Before Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water

[Cathy92506]

Before Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water
After Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water

I realize that not everyone agrees with this view on Enlightenment. 

I was hoping to have a friendly discussion about different views and question each other about them.

[James123]

25 minutes ago, Cathy92506 said:

Before Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water
After Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water

I realize that not everyone agrees with this view on Enlightenment. 

I was hoping to have a friendly discussion about different views and question each other about them.

I definitely agree.

Before Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water (with clenched teeth, a heavy heart, as if each task were a burden, a chain of obligation or hate)

After Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water (with open palms, a joyful breath, each movement alive with love, each moment a dance of Being)

[Sempiternity]

To me this is a cop-out. Seems to minimize Enlightenment / God-realization. Like it's no big deal, you're just the same after Enlightenment / God-realization, things will go on the same as they were before. Enlightenment, or God-realization, changes how you view literally everything in reality. Instead of everything being separate, everything is One. How you relate to everything changes profoundly. Sure things still happen, but why they happen, how they happen, and what they are, profoundly changes. 

[ChrisZoZo]

@Cathy92506 what are you saying that sentence says?

[Cathy92506]

22 minutes ago, ChrisZoZo said:

@Cathy92506 what are you saying that sentence says?

 

To me, it says that when you are awakened, it is the same life as you were living before.
In modern terms:
Before Enlightenment:
Get up early to go to work. It's a one-hour drive, and traffic is congested. The boss is always grumpy. Only get a 30-minute lunch break. It's a one-hour drive home, and traffic is congested. Greet your wife at home and ask for some loving. She points a finger at you and says, "NO!"

After Enlightenment:
Get up early to go to work. It's a one-hour drive, and traffic is congested. The boss is always grumpy. Only get a 30-minute lunch break. It's a one-hour drive home, and traffic is congested. Greet your wife at home and ask for some loving. She points a finger at you and says, "NO!"

The difference is one's state of consciousness. Before the Enlightenment, the person is carrying around all the emotional baggage from one point to the next. And he is carrying around yesterday's, last week's, last year's crap too. After enlightenment, he isn't carrying anything from one point to the next.

 

James 123 says it above.

Edited Tuesday at 11:41 PM by Cathy92506
I wanted to add to it

[Salvijus]

Before Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water

After Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water but it's no longer you (the personal self) who is chopping the wood and carrying the water. There's just an effortless flow of the Law that is taking care of everything. Wu Wei.

Edited 23 hours ago by Salvijus

[Breakingthewall]

12 hours ago, Cathy92506 said:

After Enlightenment:
Get up early to go to work. It's a one-hour drive, and traffic is congested. The boss is always grumpy. Only get a 30-minute lunch break. It's a one-hour drive home, and traffic is congested. Greet your wife at home and ask for some loving. She points a finger at you and says, "NO!

No, after that you really perceive that you are limitless ,the nonsense ends, each breath has a butterfly effect that encompasses infinity, so no more doing stupid things like a meaningless job, a toxic wife, addictions, meaningless sex, etc. Reality shines and is sacred, what you seek is to align yourself with your total nature, opening yourself day by day more to what you are. You feel the flow of reality and you want to be one with it. Then not chop wood but make your structure the most equalized possiblity possible, even it means death in a given moment 

So, that of "before enlightenment etc" is very unenlightened statement that doesn't point to the reality of openess at all

Edited 22 hours ago by Breakingthewall

[Hojo]

I think it means keep surviving.

When you see God you see there is no flaws with you as an individual, so you dont necessarily have to keep your job with a shitty boss and long commute you would probably want to change that and let God have the chance to give you what you want.

I see it as more you are doing, everything perfectly, there is nothing to change. Not physically, metaphysically.

When you see God you can think that you are not an upstanding person, or have flaws in your character that might be shameful and awakening is a time where you see God allows you in his kingdom with all those flaws. So whatever you were doing before is good keep doing it, there is nothing wrong with you to change.

Religious indoctrination will creep up and you will be like if God is real what christianity has to say about how to live is the correct path, and what I am doing before was wrong when thats not the case.

Edited 7 hours ago by Hojo

[Salvijus]

Before Enlightenment: struggling to survive

After Enlightenment: survival just happens 

Before Enlightenment: rowing like a madman. 

After Enlightenment: sailing peacefully. 

Edited 4 hours ago by Salvijus