Having discussed in the last post that, according to Buddha’s definition of enlightenment, Citta is the enlightened mind of the Ultimate Reality, whose “essential original nature is transparently luminous,” this post discusses the critical role Citta plays in achieving enlightenment.
As a refresher, in the Astasahasrika-Prajnaparamita-Sutra (Chinese = 道行般若波羅蜜經), the Buddha defines enlightenment as “thought of enlightenment is no thought since in its essential original nature thought is transparently luminous.”
To understand the role Citta plays in achieving enlightenment, one must first understand Samadhi.
Samadhi (Chinese=三昧), according to The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, is “a non-dualistic state of consciousness in which the consciousness of the experiencing “subject” becomes one with the experienced “object” – thus is only experiential content. This state of consciousness is often referred to as “one-pointedness of mind;” this expression, however, is misleading because it calls up the image of “concentration” on one point on which the mind is “directed.” However, Samadhi is neither a straining concentration on one point nor is the mind directed from here (subject) to there (object), which would be a dualistic mode of experience.”
In other words, to achieve enlightenment, not only must “the consciousness of the experiencing subject” and “the consciousness of the experienced object” be present, but they must also become one by forming a “non-dualistic” consciousness.”
In the duality of subject and object, Citta, as the enlightened mind of the Ultimate Reality, serves as the “experienced object.” On the other hand, “experiencing subject” refers to the mind of the enlightenment seeker, who must calm his mind enough to be of “no thought.”
Calming the mind to a state of “no thought” is achieved through a meditative technique known as Samathavipasyana.
Samathavipasyana (Chinese=止觀), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “In Sanskrit, ‘calmness (samatha) and insight (vipasyana),’ a term used to describe a meditative state that combines clarity and stability of samatha with the understanding of the nature of reality associated with vipasyana.” Furthermore, “The presence of vipasyana is the distinguishing feature of the wisdom that derives from meditation (Romanized Sanskrit=bhavanamayiprajna; Chinese=修慧).
When the mind is in a state of “no thought,” the enlightenment seeker becomes enlightened, according to Buddha’s definition. When enlightened, the mind of the enlightened individual can form a non-dualistic state of an enlightened mind with Citta. By becoming one with Citta, the enlightened individual can “experience” the “content” of Citta.
Dr. Max Planck, a 1918 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics and the originator of quantum theory, understood the importance of becoming one with the mystery to solve the mystery humanity is trying to solve. After spending a lifetime studying quantum mechanics, he came to the following conclusion:
Indeed, as Dr. Planck realized, only by becoming one with the mystery humanity has struggled to comprehend since pre-Socratic Greek philosophers can humanity solve the mystery: the mystery of “What Exists?”
As Buddha teaches, the mystery of “What Exists” is the mystery of the mental world. The significance of becoming one with the mental world is that it enables the enlightened individual to gain insight into the “experiential contents” it offers. As the definition of Samathavipasyana makes plain, “experiential contents” contain knowledge about the nature of reality. Buddha holds that knowledge derived from the nature of reality is prajna or wisdom.
Prajna (Chinese=般若), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “in Sanskrit, typically translated ‘wisdom,’ the term has the general sense of accurate and precise understanding but is used most often to refer to an understanding of reality that transcends ordinary comprehension.”
So, what are the “experiential contents?”
“Experiential contents” are, by definition, contents of information that can be directly experienced. If you are not sure how information can be experienced, know that every time you open your eyes and look at the world, you are experiencing its information through your eyes. Sensing is how humanity experiences information about the world. Epistemologists call the information your senses sense empirical facts, i.e., facts that can be “felt.” We will discuss the importance of sensing when we discuss how humans know what they know.
In Buddhism, “contents that can be experienced” are the same as “all objects of knowledge that must be encompassed” by anyone desiring to become a Buddha, as discussed in Post 3 on A Few Fundamental Concepts.
Both “experiential contents” and “all objects of knowledge” refer to information about the nature of reality embedded in the mental constructs of the mental world. Mental constructs refer to the conscious epiphenomena that underlie all the visible phenomena in the universe. As discussed in Post 1, Overview, all phenomena in the world, from tiny ripples in the quantum field to giant galaxies in the sky, coexist with epiphenomena that underlie them. While in quantum mechanics, epiphenomena are energy or numerical values, in Buddhism, they are conscious. “Experiential contents,” or “all objects of knowledge,” refer to information about the nature of reality embedded in the conscious epiphenomena that underly all visible phenomena in the cosmos.
Let’s take a galaxy as an example. Assuming that you have been told what a galaxy looks like, you know a galaxy is a galaxy the next time you see it in the sky. This is because the information about the galaxy comes from its epiphenomena. Furthermore, you would not call the moon next to the galaxy a galaxy because the information about the galaxy is embedded in its epiphenomenon, but not in the moon, which has its own epiphenomenon. It is the same with anything you look at, whether it is a dog, cat, river, mountain, or flowers; the specifics of each are embedded in their respective conscious epiphenomena. etc.,
However, faith in Buddhism is not blind. The significance of Buddhist enlightenment is that any third-party individual can verify it upon enlightenment. While the hallmark of a Buddhist enlightenment is the vanishing of the universe, acknowledging the existence of awareness upon enlightenment is also an important feature, given that Citta is Nothing but Awareness, as discussed in the previous post on Citta as the Ultimate Reality and Truth.
The contemporary American Adyashanti’s enlightenment verified both features. Known formerly as Stephen Gray, Adyashanti’s enlightenment began with his meditative inquiry into “What is the Nature of Self?”, the title of the video in which he described his enlightenment. If you are interested in knowing more about his enlightenment, you can visit his visit or Post 25.
The important thing for us to understand is that, not only did Adyashanti witness the vanishing of the universe upon his enlightenment, but after his enlightenment, Adyashanti started teaching “You are awareness,” “You and your awareness are not two different things,” and that “Resting in awareness is not a state of doing. It is a state of being.” By acknowledging that “You are awareness,” “You and your awareness are not two different things,” and “Awareness is a state of being,” Adyashanti has indeed found not only the nature of his self but also the whole universe.
Quite obviously, the knowledge that awareness is the nature of his existence could not have come by going to college or obtaining a few advanced degrees. Instead, Adyashanti’s knowledge of awareness could only have come from his enlightenment, when he became one with Citta and the Ultimate Reality and experienced that there is Nothing but Awareness in the Ultimate Reality, since it is a realm of Citta and Citta is awareness, as discussed in the previous post.
The fact that Citta is eternal and spread throughout the universe means that it is always ready to serve as the “experienced object” and form a non-dualistic state of mind with any enlightenment seeker able to calm his mind enough to be of “no thought” to serve as the “experiencing subject” anytime, anywhere in the universe.
Indeed, this List of Enlightened People shows that enlightened people have come from all corners of the world and across the centuries. Buddha, from more than 2600 years ago in Nepal, is on that list. Similarly, Adyashanit, a contemporary American who was recently enlightened, is on the list. The Sixth Patriarch of Chinese Chan Buddhism, Dharma Master Hui-Neng, from Tang Dynasty China, is also on the list.
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