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From: acosta@locus.com (Joseph Acosta)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Re: Desire for enlightenment
Message-ID: <1991Feb15.204617.704534@locus.com>
Date: 15 Feb 91 20:46:17 GMT
References: <9102130550.AA12553@chook.ua.oz.au>
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In article <9102130550.AA12553@chook.ua.oz.au> hugh@cs.adelaide.edu.au (Hugh Garsden) writes:
>
>Subject: Desire for Enlightenment
>
>
>How can one desire to be enlightened? Presumably desire is one of the
>things that hinders us in reaching enlightenment. If _I_ want to
>be enlightened, isn't that an ego-desire? If so, I will never become
>enlightened, because my ego will get in the way. So how can I desire
>to be enlightened without involving my ego? Is there some other part
>of me that does the desiring, and my ego must step aside?
>

This is a very good question.  My feeling is that the "desire" for elightenment
is desire natural in most people.  This desire eminates from within one's
own buddha nature which desires to activated or pulled out of a state
of dormancey.  This nature can be clouded 

Even if one pursue's enlightenment from a "ego-desire", that eventually this
"ego-desire" (whatever that might be) will be led to or in a state
of enlightenment, thus this original selfish desire can be transformed into
something great.

In otherwords to cast your ego aside and ignore it would be wrong.  Rather
us as a tool to pursue your it and transform the ego along the path is
the better way.

			Joe Acosta