“The human quest for perfect undersanding….”
In western thought, enlightment is expressed as reason and rational thought overcoming superstitions and irrational thinking. It is oriented around the development of philosophical frameworks of rationalism, materialism, skepticism, etc…
In eastern philosophy, enlightment is expressed as a state of being, an individual experience. It is the shunning of material things and the awareness that the human senses can be deceptive. It is cleansing oneself of outside distractions so that one can be free of the suffering that accompanies life in a material world.
For one, it is a reliance on a materialist perspective to achieve perfect understanding and, for the other, it is about eschewing all things material to achieve peace/balance.
I think for most people, enlightenment is aobut attaining or understanding “truth”.
But, for me, enlightenment is a state that is impossible to achieve….both in the western and eastern tradition. I think the human condition…our reliance on the material world coupled with the deceptive qualities of our own individual senses prevents us from achieving true enlightenment however it is defined….