So why am I mentioning all of these states and stages that are thought by many to be largely mythical and unattainable? Because they are absolutely otherwise, that’s why. People do attain these states today, though they tend only to talk about them to their teachers and to close friends who have enough experience in this stuff to understand and not have odd reactions to these disclosures. I assure you that I wouldn’t have bothered writing all of this if I didn’t think that it was possible for those reading this book to master this stuff.

A friend of mine named Kenneth Folk was on a retreat in Burma and had attained to second path as confirmed by U Pandita. He was finally done with his retreat and was taken to the airport by one of the people who helped to run the monastery, who incidentally was a stream enterer. As my friend was leaving, he yelled to him across the terminal, “Come back for number three!” meaning, “Come back and attain third path!” Note the many ways in which what underlies this statement differs from the paradigm you would likely find in your basic Western Buddhist.

First, most Western Buddhists don’t really believe that after a few months of good practice you could get enlightened or more enlightened. They do not believe it is simply a matter of following simple instructions, moving through the clearly defined insights and tagging a path. In fact, I often tell this story to Western Buddhists, many of whom have been on numerous insight retreats lead by teachers trained by the best Burmese masters, and they say things like, “What do you mean, ‘third path’?” It makes me want to scream when they don’t even know the basic dogma of enlightenment, much less anything practical about it. Most Western teachers wouldn’t have the guts to stand up and say, “Yeah, he did it, he got second path” (assuming they would even been in a position to evaluate such a person’s practice). Even if they did, it would likely be a huge, taboo secret. Here’s my point: it can be done, it is done, it can be done, and there are people who can help you do it!

Practice, practice, practice! This is the big difference between those who are merely into giving lip service to Buddhism and those who really get what the old boy was talking about. Go on retreats and actually follow the instructions to the letter all day long. Find people who know how it is done and hang out with them. Keep it simple. Avoid magical thinking and abandoning common sense.

The simple fact that you have read this book means that the ball is now in your court. There is more than enough information presented here on straightforward techniques that have a great track record of performing as advertised. As a large and wise chef in a gourmet seafood restaurant once said to me, “I have two words for you: perseverance furthers.”

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