This discussion is now closed.
Check out other Related discussions
- What are risks of Watching porn without masturbation??
- I can hardly understand why this is the case
- Can I get funding for Graduate Medicine?
- Edexcel A2 Exam in 6 Months
- MSc dissertation - how realistic is 80% mark? Credit for novel concept etc?
- Late application with little qualification
- Cambridge GCSE based on School
- Crushes and celibacy
- Feel like I picked the wrong A-levels
- Lack of study motivation
- The struggles of convincing my Family to let me go to Uni
- Mathematics as medicine undergraduate backup option
- French Revolution and Napoleon OCR a-level history
- Has anyone been negatively impacted by submitting a formal complaint?
- School Clearance
- Predicted grades if you're about to do a resit
- Feeling behind
- I’ve resat my A-levels but I’m anxious
- How to get started on my personal statement?
- S6 need Advice/Help for Higher
How Do You Know When You've Achieved Enlightenment?
I recently started doing yoga, around a month ago and so far I'm enjoying the extra energy boost and a much leaner figure, but a couple of days ago I was wondering how long it would take to achieve enlightenment if one was to do yoga for 1 hour a day as opposed to years and years at a time when people lock themselves away from the outside world to meditate. I do breathing exercises as well as flexibility exercises which is what I'd imagine those people would do.
Anyway, how does one actually know whether or not he or she is enlightened? What the hell is enlightenment? I don't get the definition 'becomes more aware of his or herself'... :|
THANKS
Anyway, how does one actually know whether or not he or she is enlightened? What the hell is enlightenment? I don't get the definition 'becomes more aware of his or herself'... :|
THANKS
Scroll to see replies
You'll achieve it faster when you stop seeking it. And when you do, you'll simply know it.
Enlightenment cannot be achieved via physical practices. It is an exercise purely in the mind. Deep soul searching is required, and there is no set time before you can reach it, or even a guarantee you will ever become enlightened.
If you are serious about knowing yourself completely, it must become your only focus. You cannot take place in part-time self-reflection.
If you are serious about knowing yourself completely, it must become your only focus. You cannot take place in part-time self-reflection.
the physical exercises of yoga help you to focus and train your mind to be more aware of your body.
if you started yoga to achieve enlightenment then you're not doing the right thing. maybe become a monk.
i dont really know buddhism so i cant define enlightenment for you. i think its a personal thing so its different for everyone.
taking an hour out of your day every day to do it and enjoying it is the way forward i think. but a burst of light while you're in a crazy twisted pose isn't going to happen.
loob
if you started yoga to achieve enlightenment then you're not doing the right thing. maybe become a monk.
i dont really know buddhism so i cant define enlightenment for you. i think its a personal thing so its different for everyone.
taking an hour out of your day every day to do it and enjoying it is the way forward i think. but a burst of light while you're in a crazy twisted pose isn't going to happen.
loob
Enlightenment is the realisation of dhamma (universal truth), which is gained by the cessation of the self. IE, losing wordly attachments such as desires, emotions etc. Selflessness. "The calm actions of the Arhat [one in Theravada Buddhism who has become enlightened, but is still alive] are such that they no longer create karmic results leading to rebirth".
As to what it is like, a particularly noteworthy scholar, Harvey writes that it is "beyond all limited concept and ordinary catagories of thought". So we cannot comprehend it - it must be realised by the individual. It is not a state of nothingness however. Any descriptions in Buddhism tend to be poetic and often of relief from the suffering of samsara (cycle of rebirth) - eg, "cool water allays feverish heat".
Other schools of Buddhism hold somewhat different views, in Mahayana schools the enlightened tend not to pass to final Nirvana, but are willingly reborn as bodhisattvas to lend their experience to others - eg, the Dali Lama. Otherwise though, it tends to be that the method of getting there is different, but the actual Nirvana is viewed as the same.
And to echo what Loob says, if any of this has any truth to it, you're not going to manage it by a bit of yoga on a Sunday morning I'm afraid!
As to what it is like, a particularly noteworthy scholar, Harvey writes that it is "beyond all limited concept and ordinary catagories of thought". So we cannot comprehend it - it must be realised by the individual. It is not a state of nothingness however. Any descriptions in Buddhism tend to be poetic and often of relief from the suffering of samsara (cycle of rebirth) - eg, "cool water allays feverish heat".
Other schools of Buddhism hold somewhat different views, in Mahayana schools the enlightened tend not to pass to final Nirvana, but are willingly reborn as bodhisattvas to lend their experience to others - eg, the Dali Lama. Otherwise though, it tends to be that the method of getting there is different, but the actual Nirvana is viewed as the same.
