(cartoonstock.com)This cartoon is misrepresenting the concept of enlightenment. First off there are several stereotypes illustrated above. It is easy to point out the Buddhist monks are in traditional robes, shaved heads, surrounding by mountains and naturally in the lotus position while trying to achieve enlightenment. How much more stereotypical can you get? The picture depicts The "cartoonlike figure invented by pop culture" version of Buddhist masters, and the corresponding supernatural view of Buddhism in general. It also misrepresents the idea of enlightenment with the quote underneath it, giving you the reason to believe enlightenment is something easily achieved and happens more than once.
Many people today think that an experience they have had has made them 'enlightened' but as Brad Warner describes in Zen Karma dipped in Chocolate it is no easy path to reach one with the universe. He explains "Buddhist practice is difficult and takes a lot of time, effort, and energy. I know no one likes hearing that. But tough titty if you don’t. There are no shortcuts. There are no easy ways to circumvent the pain and difficulty of practice any more than there are ways to develop a hot bod without working out for years. But you know what? It’s not really that painful or difficult. You just sit on a cushion and stay still for a little while every day. If you can’t handle that much effort, I feel pretty bad for you." As the cartoon depicts and what Brad Warner argues is that enlightenment does not happen over time and is not an easy process. Enlightenment is not a specific thing that happens to you but rather a process over time. Warner also goes on to describe how there are many people out there who are frauds trying to appeal to you to help you achieve this so called enlightenment. "As Buddhism becomes more widely accepted, guys trying to make a fast buck on people’s misconceptions about it are going to keep crawling out of the manure". People who really want to explore Buddhism and not feed into this main stream idea of Buddhism can achieve enlightenment over time not over night that is what Warner writes about in his book. "If you’re ready to face reality, the real practice is there, and the real teachers are more plentiful than you can imagine."
