1.1. The Buddha-nature and the Buddha’s Enlightenment

[Full title: Traces of the Buddha-nature in Early Buddhism, (1): The Buddha-nature and the Buddha’s Enlightenment]

Like a big tree with many branches, although Buddhism split into different branches after the Buddha’s Mahāparinirvāṇa about 200 years forwards, all the Buddhist sects have their roots in the enlightenment of the Buddha. According to the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, it was the Buddha-nature under the various names such as tathatā, bhūtatā, Dharmakāya, etc. that the Buddha had realized at the time of his enlightenment.

The following quotations from the Laṅkāvatārasūtra will elucidate the realm attained by the Buddha in his enlightenment.

“Again Mahāmati said: It is said by the Blessed One that from the night of the Enlightenment till the night of the Parinirvāṇa, the Tathāgata in the meantime has not uttered even a word, nor will he ever utter; for not-speaking is the Buddha’s speaking. According to what deeper sense is it that not-speaking is the Buddha’s speaking? “The Blessed One replied: By reason of two things of the deeper sense, Mahāmati, this statement is made. What are the two things: They are the truth of self-realisation and an eternally-abiding reality. According to these two things of the deeper sense the statement is made by me. Of what deeper sense is the truth of selfrealisation? What has been realised by the Tathāgatas, that is my own realisation, in which there is neither decreasing nor increasing; for the realm of self-realisation is free from words and discriminations, having nothing to do with dualistic terminology.

“What is meant by an eternally-abiding reality? The ancient road of reality, Mahāmati, has been here all the time, like gold, silver, or pearl preserved in the mine, Mahāmati; the Dharmadhātu abides foreover, whether the Tathagata appears in the world or not; as the Tathagata eternally abides so does the reason (dharmatā) of all things; reality foreover abides, reality keeps its order, like the roads in an ancient city.

“The Blessed One said: Just so, Mahāmati, what has been realized by myself and other Tathāgatas is this reality, the eternally-abiding reality (sthititā), the self-regulating reality (niyāmatā), the suchness of things (tathatā), the realness of things (bhūtatā), the truth itself (satyatā).”^[1]

Thus, the Buddha’s inner enlightenment is “the truth of selfrealization”, i.e. the personality of the Buddha-nature;and the object of enlightenment is “the eternally-abiding reality” of all things, i.e. the universality of the Buddha-nature. Both the individuality and universality of the Buddha-nature are too profound to think of by thought and to speak out by words. Therefore, in the ultimate truth speaking, it is said by the Blessed One that from the night of the Enlightenment till the night of the Parinirvāṇa, the Tathāgata in the meantime has not uttered even a word, nor will he ever utter. However, in the relative truth speaking, the Buddha turned the dharma wheel and continuously preached his teachings during 49 years of his life.

Actually, according to Early Buddhism, the Buddha attained enlightenment while he was successively practicing of the four meditative states (Skt., dhyāna; Pāli, jhāna), gaining “three knowledges” (tivijjā), culminating the “four noble truths” (in the knowledge of suffering, its cause, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation), and gaining insight, into the causal chain of Dependent Arising (Skt., pratītyasamutpāda; Pāli, paticcasamuppāda; Chinese, yuanqi).^[2] Some other early Buddhist texts narrate the Buddha’s awakening in terms of the legend of the Buddha’s victory over Mara.^[3]

However, the meditation on the causal chain of Dependent Arising (paticcasamuppāda) actually was not the mental process running in the time of the Buddha’s enlightenment. It was discovered by the Buddha at the end of the first seven days after he had attained enlightenment.

This event was recorded in the Mahāvagga of the Vinaya Pitaka:

“At that time the blessed Buddha dwelt at Uruvelā, on the bank of the river Nerañgarā at the foot of the Bodhi tree (tree of wisdom), just after he had become Sambuddha. And the blessed Buddha sat cross-legged at the foot of the Bodhi tree uninterruptedly during seven days, enjoying the bliss of emancipation.

