Happy Bodhi Day 2008!

From the Buddhist text, the Dhammapada, verses 153 and 154:

Through the round of many births I roamed
without reward,
without rest,
seeking the house-builder.
Painful is birth
again and again.

House-builder, you’re seen!
You will not build a house again.
All your rafters broken,
the ridge pole dismantled,
immersed in dismantling, the mind
has attained to the end of craving.

December 8th is the Buddhist holiday of Bodhi Day, or Enlightenment Day.* This is the day observed by East Asian Buddhists for when the Buddha attained awakening reached a state of Nirvana, or “unbinding”. The verse above is a powerful quotation of the Buddha, where he describes his quest to seek liberation from the endless cycle of rebirth, and his continued frustration as the knowledge eluded him. The second verse is particularly powerful as it speaks to his final awakening. He has seen the house-builder, his own mind; he has attained awakening at last. Once one has awakened to the truth, they can never be fooled the same way again, and have nothing but freedom in the world.

So, on this Bodhi Day, Buddhists reflect on the remarkable accomplishment of the Buddha who discovered the Dharma, the fundamental laws of existence, and became the Buddha for this age. In Buddhism, a Buddha is one who awakens to the truth, without anyone to help him or point the way. In other words, he discovers the truth entirely on his own. From there a Buddha teaches and points the way to others, so that they can more easily discover the same truths, and attain freedom through Nirvana as well. If a Buddha had not arisen in the world, set the wheel in motion, and so on, those people would probably live their entire lives blissfully ignorant of the truth.

And so, it is because the Buddha arose in this world, that we learn a way toward peace with the world, toward freedom, toward a wholesome life with many blessings, toward unexcelled wisdom in accord with the way things really are. All this is ours because of the efforts of one man named Siddhartha who found the truth before us, and offered others to come see what he saw.

If you do nothing else to celebrate today, put your hands together in gassho and say “thank you”.

However, don’t forget that the Buddha taught that the best way to honor him is to put the teachings into practice yourself. In the final sermon of the Buddha, the Parinibbana Sutta (DN 16), the Buddha and his devoted assistant Ananda talk about funeral arrangements to come:

24. Then the Venerable Ananda said: “How should we act, Lord, respecting the body of the Tathagata?”

“Do not hinder yourselves, Ananda, to honor the body of the Tathagata. Rather you should strive, Ananda, and be zealous on your own behalf, for your own good. Unflinchingly, ardently, and resolutely you should apply yourselves to your own good…”

Namuamidabu

* – Called Shaka-Jōdō-e (釈迦成道会) or just Jōdō-e (成道会) in Japan. Zen folks like to commemorate this day as Rohatsu (臘八), or “8th day of the 12th month”, with a special meditation session or sesshin. In the Theravada tradition, this event is rolled into a special celebration called Visakha Puja usually in May (based on lunar cycles).