Friday, July 1, 2016

The value of our ultimate goal for a Buddhist


As a Buddhist we need to know our goal. What do we want to achieve? We know Prince Siddhartha Gautama sat under the Bodhi tree and attained enlightenment. What does it mean to reach enlightenment? Why do we want to reach the goal as prince Siddhartha had reached?

Here are two definitions from the Internet that I have found:
Enlightenment is a state of perfection wisdom and entails insight into Sunyata. (www.amtfweb.org/english/understandhtml/english-wisdomintro.htm )

The person who has perfected this insight and abandoned all defilements is an arhat, one who is liberated from the cycle of samsara. While alive he enters a sort of conditional nirvana, and at death he enjoys the peace of complete nirvana. (http://buddhism.about.com/od/enlightenmentandnirvana/a/What-Is-Enlightenment.htm)

A state of perfection wisdom can lead us to liberation from suffering. So this is our goal as a Buddhist. Thien Tanh Khong (TTK) has techniques which can help us travel from this shore (our worldly mind= intellect, mind-base and consciousness) to another shore (enlightened mind=Precuneus). From the most basic techniques such as listening to a bell, being objective by using our natural awareness through to the most advanced techniques such as seeing the phenomenon as such (The truth of nature), attaining the understanding of sunyata (non-self) or seeing the phenomenon as an illusion. The 'Don't Talk' is the most unique technique from TTK and uses science to explain how meditation can affect the human body. The founder of TTK Venerable Thich Thong Triet used his own meditation experience and his brain to prove we can enlighten as Buddha if we practise the RIGHT way. All his hard work and effort has proved the Buddhist goal is achievable through scientific research done at the University of Tuebingen in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013 using fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging).

 

Someone said to me once we have experienced the suchness/thusness mind that we requite to search for more, ie Theravada Buddhism. Now we understand what we want to achieve and the value of our goal – the perfection wisdom. Once we have attained this stage of perfection of wisdom, do we want to search on for more? Should we even need to ask this question? To me once we have attained this stage, we see as Buddha sees, we hear as Budhha hears and we feel as Buddha feels. By attaining this stage all the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana suttas should ultimately be clear and understood for that person. What more do we want? If a person asks this question after s/he has attained this stage, should we ponder if this person has reached this particular stage?

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