Enlightenment is one of those interesting conversations in coaching and teaching circles. As I’ve been on this journey, I’ve noticed that a lot of the greatest teachers describe enlightenment somewhat differently. That’s why I thought it would be interesting to explore enlightenment for ourselves here on the podcast, to give a listen click here.
Quotes About Enlightenment
Let’s start with my all-time favorite quotes by Lao Tzu. It’s a very ancient and mystical quote.
“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.”
If you haven’t read The Tao, then please do so. I’ve read it roughly a dozen times and listened to it several times as well. I’ve also listened to all many teachers talk about The Tao, if one chooses it could easily be a full life of work practicing the Tao. One can spend a lifetime studying him and the book is only a couple of hundred pages long. It’s so beautifully written, wisdom filled, and dare I say, enlightening.
What I take away from this quote is something we talk about often. It’s about awareness, more so, self-awareness. You’re not going to find enlightenment outside of yourself and you won’t find happiness anywhere else. You won’t find success outside of yourself. All of our lives are an internal process and experience. With this being true, self awareness really puts us in god position to be successful, be happy, healthy, manage stress and tap into our greatest potential.
Still, the ‘logical’ minded can argue that those outside of us are the ones who impact our lives by saying something to us or doing something to us and for us. That’s true on the external materia level, and we can’t disagree with that but, how you color your experience is internal, correct? How you feel emotionally is an internal process, yes? Someone can put their hand on your shoulder and you are the one who chooses to either kiss them or smack them.
This means just because something external happens, that doesn’t mean that is its true definition. What we think and feel about it is what makes it real for us. In theory, someone putting a hand on your shoulder can be completely neutral. On the other hand, you might have experienced the extremes too. This can be from friends, family, and other relationships like coaching. Coaches often put their hands on people’s shoulders, for example.
Therefore, our life experience is about what happens inside of us. The only way to see that, not through egos and filters, is to listen and watch without judgment. It’s all through experience which is the truth of all life. It’s this idea that it’s always an inside experience. As paradoxical as that might sound, what’s interesting about it is that’s a place of awareness. From it you start to look at the world and you know so much more than you did.
Another great quote is from James Blanchard, “Enlightenment is not a change to something better or more but a simple recognition of who we truly already are.”
This quote emphasizes on the point that enlightenment isn’t about some external feeling. It’s once more about an internal process of recognizing who you truly are. How you define yourself or think of yourself? There are a lot of opinions of you that you can’t control, you can only control what you think of you.
I’m no saint; I’m only working towards enlightenment. I will never become a saint and that’s the truth. I only plan on recognizing who I already I’m. You can only recognize who you already are. When you get a glimpse of the truth for just a moment, you realize that there’s something beautiful going on. It’s about self-awareness and freedom from the ego.
The next quote is from Eckhart Tolle:
“You are the universe expressing itself as a human for a little while.” The perspective is that you’re so much more than you think you are. It’s about realization and self-awareness. It’s remembering who we are and recognizing that.
Of all the best quotes on enlightenment, one is from the Buddha,
“If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.” The concept is more on a mindset and realization on what giving is. When you have that perspective in its pure form, you reach that point.
This isn’t about recognition because enlightenment is not concerned about anyone’s opinion. It’s about caring about the awareness of the truth. The truth in this case is that giving is receiving in a profound way. See the oneness and connectedness about life with all living things.
Moriah Yushiba, founder of Ikido, “Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here to realize your inner divinity and manifest innate enlightenment.” Everyone has the potential to become enlightened. It takes some focus to attain it.
The world is full of stories of some of the best accomplishments who overcame and attained success. Even with all the cards being against them, they did it. We have to keep recognizing and remembering this. It’s a daily practice to keep this in mind and run with it. All of life is cause and effect. You follow a path and focus on it.
Conclusion
These quotes are a reminder of how simple and easy it is to gain enlightenment. It brings you to another level of peace of mind and bliss. You experience deep relaxation.
“Enlightenment is when a wave realizes it’s an ocean.”
