Lord Buddha Enlightenment

Lord Buddha Enlightenment

This article discusses all about Lord Buddha Enlightenment, what made him go for this, how he became enlightened and all that in detail. So, continue reading until the end to understand the term “Great Awakening.”  

According to Buddhist beliefs, enlightenment refers to the realization of reality. It is “awakening” that allows one to perceive the true nature of things. Shakyamuni Buddha believed it was possible to attain enlightenment through living an ascetic lifestyle of strict discipline. He would sometimes refrain from eating or drinking for extended durations. 

After six years of suffering and hardships, Shakyamuni realized that he did not have a thorough understanding of life. Shakyamuni realized that neither luxury nor starvation could lead to awakening and instead chose to pursue a middle way i.e meditation.

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, was contemplating the misery, pain and suffering of others while residing at his palace. Being aware of the severity of his thoughts brought him to a goal towards achieving enlightenment. A few days later, he decided to leave the palace to seek true happiness and freedom in life. As he wandered around, he came across a village in India known as Bodhi Gaya, where he practiced deep and continuous meditation.Gautama Buddha was of the belief that, through his consistent efforts and determination to delight himself with the highest level of wisdom, he could attain the highest level of the path to enlightenment; he sat under a banyan tree and indulged himself in meditation.

While Gautama Buddha was in deep meditation, the inner vibes like freedom, emotions, and the bliss of being outside in the world attempted to pull him back. Furthermore, Mara, the Lord of illusion, appeared before him with the aim of distracting him. However, Maya did not succeed since the moment Gautama Buddha touched the earth, the sacred earth underneath him shook and defeated the demon’s armies. In this epic war, the wisdom and compassion of Buddha defeated the demons.

The Maha Bodhi Temple & Bodhi Tree: Lord Buddha Enlightenment

Maha Bodhi Temple, wherein Lord Buddha attained enlightenment, is one of the most historic and well-known pilgrimage sites for those who are devoted. After 250 years of enlightenment, the emperor Ashoka visited the temple and built a Diamond Throne shrine.

There is a huge statue of Lord Buddha within the temple in a “Bhumisparsha mudra”. The colossal is believed to be around 1700 years old. It’s facing to the east, exactly where Buddha meditated and to his back a bodhi tree. Buddha continued to meditate for seven weeks ( 49 days) beneath the bodhi tree and noticed seven things that we have talked about in the forthcoming section of this blog.

Buddha’s First Week under the Bodhi Tree

In the very first week, he sat under the tree in one posture, experiencing the Vimutti Sukha, an Emancipation, i.e. free of all negative thoughts and restrictions and having the feeling of being joyful.

Gazing at the Tree: Second Week of Buddha Enlightenment

In the second week of the mediation, Buddha paid homage to the Bodhi Tree, as it offered sheds to Gautam Buddha during his fight to become a Bodhisattva. Gautam Buddha meditated, standing and staring up at the tree for the whole week without blinking his eyes even for a while.

The Golden Bridge: 3rd Week of Lord Buddha Enlightenment  

At the end of week three, the Buddha could see in his mind’s eye that the Gods in the heavens weren’t certain if he had achieved the state of enlightenment or not. To demonstrate his enlightenment, the Buddha built up a golden bridge in the air. He then walked up and down in this for the entire week.

The Jewelled Chamber

In the fourth week of his enlightenment process, Gautam Buddha created a stunning Jewelled Chamber. Then, he sat within it to meditate, which is now referred to as detailed teachings or Abhidhamma. The body and soul of Gautam Buddha was so pure that six different colors of rays were reflected off his body. The colors of the six were blue, red, orange, white, yellow and a mix of these colors, which give the appearance of a Buddhist flag.

Three Most Charming Girls

In the fifth week, when he was sitting in meditation under the shade of a banyan tree, the three gorgeous girls appeared before the Buddha and tried to seduce him with a seductive dance in a sly manner. Each attempt failed before Buddha meditation, and all of them, named Tanha, Rati and Raga, returned to their respective paths.

The Muchalinda Lake

The magnificent lake is situated on the right hand of the temple compound, and a carving of a hooded snake protecting Lord Buddha is displayed there. There is a belief that Lord Buddha is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. 

During the 6th week of his meditation near the lake, a storm of great force was brewing and upon observing Buddha getting wet, the Serpent King of the Lake, referred to by the name of Shesh Naga or Muchalinda, was able to emerge from his cave and protected Buddha from thunder and rain.

The Rajayatana Tree: Seventh Week of Lord Buddha Enlightenment

In the final and seventh week, Buddha meditated under the Rajayatana tree. On the fifth day after his fast, two merchants of Burma, currently Myanmar, Tapussa and Bhallika, came to him and presented him with cake, rice and honey to break his fast as the first meal after being illuminated and refugee to Buddha as well as his teachings Buddham Sharnam Gachami, Dhammam Sharnam Gachami however they were not able to be a refugee with Sangham Sharnam Gachami because it was not in existence at the time. So in this way, they became the first followers of Lord Buddha.

Conclusion and Outlook 

So, this is all about post Lord Buddha Buddha Enlightenment. In short, Gautama Buddha, born to an aristocratic family surrounded by all the luxury, chose to give up everything he owned in order to solve human suffering. He enlightened himself by sitting beneath the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya.   He later delivered sermons and expanded his teachings with  the members of Sangha “Sangham Sharman Gachami.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “enlightenment” mean?

Enlightenment refers to the condition of having a greater awareness of things. In Sanskrit, it is Bodhi, which means wisdom, great knowledge, and awakened intellect.

How long did Gautam Buddha sit in meditation under the Banyan Tree?

A fig came to be called the Bodhi Tree because the Buddha achieved the state of enlightenment by meditating under the Bodhi Tree for 49 days.

At what age did Buddha get enlightenment?

After beating the forces of the demon Mara, Siddhartha reached enlightenment and became Buddha, the enlightened one at the age of 35.

ThankYou Buddha!


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