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no enlightenment is not at the end. and that isn't a goal for lay people anyway. we still have to live in the world and function.
the pursuit of enlightenment is a different journey from what lay people persue not an ultimate goal for everyone on the path.
more it's about being able to be honest and recognize your ego and not get trapped in it. not a destruction of it as some people seem to preach but instead developing a sort of 3rd person perch to be able to access and keep yourself from getting lost
it's not spiritual as in there is no aspect that is about higher power and magic etc..
instead it is just about recognizing people and valuing them as people. that is the vipassana part. for me I grew up around aggressive people and I realized my life I was conditioning myself to be ok with hurting people. I made poor choices because of that.
I till get aggro but I have calmed way down
This is interesting so if you'll bear with me, I would ask a few more questions.
If enlightenment isn't the goal is any kind of genuine spiritual growth the goal? And I do recognize self-awareness as genuine spiritual growth. So maybe that question is already answered...
You say mystical experience is not a part of this approach and I've been on a spiritual path long enough to recognize the deep value in what you are saying. However, I want to ask how this approach deals with mystical experience in this approach if and when it happens? Is it shunned and ridiculed if it happens or is there a way to integrate it happening in an ordinary person's life who may still be a long way from enlightenment but who is having mystical experience anyway?
I guess I'm asking if it would be considered wrong if someone had a mystical experience that changed their life dramatically or if they would just leave the approach you're talking about and try a different approach in that case?
Also, you used the word magic to refer to God (or whatever it's called) and I'm wondering if that word comes from the approach you take and if they are basically atheists in that sense?