What is Enlightenment, According to Buddhism?

The key to attaining enlightenment, or Buddhahood, is to meditate, and understand that the world is all made up of the exact same particles. We breath the same air, drink the same water, and are made out of the same atoms, which are in turn made out of even more similar components. The key to living in harmony, and achieving Nirvana, is to not cling to temporary things, but to move with the flow of life, and be happy in the moment, regardless of what is happening around you.

That is not to say that you should not try to work, and give yourself and your family a comfortable, healthy life, but you must not get caught up in the struggle to gain material things, because they are essentially useless. If you have all the food, water and shelter you need, then you have everything you need to live, and can try to gain control of your mind, through meditation, which is the ultimate way to achieve happiness, and enlightenment.

It is said that some Zen masters have such control over their minds, they can turn off pain, turn on bliss, stop spears from peircing them, and even turn off their heartbeats. Everything you feel or experience is a product of your thinking, so if you have the right thinking, you can feel any way you want. This can be seen in other religions, like Christianity, where people are healed, simply because they believe they will be. The mind has awesome power over the body. This is the road to enlightenment.

There was a story of a young seeker who went to a monk in China, to ask for guidance. He asked the standard question of the day: "What is the meaning of bhodidharma (enlightenment), coming from the west?" The monk knocked him to the ground with a stick. He got up, went away, and came back the next day, and asked the same question. He was knocked to the ground again. Dissatisfied, he went to see another monk, who told him: "How compassionate Kung Lau is, he was only trying to relieve you of distress."

With that, the young seeker was enlightened, and he danced around, saying "How simple Kung Lau's Zen is, there's nothing to it." This was an awakening to the oneness of the universe, and I have felt the same feeling at different times. The key is to stay in this awakened moment, and no longer feel like yourself, but like everything at once.

In Buddhism, God is everything, and Buddha is no more a God, than you or I. The only difference lies in the fact that he was able to relieve his own suffering, as well as the suffering of countless other lives, by the teachings he left behind. You do not need to learn everything about Buddhism to be a Buddhist, and you do not need to be a Buddhist to learn from Buddhism. I believe in reincarnation, and most of the things taught in Buddhism, like Karma, but I interpret it in my own way, and take as much as I need, and no more.

It was my understanding of reality that brought me to Buddhism, and not the other way around, and it could be that I achieved enlightenment at some point, without even trying to. For me, Buddhism seems the most practical, realistic, and convenient religion, and because of it's nature, you can take it however you like. Do good things, and with control of your mind, feel good things. Be at one with the universe, and you will be enlightened.