Enlightenment is just realizing truths that go against assumptions that get programmed into us by the way we are raised into society. Meditation, I think, is a way to think neutrally about things, which can make it easier to realize those truths, because we can have a lot of emotional attachment to the untruths they replace.

I don’t really meditate myself (hence the “I think”) though psychedelics might have helped prime me for several enlightenments (it’s not just one thing). Enlightenment doesn’t really solve any life problems but make it way easier to navigate life emotionally by adjusting expectations and entitlements.

I suspect the mysticism added on to Buddhism was intended to address the existential dread about the certainty of death (the reincarnation stuff) as well as try to temper those that realize nothing is really stopping them from doing whatever the fuck they want to others if they either have the power for it or don’t care about what happens to themselves afterwards (the karma stuff).

Personally, I separate the mysticism from the philosophy, where I consider the latter very useful for living a happy or at least content life and the former fun to think about, probably wishful thinking, but no real way to know unless there is something after death.