Online via Zoom
Buddhists the world over repeatedly express the aspiration to attain the ultimate aim of their tradition, a state that, depending on the context, may be designated by such terms as cessation, liberation, release, nirvana, awakening, buddhahood, or enlightenment. Furthermore, if there is a gospel—”good news”—in Buddhism, it lies in the assertion that such a state is in fact attainable by all beings (the third noble truth), through practice of the path laid out by the Buddha (the fourth noble truth).
Although traditional Buddhists may differ in their descriptions of and approaches to enlightenment, they generally operate out of the same broad set of metaphysical assumptions, for instance that past and future lives are real and the extraordinary qualities attributed to enlightened beings are actually possible. As modern people, we do not always or easily accept a cosmology involving multiple realms of rebirth, nor are we confident that the degree of perfection traditionally attributed to arhats, buddhas, bodhisattvas, gurus, and other exemplars is possible for any human being. This begs a crucial question: Would you know an enlightened being if you met one?
In this workshop, we will draw on both pre-modern and contemporary Buddhist writings to try to get a sense, first, of traditional Buddhist perspectives on enlightened beings and enlightened states and how to recognize them. Then, we will consider the ways in which we and our contemporaries think – and might think – about Buddhism’s ultimate attainment from the perspective of our “disenchanted” century. The workshop will include lecture, discussion, Q & A, and analysis of selected texts.
$75 Member (Become a Member)
$90 Non-Member
Give what you can. No one turned away.
About Roger Jackson
