Key Elements

Going back to the original post... The biggest problem to saying this is, the reality of enlightenment (truth) doesn't have any ego. But, in our world, the life as we know it, it does. That's the biggest difference. I already explained it. Getting an awakening (enlightenment) doesn’t eliminate your ego; it only gives you wisdom. If you want to master and "dissolve" your ego, you got to align it with truth, and that takes practice. Don't underestimate the ego. If we had no ego, that would be nirvana. Life as we know it would be peace.

I already said everything I know. Now, it's up to you to do research or have direct experience of this.

Why not? Don't you want to graduate from this life since it's just an illusion? It's a play. It's a school. It's testing us. You have choice in this life, but you don't have free will. Until the ego completely dies, then you'll have complete free will.

@cetus56 Not so easy to do in this life: The pain is the pain. A person saying, "I am the pain," without suffering is rare. There is a special kind of mole that doesn't have any nerves that could do this. That's why we use our life purpose as a vehicle to actualize with flow -- to reduce our karma and hopefully, by the end of our lives, reach nirvana and graduate from this life so we don't have to be embodied in any ego ever again. Or...we have the free will to go anywhere and become anything, anytime/anywhere after we reach nirvana. That's what it means too, right? Everythingness / Nothingness.

Yes, true. All fields have its validity. What you said here reminds me of some ppl saying that doing science such as becoming a doctor, engineering, IT, computer science, etc are the only marketable fields. That's not true. When parents say this to their children, that could really misguide some of them. There are ways to survive, succeed, and contribute in different fields.

I don't see anything wrong with having "special interests." That's how things progress and reduce suffering in the world. For example, the doctor and the farmer may decide to work together to breed and grow a special plant to cure brain cancer. In other words, the doctor can't do it alone in his lab. He needed the right degree of sun and environment to do that.

I'm not so sure what you mean here. Yes, all fields are equal, of course. We can't all be the same. Some of us have to be farmers, some doctors, etc. But, when we were growing up, we had to learn and develop those skills. Those who are interested in farming learned how to farm. Those interested in being a doctor went to med school.

Yes, exactly! I like what you said there. You're talking about the natural deep force. I call it flow. This is definitely part of enlightenment (truth). Because in the real thing (truth), there is a flow. The ego (our human embodiment), upon initial thought, likes to think of this as a massive, grandiose, powerful, infinite light that flows back into the human body (ego) from the nothingness / everythingness, but in reality (truth), it's just a transformation from the nothingness from the truth's "perspective." No distance at all. No suffering when this happens. Only peace and love as a result. Anyway, we're blessed with different talents, interests, and abilities because of the flow -- go with the flow to create less suffering and peace in our world in our own ways as individuals. Our thoughts are flowing in coming from the nothingness telling us about this. Just let your unwanted thoughts flow away and be present since this creates suffering. This monk is practicing the effortless action. I like to call it meditative flow:

Folks, first find out: 1. What is enlightenment (truth)? 2. What is ego? And then say it. Ppl generally disagree because they don't know what is enlightenment and what is ego. Both of their meanings are too profound to put into words.

Thanks. I noticed something else in this thread. Ego has to be defined better. Ego is not something "right" or "wrong." It's not "good" or "bad." It's something that is quite capable of not aligning with truth.

I also think that at least an hour of exercise everyday is important and taking multi-vitamins along with eating healthy. Sometimes you got to empty your mind of excessive thoughts. Please feel free to share your thoughts about this video. I'm looking for the overall health of the mind and body to maintain long term.

Wait... Here's another way of putting it. Do you define and label doing something as egoic/illusion or truth? Because the definition could go either way. Depends on you.

No one is asking you to do anything. It's your choice. If you want to label doing something as ego, that's your choice too. Labeling itself is egoic: See? What's not egoic is truth (enlightenment). What is truth? Peace, flow, detachment...These are aspects of it, yes. You will experience these if you actually experience truth, yes. Does life itself align with it? Yes, of course. The big question is: is your "ego" aligned with it? That's your choice. Truth means the end of suffering. Are you going to align your life purpose with truth, or go the opposite direction? You have choice. Since the world that we live in is an illusion, it doesn't mean that it's not aligned with truth. It literally came from truth -- no distance.

