Alan's blog Ask Alan Teachings: depression emotions post enlightenment practice teaching unhappiness video
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Depression and Unhappiness
Thanks to Jeff Barton for this weeks question on how enlightenment alters our relationship to emotions.
Depression and Unhappiness from Alan Chapman on Vimeo.
Alan's blog Ask Alan Teachings: Ask Alan daoism magick post enlightenment practice teaching thelema video will
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Free Will and Enlightenment
A short discourse on the nature of Will. Alternative title: Get Out Of Your Own Way!
Thanks to Tom and Brynjar for the questions.
Free Will and Enlightenment from Alan Chapman on Vimeo.
Alan's blog Ask Alan Teachings: Ask Alan buddhism developmental awakening direct awakening enlightenment expectations false beliefs maps method models pseudo-Advaita tradition
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Direct vs. Developmental Awakening
In this video response I explore the extreme examples of both direct and developmental views of enlightenment.
Note: I mention some traditions, but not all sub-sets or lineages within those traditions ascribe to the same direct or developmental view that I discuss.
Direct vs. Developmental Awakening from Alan Chapman on Vimeo.
Alan's blog Ask Alan Teachings: Ask Alan cultivated aspect expectations maps meditation natural aspect post enlightenment powers practice process stages states teaching video
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States, Stages, Powers
In this weeks video installment, I tackle the question, ‘What is the relationship between spiritual states, stages, powers and enlightenment?’ asked by OE reader/watcher, Pied Piper. Enjoy…
States, Stages, Powers from Alan Chapman on Vimeo.
Alan's blog Ask Alan Teachings: Advaita Vedanta development For-Benefit Enlightenment morality pathology post enlightenment practice teaching
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Alan's blog Ask Alan Teachings: Ask Alan enlightenment gurus maps meditation Open Enlightenment practice resonance teaching transmission video
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How to experience enlightenment
How to experience enlightenment from Alan Chapman on Vimeo.
Better late than never, eh? Videos should be more frequent from now on.
My last video transformed the blog into a forum, and amongst many other terrible accusations thrown my way I was rather confusingly compared to Andrew Cohen. Let’s see where this one takes us…
Ask Alan Teachings: Advaita Vedanta awakening enlightenment Freedom liberation love realisation zen
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Before, During and After Awakening
Q: What was it like before, during and after enlightenment? – Chris Marti, Jackson, Ceri, plus many more OE readers…
Before, During and After Awakening from Alan Chapman on Vimeo.
Do you have a question about enlightenment?
Ask Alan from Alan Chapman on Vimeo.
Any questions can be raised in the comments below.
Articles Teachings: enlightenment Nishida Kitaro religion the absolute
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The Room
I’m not fond of the word ‘enlightenment’ and would prefer something like Nishida Kitaro‘s expression that is translated as ‘religious consciousness’. This would make it clear that what we’re talking about is not a personal attainment but a way of seeing that beings us into alignment with the Absolute. However, its disadvantage is that ‘religious consciousness’ still sounds like a state of mind. And – of course – it contains the endemically misunderstood word ‘religion’. But its biggest disadvantage of all is that if I talked about ‘religious consciousness’ then people might think, ‘Oh, that’s what he means. I thought for a moment he was talking about enlightenment, but of course that would be ridiculous!’
You have to experience enlightenment to know what it means. Someone who says that enlightenment is ‘boundless compassion’ probably hasn’t experienced it, although they may have experienced boundless compassion. Someone who says enlightenment is ‘a perfectly still and tranquil mind’ probably hasn’t experienced it, although they may have experienced a perfectly still and tranquil mind. It sounds stupid to say it, but only a person who has experienced enlightenment has experienced enlightenment, rather than what they suppose the effects of enlightenment to be. If a person who hasn’t experienced enlightenment experienced enlightenment, the discovery that it’s only the realisation of the Absolute (and not any of Its relative effects) would probably disappoint them, because it takes someone who has experienced enlightenment to appreciate what enlightenment is.
So what the hell is it, then?
Well, imagine that there is a room and the room is a metaphor for your experience. In the room are furnishings and objects and these are your experiences. While they are in the room they are part of your awareness. Yet the person who has experienced enlightenment sees how the removal of everything from the room is not the absence of experience, but the experience of absence. The person who has experienced enlightenment can see how the emptiness of the room is what enables things to appear inside it. These things include the person who has experienced enlightenment, who recognises himself as something that can appear in the room because the room is empty. The person who has experienced enlightenment sees how the room appears simply the way it already is, because it’s so empty that even he isn’t in it.
Alan's blog Articles Teachings: enlightenment ethics evolution history joy Original Nature post enlightenment sorrow
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The Joy of Existence
‘Only Original Nature is’ does not mean that the manifest world is an illusion.
It means that all of existence is Original Nature, from the universe to the galaxies to the planets to single celled organisms to fish to plants to insects to birds to animals to humans.
However, Original Nature is not any of these things.
You are Original Nature.
But Original Nature is not you.
Ignorance is Original Nature; but Original Nature is not ignorance.
Sorrow is Original Nature; but Original Nature is not sorrow.
Change is Original Nature; but Original Nature is not change.
The self is Original Nature; but Original Nature is not self.
The opposite is also true:
Enlightenment, joy, peace and selflessness are all Original Nature; but Original Nature is not enlightenment, joy, peace and selflessness.
However, with the recognition of Original Nature, enlightenment, joy, peace and selflessness all arise spontaneously as expressions of that recognition, because Original Nature is, has and always will be free from ignorance, sorrow, change and self, all of which afflict the conscious human being.
(The first tastes of enlightenment are always the most blissful or awe-inspiring, but ultimately enlightenment has nothing to do with bliss or awe.)
It is ignorance that is the cause of the horrors of existence, being the root of all sorrow, loss and isolation.
It is awareness or wakefulness that is the cause of the bliss of existence, being the root of all joy, completion, and wholeness.
Evolution is the diminishing of ignorance and the growth of awareness; with this growth comes the recognition that change is rest, creation is peace, development is complete and life is meaning itself.
Evolution is Original Nature; but Original Nature is not evolution.
This is the joy of existence.