The precepts one chooses to practice is up to the individual and their
lifestyle, however, “The Five Precepts” is a baseline minimum that is required
for all individuals to attain Enlightenment.
An Ordained Practitioner who does not show respect to another being
because they think they are practicing a higher number of precepts could
develop a mind of ego and excessive arrogance, pride, or conceit. An
Ordained Practitioner who is pursuing Enlightenment should have generosity,
loving-kindness, and compassion for all beings without ego. They should not
expect people to show them respect just because they have chosen to live a
life as an Ordained Practitioner.
Respect should be shown to all beings by all beings.
The ordained path was created by Gotama Buddha to teach a humble
lifestyle. He created the ordained path as the lowest and must humble
livelihood through giving up of possessions, relationships, jobs, income, and
for Ordained Practitioners to enter homelessness.
This lifestyle significantly reduces cravings/desires/attachments through a
pre-prescribed discipline taught by Gotama Buddha and should also help to
eliminate the ego. The ordained path creates conditions more conducive for
Enlightenment but does not guarantee Enlightenment.
All individuals need to continuously and constantly pursue Enlightenment
through developing their practice. An Ordained Practitioner should not have
“arrogance or pride” in themselves just for being ordained and, therefore,
“higher” in society than other beings. This would produce ego. This is
exactly the opposite intention of Gotama Buddha in creating The Community
of Ordained Practitioners and by not eliminating “conceit” this would inhibit
one from attaining Enlightenment.
There are Ordained Practitioners whose practice of these Teachings is not as
developed as Household Practitioners. For anyone to have excessive
arrogance or pride in themselves for the development of their practice just
because they are ordained, is negating the intentions of these Teachings. We
must always and forever develop our practice to “eliminate ego” and never
“assume” it has been extinguished.
In addition to the “lowly arts” mentioned previously, Gotama Buddha
provided guidance that Ordained Practitioners should not provide tattoos,
palmistry, cast spells, conduct fortune telling, house blessings and other
“lowly arts” as part of their livelihood. Ordained Practitioners should not
provide these services and others mentioned in The Teachings, but, instead
focus their time on learning, practicing, and sharing these Teachings.
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Ordained Practitioners should be the deepest Practitioners as leaders to
guide others in The Teachings, but, are not always practicing The Teachings
as taught by Gotama Buddha.
We should not obtain images or tattoos of Gotama Buddha. This practice
can form attachments and would only further inhibit one from attaining
Enlightenment.
It is best for all individuals to show respect to all people not placing one’s
self above or below another human being.
Gain, Honor, and Praise, Are an Obstacle Even For an Arahant
Monks, gain, honor, and praise, I say, are an obstacle even for a Monk who is an
Arahant, one with taints destroyed.
When this was said, the Venerable Ānanda asked the Master Teacher Gotama: ‘Why,
Venerable Sir, are gain, honor, and praise an obstacle even for a Monk with taints
destroyed?’
I do not say, Ānanda, that gain, honor, and praise are an obstacle to his unshakable
liberation of mind. But I say they are an obstacle to (his attainment of) those peaceful
dwellings in this very life which are achieved by one who resides diligent, dedicated,
and determined. So dreadful, Ānanda, are gain, honor, and praise so bitter, vile,
obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage (Enlightenment).
Therefore, Ānanda, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will abandon the arisen gain,
honor, praise, and we will not let the arisen gain, honor, and praise persist obsessing
our mind.' Thus should you train yourselves.
(Gotama Buddha)
(Reference: SN 17.30)
This Spiritual Life Is Not Lived for the Sake of Deceiving People
Monks, this spiritual life is not lived for the sake of deceiving people and persuading
them; nor for the benefit of gain, honor, and praise; nor for the benefit of winning in
debates; nor with the thought: 'Let the people know me thus.'
But rather, this spiritual life is lived for the sake of restraint, abandoning, freedom from
strong feelings, and elimination.
(Gotama Buddha)
(Reference: AN 4.25)
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To learn more about what Gotama Buddha taught related to the practices for
the Ordained Practitioners, see the book titled “Lowly Arts” (Volume 12) of
this same book series.
5.) Chanting or Mantras: Throughout the world there are Practitioners who
do “chanting” of The Teachings. It is important that Practitioners understand,
while chanting can help to create mindfulness (i.e. awareness of mind),
concentration, and memory, the words themselves and the sounds coming
from a person’s mouth do not have any mystical, magical, or special power
to attain or create Enlightenment.
There are no mystical, magical, or special powers that one could use in a
chant or mantra that would create benefit of doing such things as destroying
unwholesome Kamma, attaining Enlightenment, transferring Merit/Kamma,
achieving a long life, helping beings that have already died, improving one’s
destination after death or any other beneficial result.
Mantras are sometimes taught and “believed” to have mystical, magical, or
special powers. This is not true and will not result in beneficial outcomes
beyond training for concentration, memory, or awareness of mind.
All of Gotama Buddha’s Teachings are focused on the Practitioner learning
and practicing Teachings that train the mind, not invoking mystical, magical,
or special powers for any sort of benefit. Gotama Buddha himself did not
teach these types of practices and described them as a “lowly art”.
Chanting can be relaxing and a powerful practice to calm the mind while
developing awareness of mind and awareness of breath through training of
the mind, but not through mystical or magical powers.
To attain Enlightenment, a Practitioner needs to practice the entire Eight Fold
Path. It is through our practice of learning and applying The Teachings in
everyday life, that we liberate the mind to attain Enlightenment.
Listening to chanting or performing chanting can help to create a peaceful
mind, develop mindfulness, and awareness of breath. One can use the
practice of chanting to improve concentration, memory, and awareness of
mind among other beneficial results to train one’s own mind.
Chanting can help calm the mind, however, the Practitioner will need to do
the work to sustain the mindfulness and calmness of mind long term.
Chanting is just one practice that helps to develop mindfulness and the mind
will need a “life practice” to cultivate a content mind with Enlightenment. A
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Practitioner will need to learn and practice the entire Eight Fold Path as their
“life practice” to attain Enlightenment.
Merely chanting or reciting a mantra for some beneficial result is not what
Gotama Buddha taught as part of The Path to Enlightenment. These
Teachings are 100% focused on learning and practicing Teachings that lead
to liberation of the mind to eliminate discontentedness.
A chant or mantra alone will not accomplish that goal and is not required to
attain Enlightenment.
6.) Gotama Buddha Statues: Every statue of Gotama Buddha looks very
different depending on what culture has created the statue. China, Tibet,
Thailand, Sri Lanka and other cultures all have Buddha statues but they all
look different.
What you will notice is that each culture casts statues of Gotama Buddha
based on local tradition and local appearances from within the culture that
casts the statues. Statues in Thailand look very Thai while Chinese statues
look very Chinese, and so forth. None of these statues resemble the
description of Gotama Buddha in his Teachings. (See “Image of Gotama
Buddha” at the end of this Chapter.)
People cast statues based on their culture’s appearance due to the affection
that people have for Gotama Buddha in that each culture would like Gotama
Buddha to look as close to them as possible.
It is a form of craving or mental attachment to Gotama Buddha and having a
craving or desire for Gotama Buddha to be from the culture that made the
statue.
Keep in mind, we should not allow the mind to crave/attach or worship any
image or statue of Gotama Buddha. Gotama Buddha taught us to learn and
practice his Teachings so that we can attain the results which is
Enlightenment. He was not interested in teaching us to attach to his image or
worship him as he knew it would lead to discontentedness of mind and not
to Enlightenment. Any and all forms of attachment will cause a discontent
mind.
Some people believe the spirit of Gotama Buddha resides in the statues and
they can be found praying to the statue (i.e. Gotama Buddha’s spirit) asking
for benefits. Gotama Buddha never taught to create statues of him or that his
spirit resides in any statue. In fact, he never taught whether a spirit or soul
exists or does not exist. He left this as an undeclared Teaching.
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The highest form of respect you can give to a Teacher is to practice
their Teachings.
Merely, worshiping Gotama Buddha’s image will not produce Enlightenment,
thus, he did not teach us this practice. He only ever taught us Teachings that
lead to Enlightenment, and worship of a statue does not produce
Enlightenment.
7.) Gotama Buddha as a God, Avatar, or Lord: There are some traditions
that consider Gotama Buddha a God or Avatar.
Common definitions of the words “God” or “Avatar” are:
God: the creator of the universe and source of all moral authority; the
supreme being.
Avatar: a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an
incarnated divine Teacher.
Gotama Buddha never described himself as a God or Avatar during his
lifetime. He considered himself a human and a Teacher who discovered “The
Path” to a better existence. Gotama Buddha is the discoverer, originator, and
declarer of “The Path” to Enlightenment. He then humbly taught this path to
others as a human being and a Teacher.
Additionally, some people refer to Gotama Buddha as a “Lord” or “Lord
Buddha”. The word “Lord” has meaning in communities throughout the
world that is very well defined and specific within those communities.
Using the word “Lord”, which Gotama Buddha himself did not use, can be
confusing for a Practitioner of these Teachings who has exposure to the
word “Lord” within other communities and traditions.
Most commonly, the word “Lord” is used to refer to Jesus Christ as “The
Lord”. Because a large majority of the world uses this word to refer to Jesus
Christ, it would be very confusing for anyone with this background to
understand Gotama Buddha in this same context as Jesus Christ referred to
himself as “The Only Lord”.
A common definition of the word “Lord” is:
Lord: someone or something having power, authority, or influence; a master
or ruler. (Noun)
Lord: act in a superior and domineering manner toward (someone). (Verb)
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Synonyms: order about/around, boss about/around, give orders to, domineer,
dominate, dictate to, pull rank on, tyrannize, bully, have under one’s thumb,
etc.
With close review of the word “Lord”, you can see that the common
definition of this word is opposite of what Master Teacher Gotama Buddha
taught.
Gotama Buddha taught us to be humble, peaceful, calm, polite, kind,
friendly, and respectful. He did not teach us to have “power” or to have a
“domineering manner towards someone”. His Teachings and guidance were
exactly the opposite of these qualities. If we assign or use the word “Lord” to
refer to Gotama Buddha, we are also assigning these qualities to Gotama
Buddha which are directly opposite of his Teachings.
