On Travel and Spirituality

reply to post by BlueMule

Then why didn't he teach people to leave home too? Whys isn't travel part of The Noble Eight-Fold Path?

"Do as I say and not as I do" is for those who like being told what to do. Luckily Buddha himself never subscribed to that doctrine, or he wouldn't have left, nor would he have had the life experience to produce such art.

Aphorism
reply to post by BlueMule

 

Then why didn't he teach people to leave home too? Whys isn't travel part of The Noble Eight-Fold Path?

"Do as I say and not as I do" is for those who like being told what to do. Luckily Buddha himself never subscribed to that doctrine, or he wouldn't have left, nor would he have had the life experience to produce such art.

That art is a blueprint for thought and practice that leads to Buddha-hood. That way, you don't have to run away from a palace to become a Buddha. You can follow the blueprint instead from the comfort of your own home.

That's the point. YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUN.

What are you running from, Aphorism?

tgidkp
reply to post by Aphorism

 

i see a lot of value in your sentiment... and I have enjoyed the bickering. I will raise my own contention.

A hermit in a cave sees only what’s inside the cave. A monk in a monastery sees only what’s inside the monastery. I would leave him amongst himself if he doesn’t wish to see more

its not the eyes that see. I know that sounds canned and trite.

from my own well-travelled and thoroughly-effed-up-multiple-times perspective, my personal greatest asset is critical thought. it could be said, agreeing with your op, that this comes only from a d3ep well of experience. that may or may not be true. its irrelevant.

the basic underlying function of critical thinking is in the 'traveling' and 'seeing' of multiple imaginary scenarios which are constructed exclusively in the mind and are held in a type of simultaneous superposition during the rational process. importantly, this includes the ability to obtain and assume a perspective which is on the 'outside'. we are all perfectly familiar with what the world looks like from the 'inside'.... but the 'inside is of limited use.

for instance, I am in a much better position to discern the value of the exchange of words between you and bluemule than either of you are able. you are inside, I am outside.

but how are we (any of us) qualified to discern the contents of reality when the only definitions we have for critical judgment are those which already exist 'inside'? how is it that anything truly novel and unique can ever be achieved if reality is one great big referential bumble?

the answer must come from outside of you.

people are far more beautiful when viewed from the outside. in fact I do not think it is possible to truly appreciate another person without acknowledging that your 'inside criteria' can only be a distortion of their beauty.


a well-honed critical mind is only obtained through countless hours of examining the contents of one's own mind using the tools that are, in reference to your op, most generally used for examining the external world.

and so, it is the mind that sees.... it is the mind that travels.

Had to quote this again. Wisdom.

I haven't really followed the thread just read the OP and read something above here about following the blueprint and it went along my own thoughts is that you can achieve a great deal of enlightenment right from where you're at. For me my awakening happened where I live and I've found out just as much as some of the most well traveled people have. Although, I wish I could go to Giza to check out the Great Pyramid and other things surrounding it. By the way, for those who don't know go watch Revelations of the Pyramids lol.

Although I don't want to get into a debate defining enlightenment, I believe in the concept of the two sided coin in that you are just as likely to find enlightenment in one point as you are in another since for me, IMO, that spirituality is to help propel us into self-mastery of ourselves. So you are just as likely to find enlightenment, to me, in one point of the Earth or on any other random point on the earth.

Because no matter where you go, there YOU are.

Of course, self-mastery would eventually lead to service to others somewhere along the journey and ANYWAYS you get my point.