Enlightenment Defined — A Monk’s Teaching About Enlightened Living
It is difficult to express something that is unlimited using the limitations of modern language. However, I wholeheartedly make this attempt.
As a practicing Buddhist and spiritual teacher, I wish to communicate my definition in a manner that is both clear and understandable, without any deep Buddhist philosophical undertones or esoteric concepts.
I humbly say that even with my spiritual training and study, my understanding of the word enlightenment is still quite limited! Regardless, I would like to leave you, the reader, something that you can take with you. I offer you a piece of my definition, for the hopes that it will benefit you.
Also, I do not claim to be enlightened! I walk the same path as all of you reading this page. You all are my spiritual brothers and sisters. You are the ones I walk with, hand in hand, down the narrow path of self-betterment.
En — lighten — ment
To me, enlightenment is quite simple. It’s being able to see yourself for who you truly are. It’s you without the mask, you without the body, you without the illusion.
Enlightenment is about awakening the heart of your soul. It is the manifestation of the true you.
“En”, in enlightenment, is like the word enter. You “enter” the inner core of your being and see the true you.
When you enter this state, you begin to see a hidden world that comprises all of humanity. Entering this world is the first step to enlightenment. However, what good is this world if it is dark and poorly lit?
Next comes the word “lighten”, in enlightenment. Light is about the concept of understanding and revelation. What is this light?
It’s the light of your true awareness. It’s your awareness that sees things clearly, see things for how they truly are. This inner light reveals the state that you just entered. It reveals the truth about who you really are, deep down inside.
Put these together and you now have the word enlighten, or enlightenment:
The state you enter (en), that reveals the inner you (lightenment). It is the Buddha within you, the end of illusion, and the awareness of reality.
There is a remarkable process that happens when you start unveiling the true you. You undergo a process of transformation. It’s the shedding of the old and the awakening of the new. You begin to release all the things that no longer serve your highest good. You achieve a certain level of realization and awareness about yourself and the workings of this world. So, now you are “en-lighten-ed” so to say.
As a monk, I studied the classical and open definitions of the word enlightenment. I was told it was the realization of knowledge. I read that it was the supreme awakening. I’ve heard that it is a state of unbounded awareness. I wanted to apply these definitions in my life in a manner that I could understand.
I thought,
What good is a definition if I can’t personally relate to it?
What good is a word if I can’t connect with its meaning?
So, as the years went by, I slowly added to my definition of the word enlightenment. I incorporated these definitions into my everyday life. It’s something I continue to do everyday. The definition of enlightenment is something you should never stop seeking.
Enlightened Living
There seem to be many discussions about the definition of enlightenment. And I think this is great! The more awareness that is brought to this word, the better.
The word enlightenment and the word Buddha often are synonymous.
Buddha simply means one who is awake — The Awakened One. So, in Buddhism, and many other forms of spiritual practice, we talk about aspiring to become a Buddha or aspiring to awaken. But why do we want to awaken?
The spiritual practitioner achieves enlightenment for the benefit of the world.
Many spiritual adepts fail to incorporate this crucial aspiration when undertaking spiritual cultivation practices and methods.
The aspiration to benefit others is of utmost importance. You must aspire to achieve enlightenment not for self, but for the benefit of all living beings. This is what mindful living is. It’s helping yourself so that you can be more capable to help others. There is a Buddhist mantra that goes something like this,
“May I achieve the supreme awakening for the benefit of all beings.”
“May I help others achieve the luminous perfect understanding.”
A major theme within spiritual cultivation practices is the purification of bad habits and unwanted tendencies.
So enlightened living is about realizing all the things that hold us back in life. Next, we can try to perform corrective actions to fix it. Correct action is part of the Buddha’s teaching of the Eight-fold Noble Path.
And we do all of this so that we can benefit the world. Why so?
Because that’s the mindset of the Buddha, or anyone who walks the spiritual path. He awakens to the nature of himself. He then shows others how to do the same. The Buddha sat under the Bodhi Tree, attained enlightenment, then taught others a path that leads to the end of suffering.
So in other words, enlightenment is about developing an awareness and understanding of this world and of humanity. It’s a realization you have that both benefits you and benefits the world. This is the universal definition of enlightenment.
Regardless of religious denomination, all spiritual practices that lead to the end of suffering must be rooted in this understanding. Our longing to understand enlightenment must be rooted in the utmost desire to do good deeds, first for our self, then ultimately for the benefit of all beings of this world.
When you realizes this, the definition of enlightenment becomes irrelevant. We just walk a path of doing good deeds in life and trying to do good for others. We become a true human being and help others do the same. This is how we live an enlightened life. This is how we change and benefit the world. When a spiritual practitioner realizes this, he realizes he has a great duty to the world.
This is the highest aspiration in any spiritual or religious practice.
I end this story with a disclosure, a semi-negation to the word I just defined:
Do not be limited by my definition of enlightenment. Do not let the language of this page fool you.
The moment I thought I fully understood something was the moment I stopped learning. A spiritual teacher that stops learning is no teacher. My time in contemplation has taught me this:
One should never lose the state of mind that invokes a sense of curiosity and wonderment of the world around you.
So stay curious, stay wondrous, and may you live an enlightened life!
Thank you, Diane C. for inspiring me to write this story as a response to This Week’s Prompt:
