enlightenment

Of enlightened beings only the enlightenment of a Buddha

(see Buddha) is perfect and complete. The less than perfectly enlightened beings are Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Arhats (see those listings).

All enlightened beings have the following in common:

1) they have seen through the illusion of self;

2) they have achieved (realized) permanent release from the cycle of rebirth (samsara);

3) as a by-product (fruit or results - [Sanskrit] phala; [Chinese Hanzi] 果, [Pinyin Mandarin] guǒ,   [Wade-Giles Mandarin] kuo,  [Tibetan] 'bras bu) of their enlightenments, they possess spiritual powers (see Five Eyes, Six Spiritual Powers), including that of the extinction of outflows.

Becoming enlightened "is like opening a lock...on a door. You have to have a key to get it open. The key was made to fit the lock, and that's what opens it now. How do you find the key? It's by working hard at your cultivation, constantly keeping yourself at it, doing inquiry while sitting in meditation, reciting the Buddha's name, holding mantras, reciting Sutras--in all of that, you're looking for the key. When you find it, you'll open the lock in your mind. What's the lock?. . . .

It's ignorance. It locks you up in the dark. . . ." (FAS-PII(1) 232-233)

"One day the Buddha and his great Bhikshus left the Jeta Grove in the city of Shravasti, where they were living, and went to accept an offering of food, leaving behind only one small (novice monk) to watch the door. After the Buddha had departed, an (Buddhist layman) came to the monastery to request that a member of the Sangha come and accept offerings at his home on behalf of the Three Jewels. Finding that all the Bhikshus and the Buddha had all gone out, he said to the one small who was left, 'That's okay. I'll invite you, , to come and accept my offering. Come with me.' The small nervously consented to accompany him, nervously because he had never gone out by himself to accept an offering before. He'd always gone with Bhikshus. Once he found himself obligated to speak Dharma, he realized that he didn't have any idea what to say. Although this concern weighed on him, he accompanied the host who had so sincerely asked him to go and accept the meal-offering. After they had eaten, the inevitable happened. The host very respectfully turned to the small and bowed deeply, requesting Dharma. As an expression of his sincerity, the host kept his head bowed as he knelt before the small , waiting for him to speak Dharma. There sat the small staring at his host prostrate before him. And then what do you suppose happened? Without uttering a word, he slipped off his chair, tiptoed outside and beat a hasty retreat back to the Jeta Grove. Naturally he felt ashamed at having eaten his fill and then having run away without speaking the Dharma.

"For a long time the host knelt with his head bowed, but finally, having heard nothing, he lifted his head to steal a peek. And he saw that there was no one on the seat before him. The small had disappeared. At the moment he saw the was gone, he became enlightened. He awoke to the emptiness of people and the emptiness of dharmas. 'Haaa! So that's the way it is!` he exclaimed, and wished immediately to seek certification of his enlightenment. Naturally he headed for the Jeta Grove in search of the small .

"Meanwhile the small , petrified that his host would pursue him in quest of the dharma, had run back to the Jeta Grove, headed straight for his room, slammed the door, and locked himself in. Who would have guessed that not long after he had locked the door, he would hear a knock? The little stood frozen with fear, not making a sound, on the inside of the door. He was totally panic-stricken. After all, he had eaten the host's food, and now the host had come demanding the Dharma. His nervousness reached such an extreme that at the height of his anxiety, he suddenly became enlightened; he also awakened to the emptiness of people and the emptiness of dharmas.

"This story illustrates that it is not certain under what circumstances one will become enlightened. . . . Some hear the sound of the wind and become enlightened. Some listen to the flow of water and become enlightened. Some become enlightened upon hearing a wind-chime; others upon hearing a bell ring.

"'I have heard all those things many times. Why haven't I become enlightened?' you may ask.