“Then the Blessed One (at the end of these seven days) during the first watch of the night fixed his mind upon the Chain of Causation, in direct and in reverse order: “From Ignorance springs the samkhāras, from the samkhāras springs Consciousness, from Consciousness springs Name-and-Form, from Name-and-Form springs the six Provinces, from the six Provinces spring Contact, from Contact springs Sensation, from Sensation springs Thirst (or Desire), from Thirst springs Attachment, from Attachment springs Existence, from Existence springs Birth, from Birth spring Old Age and Death, grief, lamentation, suffering, dejection, and despair. Such is the origination of this whole mass of suffering. Again, by the destruction of Ignorance, which consists in the complete absence of lust, the samkhāras are destroyed …”^[4]

Thus, it is wrong if we say that paticcasamuppāda is the practice leading to the enlightenment of the Buddha. Paticcasamuppāda was the result of the seventh day in meditation of the Buddha after his enlightenment. The following discussion will demonstrate that the Buddha was enlightened because he already had the inherent Buddhanature obscured by defilements.

Before the enlightenment, the Buddha had studied meditation under the guidance of Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta, two Brahmanical teachers. The Āḷāra Kālāma’s ākiñcaññāyatane [ākiñcaññāyatana] (Sphere of Nothingness) and Uddaka Rāmaputta’s nevasaññānasaññāyatane (Sphere of neither Perception nor Non-perception) are considered the highest levels of meditation of Brahmanism at that time.^[5]

However, the Buddha realized that these teachers had not yet attained ultimate enlightenment and freedom; therefore, he decided to practice himself to reach the supreme enlightenment.

“It is not only Āḷāra the Kālāma who has faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and intuitive wisdom; I too have faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and intuitive wisdom…”^[6]

Leaving his teachers, the Buddha underwent six years of austere practices; but he recognized that it is also not the right way to achieve the happiness of enlightenment. Consequently, he decided to follow the middle way. He took food from a villager, went to the Bodhi tree and entered meditation during forty nine days and nights. After leaving all sensual pleasures and impure minds, the Buddha successively entered from the first to the fourth jhāna meditation. From the fourth jhāna, he led his mind to three kinds of transcendent wisdom (tivijjā): the pubbenivāsanussati (remembrance of former lives), dibbacakkhu (divine eye), and āsavakkhaya (extinction of all contaminations). At the time when this third transcendent wisdom (āsavakkhaya) arose, he achieved fully supreme enlightenment (anuttara sammāsambodhi) and became the Buddha, an awakened One.^[7]

Thus, enlightenment is a process of selfrealization, realization of the inner essences, i.e. the Buddha-nature, not from outside, as the following declaration in the Vatthūpamasutta (Simile of the Cloth):

“Dhamma is well taught by the Lord, it is self-realized (sandiṭṭhika), it is timeless (akalika), and it is a come-and-see thing (ehipassika), leading onwards (opaneyika), to be understood individually by the wise (paccattaṃ veditabbo viññuhi).”^[8]

These characteristics of enlightenment are also identical with that of Buddha-nature which is deep and profound, difficult to understand and is clear comprehended by the Buddha only because it is out of ordinary conceivable experience:^[9]

“I have penetrated this Norm, deep, hard to perceive, hard to understand, peaceful and sublime, no mere dialectic, subtle, intelligible only to the wise… And for a race devoting itself to the things to which it clings, devoted thereto, delighting therein, this was a matter hard to perceive, to know, that this is conditioned by that, all that happens is by way of cause. And now I only teach the Norm, and others might not acknowledge me: this would be wearisome to me, this would be hurtful to me.”^[10]

The Buddha-nature is also the deepest and most difficult state to see. Only the Buddha can know it well. The Bodhisattva of the “ten abidings” (shi-zhu) sees within himself the nature of the Tathāgata. It is not within the reach of śrāvaka (shengwen; voice-hearer) and pratyekabuddha (pizhifo).^[11] This state of enlightenment was described clearer in the Aryapariyesaṇā-sutta, one of the most significant, profound dialogues of the Buddha. The sutta narrated the story that the Buddha Śākyamuni had just attained supreme Enlightenment under a Bodhi tree, located the place of the group of five austere monks at Benares at Isipatana (the Deer Park) through his supernatural powers, and set the way to meet them. On his way, when he was going along the high road between Gaya and the Bodhi Tree, he saw Upaka, a Naked Ascetic.

Upaka asked the Buddha,

“Your reverence, your faculties are quite pure. Your complexion is very bright, very clear. On account of whom have you, your reverence, gone forth or who is your teacher or whose Dhamma do you profess?”^[12]

The Buddha addressed Upaka, in verses:^[13]

“Victorious over all, omniscient am I. Among all things undefiled, Leaving all, through death of craving freed. By knowing for myself, whom should I point to?