We should be careful to not refer to or consider Gotama Buddha as
anything other than a human and a Teacher or Master Teacher.
He only ever referred to himself as a human so why would we refer to him as
anything other than a human? He was a Teacher, a Fully Perfectly
Enlightened Buddha, and he also used the term The Tathāgata.
It is not possible to pray to Gotama Buddha to ask for favors and wishes. He
has died and will never return to another rebirth.
It is only through the practice of his Teachings that you will experience a
liberated mind through wholesome intentions, speech, and actions along
with his other extensively clear and concise Teachings that lead to a better
life.
8.) Blessings: There are several phrases related to “blessings” used in
current day language with good intention but with misunderstanding of
Gotama Buddha’s Teachings.
Phrases you may hear include “May Buddha Bless You”, “May the Triple
Gem Bless You” or other variations of these phrases. You may see reference
to Gotama Buddha as “The Blessed One”.
A common definition of the word “Bless or Blessing” is:
Blessing: God’s favor and protection; a prayer asking for God’s favor and
protection.
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Gotama Buddha was a human being and a Master Teacher. He taught to
abandon and discouraged “rites, rituals, ceremonies, and worship” as he
understood they would not lead to Enlightenment. Rites, rituals, ceremonies
and worship do not change the condition of the mind.
There was never a time in Gotama Buddha’s Teachings where he discussed
that he offered “blessings” or that anything he taught was connected to a
“blessing”. He also did not teach people prayer or prayer to him as part of
his Teachings. These phrases are misunderstandings of Gotama Buddha’s
Teachings. (See the book titled “Generosity” (Volume 13) in this same book
series, Chapter 83 titled “Aspirations Are Not Obtained by Means of Prayer”
for The Words of The Buddha related to his Teachings on discouraging the
use of prayer.)
Gotama Buddha encouraged Practitioners to learn and practice The
Teachings he shared so that you can observe the truth in The Teachings
improving the condition of the mind. In this way, one acquires wisdom and
liberates the mind to attain Enlightenment.
Gotama Buddha cannot bless us and nothing he taught involved a blessing
but instead dedication and commitment to learning and practicing The
Teachings that lead to Enlightenment.
In places where you see the title “The Blessed One”, I encourage you to
replace “The Blessed One” with “The Perfectly Enlightened One” as this
more accurately reflects Gotama Buddha’s Teachings.
9.) Buddha, Buddhahood, or Buddha Nature: Some traditions of these
Teachings consider all people to be a Buddha and when you attain
Enlightenment, you are a Buddha. This is not what Gotama Buddha taught.
Gotama Buddha was often referred to as “Ascetic Gotama” during his
lifetime. Prior to giving up his royal heritage, he was known as Siddhartha
Gotama. Upon leaving the royal palace to seek a better understanding of life
through attaining Enlightenment, he was known as “Ascetic Gotama” or in
other words “Monk Gotama”. Some people referred to him as Teacher or
Master Teacher Gotama.
He would most often refer to himself as “The Tathāgata”.
The term Tathāgata is often thought to mean “one who has discovered the
truth”, “one who shares the truth”, “one who has thus gone”, or “one who
has thus come”. This is understood as signifying that The Tathāgata is
beyond all coming and going - sharing the truth of The Natural Laws of
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Existence that lead to Enlightenment. There are, however, other
interpretations, and the precise original meaning of the word is not certain.
Gotama Buddha is quoted on numerous occasions in The Pāli Canon (the
source of his Teachings) as referring to himself as “The Tathāgata” instead of
using the pronouns me, I, or myself. This may be meant to emphasize by
implication that The Teaching is spoken by one who has transcended the
human condition, one beyond the otherwise endless Cycle of Rebirth and
death (i.e. beyond discontentedness of mind).
The term Tathāgata has a number of possible meanings.
Gotama Buddha understood the use of the pronouns, me, I, or myself is
unfitting to refer to the human condition as there is “no self”, as explained in
the previous chapter titled “The Four Noble Truths: Establishing Right View”
and “Dissolving the Ego: Ego Serves No Purpose” on The Teaching of “non-
self”. The term Tathāgata is a way to refer to himself without using the
pronouns me, I, or myself.
Other meanings for the term Tathāgata include:
- He who has arrived in such a fashion, (i.e. who has worked his way
upwards to perfection for the world’s good).
- He who by the path of knowledge has come at the real understanding of
things.
- He who has won Truth.
- He who has discerned Truth.
- He who declares Truth.
Regardless of what the term Tathāgata means or whether you refer to
Gotama Buddha as a Teacher or Master Teacher, he rarely, if ever, even
referred to himself as a Buddha and he never referred to people who attained
Enlightenment as a Buddha.
So, the man we appreciate, respect, and have admiration for because he
shared his Teachings with the world to fully liberate the mind to attain the
mental state of Enlightenment rarely, if ever, even refer to himself as a
Buddha and never referred to another person who had attained
Enlightenment during his lifetime as a Buddha.
The use of the term Buddha to refer to Ascetic Gotama or Monk Gotama
was mostly applied to him after his death in 483 BCE. It was after his death
that people widely referred to him as a Buddha.
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Master Teacher Gotama Buddha never referred to people who attained
Enlightenment as a Buddha. He did not refer to Enlightenment as
Buddhahood. He did not teach that people have Buddha Nature. He did not
tell people they are potentially a Buddha. He rarely, if ever, even referred to
himself as a Buddha and all these uses of the title Buddha referring to a
person who has attained Enlightenment is not what Gotama Buddha taught.
You will not find these Teachings and use of the term Buddha for an
Enlightened being in the source of his Teachings within The Pāli Canon
because Gotama Buddha did not teach that everyone is a Buddha, that one
would attain Buddhahood, or use the term Buddha Nature to refer to
Enlightenment. A person who has attained Enlightenment at the highest
stage with the guidance of Teachers would be referred to as an Arahant or
perhaps an Enlightened person or an Enlightened being.
Because Gotama Buddha did not teach in this way to use the title Buddha,
the title Buddha should not be used to refer to someone who has attained
Enlightenment (i.e. is Enlightened) but one could be considered an Arahant.
Gotama Buddha left his royal palace, attained Enlightenment on his own
through a 6-year pursuit of hard work and dedication bringing him close to
death, taught countless people how to attain Enlightenment during his
lifetime, left Teachings that would help countless people after his death to
attain Enlightenment, established the ordained path for individuals to attain
Enlightenment as Ascetics which is still alive today, and most importantly he
was the deepest Practitioner ever known to humankind of The Teachings he
shared. He was the discoverer, originator, and declarer of The Path to
Enlightenment.
There is no one that has come after Gotama Buddha or will come after
Gotama Buddha that has had the same dedication and commitment to
sharing The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment as Gotama Buddha did - a
true Buddha. There is no one that has or will have as much of an impact to
benefit all of humanity in the same way as Gotama Buddha, a true Buddha,
including the expected appearance of the next Buddha Maitreya.
To refer to another human who has merely attained Enlightenment as a
Buddha, as attained Buddhahood, or having Buddha Nature is to disrespect
and minimize the hard work and effort our Master Teacher Gotama Buddha
exhibited during his 45-years of Teaching, whose Teachings have drastically
improved the existence of countless human beings over the past 2,500
years, and will continue to have an impact well into the future of humanity.
If someone refers to themselves as a Buddha, having attained Buddhahood,
or having Buddha Nature is to place themselves on the same level as the
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individual who is admired and respected across the entire world for a lifetime
of dedication and service to others, whose Teachings have stood the test of
time even now, over 2,500 years later. Gotama Buddha was a true and real
Buddha.
You are not a Buddha and will never be a Buddha. You will not attain
Buddhahood. You do not have Buddha Nature. You can attain Enlightenment
as an Enlightened being considered an Arahant but your work and effort will
never amount to the impact shared in the world as that of a true Buddha who
attains Enlightenment through their own independent journey and then,
guides countless other beings to attain Enlightenment.
Referring to oneself as a Buddha, having attained Buddhahood, or having
Buddha Nature is to do so with ego and, therefore, it is widely known an
individual who does so is not even Enlightened.
If one has ego placing themselves on the same level as Gotama Buddha, a
true Buddha, they still have ego and cannot have even attained
Enlightenment.
To attain Enlightenment, one needs to dissolve the ego. If someone refers to
themselves as a Buddha, having attained Buddhahood, or having Buddha
Nature, the ego is still present and has not yet been dissolved. Therefore,
you can consider that a person who claims to be a Buddha, having attained
Buddhahood, or has Buddha Nature that they are not yet even Enlightened,
and lack the appreciation, respect, and admiration as exists for the man
once known as Siddhartha Gotama, Ascetic Gotama, Monk Gotama,
Teacher Gotama, Master Teacher Gotama, or The Tathāgata.
Gotama Buddha rarely, if ever, referred to himself as a Buddha, why would
anyone else refer to themselves as a Buddha unless there is craving/desire
and ego while seeking admiration by putting themselves on the same level
as Gotama Buddha. If there is craving/desire or ego, one cannot even be
Enlightened so how could they be a Buddha?
The Chapter titled “Enlightenment: What is Enlightenment?”, shared
previously in this book, has many characteristics of what is a true and real
Buddha. To be considered a Buddha, one would need to meet those criteria.
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The Rare Appearance of Five Treasures
Licchavis, the appearance of five treasures is rare in the world.
What five?
(1) The appearance of a Tathāgata, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One is rare in the
world.
(2) A person who can teach The Teachings and discipline proclaimed by a Tathāgata is
rare in the world.
(3) When The Teachings and discipline proclaimed by a Tathāgata has been taught, a
person who can understand it is rare in the world.
(4) When The Teachings and discipline proclaimed by a Tathāgata has been taught, a
person who can understand it and practice in accordance with The Teachings is rare in
the world.
(5) A grateful and thankful person is rare in the world.
Licchavis, the appearance of these five treasures is rare in the world.
