How to Become Enlightened: An Overview

Former U.S. Buddhist nun Sayalay Aloka; edited and expanded by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

What is the way to awakening?

Enlightenment (awakening), because it leads to nirvana (the end of all suffering), is tantamount to ultimate freedom.

Even if we are not bound by prison bars, we nevertheless have to take care of ourselves, find nutrition, shelter, and care for ourselves. If we neglect these things, we are still subject to bodily decay and death. These things are prison bars for us, for all living beings swirling in samsara, particularly humans.

"Enlightenment" in the Buddha’s Teaching, the Dharma, is freedom. For it goes beyond what is otherwise inevitable. We can be free, here and now, in this very life!

Enlightenment is, of course, more than ultimate freedom. In conventional terms, as one gains wisdom and compassion, realizes the Truth, and awakens, one gradually becomes freer and freer right now.

It would be great to never again be overtaken and controlled by craving, anger, and delusion. But before that day, the immediate benefit of the Dharma is that these things lose their hold on us.

Complete freedom is the result of complete understanding — full knowledge of reality or transcendent wisdom. Understanding means seeing things as they really are. Because they are this way all the time, in theory we ought to be able to discern the truth at any moment! But there's a fundamental darkness called ignorance that covers the mind. What is the cause?

In Buddhist terms, what keeps ignorance in place is craving, thirst (tanha), attachment, neediness, clinging, passion -- and the anger/fear (aversion) that results when we are frustrated in our lustful pursuits -- both of which keep us trapped in delusion.

We fail to see that more and more things (experiences, people, places, items, riches, whatever) are utterly incapable of satisfying craving. Craving will never be satisfied by craving and getting. Letting go and awakening, that's a winning combination.

It's a Sick Sad World, isn't it? (Daria/MTV)

But on account of ignorance, craving keeps craving. We identify with our current form, for example. We think we are this human body, but "human" is a concept. If we try to touch what others regard as "human," we’ll only be touching a body part or, more accurately, a combination of elements, the qualities of matter -- softness, hardness, temperature, and so on. (See Four Elements Meditation for details).

"Human" is but a concept our minds attach to. We are too stuck on it, most of the time, to see reality. So we spend our time and energy giving importance and paying attention to fantasies that distance us from reality -- such as how we look, what others think of us, what may happen at work -- a bunch of worldly junk that ultimately doesn't matter. Conventionally, it matters, it matters. Have you heard what Matt in HR did? Never mind.

Say, for example, there were a projector in a theater. Light is coming through it, and we are becoming absorbed in the story on the screen. We forget about the projector. Why? The fantasy overtakes what's real and right here. In this way, we become lost and drift further and further from reality. The fantasy is nice. No one is saying it's not nice. But freedom, awakening, and nirvana are arrived at by way of reality, not fantasies.

When "bad" things happen, we cry. When "good" things happen, we feel happy. Now, if we take a step back and look at things from the perspective of reality, of truth, like the projector and its light, we can be free from any distress brought about by paying too much attention to fantastical concepts.

Sometimes we have no access to a larger perspective that could help us deal mentally with a "bad" situation. That's because of our lack of mental cultivation (a.k.a. meditation) or the beneficial mental qualities required for peace of mind.

How to become enlightened

Behold, the Goddess of Compassion Kwan Yin, like the Goddess of Wisdom Prajnaparamati!

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The Buddha’s Path, or let’s say method, for achieving enlightenment is the Middle Way that moves towards mental purification. If the impurities are ignorance, craving, and aversion, purification of the mind/heart is the Path.

With the undoing of ignorance, we awaken! The historical Buddha (Prince Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni the Scythian Sage) revealed that anyone able to manage a few ways of living can win purification and peace of mind here and now.

This peace is freedom from mental suffering, the kind of insight that sees what's real rather than being taken in by concepts, constructs, and fantasies.

Everything we do -- the choices (karma) we make -- is impacting us in one way or another. Therefore, although what we do (our actions) may not seem significant at any given moment, doing something positive or beneficial over something negative or even neutral, may determine whether we will have access to peace of mind.

Later on, at the moment we’re suffering, can we turn around and see that projector up there? It's casting pretty light on that screen over there -- and it just got dark. The lights didn't go out. They will. The tone changed. Things got un-fun fast.

One particular act or episode in our life may not be very significant, but the things we do again and again, the habits we cultivate, create our physical and mental environment. Karma (intentions) ripen to give us our circumstances. We put ourselves here. Mental resultants (vipaka) appear in the wake of our physical, verbal, and mental acts. What now? Even the possibility of thinking of what to do now is conditioned by karma. We can never have enough good karma. Karma. It's everywhere we're going to be.

Yeah, we can’t directly change the past -- but we can change what it means. Yeah, so the future seems so far away -- but it's approaching. We can change it, like a big cruise boat that takes a mile or more to turn. We do it now only to see the results much later. But when we see them, we realize, "Hey, karma is real!" It's good. Everything good we have is due to our karma.

Moreover, karma is a very hopeful thing. Why? We have power over our present. What actions we do now, and there only really ever is NOW, like the Thich Nhat Hanh watch that instead of numbers just has the word "now" in all those spots, that conditions our experience now.

For instance, say we're miserable. What's the solution? Mindfulness. Suddenly we detach. We notice the projector. Suddenly we're attentive to what's real. Suddenly, it's a theater! Where did all that drama go? It's right there, up on the screen, only we're not sucked in.

By our present conduct -- mental, verbal, and physical -- we take steps towards enlightenment. Look around. No one's doing it for us. No one can. All good that is done is done by us, and all bad, too. We reap the results. No one will do that for us. No one can, and no one may. We ourselves must awaken. Buddhas only point the way.

We are able to muster intentional actions of body, mind, and speech. Let's make them beneficial, harmless, helpful, and real moving toward reality.

The Buddha outlined eight factors or limbs of mind, body, and speech -- excellent conduct on the way to awakening -- to perform to achieve enlightenment, to win liberating wisdom as a result of mental purification.

Three of them concern our virtue or moral conduct. Be nice. Be more than nice. Right speech, right action, and right livelihood are the way to immediate peace of mind and nondistraction.

I get it! Karma! Start with mindful meditation.

“Now what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, and from idle chatter: this is called right speech” (SN 45.8).

In positive terms, right speech means “words that are spoken at the right time... spoken in truth... spoken affectionately... spoken beneficially... spoken with a mind of goodwill” (AN 5.198).

That sounds easy enough. It's just the ground level on a pyramid leading to liberating insight.

Now what is right view? It is the perspective that keeps us from getting too upset or elated or distracted about anything in the world. Then using our life energy to uphold virtue, to purify the mind/heart, and be helpful to ourselves and others -- this is the general way to enlightenment.

What is the specific way? There are those other factors to investigate. But pretty much that's it.