69+ Best Enlightenment Quotes: Exclusive Selection

Enlightenment is the period in the 18th century in Europe when many people began to emphasize the importance of science and reason, rather than religion and tradition. Inspirational enlightenment quotes will brighten up your day and make you feel ready to take on anything.

If you’re searching for inspiring philosophy quotes that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of significant transcendentalism quotes, best existentialism quotes and greatest ethics quotes.

Famous Enlightenment Quotes

Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment Lao Tzu

Oh, how hard it is to be the only one who knows the truth!

The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness. Nikos Kazantzakis

You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your inner enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter.

The greatest illusion in this world is the illusion of separation.

Much of traditional religious imagery has represented women as inferior, even evil. It is only an enlightened spiritual worldview that reveals both men and women in all our true glory.

Enlightenment is not a change into something better or more, but a simple recognition of who we truly already are.

You, darkness, of whom I am born I love you more than the flame that limits the world to the circle it illumines and excludes the rest.

Enlightenment is not the byproduct of avoiding the darkness in favor of the light. It is the byproduct of taking the light of consciousness and diving deep into the darkness with it. To make the darkness conscious is to turn the shadow into light. Teal Scott

You, Venerable One, may indeed be a seeker, for, striving toward your goal, there is much you do not see which is right before your eyes.

The ego tries to convince us that we must do things to achieve enlightenment. The spirit knows that enlightenment is not a matter of doing, but a magnificent consequence of being. Dean Jackson

In this hour Siddhartha ceased struggling with his fate, ceased suffering. On his face blossomed the serenity of knowledge, which no will opposes any longer, knowing perfection, in agreement with the flow of events, with the stream of life, full of compassion, full of sympathy, abandoned to the flow, belonging to unity.

Enlightenment, joy, and peace can never be given to you by another. The well is inside you. Thich Nhat Hanh

What a fine persecution to be kept intrigued without ever quite being enlightened.

What is enlightenment? It is complete and total non-attachment to one’s own thoughts. And in the absence of attachments to one’s own thoughts, all that is present is love Teal Scott

Things aren’t different. Things are things.

Enlightenment is the journey from the head back to the heart, from words back to silence. Jack Brocas

I don’t wanna hear all your word descriptions of words words words you made up all winter, man I wanna be enlightened by actions.

Make no mistakes about it  enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of the untruth. It’s seeing through the facade of pretense. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true. Adyashanti

Philosophy, however enlightened, however profound, gives no command over the passions, no influential motives, no vivifying principles.

I went in being me, but not knowing it. I came out being me, and knowing it. It was this that changed my life

It is a seat of wisdom, a light of the world, a minister of the faith, an Alma Mater of the rising generation. It is this and a great deal more, and demands a somewhat better head and hand than mine to describe it well.

Enlightenment or awakening is not the creation of a new state of affairs but the recognition of what already is. Alan Watts

Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.

If I could define enlightenment briefly, I would say it is the quite acceptance of what is. Wayne Dyer

We are not the only ones affected by our recovery. The spiritual awakening heals the world one person at a time. Marta Mrotek

The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness. Kazantzakis

You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul. Swami Vivekananda

There are many paths to enlightenment.

We are all equally capable of spiritual awakening. It may not seem that way, at times. Some of us are so caught up in the drama of our day to day existence that we have lost track of who we really are. But eventually, all of us will make the discovery of our true nature. Victor Shamas

So the single most vital step on your journey toward enlightenment is this: learn to disidentify from your mind. Eckhart Tolle

You are heir to a heavenly fortune, the sole beneficiary of an infinite spiritual trust fund, a proverbial goldmine of sacred abundance beyond all common measure or human comprehension. But until you assert your rightful inheritance of this blessed gift, it will remain unclaimed and forever beyond your reach Anthon St. Maarten

One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. Carl Jung

Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations. Samuel Ullman

Enlightenment must come little by little otherwise it would overwhelm. Idries Shah

It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up. Eckhart Tolle

Your imagination is the vehicle to enlightenment. Gary Hopkins

Within you lies opportunity to grow in spirit. Keep your feet on the earth, but lift your face towards the heavens. Surrender to the light with a tranquil mind, and a heart full of the love of God. White Eagle

The attainment of enlightenment from ego’s point of view is extreme death.Chogyam Trungpa

You can have a spiritual awakening and discover a new side of you at any age. And best of all, love can happen at any age. Life can just start to get exciting when you’re in your 40s and 50s. You have to believe that. Salma Hayek

Always keep your mind as bright as the vast sky, the great ocean, and the highest peak, empty of all thoughts. Always keep your body filled with light and heat. Fill yourself with power of wisdom and enlightenment. Morihei Ueshiba

In the place of stillness, rises potential. From the place of potential, emerges possibility. Where there is possibility, there is choice, and where there is choice, there is freedom! Gabrielle Goddard

Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self incurred immaturity. Immanuel Kant

Be kind to yourself as you proceed along this journey. This kindness, in itself, is a means of awakening the spark of love within you and helping others to discover that spark within themselves.  Tsoknyi Rinpoche

On the pathway that leads to enlightenment, only your heart can tell you whar is right. Frederick Lenz

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha

Attachment is the main thing that is blocking your path towards enlightenment. Garchen Rinpoche

Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge. Eckhart Tolle

Enlightenment is life and of itself. Enlightenment is the knowledge of the origin and of truth, whereby truth is self existing and unchanging. Enlightenment is the univers that exists as it is; Enlightenment is the act of knowing this universe. Woo Myung

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein

What you focus on you becom. So always focus on that which is highest, brightest, happiest and most noble of all things, enlightenment. Frederick Lenz

The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and the acceptance of love.  Marianne Williamson

Enlightenment, or true happiness, is not a transcendental state. It is a condition of braod wisdom, boundless energy,a nd good fortune wherein we each shape our own destiny, find fulfillment in daily activities, and come to understand our ultimate purpose in life. Josei Toda

The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself  this is called life. Swami Vivekananda

The real spiritual progress of the aspirant is measured by the extent to which he achieves inner tranquility. Sivananda

When we wake up from our confused state of mind, that is enlightenment. Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

The great awareness comes slowly, piece by piece. The path of spiritual growth is a path of lifelong learning. The experience of spiritual power is basically a joyful one. M. Scott Peck

Being is enlightenment. Osho

The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal. It can’t be organized or regulated. It isn’t true that everyone should follow one path. Listen to your own truth. Ram Dass

Nirvana or lasting enlightenment or true spiritual growth can be achieved only through persistent exercise of real love. M. Scott Peck

Awakening is about liberating yourself from the prison that is the world of the mind and daring to be here as all that you are. Leonard Jacobson

Someone who wants to attain enlightenment must be brave. He must rush into the crowd of enemies with a dagger. In the practice of Zen, enemies are our delusive thoughts and passions. Koun Yamada

Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. C.G. Jung

To study the way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things. Dogen

The solution to the problem of the day is the awakening of the consciousness of humanity to the divinity within. Hazrat Inayat Khan

Enlightenment is not something to be attained. As a human being it is your natural state. Your very core is composed of love and light, it is consciousness. It is the fallacy of ego and reality that prevents you from realizing your inner divinity. You must shed the illusions and you will be left with pure enlightenment. It is not something to attain, you must lose, and you shall be.

Awakening is dynamic. Constantly evolving in accordance with life’s realities. Unfolding from ego self to compassionate self. From enclosed self to open self. From foolish self to enlightened self. Taisetsu Unno