Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Beyond Human What is Enlightenment

From a question on another thread regarding Enlightenment, the following is an experience that happened to me and I consider it a very Enlightening lesson.

From what I have gathered, usually finding Enlightenment is not so much being in meditation but in a real life experience.

About 10 years ago I was fairly active training Aikido. My Sensei was getting old and would be turning the Dojo over to a Younger Sensei. We all knew who that would be and really no one approved. I was influenced myself against him.

In my meditations I received many "messages", as Master Lin would call them, to just let this go. I did not. I was upset and would not let it go. I wanted to know why I should let this go and gave that message back to the Universe.

Well, ask and you shall receive.

So we fast forward to another place and time, I have left the Dojo but still having the occasional skirmish. Many of my old training partners stay in touch and we have regular rants.

One day I am at work on the ship and there is an emergency repair that has to be made. Also we have a relief engineer on board who is young and inexperienced.

I lay out how the repair is to be made with some comments from my group of regulars. My Boss is there. This Relief starts challenging me why things are to be this way, when we could do it much faster another way. He is very irritating. My Boss is looking at me for an answer.

We could have done it another way, although I only like to make a repair once and what he proposed would require addressing the same problem many times. And he was very irritating.

I am trying to dream up a diplomatic answer to give while my boss is there when a "message" comes through and I just say it.

"We are doing it this way because I am the 1st Engineer, when you are the 1st we will do it your way. Right now it's my turn!"

At that point it seemed that time stopped and I went someplace else. God was there, all my teachers were there, the place glowed beautiful of a mystic aura. They were all smiling at me. And while many things made sense at that moment I reflected on the new Aikido Sensei I had battled with and that it was now "His turn".

My arrogant question to the Universe was answered in an experiencial way that I will never forget.

It seemed God and my Teachers all went to have coffee after they saw that I had "Got It" because I was right back on the job without missing a beat.

My Boss smiled and walked off, everyone went to work. I sent a silent message to those I had just seen. "You guys are pretty good, thanks" (for the lesson).

After arriving home I called my Aikido friends and told them of this story.
It did change things and support was raised for the new management. We are always stronger when together as friends.

Aloha

Jeff

Thanks for sharing that.

You must have loved your Sensei.

The very spiritual (IMHO) Van Morrison sang "Chop my wood, carry water...Enlightenment, I don't know what it is..."

Seems that when I get clearer, there is still more clarity to attain. I dont recognise it untill I am clearer still! Then I see how foggy my previous level of clarity was...and that there is always more shadow work to be done.

So I no longer see enlightenment as a static state, but as a dynamic process. I sometimes meet people who seem to be much farther along than I am in some way, and I admire and aspire...but when I hear a claim that someone "is enlightened" or "has attained enlightenment" I wonder if they, like all of us, are simply somewhere on the path...

vitaman

Vita-man, those are my thoughts, too. In fact, one of my teachers used to regularly tell us, We are all beginners...at the stage we're in now.

If enlightenment were like a university, the diploma doesn't mean we've mastered all there is to know about the field: when we take that first job after graduation, we're mere beginners. Some will learn lots more on the job, and some will go on to gather still more education, including another degree or two.

It is our nature to grow spiritually. I don't think there are any limits.

vitaman;

I would agree with you that everyone is somewhere on the path, that there is no one complete "Enlightenment", it is a dynamic process.

The experience I shared seemed to bring many things together in my life and how they were all connected. I choose to focus on the Sensei thing at that time as I had the most attachment to it, although that released.

This experience could have also been a realization that "We are all one" or "I am the Universe". Personally I have come to more practical things like consuming a great meal, being happy and thankful. I don't know what I could do with the "we are all one" concept or realization. So what.

Finding "clarity" in life is a wonderful thing. Like you, I can look back and see how distorted my ideas were back when. To take a look back down the mountain to see how far I have climbed is quite the view. To look back up the mountain and only see the clouds doesn't tell me how far I've yet to climb, only there is still along way to go.

Master Lin likes to make reference to the Diamond and Heart Sutra's. There is another that I have enjoyed tittled the "Sutra of the Golden Light". In it one of the concepts or ideas of how far a being can go in their own developement is pretty mind boggling and I cannot even adequately decribe it.

When I have read that it just makes everything I have done seem so small. It seems that I won't run out of work any time soon.

Jeff

Hi Jeff

I love your mountain view metaphor. You reminded me of something O-Sensei wrote..."There are many paths to the top of Mount Fuji. There is only one Mount Fuji. "

Your recognition that your lesson came from the thing you were most attached to was a real gift. Thank you- I am going to look past with that idea, maybe followed with New History Generator and see what comes of it...

I do not know if you still go to a Dojo, but it looks like you are still practicing.
I loved how you translated the learning to the "practical"- there is always more breath practice, always more ukemi...

Jeane- I hope there are no limits!

vitaman