Anton Rogachevski

It's neither infinite nor finite, it's both and neither. I love the quote by Bodhidharma: "A Buddha is not a buddha." You cannot reach this truth by thinking about it, but if you like thinking then you should keep trying. A good friend of mine said that trying to understand this is like a cucumber trying to explain the gardner.

"Suffering is Nirvana, Nirvana is suffering."

The master is doing many things while not doing anything. (Zen rephrasing) Remember that the truth is neither of the terms, so there's neither discipline, nor lack of discipline. The answer is ineffable. It arises as a temporary solution in the realm of manifestation until one realises there's no use for it. It sure can, but it's really up to you. To reach effortlessness, one must first exert effort. Be very cautious saying this. This is when the master hits you with a stick and ask: "Then who is it that screams." No-self implies self, and therefore is self. To truly know what it means one must contact it directly. One cannot take non-dual truths, and then use them to logically conclude things about the dual, or really believe any non dual truth. These two paradigms are incompatible. Very dangerous activity, Bodhidharma refers to it as devilry. (The zen teaching of bodhidharma - amazing book!) In any case, self discipline is one of the best things that ever happened to me. Meditation is self discipline. Obviously it's best when it's matched with self-compassion, lack of expectations, and learning to love it, as Alan Watts puts it: Work as play.

If you take modafinil watch this. Sorry for wrong section, please move to an appropriate category.

So all of this thread is about beating around the bush, instead of just doing self inquiry. I guess Nike had it right all along: "Just Do It." Is it that simple? Why does one wish to be enlightened? What's the point of life?

@winterknight For the sake of argument let's say I did all of the above and became enlightened, yet still work at McDonald's. Wouldn't I miss anything important?

It's so obvious, yet nobody talks about it. Have you ever noticed that the most talked about spiritual teachers, are also very charismatic? The way that wisdom is transferred is highly affected by how the person is perceived in the eyes of the reciever. And the fact that the teacher is respected, and seen as an authority is the major part of the process of delivering wisdom. Which means shockingly that the quality of wisdom is a secondary factor! That is because we subconsciously determine if the person in front of us is a leader or a follower. When our brain perceives the teacher as a true leader, we easily accept his thoughts as reality. In other words "reality" in a tribe is dictated by the leader, and the rest of the tribe either accepts the new reality, or they get kicked out of the tribe. That's why quotes always come with the name of the person, because if I quoted even the smartest scientist and told you: "My friend Johnny said so.", you would laugh hysterically. For the same reason religions focus on the charismatic character which said it all, the "prophet". The thing is we percieve many ideas as authority, even god (in the biblical sense) is a strong male who dictates rules, it's done to fool people's instinctual perception and makes it easier to control them with the ideas. Also such ideas as "society" are perceived as authority, and it makes people behave socially, in fear of being rejected by the imagined authority figure, which society represents. Yet wisdom is still useful. And it does produce results in the end. Don't let this discourage you. It must be so because that is the systematic method of making sure wisdom is being transferred on, to bring order and peace. This also shows the importance of being a good leader, because your realtionship with the people around you affects your ability to help them. Your top most wisdom will fail miserably if you are not perceived as an authority in their eyes.

So just self inquiry? No other things besides this worth doing?

What other things besides enlightenment and therapy could be helpful in the path?

Does the enlightened one needs a sense of purpose to be fulfilled? *deep bow Thank you master for posting here, I'm in the process of reading all the thread, and I find much inspiration, wisdom and it gives me strength to stay on this path of no paths.

@Serotoninluv I'm afraid you missed the point I was trying to get across. If one believes that the staute is an external god he must persist in this folly to become wise. I will try not to sidetrack.

The statue is a reminder for the monk who lost touch with the true nature of reality and missed it's sacredness. If he thinks the statue is sacred but the broom next to it isn't, he knows he's discriminating. Bowing also help develop and practice humilty and graditude. "Tradition has power. It can serve to help liberate, yet it can also restrict and contract." One could say that about many things that are useful, if somepne falls into a trap he was supposed to fall. It's not an excuse to stop using cars if they could hurt people.

And yet, even knowing this a monk bows. Don't underestimate the power of tradition.

Only a fool would think himself wise.

What is motivation in it's essence? Am I supposed to put a carrot in the future to make myself want to get there?

That's exactly what I'm saying I do not have questions, it all seems so easy and so obvious, just like an apple tree 100 meters away from me, yet I stop and think about the apple, instead of going all the way, I suppose my desire is not at full strength. I do have a degree of liberation and acceptance which satisfies me very much at the moment, and so even sitting myself for an inquiry is painfully boring. It also seems to me like I already got everything that there is to get about the subject, and there's no more doubt or interest in it. Could this certainty be illusory? Even if it is, I'm happy with what I have. Anyway, just from reading your posts here, I'm already getting inspiration to keep inquiry. So thank you for your contribution. You said in one of the posts: "The greatest hiccup was feeling a lack of motivation. Only much later did I realize that this very lack of motivation was a giant pointer to the Self. But i had to go through all the things I mentioned above to understand that." Could you elaborate on this point? I also seem to have a low motivation.

