buddhism and many other new age groups speak about the state of enlightenment, but nobody actually states what the state implies. Terms like emptiness and oneness are frequently mentioned, but even these terms are never really explained in full.

Buddhism is new age? That's news to me.

Enlightenment or the act of can not be told to you. You have to experience it for yourself in order to truely understand it. Many refer to it as the Peak Experience.

You know the routine: One can not be told what the matrix is, you have to experience it for yourself. Bla, bla, bla! It is true though. Think about it like this. Someone is describing the most beautiful painting in the world to you, but in order to truely feel and experience the art work you must see it for yourself.

No one can tell you how to get 'there' as it takes different ways for different people.

I apologise for having given the impression that I thought Buddhism was new agey? I am quite aware that its not. However I wanted to get across the idea that not only Buddhists speak about enlightenment - other groups do too - including many new age cults and "supposedly ancient religions" like the kundalini yoga group of Yogi Bhajan.

The point I am trying to make is that there is very little information available about the true natures of (1) enlightenment (2) emptiness and (3) oneness. Generally those that claim enlightenment aren't. And those defining emptiness and oneness are vague and contradictory. I would like to hear various peoples accounts of these "states".

As much as your analogy of a beautiful picture being difficult to give an accurate description of, it is still possible to give the basics thereof, eg there are 4 cows grazing in a beautiful green meadow below a little town where the sun seems to shine directly on the church clock, children are playing in the field etc etc...

I think the syntax of the word "enlightenment" is too limiting and in essence a contradiction as it implies possession of true knowledge.

IMHO to be enlightened is to be aware of ones non-knowledge and to constantly be open. Knowledge however, causes limits as it implies the impossibility of other truths; a true contradiction.

Originally posted by Mynaeris
As much as your analogy of a beautiful picture being difficult to give an accurate description of, it is still possible to give the basics thereof, eg there are 4 cows grazing in a beautiful green meadow below a little town where the sun seems to shine directly on the church clock, children are playing in the field etc etc...

Yes you can describe it, but in the process one misses alot of valuible information as well as the information being tainted by the perception of the individual describing it. If you tell me something, I am still not smelling it, tasting it, being emotional influenced by it, etc. Having been a skateboarder in my younger years, I can imagine what snowboarding is like, but having never snowboarded the actual experience of doing so would be quite more encompassing then being told what it is like or having a vague idea.

Contradictory? Yes, but that is only because of how we define words and our relationship to them.

i look at it this way, in the same manner that god cannot be explained, neither can enlightment.

also i feel that person who is truly enlightened will not be rushing explain the condition because they have achieved enlightment and realize it isn't something one can just explain, it has to be something that only the individual is capable of realizing within themselves.

1st - enlightenment is the fullness of the awareness of your mind.

This is a state where you have light in your mind - it fills all the thinking places of your mind, and all the energy places of your body. The God of Intelligence dwells in this kind of light, and when you are close enough to it in your own self you become "one" with this higher source.

2nd - Consciousness is "psychic" among human beings. Evil beings and good beings can both act upon others as their will suits them. Evil people are assisted by demons, and become demons after they die, and good people are assisted by angels of light and become angels of light after they die.

Good is defined thusly: Good will is to want the light to fill other beings, so that they become happier, fuller, heathier.

Bad is defined thusly: Bad will is to steal this light (yes, it can be done) from others, to send demonic material into the bodies of others to control them, or to foul their energy centers.

That is the contest between light and darkness, and enlightenment is the recongzing of the various forces, and the overcoming of the darkness, which is the opposite of life. Darkness is not a counterpart to light, it is the corruption of life. The two are not equal, parnters, nor do they share the same places in the universe.

Most Americans are bad, by this definition. They were overcome early on in life by demons, and serve them. The true doctrines are no longer taught to her peoples, so no one has any idea of what the real truth is. It is not found in the bible, or in any other western organization. Those who do know it treat it as some kind of great mystery, and do not tell others.

Oneness is described like this: I have attained a degree of this oneness. My mind energy is able to freely associate with the mind energies of little children, animals, and the higher spiritual forces that occupy our world. We can share thought, action, and affection with each other. The total achievement of oneness is the merging with the power of God, which is where these lessor things flow from.

Emptiness is like this: Removing the dark energies and demonic forces that the rest of the people are throwing at you. To remove it requires ascetisism, and sexual abstinence. There are no other ways to this.

