Enlightenment, is a Catalyst needed? (mystic, evolve, experience, Zen)

[koan]

What is needed to become enlightened? Is it many years of study? Is it just having an open mind? Or does there need to be some type of catalyst?
I personally prescribe to the view that to become enlightened, a catalyst is needed. In the zen school that I am from, we believe one needs to engage a "Great Doubt". What is a great doubt? It is the doubt that arises when so called logical thinking does not give one the answers to the questions on life and happiness, they are seeking. Mental trauma is certainly a way of obtaining a great doubt. What other factors, may induce this great doubt? The Buddha spent six years doing ascetic training (which almost killed him), before he came to the conclusion, that that particular way of thinking(and practicing), was wrong. This became his great doubt. He then used this to find the real answer he was seeking.
The Buddha said "All sentient beings have the Buddha nature". What he means is, we all have the potential to be enlightened. So how do we realise our Buddha nature?
What will cause one to have the desire to realise this enlightenment?

[vandervalley]

practice, practice and practice and one day in this life or the next...

It may just be around the corner

[Seyorni]

The number of techniques to shock the system into enlightenment or a mystical consciousness is endless. Drugs, physical or sensory deprivation, meditation, chants, devotion, pain, starvation, &al. All cultures acknowledging some degree of mystical possibility have their methods.
Then there are those highly-evolved or unstable individuals that become unhinged spontaneously for no apparent reason.

[YmirGF]

Originally Posted by koan

The Buddha said "All sentient beings have the Buddha nature". What he means is, we all have the potential to be enlightened. So how do we realise our Buddha nature?

After three decades plus of relatively uninterrupted bliss, I would advise that one lose attachment to becoming enlightened. In many respects, one is already enlightened -- the trick is to become aware of it. It is my view and experience, that one must move beyond their limited preconceptions about how realites ought to behave and silently sit back and observe. In the quietness of thought, with breath stilled, one can then begin to "see" in a whole new way. Feel the environment all around you, beyond the surface of your skin and let surrounding sounds serve as guides (or markers) expanding the sphere of your awareness, effortlessly.

Originally Posted by koan

What will cause one to have the desire to realise this enlightenment?

The catalyst can be anything, from a spider's web glinting with morning dew, to footprints in the snow, or the lapping of waves at the seashore. Sadly, there is not a lot you can do to prepare yourself for your "appointment" with gnosis, but regular meditation will help, as will the art of dreaming. Their benefit lies in the respect that they can both open up vistas of non-ordinary reality and if anything can be said about "enlightenment" it is far from ordinary although it is still within the grasp of ordinary people.

[koan]

[quote=YmirGF;1054505]After three decades plus of relatively uninterrupted bliss, I would advise that one lose attachment to becoming enlightened. In many respects, one is already enlightened -- the trick is to become aware of it. It is my view and experience, that one must move beyond their limited preconceptions about how realites ought to behave and silently sit back and observe. In the quietness of thought, with breath stilled, one can then begin to "see" in a whole new way. Feel the environment all around you, beyond the surface of your skin and let surrounding sounds serve are a guides (ot markers) expanding the sphere of your awareness effortlessly.


Does this only apply whilst sitting on ones bum? How does one carry this awareness over to "Everyday Activities

[UltraViolet]

[quote=koan;1054510]

Originally Posted by YmirGF

After three decades plus of relatively uninterrupted bliss, I would advise that one lose attachment to becoming enlightened. In many respects, one is already enlightened -- the trick is to become aware of it. It is my view and experience, that one must move beyond their limited preconceptions about how realites ought to behave and silently sit back and observe. In the quietness of thought, with breath stilled, one can then begin to "see" in a whole new way. Feel the environment all around you, beyond the surface of your skin and let surrounding sounds serve are a guides (ot markers) expanding the sphere of your awareness effortlessly.

Koan said:

Does this only apply whilst sitting on ones bum? How does one carry this awareness over to "Everyday Activities

I don't want to pretend to speak for Paul here,
but I did not get the idea anywhere in what he said
that we were to carry on this awareness while sitting on one's bum.
One can "silently sit back and observe" internally
while engaging in any activity imaginable.

It is actually this detatched awareness of the "observer" (of the self)
that allows one to.......

"move beyond their limited preconceptions about how realites ought to behave".

In the quietness of thought, with breath stilled, one can then begin to "see" in a whole new way. Feel the environment all around you, beyond the surface of your skin and let surrounding sounds serve are a guides (ot markers) expanding the sphere of your awareness effortlessly.

I find that when I snap and lock into this mode of being,
I am able to effortlessly walk through even what are usually
the most stressful situations, with a total calm and heightened awareness.

I LIVE for those "snap and lock" experiences.
some are shorter or longer or more or less intense,
but all are wonder-filled and enlightening!

My longest and most intense heightened awareness snap and lock
lasted almost an entire summer (a few years back).
The first three days knocked my awareness alignment out so far,
as to dislodge and shift my paradigm permanently.
That summer was the absolute highlight of my entire life.

My conciousness "sat way back" if you will,
and observed with quiet and heightened and deepened sense,
while I did all of the regular life stuff I always did.
I snapped and locked and saw life through completely new eyes.

I have experienced this to a lesser extent on and off
since that first major shift in awareness.

Who knows what might trigger it next?!

[vandervalley]

Originally Posted by Seyorni

The number of techniques to shock the system into enlightenment or a mystical consciousness is endless. Drugs, physical or sensory deprivation, meditation, chants, devotion, pain, starvation, &al. All cultures acknowledging some degree of mystical possibility have their methods.
Then there are those highly-evolved or unstable individuals that become unhinged spontaneously for no apparent reason.

I doubt drugs, physical or sensory deprivation,pain and starvation are necessary for Enlightenment in the Buddhist sense.

Saying drugs or torture is needed for enlightenment is like saying Guantanamo Bay is the monastry for sitting meditation.

[vandervalley]

After three decades plus of relatively uninterrupted bliss, I would advise that one lose attachment to becoming enlightened

Until maybe one day when you realize that life is going to end and this 3 decades of "uniterrupted" bliss" is nothing compared to the eternal bliss of Enlightenemnt.

In many respects, one is already enlightened -- the trick is to become aware of it.

The real trick is to see the earthly "uninterrupted bliss" is short lived.

that one must move beyond their limited preconceptions about how realites ought to behave and silently sit back and observe. In the quietness of thought, with breath stilled, one can then begin to "see" in a whole new way. Feel the environment all around you

Feel the environment around you and when it gets cold one may think maybe I should start burning a few logs and when it gets warm one may think "i hope the air-con works.

Thats one way to get attached to the environment.

.....as will the art of dreaming

dreaming of what exactly? One does not even need to meditate to dream; I mean one can dream even when he/she is siiting on a toilet seat.

[Seyorni]

Originally Posted by vandervalley

I doubt drugs, physical or sensory deprivation,pain and starvation are necessary for Enlightenment in the Buddhist sense.

Saying drugs or torture is needed for enlightenment is like saying Guantanamo Bay is the monastry for sitting meditation.

I agree they're not necessary -- the physiology of enlightenment has not been extensively studied. But such modalities are very common, and should not be dismissed out-of-hand.

Native Americans in my neighborhood use peyote as a sacrament. In South America they have a much more extensive pharmacopeia.

Buddha himself opted for the deprivation/starvation modality. At one point he was so emaciated the mark of his bum in the sand was said to resemble a camel's footprint.
Many Native Americans opt for a variation of this in their spirit quests.

And we're all aware of the sensory deprivation/meditation techniques of Himalayan Lamas or Indian Sadhus.

[YmirGF]

Originally Posted by koan