(Gotama Buddha)
(Reference: AN 5.195)
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Image of Gotama Buddha
Master Teacher Gotama Buddha
(The Tathāgata)
This artistic drawing of Gotama Buddha was composed from the description
provided of him in The Pāli Canon, the most complete collection of his
Teachings. Wat Na Pah Pong in Krung Thep, Thailand commissioned this
artwork of Gotama Buddha based on the descriptions found within the Pāli
text.
Gotama Buddha was born in current day Nepal. This artwork resembles the
appearance of an individual known to originate from that region of the world
and was not created to appear from the culture in which the artwork was
commissioned.
I know this image to be an accurate representation of Gotama Buddha’s
appearance during his lifetime.
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Simile of a Man Were Wounded by an Arrow Thickly Smeared with Poison
Suppose, Mālunkyaputta, a man were wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with
poison, and his friends and companions, his kinsmen and relatives, brought a surgeon
to treat him. The man would say: ‘I will not let the surgeon pull out this arrow until I
know whether the man who wounded me was a noble or a Brāhmin or a merchant or a
worker.’ And he would say: ‘I will not let the surgeon pull out this arrow until I know the
name and clan of the man who wounded me;…until I know whether the man who
wounded me was tall or short or of middle height;…until I know whether the man who
wounded me was dark or brown or golden-skinned;…until I know whether the
bowstring that wounded me was fibre or reed or sinew or hemp or bark;…until I know
whether the shaft that wounded me was wild or cultivated;…until I know with what kind
of feathers the shaft that wounded me was fitted — whether those of a vulture or a
heron or a hawk or a peacock or a stork;…until I know with what kind of sinew the shaft
that wounded me was bound — whether that of an ox or a buffalo or a deer or a
monkey;…until I know what kind of arrowhead it was that wounded me — whether
spiked or razor-tipped or curved or barbed or calf-toothed or lancet-shaped.’
All this would still not be known to that man and meanwhile he would die. So too,
Mālunkyaputta, if anyone should say thus: ‘I will not lead the holy life under the
[Enlightened] One until the [Enlightened] One declares to me: ‘The world is eternal’ and
‘the world is not eternal’; ‘the world is finite’; and ‘the world is infinite’; ‘the soul is the
same as the body’ and ‘the soul is one thing and the body another’; and ‘after death a
Tathāgata exists’ and ‘after death a Tathāgata does not exist’ and ‘after death a
Tathāgata both exists and does not exist’ and ‘after death a Tathāgata neither exists nor
does not exist’, that would still remain undeclared by The Tathāgata and meanwhile that
person would die.
Therefore, Mālunkyaputta, remember what I have left undeclared as undeclared, and
remember what I have declared as declared.
And what have I left undeclared? ‘The world is eternal’ and ‘the world is not eternal’;
‘the world is finite’; and ‘the world is infinite’; ‘the soul is the same as the body’ and ‘the
soul is one thing and the body another’; and ‘after death a Tathāgata exists’ and ‘after
death a Tathāgata does not exist’ and ‘after death a Tathāgata both exists and does not
exist’ and ‘after death a Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist,’ — I have left
undeclared.
And what have I declared? ‘This is discontentedness’, ‘This is the cause of
discontentedness’, ‘This is the elimination of discontentedness’, ‘This is the way
leading to the elimination of discontentedness’ — I have declared.
Why have I declared that? Because it is beneficial, it belongs to the fundamentals of the
holy life, it leads to liberation, to freedom from strong feelings, to elimination, to peace,
to direct knowledge (experience), to Enlightenment, to Nibbāna. That is why I have
declared it.
(Gotama Buddha)
(Reference: MN 63)
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Simile of a Man Were Wounded by an Arrow Thickly Smeared with Poison
(continued)
Author’s Thoughts: This simile uses the “poisonous arrow” to represent “The Three
Poisons” that we are all affected by “craving (greed/desire), anger (hatred/ill will), and
ignorance (delusion/confusion)”. The Teachings of Gotama Buddha are represented by
the surgeon. His Teachings are the medicine to remove “The Three Poisons”. But, if we
expect to know all the answers that lead to the removal of “The Three Poisons” prior to
practicing these Teachings, which would remove these poisons, then surely we will die
before the poisons are removed.
There is no way for you to know all the answers prior to learning and practicing these
Teachings as you need to create a “life practice” to clearly see many of the answers to
acquire wisdom. Each day you build more and more wisdom in your life practice to
gradually attain Enlightenment. If you expect to know all the answers prior to practicing
these Teachings, surely you will die before the poisons are removed and, thus, have
continued discontentedness and be reborn to once again experience life in a new realm
- most likely not the human realm.
Gotama Buddha left certain questions undeclared because they do not lead to
liberation of the mind. But The Teachings he did declare do lead to complete liberation
of the mind, namely starting with “The Four Noble Truths” as mentioned in this simile.
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From the Darkness into The Light
When we are deep into the darkness of the mind, we can’t see a way out. We think
everyone else is “the problem”. We do not realize we have a problem. We do not see
The Three Poisons are affecting the mind and our intentions, our speech and our
actions.
We don’t see the bad things happening to us as a result of our own intentions, speech,
and actions. The Natural Law of Kamma is at work constantly showing us that we are
still in the darkness but without the wisdom of this natural law we think we can
somehow gain control.
We do not know there is a problem and, thus, we do not know there is a way out of the
darkness. We think we are SO smart and can see so clearly.
The mind is permeating with poison, The Three Poisons of craving, anger, and
ignorance (unknowing of true reality) but we don’t see it. Our excessive cravings and
desires keep us clinging, attaching, and clinging some more.
We are bound into The Cycle of Rebirth through The Ten Fetters.
Our existence becomes trying to satisfy this mountain of endless craving and desires.
We think we are just living life and everything is normal.
We are angry, we are happy, then we are sad, then bored, lonely, excited, elated, deeply
hurt, searching and looking for what’s next in this roller coaster of emotions. We are
searching for answers but may not know where to look as “the way of life” that explains
everything has been affected by impermanence, thus, everyone calls it a “religion”
when the original Teacher described it as “a better way of life”.
The word religion elicits painful feelings for most and, thus, they turn away.
If we are fortunate, we…
Hear that the world is full of discontentedness, everything is impermanent and
constantly changing except for Enlightenment and The Natural Laws of Existence. The
mind becomes interested and when this Teaching is practiced the mind sees the truth
and agrees.
Hearing we cause our own discontentedness due to our attachments and constant
craving and desires, the mind looks inward seeing your last incident of anger, you see
your cravings/desires/attachments that caused your own discontentedness.
Hearing that we can eliminate our discontentedness by eliminating our mental
attachments and by training the mind to not cling, the mind inhales a few breaths but
the darkness holds on. The poisons are well rooted.
Hearing that “The Path” to eliminate our discontentedness is to practice The Eight Fold
Path, the way leading to the elimination of discontentedness, the mind can see the light
to peacefulness, to contentedness, to inner fulfillment.
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From the Darkness into The Light (continued)
But, we must have access to The Teachings and to Teachers. We must study, we must
reflect, we must practice so that we can attain the “results”.
A mind free of craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality) with the
elimination of ego and realizing non-self. A steady, peaceful, calm mind in the sea of
darkness that is available for all human beings.
The Enlightened mind, a mental state achievable by all that would create the most
peaceful earth ever known to humankind.
1.) Universal love for all beings
2.) Do no harm
3.) Be a good moral person
It has taken us 2,500 years to realize we’ve had the answers all along but
impermanence has affected them, just like everything else.
Now, we refocus. We caught The Teachings from the sky, we dust them off, we present
them to the world.
We start at home with ourself and work our way out. It’s going to take a long time.
A peaceful world free of The Three Poisons is possible. But first, you must realize you
have been shot with an arrow full of poison.
Are you ready to take it out?
Start learning and practicing The Teachings of Gotama Buddha today!
(Written by the author of this book.)
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Continue to read and understand “The Words of The Buddha - The Path to
Enlightenment - Revealing The Hidden” book series that has been laid out
for all of us to achieve a better way of life.
You can connect to a group of people in a supportive environment for
discussion, sharing, and learning through the Facebook group.
Daily Wisdom - Walking The Path with The Buddha
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DailyWisdom999/
All members are accepted without judgment. It is a healthy place to talk,
discuss, learn, and grow. There are resources to help you further on this
Path to Enlightenment accessible online through a Group Learning
Program.
Group Learning Program: LIVE Interactive Online Classes, Books,
Audiobooks, Videos, Podcast and Personal Guidance are available for you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1.) How do I become a Buddhist?
Many times people ask, “How do I become a Buddhist?”.
This question often comes from the mind seeking a label or category for
what one is choosing to “become”.
In actuality, in my opinion, Gotama Buddha himself was not a Buddhist. The
term “Buddhist” did not originate until after Gotama Buddha’s death so we
know he was not a Buddhist. He discovered and shared Teachings that lead
to a better way of life, the awakened and Enlightened mind.
I do not think labels or categorizing people in any way is beneficial. We are
all human beings.
I see the question of “How do I become a Buddhist?” as “How do I awaken
the mind to Enlightenment?”.
Let me answer this question “How do I awaken the mind to Enlightenment?”
which is more beneficial than the previous question mentioned in the title of
this question.
To awaken the mind to Enlightenment a person needs to choose to learn and
practice The Teachings of Gotama Buddha to progress on The Path to
Enlightenment with the guidance of a Teacher.
There is nothing formal one needs to do in order to learn and practice The
Teachings other than to have dedication and commitment to learning and
practicing The Teachings to awaken the mind to the Enlightened mind, have
access to The Teachings, and access to a Teacher.
To awaken the mind, each Practitioner will need a Teacher. It is impossible to
awaken the mind to Enlightenment without the guidance of a Teacher. A
Teacher will be able to provide you The Teachings and personal guidance
along The Path to Enlightenment.
The only person who would be able to awaken the mind to the Enlightened
mind without Teachers is a Buddha. The last Buddha currently known by the
world existed over 2,500 years ago. So, you and everyone else will need
guidance from a Teacher.
