How do you define "enlightenment"?
 

There is no single agreed-upon definition of the word “enlightenment.”

For me, “enlightenment” refers on one hand to an attainable shift in conscious experience that is described in Zen and other traditions: a shift toward a more fluid, nondual, stable, mindful, accepting awareness—a lasting realization of Satori, in other words.

On the other hand, I also once rapped the words, “Find your own satori,” indicating my belief that people should define “enlightenment” for themselves. For me personally, enlightenment means affirming existence, realizing we are living in a kind of “sacred,” sublime wonderland, and treating life as an opportunity to create, adventure, enjoy, and learn as much as possible.

What does “enlightenment” mean to you?

Amazing article, thank you :hug3:

The ending of attachment to conceptual thought.

“Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, will you be on the right road to the Gate.”
― Huang Po, The Zen Teaching of Huang Po: On the Transmission of Mind

“Here it is--right now. Start thinking about it and you miss it.”
― Huang Po

“Suppose a warrior, forgetting that he was already wearing his pearl on his forehead, were to seek for it elsewhere, he could travel the whole world without finding it.” Huang Po

“Learn only how to avoid seeking for and attaching yourselves to anything.” Huang Po

“There is only the one reality, neither to be realized nor attained.” Huang Po

Good question. I see people are just relying on quotes and articles, unable to define it for themselves.

I often ponder this question a lot as i don't know the answer myself. Perhaps enlightenment is an awakening to the truth within yourself. Or perhaps its realizing that there is no "truth" to be sought. There is no "self" to seek. Or maybe its the realization of your own unlimited potential. But even with words like "truth" one needs to be cautious. As just about anything can be labeled as truth. And the mind can be very cunning and cling to anything and say "this is the truth."

For me, it's the destruction and crumbling of everything you thought to be real. It's stripping away at untruths. It's getting to a peaceful state of being, until of course the next layering of stripping occurs... Get a helmet, its a wild ride..

To see more clearly, what was less clear previously, and when I state 'see' I mean to perceive, or understand if not comprehend a greater whole of related connections of a concept, or scenario, or set of events before us physically and/or abstractly.

Enlightment is a passing thing that comes and goes moment by moment, day by day week by week etc...imho

r6

I don't use the word, nor define it....however...probably...
when we see no separation and know Who we are...
when we see this place is not real...when we see that Bliss is the Reality.
:smile:

I personally define enlightenment as feeling better than I did before, previously or in the past. I feel when we feel enlightened we feel lighter and less burdened by any heavy sorrows, pain or sadness within our souls, more closer to love, lightness and all that is good - shifting away or out of the dark. Just generally becoming closer and more truer to ourselves than ever before :love5:

There is the joke about the guy sitting in the lotus position and saying:- "I've thought about it so much beforehand that now I'm actually enlightened I'm just a little bit disappointed'

:smile:

Enlightenment to me, at least the way I've always understood it, is our natural state of beingness. It is just the illusions of our mind that make it seem like some unattainable state. But in fact it is who we are, warts and all.

I can put it this way, it's like looking in a mirror for the first time and seeing yourself reflected back. You are surprised at seeing yourself, but that's all you've ever been, yourself! Enlightenment is just looking into the mirror for the first time. It's more of a perception, than a change of our innate identity.

Enlightenment is just my Nick Name in Neverland.
Because I'm enlightened as fracking for fun.
Enlightenment - In light, men are dark.

I'm OK
 

For me, enlightenment (lighter or lit up) is about being OK here and now, just as I am in this moment. I'm OK sitting here in the morning cold, typing away and FEELING OK. I'd like to be constantly or permanently "enlightened" but that's now how it is right now so I welcome any feeling or state of "enlightenment" that happens or that I can allow to happen. Things just "happen" and so I welcome any moments of OKness that show up here. "Self love" could be another definition of enlightenment.
To each his own......... :smile:

Ain't that the Truth! :icon_eek:

Enlightenment
 

Well for the Saton I imagined, with My meditations I tricked it into hurting itself, had it magick trick itself into burning in all the stars, puffing out what heaven wants, and since Saton is going to end up everyone' dark arts magick points go to *****, I have to compensate by making the good parts of the Universe bigger, and compensate proportionally with having to be unfair by burning it and whipping it in hell forever. If when I am done here and after My millennium off, son-of Jor-El and Lara, Me off to the next place with a God complex again, to wherever and whatever I got to do to it next.

Enlightenment
 

Well for the Saton I imagined, with My meditations I tricked it into hurting itself, had it magick trick itself into burning in all the stars, puffing out what heaven wants, and since Saton is going to end up everyone' dark arts magick points go to *****, I have to compensate by making the good parts of the Universe bigger, and compensate proportionally with having to be unfair by burning it and whipping it in hell forever. If when I am done here and after My millennium off, son-of Jor-El and Lara, Me off to the next place with a God complex again, to wherever and whatever I got to do to it next.

Hi Jared

Defining "enlightenment " is like limiting any future possibilities and having a short rope in my hand - to measure up "this" or "that" against one another ( critical thinking ) How could I possibly find some enlightening information with these restrictions if I define "enlightenment" and it's meaning ?

