eputkonen

You can not become happy...your very nature is happiness, bliss, and joy. Happiness is something you are, when you are not making yourself miserable. So the trick is to clearly see how you are making yourself suffer and miserable...and cease doing that to yourself. Also, you might want to actively find joy through appreciation for what-is now and whatever is happening. Appreciation makes joy and happiness much easier to feel. The alternative is not to feel numb to life...just live in joy and happiness. A happiness that does not depend on anything. But this is a bandage only, because you feel shitty and suffer because you believe you are this fictitious "me". Realizing the happiness that dos not depend on anything will not occur as long as you believe you are this illusory "me". The "me" will always have problems and create misery for itself. In a way, it is problems and misery that strengthen the illusion of the "me" and sustain it. What are you...really? Inquire and delve into who you think you are...and see you are not that. At the same time and in the mean time, appreciate as much as you can all of the time. I will conclude that there is a bit of truth in your last question - "do I become happy by not having the need to be happy?" If you need/insist that you never feel pain, never experience unfortunately circumstances, etc...then you won't be happy. The trick is not needing things to always be pleasant.

Even the Buddha said "I am awake"...so I guess even the Buddha was not enlightened according to you. The meaning of the word Buddha is "The Enlightened One". Awake and enlightened are synonyms. So I disagree...the statement can be made that a happening termed "enlightenment" occurred without identification, ego, etc. Enlightenment is not a constant journey...but an occurrence...like the bottom of a bucket falling off and then all the water goes with it (using an old Zen analogy). Enlightenment is seeing through the "me" and the cessation of suffering (as a "me" needs to be believed in order to suffer).

For me, I meditate because I enjoy it. Recently, I was traveling and busy and didn't meditate...but I don't feel guilty or sad or feel bad. I don't beat myself up for missing it. I find I miss it and want to do it all the more the next day. So perhaps you need to clarify why you are meditating. If it is work...a chore...something that must be done...we often resist and procrastinate.

There is no other...to help others is to help oneself. Also, the way is Love, Truth, Harmony, and Unity...and and so if I can spread Love, Truth, Harmony, and Unity, I will. If in increasing Love, Truth, Harmony, and Unity is called "helping others"...so be it.

Meditation quiets and stills the internal environment, so there is less distraction. Distraction hinders seeing what is right now. To realize what is as it is right now is enlightenment.

Thought is an addiction people have...and 95% of the thought is not needed (for the average person). Now the mind/ego then thinks/feels...if I don't think I won't do anything. But that is BS. Don't fall for the tricks of the mind. Right now many of your actions are not based upon thought at all. When you need to take a dump...you just go do it. You don't think about it and how you can fit it into your day. Athletes will talk about being in the zone. This is a time when you are not thinking...you are just acting. Thought and the mind gets in the way from high performance in sports. I used to study the martial arts. A lot of time was spent in letting thought go, because it was when you are thinking that you will get hit more. You can't think about defending yourself and how you will strike back...you just have to do it. The less thought involved the better. This involves trusting your understanding. You know what to do...you don't have to think about it. You can plan...that does require thought...but it is like hiking in the woods - you only need to look into the distance every once in a while to make sure you are still on course and then you look at where you are to make sure you don't trip over something, bump into something, or fall into a pit. The focus is primarily on now...not on what is up ahead. Also choice does not require extensive thought and deliberation (internally). We think/deliberate when we don't know what to do. But when you know what to do, thought is not needed. Furthermore, a lot of the thought we have is reflective thought...commentary on and critiquing what just happened. I hope some of these examples and pointers help. From my own experience, thought has pretty much stopped in the normal course of day to day life. Hours could pass without a thought. Even now...I am just typing and the words are coming out. I am not thinking about what I am going to write...I am just writing. In this way words and more-so actions just come from silence. Spontaneous action based on what is going on and my own understanding/being. You see...a compassionate person acts compassionately because they are compassionate (their understanding and being). It comes from who they are. They are not thinking all the time how to be compassionate. They are not thinking about their actions and trying to determine if it was compassionate. These would be the thoughts of someone who does not know compassion and is not compassionate. So again, this involves trusting your understanding and allowing action to come from who you are. If you know what to do...you don't have to think about it.

Then what Nisargadatta said will make sense... Nisargadatta Maharaj said, “love says ‘I am everything.’ Wisdom says ‘I am nothing.’ Between the two, my life flows.”

That is reforming a "me"...who has to ground what to whom? If the realization is deep enough and clear enough, it is never doubted and so there is nothing to ground. Grounding is an action of a "me" that caught a glimpse and wants to try and practice it now.

Yes, there is no "me". Everything and nothing?

Maybe using the term "appreciation" would be more meaningful for you.