And to echo what Loob says, if any of this has any truth to it, you're not going to manage it by a bit of yoga on a Sunday morning I'm afraid!
According to Immanuel Kant, enlightenment is humanity's liberation from its dogmatic traditions and the ability to think for yourself. Enlighenment is using the powers of the mind to learn of the world, but be warned: the mind will want to learn about the world, but the mind is limited to the world of experience, anything beyond experience is not an object of knowledge, this may not satisfy the desire of the mind, and in this way we are eternally condemned to ignorance, and perhaps a lack of satisfaction. Even religious believers can accept that they don't know everything, even if their proported God does. In thinking about enlightenment, you have made a small step towards it already, in that you are not content with the traditions and customs that you were immersed in as your were brought up.
Socrates' says that 'the unexamined life is not worth living' (from Plato's 'apology'). If you want a western secular perspective on enlightenment PM me.
Socrates' says that 'the unexamined life is not worth living' (from Plato's 'apology'). If you want a western secular perspective on enlightenment PM me.
Yes, the above are right. Part-time self-reflection will noit work. It is half-hearted. Those who do partake in in a lifetime's full-time meditation/practice/reflection are still unlikely to achieve true enlightenment. Sorry, but it's unlikely that you'll live the 'worldly life' and achieve enlightenment simultaneously.
And surely, the occurance of enlightenment will notify you of your newly-found enlightenment?
And surely, the occurance of enlightenment will notify you of your newly-found enlightenment?
So, what if one goes clubbing. They have sex. The next day, they don't see the person, or ever again. And what? you repeat until you are too old to go to clubs? What about alcohol? What about drugs? Sure it is fun. But it doesn't last.
We want things in our lives that give us long-lasting resolve, that's why people go to religion, or turn to love or science. If we embrace the ephemeral, we are no more civilised than our homo erectus ancestors
We want things in our lives that give us long-lasting resolve, that's why people go to religion, or turn to love or science. If we embrace the ephemeral, we are no more civilised than our homo erectus ancestors
doublex
When meditating you start hovering 6 inches off the ground...
no, thats wrong. that is called "levitation".
"Enlightment" is when u start glowing like a light bulb and no longer need to buy lamps because you glow and illuminate everything around you.
nice to see someone who knows these things,.I'm not on a path to enlightenment so to speak, I only do yoga because of the long term health benefits and everything else that comes with it.
It was just something that interested me, as I wanted to simply know what enlightenment really was. I'm kinda satisfied now with the definition:
'As to what it is like, a particularly noteworthy scholar, Harvey writes that it is "beyond all limited concept and ordinary catagories of thought". So we cannot comprehend it - it must be realised by the individual.'
If a scholar says that, then I believe him.
Don't worry guys, I'm not about to go and live in a cave for 15-20 years.
It was just something that interested me, as I wanted to simply know what enlightenment really was. I'm kinda satisfied now with the definition:
'As to what it is like, a particularly noteworthy scholar, Harvey writes that it is "beyond all limited concept and ordinary catagories of thought". So we cannot comprehend it - it must be realised by the individual.'
If a scholar says that, then I believe him.
Don't worry guys, I'm not about to go and live in a cave for 15-20 years.
If you don't know what enlightenment is, why are you seeking it?
There are people who have seeked enlightenment devoutly all their lives, and are still seeking, and there are people who have been gifted enlightenment very soon in their lives. There is no visible pattern to either groups of these people. Take from that what you will.
Learn from a professional what enlightenment is, and you will become to know that it is not something to make a thread about on TSR. The concept is beyond a lot of people, and you are likely to receive lots of stupid comments.
What kind of yoga do you do? They were all made for different purposes.
There are people who have seeked enlightenment devoutly all their lives, and are still seeking, and there are people who have been gifted enlightenment very soon in their lives. There is no visible pattern to either groups of these people. Take from that what you will.
Learn from a professional what enlightenment is, and you will become to know that it is not something to make a thread about on TSR. The concept is beyond a lot of people, and you are likely to receive lots of stupid comments.
What kind of yoga do you do? They were all made for different purposes.
I personally don't believe in enlightment but:
- firstly, if you want to achieve it, stop thinking that you can find out how on an internet forum.
- people suposedly achieve enlightment through meditation; not yoga. You should take up 'vispassana' (insight) mediatation, in which you observe what it is like to be concious. However, i can only speak for budism, maybe in hinduism the percieved wisdom is that one can achieve enlightenment, or at least escape re-birth through yoga.
