What is Enlightenment?

The term enlightenment refers to the state of mind, where you recognize your inherent true nature, and feel a connectedness with everyone and everything. You no longer live for just yourself, but for all of mankind, for all sentient/non sentient beings

First, let us talk about what enlightenment is NOT.

Enlightenment is not something you strive for, attain, or hold on to. It's simply what you are, your true nature. Everybody is born enlightened, most grow up and lose that state of mind...conditioned to think in destructive patterns, believing that somehow they are seperate from everyone and everything, and all the world goes on spinning, interdependent of them.

Even the quest to reach enlightenment can be detrimental to your progress...if there is in fact any path to progress on. That's the paradox of this whole concept. We already are, yet we search and strive to to be what we already are. Still following?

Let's look deeper in to the subject. Most of us have a preconceived notion of what enlightenment is. It's eternal happiness, it's a major body buzz, it elevates you and puts you above the rest of mankind, you are somehow better than everybody else.

There is an old zen koan that describes this perfectly:

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. He was well educated and versed in Eastern philosophy. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Zen, simple mind, beginners mind, enlightenment.

So just how do you reach (or for a better term, remember) to be enlightened? You can't. Sorry, just not going to happen.

PAY ATTENTION!!!

That is because there is no right way to do it, and no wrong way to do it. It just is. What one can do instead of "searching" for enlightenment, one should instead search in themselves what is "preventing" enlightenment. Everyone can benefit from doing this, myself included.

This can be likened to the analogy of the Sun, Earth, and the clouds.

Enlightenment is the Sun. It is there, it always has been there. The clouds are your thoughts, emotions, preconceived notions, anything that is blocking the light from reaching you, the Earth.

Look in yourselves and search for the barriers that are blocking the real you from shining through. You will be surprised how easy it is to feel your true self and unconditional love, rather than your ranting raving ego, and its selective options of who deserves love and who does not.

More on that later.