Don't care what is beyond the known...the trick is accepting and being comfortable with the unknown. Also unconditionally accepting the realities and certainties. All forms are temporary and ever changing. If you believe the idea that this form (that you identify with) was born...then there is a death of this form. However, there is no other...no separation...between this form and the world (i.e. everything). A whirl pool forms in a river and passes, but it was just the river the whole time. A wave forms and passes, but there was just the ocean the whole time. Death only exists as long as you identify with the temporary form. Fear only exists as long as you identify with the temporary form.

It is insane to attach to material or non-material. You can be attached to form and you can be attached to emptiness.

Just to know. For its own sake. I wasn't looking to get anything out of finding the truth...just wanted to know the truth.

Prior to realization - which was nondual in nature, I really wasn't trying to get enlightenment. Ever since when I was a child, I was curious about the world and wanted to know the truth. I somehow sensed there was something more. So although I was not raised in any religion or faith, I became interested in spiritual topics in my later teens (much to the confusion of my parents). From about 1991 to 2004, I was a ravenous reader and spiritual seeker. I just wanted to know the truth...and it kept me going. In 2004, it seemed I hit my limit of reading and studying. Funny enough, I hadn't read anything about nonduality. But at that time, every new book I read seemed to just be saying something I had already read. So I gave up the search. I no longer really cared. A year later (November 2005), I happened to keep bumping into the name - Eckhart Tolle - and so decided just to watch a video of his to get a summary of his teaching. I watched the Flower of Human Consciousness and he gave an exercise on inhabiting the body and I truly became present for the first time (instead of thinking I was present). In that moment of silence of mind, there was realization. So it started out as a search for truth.

Perhaps, because someone who is attached to self-esteem and identifies as someone with high self-esteem really does not want to realize there is no "me"...and that there is no one superior, inferior, or equal to anyone else. And so they will push realization/enlightenment away and continue to deny what is.

What feels sadness? It is the ego...messing with you again. It is the ego that is sad...but you say that person does not exist...so what is the problem? You are lying to yourself...if there really was the realization that there is no "me"...there would be no sadness. "And I'm trying to hold on whatever is left of the ice." This is exactly my point...the "me" is trying to hold onto whatever "me" is left. This is something only a "me" could say. You want to believe "that person does not exist"...but it still very much exists and is kicking and screaming (hence the sadness). You are allowing yourself an escape by saying "my real self is formless"...this still leaves you with an identity...something to identify with. The thing is...there is nothing to identify with. There is no "me". So delve into this "me" that you are still believing and identify with. Is it real or just a thought? Delve into the sadness...what is its source? There is no escape...the only way out is through (so to speak). There has to be a clear seeing (clarify) of what is. You have no choice but to be aware when conscious, so just look at what is going on...the "me"...etc. Look deeply.

There is a Zen saying...before enlightenment chop wood, carry water....after enlightenment chop wood, carry water. Such a person could be a laborer...in which case he could have thought his career/life purpose was to labor (chop wood and carry water)...and afterwards he realized it was a role he played (and continued to chop wood and carry water). After awakening, I continued my day job as a corporate recruiter. After enlightenment, I met a woman who later married me. You worry about what happens after enlightenment needlessly. From an egoic point of view, you call it reality sodomizing you...but I call it radical freedom and loving what is (i.e. reality).

Sure there is a sense of self...just a lot less thinking about it.

None of my past lives (that I remember parts of) were historical or noted figures...there is no way to verify. And so there would be no way for you to know if what I am recounting is a past life or a story I am making up on the fly. Also, this is a distraction from realizing enlightenment. I let my past go long ago...let me leave it in the past. Furthermore, this is off topic from the discussion at hand.

For what reason?

Yes. Have you not felt love deep within your heart? Love seems to naturally reside at the "heart center". How the number and locations were determined...I don't know. I don't care that much about chakras to worry about these questions. Yes, I have some memories of past lives. Reincarnation happens. But so what? One night you dream you are an adventurer like India Jones, the next night you dream you are a race car driver with wife and family...each night you reincarnate (so to speak) into another dream-life...but looking into these dream-lives will not help you realize you are dreaming (and become a lucid dreamer). The past has passed...let it go.

For me, I heard about self-realization when I read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda (the first spiritual book I read). Not long after, I read a little Buddhism and heard about enlightenment and the end of suffering. But self-realization and enlightenment were terms with little to no meaning for me...with definitions that seemed to vary depending on who was talking...and so I never really sought it. Instead, I spent 13 years in generic spiritual seeking...chakras, past lives, kabbalah, mysticism, magick, etc. I also read the Bible, the Quaran, the Bhagavad Gita, and hundreds of books of various spiritual topics. I never suffered much...so I never sought a way out of suffering. I just wanted to know the Truth. That was all.

