All Agreed, this is already covered in eight mindfulness of noble eight fold path
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Agreed all of this is already covered in noble eight fold path
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I think you are right here as main focus and central idea of Buddha’s curiosity and crux of teaching was liberation from suffering so in this list
No. 3 must be most important and others either automatically fall in place or are co-developed
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You will need two things,
- A map (a growing measure of righ view)
- A flashlight (Deep meditation)
You will need the words of another and significant inspiration. You can’t go past ‘BSWA youtube’ or ‘BSV dhamma talks’ , that is unless you can spend time with some real sangha or enlightened beings, in which case, optimise your priorities. But hey, why are you asking?
You can see for yourself here and now 
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Everything taught by The Buddha is in the Noble Eightfold Path, isn’t it?
It is the only path for realization.
It is the end of bhava (exist) — translate from a bhante from sri lanka
Bhava nirodho nibbanam - the end of existence is nibbana
Because we have a self and we thought we exist… while the truth doesnt say so, anicca anatta dukkha
Dukkha is to be born, aging and to die, which mean we are caught in time and place dimension
The nibbana is when you dont see that you exist here anymore, the body itself is a bliss , which is called nibbana bliss, and you can experience cessation of existence which is the nibbana without residue
Hope you realize the nibbana soon too
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Oh what a topic is this, wonder when buddha would have experience of enlightenment, he would have had a question wait a minute is that real, a delusion, wow and then nothing, its being never heard of before what is this
All he can correlate to is the realization its very profound, beyond concept, and the experience is like the knotted ball of thread, with rushes and reeds unfolding and opening all by itself each knot after another with a realization oh that’s how it is but would have struggled to explain it, just realize it
Probably that’s why he sat for meditation 7 days after to do further investigation
- How can buddha convince himself and others on how it was done or what it is, who is listening and why should they care
- is this something to achieve, its physical or mental
- how can buddha tell others what is highest happiness when they haven’t seen by themselves
- At one moment its a experience of wow this is so amazing, beyond words concept and thought analysis,
- In next moment thought would come there is no being to get enlightened, there is anatta, and what would buddha mean by he being really enlightened
- Does enlightened get psychic powers using which they can show others, how can he go back to community, who always consider having something materialistic as value to tell them nothing is much much better
All these questions would have come to buddha. People accept others for something when they see the difference for themselves, how can you should this to someone. Oh what suffering buddha would have to declare himself as enlightened and prove it to others
Where do Enlightened ones exist?
Enlightened ones neither exist in any realms nor not exist as both perspectives here refer to existence and question itself is wrong. Thats what is said
this be comprehended like: Consider a dark meteor, the enlightened ones clean this meteor from defilements, orient it in certain direction and let is fall, free fall. This creates a brilliant radiance lighting up the sky which can be seen across galaxies, which eventually gets smaller and smaller and light goes stronger and more radiant till eventually it disappears, there is nothing left anymore to burn or exist which can be seen by the eyes, we call it shooting star, perfect example for enlightenment.
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The Sutta Pitaka classifies the four levels according to the levels’ attainments. In the Sthaviravada and Theravada traditions, which teach that progress in understanding comes all at once, and that ‘insight’ (abhisamaya) does not come ‘gradually’ (successively – anapurva)," this classification is further elaborated, with each of the four levels described as a path to be attained suddenly, followed by the realisation of the fruit of the path.
According to the Theravada exegesis, the process of becoming an Arahat is therefore characterized by four distinct and sudden changes, although in the sutras it says that the path has a gradual development, with gnosis only after a long stretch, just as the ocean has a gradual shelf, a gradual inclination with a sudden drop only after a long stretch. The Mahasanghika had the doctrine of ekaksana-citt, "according to which a Buddha knows everything in a single thought-instant.
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Yes I agree with you, though one distinction here is there should be difference between buddha and arhant. Buddha’s are only few, they have 32 marks on the body and they are destined to be buddhas or a Chakravarty samrat(wheel turning monarch) , lot mentioned here DN26
He had the following seven treasures: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the jewel, the woman, the treasurer, and the counselor as the seventh treasure. He had over a thousand sons who were valiant and heroic, crushing the armies of his enemies. After conquering this land girt by sea, he reigned by principle, without rod or sword.
Arhant doesn’t have to struggle like Buddha or can they as they are capable of enlightenment but not fighting with world over it or convincing the world, its for buddha’s to arrise and make their life easier
Still enlightenment process remains kind of similar for both
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Once the the four stage system of noble disciples has been recognized then the progressive severing of the fetters comes into perspective anchoring it in reality:
"In the same way, there are these gross impurities in a monk intent on heightened mind: misconduct in body, speech, & mind. These the monk — aware & able by nature — abandons, dispels, wipes out of existence. When he is rid of them, there remain in him the moderate impurities: thoughts of sensuality, ill will, & harmfulness. These he abandons, dispels, wipes out of existence. When he is rid of them there remain in him the fine impurities: thoughts of his caste, thoughts of his home district, thoughts related to not wanting to be despised. These he abandons, dispels, wipes out of existence.
