Levels of Enlightenment in Buddhism. Buddhist teachings - a summary of how to achieve enlightenment

in various religious movements and philosophical schools There are different understandings of this difficult issue. They contain people's attempts to understand what a person is and why he exists on this planet.

What is enlightenment?

In everyday life, enlightenment is understood as revelations that a person has received, a different view or a new understanding of familiar things. In philosophical schools and spiritual practices, this phenomenon has a different meaning. In them, enlightenment is directly associated with the meaning of life, so it receives a paramount role in the life of every person. From this point of view, enlightenment is going beyond the ordinary, awareness of oneself as part of the universe, higher wisdom, higher existence.

Enlightenment in Christianity

The concept of enlightenment in Christianity differs significantly from the interpretation of this concept in Eastern practices. Enlightenment in Orthodoxy is an attempt to realize the Divine essence, to get as close as possible to God and to fulfill His will. The enlightened men of faith include such saints: John Chrysostom, Simeon the New Theologian, Sergius of Radonezh, etc. Thanks to a deep understanding of the will of God and humility, these saints were able to achieve enlightenment, which manifested itself in the form of healing the sick, resurrecting the dead, and other miracles.

Enlightenment in Christianity is inseparable from baptism and is associated with the cleansing of a person from everything sinful and filling his essence. Divine love. According to Orthodox spiritual fathers, only the Almighty knows when a person is ready to become enlightened. In this matter, one must completely rely on God and not try to achieve this on one's own. The fact that a person has become enlightened can be recognized by his actions: they will be humble and aimed at the benefit of people.

Enlightenment in Buddhism

In contrast to the understanding of enlightenment in Christianity, enlightenment in Buddhism is associated with man. According to Buddhist tradition, this state is accompanied by a feeling of unimaginable happiness, next to which ordinary earthly happiness is felt as suffering. The state of enlightenment is difficult to describe in human language, so it is spoken about only with the help of parables or metaphors.

Buddha Shakyamuni's enlightenment was the first in the history of Buddhism. Shakyamuni was able to achieve liberation and go beyond the familiar world. The main strength of the Buddha on the path of enlightenment was meditation. It helps to translate spiritual reflections from logical understanding into personal experience. In addition to meditation, Shakyamuni pointed out the importance for enlightenment of such methods as knowledge and behavior.

Enlightenment in Islam

As in other religions, at the center of Islam is enlightenment - fana. Allah himself chooses the person on whom he will bring enlightenment. The criterion of readiness for fun is the desire of a person to reach a new stage of his development and readiness for this. The human heart open to the influence of Allah lets in new world. An enlightened person, with which he is ready to serve people, and super-love for all living things.

Enlightenment myth or reality?

Enlightenment with scientific point vision is the discovery of something new or a different look at familiar things. From this position, enlightenment has nothing supernatural in it and is the normal work of our mind. In spiritual practices, enlightenment has a different meaning and content. It is associated with higher powers and helps people find and realize their destiny on this planet.

Enlightenment is a reality for many religious people dedicated to serving God and people. Using the example of enlightened spiritual teachers, one can learn to expand the scope of one's consciousness and open one's heart to the influence of higher powers. For people who are not interested in the spiritual side of life, enlightenment may seem like a myth. Such a view may be due to conservative thinking and lack of knowledge regarding this issue.

Psychology of Enlightenment

The path to enlightenment often begins with dissatisfaction with life and one's place in it. Reading smart books, psychological lectures and seminars on self-development, conversations with wise people can help a person get closer to answering questions of interest, but all this is just the beginning of the path. Personal constant searches for one's life vector one day lead the human brain to a new understanding. The road to enlightenment often takes a long time, and sometimes a lifetime. The reward of this path is a renewed mind and harmony with the world.

Enlightenment or schizophrenia?

Strange as it may seem, but spiritual enlightenment and schizophrenia have three similarities:

Depersonalization- get rid of self.
Derealization- perception of the surrounding world as unreal, blurry.
Mental anesthesia- Decrease in the strength of emotional experiences.

To distinguish between these two phenomena, the following components should be analyzed:

Cause. The cause of schizophrenia is often negative. The reason for enlightenment is the desire to make the world a better place, to become a more spiritual person.
Vote. With schizophrenia, a person hears voices calling for aggressive or inadequate actions. An enlightened person hears a voice from above, calling for goodness or improvement.
Mission. In schizophrenia, a person's interests revolve around his self, even if the patient sees himself as someone else. An enlightened person seeks to help others.

signs of enlightenment

Adherents of Buddhism say that it is impossible to describe in words what happens at the moment of enlightenment. This is due to the fact that the emotions and feelings experienced in the process of enlightenment are incomparable with the emotions we are used to. Signs of enlightenment include:

spiritual priorities begin to dominate over material ones;
altered consciousness periodically appears, in which new truths or their depth are revealed to a person;
unusual abilities for creation, creation, healing appear;
the character changes, bad habits appear, go away;
an enlightened person sees divine wisdom in everything.