The whole of the Noble Eight-fold Path in Buddhism is within the first - samyak-dṛuṣṭi / sammā-diṭṭhi. This is often translated as "Right View", but "sam" is akin to "sum"...and so complete or whole are also adequate translations. With Right View, there is Right Thought/Intent. With Right View, there is Right Speech. With Right View, there is Right action...and so on. When I am suggesting "do nothing...just be present and look" - this is the secret to "Right View". The right way of viewing the world. The complete or whole way of viewing the world. This is discovered by just being present and looking. At times, questioning what you are viewing...to see through the illusions of the mind. One of the greatest documents of Yoga is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Right at the beginning it says, "Now Yoga is explained. Yoga is the cessation of the revolutions of the mind. Then the Seer abides in Itself." Yoga is just ways to quiet the mind and abide in the Self. Tat tvam asi. They use various methods to attempt this. Surrender and devotion - as in Bhakti yoga - could work for some...but few are able to let everything go (even themselves). As for me, "quieting the mind and abiding in the Self" is what I have been saying. Be present (which means cessation of the revolutions of the mind) and just look (to realize the Self). Once the Self is realized, then abiding in the Self is not difficult. I would not call either useless. However, pitfalls and obstacles exist as both Yoga and Buddhism have adopted many beliefs and practices...and have adopted the idea of progress (fairly widely). Spirituality became something to inflate the ego. They often focus too much on doing things instead of looking at who they think the doer is. Unfortunately, I have seen Yoga and Buddhism become another distraction for some practitioners...but throughout history there have been those freed by the teachings as well. Adyashanti woke up through following Zen (as I recall). You asked, "so, since you are enlightened, give us a practical solution to enlightenment"...and so I gave the best answer I could based on my experience (while trying to minimize current pitfalls I see). I point in a different way (than Buddha or Patanjali)...and because it is different it may help others. I see that most people are very busy doing things to wake up and have been doing things for many years...so I suggest to stop doing things and just see/be aware. I only woke up after I ceased doing anything for a couple minutes. I had given up the spiritual search a year or so prior, but my mind was still busy and noisy. I was still doing things. Then after becoming truly present for the first time...thought stopped...and in that silence of mind I woke up. There is power and potentiality in doing nothing. The ego does not want to do nothing. It wants to do something.

You are mistaken if you think hearing such a teaching is enough to instantly enlighten. It is not about hearing. The root obstacle is the "I" that you think you are. On the foundation of the illusion of ego, all other obstacles are built. You can try to remove all these other derived obstacles, but you will never reach the root. In not reaching the root, there is no end to new obstacles arising. You can spend your whole life removing obstacles...and never question the foundation on which it is all built...and remain in ignorance and delusion till death of this body/mind. Doing nothing means just being present and seeing/aware...which both happen of their own accord when we do nothing at all. It is helpful to everyone to say don't do anything...just be present and look at the "I". The delusion is to believe we have to do many things just to get to the point where we can do nothing. That is how we convince ourselves to keep doing things...which only strengthens the illusion of "I". When you are without thought (like you say you have been), out of curiosity wonder who you are...but then don't do anything. Even if it is a minute...when there is no thought...who are you? What is the feeling, experience, identification, etc.?

"so you are just suggesting being present and self-inquiry... To put it in one line, just be present and ask 'Who am I'?...right?" I am suggesting doing nothing...in the deepest sense. Perhaps with a curiosity about who you really are. This may turn into self-inquiry. Which may help to clear some of the misidentifications, but I caution against self-inquiry becoming another practice and doing to gain something. Self-inquiry is not required...but may help. If self-inquiry happens, that is fine...but doing nothing is better. Self-inquiry can become a mental exercise...and thinking and thought is counterproductive to realizing what is here and now. "Do you think this covers everything, addresses all the problems a seeker faces?" Do nothing...with an attitude of curiosity about who you really are...just see and be aware of what is. Then come back with a specific question. I don't know what problems seekers may face...and not all people have the same problems. There is nothing else I can generically say or recommend - anything more would have to be tailored for the specific seeker. I might point at something else to just look at...to understand with observation...but I would not suggest any new practice. "Obviously, people don't get enlightened just by hearing this." Yes, obviously...you have to see for yourself who you are. I could tell you, but you probably won't believe me...or worse, you would believe me. "In reality it takes many years to realize the truth for almost all people except some rare exceptions like Ramana Mahirishi." It does not take many years...that is a belief that gives the ego an excuse to continue in power. We don't realize the truth because we don't want to see it...as long as you avert your eyes or refuse to recognize what you see...then you can continue believing what is false. The truth dispels darkness instantly. The truth is always here and now...but instead you are thinking about enlightenment in terms of years in the future. And so you don't see what is now. It takes as long as it takes to realize the truth...it takes longer when you are distracting yourself and are not present. "Even though there is no path, everyone has to start by assuming there is a path... Is that not right?" Not at all. Assuming there is a path is part of the problem. Paths take you somewhere else and it takes time to get there. What path could you take to here? How long will it take to get to now? Paths are part of the distractions. Paths say 'I can't be at the destination until'...and so it is a way to delay. "what is the difference between self-realization and enlightenment?" No difference...just as my last answer said - "Enlightenment is not a process...it is realization...Self-realization."