What follows is my own opinion, not the teachings of this or that Zen master. Ultimately, one's path to enlightenment is individual. No one can just hand it to you. This is my attempt to define enlightenment in some small way.
So far as I can tell by distilling the words of those who are Zen monks, enlightenment is tearing down the walls of logical society, orthodox philosophy, and what is generally thought of as "rational thought."
Enlightenment is realizing that there are things beyond these structures. Perhaps, it is more that there are things that fall beneath the cracks of these structures, things that cannot be appreciated properly through use of them.
Think about words you might use to describe this image. What comes to mind? What words can do justice to this image? Think about it for a moment.
Whatever words you have just summoned into your mind, are useless for achieving enlightenment.
It is not so much that words suffice, as that they distract. Words establish boundaries within which the image must exist in our minds. Words are shackles and chains that restrict where our thoughts may lead.
As a linguist and writer, I am all the more sensitive to the limitations and drawbacks of the written and spoken word. Some things should be understood without words, simply for the raw visual, emotional, and spiritual power they possess.
The beauty of the sky does not need you to describe it. All that is required, is that you accept it.
This is one small piece of enlightenment: a window into the uncluttered soul.
Article first published as What Is Enlightenment? on Technorati.
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