The Life of Sakyamuni BuddhaEnlightenmentIt was the search for meaning, forged from the prince’s encounters with the human condition, which led him to carry on and endure all sorts of self-inflicted hardships. He did this for six years including a complete and total fast that resulted in the following description
His arms and legs became like withered reeds, his buttocks like a camel’s back, and his spine like a braided rope. His ribs protruded outward like the rafters of a broken-down shack, and the skin covering his head became weather-beaten like a half-ripened gourd that had been scorched by the sun. When he rubbed his stomach, he was able to grasp hold of his spine, and when he rubbed his spine, he was able to grasp his stomach.
Perhaps the prince believed that self-torment would somehow overcome his suffering, like the way a backfire is used to extinguish a forest fire that has become uncontrollable. Whatever the motive behind this method, he ultimately abandoned it and discovered something “new”; an approach he called the Middle Path. His explanation of the Middle Path marks the beginning of a Buddha sharing his Enlightenment with others. Tradition has come to call this event the turning of the Wheel of Dharma. He began 45-years of sharing his understanding by seeking out and addressing five former friends who had practiced austerities with him. The prince had had a falling out with them when he abandoned the practice of self-denial and accepted an offering of food from a maiden, just prior to his Enlightenment. After convincing his five friends that he had not given up his search for the Truth, and instead had awakened to that Truth, he began his explanation. The World-honored One said to them, “Mendicants, there are two extreme paths that the mendicant must avoid. The first is a life of foolish pleasures, addicted to base desires. The second is a life of foolish ascetic practices that mortify the self in vain. Mendicants, the Buddha was enlightened by the Middle Path, which is free of these two extreme paths, opens the eyes of the mind, deepens wisdom, and guides all beings to quiescence, wisdom, enlightenment, and nirvana. Mendicants, what is this Middle Path? It is the Eightfold Noble Path, namely, right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation.
We are captivated by this presentation of the Truth because
of its simple honesty. He began by saying that what he had
done in the past was wrong. Neither the lifestyle of opulence
nor that of self-denial had led to happiness. We are also compelled
by this story because it is firmly based on the experiences
of the Buddha. He was not merely theorizing, but had lived
the life he was negating and the life he was proposing. In
his talk he told his five friends that Buddhahood is a real
and achievable goal. Further, he explained why he was addressing
them. Although he had been tempted to not teach, but to simply
receive Enlightenment for himself, he had gotten up from his
meditative state and begun to share his great awakening. Sharing
the great awakening is what a Buddha does and what a Buddha
is: a Buddha “guides all beings to quiescence (serenity
or calm), wisdom, enlightenment, and nirvana.” This
definition of Buddhahood is emphasized by the Mahayana (or
Larger Vehicle) Buddhist movement. This definition is the organizing
principle of Jodo Shinshu, the school that D.T. Suzuki, one
of the leading individuals who helped to popularize Zen Buddhism
in the Unite d States through his writings and lectures, would
call its most remarkable development. |
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