The Myth of Enlightenment

Enlightenment, also known as “awakening” or “bodhi,” is a central concept in Buddhism. It would be fair to say that there would be no Buddhism without it. The term “Buddha” means “the awakened one.

Given the central importance of “enlightenment” in Buddhism, it is amazing that there is no agreement as to what the term means. I have been having an ongoing debate with someone in a secular Buddhist group about the nature of enlightenment. Different people from different spiritual traditions will associate “enlightenment” with different things. For example, a Theravada Buddhist will most likely disagree with a Mahayana Buddhist as to what enlightenment entails. If you survey the spiritual landscape, you will find that many Buddhists believe that enlightenment is a supreme achievement that requires many lifetimes of diligent practice. Other Buddhists, on the other hand, believe that each of us is already enlightened but we don’t know it.

In my writing, I have said that enlightenment is a myth. I said so for several reasons. One reason is that an enlightened person is commonly believed to be devoid of suffering. In addition, in popular Buddhism, the enlightened ones are also associated with various psychic powers, including omniscience and the ability to know other minds. That sounds too much like a fairy tale to me. Another reason is that even the existence of the historical…