There is a book that addresses this idea, it's called: "Halfway up the Mountain, The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment" by Mariana Caplan, Hohm Press
I read it over a year ago so it's not too fresh in my mind but I do remember thinking that how did I know that the people in the book were qualified to decide wether or not someone was in fact enlightened or not. The book though, is a very rich source of quotes and short dialogues from dozens of teachers representing many spiritual schools. Rick Carlstrom --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Just as a question to the folks participating in this > > > discussion, do you assume that enlightenment, once > > > realized, is permanent? Since I've been away from TM > > > and its teachings for 20+ years, I'm trying to find out > > > whether we're on the "same page" here. I certainly do > > > not assume this, based both on teachings I respect and > > > the personal experiences of myself and others (periods > > > of enlightenment can just come and go). The teachings > > > were Tibetan in origin, and have to do with ways in > > > which one can definitely mess up after realization of > > > enlightenment and make it "go away." TIA, > > > > There are several on this list who claim to be permanently > > enlightened--perhaps they could answer this question? > > That's actually one reason I asked. There are some > schools of thought (like TM, when I was around) that > suggest that once realized, enlightenment is perma- > nent. There are others that believe that it can come > and go. I tend to believe the latter, for many reasons. > > Now, if the latter were true, and one had begun to have > enlightenment experiences, had announced them to the > world, and then those experiences faded, what does > one do? > > How many would have the strength of character to go > back to all those people one had announced one's > enlightenment to and say, "Ooops?" > > In several traditions this situation has come up often > enough that they don't recommend talking about one's > experiences as permanent until they have been present > 24/7 for ten years or so. > > Unc To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
