So far as I've been led to understand, there's a big, big difference between the western "Enlightenment" of the 18th Century, and eastern ideas of "enlightenment," usually from a very long time before that.

I wonder why the same word is used in connection with both. They seem to be so different. The western Enlightenment is very much a matter of words and rules and logic and reason, while the eastern Enlightenment seems to avoid all those things.

Kind of like the East Indies and the West Indies: a long ways apart.

I went to grade school with a guy named Freddie who wound up being one of Thich Nhat Hanh's top deputies over in France (around Bordeaux) and now is some kind of Buddhist big shot here in Florida, though I haven't seen him since 1959. Thich Nhat Hanh is a really cool guy. Recommend his books highly. But I couldn't do what he does or what Freddie (assumedly) has been doing. I like McDonald's too much.

Take care!