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Awakening cannot be reduced to a single experience. It is a process of dissolution, which involves letting go completely of hatred, greed and delusion. You do not awaken to something external, but to your own true nature.
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Stephen Batchelor |
At the root of Buddhist meditation is the moment of the Buddha’s enlightenment, or awakening. The root of Buddha is budh, which means 'to awaken’, 'to understand'. So 'awakening’ is perhaps a better word to use to describe this moment than 'enlightenment'.
Does
the word 'enlightenment’ have romantic associations for you? Do you imagine
flicking a switch and being suddenly surrounded by light? Do you imagine
that enlightenment will bring utter peace and contentment, that it will
solve all your problems or transform you into a totally different person? Do
you see enlightenment as liberation from the pain of this world, and
equate it with a kind of extinction? Or are you attracted to the heroic
nature of the word and fantasize that through enlightenment you will save the world?
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