Having discussed Shakyamuni Buddha, his enlightenment, and his role as a teacher, we will explore these fundamental concepts more broadly in this post.
1) Buddha (Chinese=佛), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “in Sanskrit and Pali;” awakened one” or “enlightened one; “… meaning to “awaken” or to “open up” (as does a flower,) and thus traditionally etymologized as one who has awakened from the deep sleep of (unenlightenment) and opened his consciousness to encompass all objects of knowledge.”
The definition of a Buddha tells us that the knowledge our historical Shakyamuni Buddha gained from meditating under the Bodhi Tree was not based on word-based knowledge, such as that gained from attending school, conducting scientific research, learning mathematics, or obtaining a few degrees. Instead, his knowledge came from “opening his consciousness to encompass all objects of knowledge.
What does that mean?
Let’s use an example. When you look out into the distance and see a mountain, the mountain is the “object of knowledge” that lets you know what you are looking at is a mountain. You, who receive the knowledge, become the “subject of knowledge.” As discussed below, “objects of knowledge” are also known as “experiential contents,” referring to the fact that they are the knowledge that the human senses can “experience” through perception.
So, where do the “objects of knowledge” come from? In Buddha’s conscious universe, “objects of knowledge” refer to information embedded in the conscious constructs of all phenomena in the world.
Take, for example, the mountain you are looking at. Assuming that you have been taught what a mountain looks like, you know a mountain is a mountain the moment you see it because the information about the mountain comes from the mountain itself, i.e., it is embedded in it. It is true for everything you see in the world, whether it is a dog, a cat, water, a stone, your friend, etc. Information about what you see is embedded in their conscious construct.
However, sensing a mountain does not require one to “open your consciousness.” This is because the vast majority of people are unenlightened and rely on their senses, such as sight, to perceive the world around them. However, as the definition makes clear, “opening one’s consciousness to encompass all objects of knowledge” is reserved for an enlightened person, such as historical Shakyamuni Buddha.
2) Bodhi (Chinese=菩提/覺) is “in Sanskrit and Pali; ‘awakening,’ ‘enlightenment,'” which are often used synonymously.
According to the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 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.”
In other words, enlightenment is a state of mentality that Buddha defines as “no thought.” Therefore, those who claim that “What exactly constituted the Buddha’s awakening is unknown” simply lack a good understanding of Buddhism. Without a doubt, it is impossible to understand Buddhism if one does not know the meaning of enlightenment.
Of course, “no thought” does not mean that enlightenment is achieved upon a person’s death when their encephalogram shows a straight line. Instead, “no thought” refers to a state of a quiescent, inactive mind that is not thinking. However, when the mind is inactive, the sensory organs are also inactive. When the senses cannot function, one must open one’s consciousness to comprehend “all objects of knowledge” that are not accessible through the senses.
To understand what “opening one’s consciousness” means, one needs to understand Samadhi, a term used in Buddhism to describe what occurs at enlightenment.
Samadhi (Chinese=三昧/三摩地), 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.”
So, Samadhi is the union of the “no-thought” mentality of the “experienced object” and “experiencing subject” to form a non-dualistic “no thought” mentality.
What are the “experienced object” and “experiencing subject?”
- “Experienced Object” refers to the Citta, the quiescent mentality of the Ultimate Reality that permeates the cosmos. Because Citta is quiescent, it is, by Buddha’s definition, “no thought.” Therefore, Citta, as the enlightened mentality of the cosmos, can serve as the “experienced object” of enlightenment at any time and in any place. As the “experienced object,” information embedded in the mental constructs of Citta is the source of “objects of knowledge” that can be “experienced.”
- “Experiencing Subject” refers to the “no thought” quiescent mental state that a seeker of enlightenment must achieve to be enlightened, as defined by Buddha. As the “experiencing subject,” the enlightened individual is the “subject” who can “experience” the “content” mentioned above when the two become one upon enlightenment. Buddha calls the experiencing of the content embedded in the mental constructs of the cosmos by the enlightened individual direct perception.
Dr. Max Planck, a 1918 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics and the originator of quantum theory, came to the following conclusions after a lifetime of investigating quantum mechanics.
The union of the “no thought” of the enlightened individual and the “no thought” Citta to form a non-dualistic mentality is precisely what Dr. Max referred to as becoming “a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.” As mentioned when discussing “What Exists?”, the mystery humanity has long sought to demystify is the mystery of mentality. Indeed, Dr. Planck was absolutely right to suggest that science cannot solve the mystery of the mentality, because solving it requires individuals to achieve enlightenment and become part of it.
