Wow - there's an overloaded word. It means something different to each person, each religion, each spiritual tradition. Ask 100 people from house means and you'll get a fairly consistent answer. I imagine you'd find some themes if you asked 100 people what 'enlightenment' means. Myself, I usually have an internal chuckle because I think of enlightenment in a different way.
I look at the middle of the word - lighten. That's what I think of in two forms of lightening. The first is lightening your load - getting rid of junk. That is beliefs, thoughts, ideas, patterns that have been embedded into our being since birth. A return to our eternal nature. Lightening.
I also think of it as 'Hey, lighten up' - have fun, enjoy yourself. I recall an experience at a one-day Integral Zen/Mondo Zen retreat. At one point during the retreat the Doshin encouraged us to let go of the solemn, quiet nature of the day, and just laugh. What a great release and view of the world!
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