Expert: Stuart Resnick - 9/11/2006

Question
Hello.  I'm sort of new to Buddhism in that, while I have been studying Buddhism for quite a while and feel I'm beginning to understand the basic concepts in more subtle ways, I'm still not confident enough in my understanding to really declare myself fully Buddhist.  I come out of a Christian background, although a very liberal one which views Jesus as merely a very wise man whom should be modeled rather than worshiped, the Bible as a fallible, corruptible book with some good ideas to which one's reason should be applied, and view of god as more of a sustaining energy/ultimate reality than a consciousness.  Lately I've been wanting to move deeper into Buddhist practice, but I'm having a lot of difficulty leaving some of my old beliefs and attachments behind, like the belief in a soul or some kind of universal conscious-less life energy and bible study.  Do you have any advice for how to walk away from these hang-ups and toward the Dhamma?

Also, can Lay Buddhists achieve full enlightenment?

Answer
> I'm having a lot of difficulty leaving some of my old
> beliefs and attachments behind, like the belief in a soul
> or some kind of universal conscious-less life energy and
> bible study.

"Buddhism" to me is a name for directly perceiving truth, and responding accordingly. You can look into it right now, just strongly and sincerely inquire, "What am I?" Just be attentive to the truth right in front of you.

Notice that to do this, you don't need to change anything. Just pay attention to the way things are. Don't worry about beliefs one way or another. If this or that belief or attachment appears, just watch it appear and disappear like a cloud in the sky.

You can study bible if you want. But isn't truth *everywhere*? So when you're not studying the bible, you can study the truth that's right in front of you each moment.

> Also, can Lay Buddhists achieve full enlightenment?

Wanting enlightenment is a sickness. Don't worry about enlightenment. Don't worry about getting anything. Just look into your direct experience of this moment: What am I? What do I see, what do I here, what am I doing just now?