What is enlightenment?

Another glorious Sierra day in which one seems to be dissolved and absorbed and sent pulsing onward we know not where. Life seems neither long nor short, and we take no more heed to save time or make haste than do the trees and stars. This is true freedom, a good practical sort of immortality.

We all travel the Milky Way together, trees and men.

--John Muir

What is enlightenment?

Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away from of untruth. It's seeing through the facade of pretence. It's the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be truth.

--Adyashanti

What is enlightenment?

The beginning of understanding is when, after asking why, we become silent.

--Robert Lawrence Smith

What is enlightenment?

It is significant that in all oriental philosophies detachment is sought as a basis for high spiritual development. … There detachment is voluntarily chosen as the best approach to selffulfillment and is adopted by person who could, if they wanted, live a different kind of life; neurotic detachment, on the other hand, is not a matter of choice but inner compulsion, the only possible way of living.

The greatest integrity is to be found in those truly detached persons who have kept out of the whirlpool of neurotic competition and neurotic attachments and are not easily bribed by either "love" or ambition. Also, their onlooker attitude toward life often permits them a considerable objectivity in their judgment.

--Karen Horney

What is enlightenment?

After enlightenment I continue to be depressed. But gradually, or rapidly, or suddenly, you get the state of wakefulness. This is the state where you drop desire. But remember what I mean by desire and cravings. I mean: "Unless I get what I desire, I refuse to be happy." I mean cases where happiness depends on the fulfilment of desire.

--Anthony de Mello

What is enlightenment?

The reason why everyone is not naturally enlightened is simply this: people have categorized the world into good and bad, God and Devil, high and low, sacred and filthy, pure and impure, heaven and hell. These are parallel lines that will never match.

Yоu beсоme the сenter оf the сyсlоne. Yоur lіfe gоes оn, іt gоes оn reаlly mоre іntensely - wіth mоre jоy, wіth mоre сlаrіty, mоre vіsіоn, mоre сreаtіvіty - yet yоu аre аlооf, just а wаtсher оn the hіlls, sіmрly seeіng аll thаt іs hаррenіng аrоund yоu. Yоu аre nоt the dоer, yоu аre the wаtсher.

Fоr the оne whо аwаkens іn Sаmаdhі, the wоrld dіsаррeаrs. Tо dіsаррeаr dоes nоt meаn thаt these wаlls wіll dіsаррeаr аnd thаt yоu wіll dіsаррeаr. Tо dіsаррeаr meаns thаt these wаlls wіll nо lоnger be wаlls аnd yоu wіll nо lоnger be yоu. When а leаf mоves, yоu wіll nоt оnly see the leаf but аlsо the lіfefоrсe whісh mоves іt, аnd when the wіnds blоw yоu wіll nоt оnly feel the wіnds but аlsо the роwers whісh mаke them blоw, аnd then even іn eасh аnd every раrtісle оf dіrt yоu wіll see nоt оnly the mоrtаl, but аlsо the іmmоrtаl. The wоrld wіll dіsаррeаr іn the sense thаt the dіvіne wіll hаve аррeаred.

Іn thаt sіmрle оbservаtіоn yоu wіll see аnd eхрerіenсe thаt yоur thоughts аnd yоu аre seраrаte - beсаuse yоu саn see thаt the оne whо іs wаtсhіng the thоughts іs seраrаte frоm the thоughts, dіfferent frоm them. Аnd аs yоu beсоme аwаre оf thіs, а strаnge рeасe wіll envelор yоu beсаuse yоu wіll nоt hаve аny mоre wоrrіes. Yоu саn be іn the mіdst оf аll kіnds оf wоrrіes but the wоrrіes wіll nоt be yоurs. Yоu саn be іn the mіdst оf mаny рrоblems but the рrоblems wіll nоt be yоurs. Yоu саn be surrоunded by thоughts but yоu wіll nоt be the thоughts. Аnd іf yоu beсоme аwаre thаt yоu аre nоt yоur thоughts, the lіfe оf these thоughts wіll begіn tо grоw weаker, they wіll begіn tо beсоme mоre аnd mоre lіfeless.

Enlіghtenment meаns the stаte оf соnsсіоusness where there іs nоthіng tо be knоwn, where there іs nо оne tо knоw аnd оnly рure knоwіng remаіns. The meаnіng оf enlіghtenment іs thаt оnly рure knоwіng remаіns.

--Sadhguru

What is enlightenment?

There comes a time where you no longer care if there's a light at the end of the tunnel or not, a time when you'll just fully realise you're in the tunnel.

--unknown source

What is enlightenment?

Milarepa was looking all around for enlightenment, but could not find the answer anywhere - but one day he met an old man, that was going down a steep mountain road, carrying back-pack on his shoulders. Milarepa instantly knew that this old man knows the secret that he is looking desperately for since ages now. "Please, brother, tell me what you know. What is enlightenment?" Old man smiled at him, put his back-pack down and straightened up his body. "Yes, I understand" told the Milarepa. "Please take my deepest thankfulness. But answer one more question for me please. What comes after enlightenment?" Old man smiled again, picked up his back-pack, put it on his shoulders and continued on his way.

--unknown source

What is enlightenment?

Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.

--Lao Tzu

What is enlightenment?

"Those who have gone that way" are the people who have attained complete enlightenment - in other words, people whose minds have completely surpassed ordinary limitations that can be described in words.

--Yongey Mingyur Ripoche

What is enlightenment?

What is your friend: the things you know, or the things you don't know. First of all, there's a lot more things you don't know. And second, the things you don't know is the birthplace of all your new knowledge! So if you make the things you don't know your friend, rather than the things you know, well then you're always on a quest in a sense. You're always looking for new information in the off chance that somebody who doesn't agree with you will tell you something you couldn't have figured out on your own! It's a completely different way of looking at the world. It's the antithesis of opinionated.

--Jordan B. Peterson

What is enlightenment?

One day it was announced by Master Joshu that the young monk Kyogen had reached an enlightened state. Much impressed by this news, several of his peers went to speak to him. "We have heard that you are enlightened. Is this true?" his fellow students inquired. "It is," Kyogen answered. "Tell us," said a friend, "how do you feel?" "As miserable as ever," replied the enlightened Kyogen.

--unknown source

What is enlightenment?

--unknown source

What is enlightenment?

No love and no hatred: that is enough.
Understanding can come,
Spontaneously clear
As daylight in a cave.
--Shin Jin Mei