[quote=“Zla’od”][quote]Come on, you should have known better!
It will take about 三大阿僧祇劫 to attain Buddhahood.[/quote]
But for all we know, I might have already started like, 2 and 1/2 Incalculable Aeons ago.
And EVERYONE in a dharma center is an enlightened being! So are dogs and cats, if you squint a little bit and believe in Buddha Nature.
[/quote]
In a way of speaking, indeed, every sentient being possesses the Buddha nature, believe in it or not, and is a potential Buddha as you said; that refers to the Buddhist term of 理即佛…
In terms of Buddhism, an enlightened being refers to the fact that his/her prajna wisdom enables him/her to understand the true meaning of Prajñāpāramitā sutras to start with the Bodhi path cultivation. There are myriad of requirements to be accomplished before he can be called an enlightened bodhisattva, and that is only the seventh stay 七住位 among the fifty-two bodhisattva’s cultivation stages 菩薩52 階位.
So, if you are able to show us those dogs and cats, they are able to render the teachings of the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, I have no objection to their enlightenment.
Now, let’s come to your assumptive claim that you have passed your 2 and 1/2 Incalculable Aeons; naturally, you would have completed your first two Incalculable Aeons’ cultivation and have brought you through the First Ground (初地,第一大阿僧祇劫) and above the Eighth Ground (八地,第二大阿僧祇劫) as stated in the the Surangama Sutra.
According to the Surangama Sutra, the bodhisattvas at the stage of the First Ground will focus on giving the dharma-teaching of pāramitā and the Hundred Dharmas 百法明門 due to their ten perpetual vows 十無盡願 prior to entering the First Ground. They are able to directly witness 現觀 “all phenomena as mirror images 猶如鏡像,” and thus fully accomplish the state of the First-Ground.
I will just stop here at the First Ground stage; even if I squint a lot, I can’t imagine you taking the ten perpetual vows… sorry!
Well, you sure have passed incalculable incalculable Incalculable Aeons of many practices, but certainly not yet the required “2 and 1/2 Incalculable Aeons” for the Bodhi path.
Good try! Thank you!