How to achieve enlightenment?

A person who wants to achieve enlightenment must go through the following steps:

Wishing for enlightenment with all my heart. To do this, the enlightenment of consciousness should be made a top priority.
Trust in the matter of enlightenment higher powers . Only God knows when a person is close to enlightenment.
Try to give your life under the control of divine forces. Approach God through humility and deepening contact through prayer or meditation.
Engage in self-development, work on your character. pure heart helps to be more receptive to the influence of the Spirit.

Ways of human enlightenment

Spiritual teachers of various religious movements believe that enlightenment techniques are only a tool that does not offer any guarantee of success. Enlightenment is individual, it comes unexpectedly and has no exact cause. The following techniques can help you find a direct path to enlightenment:

prayer;
fast;
relaxation;
meditation;
self-knowledge techniques;
purification of consciousness;
yoga nidra technique;
getting rid of the negative of the past;
repetition of the names of God.

How to live after enlightenment?

Enlightened people are not transferred from this sinful planet to another. They have to continue to live among the same environment in the same area. Only a few of the spiritual teachers who have attained enlightenment go to the desert regions, but often this is done only for a while. The mission of enlightened people is to bring new knowledge and a new understanding of life to the world. After enlightenment, new abilities can open up that need to be used to help those around you.

Enlightened people note that after their spiritual experience it becomes much easier for them to live in this world. Their ego and desires cease to control all actions. All the necessary things are done without laziness and apathy. Life becomes more harmonious and understandable. A person ceases to be anxious and nervous, as he begins to realize the essence of his life and his mission.

Enlightenment books

Many books have been written about enlightenment and how to achieve it. All of them help to find their own way in this matter and to rise to a new stage of their development. Top 5 best books about enlightenment include:

Hawkins D. "From despair to enlightenment. The evolution of consciousness". The book describes practical methods on how to come to the realization of the meaning of one's existence.
Eckhart Tolle "The Power of the Now". In this book, a person who has gone through the path of enlightenment, in a simple and interesting language, talks about the path to enlightenment he walked and what life awareness includes.
Jed McKenna "Spiritual Enlightenment: A Nasty Thing". The book debunks many of the myths that have grown up around enlightenment. The author tries to help people who seek awareness to find the right path and start moving along it.
Nisargadatta Maharaj "I Am That". The author encourages a person to think about his true destiny. It makes you look deep into yourself and realize the need to study your inner world.
Valery Prosvet "Enlightenment in half an hour". The author invites readers to pay attention to themselves and engage in their self-development. To do this, the book describes a variety of techniques, methods of self-knowledge and work on oneself.

Enlightenment of the Buddha. Silence or announce?

So far we have followed the life of the Bodhisattva Siddhartha Gautama. We now proceed to the history of the spirit and the salvation of the Awakened One - the Buddha. This transition does not take place immediately. It is rather a calm expectation of a state on the other side of the real world and frailty. The Bodhisattva learned one thing from asceticism: there must be another path leading to salvation. But what?

Didn't he do everything to overcome himself? Didn't he experience every conceivable physical suffering for this? Ego was the Indian belief, passed down from generation to generation, that good things can only be achieved through suffering. Perhaps this was a delusion, Siddhartha mused. Or maybe happiness lies precisely in overcoming those sorrows and torments that life in such a variety brings and delivers to a person every day?

The more Mara pursued him, the calmer and more unperturbed the Bodhisattva became.

He remembered the meditation rules of his first teacher and followed them daily. He came to a calm immersion. At the same time, he felt the same strange distance from events, as then under the apple tree. This memory haunted him more and more. And he realized that deepening into himself and silence constituted the greatest thing that is called incomprehensible happiness.

Let us linger together with the Bodhisattva in this blissful calmness. After all, this state immediately precedes his awakening.

There are many ancient descriptions of the awakening process that the Bodhisattva experienced under the old Buddhist tradition under the fig tree.

For seven days the Bodhisattva remained in a state of meditation with his legs crossed and his hands folded on his stomach under the protection of a tree radiating peace. In doing so, he experienced four visions, which Hermann Oldenberg, one of the great scholars of Buddhism at the turn of the century, calls immersions in his translation.

