Is Enlightenment Possible?

Is Enlightenment possible in Buddhism or other similar paths? I'll first consider what enlightenment is, then turn to what it would mean to attain it. Finally I'll look at what kind of evidence we have about its attainment. 🧡 If you find this material useful, check out my Patreon page and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: https://www.patreon.com/dougsseculardharma 🧡 You can also make donations through: https://paypal.me/dougsdharma 📙 Check out my book, A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom, with a Foreword by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi: https://books2read.com/buddhisthandbook ☸️ Free mini-course at the Online Dharma Institute: onlinedharma.org. 🎙Check out my podcast with Jon Aaron, Diggin' the Dharma: https://digginthedharma.com/ ✅ Videos recommended: Is Nirvana Indescribable? Is it Permanent? — https://youtu.be/XkJpp7rNBTA What is Buddhist Enlightenment? — https://youtu.be/39lf1XBISJA Is Desire the Root of Suffering? — https://youtu.be/VeShNoUXnxw Buddha on Anger and Hatred — https://youtu.be/IbNoSWB7q8k Did the Buddha Get Angry? — https://youtu.be/N4jz4SOEHP0 Ignorance In Early Buddhism — https://youtu.be/lq-YGGnEhIg ✅ Sutta mentioned: https://suttacentral.net/mn21/en/sujato Webpage: https://www.dougsdharma.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlinedharmainstitute/ Mastodon: https://mindly.social/@dougsdharma Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougsdharma/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@dougsdharma Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dougsdharma.bsky.social Thumbnail images courtesy PIRO4D and Clker-Free-Vector-Images on Pixabay ❤️ Thanks to Patreon Patrons: Anonymous (3) John Oborne DunJing Jimmy Maa Debbie Mattison Steve H. Ron Peat Michael S. Kearns Anne Matthew Smith Shantha Wengappuli Karma_CAC Jorge Seguel Christopher Apostolof GailJM David Bell T Pham VCR Upayadhi Andi and Erik ATGuerrero686 Michael Scherrer khobe schofield Alex Perdomo Benji Forsyth Blaze Way Sonny Flink Steve Marlor Joy L Lee Andrew Tom Anthony Tucker Karlee R Ethan M Billy in Singapore Olivia Otter Carl Lennartson xiao mao Jeff Harvey Andrew Ingrouille Kenneth Grandchamp Rene Gariepy Russell Needham Smoggyrob Mac Roja Bernardo Clémence Ortega Douville Kwan Alex Scott Johnston Richard J Beninger Nathanael O. Arnquist SaturnianMandala Trin P Letesa Isler Dorien Izel Robert Paterson Jake Tobiason Louvenia Ortega Steve S. Richard Rappuhn Sarah Kress John Aaron Paul Niklewski Kong Ing Kai Dave Gorman rhys reed Osanda Wijeratne Scarlett Farrow BJ - RetreaTours™ Michael Lefsky Matthieu Tregnier Roland Harris 00:00 Intro 01:36 Greed 03:34 Anger and hatred 06:10 Experiencing temporary freedom 07:29 Role of the underlying tendencies 08:41 Story of Kāḷī and Vedehikā 09:43 Faith in enlightenment 10:23 Belief in incremental betterment Note: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon links are affiliate links where I will earn a very small commission on purchases you make, at no additional cost to you. This goes a tiny way towards defraying the costs of making these videos. Thank you!