Tell you something here since this is a good topic. You know how you say that life is a flow. Well, the truth is a free falling flow. That's part of it. You do flow with it. It's just that, are you going to flow with life? Same applies to life itself. Are you going to discover what needs to be done and flow along with your aligned talents, interests, and abilities? When you do this, others see you as a role model through your actions and they may also do the same. It causes a ripple effect.

For my language class

Good topic question. Personally, tbh, in the beginning, I wasn't convinced in any way by anyone. Long story. Let's just say, something had to happen to me, and then something else, and then something else, etc. They had to be "ah-ha" moments that awed me. Yes, they were interconnected and out-of-the-ordinary. If you're just trying to figure this whole thing out, I would just try to have a peace of mind in any situation and go for a good life purpose that serves the world for the better -- reduce suffering. Learn entrepreneurship; start with orange and get settled, but be careful not to get stuck in orange and make decisions that are very orange. Along the journey, maybe, perhaps, something will happen. They say, "you get what you deserve."

Thanks. Sure you can. Why not? They say, "The sky is the limit," but then ppl have different talents, interests, and learning abilities. You know, I was thinking, if a person had a kensho enlightenment (sudden), and wanted to incorporate that into a life purpose, but he/she has a very orange type of startup/career/life purpose, it will be very hard to give that up. They'll be really stuck in the rat race and don't have time. For example, if he's a real estate tycoon and owns a lot of casinos as businesses and works at least 11+ hrs a day, it won't be easy to manage. Also, the followers won't be too open-minded. They're there to learn how to make $. (Unless, they get into philanthropy / charity / non-profits -- green.) Green and tier 2 type of life purposes may incorporate enlightenment better. This is how it will feel like if the life purpose is too orange:

Yes, I agree here. Life is a flow, and others can choose to flow with you or not. It's choice. That's how it works. For example, I'm a bilingual teacher. I teach in fun, easy, and creative ways. That's my mission. I could do this as a career and a life purpose. In other words, I help ppl by teaching them a skill. Heard of the saying, "You give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life?" Now, here's the catch; if I had an awakening of the no-self, I could talk about this and teach this in both languages. This means I'll get a different set of audience if successful. So, yes, a life purpose and enlightenment can go together.

I bet it's a strange loop map. It doesn't end till the ego takes its last breath on earth. Hopefully, by then, the ego walked deep in its path, as deep as possible, and as many loops as possible (with a peace of mind, of course). Then, when it's all over, hopefully, the ego will finally graduate from school (earth), learned all its lessons, and achieve nirvana, and not have to repeat school again.

I agree. I do believe there are healthy / tactful ways of expressing it through a life purpose. It's not possible to go around telling ppl about it.

"We walk this earth together, but the spiritual journey is walked alone." - Buddha

I get what you're saying. Ramana is just saying it in his own words and his own way. Some ppl get it right away because they already experienced the big E. So, when they hear a lecture, teaching, metaphor, etc about it, they are initially surprised by it. They want to know more about what it is. Some ppl call this "awakening." The big E is when the person has walked his/her full path and applied it in life.

I noticed something going on in this thread, and I would like to go back to the original post. It is best to express whatever it is that you've learned from your experience in your life purpose in a tactful manner. If you go around telling ppl about it in society or where ever, the chances are, you won't get the right responses. And, yes, the topic of enlightenment is different from other topics, like psychology and psychiatry. Make sure you understand the definitions correctly and go seek help in the right places accordingly. Back and forth debating and ridiculing doesn't help. It's just a distraction from the real work--a waste of time. If you said it in your life purpose in a tactful manner, it gives the other person(s) the freedom of choice to choose to listen to you or not. It also attracts the 'right' ppl -- those who are ready to hear it will respond properly. Also, the message has nothing to do with being Zen, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, or any other religion or not. The message is just the message--a pointer. Are you able to see it and apply it? That's the question.