Enlightenment Questions - Question From Steve

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Enlightenment Questions - Question From Steve

Dear Tathagata

No one who is enlightened would ever state that meditation does not lead to enlightenment.

I agree that all forms of Buddhist mediation will not lead to enlightenment. Recent scientific research shows Buddhist mindfulness only enlivens the left hemishpere of the brain. Transcendental Meditation enlivens the whole brain. It is said that only 500 people achieved enlightenment as result of teachings from Buddha. That is not a very impressive figure. For you own enlightenment to learn what meditation really is, I suggest you visit a local TM center and from one introductory lecture you will know more about real meditation and enlightenment than you know now. I only say this from reading your answers to the seekers who question you about enlightenment and meditation which it seems you have no personal experience with.

Steve

Answer From Tathagata

Dear Steve,

Some of the most important things in the conversation with the enlightened being are grounds and truth. You should show the ground that your claim is true. There is no real record that somebody could be enlightened through meditation practice. I would like to tell you about enlightenment, as you'd better to know it by using this opportunity. Enlightenment means opening an eye to the world and if he is enlightened, he can see exactly what is in every kind of question about things in the world and tell the truth of them. However, I have never read any records that this kind of being appeared by meditation practice. When Gautama Buddha acted he let the practitioners, who came to learn from him, sit and meditate when they don't have something to do. However meditation that Buddha taught was not like modern meditation. He taught practitioners to meditate and observe how they can see and confirm about what they had seen and heard. I never found any one place that practice this kind of meditation. If my words are wrong you should show me the evidences, meanwhile if somebody denies my evidences I will let you confirm it.

Tathagata

Further Response from Steve

Dear Tathagata

Thank you for your reply. The evidence for meditation is the coherence of the brain waves measured by eeg* machine. Buddha's teachings were recorded 400 years after he lived so I doubt much of what he taught is what is taught about him now. The TM movement has the science of enlightenment as measured

by the funcitoning of a stress free nervous system. When they used eeg* machine on Buddhists doing mindfulness, it showed only the left hemisphere of the brain being orderly, that is not wholeness. I appreciate your thoughts.

Reply from Tathagata

Dear Steve,

I don't want to deny the function of modern mechanism. However I can tell that it is impossible for any machine to understand exactly something in humans consciousness and organs of human body.

The activity of brain is like the role of the sources of electricity, so it can be compared to the battery of a car. If the driver presses the accelerate with power, the battery will generate more power. Meanwhile if the accelerator is on 0 point, battery does not work.

We can not not tell if the consciousness of the driver is good or bad from the activity of the sources of electricity. We cannot tell if someone is enlightened or not, if his teachings are right or not from some part of human organs.

We only can tell if he is enlightened or not by confirmation of the facts. You should focus on the criteria that does he speak truth or untruth. It will tell you if he is good or not.

Tathagata

*EEG is an electroencephalogram, it's used to measure brain waves / patterns, electrical activity of the brain