In their "The speeches of the Buddha" he presents this event as the Enlightened One himself told a Brahmin about it:

““Here, let's say, O Brahmin, a hen laid eggs, eight or ten, or twelve, patiently sat on them, warmed them, hatched them; how could you call a chicken that broke the egg shell with its claw or beak and was the first to be happily born - the eldest or the youngest?

"I would call the elder, my good Gautama, since among the chickens he is the eldest."

“Also, O brahmana, among the creatures immersed in ignorance in the egg, I was the first to break the shell of ignorance and alone in the world attained the highest Buddhahood, above which there is nothing else. So, O brahmana, I am the eldest and greatest in the world.

My strength, O brahmana, was tense and did not weaken; my attention was mobile and not distracted, my body was calm and silent, my spirit was collected and directed to one point.

And then I, O brahmana, separating myself from desire, separating myself from all impure deeds, entered into the first absorption associated with reflections and reflections, born from solitude, filled with satisfaction and joy, and remained in it.

After reflection and reflection had subsided, I entered into a second dive, marked inner world and the uniqueness of the soul, free from reflection and reflection, born from collection, filled with satisfaction and joy, and dwelt in it.

After the feeling of contentment had disappeared, I was calm, awake and conscious, and I felt in my body a feeling of joy, which the nobles call "equanimity, wakefulness and being in joy"; thus I entered into the third immersion and dwelt in it.

After the joy and pain left me, after the disappearance of past sensations of joy and pain, I entered into the fourth absorption, marked by a painless and joyless purification of equanimity and wakefulness, and remained in it.

So, having gathered my spirit, purified, without a single spot, devoid of any flaws, easily obeying the work, I firmly and unshakably turned my mind to the recollection and knowledge of my past existence. Thus I remembered the numerous previous existences; one existence, two existences, three... four... five... ten... twenty... thirty... fifty... one hundred.... thousands ... a hundred thousand existences, of many eras of destruction, of many eras of renewal, of many eras of destruction and renewal: there I bore this or that name, was of this or that sex, looked this way or that, ate this or that, experienced this or that different happiness or grief, reached one or another age. And then I left there and was born again there: and there I again bore this or that name ...; from there I left and here I was born again: this is how I recalled the diverse previous being with its inherent features and the purpose of its essence.

This, O brahmana, was the first knowledge that was revealed to me on the first night. Ignorance is destroyed, knowledge has arisen. Darkness is destroyed, light has arisen, as befits one who is unshakable in ardent zeal, devoting himself to one aspiration. This, O brahmana, was my first birth, like a chicken from an eggshell.

So, having gathered my spirit, purified, without a single speck, devoid of any flaws, easily obeying the work, steadfastly and unshakably turned my mind to the knowledge of the departure and return of beings. And I saw with my divine gaze, purified, elevated above the human, beings, how they leave and return, low and high, beautiful and ugly, changing for the better and changing for the worse; beings, how they find their place in the deeds they have done, and I understood: these beings, burdened with unkind thoughts, words and deeds, who blasphemed the saints, followed a false faith, did deeds, following a false faith - when their body is destroyed, they go but that side of death is the road of misfortune, the road of evil to damnation, to the underworld. Other beings, endowed with good thoughts, words and deeds, who did not blaspheme the saints, followed true faith, did things, following the true faith - when their body is destroyed, they go to the other side of death along the path of salvation and go to heaven. Thus I saw with my divine gaze, purified, exalted above the human, beings, how they leave and return; beings who find their place by the deeds they have done, this I have known.

This, O brahmana, was the second knowledge that was revealed to me on the second night of vigil. Ignorance is destroyed, knowledge has arisen. Darkness is destroyed, light has arisen, as befits one who is unshakable in ardent zeal, devoting himself to one aspiration. This, O brahmana, was my second birth, like a chicken from an eggshell.

So, having gathered my spirit, purified, without a single spot, devoid of any flaws, easily obeying the work, steadfastly and unshakably turned my mind to the knowledge of deliverance from vices. "This is suffering": thus I knew the truth. "This is the arising of suffering": thus I knew the truth. “These are vices”… “This is the way to eliminate vices”: thus I have come to know the truth. So, while I was learning and contemplating, my soul was getting rid of the depravity of desires, and my soul was getting rid of the depravity of becoming, and my soul was getting rid of the depravity of delusion, and my soul was being cleansed of the depravity of ignorance. And the redeemed came to know: I am redeemed. Birth is destroyed, the holy transformation is completed, the duty is fulfilled; there is no more return to this world: this is what I have known.

This, O brahmana, was the third knowledge that was revealed to me on the last night of vigil. Ignorance is destroyed, knowledge has arisen. Darkness is destroyed, light has arisen, as befits one who is unshakable in ardent zeal, devoting himself to one aspiration. This, O brahmana, was my third birth, like a chicken from an eggshell.”

