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the five tenets

These five principles of Buddhism define what the enlightened, or liberated, relationship to the human experience is. I do not have a Buddhist 'practice' as such, and obviously fail often in adhering to these principles, but I really do live my life according to them. (I have paraphrased them slightly):

Clarity of Intention: To liberate yourself from ignorance and self-deception, you have to have no doubt whatsoever that you want to be free more than anything


The Law of Volitionality: "Most of us like to see ourselves as unconscious victims....but in fact, we all know exactly what we are doing.”


Face Everything and Avoid Nothing: "....only if you're paying close attention are you going to be able to bring the light of awareness into the darkest corners of your own psyche.”


The Truth of Impersonality: It's not about you. "....every aspect of the human experience is a completely impersonal affair.....the illusion of uniqueness, the narcissistic self-sense that is ego, is created....through the compulsive and mechanical personalization of almost every thought, feeling, and experience we have.”


For the Sake of the Whole: “The pursuit of enlightenment is for the transformation of the whole world, the enlightenment of the whole universe. It's ultimately for the evolution of consciousness itself.”

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