Become A Secular Saint
Through Helping and Insight
Savikalpa samadhi is about the giving of help and nirvikalpa samadhi is about the attainment of profound and indescribable insight.
The goal of the Heartwood Path is to create the eco-centric elders needed to give guidance to those who would work to help people become happier and protect the planet.
The world needs more enlightened or nearly enlightened saints than it does un-saintly or uninvolved sages.
Enlightenment helps but it is not a requirement of saintliness.
To effortlessly and tirelessly foster happiness and environmental sustainability, commune with nature* and consider what it will take for you to incorporate the building blocks of secular sainthood into your character, as described in the unabridged text for this waypoint.
As we will see, savikalpa samadhi is about the giving of help and nirvikalpa samadhi is about the attainment of profound and indescribable insight. Remember that the purpose of the Heartwood Path is not to seek ultimate enlightenment. The goal of the Heartwood Path is to create the eco-centric life elders needed to give guidance to those who would work to help people become psychologically mature enough to work effortlessly and tireless to foster human happiness and protect the planet.
Given this purpose, we will focus more on savikalpa samadhi than on nirvikalpa samadhi for a variety of reasons––all having to do with the difference between a sage and a saint. Remember this distinction: for our purposes here: a sage (the result of nirvikalpa samadhi) is an enlightened person who may not get involved in doing much for others and a saint (the result of savikapa samadhi) is a person, enlightened or not, who works easily and effortless to eradicate injustice for the good of all sentient beings. The world needs more enlightened or nearly enlightened saints than it does un-saintly or uninvolved sages; more people are capable and willing to seek the level of a saint than are willing and able to achieve the level of the sage; and the Heartwood Path is for the masses—it is not for a few, super-committed zealots or the aged.
Despite its emphasis on saintliness rather than “sageness,” enlightenment is within the reach of those who traverse the Heartwood Path. Enlightenment does not only occur as a final step of attainment by sages. People, especially those seeking the perfection of saintliness, can achieve the realization of enlightenment—recognized when everything appears to have changed when no change has taken place. Enlightenment is a matter of seeing, not manifesting. An enlightened one simply sees with new eyes, feels surrounded by peace always, and no longer identifies oneself by the boundaries of one’s individual body.
Enlightenment helps but it is not a requirement of saintliness. Saintliness puts one on the verge of enlightenment. Saintliness is good preparation for “sageness.” The Heartwood Path develops people into potentially enlightened saints. It is really for those who value saintliness more than “sageness.” People who follow the Heartwood Path, however, may become enlightened saints.