What's the point of asking questions if one can answer either: "You don't exist and the world doesn't exist." or "Keep inquiring into the self and the question will disappear." Anyone can do that, and it's boring. What's the use of asking questions in the first place? Never really understood that.

So I guess now I'm also qualified to have an "I'm Enlightened, ask me anything" post, oh boy am I excited.

@SoonHei Simply said the whole is implied in the whole, for it to exist, the whole must exist - in other words, all is interconnected. Like our friend mentioned above, the contemplation of the source of each part leads to the whole.

@111111 Beautiful! I'm very happy for you. Seems like a profound trip. Expect to get many insights in the weeks to come. The mind takes time to catch with what it experienced. Wish I had better connections - don't even know where to start looking.

Disclaimer: It's a non profit, non religious fellowship. I only share as a fellow seeker who found something worthwhile. It's not a replacement for the deep spiritual work we do here in any way, but another perspective to investigate following Leo's principle of open mindedness. ---------------- I would like to share my insights about the 12 steps method - I've been practicing it for over two years now, and have gained many tools and principles that I couldn't get elsewhere. First of all it's based on group meetings in which you mutually share insights about "recovery" - they say you should share about "Strength, wisdom, and hope.". The fact that you become part of a fellowship of people who share a common goal fulfills a deep human need for being a part of a tribe. This unity principle helps to seek compassion and understanding, learning to listen and not react or judge, and to see that all people are equal. (Anonymity principle) Obviously it's not perfect, since it's based on gathering around a particular disorder, but it gets very quickly past that, into deep shadow work, cleaning and letting go of the past and embodying the principles in all aspects of life. Before I came there I've already been on the path of self actualization, but this program really gave me the missing 50% I needed to take my progress to the next level - to change entirely and to become a strong confident individual, and have a clean and healthy life. The different fellowships that are based on this method are focusing on different disorders, since all people are different and have different hangups. Here's a list with many of the types of programs available: https://sobernation.com/list-of-12-step-programs/ I would recommend it especially if you have an addiction to food, alcohol, relationships (co-dependency), drugs, sex, and gambling, because these programs might be your only salvation, and that is from hard experience. But even if you are a simple seeker, you can read AA's big book (the basis of all the programs) which is free in their website. This program saved millions, and brought back happiness to their lives. As a diligent seeker I've researched many traditions and methods, but this is definitely unique and worth checking. It's doesn't cost anything but a small pay of rent, coffee and buying literature without profits. So it's much more financially smart than going to a therapist or other available methods which cost a lot. Twelve Steps 1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. Twelve Traditions 1. Our common welfare should come first; personal progress for the greatest number depends upon unity. 2. For our group purpose there is but one authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants—they do not govern. 3. The relatives of alcoholics, when gathered together for mutual aid, may call themselves an Al-Anon Family Group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation. The only requirement for membership is that there be a problem of alcoholism in a relative or friend. 4. Each group should be autonomous, except in matters affecting another group or Al-Anon or AA as a whole. 5. Each Al-Anon Family Group has but one purpose: to help families of alcoholics. We do this by practicing the Twelve Steps of AA ourselves, by encouraging and understanding our alcoholic relatives, and by welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics. 6. Our Family Groups ought never endorse, finance or lend our name to any outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary spiritual aim. Although a separate entity, we should always co-operate with Alcoholics Anonymous. 7. Every group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. 8. Al-Anon Twelfth Step work should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers. 9. Our groups, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve. 10. The Al-Anon Family Groups have no opinion on outside issues; hence our name ought never be drawn into public controversy. 11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, and TV. We need guard with special care the anonymity of all AA members. 12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles above personalities.

So in conclusion wisdom is transferred like a virus. It infects the patient's mind and creates a thirst for knowing truth, causing him to pursue wisdom, and then he seeks it wherever he can. It then uses the host to infect those around who are also prone to such foolishness.

There totally could be. In the relative everything is possible because it's a self manifested dream based on the beliefs of god. If he chooses to believe it, so it shall be.

Very funny coming from a man who is posting esoteric knowledge here for 3 days straight.

As true as that is, it takes a lot of "work" to realize. Do not underestimate the ego's power to disturb this truth. Also It might be idealistic thinking, and in my experience it's not useful to invent such lofty concepts. There are also degrees of attaining that, it's not a binary factor.