"To nobody, O Illustrious One, can you communicate in words and teachings what happened to you in the hour of your enlightenment. The teachings of the enlightened Buddha embrace much, they teach much-- how to live righteoulsly, how to avoid evil. But there is one thing that this clear, worthy instruction doest not contain; it does not contain the secret of what the Illustrious One himself experienced-- he alone among hundres of thousands . . . That is why I am going on my way-- not to seek another and better doctrine, for I know there is none, but to leave all doctrines and all teachers and to reach my goal alone-- or die."
-Siddhartha-
2007-06-04 05:40:23 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I love Siddhartha.
I know there are three things I can do for sure:
I can think.
I can wait.
I can fast.
2007-06-04 05:43:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
There are many different kinds of truth.
Since I've been reading Wittgenstein and John Searle lately, the first thing that comes to my mind is that some truths are socially constructed and thus observer dependent, while others are observer independent.
Scientific facts, for instance, can easily be learned from teachers because they do not depend on the observer, and it would take forever to catch up with the millions of man-hours of work it took to get to modern science. The same goes for mathematics.
Other ideas, though not necessarily subjective per se, still depend on society to construct them. For instance, money is money because we agree that it is, not because the ink on paper has inherent value. This sort of truth is also worth learning from others.
Still other truths are closer to subjective, like certain areas of ethics (though Herr Wittgenstein might not have though so, though I'm still early on in "Tractus" so I'm not sure) and aesthetics and so on.
2007-06-04 12:45:28 · answer #2 · answered by Minh 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, it depends on what you need and who you are. For some, they don't have the ability to attain their own enlightenment, so must depend on the teachings of others or on organized religion to find the best way to live their life. Others are not willing to do this and wish to find their own way. Of course, organized religion frowns upon that path, even going so far as to condemn it as wrong. But they're obviously biased. So you choose your path and take it. If it's a well-travelled path, so be it. If that's what makes you happy in the end, that's all that matters.
2007-06-04 12:45:22 · answer #3 · answered by yodadoe 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We can be told many things, but we cannot be taught. We have to learn. And learning happens inside us. It happens when we finally connect all the things we have been told and make sense of them in our minds.
I love Siddhartha :) Enlightenment is not achieved through knowing, but through understanding. Knowledge - things we can be told - is like having a box of puzzle pieces. We need to assemble the puzzle ourselves, without having a picture reference to guide us. And enlightenment, that's seeing the final, assembled puzzle and understanding what it means. Understanding how each piece fits inside it, and understanding what it is as a whole.
2007-06-04 12:55:39 · answer #4 · answered by Magina 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe we have to come to the truth ourselves. We may have a teacher that gives us a push to actually try and find it for ourselves though. Anyone that is being taught by another should be wary if that teacher says my way is the only way.
2007-06-04 12:44:30 · answer #5 · answered by Janet L 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Discovering truth for oneself is best - teachers come in handy to point possible ways to finding it out for yourself.
~ Eric Putkonen
2007-06-04 12:48:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If a person is given a good spiritual foundation when young it will stay with them throughout their life. Some things can be taught when young but some things must be discovered when older.
2007-06-04 12:46:33 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Since one can only change ones own mind. Self discovery is the most important. Truth knowers only concern themselves with their own enlightenment because they know the truth is, they cannot change anyone else's mind. ;)
2007-06-04 12:46:35 · answer #8 · answered by Truth7 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everyone must be ministered by the Holy Spirit, once saved, seeking and learning truth on their own, that doesn't mean that hearing other peoples stories of how they got there is unnecessary though, as that my open the door for another person to "want that experience", or not.
2007-06-04 12:44:26 · answer #9 · answered by sassinya 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
To discover truth for oneself. Beautiful question!!! =)
*Not Ghey* you are an ignorant pig that can't seem to find truth on his own, but is force fed it, and its not even proven in correctness.
2007-06-04 12:44:12 · answer #10 · answered by Harlequin 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
"You shall no longer take things at second or third hand,
nor look through the eyes of the dead,
nor feed on the specters of books.
You shall not look through my eyes either,
not take things from me,
you shall listen to all sides and filter them through yourself."
-Walt Whitman
"It is a poor sort of man who is content to be spoon-fed knowledge that has been filtered through a canon of religious of political belief, and it is a poor sort of man who will permit others to dictate what he may or may not learn"
-The Walking Drum by Louis, L'Amour.
2007-06-04 12:48:05 · answer #11 · answered by KC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