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Once you find a Teacher, they should have resources to assist you in learning
and practicing The Teachings to independently acquire wisdom along The
Path. As you learn and practice The Teachings, there is no aspect of The
Teachings from Gotama Buddha that is based on belief. Belief will not
liberate the mind to awaken to the Enlightened mind.
A Student will need to gradually learn and practice The Teachings to
independently observe the truth in The Teachings to acquire wisdom. It is
this new found wisdom that will allow the mind to function through the
Enlightened wisdom one acquires. In this way, the mind can gradually
progress towards attaining a permanent mental state that is peaceful, calm,
serene, and content with joy - the Enlightened mind.
Gotama Buddha did not share any Teachings that include rites, rituals,
ceremonies, or worship. He taught that these things do not lead to
Enlightenment so there is no rite, ritual, ceremony, or worship that is required
in order to pursue The Path to Enlightenment.
The Enlightened mind will not experience any discontentedness. All
discontent feelings will be eliminated 100% to include the elimination of
sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears,
boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc.
The mind will reside permanently peaceful, calm, serene, and content with
joy.
Are you on The Path to Enlightenment? Are you learning The Teachings and
progressing along The Path?
If not, you can be, and life is so much better as the mind gradually awakens
to "true reality” - to Enlightenment.
2.) Do I need to give up all my possessions, occupation, and
relationships to attain Enlightenment?
Absolutely not.
While living a simple life can provide a lot of peace, the type of life you create
for yourself and your existence is your personal choice.
These Teachings are not about eliminating possessions, occupations, and
relationships but rather training and purification of the mind. You need to
eliminate how the mind relates to possessions, occupations, and
relationships, etc. having these things while practicing non-attachment. The
mind needs to eliminate The Ten Fetters, taints, or pollution of the mind, not
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possessions, occupations, and relationships, while cultivating other
beneficial qualities of the mind.
You can have possessions, an occupation, and relationships while practicing
non-attachment to attain Enlightenment.
3.) What is reincarnation and rebirth? Are they the same thing?
Reincarnation and rebirth are different. They are not the same.
Reincarnation: the reemerging of a soul in a new body.
Reincarnation typically relates to a new existence from a soul, spirit, or entity
of a previously existed being. The new existence is seen as being the same
as the previous being just in a new body. Reincarnation requires a permanent
soul or entity that emerges repeatedly in new existences. Gotama Buddha
did not share this as part of his Teachings.
The concept of reincarnation conflicts with Gotama Buddha’s Teachings on
The Universal Truth of Impermanence and The Universal Truth of Non-self,
thus, was not taught by Gotama Buddha. In Gotama Buddha’s 45-years of
teaching, his Teachings never contained any contradictions.
Reincarnation is dependent on a permanent soul or spirit transcending
multiple existences. Gotama Buddha left The Teaching concerning a soul as
“undeclared” having never taught the concept of a permanent soul or a
permanent self that transcends multiple existences.
The concept of reincarnation conflicts with three specific aspects of Gotama
Buddha’s Teachings. Reincarnation conflicts with 1.) The Universal Truth of
Impermanence, 2.) The Universal Truth of Non-self, and 3.) Gotama Buddha
left The Teachings on the soul as an “undeclared” Teaching, thus, Gotama
Buddha never taught reincarnation.
Rebirth: a new being that has come into existence through The Cycle of
Rebirth based on a previous being’s craving and Kamma.
Gotama Buddha taught rebirth through The Cycle of Rebirth.
Rebirth is a new existence of a new being that has been reborn based on a
previous being’s craving. Craving is the fuel that causes rebirth. If there is
craving at the time of death, there will be rebirth into a new existence. If
Enlightenment has been attained (i.e. all craving, anger, and ignorance are
fully extinguished), there will be no rebirth.
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The new being may or may not have residual memories of previous
existences in its new consciousness that may be recalled over time during
the new being’s life. Rebirth is not based on a permanent soul or spirit of any
kind but instead is caused by the craving of the previous being which
produces a new birth into a new existence.
Each new birth is a new existence or new life. In reality, this should be shared
and discussed as The Cycle of New Existence because there is nothing that
is actually being reborn.
Kamma of the previous being will determine the destination and life situation
of the new being. Kamma of the previous being determines in which realm
the new being will be reborn, Hell, Animal, Afflicted Spirits, Human, or the
Heavenly realm. Kamma from the previous being also determines the quality
of life of the new being. For example, the family and life situation (poverty vs.
wealth) one is born into, the appearance of the new being, and the condition
of the new being’s body and mind are all determined based on the Kamma
of the previous being.
If the previous being generated significant amounts of wholesome Kamma to
be reborn into the human realm, the new being is reborn into a favorable
destination within a wealthy family, beautiful appearance, and/or with a
healthy body and mind.
If the previous being generated significant amounts of unwholesome
Kamma, the new being is reborn into an unfavorable destination of the lower
realms (Hell, Animal, or Afflicted Spirits Realm) or if reborn into the human
realm, the being will be reborn into difficult circumstances in the new
existence based on the previous being’s Kamma.
Difficult circumstances that result from the previous being’s Kamma would
include in what realm the new being is reborn, what part of the world, the
type of family, the amount of wealth, ability to acquire necessities to sustain
life, appearance, and the health of the body and the mind.
Craving determines if there is rebirth while Kamma determines in what realm,
what situation, and the condition of the new being upon rebirth.
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4.) Can I be a Buddhist without believing in rebirth?
Yes, one does not need to understand, believe, or know the truth regarding
rebirth to learn and practice The Teachings of Gotama Buddha.
Let’s explore this topic further to provide you additional information for a
deeper understanding.
Considering a person Buddhist or not is only a label. Labels of being a
Buddhist or not will not determine whether you are or are not learning and
practicing these Teachings closely. There is nothing to determine whether
you are or are not a Buddhist.
In fact, Gotama Buddha himself was not a Buddhist. This label did not exist
during his lifetime. The Teachings and practices Gotama Buddha shared
were offered to humanity as a “life practice” that would improve the
condition of the mind through awakening it to true reality, Enlightenment.
There are many people who have advanced in their practice to the point of
observing past lives. It is through these observations that people, including
Gotama Buddha, know that rebirth is the truth. You may or may not ever
observe past lives as part of your pursuit to attaining Enlightenment.
The good news is that you do not need to observe past lives in order to
attain Enlightenment. What transpired in the past is in the past and has no
impact on whether you attain Enlightenment in this very life. Part of this good
news is that your Kamma in your previous lives was wholesome enough that
you were able to obtain the human state for this rebirth and now you have an
opportunity to attain Enlightenment in this very life.
What happened in the past or may happen in the future is not important to
attain Enlightenment in this very life. The mind needs to reside in the present
moment learning and practicing The Teachings that lead to good wholesome
decisions to attain Enlightenment.
Additionally, there are no Teachings in this practice that one should merely
“believe”. Belief does not allow you to attain the wisdom that would
ultimately liberate the mind. It is only when you learn The Teachings putting
them into practice that you will be able to independently verify the truth in
The Teachings that will ultimately liberate the mind to attain Enlightenment.
You should never believe anything in these Teachings but instead, work to
learn and practice The Teachings so that you can independently verify the
truth for yourself. This will ensure you are gaining wisdom to liberate the
mind.
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For more details on how rare it is for one to obtain the human state, see
Gotama Buddha’s simile “Rare That One Obtains the Human State” available
in this book in the Chapter titled “Why Study Gotama Buddha’s Teachings?”
(Chapter 2).
5.) What does it mean to take refuge in The Buddha, The Dhamma, and
The Sangha and is there a ceremony to do this?
Refuge: Shelter or protection from danger or distress. A place that provides
shelter or protection. Something to which one can receive help in difficulty.
Buddha: A being who has attained Enlightenment on their own without the
assistance of Teachers to independently discover Teachings that lead to their
own Enlightenment, with the ability to share their independently discovered
Teachings that lead countless others to Enlightenment during their lifetime
and after their death. The last Buddha currently known to the world existed
2,500 years ago, whom I refer to as Master Teacher Gotama Buddha or
Gotama Buddha. (You will see other ways people refer to him.)
Dhamma: The Teachings of Gotama Buddha based on The Natural Laws of
Existence that lead to awakening of the mind, Enlightenment.
Sangha: The entire Community of Practitioners to include Ordained
Practitioners and anyone who has attained one (1) of The Four Stages of
Enlightenment, this includes Household Practitioners. These are the
Teachers who can guide others to attain Enlightenment through The
Teachings of Gotama Buddha.
When we say, take refuge in The Buddha, The Dhamma, and The Sangha we
are saying that one’s mind can be protected through having confidence in
The Buddha, through learning The Dhamma, and through seeking guidance
from The Sangha.
One would need to take refuge in all three, not just one. This is also referred
to as the Triple Gem or the Triple Jewel.
When one learns and practices these Teachings with guidance from
Teachers, the mind can reside permanently peaceful, calm, serene, and
content with joy. The mind is unshakable because on this path you will know
the “truth” and have deep wisdom. The mind will be unshakable meaning
nothing and no one can ever cause the mind to be angry, frustrated, irritated,
annoyed, or have even the slightest stress or discontentedness.
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The mind will be protected from these and all other discontent feelings like
boredom, loneliness, guilt, shame, fear, shyness, jealousy, resentment,
anxiety, etc. Absolutely nothing will ever negatively affect the mind once it is
experiencing Enlightenment. The Enlightened mind is fully protected.
If one seeks refuge in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community, the
mind will be permanently protected through your own learning and practice
to attain Enlightenment as you are guided by the Teachers of The
Community.
The mind will be unshakable.
People throughout time have come up with rites, rituals, ceremonies, or
worship that they say are an acknowledgment of taking refuge in The
Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community. However, these were not
taught by Gotama Buddha and is only something that people developed
along the way. There is no benefit to a ceremony. A ceremony does not have
the power to change anything about the mind. It is only through learning and
practicing The Teachings that the mind can develop and improve its
condition to experience Enlightenment.