This text, which has survived in various forms but is identical in content, bears witness to the Buddha's enlightenment and the teachings he proclaimed. He describes his path to nirvana.

The Four Known Here Noble Truths about suffering, about the origin of suffering, about the cessation of suffering, and about the path leading to the cessation of suffering, are the Buddha's testament to humanity, to us. Everything that the Buddha thereafter communicated during his long life as an itinerant Master to an ever-growing community of monks and numerous followers as sacred truth has its roots in this event, in awakening.

From the bodhisattva Siddhargha Gautama, Buddha Shakyamuni arose - one of the many buddhas who, in endless ages, appeared on Earth for the last time in the form of living beings in order to say goodbye forever and enter nirvana - a state without rebirth. This state was finally reached by the new Buddha, whose changeable life we have been following up to now.

The relationships and conventions of existence became clear to the Buddha. He saw and recognized in samskara the hopeless cycle of rebirths, and in a separate life - the inevitable chain of suffering. But he asked himself whether his understanding, his knowledge, could be communicated to others, whether people would understand if he announced this knowledge to them.

Here is the last hesitation of the Buddha, the last doubt. But he is forced to make a decision from outside. The impetus for this decision after another encroachment of Mara on the meditating Buddha, as follows from the legend of enlightenment, is none other than the great indian god Brahma.

Prior to this, during the last attack of Mara, the Buddha, lightly touching the earth with his hand, called Mother Earth as a witness of his perfection, and she vouched for the Awakened One. Now the god Brahma interceded before him for the people. The Buddha between gods and devils is the last, very last scene of worldly clash of interests that the Awakened One has experienced.

And of course, not by chance, but in order to preserve the teaching and consolidate it in the diversity of Indian religious beliefs it is Brahma, who was then highly revered throughout the country, who is present in this important scene, decisive for the spread of the teachings.

Like a wonderful counter-play of thoughts at the highest level, the meeting of the two greats takes place: Brahma and Buddha. Oldenberg cites this significant passage from "The Middle Collection of Buddha's Speeches" titled "Buddha Decides to Preach the Doctrine." It says:

“When the Noble One retired and was alone, then the thought arose in him: “I learned this teaching, deep, not immediately visible, difficult to understand, full of peace, wonderful, not amenable to simple reflection, only accessible to the wise. But humanity is in the world of the senses; in the world of the senses it is at home; it rejoices in the world of the senses. And for this humanity, dwelling in the world of feelings, feeling at home there, rejoicing in the world of feelings, it is difficult to see: the connection of causes and effects, the emergence of any of its causes. And it is quite difficult to see: finding peace for all forms, renunciation of all earthly certainty, quenching thirst, freedom from desires, cessation, nirvana. If I preach this doctrine, and others do not understand it, then for me it becomes tiresome, for me it becomes torture.

And while the Noble One was thinking this, his mind inclined to remain calm and not preach.

Here Brahma knew with his mind the thoughts that permeated the spirit of the Noble One. And he said to himself: "This world will perish, ah, this world will perish, if the spirit of the Perfect, Holy, Great Buddha is inclined to remain at rest and not preach the doctrine." And as fast as strong man straightens a bent arm or bends a straightened arm, so Brahma Shahampati disappeared from the world of Brahma and appeared before the Noble One. And Brahma Shahamnati dropped his clothes from one shoulder, bowed his right knee to the ground, stretched out his folded hands to the Noble One and thus addressed the Noble One: “Let the Noble One preach the doctrine; let the changed one preach the doctrine for good. There are beings to whom little dirt has stuck, but if they do not hear the teaching, they will perish: they will know the teaching.”

Brahma repeated his request three times.

The noble one, perceiving the persuasions of Brahma and sympathizing with beings, cast his gaze of the Buddha over the whole world. And when the Noble One looked around the whole world with his Buddha gaze, he saw beings to which little dirt stuck, and such beings to which a lot of dirt stuck, smart and stupid, good and evil, easily yielding and difficult to yield, those who understood the dangers. underworld and sins. When he saw all this, he turned to Brahma Shahampati with a saying:

“The gates of eternity are open to everyone who has ears. Let faith speak! It is a waste of time to evade, for I have not yet proclaimed to the world a noble word.

Then Brahma Shahampatn understood: "The Noble One gave me consent to preach the doctrine." And he expressed his deep reverence to the Noble One and immediately left that place.

So, according to legend, a significant decision was made, to which we owe the teachings of the Buddha. This was the last decision taken under the influence of the gods, and at the same time major decision Awakened. It works, as we see, to this day.