When the enlightened individual becomes a part of Citta, one enters a world where there is Nothing but Mentality. In a world where there is Nothing but Mentality, physical realities do not exist. In other words, the whole “physical” universe, including the “physical” body of the enlightened individual, should vanish upon a person’s enlightenment.
Indeed, the hallmark of Buddhist enlightenment is the vanishing of everything “physical” at the moment of enlightenment. Being aware that not only is the universe illusional, but so is the physical self, is an experience few will forget.
However, faith in Buddhism is not blind. In the Verification Category, one can find discussions on the enlightenment experiences of Adyshanti, a contemporary American formerly known as Stephen Gray, and two others from ancient China. While their descriptions of enlightenment vary, they all witnessed the vanishing of the universe.
Enlightenment comes in different levels because there are various degrees of encompassing “objects of knowledge. Three primary levels of enlightenment are acknowledged: Arhat, Bodhisattva, and Tathagata.
According to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, a Tathagata is “in Sanskrit and Pali, lit. “one who has thus come/gone.” The translation in Chinese is a “thus come one (Chinese=如來).” Furthermore, “a secondary denotation of the terms is to ‘understand’ things ‘as they are.'” Understanding things as they are requies a Tathagata to “encompass all objects of knowledge.” Our historical Shakyamuni Buddha is a Tathagata.
Avatamsaka Sūtra (Chinese: 大方廣佛華嚴經) is “one of the most influential Mahāyāna sūtras of East Asian Buddhism.” Recorded in his Sūtra is the statement that the Buddha expressed upon his enlightenment.
“Surprise! Surprise! All the conditioned beings of this land, while possessing the wisdom of a Tathagata, are foolish and confused and have neither knowledge nor insight. I must teach them the proper path, turn them permanently away from their delusions and attachments, so they realize from within the immense wisdom of a Tathagata, without any difference from a Buddha. (Chinese=奇哉奇哉，此處眾生，雲何具有如來智慧，愚癡迷惑，不知不覺，我當教以聖道， 令其永離妄想執著，自於身中，得見如來廣大智慧，與佛無異。)”
Significant in that statement is that the Buddha says all humans (conditioned beings) possess the wisdom of a Tathagata, but cannot realize it due to their delusions and attachments. So, his goal was to turn all humans away from their delusions and attachments permanently.
In the Lotus Sūtra, “one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras,” Buddha stated his soteriological goal clearly as follows:
“I vowed from the beginning. (Chinese=我本立誓愿）
To make all conditioned beings my equal without a difference. （欲令一切眾, 如我等無異)
What I have vowed in the past, I have now fulfilled.” (如我昔所愿，今者已滿足)
Transformed them so they all enter the path of Buddhahood.” (化一切眾生，皆令入佛道).”
The Lotus Sūtra “contains the final teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha,” for by the time the Buddha gave the lecture, he was close to entering Nirvana. By acknowledging that he had fulfilled his vow at that time, the Buddha made clear that his verbal teachings are but merely the skillful means by which humans can learn to transform themselves mentally by turning away from their delusions and attachments permanently. However, the journey to entering Buddhahood and becoming a Tathagata is not something a teacher can help with. As Buddha also made clear, the journey to becoming a Tathagata lies “within.” It not only requires lengthy cultivation, but is personal.
Indeed, to gain a Tathagata’s “immense wisdom,” a person must achieve anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.
According to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, anuttara-samyak-sambodhi (Chinese=阿搙多羅三藐三菩提) is “in Sanskrit, ‘unsurpassed (anuttara), complete (samyak), and perfect enlightenment (sambodhi).'”
3) Buddhism, according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is the “closest equivalent” to the Sanskrit word Buddhadharma, meaning “the teachings of Buddha.”
Without a doubt, Buddhism should be recognized as the education of the Buddha. However, Buddhism is unique because no other form of education in the world offers “opening consciousness” as a means of knowledge to understand the “experiential contents” of nature. It is the fundamental reason why Buddhism should not be categorized as a religion, a philosophy, or a science, although science and Buddhism are complementary.
In the Diamond Sūtra, “one of the most influential Mahāyāna sūtras in East Asia, and it is particularly prominent within the Chan (or Zen) tradition, along with the Heart Sūtra,” Buddha said that, like all Tathagatas of the past, he is “a speaker of the truth, a speaker of veracity, a speaker of thusness, a non-deceptive speaker, and an un-contradictory speaker (Chinese=如來是真語者，實語者，如語者, 不誑語者, 不異語者.)”
Indeed, our historical Buddha was not the first to visit our earth. There were many before him, and more would come after him. They are all honest and convey the same message because their messages are about nature. Since nature does not change, their teachings remain unchanged as well. All Buddhas are like honest reporters reporting on the reality of the cosmos they realized.
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