One of the aspects of the mind Gotama Buddha taught to eliminate in order
to attain Enlightenment is:
Wrong behavior and observances
(Elimination of the mind’s belief that rites, rituals,
ceremonies, and worship will help a Practitioner to attain Enlightenment. Well developed practice of
The Eight Fold Path.)
One needs to eliminate this fetter, or pollution, from their mind to even attain
the first Stage of Enlightenment. This is one of The Ten Fetters. All Ten
Fetters need to be eliminated to attain Enlightenment. If the mind thinks that
rites, rituals, ceremonies, or worship is going to improve the condition of the
mind and progress a Practitioner to Enlightenment, the mind still has the
pollution of “Wrong behavior and observances”. Therefore, the Practitioner’s
mind is not Enlightened and will not be Enlightened until this pollution, or
“wrong view”, is removed from the mind.
Taking refuge to Gotama Buddha would be to learn and practice The
Teachings. In this way, the more you learn and practice the more and more
protected the mind will become. A ceremony cannot do that for you. It is
only through your own dedication and commitment to learning and
practicing that will allow one to have protection of the mind taking refuge in
The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community.
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All human beings can take refuge in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The
Community. All human beings should take refuge in The Buddha, The
Teachings, and The Community.
This is the only way for the entire world to experience “worldwide peace”.
6.) What is our purpose in life? What is the purpose of our human
existence?
This is a common question some ask of themselves and we sometimes ask
of Spiritual Teachers. Various answers to these questions have been
provided by various Spiritual Teachers around the world.
Let’s explore this question and the nature of this question arising in the mind.
The human mind contains the human ego. These types of questions are
asked from the human ego.
It is our ego that has a craving or desire to have importance and a purpose in
this life. The ego craves for there to be a special purpose or higher calling for
human existence on this planet.
The human ego is always looking for significance, purpose, and importance
so the question of “what is our purpose in life?” could surely arise in the
mind.
The short answer is: There is no purpose to life. There is nothing here and
there is no point or significance in life.
This could be considered a pessimistic view but let’s examine it more
closely.
If humans completely vanished from the earth in the snap of a finger, would
there be grieving or sadness? Who would grieve or be sad?
Would the monkeys, whales, or birds grieve that humans have vanished?
Would the world’s seas have dismay that humans have vanished?
Would the sun and moon still rise and set if humans instantaneously
disappeared?
If you answer these questions honestly, you would come to the conclusion
that the monkeys, whales, nor birds would grieve the vanishing of humanity.
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In fact, they would probably be pleased and see humanities disappearance
as beneficial.
The world’s seas would not have dismay if humans vanished and again,
would probably benefit enormously from our disappearance.
The sun and moon would still rise and set based on the same cycles that
have always existed and human disappearance would have no effect or
change to these natural cycles.
Who is going to even remember you and your existence on this planet a few
hundred or a few thousand years from now? If you answer this question
honestly, no one will remember you or care that you existed.
So, who would truly grieve, have sadness or dismay at the disappearance of
all of humanity? Only humans, right?
We have such a strong craving to exist that we continue to exist on this
planet and oftentimes search for meaning or purpose in life. This outward
searching and seeking importance is just the human ego seeking
significance.
In this way, we crave possessions, wealth, relationships, job titles, or self
image, all products of the mind seeking importance.
Similarly, it is the human ego that holds, grasps, and clings to the idea that
humanity must and shall always continue.
In the world as it existed during prehistoric times with massive creatures
roaming the earth, I suspect that the human ego was practically non-
existent.
If we lived during those times and ventured out from our cave, we knew that
there were massive creatures that were much more powerful and significant
in the world than us humans.
Prehistoric humans most likely were very aware of their presence and the
presence of creatures that were much more dominant and powerful than
humans. These more dominant creatures could eliminate a human’s life
practically instantaneously with their power and might.
I suspect the prehistoric human mind understood humans are not powerful
and that other creatures ruled this planet.
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It is only in modern society, that humans have developed an ego that is
unbalanced and unchecked. We have created technology and advances in
transportation, energy, weaponry, and other fields that have made us the
supreme being on this planet.
If a lion or other beast killed a human, we would most likely seek out the
beast and kill it with our advances in intelligence and weaponry to track and
kill the beast. The modern human ego would find it necessary to exert our
dominance over any beast that exists today that killed a human and “got
away with it”.
This allows the modern human ego to retain our false sense or craving for
dominance and control of the world around us.
Conversely, if a human was killed by another creature during prehistoric
times, and there were many creatures to do the killing at that time, humans
would have just accepted it and moved on knowing that humans are not the
dominant force on this planet. There would not be an attempt to kill all the
creatures by prehistoric humans because that objective would be
impossible.
Throughout history, humans have evolved significant intelligence and ability
to dominant or control the world around us and through that ability to exert
our control or will, the human ego has evolved and is firmly rooted in the
human mind.
But if we strip away the modern human ego to eliminate seeking importance
and significance refocusing on the prehistoric mind, what we would most
likely find is that prehistoric human beings had no such desire or interest to
understand their “significance” or “importance” on this planet because all
they cared about is “existing”. They only cared about “survival”. They
depended on the land and the resources it provided.
I propose, the only interest among prehistoric human beings was to exist
and co-exist peacefully among all the creatures that resided here on this
planet. If they did not seek a peaceful co-existence with all creatures on the
planet and live in harmony with earth’s resources, humans would not have
existed.
They hunted and gathered to provide food. They created shelters and
clothing. They looked for ways to create a better or more comfortable
existence with each other. They did not seek importance or significance of
why they existed, they just sought a better existence - to live and stay alive.
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It is only in modern civilizations that we have created jobs, possessions,
titles, hobbies, sporting activities and other activities that we pursue to
pacify or occupy our time in this existence to create some sort of importance
or purpose the human ego can latch onto to feel important.
As various Teachers have been asked these same questions over the years,
various answers have been provided. The mind of the seekers and Teachers
have an overwhelming desire for an answer and to provide an answer.
As a Teacher, it does not make me feel more important, significant, or wiser
to provide an answer to the questions of “what is our purpose in life?” or
“what is the purpose for our existence?”.
Can a Teacher and, thus, the Student just be content with the answer “there
is no purpose, we just exist”?
It is the human mind and human ego that is constantly trying to create
purpose for this existence that we continue to exist and continue to add
more and more obligations and relevance to our existence. We are the
dominant and controlling creature on this planet, so the ego expects and
craves the answer that there must be some sort of significance or
importance to our existence.
I can be content to share “there is no purpose for human existence and there
is no purpose for humans on this earth”, I have no interest to please an ego
to sound wiser if I provided a definitive answer to this question.
Can the mind be content with the answer “there is no purpose for human
existence and there is no purpose for humans on this earth” or do you still
have a craving or desire for a purpose?
Does your ego still crave and desire an answer to “what is your purpose in
this life”? Is the ego still seeking importance and significance?
If so, here is the answer I will provide you…
Your purpose is to attain Enlightenment, which includes dissolving of
the ego so that once you dissolve the ego, you will see that there is no
purpose to the human existence.
Upon attaining Enlightenment, you will have escaped “The Cycle of Rebirth”
and, thus, you will not be reborn into a new existence of nothing or no
purpose.
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Sustain your life through the daily activities that are required to sustain life,
attempting to do no harm to other beings or the planet. Seek Enlightenment
in this life. Dissolve the ego and realize there is nothing that exists here for
you in this world and we do not need to continue human existence.
Elimination of the craving for importance and significance in this life is to
eliminate and dissolve the ego that craves an answer to this question.
You have made yourself constantly busy and occupied with tasks,
objectives, goals, and responsibilities that are pleasing to the mind and to
the ego. The mind and, thus, the ego feels important and significant.
However, there is no purpose for humanity to exist and until we realize that
the mind and, thus, the ego has us on a never ending pursuit to feel
important and significant, then we will continue to have craving for
existence. If there is craving at the time of death, we will be reborn through
The Cycle of Rebirth eventually returning to a new human life of constant
pursuit of importance and significance. Craving is the fuel that leads to
rebirth. To eliminate rebirth, one needs to extinguish craving.
It is not until we fully dissolve the ego, along with other realizations on this
Path, that we attain Enlightenment so that we will not return to a new
existence with a purpose of…..“nothing”.
7.) Can I exercise the physical body and still attain Enlightenment?
Yes, you can.
The Path to Enlightenment involves training of the mind, not training of the
body. To sustain this life, you need the body and the mind to reside together.
Without the body, you have no ability to train the mind.
So, you should exercise the physical body, if you like, and maintain its health
in prudent ways. There is less effort for the body and the mind when the
body is healthy. An unhealthily body will put strain on the body’s systems
and also the mind.
Proper hygiene, proper food supply, proper sleep, physical fitness, and
medical check ups are helpful to ensure you are maintaining the body’s
physical health.
The mind can also become attached to having excessive hygiene, proper
food supply, physical fitness, and extensive worry about poor health causing
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discontentedness so it’s important that you maintain your health without
craving/desire/attachment.
For example, if you plan to workout each day at 8:00AM and that is your
permanent schedule, it will be impossible for you to maintain this schedule
permanently because of The Universal Truth of Impermanence. It will be
impossible to maintain a fixed, steady, or permanent schedule.
Just because you missed a workout at 8:00AM, can the mind still be
content?
Missing a workout does not give you permission to be grumpy, upset, or
angry to those around you. You also should not show arrogance that you are
a superior athlete who looks down on all those who choose not to implement
a fitness plan. You should also not rush through daily activities just to get to
your workout. Take things at a calm steady pace and workout when you
have the time and ability, if you choose.
You will find that having regular physical activity of some type will improve
the condition of the physical body and clarity of mind.
8.) Is medicine and medical procedures for the body a craving/desire/
attachment?
Determining if something is or is not a craving/desire/attachment is based on
how the mind relates to the person, object, or situation. If there is a mental
longing with strong eagerness, that is a craving/desire/attachment.
There are many health conditions that can be improved by medications. Pain
relief medicine is helpful in certain situations. In life, you may experience
headaches and other pains in the body. This is normal and pain relief
medication can be helpful to temporarily relieve various pains in the body.