In May 1911, Buddhist communities around the world celebrated the 2,500th anniversary of the Buddha's enlightenment. On this occasion Karl Seidenstücker, one of the pioneers of the German study of Buddhism and one of the best translators of the Buddha, published his book "Buddhism has fallen in translations", which was the third publication of the German Pali Society.

Along with the works of Seidenstücker, Dutoit and Oldenberg, one should certainly mention the translation of K. Neumann, which has been attacked by science and is a muddy, although not always philologically correct, transmission of the speeches of the Buddha.

Next should be Nyanatiloka, a German who lived as a monk in Sri Lanka and at the beginning of this century published the most important principles of the Buddha's teaching, set out concisely and clearly for the reader. And his exposition of the words of the Buddha will be further involved in understanding the teachings.

Siddhartha Gautama was a prince. He was young, rich and happy. He had a wonderful wife who gave him a son. The prince's father came from the Shakya family and was the lord of a small kingdom. Gautama was to inherit his throne, and he lived without worries and sorrows. But one day, leaving the palace for the first time, the prince met first a sick man, then an old man, and finally a dead man, and realized that human body- and his own too - a source of not only joy, but also pain.

Since then, this thought has not left him. She prompted him to leave his wife, son and kingdom, completely change his life and set off in search of a way to get rid of suffering, not only for himself, but for all mankind.

At first, he believed that the whole body was to blame, and tried to get rid of him, not listening to his needs for food, water, clothing. For six years in a row he lived in the forest as a hermit, eating only a grain of rice or sesame a day. But, having turned into a living skeleton (the creators of the most beautiful, soul-grabbing statues from Gandhara portrayed Gautama so emaciated), barely able to stand on his feet and feeling that his consciousness was about to leave, he realized that not taking care of the body means not taking care of spirit and that infirmity prevents him from meditating.

Then he decided to regain his health. Feeding himself on alms, he continued his search in silence. One day, sitting down under a tree - the very one that became the "tree of enlightenment" - he firmly decided not to get up until he found the answer. He had many temptations, for the devil was strong and cunning, but he managed to resist everyone, including the most recent one: when three most beautiful dancers appeared to him, who tried to seduce him.

At dawn he won.

Now I know everything there is to know, I have everything there is to have. I don't need anything else, he said.

Touching the earth with his fingers, he called her to witness his Enlightenment.

For seven consecutive weeks, the prince, now a Buddha, the Enlightened One, or the Awakened One, sat under the tree to which he owed so much. Then he went to the outskirts of Benares and there for the first time, in the presence of five disciples, set the wheel of the Law in motion.

He began to instruct people, to explain to them that between the blind pursuit of bodily pleasures and the ascetic renunciation of one's own body and everything else, there is a certain Middle Way that leads to detachment from passions, to inner peace, and, consequently, to deliverance from suffering. This is the path of dharma - the path of right view, right speech, right action, right effort, right living, right aspiration, right attention and right concentration.

What exactly Enlightenment became for the Buddha remained a mystery. He never spoke of it with certainty. Words are not always conducive to understanding. Everyone has to go through this experience on their own. He showed the Way, and others had to go through it.

Excerpt from Osho books"Meditation: The Art of Inner Ecstasy":

When Buddha decided, "I will not leave this place. I will not leave here until I achieve enlightenment," that was the wish. And with that desire, a vicious circle began. It started even for the Buddha.
Buddha could not achieve enlightenment for a long time because of this desire. Because of him, he searched and searched for six whole years. He did everything that could be done, everything that was possible. He did everything, but did not come an inch closer. He remained the same, even more and more frustrated. He left the world, renounced everything in order to achieve enlightenment, and nothing came of it. Incessantly, for six years, he made every effort, but nothing came of it.

Nicholas Roerich - Buddha Winner

Then one day, not far from Bodhigaya, he went to bathe in the Nirojan (river there). He was so weak from starvation that he could not get out of the river. He just stayed there at the root of the tree.

He was so weak that he could not get out of the river! The thought occurred to him that if he was so weak that he could not cross even a small river, how could he cross the great ocean of being? Therefore, on this day, even the desire to achieve enlightenment turned out to be futile. He said, "Enough!"

He came out of the river and sat under a tree (the Bodhi tree). That night, the very desire to achieve became futile. He desired worldly goods and found that it was just a dream. And it's not just a dream, it's a nightmare. For six years he wished for enlightenment continuously, and that too turned out to be a dream. And not just a dream: it turned out to be an even deeper nightmare.
He was completely disappointed; there was nothing left for him to desire. He knew the world too well, he knew it very well - and he could not return to it. There was nothing for him. He knew what the so-called religions were offering (all the religions that flourished in India); he practically followed all their teachings, and nothing came of it. There was nothing else to try, no incentive left, so he just fell to the ground near the Bodhi tree and stayed there all night - without any desire. There was nothing more to desire, the very desire became futile.