"How should I know why you haven't become enlightened? You must wait for enlightenment until your time arrives, just as you must wait for food to be cooked before you can eat it. You must wait till you are ripe for the opportunity, then anything you encounter can cause you to become enlightened. . . . It is only necessary that you continue to cultivate and investigate the Buddhadharma with determined and concentrated effort. " (SS I 38-39)

When someone becomes enlightened, an auspicious earthquake occurs. Although the earth moves in six ways, no one is injured.

In order for enlightenment to be accepted as genuine, it must be certified (see certification).

In the the Buddha said this about claims of enlightenment:

I command the Bodhisattvas and Arhats to appear after my cessation in response-bodies in the Dharma-Ending Age, and to take various forms to rescue those in the cycle of rebirth. . . .

But they should never say of themselves, 'I am truly a Bodhisattva'; or 'I am truly an Arhat. . . .

How can people who make such claims, other than at the end of their lives and then only to those who inherit the teaching, be doing anything but deluding and confusing living beings and indulging in gross false claims?" (SS VI 48-55)

(Source: Epstein, 2003: p. 74 - 75)

1) Chinese Mandarin: 菩提  [py] pútí     [wg] p'u-t'i     (Source: Muller DDB, 2007) 

2) Sanskrit: Bodhi,   3) Pali: Bodhi,   4) Alternate Translations: awakening.   5) Tibetan: jang-chub    (Tibetan Source: HH Dalai Lama Illuminating, 2002, p. 197)

See also: Two Truths, bodhi, anuttarasamyaksambodhi, nirvana, no self, Five Eyes, Six Supernatural Powers, outflows, ignorance, bodhi resolve (Bodhichitta), Three Principle Aspects of the Path, Bodhisattva, Shravaka (lacks Bodhichitta initially), Arhat (Hearer, Auditor lacks Bodhichitta initially), Pratyekabuddha (Solitary Enlightened One), Eighty-Eight Deluded Viewpoints, Eighty-One Cognitive Delusions, Two Vehicles, Bodhisattva, Three Vehicles, Dharma Flower Sutra - One Vehicle (Ekayana), Mahayana and Hinayana Compared, Theravada School.

Buddhist Text Translation Society (http://www.BTTSonline.org) References: SS I 38-39; SS VI 48-55; DFS IV 519; EDR I 96; FAS-VP 40;
FAS-PII(1) 232-234.

"Full awakening; Buddhahood.  The ultimate goal of Buddhist practice. Attained when all the limitations (delusions) have been removed from the mind and one's positive potential (Buddha Nature) has been completely and totally realized.  It is a state characterized by infinite compassion, wisdom (maha prajna paramita), and skill (upaya paramita)." (Source: HH Dalai Lama Illuminating, 2002, p. 197)

"The Tibetan term for enlightenment is jang-chub, the two syllables of which refer to the two aspects of the Buddha's enlightened qualities.  Jang connotes the enlightened quality of having overcome all obstructions, negativities and limitations.  Chub literally means 'embodiment of all knowledge' and connotes the quality of Buddha's realization and wisdom. Therefore,  jang-chub means the Buddha's enlightened quality of having abandoned and overcome all negativities and limitations (purity) combined with the perfection of all knowledge (realization).  Jang-chub chen-po, 'great enlightenment,' is an epithet for the Buddha's enlightened state."  (Source: HH Dalai Lama Illuminating, 2002, pp. 14-15)

enlightened by contemplation on dependent arising 緣覺

enlightened cognition of the tathāgata(s) 如來菩提智

enlightening being 菩薩

enlightenment 菩提, 覺悟

enlightenment of the buddha(s) 佛菩提

enlightenment of the solitary realizer 緣覺菩提

enlightenment of the tathāgata(s) 如來菩提

(Source: Muller DDB, 2007: http://buddhism-dict.net/ddb/indexes/term-en.html)

菩提

Meanings:

Senses:

(Source: Muller DDB, 2007: http://buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?83.xml+id('b83e9-63d0'))

(NOTE: Numerous corrections and enhancements have been made under Shastra tradition and "Fair Use" by an Anonymous Buddhist Monk Redactor (Compiler) of this Online Buddhist Encyclopedia Compilation)