Once you attain Enlightenment, the body and the mind will be tranquil, light,
and peaceful.
If you are experiencing pain in the body, it is challenging to train the mind.
Temporarily relieving the body of its pain through medication can be helpful
but you must ensure that you do not become dependent or addicted to
medications that influence the mind.
If a Practitioner is taking medicines without understanding the root cause of
the medical concern to solve the health issue, then one is perhaps going to
never find the solution to the problems they face. For example, if a
Practitioner is experiencing ongoing headaches and just continues to always
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seek medicine without investigating the root cause, then they will not
eliminate what is causing the headaches and be relegated to the expense
and harmful side effects due to continuous use of chemically based
medicines. There is most likely a non-biological cause to something like a
headache such as poor diet, lack of sleep, lack of water, difficulty addressing
stressful situations, and other external causes.
A wise Practitioner would look to solve the root cause of the headaches
rather than continue to always revert to medicines. While medicines can
provide a temporary solution, a wise Practitioner will look for the root cause
and address that through wise decision making which may or may not
involve medical intervention.
Headaches and other medical issues are a way to tell the mind that unwise
decisions are being made and through identifying those and through
implementing wiser decision making, a Practitioner can completely resolve
their medical issues that lead to such things as headaches, stress, anxiety,
depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and a whole range of other
symptoms that are remedied through a well trained mind based on these
Teachings but may be falsely understood as a biological medical problem.
Discuss medications and the use of them with your Doctors ensuring you
have selected Doctors and medical professionals who have eliminated
craving for wealth and are dedicated to providing respectful beneficial
patient care with no other motivations.
Medications that are prescribed for mental health can be a craving/desire/
attachment as described in a previous Chapter. There are no medications
that will permanently eliminate emotions, feelings, past traumas, or
expectations you place on yourself that cause a discontent mind.
Mental health medications will suppress the unwelcome emotions and
feelings but they will not eliminate them. Medications and medical
interventions are only temporary solutions or perhaps only providing minimal
improvements while one works to develop their life practice in these
Teachings to completely eliminate unwelcome emotions and feelings.
The only permanent solution to attain a peaceful, calm, serene, and content
mind with joy is Enlightenment.
9.) What significance can I apply to dreams?
The mind can produce various thoughts and experiences including dreams.
There are always questions about how to interpret dreams. The person who
experiences the dreams can oftentimes look to others for the meaning and
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purpose of a dream to help guide them in life. This practice can oftentimes
be misleading at best.
The potential subject matter of dreams and how they are interpreted are
countless. For every dream one experiences, there can be any multitude of
explanations that one may gather from others. Who is to say what is
accurate or inaccurate with the various interpretations and methods used to
acquire such information?
When you experience a dream, it’s best to not be attached to its meaning or
needing an explanation. Whatever is produced during sleep and what that
means does not make a dream a reality.
It is best to stay focused on reality and truth in life experiences learning and
practicing these Teachings. You may notice as you near Enlightenment and
attain Enlightenment that dreams become less frequent or are actually
eliminated 100%. While there are some who put a lot of belief and
superstition into dreams and dream interpretation, it is best that as you
remember dreams to just move past it, remaining unattached to acquiring
the meaning of a dream. Consider a dream in the past while focusing on
what you need to do in the present moment to continue your progress on
this path.
Being attached to the past or past experiences can only burden the mind
and leave one craving answers to past experiences when one of the goals of
these Teachings is to bring the mind into the present moment without
concern of what has happened in the past or what may happen in the future.
10.) Why is Enlightenment permanent?
Gotama Buddha taught that “all conditioned thoughts and feelings” that
arise are impermanent. He did not teach “everything is impermanent”.
What is a conditioned thought or feeling?
A conditioned thought or feeling is an arisen thought or feeling that is
dependent on an impermanent source or object. It is a thought or feeling that
can be observed to arise, change, and then ceases to exist. A conditioned
thought or feeling is impermanent or in other words, temporary.
For example, “I am happy because I got a new car”.
The “new car” is the condition that is causing the happiness. The happiness
has arisen in the mind due to the condition of the new car.
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The feeling of happiness arises based on an impermanent condition, the
feeling changes over time, and then the happiness eventually ceases to
exist. The conditioned feeling of happiness is impermanent or temporary.
Since the happiness was based on an impermanent condition of the new car,
the happiness experienced is impermanent. The thought or feeling of
happiness that has arisen, changed, and ceased to exist as all conditioned
feelings are impermanent.
Another example, “I am sad because my pet animal died”.
The “pet animal” is the condition that is causing the sadness. The sadness
has arisen in the mind due to the impermanent condition of the pet animal.
The animal is not permanent and due to the mind craving it to be permanent,
it is causing itself to be sad or discontent.
The feeling of sadness arises based on an impermanent condition of the pet.
The feeling changes over time and then the sadness eventually ceases to
exist. The conditioned feeling of sadness is impermanent or temporary.
Since the sadness was based on an impermanent condition of the pet, the
sadness experienced is impermanent. The thought or feeling of sadness has
arisen, changed, and ceased to exist as all conditioned feelings are
impermanent.
This is what is experienced in the unEnlightened mind. The unEnlightened
mind bases its internal feelings on impermanent conditions.
The unEnlightened mind craves/desires/attaches to impermanent conditions,
has a mental longing with a strong eagerness for something holding on to it
tightly. When the condition changes due to impermanence, the mind
produces thoughts or feelings such as, happiness or sadness, for example.
Then, the unEnlightened mind is not comfortable when impermanence is
experienced because it is not trained to understand impermanence. The
unEnlightened mind experiences discontentedness (pleasant feelings, painful
feelings, and feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant) and the suffering
these feelings cause due to craving/desire/attachment for permanence when
all conditioned objects are impermanent.
This is not how an Enlightened mind functions.
An Enlightened mind has been liberated from the constant craving/desire/
attachment to impermanent conditions that cause internal feelings. The
Enlightened mind has eliminated craving/desire/attachment, all mental
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longing with a strong eagerness for permanence has ceased to exist,
therefore, it no longer bases its internal feelings on impermanent conditions.
An Enlightened mind will have been trained to extinguish the primary
problem discovered by Gotama Buddha which is craving/desire/attachment
to impermanent conditions. The Enlightened mind no longer craves
permanence.
Having eliminated the mind’s mental longing with a strong eagerness for
permanence, (i.e. craving/desire/attachment), the mind no longer grasps,
longs, or seeks fulfillment (pleasant feelings) in impermanent conditions. An
Enlightened mind knows that the conditioned thoughts and feelings are
impermanent, (i.e. temporary), and therefore has been trained not to seek
fulfillment (pleasant feelings) based on impermanent conditions.
An Enlightened mind has removed, eliminated, eradicated, and extinguished
all craving/desire/attachment and, therefore, no longer has mental longing
with a strong eagerness, being inwardly peaceful and content no longer
basing its internal feelings on impermanent conditions.
The mind has been liberated, has attained Enlightenment, and is
Enlightened. The mental state of Enlightenment is unshakable and
permanent.
Once a mind has been trained to eliminate craving/desire/attachment, it will
not ever go back to seeking fulfillment (pleasant feelings) from impermanent
conditions. The mind has acquired the wisdom that seeking fulfillment
(pleasant feelings) from an impermanent condition only welcomes and brings
sadness, anger, or worse and, thus, no longer has an interest or desire to
seek fulfillment (pleasant feelings) from impermanent conditions. Once one
acquires this wisdom and has been trained, the mind will not unlearn this
wisdom and, thus, it is permanently trained based on this wisdom to reside
peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy.
The Enlightened mind is permanently peaceful, calm, serene, and content
with joy not based on any impermanent conditions. All conditions have been
removed and, thus, the mind resides in the natural Enlightened mental state
that is permanent described as an unconditioned mind.
One who has attained Enlightenment will have a permanent mental state of
joy. Having attained Enlightenment, the joy experienced is without
conditions, or unconditioned, and not based on an impermanent situation,
object, or experience and, therefore, is permanent.
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The unEnlightened mind is affected by the impermanent nature of
impermanent conditions while an Enlightened mind has been trained and
liberated through wisdom to no longer be affected by impermanence.
Gotama Buddha’s Teachings provide guidance to train the mind to
attain a permanent place to reside unaffected by the impermanent
nature of conditioned thoughts and feelings.
This is the Enlightened mind, completely pure and without conditioned
thoughts or feelings.
An Enlightened mind is permanently peaceful, calm, serene, and content
with joy not based on any conditions. All conditions are eliminated and the
mind is unconditioned. The mind has been purified with all fetters, taints, or
pollution of mind removed and eliminated.
An Enlightened mind is liberated from the outward seeking and searching for
satisfaction based on impermanent conditions and is inwardly peaceful,
calm, serene, and content with joy - permanently.
11.) Why are donations of support for Teachers of Gotama Buddha’s
Teachings so important?
There are two primary reasons why donations of support are important as it
relates to Gotama Buddha’s Teachings.
Let’s explore those reasons…
Continuation of Gotama Buddha’s Teachings
Gotama Buddha’s Teachings have existed on this earth for over 2,500 years
only because people have offered support for their continued growth and
expansion. There is no centralized organization responsible to collect and
distribute Gotama Buddha’s Teachings and, thus, it is up to individuals like
you and me to continue the support and growth of these Teachings
worldwide.
For over 2,500 years, people have provided food, water, clothing, shelter,
medical supplies and financial donations to support those who are sharing
The Teachings of Gotama Buddha. In this way, the Teachers are able to
focus their time on practicing The Teachings to gain experience and on
sharing The Teachings of Gotama Buddha for the benefit of others.
Teachers receive no inherent benefit for themselves in sharing The Teachings
but what you will find is that people deeply practicing The Teachings will
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oftentimes make the decision to share their experiences through formal
teaching for your benefit.
Legitimate Teachers will openly and freely share The Teachings with any and
all beings without reservation. They will accept any and all Students who
respectfully choose to learn and progress in their practice of these
Teachings.
While they may freely offer The Teachings for Students to learn and progress,
it is not free for Teachers to offer The Teachings. There are many resources
needed to support a Teacher’s ability to exist in this life and share The
Teachings openly and freely.
