Always Good Path

Enlightenment is usually a far away goal, something to be attained later, much later. And by later it doesn't really matter if we mean a year, ten years, the next life, or kalpas. Although it sounds promising if we're told that in this life, or at least in the next one, we can be liberated, it's still like there's only a small chance we can actually make it.

In my view Buddhism is a logical and straightforward path that can be studied, understood and applied in one's life. No magic, no mystery. It's just that it may not be clarified what enlightenment actually means. It is perceiving clearly in the six sensory fields without identifying with any of that. This is something we can actually experience for ourselves any time. It only takes a sudden shock, for instance.

There are stories about people who were enlightened by a shout or a hit from a master, or some other unexpected event. The usual way to interpret this is that at the first moment all thoughts just go away and there's a presence of a clear and aware mind. But because of this understanding it is easy to get attached to this clarity, thinking that it is something to maintain and every other state is an enemy of it. So the point is not obtaining any specific state of mind but realising letting go. Letting go means that there is not a single phenomena that remains forever, all is empty. Thus such particular teachings like impermanence, suffering, emptiness, dependent origination, etc. are all coming to the same meaning: letting go. Or letting come. Because that is liberating and not restricting. Restricting means here to be bound to a state, a concept, a feeling, an idea, whatever. This is not rejecting anything, not against anything, but only restriction.

To understand letting go and restriction we have to look at the mind and nowhere else. Doesn't matter what mood we are in, if we can look at it and let go by seeing its empty, or that it's dependently originated, or that it's suffering, or that it's a manifestation of the perfect buddha-nature, all right. The important part is to remove the restriction we have forced on ourselves through our habits and delusions. And if we enlighten our ignorance about that mental phenomenon we can be liberated.

Doesn't sound much but by maintaining discipline and cultivating awareness our wisdom keeps growing and we can manage our lives better. And if we care to get to the bottom of our suffering we can eventually root out our wrong views and by that become free from all the trouble we create for ourselves. That is final liberation. And that's why the Buddha said that this path is good at the beginning, good at the middle and good at the end.