what is the sacred flame?

[Korpo]

Thanks, Tom, that was interesting.

Oliver

[ButterflyWoman]

If it hadn't become activated in you, you wouldn't be interested in attaining Buddhahood. That desire to attain Buddhahood and the sustained effort to accomplish the goal result from the increasing activity of your Buddha-nature. The problem is that there are layers which act to obscure the light and oppose its efforts. Ultimately the light must overcome all obstacles

Bless you, Tom. I know you weren't writing that to me (you'd have had no way of knowing I needed to hear it!) but it illuminates several things I've been struggling with and/or wondering about.

The way to accomplish the goal is to increase virtues that are present, activate the virtues that are dormant, remove expressions of negativity (hatred, attachment, delusion) that are present, and burn away tendencies toward negativy that are not being expressed.

Oh, is THAT all?

At least in meditation, it can be helpful to act "as if" your Buddha-nature has completed the work and you are now a fully enlightened Buddha, sitting in meditation. This is known as taking the result into the path, and it greatly speeds up the process of actually reaching the result.

That's brilliant. Definitely going to try that as soon as I get the opportunity. Thank you, again.

[Timotheus]

[watrinh]

The way to accomplish the goal is to increase virtues that are present, activate the virtues that are dormant, remove expressions of negativity (hatred, attachment, delusion) that are present, and burn away tendencies toward negativy that are not being expressed.

Easier said than done. In other words, you'd have to annihilate all your ego's.

[Tom]

The talk about destroying the ego is overkill. Ego is something you do; it is not something you are. You could say you destroy walking every time you sit down, but why? Watch yourself so you catch yourself doing ego and congratulate yourself on your successes. The problem is that it is so easy to do ego without being conscious of it, and it starts to look like there are no other options but to keep doing it. Map it out and you will see its limitations, then beyond those limitations.

[CFTraveler]

The talk about destroying the ego is overkill. Ego is something you do; it is not something you are. You could say you destroy walking every time you sit down, but why? Watch yourself so you catch yourself doing ego and congratulate yourself on your successes. The problem is that it is so easy to do ego without being conscious of it, and it starts to look like there are no other options but to keep doing it. Map it out and you will see its limitations, then beyond those limitations.

I don't want to sound like I'm butt kissing, but that was a Thing of Beauty.
You know I'll quote it.

[watrinh]

The talk about destroying the ego is overkill. Ego is something you do; it is not something you are. You could say you destroy walking every time you sit down, but why? Watch yourself so you catch yourself doing ego and congratulate yourself on your successes. The problem is that it is so easy to do ego without being conscious of it, and it starts to look like there are no other options but to keep doing it. Map it out and you will see its limitations, then beyond those limitations.

The ego that which you have to annihilate I believe is the parts of you that are susceptible to external programming and influences. The aspects of you that react negatively to something when you want to react positively. Pretty much the inability to be like who you truly want to be without external influences is your ego that must be annihilated.

[ButterflyWoman]

The ego that which you have to annihilate I believe is the parts of you that are susceptible to external programming and influences.

Not even great and enlightened teachers are invulnerable to outside influences and events. We all still function in the material world while we are alive. Unless you go and live in a cave and never speak to anyone, you have to interact with what's around you.

The aspects of you that react negatively to something when you want to react positively.

Actually, as I understand it, enlightenment includes a sense that "negative" and "positive" are just material qualifiers, anyway.

Certainly, I can see some benefit in healing or changing or altering your ego so it will behave more in a way you'd like it to behave, but that's not really anything to do with Oneness/Unity or awakening. It's just tuning the instrument that you use to interact with the material world.

Pretty much the inability to be like who you truly want to be without external influences is your ego that must be annihilated.

That's not the same thing Tom is talking about, I don't think. You're talking more about "self improvement" or similar. Altering your ego is not an unworthy pursuit (heaven knows I've spent YEARS at that, and I'm still at it), but it won't lead you any closer to enlightenment. When you focus on your ego and put your attention there, that's where you're putting your attention, whether you're trying to immolate parts of yourself or heal them.

Sorry to make this sound like a lecture, as I suspect it does. Fact is, it appears that I had this understanding sort of unformed in my consciousness and when I was writing this, it all took form as I was writing. I'll leave the post for posterity's sake (and, hey, if I get it wrong, I can come back some time later and go, "Boy, I sure got that wrong!").

[Timotheus]

[Timotheus]