- and finaly, it should not be something to work towards or desire,that goes against the princeples by which one achieves enlightenment - neither should you put a timescale on it, chances are, you wont achieve it in this lifetime, or even the next 1000, it is suposed to take many lifetimes of constant meditation and contemplation - bear in mind that only a few people in history are reported to achieve it.
it's all a load of toss imo. But its good to take up meditation/yoga as an end in itself, if only for the health benefits.
- firstly, if you want to achieve it, stop thinking that you can find out how on an internet forum.
- people suposedly achieve enlightment through meditation; not yoga. You should take up 'vispassana' (insight) mediatation, in which you observe what it is like to be concious. However, i can only speak for budism, maybe in hinduism the percieved wisdom is that one can achieve enlightenment, or at least escape re-birth through yoga.
- and finaly, it should not be something to work towards or desire,that goes against the princeples by which one achieves enlightenment - neither should you put a timescale on it, chances are, you wont achieve it in this lifetime, or even the next 1000, it is suposed to take many lifetimes of constant meditation and contemplation - bear in mind that only a few people in history are reported to achieve it.
it's all a load of toss imo. But its good to take up meditation/yoga as an end in itself, if only for the health benefits.
HagerVor
It has been said, that it takes a buddhist monk 15 years of meditating for 6 hours a day to achieve enlightenment.
And that is meditating, not yoga.
And that is meditating, not yoga.
As for enlightenment: the literature makes it clear that if you think you're enlightened you're not. If you are enlightened you would know for certain. There is in fact a tendency for monks to reach a first plataeu where they believe they are enlightened, an idea their teachers have to disabuse them of. This is one of the meanings of the old saying 'If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him'.
zain88
If you don't know what enlightenment is, why are you seeking it?
There are people who have seeked enlightenment devoutly all their lives, and are still seeking, and there are people who have been gifted enlightenment very soon in their lives. There is no visible pattern to either groups of these people. Take from that what you will.
Learn from a professional what enlightenment is, and you will become to know that it is not something to make a thread about on TSR. The concept is beyond a lot of people, and you are likely to receive lots of stupid comments.
What kind of yoga do you do? They were all made for different purposes.
There are people who have seeked enlightenment devoutly all their lives, and are still seeking, and there are people who have been gifted enlightenment very soon in their lives. There is no visible pattern to either groups of these people. Take from that what you will.
Learn from a professional what enlightenment is, and you will become to know that it is not something to make a thread about on TSR. The concept is beyond a lot of people, and you are likely to receive lots of stupid comments.
What kind of yoga do you do? They were all made for different purposes.
I do a combination of Bikram yoga, and Pranayam yoga, which is a series of breathing exercises.
Just to reiterate, I am not seeking enlightenment! I am simply interested in knowing what it is! Anyone else here do yoga?
Truly. I met the entrepreneur of Prayanam yoga a few days ago, Swami Ramdev Ji, who'd come over from India and was in Ilford. Next he's off to Harrow and Coventry and stuff. It cures a lot of things, like neck problems, and some people have even said to him in the past that their cancers have been cured... It really is a thing of magic
There are many paths to enlightenment, you have reached it when you no longer walk any path.
Related discussions
- What are risks of Watching porn without masturbation??
- I can hardly understand why this is the case
- Can I get funding for Graduate Medicine?
- Edexcel A2 Exam in 6 Months
- MSc dissertation - how realistic is 80% mark? Credit for novel concept etc?
- Late application with little qualification
- Cambridge GCSE based on School
- Crushes and celibacy
- Feel like I picked the wrong A-levels
- Lack of study motivation
- The struggles of convincing my Family to let me go to Uni
- Mathematics as medicine undergraduate backup option
- French Revolution and Napoleon OCR a-level history
- Has anyone been negatively impacted by submitting a formal complaint?
- School Clearance
- Predicted grades if you're about to do a resit
- Feeling behind
- I’ve resat my A-levels but I’m anxious
- How to get started on my personal statement?
- S6 need Advice/Help for Higher
Latest
Trending
Last reply 3 weeks ago
How can I apply for university and get my letters without my parents finding outLast reply 1 month ago
Dealing with and keeping lies to my aggressive parentsLast reply 1 month ago
(Serious) How do I get rid of weird feelings with my boobs and femininity?Last reply 1 month ago
For those of you who have younger cousins or nieces and nephews why do you do this?Fitness
6
8
Last reply 1 month ago
People who claim to wash in 5mins aren’t showering properlyLast reply 1 month ago
2024 has been a horrible year for me overall and I just wanted your thoughtsLast reply 2 months ago
My friend might be getting extra time and i hate it.