Teachers will setup their life in such a way that requires only basic support of
food, water, clothing, shelter, medical supplies and financial support. A
dedicated Teacher will not be interested in anything other than basic support
and supplies to sustain their life.
Without continuous donations to support Teachers, the Teachers would not
be able to exist in the world to offer The Teachings for Practitioners to learn
and progress on The Path to Enlightenment. The Teachings would not have
reached you in this life had countless people prior to you not offered
donations of support so that Teachers could continue to learn, practice, and
offer The Teachings openly and freely to all beings.
It is the people before you that have provided regular donations of support to
allow The Teachings to continue and ultimately reach you for your benefit.
It is your donations of support that will help you and people after you to learn
and practice these Teachings.
Generosity Leads to Enlightenment
The primary problem that Gotama Buddha discovered in the mind is
“craving/desire/attachment”.
The unEnlightened mind experiences discontent feelings because it “holds
on” with a mental longing and strong eagerness. This is referred to as
“craving/desire/attachment”.
The mind causes itself to be discontent because with craving/desire/
attachment it “holds on” and, therefore, the mind experiences sadness,
anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom,
loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc.
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To learn and progress in the practice of these Teachings, a Student can
completely and entirely eliminate discontentedness in the mind and all
discontent feelings are eradicated to attain the Enlightened mind.
Craving/desire/attachment is the cause of the discontent mind and
eliminating this unwholesome quality will eliminate discontent feelings from
the mind.
There are two remedies that Gotama Buddha shared to train the mind to
eliminate craving/desire/attachment.
Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and generosity are the two practices
Gotama Buddha shared to eliminate the unwholesome quality of craving/
desire/attachment.
Through practicing Breathing Mindfulness Meditation with guidance of
Teachers and practicing generosity, the mind is trained to “let go”. Without
practicing Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and generosity, among other
Teachings, a Practitioner would not be able to attain Enlightenment.
Through practicing generosity (i.e. giving and sharing) the mind is gradually
trained to “let go” and practice selflessness. The mind has a tendency to
“hold on” and accumulate “things” with selfish desires, but through
generosity, the mind can be trained to recognize the interconnectivity of all
beings through giving and sharing without expectation of anything in return.
Teachers who are openly and freely sharing these Teachings are practicing
generosity of their time, effort, energy and resources with loving-kindness
and compassion for all beings. Gotama Buddha’s Teachings are designed to
guide a Practitioner in cultivating these qualities of mind so any legitimate
Teacher would openly and freely share The Teachings with all beings, without
expectation of compensation or setting a price for sharing their Teachings.
But they will need and do accept donations of support to exist in the world
and to offer The Teachings.
With that said, it is up to the Students to regularly support their
Teachers.
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While a Teacher is practicing generosity to openly and freely share The
Teachings with Students, if the Students are not also practicing generosity,
there is not support for the Teacher to continue their work to help Students
attain Enlightenment.
Essentially, if a Teacher is openly and freely sharing with you, this tradition of
Teachings only “works” if Students are also openly and freely sharing
resources with their Teacher on a regular basis.
It is common for Students to share food, water, clothing, shelter, medical
supplies and financial support, along with time, effort, and energy to help
their Teacher to openly and freely share The Teachings of Gotama Buddha.
Without this generosity, a Student would not be able to train the mind to
practice non-craving, non-desire, or non-attachment, therefore, a Student
would be unable to attain Enlightenment.
Without generosity, this tradition that leads to awakening of the mind, to
liberation, to Enlightenment will not continue for the benefit of all beings to
attain a peaceful, calm, serene, and content mind with joy.
While a legitimate Teacher is not interested to openly request donations from
their Students, for Students who deeply understand these Teachings and
who are practicing these Teachings to eliminate discontentedness in the
mind, they would freely make offerings of donations and supplies to help
their Teacher without a need for the Teacher to request support.
Students will need to openly, freely, and continually make offerings to
their Teachers to support the continuation of The Teachings, to train
their mind to “let go”, and to make progress on The Path to
Enlightenment.
The entire Buddhist tradition and The Teachings of The Buddha shared with
the world is based on loving-kindness, compassion, and generosity of all
beings. The foundation and continuation of this tradition is based on
Teachers openly and freely sharing The Teachings with loving-kindness,
compassion, and generosity. And, the foundation and continuation of this
tradition is based on Students making offerings with loving-kindness,
compassion, and generosity.
Cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, and generosity throughout
humanity is highly beneficial for all beings to create a kinder, more peaceful
and loving society.
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If we enjoy and expect Teachers not to set a price to offer and share Gotama
Buddha’s Teachings, then Students need to take the initiative to openly and
freely make offerings to support the Teachers and The Teachings they share
for the benefit of all beings.
To learn more about developing a practice of generosity, see the book titled
“Generosity” (Volume 13) of this same book series.
You can support our efforts to share The Teachings of Gotama
Buddha with you and worldwide for all people using this link.
https://www.buddhadailywisdom.com/supportbuddha
If Beings Knew the Results of Giving and Sharing
Monks, if beings knew, as I know, the results of giving and sharing, they would not eat
without having given, nor would the stain of selfishness obsess them and take root in
their minds. Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without
having shared it, if there were someone to share it with.
But because beings do not know, as I know, the results of giving and sharing, they eat
without having given, and the stain of selfishness obsesses them and takes root in their
minds.
(Gotama Buddha)
(Reference: ITI 26)
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How to Determine If You Have Attained
Enlightenment
1.) Never Stop Practicing The Teachings.
Enlightenment, or the pursuit of Enlightenment, is exactly that, a pursuit.
Even when you think Enlightenment has been attained, you should never
think you are done and stop practicing The Teachings. The most Enlightened
beings, in my opinion, would never consider themselves Enlightened and
always continue to learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings developing
deeper wisdom each day.
To attain Enlightenment, you will need a well established understanding and
practice of these Teachings. If you have developed a solid practice of these
Teachings and see the benefits, you will not be interested to stop practicing
or even consider yourself as Enlightened.
Even when you experience what you think is Enlightenment, you need to
never consider yourself as having attained Enlightenment. Continue to
practice The Teachings always pursuing deeper and deeper wisdom through
your well developed learning and practice of these Teachings.
2.) You will be fully practicing The Eight Fold Path which includes The
Three Universal Truths, The Four Noble Truths and The Five Precepts.
(See previous Chapters for details on these Teachings and practices.)
3.) When you have fully attained Enlightenment as an Arahant, you will
have eliminated all The Ten Fetters.
(See previous Chapters for details on these Teachings and practices.)
4.) You have cultivated a mind that is completely practicing The
Brahmā-vihāras.
(See previous Chapters for details on these Teachings and practices.)
5.) You will be fully practicing The Seven Factors of Enlightenment.
(See previous Chapters for details on these Teachings and practices.)
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6.) You will know for yourself you have attained Enlightenment because
you will have eliminated 100% of discontentedness from the mind.
This means you will no longer experience any of these feelings.
- A pleasant feeling (happiness, excitement, elation, thrill, exhilaration,
euphoria, etc.)
- A painful feeling (sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt,
shame, fear, stress, anxiety, etc.)
- A feeling that is neither painful-nor-pleasant (boredom, loneliness,
shyness, displeased, uncomfortable, unsatisfied, etc.)
In the unEnlightened state, you will experience pleasant feelings, painful
feelings, and feelings that are neither painful-nor-pleasant. These are the
feelings Gotama Buddha’s Teachings guide you to eliminate from the mind.
They are all impermanent feelings and completely eliminated for one who
has attained Enlightenment.
Enlightenment is a permanent mental state that is unaffected by these
impermanent feelings and is a permanent place for the mind to reside.
The mind will be protected, unshakable, peaceful, calm, serene, and content
with joy. The body and the mind will feel light and completely at peace.
To understand more about “What is Enlightenment?”, see the Chapter titled
“Enlightenment: What is Enlightenment?” (Chapter 3).
Additional Notes
It is important to pursue Enlightenment without craving or desire to attain it
but use it as a goal, an interest, or an objective.
If there is craving, even craving for Enlightenment, you will not be able to
attain full Enlightenment as an Arahant. And if there is craving at the time of
death, there will be rebirth.
There is no finish line to the attainment of Enlightenment. Once a mind
reaches the fourth Stage of Enlightenment, the mind can continue to ascend
to higher degrees of the Enlightened mind. A Practitioner needs to focus on
the one (1) step in front of them that leads to further progress on The Path to
Enlightenment. If the mind is focusing on the imaginary non-existent finish
line, the craving/desire/attachment for Enlightenment will inhibit and hinder
the mind from experiencing Enlightenment.
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Instead, a Practitioner may be interested to understand that Enlightenment is
the true nature of the human mind, and they are just working to remove all
the pollution of the mind that is inhibiting them from experiencing the true
nature of Enlightenment. In this way, the mind is not attempting to attain
anything at all but instead, the mind is already Enlightened and a
Practitioner’s life practice is to purify the mind removing the pollution that is
hindering one from experiencing the radiance and brightness of
Enlightenment.
You should not compare or profess to another person which Stage of
Enlightenment you think you have attained. Self declared attainment has no
beneficial purpose and oftentimes comes from arrogance and pride, the ego,
while being fraught and filled with errors. You should never believe you have
attained Enlightenment, and constantly pursue this path your entire life.
Should you ever think you have attained Enlightenment and are “done”, the
mind will become “sluggish” and halt your progress on this path. If the mind
is sluggish, you are not practicing The Seven (7) Factors of Enlightenment
and, thus, have not attained Enlightenment.
If you profess your Stage of Enlightenment to others, then you do so with
ego and, therefore, it is well known that you have not attained
Enlightenment.
The Four (4) Stages of Enlightenment are provided as a personal guide to
assist you on the path to higher and higher degrees of attainment but never
to be compared to others or feel that you are more important than another
person.
If you feel this way, you have not attained Enlightenment.
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Now that you have completed reading (Volume 1) of this book series and
may decide to read this book multiple times, I would like to take a moment to
personally “thank you” for your determination, dedication, and diligence to
learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings of The Buddha on The Path to
Enlightenment.
