Enlightenment is a diamond, not a ladder. There is a ladder we climb through mind state after mind state, until we reach the jumping off point. We launch into the Void, releasing our hold on all mind states, completely dissolving the Self.
The seat of consciousness turns. Then it turns back. Over and over we dissolve the self in Samadhi. At some beginningless or endless point the turning about stops. There is no longer any fixed point of Self that turns.
Pleasure and pain exist within the body, but the deep-seated doubt and unsatisfactoriness – the suffering – are gone. There is a memory of it, but the feeling of it as something real has disappeared. That intense spiritual suffering is only a mental concept.
The emptiness that exists shines and reflects like the facets of a diamond, with countless surfaces to explore. One view is not higher than another, only different.
The ladder that leads to the diamond of Enlightenment is available to anyone. However, actually jumping off and completely dissolving the precious Self is not a very popular option. It is not what we think it is; it is beyond thought and description, and perhaps even a bit disappointing to the ego who wants to be more than it is. But it is well worth the effort of disciplining the mind to the point where we can let go of all of this.
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