Is an enlightened person all-knowing?

[Ben Dhyan]

No person can really claim to be enlightened, for it cannot be correctly said "I am enlightened" for in enlightenment the illusion of I cannot exist, and if it did there would not be enlightenment.

This does not mean enlightenment is not possible, just that no self or identify can be enlightened. However it is to be expected that the unenlightened imagine the enlightened state as originating from the person due to their state of relative ignorance.

 

[Yeshe Dawa]

No person can really claim to be enlightened, for it cannot be correctly said "I am enlightened" for in enlightenment the illusion of I cannot exist, and if it did there would not be enlightenment.

Hi Ben D!

I'm confused about the personal pronoun. Didn't the Buddha basically say something similar to this when he said, "I am awake"?

Peace and blessings,
Yeshe
:flower2:

 

[Otherright]

Hi Ben D!

I'm confused about the personal pronoun. Didn't the Buddha basically say something similar to this when he said, "I am awake"?

Peace and blessings,
Yeshe
:flower2:

I agree. I think that was what he was proclaiming.

 

[Ben Dhyan]

Hi Ben D!

I'm confused about the personal pronoun. Didn't the Buddha basically say something similar to this when he said, "I am awake"?

Peace and blessings,
Yeshe
:flower2:

Hi Yeshe Dawa,

In the enlightened state, there is only pure awareness, i.e. the underlying unity of all existence, and no other perspective disturbs IT. Iow, the sense of duality of being conscious of relative diversity disappears.

One presumes that in the case of an enlightened being communicating to the mortal mind, the "I" means the Absolute Self, the "I AM" presence as in the example of Christ saying to mortal men, "The Father and I are One".

Here is a comment from Zen master Huang Po that may be worth some contemplation....

The One Mind alone is the Buddha and there is no distinction between buddhas and mortal beings. But that mortals, by identifying with form, seek externally for buddhahood. By their very seeking they lose it, for that is using the buddha to seek the Buddha. For that is using mind to find Mind. They do not know that, if they were to cease conceptual thought processes, the Buddha is realized, for this mind is the buddha and the Buddha is all sentient beings. It is not the less for being manifested in ordinary entities, not is it greater for being manifested in the buddhas. - Huang Po.

 

[TurkeyOnRye]

No person can really claim to be enlightened, for it cannot be correctly said "I am enlightened" for in enlightenment the illusion of I cannot exist, and if it did there would not be enlightenment.

This does not mean enlightenment is not possible, just that no self or identify can be enlightened. However it is to be expected that the unenlightened imagine the enlightened state as originating from the person due to their state of relative ignorance.

Only one being in the universe has the authority to claim they are enlightened. I'm not saying it's me, but then again, I'm not saying it's not me. hehe.

 

[Yeshe Dawa]

Here is a comment from Zen master Huang Po that may be worth some contemplation....

The One Mind alone is the Buddha and there is no distinction between buddhas and mortal beings. But that mortals, by identifying with form, seek externally for buddhahood. By their very seeking they lose it, for that is using the buddha to seek the Buddha. For that is using mind to find Mind. They do not know that, if they were to cease conceptual thought processes, the Buddha is realized, for this mind is the buddha and the Buddha is all sentient beings. It is not the less for being manifested in ordinary entities, not is it greater for being manifested in the buddhas. - Huang Po.

Hi Ben D!

Thank you for sharing the Zen passage. It was very thought provoking. It reminded me of the Vajrayana concept that you can't find enlightenment by striving for it. Enlightenment is what you get when you develop love and compassion.

Peace and blessings,
Yeshe
:flower2:

 

[iamfact]

And if yes, in what sense?
Only in the sense of knowing all that is of real importance (one's true self), or also in the sense of knowing all (for instance: understanding the M-theory, beeing able to read all hieroglyphs, etc...)?

The enlightened person knows what he needs to know, and nothing else. When you know this simple fact, there is no need to know anything else.

 

[wmjbyatt]

And if yes, in what sense?
Only in the sense of knowing all that is of real importance (one's true self), or also in the sense of knowing all (for instance: understanding the M-theory, beeing able to read all hieroglyphs, etc...)?

No. An enlightened person doesn't know anything.

 

[Marble]

No. An enlightened person doesn't know anything.

Well, than I must be very near the enlightenment.

 

[nameless]

Well, than I must be very near the enlightenment.

everyone is already enlightened is what enlightened people say.