“When he is rid of them, there remain only thoughts of the Dhamma. His concentration is neither calm nor refined, it has not yet attained serenity or unity, and is kept in place by the fabrication of forceful restraint. But there comes a time when his mind grows steady inwardly, settles down, grows unified & concentrated. His concentration is calm & refined, has attained serenity & unity, and is no longer kept in place by the fabrication of forceful restraint.”—AN 3.100 i-x
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So this looks like a gradual process which makes sense
Not sure where I see someone mentioned few times that after 7 days of enlightenment if someone doesn’t develop Brahma viharas to 100% the body breaks up
Trying to understand how everything fits together
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Ignore the details and step on the major stepping stones which are repeated often in the suttas. The main components of the dhamma interact dynamically to result in experience. That is what should be aimed for.
“let him grow in equanimity with mind composed,
check his scruples, how he inclines to doubt.”—Sn 4.16
For example Metta should be put in perspective as a lesser path than insight:
"And the Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, Sariputta — when there was still more to be done, having established Dhanañjanin the brahman in the inferior Brahma world — has gotten up from his seat and left.”—MN97
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I searched for last several years to understand this topic the best and its very well expressed by Buddha here, and explained to perfection by S. N. Goenka.
DHP-183
Ānandattherapañhavatthu
Sabbapāpassa akaraṇaṁ,
kusalassa upasampadā;
Sacittapariyodapanaṁ,
etaṁ buddhāna sāsanaṁ.
English Translation, with additional comments as its root from where Eight fold path is shown
Not to do any evil; -- Follow Right sīla
to embrace the good; -- Cultivate Right Effort to embrace in what is wholesome
to purify one’s mind:; -- Follow Right samādhi and paññā and eradicate craving and all defilements from its roots
this is the instruction of the Buddhas.
When your mind is free from all defilements and all old sankhāra destroyed, you are enlightened, now the dhamma can be seen inter-connecting with one other Is word of Buddha lost in the noise and translations? - #47 by sumants
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Enlightenment can only be described by the Buddha. Any other Serious Practitioner can only put you in the Right Direction. And again, Enlightenment can only be understood by a Buddha. It is more than mere Extinguishment though, it has a lot to do with Metta. The Dharma is Metta.
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I agree with you, this is the word of Buddha
That isn’t right if that were so we put a picture of Buddha on wall, or make a statue and with all Metta pray every day, pls enlighten me, that’s not the way Buddha explained dhamma, you must walk on the path and find for yourself. This isn’t prosperity of Buddha’s though once you reach you are one of them.
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Well, the trick is once you’ve walked the Path, accumulated Merit, and diligently worked on your Emancipation, “Enlightenment” eventually takes place and then before that after the stage of no regression is reached and one has a full desire and Realization of need of their own Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings, the Buddha Wisdom and Metta begin to open up. Then the Buddha converts the Bodhisattva in question to Buddhahood, The Buddha’s sole purpose in His mission, to convert the Bodhisattvas, and as soon as that Clear Light and Buddha Nature are opened up in a Bodhisattva, they become a Buddha, by choice for it is their Noble Path. This can be talked about for eons but never reached to a conclusion without the help of a Buddha present!
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Can water appear out of nowhere? The same is true of Buddhahood. It takes a great deal of work to create things, by Brahma for example, and even Brahma comes to the Buddha for Enlightenment, and so do great Personalities like Krishna who are already provisionally Enlightened. Buddhahood is the Greatest Intelligence, and real Intelligence is Love.
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See SN 12.65 = SA 287. The sutta records how and what the Buddha discovered and realised the dhamma ‘the nature of phenomena’ of conditioned arising (i.e. paticcasamuppada) in meditation as he attained sambodha ‘enlightenment’.
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Well said, clear light and Buddha nature can’t be developed without totally getting rid of defilements and by dhamma the laws of nature your once you start clearing defilements the emptyness is filled with love kindness and other paramis leading further to enlightenment.
So far this sutta the more i read one single sutta provides what is enlightenment and how to achieve this four foundations
MN140 - ‘Do not neglect wisdom; preserve truth; foster generosity; and train only for peace.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it.
‘Wherever they stand, the streams of conceiving do not flow. And when the streams of conceiving do not flow, they are called a sage at peace.’ That’s what I said, but why did I say it?
These are all forms of conceiving: ‘I am’, ‘I am this’, ‘I will be’, ‘I will not be’, ‘I will have form’, ‘I will be formless’, ‘I will be percipient’, ‘I will be non-percipient’, ‘I will be neither percipient nor non-percipient.’ Conceiving is a disease, a boil, a dart. Having gone beyond all conceiving, one is called a sage at peace. The sage at peace is not reborn, does not grow old, and does not die. They are not shaken, and do not yearn. For they have nothing which would cause them to be reborn. Not being reborn, how could they grow old? Not growing old, how could they die? Not dying, how could they be shaken? Not shaking, for what could they yearn?
‘Wherever they stand, the streams of conceiving do not flow. And when the streams of conceiving do not flow, they are called a sage at peace.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it. Mendicant, you should remember this brief analysis of the six elements.”
4 foundations not to neglect and how to achive is provided in sutta in summary the are
- Wisdom - The one neither make a choice nor form an intention to continue existence or to end existence. Because of this, they don’t grasp at anything in the world. Not grasping, they’re not anxious. Not being anxious, they personally become extinguished.
- Ultimate Truth - knowledge of ending of suffering
- Ultimate generosity - is giving up of all attachments
- Sage at peace - one how is not reborn is sage at peace. They stop all forms of conceiving
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