<b>To the contrary; it seems very easy to show me ‘enlightenment’. How? Well, just move down another level of meta: what is enlightenment good for? What does it let you do, in the real world? etc.—all the things I have been asking. Show us that thing! (Or, really, severalsuch things.)</b>
Somethings can be their own good, they don’t have to be “good for” something.
The author didn’t tell you enlightenment is a tool.
They said enlightenment is a kind of insight / experience.
Heck, even if it did have utility, for the person who experienced it (e.g. now I feel better about myself, my depression is gone, whatever), there doesn’t need to be any actual cake to show to others, much less one they can use without going through said experience themselves.
It’s like humor or experiencing a great musical piece.
If you don’t get it, there’s no cake to show you. Explanation of the joke’s mechanism or the music piece’s harmony or other aspects wouldn’t do much either.
<b>To the contrary; it seems very easy to show me ‘enlightenment’. How? Well, just move down another level of meta: what is enlightenment good for? What does it let you do, in the real world? etc.—all the things I have been asking. Show us that thing! (Or, really, severalsuch things.)</b>
Somethings can be their own good, they don’t have to be “good for” something.
The author didn’t tell you enlightenment is a tool.
They said enlightenment is a kind of insight / experience.
Heck, even if it did have utility, for the person who experienced it (e.g. now I feel better about myself, my depression is gone, whatever), there doesn’t need to be any actual cake to show to others, much less one they can use without going through said experience themselves.
It’s like humor or experiencing a great musical piece.
If you don’t get it, there’s no cake to show you. Explanation of the joke’s mechanism or the music piece’s harmony or other aspects wouldn’t do much either.
But it’s still valuable to those who did get it.
Yes, he did. Several times, in fact, among which is a comment sibling to your own.
The OP explicitly claimed that there’s cake and that he has already shown it (without elaborating). See linked comment.