--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a path in enlightenment called…" description: "\"There's a path in enlightenment called the path of negation where we intentionally throw ourselves into experiences that are extremely transient. In ot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-t_2695147.jpg" --- # There's a path in enlightenment called the path of… ![“There's a path in enlightenment called the path of negation where we intentionally throw ourselves into experiences that are extremely transient. In other words, we do all the stuff you're supposed to normally avoid to become enlightened, intentionally.” quote by Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-t_2695147.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-t_2695147.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-t_2695147.jpg) > “There's a path in enlightenment called the path of negation where we intentionally throw ourselves into experiences that are extremely transient. In other words, we do all the stuff you're supposed to normally avoid to become enlightened, intentionally.” [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that enlightenment can be pursued by deliberately embracing fleeting, normally avoided experiences, using them as a catalyst for deeper insight. **In simple terms:** Embrace fleeting, normally things to grow spiritually. Key Takeaway Seek growth through intentional, transient experiences. Themes spirituality self‑discovery transience contrarian practice Mood reflective challenging inquisitive Type philosophical spiritual experimental When to use this quote - rituals - creative experiments - mind‑body practices - temporary challenges Key Concepts mindfulness impermanence psychology of avoidance Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish productive transience from harmful distraction? - What safeguards can maintain stability during intentional chaos? A Different Perspective Such an approach may lead to confusion or loss of focus if not balanced with grounding practices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [This is a world that defines everything backwards, a world in which good is called bad, brightness is called darkness, up is called down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/this-is-a-world-that-defines-everything-backwards-a-world-in-which/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Meditation is the quickest path to enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/meditation-is-the-quickest-path-to-enlightenment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Zen is a very fast path to enlightenment, fast in comparison to some other paths, not fast for the person who practices it. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/zen-is-a-very-fast-path-to-enlightenment-fast-in-comparison-to-some/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Zen is a very quick path to enlightenment and development of the mind and all its facilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/zen-is-a-very-quick-path-to-enlightenment-and-development-of-the-mind/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The Buddhist message is a message not of the negation of life, but one of affirmation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-buddhist-message-is-a-message-not-of-the-negation-of-life-but-one/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The advanced education in Tantra obviously has to do with the entrance into samadhi, the negation of the self. That is what the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-advanced-education-in-tantra-obviously-has-to-do-with-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/whatever-is-happening-is-the-path-to-enlightenment/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [You think you want to know the secrets of the universe. You think you want to see the way things all fit together. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/you-think-you-want-to-know-the-secrets-of-the-universe-you-think-you/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [It shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks. Life is not easy. The road to happiness is not a path well trotted. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-campbell-bower/it-shouldn-t-matter-what-anyone-else-thinks-life-is-not-easy-the-road/) [Jamie Campbell Bower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-campbell-bower/) > [“The path to enlightenment, to find out who you truly are, has to be taken alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ghalib-shiraz-dhalla/the-path-to-enlightenment-to-find-out-who-you-truly-are-has-to-be/) Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla > [The byproduct of doing for others is the path to enlightenment and when viewed in hindsight reveals the meaning of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/the-byproduct-of-doing-for-others-is-the-path-to-enlightenment-and/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) > [Start to see yourself for who you really are: a traveller, an explorer or on the path of life, confidently advancing along the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/start-to-see-yourself-for-who-you-really-are-a-traveller-an-explorer/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [Each river is different, but they all eventually lead to the ocean. No matter what we’re doing or when, or whether it brings us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-prentiss/each-river-is-different-but-they-all-eventually-lead-to-the-ocean-no/) [Chris Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-prentiss/) > [“Many of us have set out on the path of enlightenment. We long for a release of self-hood in some kind of mystical union…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-boyd/many-of-us-have-set-out-on-the-path-of-enlightenment-we-long-for-a/) Andrew Boyd > [Ultimately one must abandon the path to enlightenment. If you still define yourself as a Buddhist, you are not a buddha yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/ultimately-one-must-abandon-the-path-to-enlightenment-if-you-still/) [Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/) ## More by Frederick Lenz > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You can draw power from everything in your life. In order to do that, everything has to be set up in a proper way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-draw-power-from-everything-in-your-life-in-order-to-do-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The sound man, immune as to a sacrifice of straw dogs, faces the passing human generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-sound-man-immune-as-to-a-sacrifice-of-straw-dogs-faces-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Karma means changing planes of reality or changing fields of attention. There will be perhaps a resulting physical action stemming from the change of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-means-changing-planes-of-reality-or-changing-fields-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Why waste your time being around people who drag you down? You don't live forever, at least in this life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/why-waste-your-time-being-around-people-who-drag-you-down-you-don-t/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Everybody here is so caught up in the game of life they don't see death. They don't see beyond their deaths. They are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everybody-here-is-so-caught-up-in-the-game-of-life-they-don-t-see/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Explore all 4,399 Frederick Lenz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More Buddhism quotes > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Enlightenment is lightening up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/enlightenment-is-lightening-up/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [The very best players, when they are practicing, put everything they've got into it. But then they leave it for a while. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-very-best-players-when-they-are-practicing-put-everything-they-ve/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mom and my aunties are really devout Christians. My mom married a Muslim when I was 12, so I got teachings from both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tech-n9ne/my-mom-and-my-aunties-are-really-devout-christians-my-mom-married-a/) [Tech N9ne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tech-n9ne/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“The extraction of discrete parts of Chöd teachings from their broader philosophical contexts is symptomatic of how Chöd has been incorporated into and transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-sorensen/the-extraction-of-discrete-parts-of-ch-d-teachings-from-their-broader/) [Michelle Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-sorensen/) > [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That's all there is, enlightenment on the end of a cock. It doesn't get any more Zen than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-wilkes/that-s-all-there-is-enlightenment-on-the-end-of-a-cock-it-doesn-t-get/) [Jaden Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-wilkes/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) [Browse all 6,100 Buddhism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's a path in enlightenment called the path of negation where we intentionally throw ourselves into experiences that are extremely transient. In other words, we do all the stuff you're supposed to normally avoid to become enlightened, intentionally.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frederick Lenz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-the-path-of-negation-where-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Buddhism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-the-path-of-negation-where-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-t_2695147.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-t_2695147.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/450/frederick-lenz-8_buddhism_there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-t_2695147.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's a path in enlightenment called the path of negation where we intentionally throw ourselves into…” — Frederick Lenz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frederick Lenz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's a path in enlightenment called...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-the-path-of-negation-where-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-s-a-path-in-enlightenment-called-the-path-of-negation-where-we/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```