There is no easy way to define what is Enlightenment because there can be many. And, there are many paths to achieving the state of enlightenment.

For me personally, Enlightenment is simply an awareness of your own natural state of being. It’s a state of realizing what you truly are in the present moment; without referring to your past and worrying about what you will become in the future.

Believe it or not, everyone has had an experience or taste of Enlightenment before. It’s a state of bliss, where you feel total happiness and timeless; transcending of any problem and suffering.

Stop and think for a moment, try to recall some of the quality time you spent with your loved ones, the time when you felt total peace, the time when you felt you had total freedom, etc. The moment that made you felt clear, content, uplifted, empowered, joyful, etc.. those are the enlightened moments!

I like the Buddha’s simple definition of enlightenment as “end of suffering”.

But regardless of your religious belief; you can experience enlightenment. You can be a Christian, Moslem, Buddhist, atheist or an agnostic person, it doesn’t really matter!

Unfortunately, the enlightenment we have is often short-lived. We are not able to flourish and sustain it.

According to Buddha’s teaching, the cause of suffering is craving or clinging on things that are impermanent. We continually search for something outside ourselves to make us happy instead of looking inside. By continually seeking things that are impermanent in nature, we will never feel fulfilled, no matter how successful we are.

In the hustle and bustle world we’re living in today, can we ever achieve personal enlightenment in our lifetime?

Well, in all honesty, many of us may not be able to achieve a “full enlightened life” like the Buddha did back in over 2,500 years ago. But, how about if we can achieve a portion of it? Is it worthwhile to learn how to live an enlightened life even though if we may only achieve a fraction of it?

Well, the mind is like the body in that they need proper nutrition to flourish. Personal enlightenment is like nutritious food for your mind. The benefits of living an enlightened life are many. Inner-peace, joy, fulfillment, clarity are just some of the qualities of enlightenment.

This article simply describes the basic concept of enlightenment and its many benefits for personal growth. In the next articles, I will share with you how to practice some of the habits of enlightenment. So please stay tuned!

benefits of enlightenment, buddhism enlightenment, enlightened life, personal enlightenment, what is enlightenment

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 3:42 am and is filed under Personal Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.