What is a Buddhist engineer like myself trying to accomplish? What is the ultimate goal of my practice? Is it the same as the goal of ancient Buddhists? Do I seek Nirvana? No.
I try to follow the Buddhist "Eightfold Path" of meditation and morality, but my "Path" has a different final goal than the Path of Buddha and his early followers. Historical works such as Karen Armstrong's "Buddha" point out that, 2,500 years ago in India, the ultimate goal of spiritual seekers such as Buddha was to achieve Nirvana: a state perfectly free of suffering. This perfect peace required letting go of material possessions, family, and anything else that could sometimes lead to dissatisfaction or painful loss.
I think Buddha was a psychological genius who understood methods to increase awareness of the present moment and gain serenity and contentment. But my ultimate goal is just to be happier than I would be without this practice. I still want to have my attachments to family, career, friends, community, pleasure, and accomplishments.
The "Psychology of Nirvana", by Rune Johansson did a nice job of explaining why goals tend to be different for today's Buddhists. Rune writes that, compared to the ancient Buddhists, the modern concept of mental health stresses "society and personal success and effectiveness" as opposed to the ancient emphasis on individual enlightenment and liberation from suffering.
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