Notes on what is Enlightenment?

What is Enlightenment?

It is hard to say what it is, Buddha said it was beyond words

We can be sure it is very far beyond where we are now

Even though the Buddha also said all can attain it who make the effort

But we can say something about an important staging post

When we develop insight, knowledge and vision of things as they really are

One becomes Arya, noble,

One enters the stream leading to Enlightenment

From that moment we can’t fall back, E is assured if if not in this lifetime

So how to we become Arya, Stream Enterants, important question

By breaking the first three fetters, which bind us to Samsara, conditioned existence, the W of L

In all ten fetters to break to reach E

What are they?

1/ Satkaya Drsti, literally true/real body view

Usual translation, personality view

Я такой человек, always have been and will be

Such views can be individual and collective, I’m Russian, we are like this

S calls this the fetter of habit, living on autopilot, doing what we know, not trying anything new

Antidote, be creatively minded

2/ Vicikitsa, doubt and indecision

Not a sincere doubt when we want to find the truth

But refusal to make a decision, to commit (to GFR to a teacher and path)

S calls this the fetter of vagueness, wilful ignorance

Antidote, commitment, GFR

3/ Silavrataparamasa, dependence on ethics and religious observances as ends in themselves

They are necessary, but depending on them is a fetter, building your ego around themselves

Also doing outer form of practice as enough without recourse to personal experience

Examples, you must sit in a particular posture for meditation, or recite an exact number of mantras

That in itself ie enough for effective practice, no regard to personal experiences

S calls this the fetter of superficiality, on the surface, no depth, no personal experiences

Antidote, clarity, clear thinking, self knowledge and awareness

Summary; we need creativity/trying something new, commitment/GFR, clarity/self knowledge