Yes, that was the silent extension of my thought: "unless one is hanging a shingle out for something -- books, seminars, students, attention."
I have asked the question, "what is the value (much less the validity) of the title enlightenment? Some responses include, "it provides an ispiration to others." I have never been able to fathom or digest that one. Ones life, ones shared insights, ones presence -- such things seem to be the fountain of of inspiration. Not some claim. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Llundrub" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Maharishi is defining the value, in money for his lineage. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: akasha_108 > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 10:08 AM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Individuality: Outward Projection vs. Inner Subjective Sense of No Indiv. Do > > > Which raises again a point of interest: what is the value (much less > the meaning) of the "title" of enlightenment? Everyone has some sort > of experience and knowledge right now. It appears presumtuous to know, > much less claim that this is the "end-state", much less that it is a > permanent end-state. And presumes or implies a fair amount of > attention on the future. An apparent contradiction. > > If unbounded, unrestrictedness is here now, what more is needed? > If unbounded, unrestrictedness is not here now, focusing on a future > state won't help much. > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > There is a book that addresses this idea, it's called: > > > > "Halfway up the Mountain, The Error of Premature Claims to > > Enlightenment" by Mariana Caplan, Hohm Press > > > > I read it over a year ago so it's not too fresh in my mind but I do > > remember thinking that how did I know that the people in the book > > were qualified to decide wether or not someone was in fact > > enlightened or not. The book though, is a very rich source of quotes > > and short dialogues from dozens of teachers representing many > > spiritual schools. > > > > Rick Carlstrom > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > wrote: > > > > > Just as a question to the folks participating in this > > > > > discussion, do you assume that enlightenment, once > > > > > realized, is permanent? Since I've been away from TM > > > > > and its teachings for 20+ years, I'm trying to find out > > > > > whether we're on the "same page" here. I certainly do > > > > > not assume this, based both on teachings I respect and > > > > > the personal experiences of myself and others (periods > > > > > of enlightenment can just come and go). The teachings > > > > > were Tibetan in origin, and have to do with ways in > > > > > which one can definitely mess up after realization of > > > > > enlightenment and make it "go away." TIA, > > > > > > > > There are several on this list who claim to be permanently > > > > enlightened--perhaps they could answer this question? > > > > > > That's actually one reason I asked. There are some > > > schools of thought (like TM, when I was around) that > > > suggest that once realized, enlightenment is perma- > > > nent. There are others that believe that it can come > > > and go. I tend to believe the latter, for many reasons. > > > > > > Now, if the latter were true, and one had begun to have > > > enlightenment experiences, had announced them to the > > > world, and then those experiences faded, what does > > > one do? > > > > > > How many would have the strength of character to go > > > back to all those people one had announced one's > > > enlightenment to and say, "Ooops?" > > > > > > In several traditions this situation has come up often > > > enough that they don't recommend talking about one's > > > experiences as permanent until they have been present > > > 24/7 for ten years or so. > > > > > > Unc > > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!' > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Yahoo! Groups Links > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
