Enlightenment in a poem, anyone?

THE WORM'S WAKING

This is how a human being can change:

there’s a worm addicted to eating
grape leaves.

Suddenly he wakes up,
call it grace, whatever, something
wakes him, and he’s no longer

a worm.

He’s the entire vineyard,
and the orchard too, the fruit, the trunks,
a growing wisdom and joy
that doesn’t need
to devour.

-Rumi

Enlightenment comes in many forms and degrees like everything else. Enlightenment is acceptance of one's self, realization that all can be done, and the genuine acknowledgement of life & what it means. The word means something different to everyone, I don't think it has any particular definition. Love a lot of the posts in here, thanks for the starting the thread.

Just a word, which has 7 pages of descriptions already.
But as one wise man said, the description is never the described, the word is not the thing.
for a tree to grow, it needs strong roots in the soil of the earth, when the time is right, it will blossom and bear fruit.

when the universe has no complexity to perspective but is a sentient being, mammoth, pulsating, each supernova a mental synapse, while the blackness between each star is the unexplored part of only a much larger brain. we are on the atomic scale radiating our present space and in some ways our opposite position on whichever globe we traverse, beautiful immaculate. was the epic of Odysseus but a single sentence? perhaps love is the expression of two carbons coming closer and closer until their souls are a quantum singularity

Enlightenment is state of knowing that all is one and one is all. That everything is you and you are everything. Some even come to the idea that they are god. Hence, being part of a greater celestial body.

It's a feeling of great truth and while many may come to this fact without meditation, there is no meaning or value upon this knowing. When you've truly reached it you 'feel' connected like you know the stars in the sky, the ants on the ground, the trees on the Earth to the dust on Mars are a kin to you. This is what it means to be truly enlightened. They will not only change the way you look at the world, but the way you act and respond to humans, animals, and nature on a whole new level.

When you wish bad things upon others you ultimately wish them upon yourself. Knowing this, the human race can only move forward with love, companionship, and care. A world only that has been dreamed of can emerge if we let it.

An extremely nice cigar and 20 year old scotch....

2nd

Enlightenment in my opinion is having happiness in your life (whatever makes you happy) family family, children a husband who loves you unconditionally all these things are my happiness i havent achived it yet but hopefully someday

Originally posted by VisitorQ
Enlightenment is knowing nothing about everything...

There it is.

Having taken the inappropriate weight of belief off of experience, you have become enlightened.

How about two words: Inner Flow.

Enlightenment to me is when you become one with the collective consciousness of Mother earth. I suppose my sentence is done so I can't elaborate

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psalm 111.10

I really don't know what true enlightenment IS, but when you can silence your mind and ignore all external influences I believe you have begun the process.

The Pharaoh

In case you didn't know.

I can describe enlightenment in two nouns.

MAD and ANGRY