Since I am interested in spirituality, I have received questions such as: What is enlightenment? Or what happens after enlightenment? I thought about these questions for a long time and it took me a while to form an understanding. The information that I collected for a long time and the experiences I had, formed these understandings.

When I was in primary school, I saw Buddha's smiling picture in one of the encyclopedias at home. Years following, I completely forgot what was written, but I never did forget the smiling face. I always thought about what affected me most about that picture. When I make a Buddhist friend, I always ask what this smiling face means to them. Mostly they remember the moment Buddha reaches Nirvana or they remember the way to Nirvana. I compare these answers to the old movies of the fifties. The woman and the man are crazy in love with each other, they clear all the difficulties and finally reach each other or get married and the movie ends. Nobody knows what happens to them after that... I've kept busy with this question for a long time. How do they live together after they marry? What happens to Buddha after enlightenment? I think you can guess where my question is going. If we reach Nirvana one day, how do we continue our life after that, what do our lives look like?

First, I would like to clear that I am not a fully enlightened person. There is a lot to be done. I started meditation many years ago. I was having a hard time concentrating at the beginning but slowly I did get better. In the course of time, the goal of the meditation changed. It was not only to get better on concentrating; it was to expand my limited awareness. I started Yoga and learned Reiki with this understanding.  While my perception on understanding the universe changed I felt that I was changed. My limitations were melted away. I was at one with the universe. But, for how long do you think I could keep this feeling of awareness? The sense of unity that I felt during the meditation was partially lost after the meditation. The daily duties were still waiting for me. I still had to clean the house, wash the dirty dishes, do the laundry, go to the work, earn some money, deal with my moody boss, and assist my husband when he needed me. I understood that life is not completely black or white and that there is a point where Nirvana starts. Every moment that we live is actually the Nirvana and after the Nirvana. May be Buddha was laughing at this simple reality. To me, the enlightenment means understanding the importance of the moment and sense that life is the collection of those precious moments. After all the efforts I put to reach enlightenment, I understood that enlightenment is to know how precious life is. We should blend with life as much as we can. Life is a great balancing act, and we are enlightened as long as we keep this balance.

Now, I am not curious about what happened after Nirvana because I don't see it as a separate thing from life. My intention is not to depreciate our daily problems, fear, sadness and grief in the world. They are still there and are still important, however, the enlightenment is how we react to them, how we encounter with them. Without forgetting the sense of unity and Buddha's smile, we should live our life in joy. Joy is in us, not only on our face but in our smiling heart. Have a great and joyful life.