the buddha, all buddhas (as buddha is just a term for an enlightened being - ibrahim, gautama, musa, isa, muhammad), have demnonstrated the path less chosen and yet avaialble to all beings - the path of enlightment.
in walking on the path of enlightenment, gautama-buddha came to be a fully liberated being, and as such, he could share his insight and perhaps even ways and means to get there, like a map. but only, you, young, can get there.
goenka-ji, in the day 2 talk emphasizes the importance of the enlightment process as experiential, self-experiental. in turn, he makes, and illuminates, the fallacy of paths that only require you to have blind faith and seek salvation in a man, in a person, in someone else who might've had the enlightenment experience.
a man comes to guatama-buddha with this very issue. many people come to you, the man says. they try your suggestions. some succeed and are getting closer to the path of liberation. some struggle, but are learning meditation. some come and don't seem to be getting any further. they are still agitated by all that is happening in their lives. i unbderstand you are doing good works, but you are a powerful man. why not just give all who come to you salvation.
gautama-buddha hears this, and understands that the man possibly may not want to do the work neccessary to set himself free of the bondages of the illusive world. or that he may genuinely believe in the supernatural powers of someone else and in turn not see that he has the same capacity within him to grow into enlightenment. all of us do.
gautama-buddha asks the man where the man is from. the man tells him that he is from another part of india. gautama-buddha then asks him if he ever visits home.
oh, yes, the man replies. atleast once a month.
is it far? gautama buddha asks.
yes, the man responds.
have you ever described how to get there to your friends here or do you keep it a secret?
why a secret? the man says, a bit stupefied by the revered's line of questioning. why i tell them.
what do you say? gautama buddha asked.
why, i tell them that you walk past the rail station for a few miles, than when there are no more roads, you go north until the sand becomes muddy, and then you walk into the first road you see past the small lake, the man said (something like that).
does everyone you tell know how to get there? gautama buddha asked.
what? how is that possible? the man asked. how can they know unless they have taken the journey themselves.
young man, gautama buddha said, this is exactly what i've been trying to show you. there are people who might've taken the journey to enlightenment, and they can even describe the road there, but unless you take the journey yourself, no one else can get there for you.
salvation lies in learning from the arif-Ullah's - those who Know - and by taking the journey that lies ahead for you.
sure there are laws, goenka-ji says, as if this is tertiary. he says this, in addressing the modern age of information-saturation, and the accomplishment of buying into the so-called evidence-based scientific method set forth by western science. there tends to be a tendency among us in the modern age to over-intellectualize, consume, appropriate...
the laws, dharma, are the same laws you will find in all religious paths, goenka-ji says: do not steal, do no harm, avoid sexual misconduct, be respectful of all creation...
thing is, goenka says, this can be logically known in the intellectual phase at first. for instance, if you don't like someone stealing from you, then don't steal from them. if you don't want someone sexually exploiting, manipulating you, or your mom, or your sister, or father, or brother, then don't do this to anyone else, etc, etc.
you get it.
but to really understand, goenka-ji says, you have to experience it. just as someone describing the impact of putting their hand in a flame, will not serve to give you the same understanding as you putting your hand in the flame.
goenka-ji is not saying go steal or have wanton sex, to experience how it might be messed up. instead, what he is saying is, experience through witnessing, watch your thoughts. observe them. notice the sensory responses that come up. just observe them. and then watch them go away. no itch is forever, he says. when an itch comes up during meditation, watch it. notice it. then watch it go away.
accept reality for what it is. just notice it. and watch it pass. this is the process of letting go of that which may deceive us - our senses.
a feeling comes - a piece of chocolate sure would be nice right now. you run to the store, arguing with yourself the whole time how you've been getting cavities, and eczema from the chocolate, and yet, just a bite won't hurt. you get a bar, find a place to enjoy it. before you have a piece, you are on to the second, than third, until the whole bar is gone. same thing happens the next day and the next day. it becomes a habit. your teeth are black and falling out. you scratch your body incessantly from the eczema. yet you are still getting the chocolate.
madness, goenka-ji says of this monkey mind, of this sensory-driven brain that is in control of your body.
a situation happens, your boss yells at you. there are options, goenka-ji suggests. you can react with the sense of emotion, of hurt, of anger. or you can simply watch what is happening, notice the emotion that surfaces, and then delve into why it has come to fore, and then let it go.
vipassana is a technique that allows you to do the minor, minuscule surgery that is responsible for all this heartache, anger, disappointment, depression, obesity, malnourishment, etc.
take the time to take the journey. only you can do it. i'll do the same. i'm rooting for you.
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