What is Enlightenment?

[DHodges]

After all this time, I found that I was still unsure of whether there is really such a thing as enlightenment, or in fact, exactly what the term means.

Here is what I extracted from Wikipedia on the topic:

Enlightenment as a concept is related to the Buddhist Bodhi but is a cornerstone of religious and spiritual understanding in practically all religions.

Kenshō, literally "seeing the nature", is an experience described in the context of Zen Buddhism. The term is often used to denote an initial awakening experience, seeing one's True-Nature or Buddha-Nature, that can be enlarged and clarified through further practice in daily life.
Working towards this realisation is usually a lengthy process of meditation and introspection under guidance of a Zen or other Buddhist teacher. The method is known as: 'Who am I', since it is this question that guides the enquiry into one's true nature. The realization that there is no 'I' that is doing the thinking, but rather that the thinking process brings forth the illusion of an 'I', is a step on the way to Kensho.

Satori is a Zen Buddhist term for enlightenment. The word literally means "to understand". It is sometimes loosely used interchangeably with Kensho, but Kensho refers to the first perception of the Buddha-Nature or True-Nature.

The Zen Buddhist experience commonly recognizes enlightenment as a transitory thing in life, almost synonymous with the English term epiphany, and Satori is the realization of a state of epiphanic enlightenment. Because all things are transitory according to Zen philosophy, however, the transitory nature of Satori is not regarded as limiting in the way that a transitory epiphany would be in Western understandings of enlightenment.

Nirvana connotes an extinguishing or "blowing out" of a fire or candle flame. It carries further connotations of stilling, cooling, and peace; the realizing of nirvana is compared to a fire gone out when its fuel supply is finished; this fuel being primarily the false idea of self, which causes (and is caused by) among other things craving, consciousness, birth, death, greed, hate, delusion, ignorance. Nirvana, then, is not a place nor a state, it is an absolute truth to be realized, and a person can do so without dying. When a person who has realized nirvana dies, his death is referred as his parinirvana, his fully passing away, as his life was his last link to the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara), and he will not be reborn again. Buddhism holds that the ultimate goal and end of existence is realization of nirvana; what happens to a person after his parinirvana cannot be explained, as it is outside of all conceivable experience.
We can also say that, given the vital importance of the idea of anatta (Pāli; Sanskrit: Anātman), which negates not merely the grasping mind but also any concept of essential substance or permanent self, it is clear that nirvāna is not to be understood as a union with monistic ideal. Since there is essentially no self and no not-self, there is nothing to unite, instead it is an experience of non-separation.
It should also be noted that the Buddha discouraged certain lines of speculation, including speculation into the state of an enlightened being after death, on the grounds that these were not useful for pursuing enlightenment; thus definitions of nirvāna might be said to be doctrinally unimportant.

Bodhi (Pali and Sanskrit. Lit. awakening) is a title given in Buddhism to the specific awakening experience attained by the Indian spiritual teacher Gautama Buddha and his disciples. It is sometimes described as complete and perfect sanity, or awareness of the true nature of the universe. After attainment, it is believed one is freed from the cycle of Samsāra: birth, suffering, death and rebirth. Bodhi is most commonly translated into English as enlightenment, though this translation is problematic, since enlightenment (the soul being "lit" by a higher power) is originally a concept from Christian mysticism or conversely evokes notions of the 18th century European Age of Enlightenment that are not identical with the Buddhist concept of Bodhi.

Moksha or Mukti refers, in general, to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. In higher Hindu philosophy, it is seen as a transcendence of phenomenal being, of any sense of consciousness of time, space, and causation (karma). It is not seen as a soteriological goal in the same sense as in, say, a Christian context, but signifies dissolution of the sense of self, or ego, and the overall breakdown of nama-roopa (name-form). It is, in Hinduism, viewed as analogous to Nirvana, though Buddhist thought tends to differ with even the Advaita Vedantist reading of liberation. Jainism and Surat Shabda Yoga traditions also believe in Moksha.

<end of stuff copied from Wikipedia>

So, if enlightenment is a kind of realization or understanding of the nature of reality, then it seems pretty straightforward: I don't see a problem with the idea that a particular kind of realization or understanding is possible.
But, why should a particular realization put an end to suffering, etc.? Is it just because suffering arises from ignorance? Can it really be that simple?

I like the idea of "complete and perfect sanity" (Bohdi), and that to me seems to best describe my goal: finding and eliminating that which is insane or false(in myself). I don't think this will (necessarily) lead to any sort of happiness, or end of suffering; I just find the idea of irrationality and insanity to be repulsive. In fact, in my experience, it seems that highly deluded people can be quite happy. I just can't go that way.

The stuff about liberation from the cycle of rebirth doesn't really mean anything to me. I guess it can be understood metaphorically that the "I" no longer arises as such, because it is known to be an illusion.

[Kevin Solway]

I like the idea of "complete and perfect sanity" (Bohdi)

"Genius never desires what does not exist." - Kiekegaard

[kagatenchi1]

“A man who is chasing a thing he can not define himself is insane”
Are these correct definitions of concepts that you can not prove to exist to yourself?

[Blair]

In fact, in my experience, it seems that highly deluded people can be quite happy. I just can't go that way.

That's something that I have thought long and hard about.It requires a huge effort to see through the veil of projected happiness, because delusion is so insidious and entrenches itself in every nook and cranny, but deep down I think you know the answer is no, deluded people are not even remotely happy, but every manifestation of their energy is really about convincing you, and everyone else, that they are.

Once you become aware of it, if you are honest with yourself, you can never think otherwise, because you are dealing with an absolute truth.