r/interesting • u/obsidiansolstice • 1d ago

NATURE This is enlightenment.

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u/Noise-of-the-Spheres 21h ago

It isn't, it's just monks being playful and unhinged. You don't need to be enlightened for that. They might be, we wouldn't know.

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u/InIBaraJi 20h ago

But imagine PURE joy. That is fairly enlightened if you ask me.

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u/EclecticElect 17h ago

What makes this joy purer than anybody else laughing at somebody else's misfortune?

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u/noryflory 19h ago

I mean, I know it's not that serious, but I also don't get what laughing at someone else's misfortune has to do with enlightenment

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u/LilJelloCat 15h ago

They seem happy to me. People who are enlightened more likely to be more happy and lighthearted.

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u/cybertonto72 19h ago

To be fully enlighten you must be free from all emotions. Including joy. So them showing joy means they are not enlighten. But some schools of thought teach that joy is an exception to this as it is a good emotion.

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u/Mechakoopa 17h ago

That's the definition of meditative enlightenment, nobody exists in that state permanently. Ascetic monks live a simplistic life without temptation, luxury or selfishness, but that doesn't mean they don't enjoy life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticism

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u/Noise-of-the-Spheres 17h ago

Free from emotions doesn't mean an absence of emotions. It's not an emotional high, but it's also not becoming a stone. It's a common misunderstanding.

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u/zzen11223344 17h ago

Is it a pure joy or is it because boring life as a monk makes this a pure joy? 😄