In the morning, when he woke up, the last star was setting. He looked at the star, and for the first time in his life there was no fog in his eyes, because there was no desire in him. The last star was setting... and when it set, something withered in him with it: it was "I" (because "I" cannot exist without desire). And he became enlightened!

This enlightenment came at the moment when there was no desire. And all six years it could not come because of desire. Indeed, this phenomenon occurs when you are outside the circle. Therefore, even the Buddha, because of the desire for enlightenment, had to wander unnecessarily for six years. This moment of transformation, this jump from the circle, from the wheel of life - only then comes, only then it comes when there is no desire. The Buddha said, "I achieved this when there was no attaining mind: I found it when there was no seeking. It happened only when there was no effort."

ON MU A MI TA BUL.

Initially nothing, but today white snow covers the world.

ON MU A MI TA BUL

Tomorrow is Buddha's Enlightenment Day. Just like the Buddha, we are here to achieve something. Some try to sing Kuan Seum Bosal, Kuan Seum Bosal, Kuan Seum Bosal. But what is Kuan Seum Bosal? Who is trying? Who sings? What is this thing that sings? What is this thing that is trying to reach Kuan Seum Bosal? We call it "I don't know". We call it "cut off all thinking" -- before thinking. We have come here and we are trying to keep the mind, which is before thinking.

For about six years, the Buddha held "What am I?" and kept "don't know". Many people danced in front of the Buddha beautiful women; demons appeared, many things appeared. He understood that they all come from his own mind. They appeared and disappeared again and again. If I have no mind, then nothing appears. So I'm asking all of you Hua Ge Sa members, do you have intelligence or not? If you say you have a mind, this stick will hit you all. If you say that you have no mind, this stick will also hit you all. Say you have a mind, or say you don't have a mind - you have to figure out how to answer! If you want to understand how to answer, then you are truly sincerely practicing Zen.

Long ago, Shakyamuni Buddha sat under the bodhi tree and sat there for six years. One morning he saw a star and got enlightenment. Many religions have appeared in our world: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Today, many people believe in these religions. In the time of the Buddha, there were also many religions. But Buddha left all these beliefs behind and went to the mountains. He only asked himself: "What am I?" Then he attained enlightenment. Therefore Buddhism is a religion of enlightenment, not a religion of belief. Of course, we say today that someone comes to the Buddha, that someone has become a Buddha, someone has reached the Dharma. All these things are necessary, but they are all just teaching words. Initially, Buddhism means to reach your true self, to reach that "Buddha is the mind, the mind is the Buddha." You must comprehend it. Good?

The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng, unlike the Buddha, was in a very simple situation. Every morning he helped his mother; went to the mountains, chopped wood, sold wood, received money and bought food. He didn't get married, he just went to the mountains every day and supported his mother -- a very simple mind. Take a look at our minds; they are very complex. We have a lot of things that we need to do: save money, make investments and the like. But the mind of the Sixth Patriarch was very simple…too simple.

One day, on his way home, after selling firewood, he met a monk reciting the Diamond Sutra. As he passed by this monk, he recited the following line: "Do not be attached to anything that arises in your mind." BOOM! He received enlightenment, reached his true "I", realized his true nature and "What is "I". He never studied Chinese characters, never taught Buddhist texts. All he did was go to the mountains and cut wood to help his mother. But he attained enlightenment by hearing one line from the Diamond Sutra.

He then asked this monk, "What is this book? What text are you reading?"

This is the Diamond Sutra. If you go north you will find the Fifth Patriarch Hung Jen. He has thousands of students and teaches the Diamond Sutra.

Then he returned and told his mother what had happened. After arranging for his mother to be cared for by his neighbors, he went north to the Temple of the Fifth Patriarch.

He said, "I have come to practice with you. I want to teach the Dharma from you." The Fifth Patriarch asked: "Where did you come from?" - I came from the south. -- From South? Ah, the barbarians in the south do not have Buddha nature! Hui Neng said, "Human beings have north and south, but in Buddha nature where is north and south?"

This is a wonderful answer. This is the speech of an enlightened person -- wonderful. How could such a speech come from someone who simply worked in the mountains, felled wood and helped his mother? It could only appear if you have achieved something, if you have achieved enlightenment. … The Fifth Patriarch already understood his mind and said: "Go to the room where rice is being cleaned and work there." Later, as everyone knows, the Fifth Patriarch secretly gave him the transmission.