Fullness is being filled with the powers of light, little light sparks that are the essenses of life from innocent beings, animals, etc. When your mind is healthy, it can maintain a "light crown" which comes from the higher parts of the mind, which are where divine thought comes from. If you can build (or in some cases, rebuild) this crown, you will find out what I mean.

There is also another lesson - The power of the holy spirit. Females are able to send a protective energy to you that covers your vital areas of mind and body. They add to those who already have some of this good energy, because they love it. It is essential to build this power as great as you can, but after you do, be wary of evil actions, for the more of this energy you have, the more the demons will try to steal it from you, and IT CAN BE STOLEN. It can be stolen if dark people touch you, or get to know you well enough where they can make a spiritual connection to you. Unseen demons will assist them, and if they can grab enough of your energy, they can rip it right off of you, and devour it.

Modern christianity has either forgotten, or covered up this knowledge. That is why western churches are so harmful to people. They set them up as food for the demons, and cause them to dwell in the lower kingdoms. That is because the authorities of the churches are not really servants of the Most High, or Christ, but of the lower powers, or themselves.

Westerners don't understand that you can't dedicate your life to materialism. It kills the spirit, and deranges the mind, and opens you up to the demons, who exist in the material world. You cannot live in both worlds, and escape this world to the higher realms. Western religions don't teach them this fact, but instead preach about the body, marriage, and the carnal laws. None of them will help you ascend to God.

So if you are after enlightenment, you have to become as ascetic as possible in America. That's really hard to do, because there aren't any free places to live. So you have to really focus on it, and remove things like TV, pornography, alcohol, and all worldy attachments to money. You have to make yourself pure to learn anything, really.

Christ taught these same things, perhaps better than I, but it is the truth.

Arkaleus

Originally posted by Arkaleus
So if you are after enlightenment...

A sitting buddha does not seek to become buddha.

It is the choice of enlightened beings to strive among mankind.

In the oceans of lies and deceptions that people wade through, one telling the truth is one doing a mighty work.

Not all people can receive enlightenment, in fact it is something rather pre-arranged. Not all seeds make roses. But our work is to find those seeds and help them grow.

There exists a place where great beings of light observe and watch over us. If they love a person, they will bring that person up, and will fill that person with thoughts and light. If they hate a person, they will not visit that person, and that person will likely fall into the abyss. Only the beloved are able to attain enlightenment, since it is a transmission of love at its very core.

Arkaleus

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[Edited on 12-9-2004 by Tamahu]

My words were taken out of context, I stand corrected. Thanks for your links, but they were preaching to the choir! A lot of "gnostics" were perverse in their appetites, and while they could get away with it, I don't want to hang around such persons. A lot of "rituals" were just yucky.

I have used this knowledge before to attain healing, well-being, and just simple joy. There is no initiation required for this. You simply return to your innocense and remain there. There is nothing to be gained by leaving the temple, for outside are dragons, monsters, and evil things. The curious will venture out time and time again, and will discover the same things over and over again. We have already seen what is there, and

Abstinece is like fasting - it purges the body and spirit of foul matter. I myself have to asbstain from things all the time. I get sick, I get ill, sometimes I get dirty and need to wash. It was in that sense I spoke that abstinece is required.

Do you really want me to talk about what I know about sex?

I will tell you what I have learned. Sex is abused by men, women, and demonic forces. Sex is how theese powers dominate and control one another. That is the lowest form of sex, it is given to the animals for the cause of flesh and the increase of flesh. It is harmful to children and those who would keep chaste. The energies formed and exchanged during these forms of union are degrading to the body, and harmful to the body's energy centers. It is defilement and a cause for personal destruction. It is the tool of demons while we sleep, vicarious agencies who seek to feed off our of life-forces, and something to be shunned.

Do I need to speak of the union of perfect beings, or good persons, or those who are under the protection of Christ? No, I don't wanna. If you find it yourself then YOU can talk about here.

Ark

To put it simply, if you have to inquire as to what Enlightenment is, then you have yet to obtain it ..

Here's a link to a neat site:

www.rider.edu...

To me, enlightenment is a state of conciousness, letting go of the material, not being held captive by your desires. Finding beauty in all things.

Most scientists and computer-oriented people today will side with the idea that enlightenment comes from the advancement of traditional science and technology.

Historically, there have been various definitions of enlightenment.

