Many people has the notion that enlightenment
is one state. Many also believe that when it is attained, a person is forever
in that state.
The following is not a definitive article on
this subject. It is just an expression of my own thoughts.
My opinion is that enlightenment is not just
one state but is a progressive and gradual establishing of states of
consciousness.
I, myself have not reach the end of the road.
But from years on a spiritual quest, I can safely say that enlightenment
happens in a series or stages of self-realisations and self-discoveries.
Usually there is a difference between an
initial awakening and a later stabilisation of that stage that happens through
practice or experiences. The initial awakenings are new discoveries about the
dynamics of consciousness, while the stabilisation is the assimilation of what
is being discovered into one's life experience. Sometimes, a new discovery can
completely over-rule or modify upon an older one.
Almost all stages of enlightenment can be
said to be associated with Presence. However, the enlightening Presence comes
in various degrees of intensity and clarity. The degree of intensity is
directly dependent on the level and depth of one's clarity as well as one's
realisations/discoveries.
Also, as one progresses along, the
relationship or connections of oneself to the universe and existence at large
also becomes clearer.
Below very briefly illustrates the
progressive and stage-based nature of enlightenment:
When one first begin meditating, one may
first experience the all-pervading Presence. This Presence, is most often
experienced when thoughts are momentarily suspended. This Presence which exists
in the Eternal Present Moment is our true self
However such an experience can only be
classified as an awakening to the true self.. which is no-self. This is
because, after the meditation, the Presence seems to have disappeared. One
cannot understand and find the connection of presence to our everyday life.
Therefore one will have difficulty re-acquiring the Presence. And it takes many
stages and series of realisation to understand the relationship of Presence to
our phenomenal world. It can be said that the prolonged sustaining of Presence
is dependent on the stages and depth of realisation.
Also, during the earlier stages we may
mistaken another state to be the pure presence. For example, we may mistaken 'I
AM' for pure presence. This is because the thinking mind has created a
reflective image of Pure Presence. This reflection of the absolute is 'I AM'.
Usually, in order to pass through the 'I AM'
stage, the person must move unto even deeper understandings. These
understandings may include realising that one's personality is not the doer of
action. This stage may persist for a while before the person realises the
illusion of subject-object division. This stage involves recognising the
hypnotic impression of there being an observer and the being observed. Here is
where one begins to see through the illusionary nature of our phenomenal world.
I cannot comment on the stages before me as
they are beyond me. Nevertheless, one can still see from the above description
that enlightenment is not so straight-forward after all.
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