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You're enlightened – now what?

whatiscalledthinking.substack.com

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Re: You're enlightened – now what?

#71

Post by samirillian »

Wow, a lot of hate in the comments, and a lot of know-it-alls. I would say that, at the very least, worrying over these details would be a step along that road.

And no, there is not widespread agreement on the speciific features. Some would say you cease to perdure in the phenomenal realm at all. Some would say you continue do altruistic things out of compassion. Some would say enlightenment is not possible in a single lifetime.

Personally, I have no pretensions about reaching it myself and remain agnostic. Which is why I am shit posting on hackernews with the rest of you schmucks.

Re: You're enlightened – now what?

#72

Post by kgwxd »

adenozine wrote: post #27

This article is what yall want on the front page? The author submitted and probably vote-manipulated to get it there. It's a content-less article, it has nothing to do with hacker values or software or entrepreneurship. Please vote responsibly, everyone!

I think I was the first to upvote it this morning when I was browsing the new section. Pretty sure it just had 1 point. It just struck a chord with me because my brain goes through the same thought process when I consider practicing mindfulness to ease my seemingly ever-increasing anxiety and though maybe some people here would have some ideas that oppose it so I could get past my own lazy "why bother" conclusion.

The submitters older posts don't have more than 1 or 2 points, I don't think they're manipulating. Maybe my highish karma gave it a bit of a boost?

Re: You're enlightened – now what?

#73

Post by brna »

Here is my two cents, maybe not entirely on topic.

It seems to me, that an being at peace with it self has no need to change or make progress in any direction.

Human actions, and progress seem to originate from various needs we have, and not from a peace of mind.

Re: You're enlightened – now what?

#74

Post by SirensOfTitan »

There are so many models of awakening it’s boggling. The traditional Theravada 4-path model is a little too psychological perfection to me.

From what I understand, Buddhist ultimate insight is typically defined as the realization of the three characteristics:

1. One cannot separate the self from the context the individual is embedded in. 2. All phenomena are transient. 3. Nothing is satisfying forever, even jhanic experiences.

There’s a certain shift of relationship to suffering that occurs after various forms of insight. There’s still pain and suffering, and you can still be a total jerk face.

Jack Kornfield’s “after the ecstasy the laundry,” I’ve heard is a great exploration of this.

Re: You're enlightened – now what?

#76

Post by asdasfasdfasdf »

_def wrote: post #52
adenozine wrote: post #27

This article is what yall want on the front page? The author submitted and probably vote-manipulated to get it there. It's a content-less article, it has nothing to do with hacker values or software or entrepreneurship. Please vote responsibly, everyone!

Philosophy is closely entangled with information technology.

I too like the smell of my own farts.

Re: You're enlightened – now what?

#77

Post by cmroanirgo »

brna wrote: post #73

Here is my two cents, maybe not entirely on topic. It seems to me, that an being at peace with it self has no need to change or make progress in any direction. Human actions, and progress seem to originate from various needs we have, and not from a peace of mind.

Agree.

Enlightenment is having the light within, without darkness. Meditation helps understanding of the problem of inner darkness that we're all born with, but doesn't directly translate into becoming the light.

All forms of unconscious reaction are a sure sign that one has darkness within. Unfortunately, our brains are seemingly hotwired into putting all pieces of information it receives into little pigeon holes of assumption. So, when someone provokes us, we get scared and/or angry, and we then re-act to their actions, making us a slave, not only to our own mind, but to the actions of others.

Learning how to maintain a peaceful composure in all aspects of life is a great way to learn of the battle between light and dark.

Those spiritually inclined can make supplications for assistance to the divine, which personally I find to be of immeasurably great help.

Re: You're enlightened – now what?

#78

Post by entropicdrifter »

dang wrote: post #66
mellowdream wrote: post #9

'If anyone should think he has solved the problem of life & feels like telling himself everything is quite easy now, he need only tell himself, in order to see that he is wrong, that there was a time when this "solution" had not been discovered; but it must have been possible to live then too & the solution which has now been discovered appears in relation to how things were then like an accident. And it is the same…

That's fascinating but I don't understand his argument. Wouldn't it mean that no problem can be solved? There was a time before Wiles proved Fermat, for example.

I think the central thesis of his argument is closer to, "No matter how big of a problem you've solved, life went on without that solution previously, so don't get too big of a head about it"

Re: You're enlightened – now what?

#79

Post by HenryBemis »

raxxorrax wrote: post #41
Liquix wrote: post #11

Zen saying: "Before enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment chop wood, carry water" . Some more from Ram Dass: “Just because you are seeing divine light, experiencing waves of bliss, or conversing with Gods and Goddesses is no reason to not know your zip code.” "If you see yourself as God and then you come back from this state and somebody says, "Hey, Sam, empty the garbage!" it catches you back int…

Depends if you start the cult for personal enrichment or not.

I know the guy who wrote the book:

"How to Start Your Own Religion: Form a Church, Gain Followers, Become Tax-Exempt, and Sway the Minds of Millions in Five Easy Steps"

Cool guy and a very fun read!

https://www.amazon.com/How-Start-Your-Own-Religion/dp/144053...

Re: You're enlightened – now what?

#80

Post by WalterGR »

adenozine wrote: post #27

This article is what yall want on the front page? The author submitted and probably vote-manipulated to get it there. It's a content-less article, it has nothing to do with hacker values or software or entrepreneurship. Please vote responsibly, everyone!

Welcome to Hacker News.

It’s okay for an author to post things they’ve written. Do you have any evidence of vote manipulation?

The guidelines of this site (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) contain

Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading.

The same goes for comments about voting on posts. It’s boring.

Also please take a look at the very first section of the guidelines for a statement on what’s on-topic here.

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