The Gnostics believed that enlightenment was achieved through the pursuit of inner knowledge and wisdom in general. This indicates that they conceived enlightenment to be largely an intellectual achievement.

The reincarnationist Cathari/Cathars, often misunderstood to be an offshoot of the Gnostics, had a decidedly different approach. They believed that enlightenment was achieved through the cultivation of spiritual purity and selfless service to others.

The Zen Buddhists believed that enlightenment is achieved through disciplined meditation and contemplation on things like "the sound of one hand clapping" -- designed to open oneself up intuitively for inner illumination.

Fundamentalist Christians believe that enlightenment and "being saved" are synonymous -- as you can't have one without the other.

Traditional Buddhists believed that enlightenment is achieved from pursuing the Four Noble Truths which are designed to alleviate suffering and the desire that (to a certain extent) brought about that suffering. Buddha espoused a sound psychological approach to alleviate suffering and one that does not require faith in one or more deities. In other words, you don't have to be a Buddhist in order to find benefit from the Four Noble Truths.

My personal opinion is that enlightenment is achieved through self-awareness, self-knowledge, spiritual awareness, external education, and the pursuit of spiritual development through prayer, meditation, service to others, striving to live by The Golden Rule, the Radiance of Love, and the cultivation of Purity, Humility and Compassion.




[Edited on 24-8-2004 by Paul_Richard]

When one is just starting out on a spiritual path, sexual abstinence makes it easier to cultivate spiritual purity. But the goal is not the total avoidance of sexuality, as that is an important facet of the soul, but to only pursue sexual relationships responsibly and with purified Love -- which includes the rejection of lust whenever it is implanted into oneself from the lower discarnate elements. This takes much practice.

The nude human form in itself is not evil. What is spiritually counterproductive is the sophomoric, irresponsible, manipulative, lusty interpretation of the nude form. To be able to spiritually interpret the nude form only with purified affection and purified sensuality indicates someone who has cultivated spiritual purity to a certain extent.

The lower discarnate elements find great pleasure in lusting after beautiful people. They implant lust around the physically beautiful and influence the physically beautiful to lust after their own bodies.

By being corked up in a three-dimensional form and cut off from The Light until one leaves the flesh, everyone, no matter how spiritually advanced, is subject to occasionally having lust channeled into them. No big deal. You just identify it and reject it when it arises.

The trick is not generating lust within oneself and to be able to avoid being seduced into uniting with lust when it is implanted.

Again, this just takes practice.

Enlightenment is the realization that planet earth is nothing more than a child�s playground. In the scheme of things mankind is only in kindergarten.

Thank you for your words, Paul Richard. How old are you? Are you an American?

I would like to hear from you more.

Are you one who emancipates your self from the world? Are you able to speak about the mysteries of Christ?

Arkaleus

Hi Arkaleus,

You're welcome.

I am forty-three and live in the US.

You may want to start with the the following two pages. The alien awareness and the predictions about the future on the site are not as important as learning about our unique paradigm for advanced spiritual development (and using it), centered on the ability to Love genuinely and deeply.

Scale Of Spiritual Evolution

Heart Chakra Radiance/God Yoga

Be sure to check out Majic's recent ATS thread, called Confessions of a Dark Sorceror, as I go into helpful techniques and related understandings that you might find of interest.

God's Peace & Keep Radiating...

That was a good site. You seem to be a member of this group.

The spiritual information continued is RIGHT ON, I have been looking for this information for a LONG TIME. I am 29. I've read the gnostic gospels, and the information contained in them is very hard to understand. I believe your organization has correctly described the mysteries contained in them.

As far as the alien races and your rather detailed knowledge of them: It reads like good science fiction more than anything real. I don't buy into it.

A question: Why are your archangels women?

Another question: Who was Jesus and what was his mysterious work?

I can get past the alien stuff in your group, because the descriptions of spirutal matters are enirely accurate.

I have experienced most of the things described in that website. Demonic attacks by the lower incorporeal forces, and by those humans who interact with them on the earth. I was attacked just two years agok, after I opened my crown while sitting with a little child at a mormon church. It was an amazing event, the entire room was filled with blazing white light. However, I had NO UNDERSTANDING of what had just occured, only that it felt great and my mind's power was growing intensely strong.

Apparently, though, it attracted the attention of every foul creature around me, and I have been battling them ever since. I lost must because I was caught by suprise, and they did much damage to me.

Any words on this?

Arkaleus