What do you think Buddha did to become Enlightened?

Such a huge question! Ok so before we dive into HOW Buddha became Enlightened, it’s important to understand what the word “Buddha” actually means.

The name Buddha was given to Siddhartha by his disciples which means “awakened being”. One who is no longer sleeping through life, aware of who they are, living each moment in the moment, conscious of where they are directing their mind in every new moment, staying constantly open and receptive to life, and deeply present to the entire Universe.

Siddhartha Gautama was The Buddha’s real name from birth. He was a very wealthy prince who had everything a man could imagine in life. Yet, he was not happy, so he left his wife, child and gave up his entire kingdom to discover how to be free from suffering. Siddhartha wanted to know what was beyond death, and how to find the greatest truth of life and living.

He renounced his attachment to the world, to his possessions and all of his blood based relationships.  He wandered the forest and hung out with a group of Sadhus who were also seeking the same enlightened state.

It happened one night, deep in his aloneness he found something inside him (like a spark of infinite light) which made him realize he was not this body, mind, emotions or thoughts. In one instant everything changed for him. He dropped his ego/identity in this world and experienced enlightenment. Siddhartha experienced the truth of his spiritual essence. The light of pure awareness, that is deeply aware of all that is, and the truth of what we all are.

In his self-realized enlightened state he was aware of what was awake inside him, and that this awakened state has nothing to do with the passing thoughts/desires of the mind. By integrating this understanding he took the first step to become awakened being!

Siddhartha’s enlightenment was not completely rare. There have been many thousand beings in history books who were able to peel back the veil of illusion and suffering and become free from samsara. Siddhartha reached the state of 5D Consciousness (or enlightenment) through a constant state of self-inquiry and deep meditation.

The enlightenment of Buddha is a piercing through the mind. Through many many hours of sitting with the mind in silence, his mind finally dropped. The mind came to a complete stop and he become completely aware of his senses, feelings, thoughts, and every subtle experience that was moving through him. This was what happened in Buddha’s Enlightenment.

How to Remove the Mind and Experience Buddha’s Enlightenment

 This divine awakened state of consciousness is not supernatural. It is your pure and all natural state. You were born as a conscious being who is already awake, aware and present to this moment.  All children are born Buddhas. Each child forgets his/her enlightened nature because they were raised by unenlightened beings. The parents, siblings, and society’s unawakened beings imprint their conditioning on each child and dim their inner light.

I feel like I can only write this information here with some authority and confidence because I was blessed to have a glimpse of 5D Consciousness when I was 25 years old that changed my entire life.  Although it only lasted a few months, the glimpse was enough to realize that anything is possible, and nothing in this Universe is the way we believe it is.

If the Siddhartha was alive in the 21st century, I believe this is how he would explain his enlightenment. He would first explain to you that when the mind is silent there is only peace inside. There is also more awareness of life, more aliveness, and the feeling of a deep loving awareness in all that we do. Accepting this truth, you can come to understand that you are not your mind, and you already are a living breathing Buddha.

As long as your are following your mind around you will remain asleep. The mind will try and trick you into believing all sorts of crazy things. The mind will cover you with labels, limiting your divine expression and everyone around you. It will say you are smart, stupid, great, pathetic, happy, sad, grounded and then make you go crazy. It will make up all kinds of fascinating wonderful and horrific stories about yourself.  This keeps you spiritually asleep (addicted to the mind).

You may have been asleep for sooooo many lifetimes that you are strongly conditioned to believe that you are not a Buddha. You may believe you cannot become spiritually awake because of some horrific past, or some challenging story you have about you. The veil of societal conditioning is thick in the mind.

There have been many layers of ideas and beliefs cast over you throughout your life. These ideas are blocking your pure awareness from being known. It’s kind of like how you can block out the magnificent full moon by holding one little finger in front of it.

Imagine that your mind is like your thumb that is raised up to the night sky, and is blocking out the entire glorious full moon. The moon is there, yet you cannot see it anymore, just a halo of it.

The mind works in this way. It’s blocking you from seeing, realizing and feeling the infinite Source of light that is blazing within your innermost being. To remove the mind is to come back to the present moment, and naturally we realize our Buddha nature. Every human being is potentially an awakened “Buddha”, yet their mind is still seeking enlightenment in something “out there” instead of realizing the light of Buddha Consciousness is already on inside you!

On your journey towards enlightenment, you must be infinitely patient with yourself and with this process of quieting the mind. There must truly be a feeling like you have an infinite amount of time to find, discover and explore this enlightenment within you. You must know that through infinite patience it can and will be done. You must learn to step back from time, from achieving anything, and just watch the mind.

The mind is very stubborn, cunning, clever and tricky. There are 1,000,001 distractions that will pull you into your mind and away from this brilliant light of awareness inside. You might catch a small short glimpse of your inner light in meditation, then the mind will take over again and again. This swinging pendulum from awareness to unawareness will occur many many times on the journey to full awakening.

The secret to success is keeping your childlike curiosity alive and resilient. You must also keep your body strong, healthy, clean and exercised. You must not drink, use drugs, smoke or over eat to remain clear in your gut (your 2nd brain).

Lastly, there must be an awareness of WHO or WHAT is this master behind the vehicle. Who is driving the body to do what it does, and the mind to think what it thinks. 

My best advice is to get super curious about these things and relax as much as possible into the stillness beneath the mind. There you will find the great Buddha’s enlightenment, which is the exact same quality and recognition that your enlightenment will have as well.

“You are a Buddha. There is nobody higher than you, and nobody lower than you. You don’t have to worship anybody and you don’t have to accept anybody’s worship. This whole existence is equally divine.” ~ Osho

The following words were taken from one of the original sources of the Buddha’s teachings (The Tipitaka) which was written around 80 B.C.  Enjoy!

Be a light onto yourself.

Those who are awake, 

live in a state of constant amazement.

As you walk and eat and travel,

 be where you are,

 otherwise you will miss most of your life.

The way cannot be forced.

The Fruit falls from the Tree

 when it is ripe.

If you can’t find the truth

right where you are,

where else do you think you can find it?

If you wish to feel the divine, 

feel the wind on your face

and the warm sun

 on your hand.

To meditate is to listen 

with a receptive heart.

Take time everyday 

to sit quietly 

and listen.

Do not blindly believe

 what others say,

 even the Buddha.

See for yourself what brings

 contentment, clarity and peace.

That is the path for you to follow.

When our heart opens,

 we will realize

 that we belong just here.

Good-humored patience is necessary with

mischievous children, and your own mind.

If you could see the miracle

 of a single flower clearly,

your whole life would change.

Even loss and betrayal can bring us awakening.

Words have the power to destroy or heal.

When words are both true and kind,

they can change our world.

We are what we think. 

All that we are arises with our thoughts. 

With our thoughts we make the world.

The Buddha’s Words on Kindness

(The Metta Sutra)

This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech.
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.
Wishing: In gladness and in saftey,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born,
May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings:
Radiating kindness over the entire world
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down
Free from drowsiness,
One should sustain this recollection.
This is said to be the sublime abiding.
By not holding to fixed views,
The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,
Being freed from all sense desires,
Is not born again into this world.