Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water, get smallpox, let doctor do bloodletting, watch everyone around you die
After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water, get smallpox vaccine, live to play with your kids and watch them grow up...
Only if you are born into a country or find yourself with an occupation that grants you access to the smallpox vaccine for little cost.
This resonates with my recent attempts to find meaning and purpose in things I do. As you point out, it's almost the same things I do, but some seemingly small things seem more meaningful...
I'm not sure, but I think you're thinking of enlightenment as in "the age of enlightenment", whereas the quote is about the zen/buddhist idea of "enlightenment (as in, even after reaching enlightenment, nothing much changes materially).
Is there an attribution for this quote? I’m interested
sounds like Zen Buddhism to me
Zen Buddhism would point out that you and everybody around you dies in both scenarios.