For me there is no teacher, One like me does not exist;in the world with its devas, no one equals me.

For I am perfected in the world, a teacher supreme am I, I alone am all; Become cool am I, nibbana-attained.

To turn the dhamma-wheel I go to Kasi’s city; beating the drum of deathlessness in a world that’s blind become.”^[14]

Such natures of the Buddha’s enlightenment are very similar to the essences of the Buddha-nature which are also originally pure, undefiled with defilements. The “I” in the verses is just the conventional address in a conversation; it does not represent the “self” or ego (attā) of the Buddha Śākyamuni. The “self” which existed before his enlightenment was replaced by No-self (anattā) after the enlightenment. Therefore, the “I” in the conversation of the Buddha is identical with the True Self or Buddhanature. This Buddha-nature was realized by the Buddha through his enlightenment. In other words, enlightenment is the realization of the Buddha-nature. When he realized the Buddha-nature; he addressed, he was the Buddha, an omniscient Person, a supreme enlightened One. He claimed that he was victorious all because he had defeated all craving.

Briefly, the subject-matter of the Buddha’s enlightenment is the Buddha-nature, a very profound state of omniscience, perfect selfrealization and transcendent wisdom. When the Buddha-nature is realized, a Buddha comes into existence and a circle of rebirth ends.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Laṅkāvatāra-Sūtra, p. 124 (Laṅkāvatāra-Sūtra, pp. 143-44)

[2]:

Majjhimanikāya i,21-3, 167; Dīghanikāya ii,30-35, Saṃyuttanikāya ii,104-6; also see Étienne Lamotte, “Conditioned Co-production and Supreme Enlightenment,” in Somaratna Balasooriya et al. (eds.), Buddhist Studies in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra in Honour of Walpola Rahula, pp. 118-32.

[3]:

Saṃyuttanikāya i,124.

[4]:

T12n375, pp. 0653a-b (Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra).

[5]:

Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation, pp. 9-27.

[6]:

Majjhimanikāya i, 164; The collection of the Middle Length Sayings, tr. I.B. Horner, Vol. I, p. 208.

[7]:

“Māhasaccaka-sutta,” Majjhimanikāya i, 237-51; “Ariyapariyesanā-sutta,” Majjhimanikāya i, 160-75; “Bhayabherava-sutta,” Majjhimanikāya i, 16-23.

[8]:

“Svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo sandiṭṭhiko akāliko ehipassiko opaneyyiko paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhī”ti” (Majjhimanikāya i,37); The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, tr. I.B. Horner, p. 47.

[9]:

“Adhigato kho myāyaṃ dhammo gambhīro duddaso duranubodho santo paṇīto atakkāvacaro nipuṇo paṇḍitavedanīyo... Ālayarāmāya kho pana pajāya ālayaratāya ālayasammuditāya duddasaṃ idaṃ ṭhānaṃ yadidaṃ idappaccayatāpaṭiccasamuppādo. Ahañceva kho pana dhammaṃ deseyyaṃ; pare ca me na ājāneyyuṃ; so mamassa kilamatho, sā mamassa vihesā” (Saṃyuttanikāya i,136.)

[10]:

The Book of the Kindred Sayings, tr. C.Aṅguttaranikāya.F. Rhys Davids, Vol. I, pp. 171-72.

[11]:

T12n375, pp. 0653a-b (Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra).

[12]:

The collection of the Middle Length Sayings, tr. I.B. Horner, Vol. I, p. 214.

[13]:

Sabbābhibhū sabbavidūhamasmi, sabbesu dhammesu anūpalitto;
Sabbañjaho taṇhākkhaye vimutto, sayaṃ abhiññāya kamuddiseyyaṃ.
“Na me ācariyo atthi, sadiso me na vijjati;Sadevakasmiṃ lokasmiṃ, natthi me paṭipuggalo.
“Ahañhi arahā loke, ahaṃ satthā anuttaro;Ekomhi sammāsambuddho, sītibhūtosmi nibbuto.
“Dhammacakkaṃ pavattetuṃ, gacchāmi kāsinaṃ puraṃ; Andhībhūtasmiṃ lokasmiṃ, āhañchaṃ amatadundubhi”nti. (M i,171.)

[14]:

The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, tr. I.B. Horner, Vol. I, p. 215.