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HandWiki. Enlightenment in Buddhism. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/31710 (accessed on 25 September 2026).
HandWiki. Enlightenment in Buddhism. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/31710. Accessed September 25, 2026.
HandWiki. "Enlightenment in Buddhism" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/31710 (accessed September 25, 2026).
HandWiki. (2022, October 28). Enlightenment in Buddhism. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/31710
HandWiki. "Enlightenment in Buddhism." Encyclopedia. Web. 28 October, 2022.
Enlightenment in Buddhism
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The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Philosophy:Enlightenment_in_Buddhism

The English term enlightenment is the western translation of the abstract noun bodhi, (/ˈboʊdi/; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: bodhi), the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect, of a Buddha. The verbal root budh- means "to awaken," and its literal meaning is closer to "awakening." Although the term buddhi is also used in other Indian philosophies and traditions, its most common usage is in the context of Buddhism. The term "enlightenment" was popularised in the Western world through the 19th century translations of Max Müller. It has the western connotation of general insight into transcendental truth or reality. The term is also being used to translate several other Buddhist terms and concepts, which are used to denote (initial) insight (prajna (Sanskrit), wu (Chinese), kensho and satori(Japanese)); knowledge (vidhya); the "blowing out" (Nirvana) of disturbing emotions and desires and the subsequent freedom or release (vimukti); and the attainment of supreme Buddhahood (samyak sam bodhi), as exemplified by Gautama Buddha. What exactly constituted the Buddha's awakening is unknown. It may probably have involved the knowledge that liberation was attained by the combination of mindfulness and dhyāna, applied to the understanding of the arising and ceasing of craving. The relation between dhyana and insight is a core problem in the study of Buddhism, and is one of the fundamentals of Buddhist practice. In the western world the concept of (spiritual) enlightenment has taken on a romantic meaning. It has become synonymous with self-realization and the true self and false self, being regarded as a substantial essence being covered over by social conditioning., , ,

