Enlightenment Is Not the End but the Beginning

These lines are copied from book of founder of dahn yoga Prof Ilchi Lee. The journey consists of a single seed of thought, which flowers and withers, returning to its original place. People often call the end of this journey “enlightenment.” What does enlightenment mean? What do you have to know to be enlightened? Is enlightenment the end? What could be behind enlightenment?

The crux of enlightenment is that there is nothing to be enlightened about. When you realize that there is nothing to be enlightened about, that is enlightenment. Does it sound funny? Fishy? Let us think for a moment. The conscious mind that so desires enlightenment is merely a temporary phenomenon without underlying reality. The real mind, which is the sea of nothingness from which all existence springs, has never not known something. To summarize, the mind that desires enlightenment is actually without reality, while the real mind is the definition of enlightenment itself. Who is it that wants to be enlightened, and to what? There is no enlightenment, and efforts to achieve enlightenment are by definition futile—this is true enlightenment.

Therefore, enlightenment is a new start for the journey, not the end. Until now, we wandered aimlessly through many lifetimes and went through untold experiences because we did not know how or why this journey started. But now we remember the original purpose of the journey, and this helps us find our way to the destination. This is the reason we need enlightenment. Have you ever gone out on an errand on a warm spring day and been led astray by the trembling beauty of a butterfly, forgetting the purpose of your errand? Your mother probably told you numerous times to go straight to the store and come back, a warning you promptly forgot. Your mother knew that although you would eventually return home, for there was nowhere else to go. the time of your return was open-ended.