So how do you achieve an enlightened mind? It took Buddha six years, but the Sixth Patriarch heard just one word and achieved enlightenment. Some people just hear one word -- BOOM! and achieve enlightenment. People can achieve enlightenment in an instant, it doesn't necessarily take six years. Every day we sing, every day we sit in the Dharma hall. How do we not turn out to be enlightened people? How do we not achieve great enlightenment? Our minds are very complex! The mind of the VI Patriarch was very simple, so he easily achieved enlightenment. A complex mind takes a long time. However, we look, we see, and we can achieve enlightenment, although it will take a long time. Among the disciples of the Buddha, Ananda was one of the most prominent. He was known for his phenomenal memory, he memorized everything the Buddha said, everything the Buddha taught, like a tape recorder. If he was asked, “At such and such a time, at such and such a place, what was the Dharma speech?” He could repeat everything word for word. There were no sutras in the time of the Buddha. They did not arise until the Buddha died. Only then were the sutras written. Many people wanted to know what the Buddha taught, so they asked Ananda. But the problem was that Ananda himself had not yet attained enlightenment. At that time, five thousand great arhats gathered to write the sutras. All these great monks who had gathered were enlightened, but Ananda could not join them because he had not yet attained enlightenment. He came to his elder brother Mahakashyapa and asked him: “Elder brother, besides the golden cash register and bowl, what else did the Buddha give you? What else did you get from the Buddha?

Mahakashyapa said, "Ananda!"

Ananda replied, "Yes."

Shoot down the flagpole in front of the gate.

What does it mean? He asked his brother what he got from the Buddha, and in response he heard: "Knock down the flagpole in front of the gate." Ananda left and practiced for seven days. He didn't eat. He meditated standing over this question. (This is where the 7-day YMJJ comes from - a practice that Western monks do now). On the seventh day Ananda attained enlightenment. Then 500 arhats welcomed him to their assembly. Mahakashyapa said, "Enter without opening the door!"

What does it mean? You can't enter without opening the door! The significance is that all 500 arhats already wanted to accept Ananda into the assembly. After that, all the sutras were composed. Each sutra begins with the words: "Thus I have heard...". These are the words of Ananda. They mean - "I heard such and such a Teaching from the Buddha at such and such a time." And today all the sutras have this beginning.

The first Patriarch was Mahakashyapa, the second Patriarch was Ananda. Mahakashyapa became a monk much later than Ananda. Ananda left home and became a monk 20 years before Mahakashyapa. Although Ananda became a monk before Mahakashyapa, because of the Dharma he later became a disciple of Mahakashyapa and then the II Patriarch. This is the story of the second Dharma transmission.

For 7 days we practiced diligently. Tomorrow morning look at the morning star, then you will achieve something. OK! I hope you all achieve enlightenment. This is how the Buddha Dharma was transmitted through Mahakashyapa to Ananda.

Let's take a look at the Korean Zen Master Seosan De Sa. He was from the province of Pyong-Ando, which is now in North Korea. As a child, he demonstrated great intelligence, so at an early age his stepfather took him to Seoul, where he could learn Confucian texts. After several years of study, he went to the civil service exam. For this, it was required to write an essay, like an exam test. He also wrote essays for his friends. The test results are very surprising. all his friends passed, but he did not. The second and third attempts to pass the exam were unsuccessful. What is it? Finally he understood. It's because of his past. After all, he was one from the northern part of Korea. All the rest were from other places in Korea.

His stepfather suggested that he go somewhere else where he could relax and just read books. The young man decided to go to Hein Sa Temple. The stepfather agreed. In the Temple, there were many, many books. You probably know that 84,000 sutras are still in this Temple. Reading books about Buddhism turned out to be more interesting than reading Confucian or Taoist texts. Buddhist sutras talked about how to solve real human problems. Suddenly he realized how lucky he was that he did not get a job. If the place had been obtained, he would never have known the beautiful Teachings of the Buddha.

One day Sosan went to the city to buy brushes and ink. On the way back, he needed to relieve himself. The latrines were built very high from the ground, so that the shit would fall only when the traveler got out. These are the tall toilets that were built. While squatting, he accidentally looked down and saw many living beings. As soon as his fresh shit fell to the bottom, worms, rats and many other living creatures pounced and greedily ate him. Seeing this, he realized that people in the bazaar were no different. They are always looking for something, trying to extract some benefit. Ah-ah!!! His mind opened up! He understood everything. “Until now, I was just like these worms diving into every fresh shit. Now it's time for me to really practice. Just reading the sutras is not enough, it will not help. I have to do serious practice. What is I? Who am I?