mindfulness self-realization spiritual

References

  1. Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, bodhi http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=bodhi&direct=au
  2. Buswell 2004, p. 50.
  3. Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, budh http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=budh&direct=au
  4. Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, jina http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/indexcaller.php
  5. Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, bodhi http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/indexcaller.php
  6. Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, budh http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/indexcaller.php
  7. Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, bodhati http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=bodhati&direct=au
  8. Cohen 2006, p. 1.
  9. Cohen 2006, p. 2.
  10. Cohen 2006, pp. 2–3.
  11. Cohen 2006, p. 3.
  12. Cohen 2006, p. 9.
  13. Cohen 2006, p. 4.
  14. Cohen 2006, pp. 6–7.
  15. See also Lourens Peter van den Bosch, Theosophy or Pantheism? Friedrich Max Müller's Gifford Lectures on Natural Religion: "The three principal themes of his Gifford lectures on natural religion were the discovery of God, the discovery of the soul, and the discovery of the oneness of God and soul in the great religions of the world." http://www.here-now4u.de/eng/theosophy_or_pantheism__friedr.htm
  16. Nyanatiloka 1980, p. 40.
  17. Schreiber-Fischer 2008, p. 50.
  18. Bronkhorst 1993.
  19. Vetter 1988.
  20. Norman 1997, p. 29.
  21. Norman, K. R. (2005). Buddhist Forum Volume V: Philological Approach to Buddhism. Routledge. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-135-75154-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=qYyRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA25. 
  22. Norman 1997, p. 30.
  23. Vetter 1988, p. xxix, xxxi.
  24. Gombrich 1997.
  25. Schreiber-Fischer 2008, p. 51.
  26. Nyanatiloka 1980, p. 150.
  27. Fischer-Schreiber 2008, p. 281.
  28. Gimello 2004.
  29. Kapleau 1989.
  30. Lusthaus 1998.
  31. Lai 2003.
  32. Majjhima Nikaya chapter 36
  33. Bikkhu Nanamoli 1995, pp. 340–342.
  34. Warder 2000, pp. 47–48.
  35. Snelling 1987, p. 27.
  36. Bowker 1997.
  37. See Encyclopedia.com, Vimukthi http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Vimukthi.html
  38. Nyanatiloka 1980, p. 239.
  39. Gombrich 2005, p. 147.
  40. According to Gombrich, this distinction is artificial, and due to later, too literal, interpretations of the suttas.[42]
  41. Park 1983, pp. 126–132.
  42. Park 1983, p. 127.
  43. Dr. Alexander Berzin, Nirvana and enlightenment http://studybuddhism.com/web/en/archives/sutra/level2_lamrim/intermediate_scope/nirvana_enlightenment/transcript.html
  44. Scott 2009, p. 8.
  45. Snelling 1987, p. 81.
  46. Mäll 2005, p. 83.
  47. Warder 2000, pp. 45–50.
  48. Faure 1991
  49. See Majjhima Nikaya chapter 4, 12, 26 & 36
  50. Bikkhu Nanamoli 1995, p. 259.
  51. Bhikkhu Nanamoli 1995.
  52. Bhikkhu Nanamoli 1996, p. 199.
  53. Warder 2000, p. 49.
  54. In his often-cited article On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism
  55. Schmithausen 1981.
  56. Bronkhorst 1993, p. 110.
  57. Bronkhorst 1993, p. 108.
  58. Bronkhorst 1993, pp. 100–101.
  59. Majjhima Nikaya 26
  60. Anguttara Nikaya II.45 (PTS)
  61. Samyutta Nikaya III.140–142 (PTS)
  62. Bronkhorst 1993, p. 101.
  63. Bronkhorst 1993, pp. 102–103.
  64. Kusala Bhikshu (3/2008), Buddhist Enlightenment vs Nirvana(As of September 2010) http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma6/enlightnirvana.html
  65. "David Loy (2010), Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same?(As of September 2010) http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/26715.htm
  66. Quli 2008.
  67. Polak 2011.
  68. Arbel 2017.
  69. Fischer-Schreiber 2008, p. 51.
  70. Harris 2004, p. 103.
  71. Schreiber 2008, p. 51.
  72. This also includes Pratyekabuddha, but is not being mentioned by Fischer-Schreiber et al.
  73. "Buddhahood – Dictionary of Buddhism – Nichiren Buddhism Library". https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/G/66. 
  74. Sebastian 2005, p. 274.
  75. Hodge 2003, pp. 31–32.
  76. Carrette & King 2005.
  77. Sharf 1995b.
  78. Sharf 2000.
  79. McMahan 2008.
  80. Wright 2000, pp. 181–183.
  81. Robert H. Sharf, Whose Zen? Zen Nationalism Revisited http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/whose%20zen_sharf.pdf
  82. Hu Shih: Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism in China. Its History and Method http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/HistoricalZen/Chan_in_China.html
  83. Dumoulin 2005a.
  84. Dumoulin 2005b.
  85. Critical introduction by John McRae to the reprint of Dumoulin's A history of Zen http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/HistoricalZen/McRaeIntroduction.pdf
  86. Dumonlin 2000.
  87. Wilber 1996.
  88. Warder 2000, p. 116-124.
  89. Nanzan Institute: Pruning the bodhi Tree http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/publications/nlarc/Pruning_the_bodhi_tree.htm
  90. David Chapman: Effing the ineffable http://meaningness.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/effing-the-ineffable/
  91. Kalupahana 1992a, p. xi.
  92. Hori 1999, p. 47.
  93. King 2002.
  94. Versluis 2001, p. 3.
  95. Hart 1995.
  96. Sharf 2000, p. 271.
  97. James also gives descriptions of conversion experiences. The Christian model of dramatic conversions, based on the role-model of Paul's conversion, may also have served as a model for western interpretations and expectations regarding "enlightenment", similar to Protestant influences on Theravada Buddhism, as described by Carrithers: It rests upon the notion of the primacy of religious experiences, preferably spectacular ones, as the origin and legitimation of religious action. But this presupposition has a natural home, not in Buddhism, but in Christian and especially Protestant Christian movements which prescribe a radical conversion.[81] See Sekida for an example of this influence of William James and Christian conversion stories, mentioning Luther[82] and St. Paul.[83] See also McMahan for the influence of Christian thought on Buddhism.[7]
  98. Mohr 2000, pp. 282–286.
  99. Low 2006, p. 12.
  100. Robert Sharf: [T]he role of experience in the history of Buddhism has been greatly exaggerated in contemporary scholarship. Both historical and ethnographic evidence suggests that the privileging of experience may well be traced to certain twentieth-century reform movements, notably those that urge a return to zazen or vipassana meditation, and these reforms were profoundly influenced by religious developments in the west [...] While some adepts may indeed experience "altered states" in the course of their training, critical analysis shows that such states do not constitute the reference point for the elaborate Buddhist discourse pertaining to the "path".[86]
  101. Hori 1994, p. 30.
  102. Samy 1998, p. 82.
  103. Mohr 2000, p. 282.
  104. Samy 1998, pp. 80–82.
  105. Samy 1998, p. 80.
  106. William Blake: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thru' narrow chinks of his cavern."[92]
  107. Mohr 2000, p. 284.
  108. Vesak full moon poya day http://dedunu.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/vesak-full-moon-poya-day/
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