I have to say I've asked the same question before myself and have shared my thoughts on what it may mean with others . I think there are endless possibilities for an answer depending on each individuals search for enlightenment on any one particular question they may have at that time - and then again - that may change somewhere further down the track too! :)

Just my thoughts of course :) *hugs*

And then I find this quote lol

"Enlightenment is growing all the time . It is not something which happens once and then is complete"

Thich Nhat Hanh

Enlightment is waking up to who you are as a spiritual being and attaining the state of self love and love for all else. It comes with understanding the duality of this physical environment and knowing that it is temporary. It is gaining control of the physical body and living without its pleasures.

It seems to me that the right question is: Is it possible to be enlightened and have a low consciousness at the same time? If I look at my reality, then the answer is Yes. For example, asking the question "who or what is God?" Is caused by what is inside of you. The knowledge about God and life after death for example. Knowledge that comes naturally, with birth. That is enlightenment. But consciousness is a choice.
There are a lot of enlightened people with low consciousness. People who are aware of God and the afterlife, but when someone misbehaves say that person needs to be punished. Or say that God is something to be feared.
Also look at the ancient Egyptians for example. They were aware of life after death, but they used slaves to get there.

I feel enlightenment is realizing god

Brandon Bays Enlightenment

http://www.newworldlibrary.com/Artic...x#.WOYWMnnlvcs

An object of belief in a diversity of religions.

Being truthful.

Quite interesting to try to define it.

Enlightenment ... realization of oneness,
seeing through the illusion of the existence of "I" as separate from the rest of the universe,
seeing that the phenomenal world is as much real as our dreams are.

Haven't experienced it myself but the descriptions of "enlightenment" I have personally heard or read about
(by people who claim to be enlightened and are also believed to be enlightened by many other people) have been surprisingly similar.
These people come from somewhat similar tradition though.

But still ... I believe that enlightenment is like waking up from a dream.
And it's a kind of "yes" or "no" experience ... like flicking a switch ... a sudden shift in understanding, not a gradual process of becoming wiser.
Like the shift from sleeping state to waking state ... the transition is usually quite sudden,
there is no long in-between between sleep/dreaming and being awake (every rule always has exceptions though).

Enlightenment is the self-defined awareness through an experiential symbiosis with the essence of absolute consciousness.

To me, enlightenment is not about knowing more and being smarter than others, but more like being aware of things others aren't aware of.

What is "absolute consciousness"? I may have asked you in the past or stated there is no such thing.

r6

A self-aware universal energy and whether you believe it or not is no concern of mine. ;)

How do i define enlightenment?

I believe enlightenment is when you are no longer participating in co-creating your life, whether this be within this 3rd/4th dimension or any other dimension! And instead of participating you are now Observing, from somewhere outside of this realm of matter! Yes? You have now become a watcher! A guardian of the Universe, but still far from a God! (And for me? For any human being to reach this point of existence, it would have to take billions if not Trillions of years! There is nobody walking on the planes of mother nature right now, that is enlightened).

Wheres the Beef? Is their Any Beef?
 

And where is this "self-aware universal energy" located exactly?

Is it infinite or finite in its extent? Why do you think such exists? Did you mother or father tell you that, or is it some religion that told you that?

Do you have any rational, logical common sense pathways to share that others can actually follow in clear, common sense manner?

People can believe and present all kinds of nonsense--- and they do ---yet at some point their going to meet other people who want at minimum some kind of rational, logical common sense, if not also some kind of indirect if not direct evidence of others claims.

Maybe their exist blue unicorns that give birth to a Toyota Prius every Tuesday and Friday, yet we see no rational, logical common sense for such a claim or many other claims by humans.

Know what I mean?

r6

...But it is difficult if not utterly impossible to describe/explain "Soul Qualities" in a time/space sense, r6. Thus, any subjective rationality (which makes utter sense to the experiencer, I add) -can sound like perfect nonsense to a waiting observer who is waiting for common sense rational descriptions or phenomena which can be empirically proven, or observable. The two different states of being exist in two distinct dimensions, you see.

I do honestly completely understand what you are asking.

Xx Dimension{?} and Xy Dimension{?}
 

Tobi, what I have seen and maybe had difficulty explaining to others, someone else explained in a clear way I could not. Ex Aldous Huxlesy "Doors of Perception" did what I could not at a certain age, if even today.

Some people have that nack for teaching, or writing and expressing to others in way they makes sense, in some way, others can not do as well.

As for two differrent dimensions, I can only think youve been watching a few Rod Sterling "Twilight Zone" episodes before writing your response to me :biggrin:

So do take of my telvision of mind set for the next 60 minutes, and express thesed two dimensions of the "Outer Limits" in way that has the clarity of Aldus Huxleys ways of expresssion, if you can. :idea:

Space (( )) outer and inner

Time \/\ frequency of events expressed as pattern

Consciousness ** otherness

Limit _____ beginning and end

Biological/soul ((*I*))

auto :iroc: environment controlled dwelling machine

Enlightenment = Truth Realization.
Using your "real eyes" to "see" the "light": the true nature of reality and self.

Existence as a body with no mental content, except for that is factual.

To me it means letting go of society's contraints, being your authentic self and living in the moment.
It's inner peace and trusting life