Position:Home>Philosophy> Does falling over give a brief glimpse of enlightenment.?
Question: Does falling over give a brief glimpse of enlightenment!.!?
when you trip or fall over or fall down some stairs for example!. your mind switches off!. you react spontaneously without mind, thought or ego!.
you forget about past and future!. only this moment!.
your ability to move and make decisions increases to an animalistic level!. maybe this is pure consciousness and is the state we should be aiming to achieve almost all of the time!.!.
this may not be applicable to people who have not trained there body in some sort of agility based discipline such as parkour, gymnastics or a martial art!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
This is most like pure awareness!. Some people put themselves in danger because this pure awareness is the best way they can feel most alive!. Meditation can do the same thing, so long as it is properly bright alert awareness and not busy following the noise of mind and body or something to "accomplish"!. This is the gap between thoughts which can be extended as pure direct awareness!. It is a very good place to be but is not "enlightenment" itself - not yet!. In this gap there is the distinct possibility of the Self becoming known to it-Self through active consciousness for a moment or two - or for the rest of a person's life!. When this awakening comes about, the individuality as ego is understood as only the arising of phenomena that will pass out without changing a thing in the truth of what one always is and always has been!. This new understanding of the old individuality can even seem like a big practical joke sometimes!. Often the ego will grab this intuitive knowing and make an experience of it (as newly formed history) and then it may become more like life as before, and a bit disappointing for a while!. However, usually, there is no going back to the old life once this is glimpsed!. Next comes some time spent trying to work with what has been uncovered - to abide as the Self - and negotiating the ego which has not yet given up completely!. Old personality may remain to some degree but there is little or no attachment to it!. There are as many different ways for this to happen and unfold as there are human beings but the understanding is universal and timeless!.
Edited: And YES, often enough, Buddhist masters caused their disciples to fall down (or otherwise become physically/mentally disoriented) in order to reach enlightenment!. Hakuin's teacher pushed him off the porch one day, knowing that exactly the kind of shock out of everyday "reality" was what was needed!. It worked!. Hakuin came to be the most important Rinzai master Japan has known - as a direct result of falling down!. In fact, "enlightenment" is most often "reached" doing something else besides meditation This is a known fact by those who meditate to reach awakening and who teach it with this distinct possibility in mind!. Meditation helps to prop open the door and keep it open!. Grace or shock often finishes off the job and the most fascinating stories and records are of those who awakened while doing simple everyday tasks or were physically/mentally overwhelmed but not while on their meditation cushions!. Hsu Yun is another great example of this!. He fell overboard his boat one day and nearly drowned!. He was picked up by a fisherman some miles downriver!. He had awakened to a deeper and fuller realization with the incident!. There are many more - even including one student whose finger was (supposedly) chopped off - instant realization! An so on!.
Good question, there is a direct connection!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
No, it's not some higher form of enlightenment!. It's just basic instinct!.
Every animal has a 'fight or flight' instinct that kicks in when they are in danger of being hurt and/or killed!. These reflexes are completely autonomous; the body, via the brain, does what it needs to do to protect itself from damage!.
There's no involvement of the conscious mind whatsoever, outside of maybe, "Oh crap! I'm falling down the stairs!" So, your assumption that it's some form of higher consciousness is irrevocably flawed, because there's nothing conscious about it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
falling down!? i'm afraid not!. if that were true, then many buddhist master would be telling their disciples to fall the stairs all the time instead of meditating!.
your mind switches off during deep sleep, you don't have to fall down the stairs and risk injuring yourself!. one of the most feared bane of beginning-med level meditation is sleeping!. no, enlightenment isn't about sleeping!. you have to be awake in the sense of mindfulness or awareness!.
i'm afraid masters would disagree with you if you think pure conciousness is instinctive animal-ism!.
buddha didn't reach enlightenment through physical exercise!. i think he tried, but failed!. however, in some indian practices, yoga of action is one of the paths to breakthrough!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Each time I have fallen down there has not been any sense of enlightenment other than 'this is going to hurt' as I fall!.
I have fallen many times over the years and other than the hurt I do have a sense of remembering that I must lift my feet or I will trip and fall again!. Is that enlightenment!? Maybe it is!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
may be !.!.!. enlightenment occurs if you believe in god !.!.!. it's god's willWww@QuestionHome@Com
All depends on who picks you up after wards!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
what did you think the last time you fail down!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
like time standing still and zooming in to a real time spot!.!.!.to resume action!.!.!.lol good question!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
ahh yess!!Www@QuestionHome@Com
Interesting!.
I have first hand knowledge on falling!. I have a brain tumor and also a bad back!. I look way better than I am!.actually am!.
Two things make me fall!. When my back gives out my left leg buckles and I fall!. The main way I fall is the loss of balance with the problems in my brain!. It is as if I throw my body to the ground!. I have done this in front of people!. I misjudge where things are!. I often go to step over something and I am poor judge of distance that I step on what I had intended to take a step over!.
At times I feel like the fall is slow motion!. Other times I fall hard and so fast that I don't have much time to think!.
My brain has gathered information while falling that has helped me!. If there is furnature to fall on go for that!. If I am headed face first then I turn a bit and do a roll off of the shoulder!. I do things to avoid falling and getting hurt!.
I am not sure I would agree to the extent of your statment!.!.
I have never felt disconnect or brain shut down!. It is more of a feeling that my brain is blowing a fuse and there is a brief moment where the body either rights itself or it falls!. I feel so totally out of control!. It is a bit like the floow under me swings and my brain gets dizzy so quickly that there isn't a moment to think!. It is reaction which is learned as a self protection thing so that in the split second where there is no control that the brain quickly gets a grip even if the entire body is on the floor or the cement!. I have broken one arm!. Injured a shoulder, Broken a leg!.
I use a cane now to walk!. It is to help me balance!. I have also slowed down my walking and don't let myself spring in to action!. Each step is deliberte!. Prevention is my goal now!.
I have no training concerning the arts of gymnastics, I just have the common sense to learn from my falls!. There is no letting go of ego or reason, it is a loss of control!. Which is very unsettlingWww@QuestionHome@Com