Why Do Meditation If It Is Not Going To Make You Enlightened?

[Oneness]

Some monks meditate for 10 hours a day, and yet they are not enlightened. Some people meditate an entire life time and never become enlightened. 

If self inquiry is the direct method towards enlightenment, then why bother with meditation? 

At the moment I do 2 hours of consciousness work a day. 1 hour self inquiry, 1 hour mindfulness meditation.

but if I just did 2 hours of self inquiry, wouldn't that take me to enlightenment faster?

Don't get me wrong, the meditation makes me feel good, but does that really matter?

[Mal]

@Oneness

Mmm... much deliberation. 

Consider that everything you do in the service of self development will have a transformative effect on you, whether you are aware of it or not. 

Even talking on this site makes one self aware. 

Meditation? Practice the skill, then make your life a living meditation and inquiry. 

Skills should become unconscious and habitual

Mal

[Evilwave Heddy]

Sure, if you did nothing but meditate and no self inquiry..then you won't get enlightenment.  

Meditation is the process of stilling the mind....which is a requirement for enlightenment.

[QandC]

@Oneness Because meditation gives you heck of a lot of benefits. Enlightenment is something you just "get" if you're lucky as hell...

It took me 2 months of meditation to reach an "enlightened state", and I chose not to continue with that since my ego was too strong. 

So continue doing it... your question is like asking "Why eat if we're all gonna die some day?" 

[cetus]

@Oneness Meditation is the practice of slowly letting go of ego/self. The erosion of self to final liberation where there is a tipping point and a breakthrough from self. It requires nothing less than total surrender If you can let go of the illusion of self this very moment and not hold on to one fragment, meditation would not be needed to experience an enlightened state of being. No matter what process is used, they all lead that all important total surrender of self. That is all that matters.

[cetus]

@Oneness Here is another way to explain it. You can learn all there is about skydiving. You can practice it all your life on the ground. You can talk to many people who have skydived before. But at some point, it's totally up to you to take the final leap of faith. You have to be willing to jump out of "self" in the same way you would jump from the plane.

[ChimpBrain]

Meditation has improved my life on many fronts from stress reduction, better control and understanding of my emotions/motives, better sleep, increased level of happiness, etc. I'm not chasing enlightenment, I meditate to improve my quality of life.