Victor, i.e. Victor
Langheld, born 1940, in Berlin, started his trip to enlightenment (more
precisely stated, to developing the mind-set (read: habit) of enlightenment) as
a teenager. In his early twenties he went to India, where he spent the next 25
years studying under a variety of alive and dead Hindu gurus (learning both the
outer and inner ‘game’ of mainstream Jnana Yoga) and Buddhist bikkhus
(both Hinayana and Mahayana), acquiring their knowledge and practicing their
problem solving techniques, before challenging their problem solutions, problem
solving (i.e. experimental) sets and methods, and moving on. In between his
prolonged stays in India, he returned to Europe to acquire basic knowledge in
semantics, physics, quantum mechanics, information technology and, most
important of all, games theory, plus a variety of contemporary therapy (i.e.
personal problem solving) systems.
At the age of
39, having spent more than 25 years getting ‘ready’ and ‘steady’ (i.e.
achieving adequate zooming and focusing capacity), Victor decided to ‘go for
it’. He took first novice, then full
ordination as a Theravada Buddhist monk, from the Mahathero Dhammawansa. He was
named Bodhangkur (meaning: emerging knowledge). He now wore the Buddhist habit
both outside and inside. Soon thereafter, indeed, after only 40 days, he
achieved the 1st enlightenment, namely the liberating insight
peculiar to the Buddha Guatama,* and thereby the freedom from others in his
(i.e. Gautama’s) dispensation. He then disrobed formally in order to recover
his freedom of physical and intellectual movement. The final trip (i.e. push,
effort) to enlightenment took exactly 7 weeks. Thereafter he travelled to
Thailand, Japan and Sri Lanka. He then wrote his autobiography detailing some
of the more complex and surprising aspects of his trip, called ‘Autobiography
of an awakened Creature’ © Victor Langheld. He interacted with some of the most
advanced Buddhist monks of the 80’s and 90’s. Amongst others, he met and
debated with Nyanaponika Thera, Ananda Mitreya of Balangoda and Narada Thera.
In 1998,
Victor achieved, much to his surprise and boundless joy, a 2nd
enlightenment, during which he experienced directly the 4 Noble Truths of
Perfection, thereby becoming emancipated from Gautama Buddha’s dispensation
(i.e. covering the 4 Noble Truths of Suffering).
At the present
time, Victor runs Victoria’s Way
Sculpture Park, in Roundwood, Wicklow, Ireland. From time to time he uses hints
and allusions to help fully committed self-starters on the Way of the Buddhas
(i.e. the Way being the skilful use of observation and reason (rather than
blind belief), and sustained personal effort, to solve problems) to
enlightenment and freedom.
* … “Whatever has the
quality of beginning, that has the quality of ending.”