Enlightenment remains undefined by most, despite being widely discussed. Its elusiveness stems from this lack of definition, allowing individuals to project their desires onto it. But is it attainable? Yes. It is hiding not in high and mighty places, but somewhere very simple and mundane.
Most assume it means winning the game of life, becoming a god-like figure that others look up to and worship. They imagine themselves glowing golden, having achieved the ultimate victory. Everyone loves and praises them. But that is not enlightenment; that is having won.
True enlightenment lies in freedom from the game. Yet, if you choose not to play because you believe that not playing is the way to win then you are still caught in the trap, striving for victory. This paradox has been described as "how to get rid of the desire to not desire," but the key is to genuinely stop playing. It's not at all complicated. Rather the issue is that those who discover that the secret is to not play the game try to outsmart the game by playing a meta-game. They now pretend that they don't want to win, because they believe this will lead to ultimate victory. But this is merely the same game in disguise.
To escape this trap, one must legitimately not care about the outcome. Imagine wanting freedom from a race. No position in the race—first, last, or middle—grants you freedom. There is no way to play that leads to escape. The only path to freedom is to stop caring about your position entirely. Stopping won't lead to victory; others will overtake you. This is what everyone fails to understand: when you stop you will lose your position. You must genuinely disregard your position within the race. It's that simple.
You don't get a reward for dropping out of the race; it's not a short-cut to becoming #1, as you've been lead to believe. If you win you get status. If you stop playing you get freedom. It's not the same thing.
As always, enlightenment was very close to home the whole time. It's very simple thing. It doesn't require any great act of faith, nor does it require any special abilities. You cannot earn it. You cannot win it. You cannot meditate to get it. You cannot do anything that brings you closer to it.
This may seem esoteric and mysterious because people assume it's metaphorical. It's not. The game is real—one you're actively playing. It's a game of striving for status above others and achieving things relative to others in the world. This 'status game' is precisely what's being discussed. It's not some elusive, mysterious spiritual game, but the very same game that occupies most of your thoughts.
This place is the place. The game is this game. The way out is to give up on trying to 'win' at life. It's not a metaphor. You don't get points or a medal. (The points and medals you get from playing, not for dropping out.) You can do it right now. However, having decided to stop playing, all of your problems will still be here. This is because it was playing the game that caused the problems. Having stopped playing, you are now in a position to actually fix the problems instead of keep on believing the lie that your problems will go away if only you played harder.
Interestingly, you can still choose to participate in the race. You can strive for first place, let yourself lose, or maintain a middle position. Traditionally, the middle path is recommended because there are benefits to participating, but those benefits diminish as you approach the top, where winners sacrifice too much for the game, making it no longer worthwhile. Meanwhile, those at the bottom are only losing because they repeatedly make very obvious and detrimental mistakes. So if you just mind your own business, you'll inevitably find yourself somewhere in the middle—hence the "middle way".
Ceasing to play brings no fanfare. No legion of angels will proclaim you special. You will not get a medal. Perhaps such acclaim exists for winners, but when you stop, it's a quiet and private affair. Once you know the truth of the game, you can never unknow it. You can even play to win if you desire, but you'll no longer be enslaved by the game. That is enlightenment. Hiding, as always, in plain sight.