One of the concepts that I learned through my readings is the idea of self-realization, being the doorway to enlightenment. I had always thought of enlightenment being a realization of our infinite nature that is connected to all that is. I have always seen Jesus, Buddha and other Prophets as one and the same, incarnations of God, who realized their own divinity. While reading Midnights with the Mystic by Cheryl Simone and Sadhguru, my understanding of the concept grew. Our ability to experience self-realization, and even further to progress to enlightenment, is dependent on our experiences. I have never heard a story of a powerful figure who had not been through suffering. It is through these traumatic tribulations that humans seek deeper purpose and understanding. When we’ve hit a bottom, that is when the quest begins. Until you’ve hit the void within, you do not seek the light for healing. The story of both Buddha and Jesus, are miraculously different, but they convey the same message. Jesus, came from a family with no significance, and I believe it was through his own ordeals that he came to realize his own divinity. It is my belief that the hardships of life, and his ability to overcome them, opened a portal into his godliness. Jesus is famous for saying that the kingdom of God is within you, which is him telling us that we are no different than he. Through the inner spiritual awakening he experienced, he came to realize his connection to source, the creator of life. Whether you believe that God is a primordial deity, the universe, or simply atoms, is a debate for another time. Gautama Siddartha (Buddha), another significant figure who helped shape our world, came from a very different background then Jesus. He was born a prince of a powerful empire on the border of Nepal and India. His father Śuddhodana sought the advice of a group of eight Brahmins to predict his son’s future. Seven of the eight mystics of Hinduism told the king that his son would grow up to either be king of his empire, or a śramaṇa, which is one who seeks higher spiritual purpose. One of the seers, told the king his would become a Buddha. Knowing this, the king set forth to banish Gautama Siddartha (Buddha) from experiencing any suffering. His father surrounded him with women and other pleasures so that he may never leave his home. Buddha lives this life until the age of 29, finally departing his home in search of saṃvega – the desire to escape the suffering of saṃsāra (the tedious wheel of life that has us running in circles within a mundane existence). There are many interpretations about how this came about, one that has drawn me in is the belief that angelic beings lured him out into the world. When he took to the roads, he realized how much suffering the general populace experienced. This journey outside of the palace was known as the four sights, the catalysts for his spiritual transformation: senescence (the consequence of aging), disease, death and asceticism (self-denial of wordily pleasures in pursuit of spirituality). Of the four sights, the final one was what Buddha truly was molded by when he began the quest for self-realization. Buddha’s leaving of the palace is known as The Great Departure. Over the next 6 years he journeyed from one city to the next, until finally finding a tree in Bodh Gaya – he meditated here for many days until reaching enlightenment (at the time known as Bodhi). Enlightenment, or “Bodhi” is best defined as the process of spiritual awakening, where an individual realizes the collective consciousness that connects us all. This awakening is an indescribable connection between all things, an infinite energy or God, which connects us all. For me, it did not happen until 25 after many near death experiences and life altering run ins with the law. I had come from a life of privilege, and my ego would never have allowed me to believe as a mystic does. In order for me to uncover my own purpose, I had to suffer as those with great knowledge had. I had become sick with disease, one that could not be cured. My life had turned upside down, everything that I had sought after, had lost its appeal. I did nothing for almost a year, suffering in silence and telling no one. One day I was provided with a hallucinogen by a friend, which I was scared to consume because of my own dark thoughts. I was desperate for answers as to why I was going through this sickness, why had God forsaken and cursed me? The story of my spiritual awakening is the topic of my next post, and not the aim of this article. However, the self-realization that followed, changed everything about me. I was no longer so caught up in what others thought of me, this disease had made me so sad for so long, that I no longer feared judgement. I told my friends of my situation fearlessly, and they all supported me. That is not to say I was not still lost about the circumstances, but I felt that it had all happened for a reason. Without this illness, I would never have fallen to such a low that I was willing to believe in something more than what I could see. Up until that point, my belief in anything mystical was nonexistent. Today, I believe in so many things that I couldn’t capture it all in one blog post. This willingness to seek answers from outside sources, was truly an invitation for me to connect with my higher self. The spirit within all of us, the higher voice we can choose to listen to when we are at a crossroad. I had ignored that voice for so long, that I thought it was my erratic mind. This higher self, our spiritual nature – maybe the holy spirit
Tag: dharma
Who were you before your friends, family and society molded your mind?
What would you have done with your life, if the pressures of success and recognition hadn’t influenced your dreams? We all want certain things out of life at a very young age. Most of us want to find love, maintain our friendships, become more than what we are, and ultimately make those around us proud. I know for myself, I always wanted to write fantasy novels. I grew up reading Lord of the Rings and Forgotten Realms books as if it were my only focus in life. Slowly, the awkwardness of youth began to take its toll and I started to read nerdy books in private. That’s not to say I wouldn’t admit to my tastes if asked, but it wasn’t cool to be a fantasy nerd back then. While our friends usually are a beacon of strength, they can also take away your passions without you realizing it. Watching anime wasn’t cool, so only a handful of friends got to know that part of me. We begin to compartmentalize the aspects of ourselves that we don’t want to be judged for. We begin reading non-fiction works that were recommended to us by our teachers. We choose to learn about things relevant to our life and our peers, losing our fanaticism for our true interests. The reason for this post, is that those on the spiritual path are notoriously gifted at this. We may believe in angels, aliens, inner earth, but to speak of our realizations to those who do not believe as we do, is seen as heretical. It’s human nature to avoid discomfort, especially when it is related to the people closest to us. Now, not everyone is ready to have a conversation on the implications of the flower of life being located all over the earth, building the metaphysical blocks of our universe. This is supposed to be so, there is a reason we all make new friendships as we grow in our spiritual quest. As our energetic vibration begins to raise our consciousness, our ability to believe in the esoteric magnifies. The more you pursue sacred wisdom, the further away you will drift from those in denial. The universe does this in order to help us, we need different relationships to better different aspects of our lives. You may have a friend who is your confidant, while another is your esoteric peer. One helps you master the seen reality, while the other helps your spirit ponder the unseen. As long as you learn to appreciate your friends for their role in your life, you can maintain those relationships without expectation.
Budda-nature & the Buddha
The term Buddha, means “one who woke up.” Siddhartha Gautama, who is known as the original incarnation of the Buddha, was the original soul who has created the foundation for Buddhism. Later on, he became known as Shakyamuni Buddha, after achieving his enlightenment. Shakyamuni, is Sanskrit for “Sage of the Shakya.” Shakya, being the city-state where he was born prince. A core belief taught by Buddha, was the concept of a dharma body. The dharma body is a living reality that we can achieve through cultivating our Buddha-nature, which is to live as the original Buddha did. This means to live with a spirit of compassion and care for those around you. Buddha-nature is also known as “buddha-datu” in its original form. As Shunryu Suzuki Roshi once said “It is wisdom which is seeking wisdom.” While many people believe the desire for Zen is to relieve us of internal suffering, Buddha-nature explains that we are always in a state of positive nirvana if we reach for it. This is a foundational principle of Mayana Buddhism. Through this belief, we begin to see the divinity within and embrace the raw nature of the human experience.