The Strawberry Full Moon (Bodhi Sutra)

John D. Ireland (trans.) Bodhi Sutra: "The Bodhi Tree (1)" (Udana 1.1); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Siddhartha became the Awakened One.

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying at Uruvela, next to the river Nerañjara at the foot of the bodhi tree, having just realized full enlightenment. At that time he sat cross-legged for seven days experiencing the bliss of liberation.

Then at the end of those seven days, the Buddha emerged from that deep samadhi and gave mindful attention during the first watch of the night to dependent arising in forward order:

 

This being, that is;
From the arising of this, that arises.

Specifically:

• with ignorance as condition, volitional activities come to be;
• with volitional activities as condition, consciousness comes to be;
• with consciousness as condition, name-and-form comes to be;
• with name-and-form as condition, the sixfold base comes to be;
• with the sixfold base as condition, contact comes to be;
• with contact as condition, feeling comes to be;
• with feeling as condition, craving comes to be;
• with craving as condition, clinging comes to be;
• with grasping as condition, being comes to be;
• with being as condition, birth comes to be;
• with birth as condition, [disappointment:] aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair come to be.

This is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.
 

Then, on realizing its significance, the Buddha uttered this inspired utterance:
 

When things become manifest

To the ardent meditating Brahmin,

All doubts then vanish since one understands

Each thing along with its cause.

• See also: Ud 1.2; Ud 1.3