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From Dr. Paul Williams article: >I began to see that if Buddhism were correct then unless I attained enlightenment (nirvana) or something like it in this life,
by nataliste 2y ago
From Dr. Paul Williams article:
>I began to see that if Buddhism were correct then unless I attained enlightenment (nirvana) or something like it in this life, where the whole cycle of rebirth would finally come to a complete end, I would have no hope. Clearly, I was not going to attain enlightenment in this life. All Buddhists would be inclined to accept that as true concerning just about everyone. Enlightenment is a supreme and extremely rare achievement for spiritual heroes, not the likes of us – certainly not the likes of me. So I (and all my friends and family) have in themselves no hope.
So in short, the [Buddhist] ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.
- amazingman 2y agoIt seems he missed the point entirely, as does nearly every religiously Buddhist person. Rebirth happens incessantly throughout a single subjective lifetime. It happens every 100-300 milliseconds, so far as I can tell. The Buddha realized this and tried to teach it. Ending the cycle of rebirth mostly just means forestalling the reemergence of the ego/self/subject. It doesn't truly end, though I might grant that some extremely talented meditators can probably spend more time than not (but not all the time) in an egoless state. Take everything you read about the Buddha and his teachings as an attempt to articulate an empirical approach to dealing with the fact(s) of consciousness. If you can't find a way to make a certain lesson or articulation align with an empirical approach to consciousness, then just try a different lesson. The goal isn't nirvana, but freedom. Including freedom from goal-oriented perspectives.