Enlightenment
is the end of suffering.

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CHAPTER ONE

 

WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT?

 

 

Ethereal: extremely delicate and light in a

way that seems too perfect for this world.

 

 

Enlightenment is the highest state a human being can attain. It’s the ultimate paradox. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. The more you surrender, the more it finds you. It’s not what you think it is, yet everything you already knew it was. It’s as confusing as it is profound, and as simple as it is complex.  Enlightenment is everything and nothing, everyone and no one, the beginning and the end.  

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If you are confused, good. You’ve learned your first lesson about enlightenment. You’ll never experience it by trying to understand it. Enlightenment is one of the most elusive, mysterious concepts on the planet. Intuitively, you know it’s a higher spiritual state that would free you from suffering, but it seems too esoteric, a state reserved for special people who renounce the world, shave their heads, and move to a monastery. Who are you to think that you are

capable of enlightenment?

 

It is true that enlightenment is beyond what the human mind can imagine or comprehend, but that’s also the point. It’s not about knowing more. In fact, it’s about knowing less. The path to enlightenment is largely a process of letting go of what you know and who you think you are. You must first empty the vessel so it can be filled by an intelligence far superior to the human mind. 

 

Sometimes enlightenment happens in a single moment, like catching lightning in a bottle. You instantly break through the limitations of your mind, never to be the same. For the first time, you see your true Self clearly. You see reality as it is. You pierce the veil and dance with divinity. By transcending this world, you break free from its mental and emotional chains. Other times, enlightenment is a slow process, like building a spiritual foundation one brick at a time. 

 

The Buddha is the most famous archetype for enlightenment, but it’s important to remember that he was not always The Buddha. He was a man named Siddhartha who didn’t begin his spiritual journey until age 29. He experienced enlightenment around age 35. For six years he never found what he was looking for, nor did he fully know what he was looking for. How could he? He had never experienced enlightenment. Then suddenly, after meditating for 49 days under the Bodhi tree, it happened. On day 48, he was just Siddhartha, an unenlightened human being. On day 49, he became the awakened one, The Buddha. 

 

Enlightenment is often associated with a supernatural experience that changes everything. This mythology is one reason why en-lightenment seems out of reach for most people. Since they’ve never experienced anything resembling that level of transcendence, they assume it will never happen to them, or they chase an experience believing it will be the end all, be all.

 

Interestingly enough, the Buddha didn’t encourage his followers to seek enlightenment through mystical experiences. He simply said enlightenment was the end of suffering. It’s a strange decision considering what happened to him under the Bodhi tree. Why would the Buddha reduce enlightenment to the end of suffering when he personally experienced something that defied reality as he knew it? 

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Clearly the Buddha came to a different conclusion about his experience that day. As miraculous and supernatural as it was, it wasn’t the end all, be all. When the experience was over, his consciousness came right back to earth; he was still human. There’s only one reason you wouldn't tell your followers to chase a supernatural experience. 

 

A supernatural experience is not enlightenment. Don't misunderstand; supernatural experiences are real, and they can be life altering. Seek long enough and you'll experience things most people cannot comprehend.

 

However, if you chase or cling to these experiences, you’ve mistaken an enlightening experience as enlightenment. After his experience under the Bodhi tree, the Buddha initially had reservations about teaching what he learned. However, he eventually distilled his message into something far less sensational than out-of-body experiences in other realms. Instead, he spent the rest of his life teaching about the nature of suffering and how to transcend it.

 

Perhaps his intention in making it so simple was to shield humanity from truths they are not ready for. Or maybe he didn’t want people to chase experiences that might not happen. Although there is probably merit to these notions, it’s more likely that the Buddha realized that ending suffering is the greatest truth humanity could ever discover. The mere possibility seems tantamount to finding the holy grail or the fountain of youth. 

 

Of course, enlightenment is the end of suffering, but how does it actually work? Once you are enlightened, will life magically bend to your will and you'll never experience pain, trials, or tragedy again? Will you get a free pass while the universe conspires against everyone who is not enlightened? The Buddha was not naïve and neither are you. The nature of reality is not going to change, which means enlightenment must be an inside job. Something about the way you think, feel, and interact with reality has to change if you want to break free. In that regard, enlightenment must be a choice that is within your control. Many people have successfully learned how to end their suffering. The relevant question is: do you believe it’s possible for you? 

 

There is a tendency to deify spiritual masters who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago. They’ve been elevated to icons or symbols, even idols in some cases. When spiritual masters are put on a superhuman pedestal, it gives humanity an ideal to shoot for, but it also makes the path to enlightenment seem impossible. This is not what the Buddha or any enlightened person would want you to feel. The Buddha said, “I am a finger pointing to the moon. Don’t look at me. Look at the moon.” 

 

This is a caution to spiritual seekers who look for enlightenment in the wrong place. Religions, scriptures, belief systems, and true spiritual teachers are all trying to point you toward one universal truth. But they are the finger pointing to the moon, not the moon itself. Jesus said it like this. “No man is a prophet in his own country”. When you know someone well, you see their humanness and they don’t seem particularly special. Conversely, when you see someone from a distance, you don’t see their humanness. They become an ideal, like a spiritual celebrity who seems larger than life.

 

Rest assured, they put on their pants or robes the same way you do. Viewing them as human doesn’t diminish their greatness. It gives you inspiration that if you follow Jesus, you are saved. By following the Buddha, you become the awakened one. If these spiritual masters didn’t think enlightenment was possible for you, they would not have shown you the path.      

 

In one sense, enlightenment can be viewed as a process of learning, practicing, and mastering new skills until you crack the code on suffering. The Buddha’s core message seems very practical and accessible, and indeed, it is. At first glance, his teachings about the end of suffering could even seem devoid of spirituality in some ways, like he was merely creating a pragmatic formula for life. However, it wouldn’t be fair to dismiss or discount what happened to the Buddha on day 49. Something was clearly different about that experience than any other he had before. 

 

The genius in his approach is he knew that along your path to transcend suffering, you would inevitably discover true spirituality. Transcending suffering is only possible by coming to know the part of you that is immune to suffering, which is your spirit. From there, the spiritual discovery expands to God, the nature of reality, the purpose of life, and much more. In other words, enlightenment is both practical and deeply spiritual. 

 

The everyday experience of being enlightened is to transcend this world in a practical sense. End your suffering here and now. Day 49 is to transcend this world in a supernatural sense, having gone beyond the veil of this reality. Think of it as download to your soul while your brain blows a fuse. You are connected straight to the Source. This Source enlightens you to the unmistakable truth of who you are, the nature of God and the universe, and the highest energy that fuels it all. You do not enlighten yourself. You are enlightened.

 

The Chinese prophet, Lao Tzu, wrote, “the Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao”. The word Tao means way, or path. This verse could be interpreted as “the path that can be described is not the eternal path”. Enlightenment is an experience and state of being that is beyond intellect, form, time, and space. The moment you describe enlightenment as a spiritual concept and put it into language, you reduce it to an intellectual construct. In other words, if you think about enlightenment, you’re one step removed from it. Furthermore, if you tell someone about enlightenment, you’re telling them what you think about it, and then you’re two steps removed from it. It’s still a finger pointing to the moon. 

 

This book is also nothing more than a finger pointing to the moon. If you understand the principles and concepts with your mind, you’ll acquire more knowledge, and you’ll be able to regurgitate spiritual truths. However, if you never experience enlightenment for yourself, reading this book will be an intellectual exercise masquerading as spiritual progress. You do not reach enlightenment with the mind. You reach enlightenment by transcending it. This is a spiritual journey only you can take.