The time, effort, energy, and resources that you devote to this path are
serving to help you and countless other beings. As you choose to learn and
practice these Teachings, you will significantly reduce then eliminate any
harm that you are putting into the world through your unknowing of true
reality. The unEnlightened mind does not understand what it does not
understand.
You are now applying time, effort, energy, and resources to improving the
condition of the mind, the condition of your life, and, thus, the condition of
the world through investigating The Teachings to acquire wisdom. The world
becomes a better place when we each individually choose to improve our
own life practice taking responsibility for our own intentions, speech, actions,
and livelihood while improving our wisdom and mental discipline.
I admire individuals who choose to walk towards harmlessness. I admire
individuals who choose to realize there is a better way of life and create that
better way of life for themselves through seeking guidance. And, I admire
individuals who do not shrink back from the struggle to move the mind
towards Enlightenment when the natural tendency might be to remain
complacent.
Why have I chosen to share these Teachings with you?
“That it may be for the benefit and peacefulness of the multitude (many
people), out of compassion for the world, for the benefit and peacefulness of
heavenly beings and humans”. (Gotama Buddha)
“Because if they understand even a single sentence, that will lead to their
welfare and peacefulness for a long time”. (Gotama Buddha)
May you discover the freedom associated with a mind that is peaceful,
calm, serene, and content with joy permanently - the Enlightened mind.
As you need help to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings, you are
welcome to seek guidance which is available openly and freely to “all
beings”.
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Author
David Roylance is a dedicated Practitioner and Teacher of Gotama Buddha’s
Teachings who has been part of the Thai community since 2001. He visited
Thailand for the first time in 2002 and brought the Traditional Thai Healing
Arts back to the United States of America to share with people in the
Western World.
His Traditional Thai Healing Arts centers, located in the Washington DC area,
provided traditional Thai healing arts to clients and educational opportunities
to Students to explore the Thai healing arts, Thai culture, and The Teachings
of Gotama Buddha. David is a published author with books on the topics of
Traditional Thai Healing Arts and The Path That Leads to Enlightenment.
David has taught Gotama Buddha’s Teachings since 2005 in the United
States of America. In 2015, he closed his businesses and relocated to
Chiang Mai, Thailand to be closer to the Thai culture and the Thai
Community of Buddhist Practitioners.
David shares Gotama Buddha’s Teachings with Household Practitioners and
Ordained Practitioners in Chiang Mai, Thailand and around the world through
courses, retreats, and special events providing guidance to help people
attain Enlightenment - a peaceful, calm, serene, and content mind with joy.
For more information on participating in courses, retreats, special events or
to invite these Teachings to your learning venue, use the contact information
below:
Teacher - David Roylance
hello@buddhadailywisdom.com
www.BuddhaDailyWisdom.com
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Restoration of The Buddha’s Teachings
The Path to Enlightenment
The Buddha taught over 2,500 years ago. He taught The Path to
Enlightenment guiding countless beings to a mental state that is peaceful,
calm, serene, and content with joy that is permanent, where the mind has
eliminated 100% of all discontent feelings such as sadness, anger,
frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness,
shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc.
Immediately following the death of The Buddha (i.e. Gotama Buddha), The
Teachings were shining in the world continuing to guide countless people to
Enlightenment. But, over the course of many generations, just as Gotama
Buddha predicted, people’s understanding of his Teachings gradually
diminished due to modifications and adjustments made by people after him.
The modifications made to his Teachings, handed down through oral
transmission, have made it increasingly difficult for human beings to attain
Enlightenment.
The goal of David’s Teachings is to root the learning and practice he
shares in “The Words of The Buddha” based on The Teachings that
existed during the lifetime of Gotama Buddha, so that countless beings
can now attain Enlightenment based on the original Path to
Enlightenment discovered and declared by Gotama Buddha.
David does this through connecting what he teaches to the largest most
complete source of Teachings from Gotama Buddha - The Pāli Canon. The
Pāli Canon is the original source text of The Teachings from Gotama Buddha
as spoken by him during his lifetime.
David has spent countless hours dedicated to restoring The Words of The
Buddha by updating a significant portion of the translations of Gotama
Buddha’s Teachings from The Pāli Canon. He now offers several resources
for Students to learn, reflect, and practice The Path to Enlightenment to
experience the results of an Enlightened mind.
David offers books, audiobooks, videos, podcasts, online learning programs,
personal guidance, and retreats without any requirement for financial
support. All the work that is being done is offered openly and freely for all
beings without any requirement to provide any financial support. David
accepts donations but Students are not required to provide donations for
any work that he does in supporting them on The Path to Enlightenment.
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David does not request donations and instead, just accepts whatever is
offered to him, if anything at all.
His dedication to sharing these Teachings is not motivated by finances. He
shares openly and freely with everyone who has a sincere interest in learning
and practicing The Path to Enlightenment.
Ultimately, David plans to preserve The Teachings of The Buddha in a format
that is easily, readily, and openly accessible to anyone in the world while
offering support to learn, reflect, and practice to experience the results of the
Enlightened mind.
His plan is to guide countless people to Enlightenment during his lifetime
and leave a Community of Enlightened beings who can continue to share
The Teachings long after his death. Through developing a Community of
Enlightened beings and preserving The Path to Enlightenment in resources
that are easily, readily, and openly accessible to anyone in the world, David is
revealing the hidden Teachings of Gotama Buddha and doing the best he
can to remove any obstacles one might have to learn, reflect, and practice
these Teachings, allowing countless people to experience the results of an
Enlightened mind.
Upon his death, David predicts that his closest Student, his son and a
continued lineage of Teachers, will share these same Teachings continuing to
support and grow The Community of Enlightened beings long into the future
- for the next 1,000 years.
These efforts will culminate into restoring The Path to Enlightenment back
into the world so that all of humanity can experience Enlightenment evolving
the human species to one where every being has the opportunity to attain
Enlightenment creating “heaven on earth”.
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The Goal
An Entire Species of Enlightened Beings
Having experienced Enlightenment and knowing the peace, calm, serenity,
and contentedness with joy that comes with having attained Enlightenment,
a Buddha’s goal is to share his Teachings worldwide so that “all beings” can
experience Enlightenment.
The Enlightened mind no longer experiences any discontent feelings such as
sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears,
boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, anxiety, stress, etc.
All discontent feelings have been eliminated 100% from the Enlightened
mind (i.e. all suffering is eliminated).
An Enlightened mind will have loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic
joy, equanimity, and generosity among many other wholesome qualities.
Can you imagine an entire world where all human beings have liberated
their mind to no longer experience these discontent feelings and are
practicing wholesome qualities of mind at all times?
With “The Buddha” (Gotama Buddha) having attained this permanent mental
state of Enlightenment on his own as The Perfectly Enlightened Buddha, he
would have known that through his dedicated and persistent pursuit to
Enlightenment, he had acquired the wisdom needed to guide “all beings” to
this same mental state.
However, his teaching career of 45 years would not be enough time to share
his Teachings worldwide. He knew, that it would require many centuries for
his Teachings to reach all parts of the world. During his lifetime, travel of
people and information was limited based on several constraints.
Today, we are in a unique time in history where these same constraints have
been eliminated. A time when people and information are able to travel
around the world in an instant.
Not only can information travel quickly but all of humanity is slowly coming
to the point where there is a common language spoken around the world -
the English language.
Criteria exist today that did not exist during Gotama Buddha’s lifetime that
make now the perfect time for all of humanity to gradually attain
Enlightenment realizing a better existence.
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- People can travel worldwide.
- Information can be shared worldwide in an instant.
- Commonly spoken language among a large percentage of the worldwide
population and this is only growing.
These criteria did not exist during the lifetime of Gotama Buddha and it is
only now that the world has come into an age where his original goal is
realistically possible.
But, during Gotama Buddha’s lifetime it seems they had something that we
may not have….
The people during Gotama Buddha’s lifetime had perseverance and
dedication to learning, reflecting, and practicing The Teachings to realize the
results of experiencing the Enlightened mind. They were not afraid of hard
work.
With our modern day conveniences, I am unsure how many people are
willing to apply their determination, dedication, and diligence with time,
effort, energy, and resources towards The Path to Enlightenment with the
goal to experience the Enlightened mind.
When a being decides they are finished with the sadness, anger, frustration,
irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fear, boredom, loneliness, shyness,
jealousy, resentment, etc., that is the time when one can turn towards The
Teachings and goal of experiencing Enlightenment.
Through each individual deciding to learn and practice The Teachings of
Gotama Buddha, as a collective world, our species will gradually evolve. We
evolve to a higher consciousness where we train the mind to not harm others
through our intentions, speech, nor actions.
Through each individual deciding to learn, reflect, and practice The
Teachings of Gotama Buddha, each person benefits and we all benefit as
there will be less and less harm in the world.
Through individuals deciding to focus on developing a comprehensive
approach to learning and practicing The Teachings of Gotama Buddha with
guidance from a Teacher, your life drastically improves and the entire world
improves essentially creating “heaven on earth”.
We do not need to “fix” the world. That is not the problem. The problem is
the unEnlightened mind does not understand The Natural Laws of Existence
and it is quite a struggle to live in a world that one does not understand.
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Through learning and practicing The Teachings of Gotama Buddha, a
Practitioner comes to deeply understand The Natural Laws of Existence to
acquire wisdom that will end the struggles and misery one may face on a
regular basis.
Are you ready to apply determination, dedication, and diligence with time,
effort, energy, and resources towards The Path to Enlightenment with the
goal to experience Enlightenment?
If one enjoys anger, sadness, boredom, loneliness, resentment, etc., there is
nothing to do.
But, if you are interested to eliminate these unwelcomed feelings from the
mind, then I suggest you turn towards The Path to Enlightenment and apply
your dedication and diligence to learning, reflecting, and practicing The
Teachings of Gotama Buddha.
And then, as all of humanity gradually experiences Enlightenment we will
have accomplished “the goal”.
“An entire species of Enlightened beings”.
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