After Enlightment...
 

From what I know, one doesn't suffer from life anymore, you simply don't live, after becoming enlightened.....So is the goal to stop 'existing' or once one is enlightened, do you go to a kind of Buddhist 'heaven'? Kind of like the Tibetan Shambhala?

So you're saying... you don't know anything about enlightenment?

Enlightenment just means a mind that sees reality clearly, all phenomena including minds and bodies as conditioned, subject to cause and effect, impermanent and without any core or self essence (all interdependent, part of something larger, made up of smaller parts).

Our normal state is one of not-knowing reality this way, of ignorance. We want to be happy, so our craving for happiness leads us to live our lives in ways that are *not* in harmony with reality, and we end up suffering because of it. The enlightened mind knows better and does not try to find happiness in sensual pleasures, in clinging to existence or avoiding what it does not like. It is at peace without any requirements.

Enlightened "people" or beings, whatever you call them, have moved beyond selfishness to selflessness, they spend the rest of their lives helping other people who are suffering, and helping people awaken to this reality that are ready and willing, they are *anything* but idle. They're still normal people like you and I, but they think differently and don't get caught up in greed, hatred or delusion.

Hi lumieres, one doesn't die or go somewhere else when one is enlightened. Enlightenment is freedom from dissatisfaction,stress and mental suffering. There's no more greed, hatred or delusion or clinging to "self" and the mind is calm and spacious and has wisdom, clarity and penetrating awareness.

While on this topic, im curious if enlightened individuals have mental psychological breaking points, since they are human afterall?

If you trapped/containted/tortured an enlightened person, or gave them incredibly high dosses of psychadelic drugs... Would they 'break', 'snap' etc? Or do you think they are strong willed enough to endure through all of it?! (through anything?)

They'd just whip out their light saber and slice you uphttp://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/wink.gif

Just kidding...

No idea on that one, but I could think of better things to do with an enlightened person if one fell into my hands.

If a Buddha eats contaminated food, apparently he dies. That's what is said to have happened to Sakyamuni. On the other hand, I have heard - no proof of this - that some Tibetan lama was invited to take LSD (in the late 1960's) and I guess took quite a lot of it, and didn't notice anything different.

In the case of being enlightened maybe there would not be such as an "after" or a "before". At least this can be noticed when glimpses of enlightened experience through meditation. Not sure.

That would be Chogyam Trungpa whom I met when I was very young. He was drunk at the time and surrounded with empty alcohol bottles and yes, he also took drugs and was off his trolley.
Also, on some previous occasion, he didn't have a driving licence and went out in a car and crashed it into a joke shop. The injuries included long-term paralysis down one side.

Later in life he died in his 40's from alcohol related illness.

Hardly the actions of a Buddha whatever anyone says to the contrary. However, discretion prevents me from saying any more about it.

Anyway, my apolgies for going off topic.

I am not claiming to know anything on an experiential level here but, it would seem reasonable that, in regards to the torture, etc, that they would be better equipped to handle such things. Seems to me that their state of mind, in viewing the world, would NOT be subjective in nature and therefore would not personalize anything that happened to them like you and I would. It seems reasonable that they could choose when and how to "detach" from an event that causes physical pain (i.e. meditation) and control the responses of their body from that event. I would think that they could stay so in control of their minds at each moment of these things that, once one moment had past, the next would be brand new. If doing the latter, they would move through it without any accumulated permanent outlook.

Just my thoughts ...

That would be Chogyam Trungpa whom I met when I was very young. He was drunk at the time and surrounded with empty alcohol bottles and yes, he also took drugs and was off his trolley.
Also, on some previous occasion, he didn't have a driving licence and went out in a car and crashed it into a joke shop. The injuries included long-term paralysis down one side.

Later in life he died in his 40's from alcohol related illness.

Hardly the actions of a Buddha whatever anyone says to the contrary. However, discretion prevents me from saying any more about it.

Anyway, my apolgies for going off topic. Bah, the message box deleted all of my long message after typing it all out lol. The site is testing my patience!

Haha anyway… Yeah, I after hearing that LSD story, I found it interesting. Logically, it makes sense to me that regardless of your mental state, if you are induced with outside chemical intoxicants, that no amount of ‘willpower’ can overcome the effects… But then who am I to say that an enlightened person wouldn’t have enough self-control and mindfulness to actually overcome the effects…

But now, hearing the ‘truth’ about this story at least, seems to make more sense with my original thoughts… That obviously an outside intoxicant will effect anyone’s mind.

Anyway, it is kinda off-topic, so back on topic:

1. I am not claiming to know anything on an experiential level here but, it would seem reasonable that, in regards to the torture, etc, that they would be better equipped to handle such things. Seems to me that their state of mind, in viewing the world, would NOT be subjective in nature and therefore would not personalize anything that happened to them like you and I would. It seems reasonable that they could choose when and how to "detach" from an event that causes physical pain (i.e. meditation) and control the responses of their body from that event. I would think that they could stay so in control of their minds at each moment of these things that, once one moment had past, the next would be brand new. If doing the latter, they would move through it without any accumulated permanent outlook.

Just my thoughts ... That makes a lot of sense, and that is some good thinking there… I suppose you very well could be right! Thanks for your opinions on my random off-topic [bizarre] question lol.

People can be trained to endure torture. Fully enlightened beings don't need to be. Just as the Buddha, they could endure any kind of physical assault with equanimity. There's really no way to prove it though, but I believe it. =)

I like your CT excursions and comments.