The more I ponder on this great word, the more questions arise from my mind. If I believe there is such thing as "Enlightenment", one day I shall achieve the goal, because I really believe it is just like any skill in our worldly realm that we definitely can master it as long as we invest enough time and effort through a method that suits us, and practice diligently.
What is enlightenment? Ancient masters commented that people pursuing enlightenment can only achieve it to know it fully by themselves but not just listen to what the experienced master has to say. It is impossible to describe about it using our language and logic.
As far as I have learned from searching on the internet, language and logic process are the functions of our left hemisphere of brain. This side of brain process signals from our sensory organs linearly. It indexes the data and give each of them a sequential code, compares every object against another relating one and lays conclusion, takes action in responding to the analysis. The right hemisphere works the opposite to its counterpart, It handles data in parallel, it grabs everything in through our sensory organs without judgement or restriction. All are let in without discrimination. When this two hemispheres work together as they are supposed to be, the subject behaves normally to other beings in the same status of setting. Otherwise, they could behave weirdly to the viewpoints of the majority of beings’.
There was a TED video presented by Dr. Jill Taylor. Dr. Taylor is a Neurology scientist. One morning in 2007, she experienced a hemorrhage errupted in her left brain. Before she lost consciousness, she got the chance to feel what it was like when her left brain functions were shut down leaving the right brain work by itself. She said she experienced a total silence, total blissfulness, total mix in the universe, and she felt indescribable peacefulness. She said that must be what other enlightened people referred to “Nivana”. And when her left brain regained some functions, she was pulled back to reality. She knew she was having a stroke, she got to call for help, she was panicking, she made decision of what she should do next before the left side was shut down again.
Dr. Taylor’s video helped me to realize that we should be able to learn the skill of shutting down the left brain without having to get a hemorrhage to do the trick. Once you have successfully entered that “Nivana” once, the next will follow at your will. Just like learning how to ride a bike, once you master it, you will have bike riding skill throughout the rest of your life. So I believe, there must be a percentage of the total population of the world are born having this skill.
Masters who are enlightened all claimed that all of us, the sentient beings, have the potential to become enlightened. but because our true minds are covered up by all sorts of desire letting our wandering minds roaming restlessly. “Life is like bitter sea” is agreed by a large group of people. Through our lifetime, we might experience part or all of the eight sufferings-- birth, aging, sick, death, parting with the beloved, having to be together with whom you hate, unable to acquire what you desire, torture from wild organic needs. So that must be the reason the enlightened masters are motivated to share the methods of achieving the skill in order to help us to enjoy peace and all the good things.
Before Shidartha became the Buddha, he sought for teachers in the Ascetic Practice Forest who had the most efficient method to teach him the skill. There were people practiced meditation in difficult posture; fasting such as single meal daily; remaining in outside year round; mimicking cow walking; standing up side down. etc. I suppose, asceticism might work to a degree of enlightenment though not fully. Because the wandering mind is completely attracted to the physical discomfort, and when the practitioner perseveres and surpasses a certain level, the wander mind subdues to the true self thus the practitioner achieves some enlightenment if not full.
Though Shidhartha learned some of them and was proved by his teacher of excellent achievement, but he felt he had not fully enlightened yet. So he moved on to practice his own “middle path” meaning not to the extreme of either self torturing or self indulgent.
Prior to Shidhartha’s enlightenment, he was so weak, hungry and terribly emaciated that when he decided to shift his meditation to be middle path, he thought he should have a good bath of his body, and if possible looked for something to eat. It was said he had pushed his physical endurance to the edge, he was so thin that his hands could reach his back bone when he put his hands over his stomach and press.down. He fainted out after he finished his bath in the river and walked to the shore. A girl herding a flock of sheeps passed by where he lied and thought he must be too hungry and fed him a bowl of milk. The nutrient of the milk nourished Shidhartha, he wanted to carry on his quest for enlightenment so he sat on a rock under the Bohdi tree and swore that he would not leave there until he achieve full enlightenment.
I believe, at this point of Shidhartha’s journey of cultivation, his left brain had been made too exhausted by all of the discomfort from his previous severe ascetic practice. The milk he was offered refreshed his physical strength. Now he resumed his meditation, all the factors of attaining an sudden enlightenment were just met. He opened his eyes watched a bright star in the sky, and unexpectedly he knew he was enlightened at that moment.
To conclude my post on the adventure of Enlightenment pursuit, I would like to define Enlightenment. It is a skill achievable if the method, resolution, length of time are applied. As to the method to select is concerned, there are many different ones, but everyone of them is following the common principle-- focus your mind at a single point constantly. For examples the chanting of “Amitofo” by followers of Pure Land tradition; “Nan mio ho len ge kio” by Japan Lotus Society; full prostration practice by Tibet Buddhists; swindling sutra cylinder by Tibet Buddhists; are all designed to suit any one who is naturally connected to a peculiar method.