So the decision was made to become a monk. Seosan shaved his head, dressed in gray clothes and went to Myo Hyang San mountain. There he practiced very hard. He did two 100 day retreats. On the eve of the first retreat, his mind hardly opened. Only during the second everything became clear as day. This time his mind opened wide and he saw that the world is always spinning, spinning, spinning. Everything changes over time, always changes. In order to find this unchanging thing, we must understand our true nature.

How did Sosan achieve this? So San woke up very early one morning to do kido. Hearing the crowing of a rooster, he realized his true self. He said: “I have finished great work life and death! All who have not yet attained enlightenment, try tomorrow morning to listen to the rooster crow. Hearing this, you will complete the great work of man.” He became very famous in the history of Korea. He and Samyang Teisa helped save the country from the Japanese invasion in 1592. This is the story of Sosan.

The Zen master Pao-Chi practiced very diligently, but for him everything was unclear to the end. During the funeral ceremony, he heard the sound of a bell. Simultaneously with the bell, the monk sang. As soon as Pao-Chi heard this singing…. BOOM! his mind opened up. He received enlightenment. The phrase that opened up in his mind was: "In front of the door lies the land of silence." Hearing this, he received enlightenment.

There are many stories about how masters achieved enlightenment, including cases of enlightenment after hearing a single sound. Zen master Bao Jo once asked his teacher, "What was your original face before you were born?" For many days and nights he desperately tried to find the answer. Arriving at the market, he saw two people fighting. Finally, one of them apologized and said, "Truly, I have lost my face." Hearing this, Bao Jo attained enlightenment. He achieved "lose his face". He truly understood what his original face was like. If you keep this great question then anytime, anywhere you can attain enlightenment. The VI Patriarch received enlightenment by hearing the Diamond Sutra, Bao Jo received enlightenment by hearing a phrase from a conversation between two people. In the same way, you can get enlightenment by hearing a bird, a cow mooing, or any other sound.

Tomorrow is Buddha's Enlightenment Day. The day Buddha saw the star and received enlightenment. If you really want to get enlightenment, then the big question has to be very strong. He must be very sincere and stand exactly on edge. If you have this big question: “Who sings Kwangseum Bosal? Who is sitting in Zen?” then it is possible to get enlightenment.

These days I have been teaching that human beings are not human beings. Human beings have to act accordingly correctly, then they become them. From moment to moment what do you do? What is your right direction? What is your right life? How do you find your correct function? How do you save all beings from suffering? You came into this world empty-handed. What are you doing in this world? Why did you come into this world? Our body is an empty thing. What is the thing that carries this body, back and forth? Where did she come from? You must understand what THIS is, you must find THIS. If you want to find IT, ask yourself: "What am I?" Always keep this big question. Thinking must disappear. If you cut off all your thinking, then your true self will appear, then your true mind will appear. All who have gathered tonight, sincerely ask yourself: "What am I?" Keep this great “I don't know.” Maybe you are reading Kwanseum Bosal or Om Mani Pad Me Hum, but only if you do it with complete sincerity, only then can this don't-know mind, this great question, explode, only then can one get enlightenment.

There are so many people in this world, some of them are practicing. Others do not practice at all, day and night they fight, fight with each other, and only show their desires, their anger and their ignorance. When you lose this body, you cannot take anything with you. What are you going to do? If this "I don't know" is clear, then also the place where you will go is also clear. Then you understand your work, then you understand why you were born in this world, then you understand what to do in this world. When you do this, you may become human being. Today I will give you a homework assignment, a koan that you should think about. Long ago, a monk asked Zen Master Ummon (Un Mun), "What is Buddha?" The master replied: "Dry shit on a stick." What does it mean - dry shit on a stick? If you keep practicing, then…AAA! Buddha is dry shit on a stick! Everything in this world is a Buddha. All things are not just dry shit on a stick, they are everything in the world. Everything is Buddha

So I ask you, "How long is this dry shit on a stick?" If you can comprehend this, then you can say that you are indeed a Zen student. It's very important to find it. If you find this, you will be able to understand your original face, which brought you to Hwa Gye Sa. You can find the original face of the Buddha, you will have the energy to save all beings, and you can keep the Great Bodhisattva Vows. Life after life, the great path of the Boddhisattva will be open to you. Ask yourself: "What am I?" Hold a great don't know mind. Today we will practice all night to realize our true selves, achieve the truth and save all beings from suffering.

By vowing to unite with all sentient beings throughout the universe, today we enter the ocean of Amita.

NAMU AMITA BUL In order to save all sentient beings in all the countless worlds, today you and I will attain Buddhahood at the same time.