For some, enlightenment strikes like a blow. Others find it after decades of searching. After years of meditation. Or with a guru. So it’s pretty unlikely that awakening could happen to you.
And yet it is so simple. Buddha himself described a step-by-step guide to awakening with the concept of the 10 fetters.
You can find a compilation of his discourses on all the fetters of existence here, for example: Erleuchtung Erleben
Step-by-step guide to awakening
Buddha explained that there are 10 assumptions or 10 fetters that stand in the way of awakening.
The first of these assumptions is what Buddha called personality belief. Also called I illusion or self illusion.
The personality belief is the idea that body, mind and consciousness are the self (I). It is the assumption that we exist. That we exist independently of everything else. That we are persons who have a life that we direct, over which we are the determinants. People who think, decide and act. Who control something and have it in their own hands.
Perhaps you have already seen in a clear change of perspective that there is no I that thinks and controls? Maybe with the help of a guide at Liberation Unleashed? But you are still reacting to what is and still feel separate from everything else?
This is the next assumption: The fourth and fifth of the 10 fetters are the assumptions that we have control over how things work.
7 Assumptions
You are not experiencing the awakened state because you are reading some assumptions into what is actually there.
In a dialogue we will explore these seven assumptions that distort the experience of reality and obscure awakening.
I will ask you questions and you will examine your own experience and find out what is true and what is not.
These seven assumptions are:
- There is an independent me, separate from the rest of the world, that thinks, decides, controls, acts.
- There is a power in me that makes me push a situation away and want something else instead.
- At the centre of perception is a subject in which all information flows together. Clear boundaries separate the subject from the objects of perception and the objects from each other.
- There is a perceptual ability that reflects a world outside of me in time and space.
- The feeling of “I am” or “I exist” is true and will continue to exist.
- There must be a safe ground on which I can stand. Something reliable that I can hold on to. And I can and should always feel good.
- The actual experience must be ignored because it is too hard to bear.
In step 7, the final knowledge of the truth arises and also the certainty that the path is finished. All stress ceases and a heavy burden falls away. It is the effort to maintain the house of cards of assumptions.
You are then completely at peace – regardless of the circumstances. All suffering ends.
This inquiery suits you well if
- you experience yourself as an independent self, separate from the rest of the world, who thinks, decides, controls and acts
- or it is already crystal clear to you that there is no I that thinks, decides, controls and acts. As clear as it is that Father Christmas does not exist
- you can approach the questions with curiosity
- you are willing to question even your most cherished beliefs
- you are able and willing to feel pleasant or unpleasant emotions that may arise. And to face the fear that prevents you from fully experiencing these emotions
- you are an adult, emotionally and psychologically stable and already have psychotherapeutic experience in resolving your issues and traumas as they arise.
During the investigation, anything unfinished will come up and needs to be looked at.
It may pull the rug out from under you if you have not already healed most of your emotional issues. Take the time to look at everything that comes up. It might be a good idea to consult a (trauma) therapist.
Examination should be your number one priority. It is important that it is continuous and that you integrate it into your everyday life. You should therefore be able to spare this time and deal with the questions on a daily basis.
My offer for English-speaking
Community Membership
Guiding through the 10 Fessters in a written dialogue.
- We write to each other 2-3 times a week via Messenger.
- 1 x per month community meeting in video chat (MET).
- Access to the community forum
Open Fetter Groups
I offer online support groups for max. 6 people once a month (MET).
Open Fetter Group for seeing through the self illusion
You can join this support group when you are working on seeing through the self illusion on your own.
I will give you assistance and tips. And you can get your questions answered, so that you can move forward in the easiest possible manner.
Open Fetter Group for seeing through desire and illwill
Are you inquiring into desire and ill will or want to know how to start? Maybe this group is for you.
Online support group for self guiding ones with max. 6 participants once a month. You can get your questions answered, so that you can move forward in the easiest possible manner.
You can join if the self-illusion has fallen away in a clear shift.
If it is still fully or partially in place, the inquiry into desire and ill will won’t work.
Please answer the questions here:
🔗 Form
If one of these offers is of interest to you, please write to me.
Disclaimer
This inquiry is not for you, if you’re already emotional or mentally unstable and have a hard time managing your life. Should you take prescribed medication, please talk with your medical provider first.
If you’re using unprescribed substances outside of a moderate alcohol intake, please do not apply. With the weakening and falling away of the self-structure, the defense mechanisms that held old emotional issues away from our consciousness are disappearing as well. All unfinished business will surface over time.
Taking substances shows that for some reason, your emotions are not manageable without external help. Since you have to deal with a lot of unpleasant emotions during the later inquiry, it might unhinge you.
Also, if you went through traumatic experiences and still have multiple flashbacks or have to dissociate or derealize to deal with the pain, the impact of this inquiry might pull the rug out from under you. It would be wise to first find adequate treatment for the trauma so you don’t get flooded by it when the defense mechanisms are no longer effective.
The inquiry is not a substitute for psychological or medical treatment.
I am not a therapist and the enquiry of the 10 fetter is not therapy.