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Enlightenment and Ignorance

No. 689
Date: 2000.05.01
Place: Kathmandu, Nepal
Occasion: Public Lecture
Language: English

Subtitles: Aulacese, Bulgarian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Philippine, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Romanian, Slovenes, Spanish, Swedish, and Thai (23)

Highlights
Actually, we are already the love, we are already the warmth, we are already the wisdom. It is just that we forget; some of us forget! The people who remember their own Self, God Nature, Buddha Nature, we call them "enlightened beings". And the ones who do not remember their own original nature, we call them "not yet enlightened Buddhas". They both are Buddhas!
Really there is no difference between enlightened and not enlightened. The only difference is the attention. Pay attention to this body, pay attention to this physical surrounding, pay attention to everything that is in this material world, then we are material beings in the material world. Pay attention to the inward nature of ourselves, pay attention to the Buddha Nature that is always within us, inborn, and never die, then we become Buddhas. This is the only difference.

Topics addressed

In the world, all the people in power, the rich and famous, are they really happy and contented within?
For an enlightened person, what is the proper attitude towards wealth and poverty?
How can we get rid of sorrow and depression, and live a happy and contented life?
Does one need to suffer for his misdeeds before enlightenment?
How can we realise our mission of coming to this world?
Approaching the year 2000, why are there so many rumours about the end of the world? Do you know what is the power that neutralises this negative energy?
What is Master's profound meaning when She said that it is better to get enlightenment than to die physically and run away from problem?
Why is it better to choose a present living Master whom we have more affinity with, than to pursue spiritual practice by relying on a past Master?