Buddha's path to Enlightenment

[mtf80123]

I would love to have a converstation on the Sufferings of Life and the Assention to Enlightenment by discussing and following the Buddha's teachings.

The spiritual practices that ensure we do not rebirth in this Hell realm. To achive supreme Sambodhi.

How do we achieve this? How do we connect with every living being on this world and others existing throughout the Universe? How do we explore it on our own after death and know where we are at all times?

To make choices of what our next incarnations will be.

I am not a teacher, but have read and studied these Holy teachings for several years now.

I would truly love to carry on conversations with those on this Holy path and discuss "first and foremost" the Four Noble Truths.

With the Mod's permission of course if that is alright.

Can I do this?

[hvn_nbr_2]

1. Yes, you can do that.

You asked, "Can I do this?" Yes, you can. This forum is kind of a catch-all for spiritual paths that don't readily fit any of the others. However, the traffic is pretty slow and there may not be a lot of response.

To make choices of what our next incarnations will be.
I'm not sure what you're saying (or asking?) here since it's not a whole sentence. Do you see that choice as a literal choice, as opposed to a karmic consequence? Is the choice made during this life or between lives? Does "next incarnation" mean circumstances and attributes of a human life necessarily or can it mean as some other sort of being? I'm not familiar with Buddhist thought except at a very superficial level.

[mtf80123]

3. Namaste'

Slow is OK. Thank you hvn_nbr_2

_/|\_

"Do you see that choice as a literal choice, as opposed to a karmic consequence?"

I see it as literal... but in the end it is Karmic.

"Is the choice made during this life or between lives?

It is the choices we make in this life, the life we leave behind and the life we will attain. Certainly there is a "spark of the divine" in Buddhist philosophy.

Does "next incarnation" mean circumstances and attributes of a human life necessarily or can it mean as some other sort of being?

Yes, but mostly it is about Karma. To re-birth as anything other than beings in this realm, to escape suffering and realize the true nature of reality. That everything is impermanent.

I'm not familiar with Buddhist thought except at a very superficial level.

Buddism is a study of the mind. To know the true nature of reality (however, I do not claim that I have yet achieved this state) :) It is both a philosophy and a religion.

[Viva_Daddy]

2. What do you think "enlightenment" means?

The Buddha never said he was "enlightened", only AWAKE. I.e., Awake to the Four Noble Truths, rather than ignoring these truths as most people do. All he was saying was that suffering is universal; therefore be compassionate.

Who incarnates? Who "decides" or "chooses" one's incarnations? No one. Although suffering is universal, there is no one suffering. That is the paradox of Buddha's teaching.

[mtf80123]

4. Yes... suffering is universal.

You asked "who incarnates?"

Webster: incarnate made manifest or comprehensible -

You ask "who decides or chooses ones incarnation" followed by: "no-one".

I agree, no-one decides our next incarnation; but that which is closest to our own minds. That which is most familiar. That will lead us to our next re-incarnation.

You said "although suffering is universal, there is no one suffering. That is the paradox of Buddha's teaching".

If suffering is a Universal Truth why is no-one suffering?





edited for spelling

[conscious evolution]

6. No-one

I always read this using one as a number not as a person.I see it as saying there are myriad forms of suffering and that what makes one person suffer may not be applicable to another person.

Of course that is just my surface level understanding of the concept.To go deeper into it is,I find,very hard to express in a way that makes sense in this level of reality.

[Viva_Daddy]

8. Paradoxes are "mental contradictions"

Don't be surprised that the mind cannot understand paradoxes. One could say it is the mind that "invented" the person as the person is only a thought. Thoughts are not real. Thoughts appear and disappear. Suffering appears and disappears. That which is aware of these changes does not itself change.

[mtf80123]

5. What do you think "enlightenment" means? ...

What do you think "enlightenment" means? ... Posted by Viva_Daddy

------------------------------

Emancipation of duality.

[Viva_Daddy]

7. Who requires emancipation?

Bondage or liberation...these are just thoughts/concepts. Thoughts are not real as they come and go. Look for that which does not come and go, does not change.

[mtf80123]

9. Neither

Sorry, I have been away.

It would appear that both "Bondage and Liberation" are dualistic states.

[sam sarrha]

10. apparently enlightenment is what happens when we train our minds to the point where

"Subject" and "Object" are indistinguishable.. AKA: Emptiness

Emptiness is best described in the 'Heart Sutra'

http://www.dmcclanahan.com/hsutra.htm

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/heartsutra.html
...All things are empty:
Nothing is born, nothing dies,
nothing is pure, nothing is stained,
nothing increases and nothing decreases.

i started out on my quest a Scientist.. i became a Buddhist


http://www.buddhanet.net/ this is one of the best Buddhist sites, check out Buhhhanet Audio section

[sam sarrha]

14. dupe..

[sam sarrha]

11. technically this isn't a Hell Realm... "This".. is called "Samsara". >>link>>

Samsara is the world of cyclical ...birth, suffering, old age, death and rebirth back into the same loop, see Dependant Origination..
http://www.buddhanet.net/wheel2.htm
place the cursor on each of the boxes in the outer ring.
the Buddha Shakyamuni had the wheel of life drawn up as a teaching tool

http://www.dharma.org/ij/archives/1999a/christina.htm

[mtf80123]

12. Gorgeous!

Thank you Sam Sarrha.

I have done a great deal of self study over the last 4 years. I believe that I understand the concepts and practice daily, but would love to have a deeper conversation on the topic.

What school do you follow?

[sam sarrha]

15. our group had a Galupa Lama, chant master of the Dalai Lama's Monastery, they were a fairly large

group, we flew him in and provided him with a small student apt, gave him a small per diem, he taught classes at the university, and evening classes, he worked at the Hospice.. till the ReThugs deported him

[Viva_Daddy]

13. Samsara is Nirvana. Nirvana is Samsara.

They are not different "things"...just two apparently different views of the same thing.