WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT?
Enlightenment is the ability to accurately estimate reality.
I think this is what the mystics throughout the ages have been talking about. Buddhism speaks of nirvana, and Christianity speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven. Which I believe is actually here and now, on earth. But throughout the years has been mis-interpreted and turned into the idea of an after life.
“Look within, thou art the Buddha.” --Words of the Buddha
“The kingdom of Heaven is within you.” --Words of Jesus Christ
The kingdom of heaven is the universal reality we all share. "Worldly," or "limited knowledge," refers to the day to day "partial reality" that the un-enlightened live in and mistakenly perceive as a universal reality. This idea is of course, diametrically opposed to the interpretation that the religious folks teach.
If Jesus ever actually existed, and if he ever actually said that he was the Son of God, he probably meant that he was a child of, a natural product of the universe. Like we all are.
Obstacles to enlightenment
The world doesn't need religious gurus or sacred texts to teach us their views of reality. All this does is to distract us from seeking enlightenment on our own. This is the single greatest danger that religions pose to mankind. Instead, we need an "authority" that gives us the tools and encouragement we need to seek and find enlightenment on our own.
One universal reality
Enlightened thinkers will tend to think similarly because as their knowledge and experiences grow, their thinking converges on the one universal reality. Partial reality thinkers are only homogenous thinkers when they share the same partial reality. But they differ radically and sometimes violently when they share different partial realities. This is the second greatest danger posed by the religions.
Education has two goals
- The first goal is to give the individual the knowledge and tools they need to function in their society, including the ability to make a living. This is traditionally achieved through formal education.
- The second goal is to acquire enough information and experiences to accurately estimate reality. This is most often achieved outside of the formal education channels.
But the motivation to continue one's education beyond the formal school years depends on the foundations laid in early childhood, and the experiences encountered in the years of formal education.
Independent thinking
The goal of independent thinking is to provide us with the tools we need to understand and estimate reality. We do this by:
- Remove existing errors in our thinking that pass as correct knowledge
- And by adding more correct knowledge
Only by having a sufficient amount of correct knowledge can we achieve enlightenment.