You Cannot Become Enlightened

I was listening to an Alan Watts talk over breakfast the other day, as I’m wont to do, and was struck by the following quote:

”You cannot become enlightened
in the same way
that a line of longitude
cannot cut a slice of cheese.”

Before reading further:
- What does this quote mean to you at first glance?
- What reaction do you have, if any?

To my mind, the “you” the quote refers to is your idea of you, your “ego” in other words. And Watts states, as do a variety of spiritual traditions, that the ego is not real in any tangible sense. It is a construct of the thinking mind. It is useful in the same way that a line of longitude is useful alongside an accompanying latitude to identify an exact spot on the earth. But those lines don’t exist in any tangible way. You could not use one of those lines to cut a slice of cheese that rests upon your kitchen countertop.

And so, the “you” you think you are (in other words, the story of you and your life - the “ego” self) cannot become enlightened, because that you is no more than an idea. The idea is useful for many things, but in terms of Right Now experience, it is completely intangible and ultimately unreal. And if you wish to become enlightened, it might be just like wishing for a line of longitude to cut through a slice cheese for your sandwich. The thinking mind says, If only I try hard enough, maybe I can do it!

Enlightenment, as I see it, can only happen Now and it cannot happen to “you.” It is the point of in-distinction between the idea of you and what seems like everything else, at which there just is. Thou art that. Tat tvam asi in Sanskrit.

You are the thing, so you can’t get away from it to have it.

The visualized version of this quote was originally posted on my Instagram (you can view the Instagram post here). And this idea is expounded upon in great length, just for the fun of it, in my recent book, The Will to Do Nothing (link here).

You cannot become enlightened, because you already are.
Maybe the trick is just to see it. Feel it.

The hand presses down
And cuts through
A wiggly slice of Muenster cheese.
The sandwich tastes good.

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