The Search for Enlightenment
Committing to the challenge of a three-year meditation retreat is an impossibly rare opportunity to explore the inner space of the mind, seek a cure for suffering, and find a repeatable path toward peace and happiness for all who seek it.
The word "enlightenment" sounds vague and mystical, but the Buddha taught that it is quite achievable by deliberately following a series of steps. The three-year retreatants have been studying and practicing Tibetan Buddhism very seriously for the last six or more years, and by going into the laboratory of solitary retreat they hope to put all their studies to practice.
Looking beyond the appearance of things
Newton’s laws of physics perfectly describe the way the world appears to us, but quantum mechanics reveal a deep weirdness at the heart of our reality:
From The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, p. 108:
What appears certain is that no matter how you interpret quantum mechanics, it undeniably shows that the universe is founded on principles that, from the standpoint of our day-to-day experiences, are bizarre.
The meta-lesson of both relativity and quantum mechanics is that when we deeply probe the fundamental workings of the universe we may come upon aspects that are vastly different from our expectations. The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.
This is not to say that we claim to understand theoretical physics at its highest level, nor do we wish to pick and choose among modern scientific discoveries to bolster our own worldview. But we note many startling similarities between quantum mechanics and Buddhist perceptual theory, and it seems like every year, more similarities come out between modern science and the essential tenet of Buddhist philosophy:
Our experience of reality is largely a construct of our own consciousness.
Furthermore, our Lamas tell us that the only way to comprehend this on a gut level is to reach a level of perfect concentration (which is almost impossible to do except in a long silent retreat) and then turn our focus toward understanding the true nature of things.
And then what?
This sounds like an academic exercise with no real-world application, but Buddhist scriptures say that understanding ultimate reality is, in fact, the key to reaching enlightenment and fulfilling our highest potential to serve others.
The goal of the three-year retreat, then, is to reach meditative stillness, perceive the true nature of reality in a state of deep meditation, and then use this understanding (as described in detail by generations of spiritual teachers) to reach enlightenment: a state of perfect wisdom, perfect compassion and perfect love. No longer hindered by our own inner obstacles, we can finally serve our fellow beings in the highest way.
(If you want to know more about the Buddhist teachings on ultimate reality and enlightenment, see “Teaching Resources.”)