修行のやり直し
Starting Over in Practice
2024-04-22 18:00:00
If someone diligently engaged in Buddhist practice and believed to get enlightened, but later discovers that their liberation was incorrect, can they start over in their practice?
While it's a nuanced question, the conclusion would be "yes, but it's expected to be difficult."
In this case, it's different from when followers of other religions or heretics convert to Buddhism because it suggests that there may be some underlying issue within the practitioner themselves.
Regarding different religions, heresies, and various sects, I wrote about them in an article dated September 11, 2023, so interested individuals may find it beneficial to refer to that.
Now, "starting over in practice" entails a different connotation from the usual pilgrimage journey.
Namely, it would mean that one needs to go back to the initial stage of the pilgrimage journey and start Buddhist practice anew from there.
And this initial stage essentially refers to the moment when one first encountered Buddhism, meaning that one must reset everything they know about Buddhism up to that point.
In other words, it's not a situation where one can simply ask themselves, "Where did I go wrong?" and make adjustments. Instead, it's a situation where one must consider that their understanding of Buddhism was entirely mistaken and start over from scratch.
For example, it's like a person who has been researching to create a new medicine but ended up producing a deadly poison.
"I have made a fundamental and serious mistake myself."
A practitioner starting over in their practice must understand this and deeply reflect on their own fundamentals. Without correcting this, the practice of the Buddhist path itself cannot be established.
However, if they have actually accomplished this and still retain the desire to seek the state of happiness, which is Nirvana, they can strive in their practice as ordinary practitioners of the Buddhist path. Eventually, they will attain enlightenment (= liberation) and reach Nirvana.
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